Chapter 20 #3
Elizabeth glared back at him. “I think it is best I leave now before I say something I will truly regret. I will not cut off contact with my family, despite any edicts you attempt to make saying otherwise.” With that, Elizabeth stomped from the room, leaving the door open behind her and Darcy with a dumbstruck look on his face. ”
Unwilling to speak to anyone about this conflict—Jane would likely make excuses for all involved, and Lady Matlock would no doubt side with her nephew—Elizabeth escaped to the park to walk off her anger.
Darcy remained in his study until Richard wandered in a short time later. “What is wrong, cousin? You and your lovely wife have an argument?”
“We did,” Darcy answered, his expression still blank. He was still replaying the argument with his wife and trying to figure out what went wrong.
Richard laughed. “What did you fight about?” he asked.
“Her family,” he replied. Richard was aware of those problems within the Bennet family and how Darcy had rescued them.
“Let me guess, you made some ill-advised comment about her family, and she blew up at you,” Richard guessed.
“Yes, I mean, I think so,” Darcy said.
“And, in your infinite wisdom, you decided what would happen instead of talking it out with your bride?” Richard guessed again.
“Yes,” Darcy groaned. “I am an idiot, Richard. I have sat here trying to figure out exactly what happened, and it is that simple. Had anyone spoken to me about my family in the way I spoke about hers, I would have been upset as well. And I think I insulted her without even meaning to.”
“Of course you did, Darcy,” Richard chuckled. “Elizabeth has been very good for you, but you have always been convinced of your own superiority. You and Elizabeth have agreed on most things, and I would hazard a guess this is the first time you have disagreed about something.”
“We have disagreed before, but this is the first time I have attempted to insist on my way,” he admitted. “I reminded her of her promise to obey.”
Richard laughed outright at that. “You are a bigger idiot than I thought, cousin.”
Darcy hung his head. “How do I make it up to her?”
“Jewellery?” Richard suggested.
“Elizabeth would not be impressed with jewellery. I need to find her first; have you seen her?” Darcy asked.
“I thought I saw her walking outside,” Richard replied. “She looked angry, which is why I assumed you had done or said something stupid.”
“Thanks a lot, cousin,” Darcy drawled as he made his way towards the study door.
“I know it was only a matter of time,” he replied to Darcy’s back
It took Darcy quite a while to find his wife, and he had to ask several servants if they had seen her. After a futile search of the park, he returned inside and found his wife in the sitting room that connected their chambers.
By this time, Elizabeth’s anger cooled somewhat, leaving her feeling defeated and upset. She was dressed in a nightgown, and there was evidence of tears on her face.
Darcy slowly approached and knelt in front of her.
“I am so sorry, my love,” he began softly.
“I did not mean what I said about you or about your family. I do not think your sisters are beyond redemption, nor do I truly believe we should throw your father in Marshaelsea or cut your family off. I was a fool to think that I knew best or to think I could handle this without speaking to you.”
Elizabeth looked down at where he knelt in front of her. He had reached out to take her hands, but drew them back, uncertain of his reception, so she moved her hand towards his. Immediately, he took her hand in his.
“I am sorry as well, William. I hate that my family brought all this mess to your door. I did not know my father had done all of this or that he allowed you to marry me only because he believed you would pay his debts. I am so sorry.” She began to sob and collapsed into his chest.
He held her gently as she cried. “We will go to Longbourn and speak to your parents—both of them this time—and make them see reason. Lydia will go to school; my aunt found one this summer we thought would be appropriate for her, but your father did not allow her to go at that time. This time, we will simply not offer him a choice. I will write to the merchants in Meryton to inform them I will not pay for any fripperies or anything else Mrs Bennet insists she needs.” He paused before he continued more seriously: “But Elizabeth, I hope you agree this must be the final straw. We cannot continue to threaten and not follow through, or he will never take us seriously. If he believes we will bail him out anytime he gets into trouble, nothing will change.”
Elizabeth agreed. “I never wanted anything else, William. I just wanted you to talk to me about it and not make a decision on your own. I do not want to throw my father into prison for his debts, but he must understand we can and will.”
She continued to cry in his arms until she fell asleep. Darcy held her in his arms for a time, but as his arms began to ache, slowly moved her to where she was asleep on the couch.
