Chapter 33
Elizabeth was restless and anxious. Overjoyed after the interludes with her husband, pleased with the news regarding Mr Crawford, and content to see Georgiana slowly recovering, she was still concerned about her mother’s behaviour and Mr Darcy’s possible response to it.
She was grateful Georgiana had declined the invitation to attend the dinner party the next day.
“Please convey my apologies to your family,” she had said at breakfast. “I am not well enough for a gathering, but I hope you will have a wonderful time together.”
“You need not apologise. We all understand your delicate situation,” Elizabeth had replied.
In fact, she felt rather relieved that at least Georgiana — shy and soft-spoken Georgiana — would be spared the vulgar and inconsiderate manners of her stepmother, who would have managed to hurt the girl somehow, and the exposure to her younger sisters equally unpolished behaviour.
Elizabeth met Mrs Green to discuss the final arrangements, which the efficient housekeeper assured her were in hand, then went in search of her husband.
She found him descending the stairs with his sister on his arm.
Surprisingly, Georgiana had expressed the desire to practise the pianoforte.
She wished to be alone with the instrument, but Elizabeth and Darcy hovered outside the room.
“I cannot tell you how grateful and how relieved I am,” Darcy said. “Playing the pianoforte has been Georgiana’s greatest pleasure since she was a child. She would spend hours willingly practising, more than any tutor or music master ever asked of her. I have prayed to hear her play again.”
“Your prayers were clearly heard. I have great hopes she will soon recover completely. The healing has begun, and her music will help.”
He gently took her hands in his. “She is fortunate to have you, Elizabeth. As am I.”
“You give me too much credit, sir. Oh my, what beautiful execution! Such feeling and yet such a performance!” she exclaimed as the strains of music pervaded the house.
“Indeed, Georgiana is exceedingly talented at music. At all the arts, I think. She is very much an artistic soul, just like my mother. But if I had to choose one accomplishment, music would certainly be the one.”
“You have every reason to be proud of her. I believe this is the best performance I have ever heard. I hold every hope that doing the things she loves will help her put this whole ordeal behind her.”
They both allowed the music to be the only sound for a few moments.
“Elizabeth, I wish to send Mr Crawford a note inviting him to join the dinner party tomorrow. Do you agree? Would it please you to have him with us?”
“Of course! Thank you for suggesting it. But please be warned that my stepmother’s manners might be trying at times, and she might ruin some people’s dispositions. Mostly mine.”
“I do not fret. I doubt she can be worse than Lady Catherine.”
“I shall remind you of those words,” she said, laughing nervously. “I think we ought to warn Mr Crawford too. He might have to face some unpleasant enquiries. Perhaps he has already, when he visited Longbourn.”
“I trust Crawford is accustomed to such things and can fend for himself,” Darcy said with a smile. “I shall write to him immediately. But, if you fear any unpleasantness tomorrow evening, what do you think of inviting him first to a less formal dinner tonight?”
Elizabeth gasped, surprised, albeit pleasantly. “That is a wonderful idea, unless he has plans. But it is worth a try.”
He was staring at her, smiling.
“I love to see your eyes sparkling with delight and anticipation, Elizabeth,” he said. Her face grew warm, and she laughed nervously again.
“You are becoming more and more proficient at offering compliments, sir. And at making me nervous.”
“Not at all. I am only being honest. Would you assist me in writing to Mr Crawford?”
“I would like that very much,” she answered, reflecting that it was the first time he had invited her into the library with him.
She was glad about the prospect of having Mr Crawford to dinner two days in a row, but happy simply being with her husband.
Being with him, alone, either in their rooms, in the cosy setting of their dining room, or visiting him while he was working in the library, gave her a profound sense of joy.
Was this how most marriages worked? Was this what true affection for a man, for a husband, felt like?
He wrote the note at his desk as she looked over his shoulder, admiring his even lines. When he had finished, he turned his head, silently asking for her approval, and she nodded. To the impartial observer, there was nothing special about that particular moment, and yet, her heart felt so unsteady.
“I shall send a footman with it immediately.” He stepped out to see to the dispatch, and only minutes later, he came back. “If Crawford is at home, the messenger has instructions to wait for an answer.”
