Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
In the middle of December, Mary, Kitty, and Georgiana travelled to Pemberley with Colonel Fitzwilliam, which was much appreciated by Kitty, who confessed to Georgiana that she had a crush on the officer.
Georgiana was surprised, given that the Colonel treated Georgiana as a much younger sister but understood the appeal of a much older man.
One evening, Kitty overheard a conversation at the inn as she prepared for bed. The walls in this in were thin, and Georgiana’s room was directly next to Kitty’s; she knew she should not listen but could not make herself move away.
“Richard,” Georgiana had begun. “What do you think is an acceptable age to marry? I ask because you and my brother intended for me to come out in a year or two, at seventeen or eighteen. You are nearly thirty and are not yet wed, and my brother married this year, just before his twenty-eighth birthday. Is it typical for the man to be much older than the woman?”
Her cousin laughed. “Georgie, there is no particular age one should marry. Darcy married at twenty-seven because he found the right woman, and she was twenty at the time. I do not know when you will meet the right man, but you still have a few years to mature and learn before you even consider it.”
“But what about you?” Georgiana asked. “When do you mean to marry?”
“Never, Georgie,” he replied. “I am a second son and need to marry with the lady’s fortune in mind if I ever marry. As yet, I have not met a woman who tempts me to give up my soldiering.”
“But if you met a lady who was interesting enough, would you sell your commission and settle down?” she persisted.
Fitzwilliam looked at his cousin for a moment. “Do you have a lady in mind?” he enquired.
“Miss Kitty is a sweet girl; I like her very much,” she answered.
The Colonel laughed. “No, dear cousin, Miss Kitty would never be the girl for me. Beyond her obvious lack of fortune, she is barely older than you and still belongs in the school room. While she might be ‘a sweet girl’, I would infinitely prefer a woman already grown were I to ever settle down.”
Kitty could barely contain her gasp at his characterisation of her. When Georgiana returned to their shared room later that night, Kitty was already in bed pretending to be asleep. Neither mentioned this conversation, as Georgiana did not want to hurt her friend, and Kitty was too heartbroken.
The group arrived at Pemberley with mixed emotions. Kitty was relieved to be out of the company of Colonel Fitzwilliam and pleased to be with Lizzy, who was the best at comforting the sisters. Not long after their arrival, Kitty begged Lizzy for a private conference and poured out her heartbreak.
“Oh, Lizzy,” she cried when they settled in her bedchamber.
“What is wrong, Kitty?” Elizabeth asked, concern evident on her face and in her voice.
Kitty spent several minutes in tears before she finally spoke. “He thinks I am a child,” she finally said.
Elizabeth was less concerned but now confused. “Who does?”
“Colonel Fitzwilliam!” Kitty whined.
Her sympathy evaporated and was replaced by annoyance at her sister’s dramatics. “The Colonel is nearly twice your age, Kitty. You are nearly the same age as his ward.”
“He said I belonged in the school room,” she whimpered.
“And that is precisely why you have a companion now. Although she sometimes acts as a governess for you, she was hired to provide you with the education you lack. Yes, you are seventeen now and were out in Meryton despite your immaturity, but you are in no way ready for marriage,” Elizabeth informed her.
“You are only slightly older than Georgiana, and she will wait another year before coming out. Part of that is due to my confinement occurring at the time she might have been presented, but she and her brother decided she needed another year before she would be ready. You will turn eighteen early next year but still have much to learn. Mrs Gardiner will help prepare you.”
Kitty sighed dramatically. “But I do not want to be an old maid and settle for someone like Charlotte did with Mr Collins or like Jane is doing with Mr Hastings, who, as a barrister, is a gentleman but will never be wealthy. Mama always complained that none of us married as early as she did—she was only seventeen when she married Papa,” Kitty whined.
“She does not like Mr Hastings and keeps saying Jane could have done so much better.”
“Yes, and look at how well our parents’ marriage turned out,” Elizabeth retorted.
Sighing, she took a deep breath before she continued.
