Chapter 13 #2
With much accomplished, the ladies departed, and William and Elizabeth retired to their rooms for supper in their private sitting room and a shared bath.
They arose late the following morning, and Elizabeth met with the housekeeper to begin learning about the running of the house and to arrange the menus, especially for their dinner party the following night.
William retreated to his study to handle the correspondence he received during the past two weeks.
When Elizabeth finished meeting with the housekeeper, she joined William in his study, using the opposite side of his desk to write notes accepting or declining the invitations she reviewed with Lady Matlock and record their commitments on her calendar.
This was accomplished despite quite a bit of distraction, resulting in the tasks being stopped and started several times.
Jane and Mrs Gardiner arrived for tea and were escorted into the drawing room. William greeted them, then retreated to his study to continue the work he had been distracted from while his wife was sharing the room.
“How is married life, Elizabeth?” Mrs Gardiner asked.
Elizabeth blushed but grinned happily. “I have enjoyed it very much, Aunt,” she murmured. Jane also coloured slightly at both the question and the response, although she was unsure why.
The conversation was varied, and they shared news from Meryton and laughed at the gossip reported around town about the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy.
“Has anyone heard from Papa?” Elizabeth asked her aunt and sister at one point in the conversation.
“I have written to him several times, both before and since my wedding, but have not received a reply to any of my letters. William has also written to him at least once and has not received a response. We still do not know why he urged us to marry in London and not return home.” Her voice was indicative of her frustration.
“He has always been an indifferent correspondent, but I wish he would explain his reasoning.”
“No, but Mama wrote to congratulate herself on your marriage and … um, asked if you were noticeably increasing yet. I think she believes you and Mr Darcy began a relationship when we stayed at Netherfield, and you will have a babe in the next few months. She complains Papa has told her not to speak of the supposed babe to anyone and is livid that the officers have been banished from Longbourn even though more stories have circulated about unpaid debts and girls who have been ruined. The militia is now banned from nearly every respectable home in town,” Jane explained.
“She says the shops are refusing her credit, which she supposes is due to the militia’s excessive debts, and has been forced to restrain her spending since the next quarter day is far away, and Papa does not have much ready coin remaining.
She says he is staying in his office even more than usual, and some strange men have been lingering about Longbourn, so the girls have been essentially restricted to the house and are no longer allowed to walk to Meryton. ”
Elizabeth grimaced. “She wrote me a similar letter. I have explained the story of our courtship and, of course, denied I am with child. However, I doubt anything I say will convince Mama otherwise, as she does not understand how such an ‘unladylike hoyden’ as I could ‘capture’ such a rich man. I do not know what I am supposed to do about her credit in town, though, and it will not hurt her to spend in ready coin rather than charging everything she wants to the estate.”
The conversation paused for a few minutes as they considered these things before turning to the ball Lady Matlock would host the following Friday. “Lizzy, do you have a gown for the ball?” Jane asked.
“William accompanied me to the modiste a few days ago and helped me select a beautiful gown of emerald green silk with an ivory gauze overskirt. The cut is a little daring, but the modiste was certain it would be perfect for my colouring and figure,” Elizabeth nearly gushed.
“I return on Wednesday for a final fitting if either of you would like to accompany me.”
Jane and Mrs Gardiner wished to accompany Elizabeth, and they made plans for shopping and tea at Darcy House.
The conversation drifted for a pleasant hour, and William rejoined them for a short visit and refreshments.
As she and Jane took their leave, Mrs Gardiner invited William and Elizabeth to dinner one day the following week.
“We would be pleased to join you,” William said. “Elizabeth, what do you think about joining them for dinner on Monday?”
“That sounds perfect, dearest,” she replied. “Aunt, would that be convenient?”
Mrs Gardiner nodded, and Elizabeth continued.
“If you are available, we will host you for dinner on Thursday and perhaps the theatre. William, do you know if there is a performance that night? Would there be a problem with us attending the theatre before our official ‘entrance’ to society at the ball on Friday?”
“We will speak with Aunt Helen tomorrow night, my love, to be certain it will not interfere with any of her plans,” William replied.
“We may still have dinner, even if we do not go to the theatre. Unfortunately, our social calendar will be much fuller after the ball, although Elizabeth has kindly ensured we will not have events every night.”
Elizabeth grinned at him. “Yes, I have attempted to spare my husband by limiting our appearances to only two or three per week. We will attend the theatre on other nights and visit the museum during the day, but we will limit our social engagements to suit my reticent husband.” She winked at him as she pronounced him such, and he smiled softly.
“You did not want to rush from one event to the next either, my dear,” he reminded her. “As I recall, you were also perfectly content with limiting our engagements. I know you look forward to returning to Pemberley nearly as much as I do.”
“Except for the ‘returning’ bit—I cannot ‘return’ somewhere I have never visited,” she grinned at him as she replied impertinently before her smile softened.
“I do look forward to visiting our home, my dear, and am anxious to take my first look at Pemberley as I have heard such lovely things about it.”
He returned her smile and held her gaze lovingly. Mrs Gardiner cleared her throat to remind them of their presence.
“We will see you both tomorrow night for dinner with the Matlocks,” she said.
“We are looking forward to it and the ball next week. We would love to attend the theatre, but I agree you must speak with Lady Matlock first to ensure she does not object since the purpose of the ball is to introduce you to the ton, Elizabeth.”