Chapter 29
No important announcement was made that evening, and many ladies and young ladies breathed more easily. Yet the following morning, at a very late breakfast, Darcy made several hearts flutter when he said,
“I should like to make a brief announcement.”
Elizabeth looked towards him almost in alarm, wondering whether he might be capable of such madness as publicly asking her to marry him. It was something that simply was not done and, above all, something that would place her in a most uncomfortable situation.
“As those gathered around this table know, we have revived my mother’s tradition of holding a ball on the fifteenth of August in honour of my grandmother, Mary Darcy. I thank you all for attending, and I believe the ball has been a success.”
A chorus of thanks rose from the table, and Darcy bowed, obviously content, before continuing.
“The ball always concluded with this breakfast, and my mother was accustomed to presenting a gift to the ladies in attendance. As you may imagine, these gifts came from her collection of miniatures, for my mother believed that beautiful things ought to circulate and that a collection should always be renewed. Before your departure, each lady will receive such a miniature from my mother’s collection. ”
This time, the ladies applauded, for it was indeed an unexpected yet most agreeable conclusion.
Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief, though a touch of melancholy settled upon her spirits.
No gentleman had ever been known to propose marriage publicly.
She had once read of such a scene in a novel, but a gentleman like Mr Darcy, who respected decorum so scrupulously, would never behave in such a manner.
Paradoxically, had he proposed in the greenhouse, she would probably have refused him.
Yet in a dining room full of people, she might have accepted, because for the first time since she had known him, Mr Darcy would have become the man she had always dreamt of meeting, not merely in love, but daring as well, willing to disregard convention for her sake.
The thought vanished almost immediately when she remembered the miniature she was to receive and wondered how it would be delivered. They were determined to leave after breakfast, and she hoped it would be waiting in her parlour, where she had gone to prepare for the journey.
Yet nothing awaited her there.
Half an hour later, she took leave of the room reluctantly, then knocked at Mrs Cooper’s door, only to be informed by a maid that Mrs Cooper had already gone downstairs. And indeed, she found her in the drawing room, engaged in conversation with Mr Darcy.
Both turned towards her, yet neither betrayed anything beyond pleasure at seeing her.
Though an entirely unusual conversation had passed between them.
∞∞∞
When a maid informed Mrs Cooper that Mr Darcy wished to speak with her, she experienced a moment of uneasiness, for the only subject she could imagine between them was the unexpected understanding that had developed between herself and the colonel.
She could not deny that she liked Colonel Fitzwilliam more than she had ever liked any other gentleman in her life, and many had attempted to impress her during the seven years of her widowhood.
While with the colonel, she did not know how matters would develop, and nothing definite had been said.
It was far too soon for that. Yet the colonel had asked whether she would consent to visit his parents at Matlock Lodge when they arrived in a few days.
Mrs Cooper knew Matlock Lodge much as she had once known Pemberley: a place beyond her reach, even more so than Mr Darcy’s home, for Lord Matlock was an earl.
All these thoughts returned to her unbidden. Although she had come to know Mr Darcy as courteous and obliging, she could not entirely forget the arrogance with which he had once spoken of Elizabeth’s family, nor his direct interference in Miss Bennet’s separation from his friend.
As she descended the stairs, she wondered with considerable apprehension whether the gentleman intended to end her understanding with the colonel before it had properly begun, to avoid future complications.
She entered determined to remain calm and to give no answer at all, for whatever existed between herself and the colonel, if indeed anything existed, was theirs alone to resolve.
Yet Darcy’s expression was far removed from arrogance. She did not know him particularly well, but it even seemed to her that he was the embarrassed one.
He began speaking immediately, as though anxious to conclude the conversation as quickly as possible.
“I take the liberty of asking a favour of you, for lately I have felt that a very friendly understanding has been established between us.”
“Anything, Mr Darcy,” replied Mrs Cooper, relieved and pleased to grant him whatever favour she could.
“It is entirely unusual and, in some respects, beyond the limits imposed by decorum.”
“I assure you that does not alarm me.”
“You know how much Miss Elizabeth means to me.”
“I do.”
A single glance was enough to tell him that she knew everything that had passed between them, and the knowledge seemed to reassure him.
“She would never accept assistance for her family in any form.”
“Without question. All who love her think the same. We assist them by trying not to let them see that we are helping.”
“Exactly. I realise that the pride so often criticised in other circumstances remains the very wall that protects their dignity.”
Mrs Cooper nodded in complete agreement.
“In short, the miniature I intend to give her is…exceptionally valuable. It is a Hellenistic sardonyx cameo, mounted in an eighteenth-century gold case. It was acquired by my grandfather during his Grand Tour and regarded by my mother as one of the treasures of the Pemberley collection.”
The astonishment upon Mrs Cooper’s face encouraged him to continue.
“There is no other way in which I can help her. I have spent days and nights considering how it might be done without her knowing or understanding.”
Mrs Cooper nodded, yet some of the joy she had felt at his confidence in her began to fade.
It suddenly became clear why he was making such a gift.
