Chapter 19
Darcy
Darcy was feeling neglected, which was stupid. Wishing to feel well about himself, he reasoned that at least he realised how stupid such an emotion was, given the circumstances.
The circumstances were that five of Elizabeth’s friends had arrived and were flocking around her, seemingly at all times.
He had met all five ladies in London, although he barely knew any of them.
Given his relatively quiet nature, he had exchanged only a few words with each lady.
Of course he knew them to be genteel and intelligent—Elizabeth would not become close to ladies who behaved poorly or who were dull and unknowledgeable.
Still, Darcy had not looked forward to having to speak with all the ladies.
But the reality surprised him: he was almost completely ignored!
At noontime two days before the wedding, the trio of the Honourable Amelia Robinson, Lady Grace, and Miss Julia Allington arrived.
After the Hursts greeted them, Darcy courteously bowed and introduced them to Georgiana and Wessex.
The ladies were, of course, extremely polite in their responses, but Miss Robinson eagerly asked when Lizzy would be arriving, and upon hearing the answer, she merely bobbed her head and turned to Mrs Nicholls, asking to be shown to their rooms, and all three ladies linked arms and streamed upstairs, laughing and chatting.
“They have just taken a four hour ride together, what more could they have to talk about?” Darcy had murmured to Georgiana.
She smiled and said, “Oh, William, if I said that about you and Elizabeth, you would feel sorry for my lack of understanding.”
“Oh. True….”
When Elizabeth and Jane arrived, they were accompanied by Miss Martha Evans and Miss Susan Walker.
There were more introductions, of course, but then the seven young ladies invited Georgiana (who said yes, please) and Mrs Hurst (who said no, thank you) to go with them out to the maze.
“We will be back in time for dinner,” Elizabeth promised.
The house was suddenly plunged into silence.
“Well!” Wessex said. “Should we play some billiards?
Hurst said, “Certainly.”
Darcy went to the billiards room as well, but somehow he felt that the thing he had not wished to do—to spend time around and speak with five of Elizabeth’s best friends—was now the only thing he felt compelled to do.
In between his turn with the cue stick, Darcy lectured himself silently.
He did not really wish to be surrounded by giggles and chatter, and he did not really care all that much about finding commonality with the daughter of a baron or earl, let alone the daughter of a publisher or spice merchant.
What he really wished to be doing was sitting near enough to Elizabeth to have her secretly hold his hand, to surreptitiously run her toes up his leg, or to whisper suggestive things into his ear.
What he really wished was, at the minimum, to be somewhere he could watch her, even if it meant watching her giggle and chat with her favourite ladies.
In less than two days, you will have Elizabeth all to yourself! he thought. Also, he reminded himself that just a few hours ago, he had been alone with Elizabeth, atop Oakham Mount, although they knew it would be the last time they would meet in the early morning before the wedding.
It was a testament to how truly unhinged he had become that he felt almost desperate for the ladies to return.
Thank goodness, he was not so unhinged that he could not acquit himself well at billiards; he won two games, Hurst one, and Wessex one.
The gentlemen consulted the clock and decided it was time to change and refresh themselves for dinner, but Darcy sped through his preparation in order to reach the gold drawing room early.
He was very grateful that the next person through the door was Elizabeth.
She said, “I miss you,” and the two hastened to go to the small utility room they had used once before for a fervent kiss.
They surprised themselves with their ability to tune out the sound of so many folks gathering nearby, that they did not break their kiss until they heard, “Where do you suppose Darcy and Miss Elizabeth have gotten to?”
There was a chuckle all around, and both Darcy and Elizabeth blushed. They spent time repairing their appearance, and then Elizabeth went to the drawing room almost a minute before Darcy arrived through the opposite door.
Darcy supposed that not many were fooled, and he felt grateful that neither Richard nor Johnson were there to tease him.
Hurst just nodded and smiled, and Wessex just clapped him on the shoulder and said, “I believe we are all assembled, and also I have noticed that gentlemen are scarce. Still, let us approach the task of procession with less than strict formality, would you not agree?”
“As you wish,” Hurst agreed.
Wessex escorted Jane and Lady Grace, Darcy escorted Elizabeth and Miss Robinson, and Hurst waited with his wife until the other ladies entered the dining room.
The meal was four courses, quite delicious, and very lively; but Darcy was happy because he enjoyed seeing Elizabeth smile at and charm everyone, and he relished hearing her laugh, and he was happy to remember the little moans she had made into his mouth mere minutes rather than hours ago.
The next day more guests descended upon Netherfield.
Francis Johnson and Hugh Wright came together, having met in London in order to do so.
In the grouping of Darcy’s friends, Johnson and Wright had always considered themselves a peg below the others, both being second sons.
Of course, none of the other men would accept the “above” or “below” nonsense, but there was a distinct difference in their lives.
Wright was studying to be a barrister at the Inns of Court, and Johnson was supposed to marry his second cousin, who was the heiress to her father’s estate; his relations wished the estate to remain with the family, hence the betrothal.
Darcy knew how lucky he was to be able to marry for love.
And financially speaking—well, within this circle of close friends, the others spoke plainly of their income and investments, so Darcy knew that he had a much greater fortune than all four of the others put together.
He was not at all forthcoming about his wealth, however, so even his best friends had little idea of the disparity.
Before luncheon, the friends sat comfortably in the study and caught up with each other’s news. After the meal, they began to play billiards.
