Chapter 11
The house in Margate was a small blue cottage surrounded by a flower garden just beginning to bloom.
It was close enough to the sea that waves could be heard in the background, but the water could not be seen.
The Bennet family poured into the home, quickly exploring and deciding who would get each room.
There were three bedrooms to be distributed among five girls.
Before their father’s changes, they would have split into pairs: the two eldest and the two youngest, leaving Mary at odds.
But now, they were all conscious of a new order and unsure how to proceed.
Lydia had originally declared loudly that she and Kitty would take the large room with the pink paper and the soft green linens, but when she heard her father’s footsteps, she remembered she was the youngest and, therefore, least entitled sister and that she was to be on her best behavior or risk being sent home.
When Mr. Bennet entered the hall, he found five pairs of eyes looking at him expectantly. He chuckled and asked what they were about.
“How would you like the rooms arranged, Papa?” Mary asked softly.
“I believe that is your mother’s purview,” he responded.
The shrill sounds of Mrs. Bennet ordering the housekeeper about and giving instructions to the maids rang through the house.
“Jane, as your mother is otherwise occupied, I will entrust you with this most important task. You have precedence, after all.” He smiled at his eldest and stood back next to his daughters.
“You want me to choose all the rooms?” He nodded. Jane looked uncertain. “Including yours?”
“It is not far from what you would be doing as mistress of your own home one day. Surely it is a manageable task.”
Jane proceeded to walk into the bedrooms, mentally calculating their size and how many people each room could comfortably hold and the size of the accompanying dressing room or if there even was one.
Her sisters watched her curiously from the hall, feeling an odd sense of suspense with this simple task.
Mr. Bennet, as usual, had an ulterior motive in asking his daughter to choose for him.
He had no doubt that she would give her mother and father the grandest of the rooms. But as the eldest, she should be the one to receive her own room while her younger sisters shared.
It was her right, but she had never been one to put herself forward other than walking at the head of the line when going in to dinner.
She knew her place, but she had never been one to exercise it when it could possibly put someone else out.
She reprimanded her younger sisters when it was called for, but they rarely listened for more than a moment.
In contrast, Elizabeth had once famously dragged Lydia inside by her ear when her younger sister would not heed her command.
Jane had made significant strides in her studies and in her evaluation of human character.
She could see more of a person’s true nature than she could before, and she seemed wiser, but she was not any happier.
Mr. Bennet knew that she was Jane still.
She preferred to see the best in people and would always want things to be simple and clear cut, without mystery or falseness.
He only hoped he could guide her long enough for her to see the world as it was, or at least more realistically than she usually did, but also be able to maintain her joy in life.
He did want to leave her when he had begun the play but not completed the final act.
In the end, Jane made her father proud. She assigned her father and mother the two largest apartments with ample dressing rooms. She gave Kitty and Lydia a moderate sized room with a view of the street, and Elizabeth and Mary the slightly nicer room with a view of the garden, in respect to their ages.
She gave herself a small bedroom overlooking the back garden.
It was smaller than the others, but no less grand in its decoration, and it featured a lovely balcony through a set of glass doors.
She had felt a tiny twinge at giving such a decadent feature to herself and not to her sisters who would have also enjoyed it, but she judged that the room was not large enough for two comfortably, and that as the eldest, she ought to have her own chamber.
She also did not think it wise to constantly leave Mary on her own as had been their pattern in the past.
Decisions made, the girls quickly set to unpacking and within an hour, they were setting off for their first glimpse of the sea.
After seeing Elizabeth off, Darcy left for London with his cousin.
He wasn’t at his townhouse an hour before he had dispatched a letter to his solicitor requesting an appointment.
He then busied himself planning Elizabeth’s settlement.
He felt almost giddy with excitement over what he could give her and the lifestyle she would be able to lead as his wife, so much better than the one she had been living as a Miss Bennet.
After he’d made all the necessary notes, he toured the mistress’s chambers.
He hadn’t been in them for some time and most of the furniture was covered in sheets.
He carefully lifted the white cloth from a chair near the fireplace and sat down, imagining what this room would look like with Elizabeth in it.
He didn’t know how she would like to decorate it, but he could not wait to see her installed so close to him.
Their chambers were across the hall from one another, and there was a sitting room at the end of the corridor, with an adjoining door to his bedchamber.
The mistress’s sitting room was in another location.
He wished there was an adjoining door to her rooms, like he’d seen in other homes, so the couple could traverse between rooms without everyone in the house being aware of their comings and goings.
Perhaps he could create a door? The eastern wall of her chamber bordered his sitting room.
In fact, he rarely used his sitting room, having a library, private study, and other rooms in this enormous house at his disposal.
