19. 21 November 1811
DARCY
As the three-carriage caravan pulled around in front of the manor house, Bingley, Miss Bingley, and Darcy all went out to the front steps to greet them.
Miss Bingley was cordial but not gushing, although she did seem quite flirtatious with Richard.
Bingley was warm and welcoming, and Darcy greeted them all, hugged his sister, and turned to Richard with some trepidation.
“I heard something interesting about you, Darce,” Richard said with his booming voice.
“Did you?” Darcy asked, nodding his head ever so slightly towards Miss Bingley. Thank goodness Richard took the hint. Instead of saying something about Darcy being enamoured or bewitched, he said, “Yes, indeed. I heard that you are going soft…there being nobody with whom to fence.”
“Ho, there,” Bingley said with a wide smile. “Am I a man of straw, to be so overlooked? I fence…I mean, not very often, and not as well as Darcy, but I can fence.”
Richard just laughed and shrugged, and everyone walked into the house.
Darcy whispered to his sister, “You came to meet the lady I love, Miss Elizabeth, yes?”
“Yes. And I did not let any of them read the letter, I just told them you wish to marry a lady, and then suddenly they all decided to come.”
“And do they fear I have been taken in by a fortune hunter?”
Georgiana looked down, “I am not sure what they think, Brother. I only know that I think you are in love, and it is the first time, and knowing how loyal you are, I am pretty sure it will also be the last time. I just…I just want to be here.”
“I am delighted you are here,” he assured her. “But, unfortunately, the timing is awkward for Miss Elizabeth. Someone has started some untrue rumours about her, and she just found out a few hours ago. I will be fairly distracted as I deal with that.”
“Oh, no!” Georgiana looked as immediately concerned as he had expected his soft-hearted sister to be.
“Do not worry, Poppet, I am confident I can make things right.”
“Darcy, Georgie-girl, are you coming?” Richard called from the door of the drawing room.
“If we must,” Darcy responded. He grinned at his sister, and she gasped. “What is wrong?” he asked.
“That smile! I remember that smile from years ago. I have not seen you this happy since….”
“Since before our father died, I am guessing,” Darcy said. He escorted Georgiana into the drawing room.
Mrs Nicholls was offering opportunities to refresh, change, rest, eat, or drink, and Darcy was quite shocked when none of his relations wished to start with such comforts. Before she left the room, he conferred with the housekeeper in a whisper.
“She is ready whenever you are, Mr Darcy. I sent five books from the library to her room if you wish to wait.”
“I think it might be best if I confer with my cousin and sister first,” he said. “Whenever Crocker, my valet, has a message for me, send me word even if I am in a private conference.”
“Very good, sir.”
She left the room, and Darcy sat down next to his sister.
All the Fitzwilliams stared at him, and before Darcy could ask about the roads, Lady Matlock said, “Well, Darcy, you look very well, I must say.”
Lord Matlock chimed in: “You appear happier than when you left us, not long ago. Strangely, you also look younger.”
Darcy laughed. “I know what I look like, and you are being very kind. I have circles under my eyes that could be used as archery targets!”
Georgiana cringed and said, “Not at all, Will! You are being very hard on yourself. I mean to say that you look as if you could use some sleep, but…you are so…happy!”
Bingley said, “He is a new man, actually. He continually surprises me.”
“And to what do you attribute this change, Darcy?” His uncle had stopped looking friendly and pleased; he now looked as if they were having a discussion about a topic of worldwide import. He did not necessarily look anxious, nor unhappy, but he looked quite serious.
“I am courting a lady for the first time in my life,” Darcy said.
He heard a slight gasp that he guessed was Miss Bingley’s.
He ignored it and continued to speak to his nearest relations.
“I warn you—the lady I am courting has not yet signalled that she is ready for a proposal, and although I dearly hope she will one day marry me, I am not positive she will ever accept my suit.”
“That could not be!” his aunt scoffed.
Uncle Henry gruffly stated, “Any lady that would turn you down must be wanting in intelligence, Darcy, and I cannot see you being intrigued by any but the cleverest of ladies.”
