Chapter 18
Matthew was back in London, and he longed to see Jane.
He wished to tell her that her father had given his consent and that her mother would soon come to London to help her prepare her trousseau.
The wedding would take place at Longbourn in less than a month, and he would have to exercise all his patience to tolerate, as best he could, the insufferable parents of the woman he loved.
There was, however, another matter that required his attention. He needed to speak with Mr Gardiner and deliver the letters Mr Bennet had entrusted to him.
At last, seated beside Jane in the parlour, he said, "Everything is settled, my dear Jane. Before long, you will be Mrs Andrews de la Garza. I cannot wait for that day to come."
Matthew gently kissed Jane's hand, and she smiled at him with all the tenderness of a woman deeply in love.
"Yesterday, I wrote to Lizzy to tell her of our engagement. I know she will be delighted. She has always believed that you would make me a good husband."
"I am very fond of your sister Lizzy as well. I especially remember the day we went flying kites and how determined she was to give us every opportunity to spend time together, even if it meant enduring that pompous Darcy," Matthew added with a laugh.
"Do not say that. Mr Darcy is a reserved gentleman, but I am convinced that there is a good man beneath that air of coldness. He moves in the highest circles of society. People of his rank are often obliged to behave in that manner."
Matthew hesitated for a moment, yet he could not resist asking, "What would you think if you were obliged to become part of such a family?"
Jane looked at him in surprise.
"How do you mean?"
"I do not know... Suppose you were to marry a gentleman of the nobility, one whose family cared only for rank and outward appearances."
Matthew regretted the question the moment it left his lips.
Jane could not help laughing.
"What are you saying, my dear Matthew? That can never happen. I am engaged to the handsomest and most intelligent solicitor and business consultant in the whole world, and I would not exchange him for anyone—not even for a marquess."
Matthew smiled at his betrothed's remark. It was not, however, a natural smile, but a forced one. Jane had come dangerously close to the truth, and the dreadful fear seized him that she somehow knew his secret and was playfully testing him.
"Do not worry, my love. I shall always be the solicitor and businessman with whom you fell in love. As for my being handsome, I thank you for the compliment, but beside yours, my love, every other face appears plain."
Jane and Matthew continued talking for almost an hour with Mrs Gardiner, John, and Laura about the forthcoming wedding and several other matters.
Mr Gardiner returned home an hour before dinner and, after changing his clothes, retired to his study with Matthew, who had asked for a few minutes to speak with him.
"Mr Gardiner, Mr Bennet asked me to give you this letter, and this one is for Lady Campbell. I shall be very busy over the next few days. Do you expect to see her soon? If so, would you be so kind as to deliver it on my behalf?"
"Certainly. As a matter of fact, I intend to call upon her tomorrow, for I have an important matter to discuss with her."
The month he had granted Mr Bennet had come to an end, and he intended to speak with Eleanor to discover whether Thomas had contacted her. Indeed, he was almost certain that those letters had something to do with the matter.
After Matthew left the study to spend some more time with Jane, Mr Gardiner immediately opened the letter Mr Bennet had sent him.
He was obliged to read it twice before he could believe what it contained.
Without a doubt, Thomas surpassed himself each day in the arts of idleness and thoughtlessness.
The letter informed him, most matter-of-factly, that he had sent Eleanor a letter by way of Mr Andrews revealing the whole truth about Elizabeth.
After dinner, and following some further conversation with Jane, Matthew left the Gardiners' house in excellent spirits. What he did not know was that two men had been following him ever since he had arrived in London.
"Pablo, tenemos que descubrir qué ocurre en esa casa lo antes posible e informar a nuestra senora," Bernardo said, pleased that he would soon have important information to report to his mistress.
**Pablo, we need to find out what is happening in that house as soon as possible and inform our lady.
Before retiring for the night, Mr Gardiner told his wife about the contents of the letter.
"I am sorry for Thomas, but he had every opportunity to tell his sister the truth with dignity. I am not going to allow Ella to learn about her daughter in such a manner."
"You are quite right, my dear. A truth of such consequence should never be conveyed in a letter. Do what you believe is right. I know she will be grateful for it," Mrs Gardiner said, gently stroking her husband's hand.
