Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Lady Matlock came out of her reverie when she heard the scrape of her husband’s chair on the floor and glanced at him to find him addressing her.
“I do not believe I can knock any sense in Darcy. See if you can do a better job of it than me, my dear. If you succeed, then we can try to find a way out of this coil he has got himself into,” Lord Matlock said as he left his wife and nephew to discuss the matter. He was well aware that if anyone could find out the truth behind Darcy’s sudden betrothal, it was his wife.
An awkward silence followed the exit of the earl, which Lady Matlock broke after a few moments. “Fitzwilliam, I hope you will not take your uncle’s words to heart. I think you can understand our... ah... surprise at the suddenness of your betrothal....” Although Lady Matlock did not add the words, ... and the choice of your bride. Darcy could almost hear them, as if she had spoken her thoughts aloud.
“Your uncle is being so suspicious because of the surprise you threw at us. But I know that, of all the young men in our family, you are the only one I can rely on not to be careless and foolish enough to fall prey to a scheming harpy and a forced betrothal.” Lady Matlock came to an abrupt halt when she observed the effect of her remarks on Darcy.
“Fitzwilliam? Did... did that young woman force your hand?” she asked in a hushed voice, then, as an afterthought, added, “But...you said that you love your betrothed.”
“No, she did not, Aunt, and yes, I do,” Darcy replied quietly.
“But...?” Lady Matlock prompted Darcy, as something in his voice troubled her. Was it hesitation?
“While Elizabeth did not force my hand, circumstances did indeed. And to be entirely honest, ma’am, I was very happy that they did and required me to do the honourable thing. It gave me the perfect reason to finally stop fighting my heart.”
“Fitzwilliam! Could you please stop talking in riddles and explain why you were fighting your heart?”
Darcy sighed resignedly as he realised that his aunt would not be content until he told her the whole story. “I was fighting my attraction to Elizabeth because I have always known that I am expected to marry advantageously to a young lady well-endowed with beauty, wealth, and, as my uncle mentioned just now, impeccable lineage.”
He paused and gave his aunt a wry smile before continuing, “Aside from the fact that to me, Elizabeth is the most beautiful woman both inside and out, she does not meet any of the rest of the requisite criteria. A few days ago, there was a ball at Bingley’s. It was at that ball that I recognised two things—first, that I was fighting a losing battle with myself, and second, that Elizabeth’s family would never be regarded as eligible by mine, even if her father is a gentleman. Consequently, I-I decided to leave Hertfordshire to conquer what I believed was my infatuation for her.”
“But you came here today to tell us about your impending marriage to the same young woman from the most ineligible family.” Lady Matlock raised an enquiring brow at him.
Darcy smiled at his aunt. “As I mentioned earlier, ma’am, circumstances came to my rescue.”
“If I may ask, what were these circumstances?”
Darcy told his aunt briefly about the events that had prompted him to offer for Elizabeth. “Unfortunately, in my relief at having escorted her to her home without being observed, I became careless and carried her to the front door. Perhaps if I had chosen a different entrance....” Darcy left the thought unfinished because he did not want to contemplate a situation that would have allowed him to leave Meryton and Elizabeth forever.
“Hmm. Are you sure that your Miss Bennet did not... ah... plan this whole thing in order to force you to offer for her?” Lady Matlock asked hesitantly.
“I consider Elizabeth to be an accomplished woman, Aunt Susan, but I do not believe that clairvoyance is one of her accomplishments. Because only through clairvoyance could she have known that I would have this sudden urge to see her before leaving the neighbourhood. Miss Bingley had informed the Bennets of our plans to leave Netherfield the day before the accident. In all likelihood, Elizabeth believed that we were already on our way back to London when she went out for her walk.”
Lady Matlock was both intrigued and amused as she saw Darcy’s ears slowly turn red. Although her nephew was adept at concealing his emotions, like any concerned mother, she had learned to recognise signs that revealed his feelings. Fitzwilliam was annoyed by her accusations against Elizabeth. His claims of being in love with the chit appeared to be true. But what about her? she wondered, and Darcy’s next statement immediately gave her a clue.
“And a young woman who had schemed to get a man to offer for her would hardly risk refusing his proposal, even if she was only making a pretence of it.”
“Miss Bennet... refused... your offer?” Lady Matlock asked slowly in a shocked voice.
“Yes, Aunt, she did.”
“But... why?”
