Chapter Thirty-Five
A s Mr. Darcy’s carriage pulled away from Longbourn, Elizabeth twisted around and watched out the window until the house was out of sight.
“Are you sad, my love?” Mr. Darcy asked, gently.
“Sad to be leaving my family, yes; sad that we are married, no.” Eager to reassure him, Elizabeth put a hand on his arm and looked into his eyes.
“You will see them again,” he said, and then, unable to wait any longer, he pulled her close and kissed her. She promptly forgot her family and returned his kiss.
Some half an hour later, she pushed him gently away, gasping for breath. “William! We must stop, surely!”
Mrs. Bennet had given Elizabeth “The Talk” prior to the marriage. Happily, Jane had added to Elizabeth’s understanding from her own experience, as a result of which Elizabeth was not dreading the event. That said, she sincerely hoped William did not intend to consummate their union in the carriage.
“Why must we stop?” he asked, smiling as he pulled her close again.
“Because – because – the carriage is not the right place for – oh, please, not in the carriage!”
He immediately understood her concern. “Oh, Elizabeth, believe me when I say that I have no intention in all the world of making you my true wife in a carriage. Nor, for that matter, at an inn. You may rest easy, as I have reserved two rooms in every inn on our way north.”
“Thank you, William,” she breathed. “How kind you are!”
“Kind? Elizabeth, I want you to have wonderful memories of our first time together. The inns we will occupy are fine establishments, but they are not suitable locations for such an important occasion.”
“We will be four days on the road, is that right?”
“Yes; we could make it in three, but I thought it best that we take our time. I have planned for us to stop several times during the day for meals and just to stretch out our legs, but you must let me know if at any time you need a rest from traveling.”
“It seems odd that just sitting in a carriage is tiring.”
“It does seem odd, but it is nonetheless true. This is your first time going so far north, is it not?”
“Yes; my father does not like to travel, so I have only been to Town and to Kent.” Her lips tightened as she recalled the circumstances that led to her being exiled from Charlotte’s home.
Mr. Darcy saw the expression on his wife’s face and correctly understood the origin of that expression. “I am sorry that you are now estranged from your good friend, Mrs. Collins.”
“Oh, no, we are not estranged at all; I think our friendship as sound as ever it was before, but of course I could not invite her to the wedding, as your Aunt Catherine would have demanded to know where she was going and why.”
“Does Mrs. Collins even know of your marriage?”
“She does, as Lady Lucas wrote to her about it immediately.”
“She did not tell her husband about it, I trust?”
“No, she did not. Hold on, I have her letter here, as I only recently received it and have not yet replied to her.” Elizabeth rummaged in her reticule and produced a folded quarto sheet, which she handed to him.
“You wish me to read her letter?” he asked in some surprise.
“There is nothing in it unfit for your eyes,” she assured him.
He opened it and read:
Dear Eliza,
My mother writes that Mr. Darcy has succumbed to your manifold charms, which of course cannot surprise anyone who has seen the two of you together. I will ease your mind by telling you that our post is brought directly to me, so Mr. Collins has not seen her announcement, and I will take great care to intercept any letters that come from Meryton before the twenty-fifth of May! We can all imagine Lady Catherine descending upon Meryton with her daughter in tow, and I will spare you that experience if it lies at all within my power.
How I wish I could see you wed! But of course that is not possible. You must write to me, Eliza, to tell me how you are faring among such people as the Darcys. I understand from Lady Catherine that his family is very high indeed, and I know you have limited patience for affectation and posturing.
I must take this opportunity to tell you again how deeply the circumstances of your visit here weigh upon my heart. I wish very much that it might have gone differently, but I know not how that might have happened. If Mr. Darcy had not come, then you would not now be married, so I can hardly wish for that. If Lady Catherine had been more reasonable – well, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride, as the proverb says.
I miss you, Eliza. Perhaps one day we might both happen to visit Meryton at the same time. Let us try to arrange it, shall we?
Your devoted friend,
Charlotte Collins
“She is a kind lady and a good friend,” Mr. Darcy commented, giving the letter back to Elizabeth.
“She is, indeed. But, William, I must change the subject. How am I to get on with your mother? She hated me on sight.”
He replied, “Elizabeth, I will not pretend that it will be easy. She has been a good mistress of Pemberley for decades, though her strength has waned of late. We have not entertained at Pemberley since my father died three years ago.”
“Will she not resent me, despite her waning strength?”