◆◆◆
Marcus could not stop kissing the love of his life. He could not remember when he had last been so happy. Eleanor was sitting on his lap, and as she returned his kisses, she gently caressed his face.
"My dear Marcus, you have not changed at all. Indeed, I must tell you that I think you even more handsome than you were in your youth. Ever since I saw you at Lady Westcliff's ball, wearing that general's uniform, I have been unable to stop thinking of you."
As Eleanor spoke, smiling and radiant with happiness, she played gently with Marcus's curls. Though a few strands had turned grey, his hair was still chiefly dark brown.
Marcus rested his head against Eleanor's breast, surrendering himself entirely to his happiness.
"My love, stay with me tonight. I cannot bear to let you go. Tomorrow seems an eternity away. I long to hold you in my arms and love you, so that you may know how completely I adore you."
Eleanor rose abruptly, and Marcus immediately feared that he had offended her by allowing his feelings to carry him too far. He was about to apologise when Eleanor spoke first.
"Marcus, before we are married, there is something I must tell you. I do not wish to deceive you. If, after you have seen what I am about to show you, you feel that you can no longer love me, I shall understand."
Unable to restrain her tears, Eleanor drew her stockings down to her ankles and lifted her gown to her thighs, revealing the scars that had marked her legs for more than twenty years.
Never had she felt so vulnerable. She could not bring herself to look at Marcus.
Closing her eyes, she felt the tears slowly running down her cheeks.
For a moment, Marcus did not understand what she was doing. Then he saw the scars. They were deep and old, and the large scar upon her right leg left no doubt that she had once suffered a terrible accident.
"What happened to you, my love?" Marcus asked softly as he approached her, gently brushing the tears from her cheeks.
Eleanor lowered her gown once more before answering.
"I fell into a ditch. It was the accident that caused the premature birth of our little girl."
Then, in a trembling voice, she asked, "Do you think you can still love me now that you know my greatest secret? I never allow anyone to see my legs, not even my maid, but I needed you to know. I could not bear the thought of your rejecting me after we were married."
Marcus looked at her with astonishment.
"How can you ask me such a question? Do you truly believe my love for you is so shallow?
Do you imagine that a few scars upon your legs could erase all these years of love?
Ella, you cannot know what my life has been without you, nor could you ever imagine it.
Please believe me. I love you, and nothing could ever make me leave your side unless you yourself wished it.
Besides, I bear many scars of my own. If I were to show them to you, do you think they could ever make you cease to love me? "
"Of course not," Eleanor replied promptly.
"Then why should you imagine that I could cease to love you because of something like that?
" Marcus reflected for a moment before adding quietly, "It was he, was it not?
Daniel Campbell made you feel so insecure.
I know it is wrong to speak ill of the dead, but if he treated you poorly, I do not think I could ever refrain from cursing his memory. "
"No. Daniel was an honourable and irreproachable man. It was through his devoted care that I recovered. Please do not speak of him in that manner again. Daniel always loved me and cared for me, and we remained the closest of friends and companions until the day he died."
Marcus could not help feeling wounded. His Eleanor still loved Daniel Campbell, and though he knew he had no right to resent it, jealousy found its way into his heart.
"Did you love him so very much? More than you love me?"
Eleanor smiled.
"I loved him, I love him still, and I always shall. But not as I love you, my dear Marcus. You are the love of my life; Daniel was the brother I never had. Come, let us sit down. I think it is time I told you all about my dearest friend, Daniel Campbell."
Marcus sat beside her, full of curiosity, and listened attentively as his future wife recounted the story of her first marriage.
"I scarcely know what to say. Never could I have imagined that such a marriage existed.
I do not wish to judge anyone, yet I confess it is difficult for me to understand how one man may love another in that way.
Perhaps, one day, people like them will be free to live in peace without fear of the world's judgement.
I know only this: I shall remain indebted to Daniel Campbell for the rest of my life for protecting and caring for you when I was unable to do so. "
Marcus raised Ella's hand to his lips and, smiling, added, "You cannot imagine how many hours of jealousy and uncertainty you have spared me by telling me the truth about your first marriage."