Chapter 9 #2
“Mr. Darcy, I will have to ask you some questions that I know you will not like, but before I can agree to this in good conscience, I must ask them for my daughter’s sake.”
Darcy sat up straight and squared his shoulders. “Go ahead, sir. I would do the same for my own sister and cannot fault your desire to see your daughter safe and happy.”
“Very good. Do you drink to excess, Mr. Darcy?”
Darcy was somewhat surprised. He had thought the questions would be more about his income than his behavior, but he supposed it was a reasonable question, so he answered.
“Not often. I have, upon occasion, over imbibed. Usually at a holiday or when something unexpected has occurred, but I do not make a habit of it.”
“And when you have, have you done anything you might regret? Have you gambled unwisely? Do you become violent? Are your morals left behind with your sobriety?”
Darcy looked mildly appalled, but thinking he would want to know the same thing about a man who wanted to marry Georgiana, he answered, “No, sir. I do not gamble as a general rule, beyond a drawing room game, and I have never forgotten myself. I believe the worst instance was on the eve of my cousin’s wedding and I sang a very bad rendition of an Italian love song and was put to bed by my valet. ”
Mr. Bennet stifled a laugh. “Very well. Is your estate mortgaged or entailed?”
Darcy was more prepared for this question and relaxed significantly.
No one could find fault with Pemberley. “No and somewhat. The estate is not mortgaged and there is an entailment on the original portion of the land and the house, but it is not entailed away from the female line and should I not have any children, my sister’s child would inherit.
The remaining property is mine to do with as I please. ”
Mr. Bennet nodded. “And your sister, would she live with you and my daughter?”
“I hope she would, after a period of adjustment for us to become accustomed to each other.” Mr. Bennet smiled slightly and Darcy shifted in his seat. “Georgiana is only sixteen and a sweet, unassuming girl. I believe she and Miss Elizabeth would get along well.”
“Where would you live?” Mr. Bennet sat back in his chair as if he were just relaxing on a Sunday evening, which, once Darcy thought of it, he supposed he was.
“I currently spend roughly half the year at Pemberley. Once I marry, I hope to increase my time there. I also have a house in town and spend the season there.”
“Would Elizabeth be permitted to visit her family?” he asked quietly. Bennet’s eyes were on the floor.
Darcy paused. He had hoped, originally, to minimize her contact with her family and see them only when necessary, but after speaking to Elizabeth about her father and hearing about the changes made in their household, he wondered if Mr. Bennet was coming to the end of his life.
And the youngest two girls, who had always been the biggest problem besides the mother—who had been remarkably well-mannered on this visit—were no longer out and seemed to have been taken in hand by their father.
He could not know if it would continue, but he could hope.
“Yes, sir, I would ensure she had the means to travel to Hertfordshire whenever she wanted, and it would be no hardship to visit on the way to and from London. You would always be welcome at Pemberley, sir.” Darcy almost hadn’t said the last, but seeing the old man already missing his daughter made him think about Georgiana and how, some day soon, he would have to give her up to a man he would hope loved her as much as he.
“You should know that her dowry is only a thousand pounds when her mother passes.”
“That is not a concern, sir. Please, distribute her portion among your other daughters.”
Mr. Bennet nodded. “Very well. I give you my permission and my blessing. Take good care of my girl.”
Darcy smiled the widest smile Mr. Bennet had ever seen him don and shook the older man’s hand vigorously. “Thank you, sir. I’ll take excellent care of her and will treasure her always. You have my word.”
“One more thing, Mr. Darcy.”
The younger man looked at him expectantly.
“Allow me to talk to Elizabeth first. I will speak with her tonight, and you may speak with her in the morning before we depart. I assume you would want to correspond while we are in Margate?”
“Yes, of course. Do I have your permission to write to her, then?” asked Darcy.
“Yes, yes, of course. Have you thought about a wedding date?”
“I have, but I was unsure of your family’s plans.”
“If I may make a suggestion?”
Darcy nodded.
“I would like to see her wed before the summer ends. Not so soon that she has no time to prepare, but not so far out that you despair of the day ever coming,” said Mr. Bennet.
“Why do we not marry in London? It would be an easy distance from Margate and your family could stay in my home,” suggested Darcy.
“We will have been in Margate long enough to have the banns read there, if you’d rather. London will be frightfully hot in midsummer. Or you could purchase a special license and residency would not apply,” supplied Mr. Bennet.
Darcy did not want to tell him why he wished to avoid the Bennet family and Margate, where he had no control over anything that was happening and would be forced into unpleasant company, but it was becoming more difficult not to say something of the matter.
“I will be very busy in town, making sure everything is ready for Miss Elizabeth’s arrival and getting my affairs in order so that I may be at leisure after we are wed. ”
Mr. Bennet nodded. “Very well. I will plan on London in midsummer. Shall we say the first of July? A little more than two months’ time?”
“I was hoping for closer to six weeks, sir. I wanted to take Miss Elizabeth on a wedding trip and it would be best to travel in summer,” said Darcy.
“Where did you have in mind?”
“I had thought The Lakes. She mentioned once that she hoped to see them one day and I thought it would be an ideal destination. We could easily go to Pemberley afterward and stay through the autumn and winter if we did not want to return to town for the little season.”
“Would one of her sisters accompany her, or would you prefer your sister do the job?”
Darcy shifted uncomfortably. “I had hoped we would travel alone. Once we are returned to Pemberley, her sisters, indeed all your family, would be welcome to visit.”
“I see.” Mr. Bennet nodded. “I will have to discuss this with Mrs. Bennet and Elizabeth, of course, but I believe a wedding in mid-June and a trip to The Lakes after will be acceptable. Is there a place I can tell Elizabeth to meet you in the morning?”
Darcy was taken aback that a father would suggest an assignation so blatantly, but he quickly answered, “There is a grove she favors. I will meet her there before breakfast.”
“Very good. Do not worry, Mr. Darcy, I trust you.” Mr. Bennet chuckled. “I would not agree to let you marry my daughter if I did not.”
Darcy looked ashamed of his earlier thoughts and nodded.
“If I may give you a piece of advice,” Mr. Bennet said. “Go slowly with Elizabeth. My daughter does not tell me everything, but I believe I am correct when I say her feelings are not equal to yours.”
Darcy nodded once in response, trying to keep the surprise from his eyes.
Mr. Bennet turned to walk out the door and Darcy followed slowly.
Truly, he did not know if he had ever given her feelings much thought before, but if he had been forced to guess, he would have said she felt similarly to him.
They were much of a mind and he felt she understood him and he her, and that was why they would do so well together.
He took a deep breath. It was no matter.
Of course his feelings were stronger, as they should be.
He was to be the leader of their household, after all; it would not do for him to feel less than she did.
And she was a lady. She would have kept her feelings in check until she was sure of his.
Poor dear, she likely wondered why he had not spoken up.
He had walked with her almost daily but spoken nothing of love or marriage. How could he have let her suffer so?
When they returned to the drawing room, both men’s eyes were drawn to Elizabeth where she sat at the pianoforte, playing and singing with her sisters and Colonel Fitzwilliam who had rejoined the ladies.
Darcy sat down and enjoyed the show, gazing upon her with a soft expression on his face.
When she looked his direction, he smiled so brightly at her that she lost her place in the music and wondered what he was about.