Darcy was alerted to the arrival of his relatives, and as he hastened to the drawing room, he was already smiling at the thought of greeting Aunt Helen, Uncle Henry, and cousin Reggie—but then his smile blinked out with shock and then reappeared, wider than before, as he saw that those three were accompanied by Richard and Miss Garrett.
“Richard! I thought—the doctor told me you were not allowed to travel!”
“Thanks to some very fine nursing, I am doing much better than expected, and he changed his mind.”
“That is wonderful!” Darcy shook Richard’s hand, kissed his aunt’s cheek, and bowed to the earl, Reggie, and Miss Garrett. He addressed the latter with a heartfelt, “I am so happy to see you again, and so grateful for the very fine nursing.”
“Where is Bingley?” Richard asked. “I wish to—“
“He is no longer in residence. He has gone to London on important business.” Darcy cocked his head, maintaining eye contact with his cousin as he tried to signal that he would tell him more later. The fact that Richard did not press for more information indicated that he had gotten the message.
Mrs Hurst and Mrs Nicholls took over with the Fitzwilliams, showing them to their rooms. As Richard hobbled away, using just a cane—no crutches—he called back over his shoulder, “Will we see your bride tonight? Or not until tomorrow?”
“She will join us for dinner.”
“Wonderful,” was all Richard said. Darcy watched as Miss Garrett helped him navigate the stairs, and as the stairway curved around, he was able to see his cousin’s face—and once again Darcy was pleased to see an expression of deep devotion as Richard looked at his intended.
Darcy tarried by the stairs, wishing to have a private conference with Richard before Elizabeth and Jane arrived.
Richard surely had the same idea, since he appeared before anyone else.
They went to the study, where Darcy related to him Bingley’s betrayal of their friendship, his attack on Elizabeth, and his so-called apology.
Richard became visibly angry, and he said, “As little as I deserved to be forgiven, I am very grateful that you have forgiven me—but excuse me if I hope you have not forgiven him, too.”
“Honestly, I believe it is unforgivable. Rather than betraying our friendship by speaking to Elizabeth, he laid his hands on her; who knows what he would have done if she had not defended herself? But, more than that: his explanations, his attempt at an apology—his words showed a want of principles and of consideration for the feelings of others that I had never seen in him before.”
Richard’s commiserations were interrupted by Carter’s knock. Darcy, acting every bit the master, bade the butler to enter, and Carter announced “I thought you would wish to know, sir, that the Misses Bennet and their guests have arrived.”
Darcy bound out of his chair with thanks to the servant. As they removed to the drawing room, Richard said, mildly, “You act like you own this place.”
Darcy answered, “I do own the place, but only a few people know that. Please do not spread the news.”
Richard’s eyes widened, but he merely nodded.
All of Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s friends were already in the drawing room, along with Elizabeth and Jane.
Darcy strode to Elizabeth’s side and kissed her hand before greeting Jane.
The next moment, his other relations and Miss Garrett entered the room, and Darcy took on the task of making the introductions.
Noticing that Elizabeth seemed distracted, Darcy began to ask if there was anything wrong, but she visibly pulled herself together and warmly addressed the earl, countess, and viscount before greeting Richard and asking about his recovery.
She thanked Miss Garrett for all of her care and began a conversation with her, clearly wishing to get to know her.
Darcy listened to the two of them with split attention, because he noticed that both Reggie and Wessex were hovering around Jane.
Elizabeth and Miss Garrett began to speak about the war and nursing, lowering their voices a bit, likely because such topics are not typical of drawing-room chatter.
Darcy heard Wessex ask Jane, “How did the experiment turn out?”
Jane smiled at Reggie and said, “I have been attempting to improve a headache remedy.” She then turned to Wessex and answered, “Actually, I believe it was quite successful. Annie claimed her headache went away more quickly, but the biggest difference was that it tasted much better than the traditional elixir.”
Reggie asked, “You spend time in the still room?” He sounded more surprised than was, perhaps, entirely complimentary.
Jane nodded. “I adore simple-making according to our old family receipts, and trying to improve them. I also make scented waters and soaps.”
“How wonderful for your family.” Reggie attempted to turn on the Fitzwilliam charm, but Wessex capitalised on his longer acquaintance by asking after another still-room project.
Darcy shook his head over the oddity of two viscounts attempting to attract the notice of a lady who the untitled and new-money Bingley had recently abandoned, in the home that Bingley had recently leased.
Elizabeth stepped closer to Darcy, tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow. She whispered, “It looks like Jane is brewing up quite the mixture, there. She always was devoted to mixtures of every sort, from physics to perfumes.”
He whispered back, “I am just so glad that her heart has not been broken; it would take more than a homemade physic to mend a heart.”
“Bingley never deserved her. But do either of them?”
“I admire Wessex more than Reggie, but they are both upright men. I am not certain that either is looking for a wife, or what they require in a wife, but I hope I can promise that they would not excite expectations that they could not fulfil.”
“And we need to stay out of it,” Elizabeth suggested.
“You are correct, madam.” Darcy grinned and brought her hand to his mouth for yet another kiss.
Elizabeth’s eyes, as she regarded Jane, seemed a bit anxious, and Darcy remembered his earlier assumption that his beloved seemed to have something troubling on her mind.
“Is there anything the matter?” he whispered.
“How much time do we have before dinner?” she responded.
Darcy consulted the clock. “Almost a quarter hour.”
She said, “Come to the corner for some privacy.”
When they sat on adjacent chairs, he studied Elizabeth with disquiet. After all that had happened—all the unexpected hurdles erected by Richard, Mr Bennet, Miss Bingley, and then Bingley himself—he could not imagine what could go wrong the evening before their wedding!