If he was going to sit and read, he did so by the fire in his own chamber.
He used his private sitting room at Pemberley most often when they had guests or when he wished to lounge about in his robe, but that, too, was infrequent.
Perhaps he and Elizabeth could share this sitting room together and have their own bedchambers?
The sofa in the sitting room might be more conducive to a couple relaxing in the evening than the chair next to the fire in his bedchamber.
Though sharing a chair with Elizabeth was not an unappealing prospect.
He felt odd making these sorts of decisions at all, let alone without Elizabeth, but he could not help the eager smile that formed when he thought of bringing her here as his wife.
He summoned the housekeeper and informed her of the work he wished done and asked her to select a suitable workman to complete the job. She almost raised a brow at his words, but quickly schooled her features.
Once these tasks were completed, he did the only logical thing he could think to do. He sat down and wrote a letter to Elizabeth.
Returning from a walk on their third day in Margate, Elizabeth was greeted by her father with a letter for her.
The handwriting was distinctly masculine and she took it carefully and carried it to her room, grateful that Mary was practicing her music downstairs.
She sank into the chair next to the window and broke the seal, taking a deep breath of salty air before reading.
My Dear Elizabeth,
You cannot imagine my joy at being able to address you as such. My time in town has been spent preparing for our impending marriage. The mistress’ suite is being aired and the settlement papers should be prepared by the end of the week.
Georgiana is beside herself with excitement. She has told me no fewer than five times how she has always longed for a sister. I am glad I may oblige her with such a charming one as you.
How do you find the seaside? I wish I could have been with you when you saw it for the first time and thus been part of what must remain an indelible memory in your mind.
It comforts me to know that your first sight of The Lakes will be at my side and will be the first of many memories we make together.
I do not know if you will have decided any of this yet, but Georgiana wishes to know what color your wedding gown will be.
She will begin shopping soon and she would like to wear something complementary but does not wish to insult you by wearing the same color.
There, my promise is now discharged and I may continue on topics more interesting to the male sex, or at least to me.
Have I told you how completely I adore you and with what anticipation I look forward to our union? I am sure that we will be very happy together. Six weeks has never seemed so long.
Think of me while you are walking in the sand and remember how dearly I miss your smile.
Yours,
F. Darcy
How was she to respond to such a letter?
What could she possibly say in reply? “It’s all very well that you adore me and cannot wait to be married to me, but I look on the event as one would a trip to the guillotine.
” No! She could not! It would be completely inappropriate and likely quite cruel.
He seemed to be rather in love with her, though how true his feelings were she could not say.
He barely knew her! How could a deep and abiding love come from so slight an acquaintance between such disparate characters?
Deciding it was best to get the unpleasant task dealt with and out of the way, she sat at the writing desk and began a reply. She only left off twice and spent the better part of two days working on it in some form or another before she finally finished and gave it to her father to post.
In London, Darcy had just finished his final meeting with the solicitor and walked into his home with a spring in his step.
Tomorrow, the final copy of the settlement would be prepared and he could send it to Mr. Bennet.
Once the articles were signed, he would announce it to his family and they would know he was a claimed man.
His mood further increased when he saw a letter from Elizabeth on his desk. He ran his finger over the ‘B’ stamped into the wax before opening it and beginning to read. He read it once through, his brow furrowing deeper the further he read, before reading the entire thing again.
Her first lines were about the sea and what she had seen so far. However, when he got towards the middle, he saw this.
I must speak of something difficult, but I fear my justice cannot allow it to go unsaid.
I must tell you that I have doubts of our conjugal felicity.
You speak of love and adoration, but I cannot help but feel that you do not know me well at all, and therefore I question your feelings.
Rather, I question the longevity and depth of those feelings, and if they are strong enough to overcome our differences.
Will they wane when the bloom has gone from the rose?
Will you eventually cease to think me charming and merely find me impertinent?
Will you resent and hate me for not being suited to you and your position in the world?
I could not bear to live with a husband who despises me.
I do not mean to be insulting and please take these words with the honest intention with which they were written. I mean this as no slight on your character whatsoever, only that we may not be suited.
I have no desire to injure you or embarrass you.
As yet, the engagement has not been announced to my family, and unless you have announced it, you may withdraw without consequence.
I certainly would not hold it against you.
However, if you wish to continue as planned, you have my word that I will say no more about the topic and I will endeavor to be a good wife to you.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Bennet
After the third reading, Darcy was incensed. He quickly dashed off a reply and sent it immediately.
Two days later, Elizabeth received a letter. She recognized Darcy’s neat hand and quickly broke the seal.
Elizabeth,
We will proceed as planned.
Darcy