Chapter 3
WHERE COLONEL FITZWILLIAM GIVES MR DARCY A KICK IN THE brEECHES.
Darcy stood before a large set of French windows in his study, one arm braced against the casement while the hand of his other rested on his hip.
Rain was falling in buckets, drenching the manicured front lawn of his Mayfair home.
Would that I was at Pemberley, he thought resentfully. Kent, Newcastle, anywhere but London.
From the centre of the room the Earl of Carlisle’s deep, imposing voice injected the easy, comfortable space with a decided chill.
“Your aunt informed me she happened upon you last night as you were ordering your carriage, Darcy. I need not tell you she was extremely put out. She had high hopes of you dancing at least once with Lady Eliza. I realise that, for whatever reason, you have decided the girl is not your cup of tea, but she is handsome and in possession of forty thousand pounds. It is ten thousand greater than the sum you will have to recover to retain your current net worth once Georgiana marries. One dance for appearances’ sake and to please your aunt would hardly have been a sacrifice.
Perhaps upon further acquaintance you would even find the girl suits your tastes, but it appears you are determined not to take the trouble to find out. ”
Darcy repressed a sigh of annoyance. His uncle was worse than Lady Catherine.
Like his overbearing sister, Lord Carlisle was neither used to brooking disappointment nor accustomed to being ignored.
Steeling himself, Darcy assumed a well-practiced air of indifference and turned his back on the sodden landscape.
“I am as well acquainted with Lady Eliza as I care to be, sir. We have been in company together countless times at balls, card parties, and dinners and I can say with absolute certainty she is one of the last ladies with whom I care to pass my time.”
“What could you possibly find to object to in Eliza Harrow? She is a pretty little piece and an heiress to boot, not to mention her mother is a member of the peerage. I see nothing to object to in that, quite the opposite!”
“Lady Eliza is handsome,” Darcy allowed, “she is fashionable, and she is rich, but her conversation is inane, her opinions are deferential and rehearsed, and she has not one original thought in her head. We have nothing in common other than the circles in which we move. I do not have to spend any further time with the lady to see how ill-suited we are. Any attention paid to Lady Eliza would only incite speculation and raise hopes I have no intention of fulfilling.”
“Opinions!” parroted the earl in astonishment.
“Convictions! Surely, you have more than enough intelligent discussions at your club that you would have no need for such conversation in a wife! What the devil does a woman need to understand beyond the urgency of begetting an heir, setting a decent table, and holding her tongue? Original thoughts—bah! That is nothing but a bunch of damned folderol.”
Darcy bristled. His eyes locked with those of his cousin, seated beside his father on a broad leather sofa.
Fitzwilliam cleared his throat, then rose from the couch and crossed the room to stand beside Darcy. “Easy does it,” he muttered, his voice barely audible as he turned his attention to the window and some concocted amusement or other on Brook Street.
It was sound advice when dealing with the earl.
In the past, Darcy had bitten his tongue time and again to avoid agitating his uncle’s resentful temper.
For the sake of familial harmony, he knew he ought to do so now, but today he felt differently.
Perhaps it was the argument he had with Fitzwilliam the night before; perhaps it was the indignance he felt on Elizabeth’s behalf; perhaps he had simply had his fill of his uncle’s forceful manner and intolerant vitriol.
In that moment, Darcy could no more remain silent than he could refuse to breathe.
“There is an endless satisfaction to be had in the company of a woman who is well-spoken, well-read, witty, and knowledgeable. A lady who has both the confidence and the ability to offer her opinions freely, readily, and with intelligence and conviction should be recognised and valued by society—not ridiculed and dismissed. It is only with such a woman that a man can achieve a true marital partnership.”
“Marital partnership!” The earl shook his head with a contemptuous snort.
“Marrying such a woman would be the biggest mistake of a man’s life, especially a man in your situation, with your fortune and your prospects.
Good God, Darcy. If I did not know better, I would think you had taken orders!