“She is very intelligent,” Darcy said firmly, “and more broadly knowledgeable than any young lady I have ever met.”
He smiled as he saw the scepticism on his relations’ faces—Richard’s most of all.
Bingley bravely interjected, “Miss Elizabeth is exceedingly clever. She talks circles around me every bit as often as Darcy here does.”
It seemed to Darcy that Miss Bingley wished to join in the conversation. He stared at her, and she snapped her mouth close and continued to listen rather than speak.
“You said—” Georgiana hesitated. “You wrote that Miss Elizabeth wished to meet me.”
Darcy was almost sure that his uncle and aunt still had not the least idea about Georgiana’s near ruin, and he certainly had not hinted to his sister or cousin that he had told Elizabeth about Ramsgate. How could he express why Elizabeth had prioritised meeting Georgiana?
He said, “She did make that request, Georgiana. Miss Elizabeth is a very caring and loyal person, and as I told you, she has four sisters. She knows that you are the only member remaining of my closest family, and that you will continue to live with us at least a few years. It is right and natural that she would wish to meet you.”
“And when will this meeting occur, Darcy?” Richard asked.
“We would all like to meet her,” Aunt Ellen chimed in.
“About half an hour from now, I believe. I suggest that you all take some rest and refreshment while you wait.” He strode to the bell rope to ring for Mrs Nicholls.
The housekeeper reappeared and began to show the earl and countess their rooms. As they left, Darcy gave a signal to Richard and then whispered to Georgiana.
They both kept their expressions neutral but gave him a look that indicated their understanding.
Servants hastened in to show his cousin and sister to their rooms. At that point, Darcy addressed Bingley.
“I need to hold a private discussion with my cousin and Georgiana. Might we use your study?”
“Of course! I hope nothing is wrong.”
“Merely a quick family conference.” Darcy put effort into smiling and wondered if his expression appeared strained; he deliberately pictured how Elizabeth had run to him and once again muddied her hem, and he was certain that his smile became more genuine.
He explained further, “My cousin is Georgiana’s other guardian, and we have to bring him up to speed on Georgiana’s recent illness and the results of other decisions. ”
“I had forgotten that the colonel is one of her guardians,” Bingley said. “Naturally you must have to communicate, the three of you, with some regularity.
“We do.” Darcy strode off to consider his next steps and the upcoming, necessarily brief, meeting with Richard and Georgiana.
The “quick family conference” had been interrupted by Crocker, who brought Darcy a written note confirming every particular Elizabeth had reported about the rumour.
Unfortunately, Crocker had not yet been able to identify the source, although he had high hopes he might be able to.
The rumour had spread among the shopkeepers and the people who had been shopping that day, but it had not yet been heard in most of the homes that Crocker had checked.
Darcy explained to Richard and Georgiana that he had met a mild-mannered man named Mr Goulding, who had started calling on Elizabeth at the same time that he had.
When he retold the gossip and explained how he knew that it was untrue, he also mentioned why he thought Goulding was unlikely to be the source of the rumour.
“He seems to be concerned about reputations, and I do not believe he would deliberately create a scandal for a woman he wishes to connect himself with, especially not right here in his estate’s neighbourhood.
” Finally, Darcy told his cousin and sister the reason Mr Bennet had given for preferring Goulding’s suit over Darcy’s and Mrs Bennet’s statements that Elizabeth would likely be forced to marry Goulding.
“What a selfish father and such a foolish mother!” Georgiana exclaimed. “From what you have said, neither you nor Miss Elizabeth did anything even the tiniest bit wrong, and if both of you have your lives ruined by a silly, unfounded rumour…well! It would be terrible.”
Richard asked a pertinent question: “When will Miss Elizabeth reach her majority?”
Learning that that happy day was four months away, Richard took a minute to think and then said, “I would have expected that Mr Bennet’s preference was in part because the man knows the whole Goulding family, and has for years, and in contrast he does not know or trust you.
He may even feel that such a wealthy suitor as you is likely only interested in trifling with a lady’s affections. ”
“Oh, Brother, that would mean that Mr Bennet does not know the first thing about you! How unfair to judge you without getting to know you.”