Chapter 11 #2
“Why not?” Henry asked. “What happened to the lady?”
“My father never liked her family, and although she had ten thousand pounds, it was not enough to overcome my father’s dislike and their lack of a title. He would have cut me off if I married her.”
“With her ten thousand pounds,” Darcy said, “you might have married her anyway.”
Mr Travers missed and muttered a curse. “Mr Darcy, you are, what, in your late twenties and have ten thousand a year? What do you know of hardship? Would you have lost your father’s respect and all of your income, made your own way in the world, in return for a woman and her four hundred pounds a year? ”
Ashamed of his own thoughtlessness, he bowed an apology.
“So you still must marry with your father’s approval or he withholds his money?” asked Henry, not comprehending Mr Travers’s disinclination to talk about the subject.
“He would cut me off and bankrupt Sanford Court rather than have me marry a woman he did not approve of.” Turning from Henry, he said to Sir John, “This is dull. We must wager a guinea a ball.”
Darcy approached to take his turn. He never once suspected Mr Travers of suffering from the misery of disappointed love.
Was that how Julia had convinced him to help her trap Elizabeth so she could secure him for herself?
Had Mr Travers wanted to help a young person gain the marriage they wanted since he had not?
But what sort of man could enjoy a woman at night and the next day help her secure another man?
He wished he could confront Mr Travers about his intrigue with Julia and the incident with the jib-door.
The bare politeness required at all times now grated on him.
But he had to keep a civil tongue and a civil countenance.
Unfounded accusations were unforgiveable.
Not even a rude stare toward Mr Travers would be permissible, and he had no recourse.
As the game went on, Darcy questioned if he would have sacrificed his father’s approval and a young man’s allowance if his parents had said he could not marry Elizabeth.
He liked to think that he had the character to stand by her, that he would have studied the law and supported her in defiance of everything.
But he had never been tested, so he ought not to judge Mr Travers harshly for being persuaded to give up his young lady a lifetime ago.
“I have thought of marrying,” Henry stammered when it was his turn again. “I know she is a little older than me, but Miss Metcalfe might be perfect.”
The three of them kept from laughing, which was about all the support Henry would get from them. “Are you certain Miss Metcalfe is suited to you?” Darcy asked with a straight face.
“I know she has lately been wanting to marry you,” he said, “but once she has recovered from her loss, she might turn to an old friend for comfort.”
“I think you have some time yet, Tessier,” Sir John said, hiding a grin. “Most women want a man who can teach them a thing or two, not the other way round.”
Henry looked abashed, and Sir John added, “Miss Metcalfe expects either a title or a great deal of money, and she would prefer both. A second son has much to overcome.”
Henry turned to Mr Travers to see if he had any thoughtful advice, but he returned to the game. He might be silent given what he now knew of his own disappointments, but Darcy also doubted the man would speak again if it was not about wagering.
“What do you think, Mr Darcy?” Henry asked with eager eyes. “You have given me excellent guidance this week.”
He could not say that he and Elizabeth suspected Julia was pregnant or that when she was not propositioning him in empty corridors, she was enjoying Mr Travers against a table in the library.
But he had to advise Henry as his brother would want him to.
“You are eighteen, and she wants to raise herself in the world. How would you support a wife?”
“I will study the law, and my brother will support me until then,” he stated proudly, as though his own merits had anything to do with that.
“Then until you are your own man, you are in no place to provide for a family.” Lowering his voice as Sir John and Mr Travers were by the billiard table, he added, “Do not gamble like Mr Travers, do not be careless of women like Sir John, and do not marry for fortune and station like Miss Metcalfe.”
The game ended and they left to dress for dinner, and Darcy was not surprised that Mrs Tessier was the only lady present. Lady Metcalfe must be comforting her daughter over her failed attempt to ensnare him and harm Elizabeth. And Elizabeth was avoiding him.
The others then went out to another musical evening, and Darcy stayed behind. If anyone suspected it was so he could see Elizabeth alone, they did not say so. And since her chaperon was here and they were affianced, it was not a scandal even in the eyes of scandal-loving Sir John.
When the others were gone, he read his letters that had arrived whilst he was trapped with Elizabeth. At least he had secured his future father-in-law’s permission, assuming Elizabeth still wanted him.
May 15, 1812
My dear sir,
In reply to your letter, I must remark that I have never interfered with the wishes of my daughter.
Your affection being mutual, I have only to observe that I shall be gratified in giving Lizzy to you, although I admit to a great deal of surprise that you are the object of her choice.
The motives behind your previous letter concerning Mr Wickham and the sudden return of your friend Bingley are now unmistakable.
However, you may be assured that you possess my respect, and were this not the case, I should not so readily resign to your protection my dear Lizzy. Such protection may begin at once, and we shall see both of you on Monday.
My wife entirely coincides with what I have said and has spoken of it to the neighbours. Therefore, expect that when we see you, everything shall be arranged for your union.
I am, dear sir,
Yours she looked exhausted.
“I was to be sent away to keep all the men safe from me, and the women safe from my influence. But no one thought to send you away. I daresay Sir John would applaud you for whatever he thinks you did behind the door.”
Darcy dared to run his fingertips over the back of her hand. She did not pull away, but she did not hold his hand either. “It is the very hard fate of your sex that when you fall, you are never permitted to rise again.”
“It is a hard fate that we fall but men rise for participating in the same act.”
What could he say to that? The world was dreadfully unfair. “Do you not want to leave tomorrow, as though you have done something wrong? I wanted to keep your person and your good name safe. I could not let you be sent away in shame because of Julia’s cruel trick.”
“You left us no choice,” she muttered.
The strain of the day wore on his temper. “Are you truly going to stay angry with me over this? I am trying to keep you from harm!”
She fell back onto the bed with another weary sigh.
“I will not argue with you or withdraw from you or stay angry with you. Can I not simply disagree with how you handled this, be frustrated with how everybody behaved toward me, and go to sleep? Do not lose heart; I am cross with everyone right now. Julia Metcalfe called me a whore, and now I know what it takes for me to prefer Miss Bingley’s company. ”