“Because she believed that a marriage of coercion was hardly a recipe for a successful union, and it was unfair on both of us when we had done nothing wrong. She was also naively hopeful about the goodness of her gossiping neighbours, who had known her since she was born.” Darcy discovered that he could not bring himself to disclose the main reason behind Elizabeth’s refusal—her dislike of him.
“Oh! Then what caused her to change her mind?”
“The realisation that the consequences of the infamy being heaped on us would not only be detrimental to her, but also her family, particularly her beloved elder sister.”
“Hmm. Have you truly thought through your decision, Fitzwilliam? From what you have said, your feelings do not appear to be reciprocated. A marriage of unequal affections is a tough cross to bear.” Lady Matlock sought to gently caution Darcy.
“There is nothing to think through, madam. I could not have left her to bear the consequences of that ugly gossiping on her own,” Darcy stated firmly, even as he felt a moment of unease at his aunt’s warning. Then he recalled the manner in which he had parted from Elizabeth—the warm blush on her cheeks and the adorable manner in which she had giggled—and his heart eased.
“And I consider it a blessing that I happen to be in love with the woman my honour demanded that I marry. As far as her feelings for me are concerned, well, how could she have developed any when I took great care never to betray mine? I was merely trying not to raise expectations that I could not meet, but you are aware of how off-putting I can be... without even trying.”
“Oh, dear!” Darcy could only smile at his aunt’s dismayed expression.
“Please do not be concerned, dear Aunt. Now that I do not have any compulsion to pretend, I feel confident that Elizabeth and I will come to an understanding sooner rather than later,” he said, hopefully. He knew that he had already begun his journey to change Elizabeth’s feelings. She had admitted it herself, and although he did not want her gratitude, he knew that unwanted emotion could easily lay the foundation for more ardent feelings he hoped to engender in her.
Lady Matlock observed the faint flush on Darcy’s cheeks with a mixture of concern and hope. I will pray to the Lord that your confidence is not misplaced, my dear boy, and that you get what your heart desires very soon.
∞∞∞
The talk between Darcy and his aunt soon turned to practical considerations regarding the impending wedding.
“I am not very easy about Catherine’s likely response to your news, Fitzwilliam. Despite my husband and you both trying to correct her delusions regarding your betrothal to Anne, she continues to believe them,” Lady Matlock said in a troubled voice.
“Do I not know it?” Darcy grimaced as he remembered the assertions that Mr Collins had made to the Bennets about his betrothal to Anne. “Georgie said something very similar when I told her about Elizabeth. Since then, I have been pondering how to mitigate the threat posed by Lady Catherine. Ideally, I would have liked to invite her to my wedding but given the... um... unusual manner of my betrothal, I find I cannot take the risk of her upsetting Elizabeth any further.”
He gave a rueful smile to Lady Matlock before continuing, “I have therefore decided to put out the announcement only for our wedding, and it will appear in the Times a day after the ceremony.”
“Hmm... not the best way to go about this, but I suppose it cannot be helped,” Lady Matlock indicated her agreement.
“I am also planning to take Elizabeth to Pemberley immediately after the ceremony.”
“Um... I do not think that is a good idea, Fitzwilliam. As it is, your unexpected marriage to a young woman not from the ton will give rise to much gossip. If you take Elizabeth to Pemberley right after the wedding, it will appear as if you have something to hide, and rumours will abound. I would suggest that you bring her here and let me introduce her to society. Let the busybodies and the harpies know that the house of Matlock stands firmly behind you, your bride, and your marriage.”
Darcy smiled gratefully at his aunt. “That seems like a plan, Aunt Susan,” he said, then grimaced at the huskiness of his voice. His trust in his aunt had not been misplaced after all. He took a deep breath to remove the sudden tightness around his chest. “But... I would like to consult Elizabeth before deciding,” he added.
“Spoken truly like a man in his first throes of love,” Lady Matlock said, watching amusedly as Darcy flushed red in embarrassment. “Do not mind me, my dear. I was only teasing you a little. Please talk to Elizabeth; it is important that she is happy with our plan if it is to succeed,” she said, fervently hoping that Darcy’s bride had the requisite pluck that any ‘interloper’ to the ton would need to survive among its members.
“Fitzwilliam?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Is Elizabeth’s family really that ineligible?”