When Elizabeth woke sometime later, she was at first confused about how she ended up on the settee in their sitting room. As soon as she stirred, however, her husband was by her side, and the memory of their conversation flooded back. Instantly, she was in tears again.
“Love, all is well,” he soothed her. “We will journey to Longbourn to arrange for Lydia to be settled somewhere—I believe it will be best if she attends a school away from London for a time. We will discuss the recommendations we received with my aunt; she will know where to send Lydia.”
“This is yet another expense you will have to pay because of my family. I hate that my father’s indolence has created yet another problem for you to solve.
It is not fair to you,” Elizabeth stated.
“Not only are you housing two of my sisters and paying for a governess for the other two, but now you will have to bear the expense of school for Lydia.”
“It is no hardship for us, my dear,” Darcy replied.
“But with yet another daughter away from his house, your father can afford to pay the expenses of sending Lydia to school himself. We can alter the agreement based on his failure to do as he agreed and require him to pay more each quarter to cover the difference.”
“As much as I do not relish making a trip to Longbourn, I believe confronting both of my parents will be necessary. I will inform Mama I will not be opening any more letters from her until she apologises and we can speak to Papa about Mama’s behaviour.
This incident with Lydia, while relatively minor, could create a far worse situation if her behaviour is not remedied,” Elizabeth ranted.
“This time, she only stepped out onto the balcony with one of the Lucas boys. He is barely older than Lydia. Sir William saw them and dragged them back inside before anything could happen,” Elizabeth sighed.
“Sir William did not want to force a marriage between them—they are both far too young and immature for marriage. It was apparently Lydia’s idea—she told Mama all she intended was a kiss, but there is no way of knowing if Lydia was telling the truth.
And there is no telling what she will do next time.
Lady Lucas visited Longbourn the next day and informed Mama of the event.
She will not gossip—she has a vested interest in protecting her son’s reputation and will have to protect Lydia’s to protect his.
She does not want Lydia and her younger son married any more than Mama wants Lydia married to a Lucas. ”
Darcy rolled his eyes. “The ladies do not get on?”
Elizabeth laughed. “No, they do not. They are engaged in some sort of competition to see who can best the other. When Mr Collins proposed to Charlotte, it made my rejection of him so much worse, and I thought Mama would never forgive me. I am certain she crowed loudly when she learned of my wedding to you, although I wonder how she explained my marrying in London.”
Moving next to his wife, Darcy wrapped Elizabeth in his arms. They spoke more about the situation before they moved back to his desk to reply to their letters.
Darcy wrote letters to Longbourn’s steward and the governess about his resolve regarding Mrs Bennet and Lydia and then wrote terse missives to both Mr and Mrs Bennet regarding their behaviour.
He tasked Mr Todd with informing the milliner and dressmaker that he did not have accounts at their establishments and would not pay any charges for the Bennet family.
In his separate letters to Mr and Mrs Bennet, Darcy informed them he would not pay for any unnecessary expenditures and would withdraw all support from Longbourn if the matron did not cease her abuse of his wife.
Elizabeth wrote a letter to her father, informing him she knew of yet another failure to correct his family. It read, in part:
Lydia must be sent to school, and if you will not allow it, my husband will call your debt.
You no longer have a choice in this matter, sir, as you have failed in your duty yet again.
Your refusal to restrain your wife and child has nearly led her to ruin herself and all my sisters.
Perhaps Jane and Mary are far enough removed that their reputations could be salvaged, but Kitty would be affected, as would the Bennet name.
You can no longer bury your head in the sand.
My husband and I will make arrangements for Lydia to attend a school for recalcitrant young ladies. We will arrive after the harvest.
This letter was included with Darcy’s letter outlining the changes to their agreement given Mr Bennet’s failure to comply so far.
An express rider was arranged to deliver the large packet of letters to Longbourn.
Nearly every person living at Longbourn would receive a letter, and Elizabeth could only be thankful she and her husband would not be there when the letters were received.
Without a doubt, it would be bad enough when they did finally arrive, but at least they would not have to deal with the initial outcry.
Their duties done for the moment, the Darcys left the sanctuary of their study and rejoined their guests. The house party continued for several more days, and while they enjoyed their company, Elizabeth and Darcy were quite relieved when the door closed behind the final guest.