Chapter 30

J ane had hoped Lizzy would begin to see some of the things she herself had noted with regards to their parents, but after her younger sister spoke candidly to herself, Charlotte, and Mary, she had been amazed at how Lizzy had discovered far more than Jane had expected. Lizzy had not wanted to wait until after they returned from Darcy House, she needed to speak or she would burst with anticipation. With all the changes Lizzy was making, and would continue to make, in essentials she was the same impatient Lizzy she had always been.

"I need to apologise to all three of you for all of the times my hubris would not permit me to see the truth when I was wrong and you were right," Elizabeth said contritely. "Even though that trait was imbued by my father, I should have been able to see I was wrong as much as I was right, long before overhearing that convict and his protégé speak."

"Lizzy, you know as well as anyone would haves, should haves, and could haves will not change what was," Mary stated kindly. "You have taken in the lessons you needed to learn and are determined not to repeat your past behaviours, and that is all that counts. Of course I forgive you with all of my heart."

"Even though you are rather headstrong," Charlotte teased, "I could not but accept your amends."

"Our younger sister is wise beyond her years, and like Lotte here, I pardon you without reservation as well," Jane added and then paused. "Lizzy, are you sure you are ready to see Papa again? "

"Yes, Janey I am. I cannot be selfish any longer, my place is to be with you and support you in any way you need me," Elizabeth insisted. "I will only confront my father with everything I now see, once you have left on your wedding trip. Nothing will mar your time before and the day of your wedding." Elizabeth smiled as she thought of something. "If my father is so outraged by what I need to say to him, he may banish me from Longbourn. It is good my older sister will be the mistress of Netherfield Park by then, in case I find myself without a home."

"As much as I expect Papa will not do that, if he does, you know you will always have a home with Charles and me, do you not?" Jane insisted.

"And if Andrew and I marry one day, then you will have another," Mary stated with conviction.

"And I can speak for Richard when I tell you there will always be a chamber for you at Lancaster Hill, if you need it," Charlotte insisted.

The offers from her sisters and Charlotte were humbling. No matter how bad her behaviour had been in the past, they still loved her. "As you know you will never be without a home, you can rest assured Lizzy. Given that Papa planned to make sure you never married, you must let him know you are aware of the truth," Jane declared. "Now Lotte and sisters, we need to wash and change in order to prepare for dinner at the Darcys' house." Jane looked and smiled at Mary and Charlotte. "You two are to meet some rather important people so you must look your best."

"Janey, before we do that, and so I do not forget, Aunt and Uncle asked if we would all like to go see a new production of The Tempest at the Drury Lane," Elizabeth remembered. "I was not ready to see it until I had done that which was necessary, and also, knowing you would be here, and it being a favourite of yours, I could not go without you. "

"You know I love that play! There is no question of my desire to see it, but we need to be sure it will not interfere with what I came to London to do," Jane averred.

"I was riding in the Darcy coach with Andrew, Mr Darcy, Becca, and Gigi on the way from Longbourn," Mary detailed, "Gigi mentioned Mr Darcy has a large box at the theatre on Drury Lane, and then Becca said her parents did as well, right next to Mr Darcy's. If everyone wants to go, we will at least have good seats."

Charlotte and Mary returned to their shared bedchamber to change and make ready to depart.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Darcy was pleasantly surprised that what he had hoped had actually occurred. No note had arrived with the Gardiner's refusal or Miss Elizabeth crying off attending the dinner at his home. It was gratifying she had not changed her resolution they should begin anew, and move forward as friends.

Earlier that afternoon he had made the walk across the green to call at Matlock House. He felt since his aunt and uncle had been made aware of his ungentlemanlike behaviour in Hertfordshire, and had issued a well-deserved setdown of himself, he needed to tell them he had finally apologised and would answer any questions they had about Wickham being brought to heel.

Although the Earl and Countess had heard much about the apprehension of the miscreant from their sons, they appreciated Darcy adding his voice and responding to any questions they had. Then they asked him about the ladies in whom their sons were interested. Darcy had simply told them he knew of no ill regarding either lady, and he was perhaps not one able to judge other's relationships.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

That evening, Killion showed the four Fitzwilliams, who had arrived from Matlock House, into the drawing room. Becca squealed to see her parents again and threw herself into her father's warm, waiting arms.

