Chapter 10 #2
“Should we continue this conversation in the breakfast room?” Mr Darcy suggested, placing Elizabeth’s hand on his arm.
“Indeed! We should drink to your happy marriage!” Colonel Fitzwilliam answered. “And to your great fortune in finding such a lovely wife, without even searching too long.”
Holding her husband’s arm, Elizabeth walked down the long hall.
Anxious, unsettled, looking at her uncle and aunt for support while she felt the Matlocks’ intense scrutiny, Elizabeth paid little attention to the house, just enough to notice the elegant and tasteful furnishing.
In the breakfast room — the largest Elizabeth had seen — a lavish banquet was laid out for them.
In one half of the room, side tables were tastefully placed without crowding the main table — close enough so as to not be too far for the guests to serve themselves.
The other half had mostly comfortable chairs and sofas with enough tea tables for everyone to find their favourite seating place.
The breakfast table was decorated with several floral arrangements — hot house blooms, guessed Elizabeth — and fruit cups, all again plentiful without being ostentatious.
As much as she could see, without giving the impression of inspecting, everything was understated elegance and good taste, which spoke well of her husband and the capable servants he employed.
Mr Darcy led her to one of the sofas, asked whether she wanted refreshment, and signalled to the footmen in the room to make sure everyone was comfortable.
He then sat beside her. Shortly, everyone was seated.
“Mrs Darcy, let me say again, your introduction to the servants was admirable, especially for someone not accustomed to running a large household. Taking a few minutes to greet every one of them will surely help you secure their loyalty. Well done.”
“Thank you, your ladyship. Your approval is very important to me. Indeed, I am not accustomed to running a large household, but I am ready to put in every effort to accomplish my duties.”
“Well said, young lady. Is this your first visit to Darcy’s house?” Lady Matlock enquired.
“It is.”
“Unfortunately,” Mr Darcy explained, “I have been very busy in recent weeks, and some unexpected business forced me to leave town for a few days, so we had no time for a prior visit. I shall take Elizabeth for a tour of the house later today.”
“If you were in less hurry and had a longer engagement, there would have been enough time for you to attend to your business and to present your house and your relatives to Mrs Darcy,” Lord Matlock interjected in a rather reproachful tone, loud enough to rise above the other conversations in the room.
An awkward silence replaced the cheerful voices; Elizabeth glanced at Darcy, but, to her amazement, he looked perfectly calm.
“You are right, of course, Uncle. I felt it was the perfect time for me to marry, as I desired, in order to be able to pay proper attention to my business affairs later on. I am grateful that Elizabeth allowed herself to be persuaded. She would have certainly preferred a longer engagement, too, but I took advantage of her generosity.”
His composed voice and little smile matched his explanation very well; once again, Elizabeth noticed how Mr Darcy had formed his answer in such a way as to avoid lying but also to avoid disclosing the complete truth.
Yes, he had insisted they marry in haste, in order to resolve his problems later on — with her money.
She pondered upon his ability to say so much while revealing so little and wondered whether she should trust him.
It was not the first time he had done such a thing.
Did her uncle, who praised Mr Darcy so much, really know his true character, or just the little part that Mr Darcy chose to reveal?
“Did you at least inform Georgiana?” the earl enquired further. “What did she say? I cannot repeat enough how disappointed and upset I was that you both decided to marry in haste, without our approval and certainly without prudence and sound judgment.”
Mr Darcy’s countenance darkened instantly.
“I trust you do not compare my marriage to Elizabeth — as hasty as it might appear to you — with the situation you alluded to, which was indeed unwise and imprudent. I would rather not discuss this subject now, but I assure you I reflected upon my decision soundly and thoroughly. And yes, I informed Georgiana and she conveyed her best wishes.”
“I agree. The two situations are not similar, and comparisons should not be discussed, especially today,” Lady Matlock intervened. Then she addressed Elizabeth, “Miss Bennet…forgive me, Mrs Darcy, I hope you do not mind me asking something.”
