Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Mr Bennet,
I do not know what you shared with your wife, but obviously, it was not enough to prevent her from sending my wife a letter accusing her of being selfish and forcing your family to live in penury.
This was precisely why we avoided being at Longbourn when you acquainted Mrs Bennet with the details of what you had done—to prevent your wife from disparaging mine.
You do realise this violates our agreement and I could call the loan, making it due immediately, do you not?
When you cannot pay, you would be thrown into debtors’ prison.
Is that what you want? What your wife wants?
Is she aware of the possible consequences of her actions?
If not, you should inform her immediately to ensure this does not happen again.
Need I remind you that you approached me with a request for funds to pay your gambling debts? That if I did not pay, these men would take one of your daughters as payment? Would they have stopped with one?
I will warn you once, Bennet: do not violate our agreement again. Unless Mrs Bennet can hold her tongue, she should not write any additional letters to Pemberley. I will not tolerate your wife abusing mine any further.
From there, his letter spoke of the governess for the younger girls and other practical matters regarding their agreements.
At Lady Matlock’s recommendation, one had already been hired and would arrive at Longbourn within a se’nnight.
Darcy had several people keeping an eye on Longbourn to ensure that the rest of their conditions were being met.
The steward was reporting to Darcy, as would the governess and Mrs Hill, about the actions of those who were still at Longbourn.
Bennet did not know it, but spies would soon infiltrate his home, reporting on his every move.
Georgiana arrived at Pemberley, and a fortnight later, Darcy and Elizabeth boarded a carriage for their trip to Darcy Cottage in the Lake District for their wedding trip.
After the bustle of the season and the trouble at Longbourn, the couple was looking forward to some time when they would not have to worry about anything but themselves.
The fortnight of their wedding trip was nearly perfect—they slept late, made love frequently, and explored the area around the cottage.
Two very calm and gentle riding horses had been sent with their personal servants to Darcy Cottage, and Darcy began teaching Elizabeth to ride.
She had never learned as a child and was a little afraid of the beasts at first, but he was patient with her, and she came to enjoy the activity very much.
He promised to continue working with her on her riding skills once they returned to Pemberley and to show her several places on the estate that could only be reached on horseback.
This idea and the way he said it made Elizabeth’s face flush, but she teased him back.
“And what will we do when we reach these far-flung locations,” she asked him as he lifted her from the saddle. In reply, he pulled her tightly into his embrace and kissed her deeply.
“Would you like a demonstration?” he growled.
She laughed merrily at him and darted away, silently encouraging him to chase her.
With his long legs, he quickly caught up with her and captured her.
Lifting her into his arms, he strode into the house, carrying her into the first room he came across, and proceeded to show her exactly what he intended to do.
Their time at Darcy Cottage passed quickly, and on the last day, they celebrated their fourth month of marriage with a picnic in a nearby grove and a boat ride across the lake.
Elizabeth and Darcy enjoyed this respite from their responsibilities and the season, as both of them found the constant activity wearing.
Elizabeth missed her early morning walks in the countryside and the freedom to explore as she did at Longbourn, and she so enjoyed this time at the Lakes with Darcy.
Darcy’s staff was tasked with caring for everything that might arise at Pemberley while they were away, and no emergencies requiring his immediate attention occurred.
They enjoyed a blissful fortnight of solitude and the pursuits they most desired.
When they returned to Pemberley nearly three weeks after they left it, they both almost glowed with their happiness, and it was clear they enjoyed their time away. A few of the footmen quietly placed bets on how soon the heir to Pemberley might be announced.
Waiting for the Darcys was a flurry of letters that arrived in their absence.
Many were notes accepting the invitation to the small house party they would be hosting during the first two weeks of September, but there were also several from Longbourn, London, and Matlock.
These were of far more interest than the acceptances, so the morning after they returned, Elizabeth and Darcy sat in his study and read through their correspondence.
“I did not see a letter from Papa in all of this,” Elizabeth said after looking through her pile. “Did he send one to you? I have one from Mama—I am almost afraid to read it after the letter you sent to Papa.”
Darcy looked through his stack. “There is one here from Todd and another from the new governess, Mrs Martin, but I do not see one from your father either,” Darcy frowned as he looked again through the letters in his pile.
“It has been a month since his last letter, and he was supposed to write at least every other week. Let us see what these other letters say.” Darcy opened these two first and began to read.
Elizabeth watched his face as he read and grew concerned at the anger she saw developing.
“Yet again, your father has failed to keep up his end of the contract,” Darcy told her after reading the first. “Todd reports he has not begun making the improvements we agreed upon, nor has he ridden out on the estate a single time. Not only that, but he received a crate of books from a London bookseller, and Todd had to help him open it a few days before he wrote this.”
Elizabeth sighed deeply. “What can we do if he refuses to do as he agreed? Do we wait for the quarter day to see if he makes the first payment, although if he is ordering books from London, he is unlikely to have the funds to do so? I am angry at Papa for putting us into the position of having to threaten him with prison if he fails to pay.”
“He does not believe we will act against him,” Darcy said quietly. “As much as I hate to make this comparison, it seems as though, like Wickham, he believes I will not act because of his connection to someone I love.”
“He is taking a ridiculous risk,” she replied heatedly. “If he can acquire that much debt in a few months, what is stopping him from doing it again and then demanding more money to pay off these future debts? How do we make him understand how serious all of this is?”
It was Darcy’s turn to sigh. “I do not know your father well enough, Elizabeth. Is there someone he listens to who could convince him of the seriousness of this situation?”
“I do not know,” Elizabeth admitted, scowling when she noticed her mother’s letter again. “Read the letter from the governess, and I will read Mama’s, and then we may decide how to act.”
It was quiet for several minutes while they read. When he was finished, Darcy looked up and observed that Elizabeth’ was clearly angry as she finished her mother’s letter.
“My mother is still complaining about ‘living in penury’ because we are forcing them to repay the debt,” Elizabeth said.
“As before, she either does not know or care that Papa gambled and Jane was threatened. She is angry that she has been ‘replaced’ by a governess. She asks what was so lacking in my education that my sisters need a governess. Given that she had little to do with my education, I cannot imagine what she means, but she has never been able to see any fault in her own behaviour, and even less so in Lydia’s.
She does not like Mrs Martin and calls her an ‘interloper’ several times.
I gather Papa has restricted her spending and stopped Kitty and Lydia from attending events, but Mama is aware of the books he ordered. ”
Elizabeth paused to think for a moment before she grinned wickedly.
“I know how to get his attention,” she said, sitting up and looking rather pleased with herself.
“My Uncle Phillips is an attorney in Meryton, and he and my father have never been the best of friends. Papa has violated our agreement several times now, most especially by purchasing a crate of books from London. If you sent my uncle a copy of the agreement, could he not confiscate some of his books as a penalty? Did we not have the option to assess a penalty for failing to comply with the terms?”
Darcy was rather surprised to see Elizabeth grin, but as she spoke, he smiled in response. “That is an excellent idea, Elizabeth. His new books can be paid as a forfeit for his failure to comply with the conditions in our agreement. Will Phillips do as you have suggested?”