What a bunch of sermonising! You could do a hell of a lot worse than Lady Harrow’s daughter.
A pretty, rich, young thing like Lady Eliza is an enticing prospect!
Virgins, I grant you, can be tedious to break in, but you need not concern yourself overmuch with that, not where Lady Eliza is concerned.
” He laughed crudely. “You know Lady Harrow has long admired you. No doubt she would gladly make up for her daughter’s shortcomings in the marital bed. ”
Colonel Fitzwilliam shook his head minutely and uttered a quiet oath, most likely to prevent his cousin from saying something unfortunate in response to his father’s remarks.
Darcy was far too livid to heed such a warning.
“You may not believe in equality between a man and his wife, but this is a subject on which I hold firm beliefs. I will not be browbeaten into forming an alliance that is less than palatable to myself or any future children that may result from such a union. I will not court the favour of any woman for whom I do not feel an equal affinity and respect, nor will I marry where I feel no affection. And I certainly never shall take my wife’s mother to my bed! I would rather remain celibate!”
“You want a love match?” Lord Carlisle cried. “What fustian nonsense is this? You cannot afford to be so headstrong and foolish where the business of matrimony is concerned. Pemberley needs an heir!”
“Pemberley shall have one regardless. Once she marries, any children Georgiana bears may easily be named as my heirs. Others have acted in a similar fashion before me. I would not be the first.”
The earl glared at Darcy in furious disbelief.
“You have completely lost your wits! There is no woman in the entire kingdom who could even begin to fulfil this foolish fantasy of yours.
I have never encountered a gently bred girl in possession of such an outrageous combination of eccentricities, and I will be damned if you think for one moment I will stand by and watch you marry some vulgar Frenchwoman who is used to being admitted to discussions in which a woman has no place!
The most eligible girls in our sphere are not brought up with any of that intellectualism and freethinking nonsense, and rightly so.
What man in his right mind wants to come home to a wife who speaks her mind to him after he has been out riding on his estate all day or sequestered with his solicitor? Not a damned one of them!
“In the years since you first reached your majority I have never once seen your fastidious head turned by anything less than a pretty face and pleasing figure. One of those ridiculous bluestockings with their high ideals and even higher necklines will never satisfy your baser instincts. Mark my words—you will end by revising this farcical list of requirements. The sooner you do so the better!”
“My mind is made up. I will not be moved.”
“You damn well will be moved if I have anything to say about it!”
“I will not,” Darcy insisted coldly, every bit the master of Pemberley as he fixed his uncle with a steely, level look full of barely concealed anger. “I will not yield to convenience, not when doing so will ensure I receive a lifetime of vexation and regret.”
Fuming, Lord Carlisle narrowed his eyes.
“You would dare to risk all that your beloved father has left to you in trust, to pass the rest of your life on this earth alone without a well-dowered, comely wife to ease your nights and keep your house? You would deprive yourself of the satisfaction of siring a son who would be of your body and your blood, to whom you could pass your wealth, your property—your God-given legacy?”
“If by following my convictions I am destined to pass my life unmarried, then so be it. I have Georgiana. I have my family and my friends. An arrangement of convenience, no matter how advantageous for my pocketbook and my social standing, would be nothing short of intolerable to my spirit.”
“Intolerable to your spirit!” Lord Carlisle cried, leaping to his feet.
His countenance was red with fury. “I find your blasted obstinance and lack of ambition intolerable!
You would do well to remember your place in this world!
You may be the master of Pemberley, but I am the head of this family!
Unless you want to find yourself on the wrong side of my wrath, you will heed my counsel!
“Despite your preposterous notions of equality between the sexes and your ridiculous romantic whims, I have high aspirations for you, Darcy.
You have the potential to make a brilliant match for yourself, and by God you should seize the bull by the horns!
I should not have to remind you that by marrying the right sort of girl you could double your holdings, gain a title, and obtain a place in Parliament.