Chapter 23

Despite her turmoil Elizabeth sat with Claire when they returned home and wrote her notes of the evening. She did not mention the Duke’s comment to Claire, who did not pry. She knew something was bothering Elizabeth but it was late and it could wait until the morning. The household had barely finished breakfast when the Duke was announced.

“You are early this morning Your Grace. Have you broken your fast?”

“I have Lady Maria, and I apologise for my early arrival. I made a mistake last night and upset Miss Bennet and I wanted to set things to right as soon as possible.”

A footman prepared a cup of coffee for the Duke and then the servants all departed. It was just Lady Maria, Elizabeth and their two companions. As well as the Duke.

“During supper Miss Bennet was the topic of much gossip. She has been talked about on and off all season but there was more of a focus on her yesterday evening. I made a mistake and joked of it with her during our dance and it was poorly done. I should have kept my own counsel until this morning.”

“I accept your apology Lord Roderick. Let us put the matter behind us. I am all too aware of making a comment which although meaning no harm could have been better phrased or better timed. It is done. You are here now so please let us move on.”

The Duke stood and bowed before returning to his chair.

“Thank you, Miss Bennet. The reason you were discussed with such intensity was the ease between yourself and Mr. Darcy. He is renowned as a solemn man, severe almost, and his behaviour last night was sufficiently out of character as to be noteworthy. That is the heart of the gossip. I was about to say that it is nothing to do with your behaviour but that is not quite accurate.”

Elizabeth’s stomach involuntarily clenched. The Duke noticed Elizabeth’s flinch.

“I have done it again. I do not mean that you have behaved in any way that is inappropriate. What I mean is that your lack of sugary cloying, what society seems to expect as normal behaviour for a young lady at a ball, is noticeable. You are polite, well read and well informed, charming, dance well and make significant friends with ease. By which I mean Lady Maria, the Countess of Matlock and myself. Yet you are a self-confessed nobody. You made Mr. Darcy smile, you had the Colonel noticeably animated during your dance and you regularly dance with me. That is not normal for someone six weeks into her first season. Have I explained myself better?”

Elizabeth reflexively nodded as she pondered the Duke’s words. Lady Maria stepped into the silence.

“So the biggest reason for the gossip is really Elizabeth’s natural demeanour, rather than the lady herself?”

The Duke sighed.

“Yes, a far more accurate and concise summary of my own ramblings.”

“Should I change, Lord Roderick?”

He shook his head.

“No. And to be honest Miss Bennet, I doubt that you could change. And I mean no disrespect when I say that. I think that you would be unhappy performing a role and it would translate into how you presented yourself.”

“I understand, and you are right. I could be more reserved but I do not think I am capable of simpering.”

Quiet laughter came from all the occupants of the room, including both companions. Elizabeth Bennet and simpering would never be said in the same sentence. Lady Maria brought the conversation back on track.

“Is the gossip harmful?”

“It is a question that I would turn back on yourself. I would be interested in your opinion. For myself, I do not think so. My companions at the supper table were middle ranks of the nobility. They would have to make a conscious effort to engage with Miss Bennet, and I do not think they will do so. It was getting Darcy to smile that was the first pebble in the pond. Everything else rippled out from there.”

Elizabeth turned to Lady Maria.

“Is it really such a rare occurrence?”

“While there is a degree of exaggeration, it is not as much as you would think. Darcy has made little effort to hide his unease at large scale social events, especially balls. Getting him to dance the first was a significant step.”

“How do you recommend I proceed?”

“As if there is no talk. You cannot control it, so do not let it control you. You have attended four balls now. Other than the Colonel and his Grace here, have you danced with any gentleman more than once?”

Elizabeth shook her head.

“Have you turned down any gentleman that wanted to dance with you at a later event.”

“Just one, and it was last night. Mr. Rutherford asked me to dance but my card was already full.”

“Your thoughts on him?”

“My first dance with him was the same ball where I danced with Lord Roderick for the first time. He did spend most of our set talking about himself.”

“So being unable to dance with him was not a tragedy?”

“No, Lady Maria.”

“The point I am trying to make is that most gentlemen enjoy a dance with you at a ball and then move on. When you review your notes, there have been very few that have engaged your interest. They are being perfectly normal, as defined by current society, and you are being yourself, different than most ladies in current society. You dance with the Duke as a friend, to give him a respite from the scheming mothers and daughters. Do not change.”