“Of course not, your ladyship.”
“I heard my nephew needed all his powers of persuasion to convince you to marry him. May I ask why? I know several young heiresses, with admirable situations in life, who would have married Darcy in an instant.”
“Some of them even chased him for years trying to convince him to offer for them.” The colonel laughed, filling a second glass of brandy. “One of them is Bingley’s sister — no offence, my friend.”
“None taken, I assure you,” Mr Bingley responded good humouredly.
“I was addressing Mrs Darcy. I am not fond of being interrupted, as you well know,” Lady Matlock addressed her son.
“I am sorry, Mother. I am curious to hear the answer too,” the colonel replied, not at all cowed by her sharp tone.
“I am afraid the answer is simple,” Elizabeth uttered. “I felt I needed more time to examine Mr Darcy’s true nature and to allow him to discover mine. I would have liked even more time to examine my feelings and his, to be sure that we would be a good match.”
“So why did you not request more time? From what I hear, you have a significant fortune — I doubt you were forced to marry for a comfortable life.”
“I certainly did not agree to marry because I needed Mr Darcy’s fortune,” Elizabeth said, smiling at the lady, then at Darcy.
“So, should we assume you finished your examination of Darcy’s character? Are you certain you two are a good match?”
“I trusted Mr Darcy to have sound reasons to wish to marry sooner rather than later, and I had nothing against the plan. I trusted also that he is an excellent man and that being his wife is a privilege I shall strive to honour.”
“Your answer is rather evasive, Mrs Darcy,” Lady Matlock said, but Elizabeth was not entirely certain the countess disapproved of her evasiveness.
“I hope your ladyship is not unsatisfied with it, since it is the only one I am prepared to give. However, I could mention two of the most important arguments that helped overcome my initial reluctance…”
She paused intentionally, dramatically glancing about the room at her audience, amused that everyone was waiting for her words — especially her uncle and aunt and husband.
Then she sipped from her glass before declaring, “The first argument was from my uncle, who stated that, were I to meet scores of other young, eligible gentlemen, I could not find someone with a better character than Mr Darcy.” Elizabeth paused again, seemingly to take another sip, while everyone turned towards Mr Gardiner.
“And the second argument was from my aunt, who pointed out that Mr Darcy is exceedingly handsome.”
She finished with a wide smile, while her audience, especially Lord and Lady Matlock, stared at her in disbelief. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed her husband, whose wide eyes stared at her incredulously.
Then the colonel began to laugh, followed by the viscount and Mr Bingley, while Mr and Mrs Gardiner tried to remain serious, though the latter coloured quite a warm shade of red.
The earl swallowed the rest of his wine, struggling to conceal his laughter behind his glass, and reached out to slap Darcy on the shoulder.
A quick glance over to her husband showed him pressing his lips together to hide his smile, which seem to have moved to his eyes.
“Mrs Darcy, I find these two reasons well-grounded and undeniable. I shall certainly need more time to discover your true nature and character, but I admit I am not displeased with our first meeting,” the countess said.
“Nor am I, Lady Matlock. Your ladyship is kinder and more generous than I expected — and I am truly grateful for that,” Elizabeth said in all honesty, allowing herself to breathe.
“Mother, I trust now I am allowed to finally give Mrs Darcy a warm welcome to the family?” The colonel raised his glass in Elizabeth’s direction and continued after the others had raised theirs, “And Darcy, although I had quite despaired of you paying attention to a worthy lady, I bow to your skill to always make the perfect choice. May your marriage be filled with laughter and love, my friend! To Mr and Mrs Darcy.”
The earl, Mr Gardiner, Mr Bingley, and the viscount all added their “Hear, hear”, and after that, the little party lasted for two more hours, in light, friendly conversation, then finally the guests left.
After a proper farewell, Elizabeth found herself alone with her husband, and her heart began to race again.