Chapter 20 #2
“We have much to accomplish while we are in town,” Elizabeth was saying with a smile.
“William has promised to bring Miss Darcy to call at the Gardiners’ tomorrow morning so that we may become properly acquainted.
Afterward, we are to begin my trousseau.
Aunt Gardiner has secured an appointment with her modiste, but she insists we must also visit Bond Street.
She says it is not enough to be William’s intended—I must be seen as such.
It will invite fewer questions and speculation that way. ”
Jane’s hands folded tightly in her lap. She was uncertain how to feel about meeting Georgiana Darcy.
Elizabeth had tried to reassure her that Miss Darcy was not engaged to Mr Bingley, yet Miss Bingley’s words still echoed in her mind.
Only a day or two earlier she had received another letter from her—full of the same insistence that her brother would marry Miss Darcy, even suggesting it might occur before the young lady was formally introduced to society.
She had not mentioned this letter to her sister, unwilling to hear what Elizabeth might say about it.
But certainly Miss Bingley knew nothing of Darcy’s engagement to Elizabeth unless her brother had written to her about it.
Jane recalled how her sister had warned her before that Miss Bingley sought to mislead her into thinking her brother’s affections were engaged elsewhere.
At the time, she had not known of Elizabeth’s true understanding with Mr Darcy, and so she had doubted her.
Now she wondered how much else Elizabeth had known but not shared.
Jane pressed a faint smile to her lips, even though her thoughts were far from light.
Miss Bingley’s letter could wait; she would think on it later.
For now, she forced herself to listen—though every mention of Mr Bingley made her heart ache a little more.
How her heart longed for certainty regarding him, and she wondered what she ought to do to win him over.
“…we shall all dine at Darcy House Friday evening,” Darcy was saying, “and on Saturday attend the theatre. Bingley will join us for both occasions. Since my sister prefers to avoid the public eye, she will not accompany us Saturday. Still, if you can spare the time between visits to the shops, she might accompany us if we go to the British Museum one afternoon next week.”
Elizabeth smiled warmly at him. “Then it will be a slightly smaller party for the theatre, but no less enjoyable, I am sure. Will any of your family join us?”
“I have invited my cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, to both dinner and the theatre, and he has accepted,” Darcy replied.
“His parents were also included, but I cannot say whether they will attend. My uncle has accepted our engagement, yet he and my aunt still hesitate to meet you as Miss Bennet. Once you are Mrs Darcy, they will have no choice—society would not permit them to slight you without speculation of a breach between our families, and they will not allow that. For now, they show their displeasure in this small way, but it is no reflection on you.” His voice softened as his gaze lingered on her.
“It is only their stubbornness, and it will not endure. You have nothing to fear from them while I stand beside you. Once they meet you, they will learn to love you as I do.”
Jane marvelled at the tenderness in his tone.
His words, spoken with such quiet conviction, would have banished any doubt from her own heart had they been addressed to her.
How secure Elizabeth must feel in his devotion, and how different from her own situation where silence reigned in place of declarations.
Oh, she must turn her mind away from Mr Bingley and stop comparing every interaction between her sister and Mr Darcy to those between her and her own erstwhile suitor.
Reaching for Darcy’s hand, Elizabeth’s expression remained calm even as her eyes shone with affection for her intended.
“I do not fear them,” she said gently. “I have learnt my lesson and realise that no one’s approval can be forced, nor does it always signify a person’s worth.
If your aunt and uncle choose not to know me until after we are wed, then so be it.
I need only your good opinion—and that, I already possess. ”
“I have wondered what the Matlocks will say after speaking with Aunt Catherine,” Darcy mused, and Jane suspected it was not the first time.
“No doubt she described your refusal in the harshest of terms, yet it may have worked to your advantage. They may admire your spirit, or at the very least wish to meet you and judge for themselves. If so, they are more likely to attend dinner—or even extend an invitation for tea so we may meet away from the eyes of society. When I arrive at Darcy House, I shall see whether any letter from them awaits me.”
Elizabeth’s lips curved into a wry smile, and even Jane allowed herself a small smile in reply. “Then I shall hope Lady Catherine gave a full account of my impertinence. If their curiosity is piqued by tales of my shocking forwardness, I can only hope to live up to so formidable a reputation.”
Shaking his head with obvious fondness, Darcy chuckled softly, his smile warm.
“If that is their expectation, they will soon see that you surpass every word Aunt Catherine proclaimed—whether for forwardness or for charm—and that you far exceed all that words could convey. However, it is my wish that they will see you for the rare jewel that you are since I could scarcely imagine any lady more perfectly suited to me.”
With a grin, Elizabeth leant upon Darcy’s shoulder and hugged his arm slightly in affectionate response.
The easy intimacy between them was plain, and Jane could not help but feel both joy for her sister and a pang of wistful longing for herself.
Would Mr Bingley ever look upon her with such certainty?
The rest of the ride passed in much the same way, and Jane at last found her voice, adding a few remarks to the discussion of their plans.
Yet even as she spoke, her thoughts strayed—pulled between the doubts sown by Miss Bingley’s letters and the hope inspired by the tender glances passing between her sister and Mr Darcy.