“Part of Mama’s complaints were because Papa did not prepare for the support of his wife or children after his passing when Longbourn passes to Mr Collins.
She did not know what he would be like or if he would evict her from Longbourn immediately after Papa’s passing.
Her marriage portion is not sufficient to care for her and her daughters without significant changes to her lifestyle.
Instead of alleviating Mama’s concern, Papa mocked and ignored her, hiding in his book room and allowing the estate to flounder.
The lack of available men in Meryton made Mama worse, and Papa’s refusal to go to London did not help matters.
“Charlotte married Mr Collins because she felt she would never have another opportunity to marry and would become a burden to her family. Jane has likewise suffered from a lack of eligible men in the neighbourhood, but Papa’s failure to provide dowries for us has made it more difficult to find the matches Mama desired.
I was extraordinarily blessed to fall in love with a man who would not suffer from my lack of a dowry, although it has made my reception amongst his set more difficult.
Nonetheless, he loved me despite my lack of fortune or connections, but he will tell you it was more difficult for him to accept his feelings for me than if I had fortune or connections.
“Jane is not ‘settling’ for Mr Hastings. She was courted while at the Gardiners a few times when she was much younger and has met other men, including friends of my husband’s, but she did not feel for them what she wanted to feel for her husband.
With some men, her lack of fortune hurt her chances.
She does feel, or is beginning to feel, for Mr Hastings the love a wife feels for her husband and wants to see what comes of it.
You will likely not make a good match if you rush into marriage with the first man who offers for you.
Allow yourself time to mature and learn from the excellent examples you have: Mrs Martin and Mrs Annesley here and Aunt Gardiner in London.
Wait until you find someone who loves you as much as William and I love each other.
Watch our aunt and uncle while you are in London to see what a solid relationship looks like, or even watch Jane and Mr Hastings—I doubt he will wait much longer to offer for her. ”
Kitty listened intently to her sister and was quiet for several minutes when she finished. “So, I should not be bothered by the Colonel saying I am too young for him because I am too young,” she said finally.
Nodding, Elizabeth looked over her sister carefully before pulling her into a hug.
“You may have a crush on the Colonel, Kitty, and he is a good man, but I doubt he is the man for you, certainly not right now. Just wait a little longer and do not be in such a hurry. Your situation has changed with my marriage to William, and you do not need to be anxious to wed.”
In anticipation of the Matlock’s afternoon arrival, the entire party set out in the morning, travelling through the snow by sleigh with wagons accompanying them to collect greenery to decorate the house.
Darcy nearly caused an argument when he asked Elizabeth to remain safely indoors, but he wisely withdrew his request, and she offered to stay near the sleigh and not traipse through the woods—too much.
Once they arrived in the woods, Darcy kept her company as the rest of the party went in search of the greenery.
“Go on, Will,” she told him at one point. “You are so tall; they need your help gathering the mistletoe for our kissing boughs.”
He eyed her warily. “Kissing boughs, as in more than one?” he asked.
She grinned at him. “Pemberley is such a large house; surely you agree we need several—one near your study, of course, and another in the library. Of course, we will need one near our sitting room and another near the dining room. Perhaps a few in the hallways,” she teased him.
He bent near enough to kiss her. “I do not need the excuse of a kissing bough to kiss my wife, Elizabeth,” he growled. Having said that, he moved the half-inch required to capture her lips until his cousin approached and nudged the couple apart.
“Enough of that, Darcy,” Fitzwilliam complained.
Darcy smirked and went to assist those among the trees.
When he returned to Elizabeth, he grinned broadly as he tucked a sprig of mistletoe in her hair and another in the buttonhole of his coat.
By the time the Matlocks arrived that afternoon, the house was decorated with copious amounts of greenery and kissing boughs in multiple locations.
Fitzwilliam, along with the three girls and two companions, greeted his parents and his cousin Anne on behalf of his hosts, who were resting due to Elizabeth’s condition. If anyone noticed Fitzwilliam paying considerable attention to Mrs Martin, the younger of the two companions, no one commented.