"I have missed you too, my little imp," Lord Matlock told his daughter as he kissed the sandy-blonde hair on the crown of her head.

Next, Rebecca was in her mother's arms. "We have missed you Becca dear, but we will not insist you come home earlier than we planned." Lady Matlock looked to where her niece was standing and waiting to greet her. "You look like the Gigi I knew before that dastard manipulated you."

"Thank you, Aunt Elaine," Georgiana replied. "It did not hurt when Lizzy made sure he was locked up in the town's gaol."

"I look forward to meeting that young lady as much as I do the two who may be our future daughters," Lord Matlock boomed. "As much as I am disgusted that she needed to act in her father's stead, I am ready to laud her for her quick thinking."

Bingley had gone to Gracechurch Street to help convey that party to Darcy House. Thus, Bingley, the Hursts, four Gardiners, three Bennets, and one Lucas were announced by the butler. Introductions between those who had never met before were soon made.

It did not take Darcy long to see not only were the two Gardiner children who had been included very well behaved, but the Gardiner parents were fashionable and more like a lady and gentleman than many in the Ton .

Elizabeth was grateful she had already begged Mr Darcy's pardon. Had he not forgiven her, she was not sure she would have been able to attend the dinner at his house. Not even her desire to support Janey, Mary, and Charlotte would have overridden her shame if this had been before she apologised. As it was, Elizabeth felt her knees weaken at the dimple revealing smile she received from Mr Darcy, after he had warmly welcomed her, and those she arrived with, to his home.

‘ That was another thing about which I was wrong, ' Elizabeth owned silently. ‘ He does not look at me to find fault. ' At the same time, she understood she had told herself that lie because if she had acknowledged the truth, all of her beliefs she had still been holding onto like a tenacious dog grips its bone, would have been called into question; at that time, she was not yet prepared to see the truth.

While she knew she was not ready to be in a romantic relationship until after she confronted her father, Elizabeth could not but wonder what it would be like to be the object of Mr Darcy's affections.

It was pleasing to see how accepting the Earl and Countess were of Charlotte and Mary and how at ease they were with their guests. Elizabeth was impressed the members of this family did not seek the things polite society dictated regarding an acceptable match. Indeed, com patibility, character, and love were more important.

Before dinner, Darcy engaged Miss Elizabeth in a debate about The Chapter of Accidents , a play both had read but neither had seen performed, written by Miss Sophia Lee. Darcy argued it was a simple rewriting in English, of Le Père de Famille by Denis Diderot, while Elizabeth maintained it was rather inspired by Monsieur Diderot's writing, and not only a translation. She asserted had it simply been a rewriting, Mr Colman the elder, would not have produced it at the Haymarket Theatre in 1780; furthermore, at the time, it had been a great success.

Darcy conceded her point. He had not believed what he had argued but had been enthralled by Miss Elizabeth's intelligence and ability to debate as well, if not better, than some of the Cambridge men who had been in the debating society with him at that venerable institution of higher education.

When Killion announced dinner, and thanks to no formal seating that evening, Darcy offered Miss Elizabeth his arm to escort her to the table. She had taken it without hesitation which left Darcy grinning like a schoolboy.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

There was only a short separation of the sexes as three men wanted to return to the lady to whom he was openly connected. Darcy's desire was to spend more time with Miss Elizabeth, who he hoped, when she was ready, would be willing to move beyond only a friendship.

Becca and Gigi, with Lilly and Eddy watching them, played a duet after tea and coffee had been served. The rest of those in the drawing room were split into smaller groups. The Matlocks were speaking to the Gardiner parents, while Jane, Bingley, and the Hursts were seated together, having a discussion. The Fitzwilliam brothers were respectively speaking with the lady who he was courting, while Elizabeth and Darcy were seated off on their own, furthest from the rest of those in the room. They were close one to the other, but still well within the bounds of propriety.

"You had told me you needed a period of introspection, how goes it?" Darcy enquired so she was the only one who would hear him.

"For now, I have suspended my self-discovery," Elizabeth reported. She did not miss the way his eyebrows jumped up. "There may be more in the future, but so far, I have reached the conclusions I needed to reach." She paused as she cogitated about the words she needed to use next. "I will return to Longbourn sooner than planned, but now the hard work begins. Putting into practice that which I now know I need to do."