As Mr. Darcy considered his mother, a vision of her conspiring with Aunt Catherine rose before his mind’s eye. He was not feeling kindly towards her just now. He said, “I have given the matter a good deal of thought, and I think that you must begin as you mean to go on; you are now the mistress of Pemberley and must take on your new role with your customary energy. Do not let my mother stand in your way or impose her will upon you.”
“But –“
And now he claimed her lips again, driving all thoughts of Lady Anne from both their minds.
***
Lady Anne pulled the letter from her pocket and read it for the twentieth time. Each time she read it, her anger grew, but that did not stop her; indeed, now she could no more stop reading it than she could stop breathing.
Dear Mother,
By the time you read this, I will be wed to Miss Elizabeth Bennet. I did not extend an invitation to the wedding to you or Georgiana because you have made your disapproval of Miss Bennet quite clear, and I did not wish her distressed on such an important day. We are on our way to Pemberley, as I have been gone from the estate too long.
Mother, she is a kind and gentle soul, and I believe the two of you could become dear to one another, if you would only allow it. In any case, she is to be the mistress of Pemberley, and I must insist that you treat her with the respect her position deserves. She will occupy the mistress’ rooms upon our arrival; please select another room for yourself.
I will send a messenger when I am close to home; I ask that you have the servants standing on the steps of the house to welcome her, as is traditionally done when the new mistress arrives.
Her loving son,
Fitzwilliam
Her loving son! How could he sign himself so, knowing that he was going against her express wishes! Truly, it was beyond all understanding.
“Mother?” a soft voice interrupted her ruminations.
She quickly tucked the letter back into her pocket and turned with a smile pinned to her face. “Yes, Georgiana?”
“Are you quite well, Mother?”
“I am, of course.”
“It is only that you have seemed upset since…well, since you returned from Aunt Catherine’s.”
Should she confide in her daughter? Georgiana was fifteen, though she seemed younger. Lady Anne recalled herself at that age; surely, she had not been so shy and retiring as her daughter. Then again, she had had the advantage of having taken part in London’s social scene since she could walk.
“I wish you would tell me what is wrong, Mother,” the girl continued, her voice gentle.
“Georgiana, there is indeed something distressing me, but I do not wish to make you unhappy.”
“If you are unhappy, why, then, I am unhappy as well! You may as well tell me what it is.”
Lady Anne took a deep breath. “Your brother has made a very unfortunate marriage.”
“But – he was on his way to marry Cousin Anne. Is that not why he journeyed to Kent? I do not understand.”
“Yes, but he changed his mind about Anne upon meeting another young lady at Rosings.”
“There was another young lady at Rosings?”
“Yes. Well, no, not at Rosings, but at the parsonage. Your Aunt Catherine made the mistake of inviting the parson, his wife and their visitors to dinner, and that put paid to any chance poor Anne had.”
“You went to Rosings, Mother; did you meet the young lady?”
“I did, and a very conniving young thing she turned out to be!”
“Conniving? I do not understand.”
“Why, she – she threw herself at your brother in a most unseemly way!”
“She led him to compromise her!” Georgiana gasped in horror.
Lady Anne had the grace to colour at this, recalling her own part in helping Anne de Bourgh attempt just such a thing, but she shook her head. “No, but she paid him a good deal of attention, until his head was quite turned.”
“I suppose she must be very pretty?”
“No, not very. Not at all, honestly.”
“But he has married her! This is shocking indeed, Mother, and I understand now why you are so distressed. Will he bring her here?”
“Yes, and – oh, Georgiana! She will take my place!”
“Your place? Whatever can you mean? You are my mother and William’s; no one could ever take your place.”
Why did no one understand! Lady Anne fought the urge to scream at the top of her lungs. “Not my place as your mother, Georgiana, my place as mistress of Pemberley.”
Georgiana was silent, her mouth a perfect “o” of consternation. She was silent for a long minute before venturing, “But that was always going to happen, Mother, was it not? Even had William married Cousin Anne, she would then have been mistress.” Georgiana thought that Cousin Anne would have been a very poor mistress of Pemberley; perhaps that was why William had looked elsewhere for a bride.
Lady Anne continued, “They are on their way here even now, Georgiana.”
“Do you need help to move your things, Mother?”
“My things?”
“Well, William has never yet moved into the master’s quarters because you were still in the mistress’ rooms. Surely, now he will want your room to go to his bride. I would be happy to help you decide which room to move into and what furnishings to take. Oh, that would be such fun!” And Georgiana clapped her hands together in excitement.
“I have no intention of moving into a different room, Georgiana,” her mother said, in her sternest Mistress-of-Pemberley voice.
“But –“
But Lady Anne Darcy had already sailed from the room, head high.