Chapter 25
Bennet rested his head against the side of the carriage as he gazed out the window at the familiar landscape. His arm was cradling his very dear Esther as she dozed on his shoulder. They were approaching home.
For the first time in his life, he was loath to return.
He did long for the comforts of his own bookroom, his own bed, and his own servants.
Even so, returning to Longbourn meant that daily life and responsibilities would break up the perfect idyll that he and Esther had experienced over the last fortnight.
“You’re thinking too much, Thomas,” murmured Esther without even stirring.
He smiled fondly. “Oh? Since when have you gained the ability to read my mind?” he asked.
“In the few minutes I’ve been here in your arms, you’ve gradually stiffened up,” she said. “Are you truly so reluctant to go home?” She sat up and studied his face with slightly sleepy eyes.
She was so beautiful, so caring, so very steady. Already he loved her far more deeply than he ever imagined himself capable of.
“I suppose I am,” he admitted. “While I do look forward to the comforts of home, I have enjoyed this respite from responsibility. Besides, as soon as we enter the front door, you will become Mrs. Bennet, the mistress of Longbourn and mother to four grown-up, unmarried daughters, and I will be Mr. Bennet the master of Longbourn and father to four grown-up, unmarried daughters. We will no longer be just Thomas and Esther. These moments of quiet togetherness will be far harder to come by.”
“That is not necessarily the case,” said Esther. “As master and mistress, we can choose when to sit quietly and when to work busily.”
Thomas felt the corner of his mouth quirk in an incipient smile. “You make it sound so simple.”
“That’s because it is,” she said.
“I am not certain I can believe it,” he said. “But with you there to help me, I suppose anything is possible.”
Esther snuggled back against him and sighed. As she attempted to doze off again, she said sleepily, “You put too much faith in me.”
Bennet was certain he did no such thing.
It wasn’t that he believed Esther to be infallible or omnipotent.
Rather, it was that her presence in his life made him stronger.
The phenomenon had gone back all the way to the day he hired her, but it had certainly grown a great deal since Fanny passed away.
~~~~~
Settling back into Longbourn was easy enough for Thomas.
The oddest part of it was having Esther settle into the mistress’ chambers, though she spent most nights in his bed.
They both found comfort in the closeness, and since there was no need to attempt to prevent children, there was no need to enforce separate sleeping arrangements.
During their wedding journey, Esther had confided in him that after her son was born, she was told she would never have any more children.
Thomas accepted the idea readily. While a son would be welcome as an heir for Longbourn, Thomas was not entirely certain he wished to have any additional offspring.
His daughters were all happy to see both of them, even Mary, though she still wore black for her mother. Thomas was grateful to see that Mary’s insistence on honoring her deceased mother did not cause her to disrespect her new mother.
As soon as breakfast was over the following morning, Bennet retired to his bookroom for the day. He settled into his favorite chair with a book in hand, ready to enjoy some quiet solitude.
It did not last long before there was a knock at the door. It was Mrs. Hill saying, “I beg your pardon, sir, but Judge Darcy is here to see you.”
Bennet had heard from his daughters that the judge and Mr. Darcy were in the neighborhood for the autumn quarter, but he did not expect to see his old friend quite so soon.
“Show him in,” said Bennet.
He greeted his friend with a hearty handshake, and the two gentlemen settled in to talk.
“I am surprised to see you in this area,” said Bennet. “I had always assumed you spent the long vacation being far more sociable. I would think Bath or even London would be more to your liking, since you do not hunt.”
“Normally, you would be quite correct,” said Judge Darcy. “Though I usually spend August in Derbyshire, once the weather begins to cool, I usually find my way to Bath or Brighton. This year, however, I found that I have business in Hertfordshire.”
“What business could possibly bring you to such an out-of-the-way place?”
“I am courting your daughter, Miss Mary, with the hope that she will agree to marry me,” said the judge without batting an eye.
“I have already proposed to her, but she would not give me an answer until your return. Since you have now returned, I thought I would inform you of my intentions as soon as may be.”
“I assume you have been visiting her while you wait for a reply?” asked Bennet, though he was having a difficult time comprehending what he was hearing.
“I have,” said Judge Darcy. “I have been here almost every day for the last two weeks.”
“And does she seem receptive to your overtures?” asked Bennet.
He was skeptical, because Mary had not seemed the least perturbed last night at dinner or afterward.
He would have thought that with such a momentous decision before her, Mary would have been either elated with joy or disturbed with disappointment or at the very least more contemplative than usual.
But she had been completely calm, with nothing out of the ordinary in her countenance.
“Honestly, I am uncertain,” said Judge Darcy.
“She does not seem forbidding, but neither does she seem welcoming. I might as well be Sir William Lucas for all the willing attention she gives me. Still, I have hesitated to ask her about her thoughts or feelings on the matter, because she was adamant that she would like to ask your advice first.”
“She hasn’t mentioned the matter to me yet, so I have given her no advice,” said Bennet.
“After all, I just returned home right before dinner yesterday, so there has been no time for such a conversation.” He paused and added, “Now that I think on it, Mary did ask Mrs. Bennet if she could speak with her after breakfast this morning. Perhaps she decided my wife would the better person to consult. If so, I commend her wisdom. Esther is far better suited to this sort of thing.”
Judge Darcy shook his head, smiling as he did so. “I never imagined when I introduced Lady Esther to you as a possible companion for your girls that you would end up marrying her. She seems too stiff for a man as relaxed as you tend to be.”
“You take no account for time and place,” said Thomas.
“This year, ever since my daughters inherited their enormous wealth, I have found the need to be far more active a father than I was wont to do. Esther has helped me every step of the way. I would be inhuman to not want to make such a woman my partner for the rest of my life.”
“Speaking of which, you aren’t pursuing Mary for her fortune, are you?” Bennet continued. “I would think a man like you wouldn’t need to marry for money, but one can never be too careful.”
“I admit that her fortune would make it easier to bear the expenses of the pomp required to maintain my office,” said Judge Darcy.
“However, that was not uppermost in my mind when I made the decision. She makes for good, intelligent company, and I think she will make an excellent companion in my older years. That’s all there is to it. ”
Thomas thought about this for a few moments before responding. “You are asking a great deal of her, you know. Mary is not well suited to being a hostess for the fashionable ton of London, but as your wife she will have no choice but to attempt it. Are you certain that is what you wish?”
Judge Darcy shook his head. “That is not at all what I will be asking of her. I just want someone to keep me company on the evenings I choose not to go out.”
Thomas was becoming alarmed. He didn’t believe his friend even realized what he was asking.
Either Mary was to be isolated at home, subject to her husband’s beck and call, or she would be required to circulate among those she was not comfortable with, entertaining as often as her husband deemed fit.
The man seemed to have no interest in Mary’s preferences.
In fact, he didn’t even seem to be aware that she might have preferences of her own.
He said none of this, however. If Mary truly wished to live such a life, Bennet would allow it.
At least she would be safe. Judge Darcy was a good sort of man, not one to abuse others, drink to excess, or waste his money.
Still, he resolved to explain to Mary exactly what a marriage to Judge Darcy would be.