Had he expected Miss Elizabeth to become his wife, there would have been little need for such precautions.
One day, Elizabeth would have had access to all that was his.
This extraordinary provision could only mean that he foresaw no such future, yet wished to protect her all the same.
“Mrs Cooper, my mother knew exactly what each miniature was worth. This one was valued fifteen years ago at four or five thousand—”
“Pounds?” she asked, genuinely alarmed by such an astonishing sum.
“Guineas,” he replied calmly.
She sighed despite herself, then quickly recovered her composure. It was, after all, something she wished to do with all her heart.
“And what would you have me do?”
“I have seen the many objects from distant lands in your home. Miss Elizabeth will believe you if you tell her that the cameo is valuable. I should like you to do so after she leaves Derbyshire, lest she decide to return it to me. I should also like you to advise her to have it professionally valued.”
He handed Mrs Cooper a piece of paper upon which the name of a renowned London jeweller had been written.
“They will know precisely what it is worth and, more importantly, will offer a fair price. My mother had it valued by them, and I have already written to inform them that it has changed hands—”
“So there may be no suspicion.”
“Exactly.”
“Thank you,” she said, genuinely moved by all the precautions he took.
“I am certain you will know how to present the matter to her advantage.”
Their conversation could continue no further, for Elizabeth appeared in the doorway.
And just before they left the room, Darcy’s valet arrived, accompanied by the colonel. Each lady received a beautiful red and golden velvet box.
After a farewell that lasted rather longer than expected, they promised to meet again before the ladies departed for Derby each with a beautiful velvet box on her lap.
∞∞∞
“This box reminds me of one my father gave to each of us,” said Elizabeth, absently running her fingers over it.
“And what did it contain?” asked Mrs Cooper, somewhat alarmed that Elizabeth might recognise the value of the cameo and immediately insist upon returning it, offended by such a gift, particularly when compared with her own, which was probably worth only a few dozen pounds.
“My letters to him. As I have kept every one of his letters to me, I think that one day, when I am calmer, and the pain is further behind me, I shall read them all in order. I often asked him questions, and he always answered them. Not a single question was ever left unanswered.”
The smile that appeared upon her face tried to be brave, yet it was only heartbreakingly sad.
“Perhaps there are questions that still trouble me, and I shall find answers I have forgotten.”
“How wonderful,” exclaimed Mrs Cooper, genuinely moved, for beneath the grief she could feel the bond between Elizabeth and her father, a bond that death itself could not destroy.
“I brought the box with me. Indeed, I shall carry it wherever I go. There are also a few thoughts he wrote that were never letters. I hope I shall one day find the strength to read them, but whenever I see his handwriting, I cannot continue.”
“The day will come when you can, I am certain.”
“But let us see what Mr Darcy has given us.”
Mrs Cooper’s heart was beating wildly. How dearly she wished that Elizabeth and her family might benefit from that gift, which could provide them with a more than comfortable living until all the sisters were married.
Elizabeth opened the box with remarkable indifference, her thoughts evidently still lingering on the other box and the treasures her father had left her. She glanced towards Mrs Cooper, who, whether she wished to or not, opened hers as well.
It too contained a cameo, and to her great relief, Mr Darcy had chosen them so carefully that the difference between them was impossible to detect at first glance.
Elizabeth looked at both miniatures before placing her open box beside her. Mrs Cooper’s heart nearly stopped at the thought that, with one careless movement of the carriage, it might fall. She quietly closed the box and drew it nearer to herself, yet Elizabeth showed no reaction.
At that moment, Mrs Cooper resolved to tell her the truth. Not immediately, but certainly before she left Derbyshire. She could not rest easy knowing that Elizabeth might depart and toss that small fortune into the corner of a trunk.
She would find a way. Elizabeth must somehow come to understand that allowing one’s friends to help was perfectly natural and diminished neither dignity nor self-respect.
“You will never believe what Miss Darcy asked me,” said Elizabeth after a brief silence. “Whether I would visit her from time to time and sit and talk with her…rather as Papa used to do with us.”
The satisfaction in her voice gave Mrs Cooper pause, though it did not make her happy. She said nothing, waiting for Elizabeth to continue.
“I believe she enjoyed a conversation we had in the library one day, when we were alone.”
As Mrs Cooper still remained silent, Elizabeth hurried on. “It is clearly a mark of friendship. And you must know that there was a mutual liking between us from the very beginning.”
“Certainly,” replied Mrs Cooper, rousing herself from the thoughts that had overtaken her. “There is no reason why you should not visit her, or she us. I should very much enjoy taking part in such conversations myself.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I believe I shall. Poor thing, she lost her mother at five years old, and apart from that companion, I do not think she has many female presences about her. When we attend a ball, we gather together in little groups, laughing and amusing ourselves. I have always seen her alone, or speaking with one guest at a time.”
A friendship with Miss Darcy was indeed something precious. Yet, Mrs Cooper could not help wondering whether it was the only thing drawing Elizabeth towards Pemberley. For if there was another reason, he had just presented her with a farewell gift.