What Lady Maria did not mention was Fitzwilliam Darcy. She would let that friendship blossom or wither without interference. At least from her. His little sister on the other hand…

--

“You are in a happy but reflective mood this morning brother. May I enquire as to what has occurred to have you in such a mood?”

The Darcys were sitting at the dining table, breakfast over, but in no hurry to start their day.

“I had not realised I was so transparent Georgie.”

Georgiana Darcy was a smart young woman, and she had learned from the family dinner how questions could be deflected. And how her aunt had ignored the distraction and focused on the information she wished to hear.

“Mayhap in the past brother but I was wondering about your mood this morning.”

Darcy looked up at his sister, seeing her face but hearing his aunt. He could not suppress a little smile.

“I see you sitting there Georgie but I hear Aunt Susan. I think she is a bad influence on you.”

The both laughed.

“Oh, I am going to tell her that.”

Darcy was pleased at the signs of Georgiana’s spirit returning.

“I am already attending balls, what more can she threaten?”

More laughter.

“But in answer to your question. I was thinking about Pemberley and father. And yes, despite his passing these five years now, I recalled the time that we spent together.”

Georgiana had only been 10 when their father died, her relationship with him was different than that of her much older brother. She was always fascinated to talk of him, but Fitzwilliam rarely indulged her.

“What prompted the memory?”

“I was asked about Pemberley at the ball last night. For a horrible moment I thought it was a typical fortune hunting enquiry but it was anything but. The young lady wanted me to describe Pemberley, the woods, the pasture and arable lands, the changes in elevation and how that impacted the estate. It was the sort of questioning and discussion I myself had with our father. At first it brought back the painful memory of his passing, but as I talked of Pemberley and answered the lady’s questions it allowed me to reminisce of the time we spent together. It was not anything so dramatic as banishing ghosts but it did let me find a balance, and not just focus on my sorrows.”

Georgiana had been gripped by her brother’s narrative.

“I know the estate, but not as you do. Will you repeat the tale for me please?”

Darcy was delighted to indulge his sister and the next hour was spent given an enlarged version of the conversation from the dancefloor and supper table.

“I am remiss in enquiring of the name of the young lady that made such a diverting request.”

Darcy looked at his sister.

“It was Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”

“Miss Bennet, really?”

He nodded and recounted the other parts of the evening, his dancing the first, her laughter at the Colonel’s excitement for the tournament, even noting that she danced with the Duke of Desmond.

“You danced the first Fitzwilliam?”

Georgiana stood up and pressed the back of her hand against his forehead.

“I was sure you had a fever.”

“Georgie!”

Again, her laughter was a welcome sound and he was unbothered by her cheek. Or by the use of his full name.

“What prompted this unique event?”

“Unique?”

“You have to admit, you are renowned for not dancing the first. I am two years from coming out, and even I know it.”

Darcy was in danger of breaking his record for smiles in a day, and it was not yet 11.00 in the morning.

“That reputation is to be consigned to the rubbish. Miss Bennet and Lady Maria introduced me to a Miss Johnson. The lady is in her third season, is plain and painfully shy. It was not the easiest set I have ever danced, but it was far from the most painful. Miss Bennet described her as a wallflower, and that there are many of them, even at private balls. One dance with such a young lady does not create expectations and it will do wonders for her reputation. The young lady danced at least three other dances, that I saw. There may have been more. Miss Bennet gently scolded me to use my consequence for good.”

“That is quite the story. You are going to continue this behaviour?”

“I have spent the last three years worried about creating expectations with any young lady. Our family has indulged this behaviour. It takes someone looking at the situation from the outside to show me that I was being absurd. I will still be careful but try not to take it too far.”

Georgiana bit her bottom lip, an indication of being nervous about something.

“Do you think that Miss Bennet would like me William?”

Rather than just instinctively respond in the affirmative, Darcy actually considered the question.

“There are two things that make me sure that she would like you. The first is something simple. During the ball at Netherfield you know that I talked with Miss Bennet. One of the things I mentioned that evening was receiving a letter from you. But I did not just mundanely describe it as such, rather I referred to my pleasure in receiving the letter. It had been a week of rain, I had been unable to ride and I was stuck at Netherfield Park with Miss Bingley. I was dying man in the desert and your letter was a glass of cold water. I came perilously close to gushing about it, and you.”