Darcy felt like a snitch and considered not answering his aunt’s question. But if Aunt Susan is to help Elizabeth and me, she must know what she is getting herself into. They were Elizabeth’s family, and no matter how much he wished to never lay eyes on some of them again, he knew he would have to tolerate them for her sake. Having come to the decision, he reluctantly revealed the pertinent facts.
“Elizabeth and her eldest sister are above reproach, and although her father sometimes lets his sense of humour get the better of him, he is a gentleman.” Darcy began with the best, deciding to keep his opinion of Mr Bennet’s lackadaisical approach as a father and a landlord to himself.
“Hmm. What about Mrs Bennet?” Lady Matlock probed.
Darcy let out a sigh. “In speaking whatever comes to her mind and doling out opinions without any finesse or consideration for her audience, she is very much like Aunt Catherine. The difference is that she is much less autocratic and much more... coarse,” he replied with a grimace.
“Oh, dear.” There was a long silence as Lady Matlock digested the information and considered what she could do to make Darcy’s life easier.
“And what about the remaining sisters?”
“I do not know anything bad about the sister next in line to Elizabeth, except that she is quiet and plays the piano poorly.”
“Hmm.”
“It is the youngest two who are rather wild and hardly know how to behave in polite society.” Darcy felt relieved at getting everything off his chest.
“The young will always make mistakes; it is the duty of the elders to teach them right from wrong,” Lady Matlock said evenly.
Darcy nodded in agreement at her sage words. “So, that is about it,” he concluded.
“Let us not forget the uncle in trade,” Lady Matlock reminded him. Although her own father had been a parson who was not deemed grand enough to ally himself to an earl, he had been the third son of a baron, even if an impoverished one.
“What worries me more is that he is Mrs Bennet’s brother,” Darcy said with a resigned shrug. Mr Bennet said that Mr Gardiner is Elizabeth’s favourite uncle. Surely, he could not be all that bad, could he? Shall I pay him a courtesy call? He wondered, then glanced at his aunt when she addressed him.
“From all that you have told me, Fitzwilliam, I believe your uncle should meet Elizabeth after your wedding, preferably away from her family. It would give him an opportunity to get to know her without being prejudiced by the conduct of her relatives. If you are agreeable, your cousins will represent the Fitzwilliams at your wedding.”
If it were up to him, he would keep all his relatives away from Mrs Bennet’s avarice and the uncouth behaviour of the younger Bennets, but he would not dream of hurting Elizabeth in this manner.
“I believe that would be for the best,” he agreed, taking his leave of his aunt after a few more minutes of desultory conversation.
∞∞∞
A se’nnight after Mr Darcy had left, the Bennet ladies were seated in the morning parlour when Hill arrived with a letter for Elizabeth. It was from her aunt Madeline. Elizabeth broke the seal, eager to read her aunt’s advice to her. The first paragraph of the letter was so extraordinary that she read it again just to make sure that she had not imagined it all.
My dear Lizzy,
I will be frank with you; I was quite perturbed after reading your letter, especially because you had expressed your disapproval of Mr Darcy very categorically in your last letter to me. I kept perusing your letter and deferring my response for two days since I was not sure what I should say to you. But on the third day, that is, today, something happened that compelled me to respond to you directly. Do you know who called on us today? I will tell you, for I am sure you would never guess in a million years—your Mr Darcy!
Oh, Lizzy, what a charming and handsome man! Based on what you had previously written, I fully expected him to be coldly haughty. However, once the initial awkwardness of the introductions and our surprise at his visit abated, he showed himself most eager to please and be pleased. Were you trying to hoax me, my dear, when you mentioned how disagreeable he was in your previous letter? During our conversation, I discovered that he used to buy books from my father’s shop in Lambton and that I had once met him there when he was a young lad of thirteen. Your uncle and your betrothed found that they have much in common, including a love of fishing and the game of chess. His warm behaviour emboldened me to invite him to supper, and he has promised to accompany you whenever you both return to town after your wedding.
A bemused Elizabeth had just begun reading the letter for the third time when Hill appeared at the door of the parlour and announced, “Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley.”
Elizabeth’s gaze immediately flew to Jane. She observed the initial shock on her sister’s face being replaced by a pleased blush and a delighted smile. Oh, how happy Jane appears! She smiled inwardly. If she had seen herself in a looking glass, she would have noticed that her own eyes were no less eager, her blush no less rosy, and her smile no less radiant than her sister’s.