“Very well. Do you have other plans for today?” she enquired.
“No, I only wish to enjoy a peaceful day at home. I have someone watching Mrs Younge to see if she goes anywhere or does anything special, anything that might indicate a further connection to Wickham. Unless I receive news, I shall not leave the house. There are some matters, papers and letters that I have long neglected, that require my attention. I have several days’ worth of correspondence on my desk as lately I have not found the time to address it. ”
“I believe it is the first time since we married that you will be home all day. A pleasant change as I shall not have to wonder where you have gone or whom you might meet.” She smiled but grew warm at the recollection of her doubts.
“Indeed, I hope things will change for the better in this regard. I mean, if my presence at home might be considered the better situation,” he said teasingly, and her cheeks flamed even hotter.
“Do you have any particular plans for today, Elizabeth?”
“I intended to spend some time with Georgiana and perhaps read for a while.”
“Would you like to come and read here, in the library? I could work on my papers, and we could be in each other’s company even if we each attend to our own business. If that is agreeable to you, of course.”
“I would like that very much,” she admitted.
Elizabeth sought out Mrs Green, informing their housekeeper about the possibility of an additional guest.
“Ma’am, forgive me if I am being presumptuous, but should we prepare some rooms, just in case?” the housekeeper enquired.
“Rooms? They do not plan to stay overnight.”
“Yes, but the weather might change for the worse, especially at night, and returning to Gracechurch Street might be difficult during a storm.”
“I doubt there will be a storm, but your suggestion is very considerate, Mrs Green. I shall discuss it with Mr Darcy, too, but yes, have some rooms prepared. I shall be in the library if you need me.”
Elizabeth had no intention of inviting her family to remain after dinner, nor did she wish for Mrs Bennet to even guess that staying the night at Darcy House might be a possibility; but she did agree that the housekeeper had been wiser and more prudent than she.
She walked back to the library, briefly stopping and listening near the door to the room where Georgiana was still playing.
“Mrs Darcy, the master is in the drawing room with Mr Crawford,” a maid informed her.
“Mr Crawford?” she repeated, puzzled. Indeed, she found the two gentlemen conversing; at her entrance, both stood to greet her.
“Mrs Darcy, please forgive me for intruding,” Mr Crawford said, bowing formally. “I received Mr Darcy’s note, but unfortunately I have to decline the invitation for tonight as I have a previous engagement I cannot change.”
“That is understandable, sir, on such short notice,” she replied.
“But I shall be honoured to have dinner with you tomorrow. I was on my way out when your message reached me, so I came to tell you in person, hence my impromptu appearance. I shall not detain you long.”
“It is no intrusion. I am delighted to see you, sir,” Elizabeth said, taking a seat near her husband and proposing refreshments, which were promptly refused with the excuse of the brevity of the call.
“I was just confessing to Mr Crawford that I gathered all the evidence I needed to dismiss any doubts in regard to him,” Darcy said earnestly. “I was pleased that he did not mind my thorough investigation.”
“Why would I mind when I would have done exactly the same?” the man replied. “No gentleman would allow a stranger to insinuate himself into his family without proof of his honour. Forgive me, may I ask who is playing so divinely?”
“My sister, Georgiana.”
“Oh…I heard rumours…the tragic death of your sister’s husband. May I express my condolences. And please convey them to your sister.”
“In fact, you may not,” Mr Darcy replied abruptly, startling Elizabeth.
“Mr Crawford, since you are part of the family now, you should know that, while the death of a young person is always tragic, my sister’s husband was not a good or honourable man.
I shall not dissemble and pretend I grieve his loss.
I expect you will hear many more rumours about him in the coming days, which will not paint a pleasant picture of him. ”
“I heard he was your father’s godson.”
“He was my father’s godson and as dear to him as a son. He was cared for, supported, and protected like a son. Unfortunately, the man repaid that generous affection with betrayal, deception, and malicious schemes.”
“I am very sorry to hear that,” Mr Crawford said, looking less surprised than Elizabeth expected, which indicated that he might have already heard more gossip than he had admitted.