Knowing it was not his place to ask her to expound on what she had just told him, and that he may never feel it his place to do so, he asked, "How much longer will you be in London before travelling into Hertfordshire?" He was well pleased to learn she would return with them all.

Without Mr Darcy's prompting, Elizabeth added, "I am sure you are trustworthy, and will not repeat what I am about to say, but one of my hardest tasks will be to confront my father. I will not go into the details of why, but safe to say, for me to face my father about what I need to, will not be pleasant."

"If you need a friend, you need only ask," Darcy responded. He had heard tell of how Miss Elizabeth had always been very close to her father, so he was sure, based on what she had just said, the coming conversation would not be an amicable one.

"It will be done after my sister and your friend's wedding," Elizabeth revealed. She explained why she felt she had to wait.

It impressed Darcy that as much as she felt it critical to face her father, she would do nothing to negatively affect her dearest sister's wedding. Before they could continue the discussion, the Colonel joined them.

"Mary told us of the suggestion to see The Tempest . Mother and Father, and the rest here all agree that unless either of you object, we can go to the theatre for the Saturday evening's performance. The Matlock box is available, what of yours?" the Colonel queried.

Darcy looked at Miss Elizabeth. "As long as my aunt and uncle have agreed, I am at their disposal," she stated.

"They have," the Colonel confirmed.

"Then yes, my box is available and I will be happy to open it for us all to see the play on Saturday," Darcy agreed.

After his guests departed, Darcy sat in his private sitting room with one finger of brandy in a heavy crystal glass. Subsequent to what Miss Elizabeth had trusted him enough to relate this evening, he came to believe his hopes for a future with her were not unattainable.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

After bolts of fabric were chosen from Gardiner's warehouse, thanks to Lady Matlock's influence—Miss Jane Bennet was after all the sister of her future daughter—Jane and her sisters were accepted as clients by the premier modiste in London—Madam Chambourg at her shop on Bond Street. She only accepted new customers if they were recommended by one of her important patrons. Even though her father had not given her very much money to buy clothing, her wonderful fiancé had insisted the bills be sent to him.

In the past, shopping had not been a favourite pastime for Elizabeth, in fact it used to be the opposite. However, unlike how she would have in the past, not one negative word crossed her lips. Also, there was no rolling of the eyes or any other non-verbal indications she would rather her fingernails be pulled out. She was there to support Jane, and Elizabeth understood her aversion mirrored her father's. Like many things, she needed to discover her own opinions regarding shopping. So far it had been rather enjoyable.

The Countess was included among the shoppers so she could get to know all of them better—especially Miss Lucas and Miss Mary. While the ladies were busy ordering and acquiring Jane's trousseau, the men who were free of business congregated at White's to partake in manly pursuits.

Jane was given a tour of her fiancé's house on Curzon Street, and that evening dinner would be hosted there. On Friday, the dinner was at the Gardiners' house and attended by all, including the Earl and Countess.

On Saturday, everyone met at Matlock House for a pre-play meal. They would all return to the same house for supper after the performance. It would also be the first time members of polite society would see Viscount Hilldale, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Fitzwilliam Darcy pay attention to a lady not related to them.

While those seated in the Matlock and Darcy boxes had their eyes on the stage, the vast majority of the attendees had their lorgnettes focused on the occupants of the two aforementioned boxes. During the intervals between acts, many tried to glean information about who the three ladies were. They cared not who the beautiful lady with the nouveau riche Charles Bingley was. However, the less information the gossips of the Ton were able to discover about the other three, the more determined they became to learn about the ladies.

By the time the play ended, those who made coin from writing gossip columns were entirely dissatisfied; they had found out nothing about the three unknowns.

It had been noted the Duke and Duchess of Bedford had called during one of the intermissions and they had requested to be introduced. During the next, the Earl and Countess of Jersey had been welcomed into the Matlock box. The problem was the aforementioned nobles would never gossip and one did not approach these leaders of society with impertinent questions and remain unscathed.

On Sunday, the Gardiners, the three Bennet sisters, and Charlotte attended the local church and then spent the rest of the day together.

Come Monday morning, a convoy of coaches arrived at 23 Gracechurch Street so the four ladies who needed to leave London, would be conveyed back to Meryton, along with those in the equipages to escort them.

With each mile which passed bringing them closer to Longbourn and her father, Elizabeth became quieter and more contemplative.