At 10.47 that morning Fitzwilliam Darcy’s record for smiles in one day was broken as both siblings chuckled at his over the top description.

“Yes, I might have exaggerated slightly but there was no masking my pleasure.”

Darcy reached over and gently grasped his sister’s hands.

“The other point is more sombre and probably more pertinent.”

Georgiana was taken aback at the sudden change in tone.

“Miss Bennet’s aunt was killed several years ago, ’07 I think although I have never asked. Her uncle was left with four children. There was an older teenage boy but the other three were seven, six and three. That very day she moved to London and was the mistress of her uncle’s home for four years, until he remarried. She was the mother figure to three young children who had lost their mother. You have been without our Mother for even longer. She will automatically think well of you, ask how you are doing. There is no doubt in my mind that she would like you.”

He squeezed Georgiana’s hands and then released them so that she could dab her handkerchief to her watery eyes. He waited patiently as she composed herself. Darcy saw her take a deep breath and look him in the eye.

“And what of last summer?”

Darcy knew that this still troubled his sister.

“What do you mean Georgie?”

“What would she think of me if she knew about last summer?”

Wickham’s sneering face flashed through Darcy’s mind. He had heard nothing of Wickham while in Hertfordshire, no damning of the Darcy name, and he had pushed the man out of his mind upon his return to London.

“You can never know how anyone would react to such news. I would hope that you never felt pressured to tell anyone. My instinct is that Miss Bennet would support you and apportion the blame where it belongs, but I cannot know that for sure.”

He looked at his sister.

“Why do you ask?”

“It troubles me, my lack of judgement. It weighs on me, as I know that if people knew my terrible secret then they would treat me differently. When meeting new people, I feel dishonest somehow.”

Darcy did not know what to say to this latest revelation. His sister shook off her mood and they separated to continue their days. But Darcy was aware, and sad it was still the case, that his sister was far from over her ordeal the previous summer.

--

The last week of February and the first week of March had an abundance of events. The season was in full swing and if a person was so inclined they could socialise all six days of the week. Neither Darcy or Elizabeth were so inclined, with Elizabeth attending two evening events each week and Darcy three. In addition, they were in each other’s company at several other occasions during those weeks. Lady Maria made no mention of it to Elizabeth but Mr. Darcy was calling on her without either of them being aware of it. She might not discuss the matter with Elizabeth but Darcy’s aunt arrived mere minutes after her note accepting the invitation.

“I am convinced neither of them are aware of their behaviour.”

Susan Fitzwilliam smiled as she returned her cup to the saucer.

“My instinct is to scoff at such a contention but they do appear to be completely oblivious to the fact. Do you think we should mention anything?”

“I have no idea how to proceed. They appear to be dancing round the edges of a courtship even though it is almost by accident. Elizabeth does not rail against the stupidities of gentlemen as much as she did at the start of the season but she still behaves in a unique manner.”

“Unique?”

“She is dressed before the dawn and unless the weather is truly ghastly she will take the carriage to Hyde Park for a walk. On dry days it is a spirited hike of several miles. And upon her return she will sit with her papers and journals and read them carefully, taking notes all the time. She is still straddling the line between society and trade.”

“Do you disapprove?”

“When it comes to Elizabeth there seem to be so many things where I do not know how to proceed. She takes comfort from information, it may be after 2.00 in the morning when we return from a ball but she and Mrs. Smith will make quick notes about the event. It is through gleaning information that she was able to assist her uncle, given all the other constraints. She has joined society with nary a stumble. She makes no effort to be anything other than herself and has found two or three gentlemen that are prepared to accept this. She is the exact opposite of some nouveau riche social climber, knows what is possible and what is not, and therefore makes no effort with someone like my cousin, other than to be a polite lady with him.”

“What does he think of her?”

“He finds her.” Lady Maria paused. “There is not one word I think. She treats him with respect but she is also honest. Maybe the best way I can describe it is that Society speak is a foreign language, one you have to be careful with, not say the wrong thing to the wrong person, whereas Elizabeth speaks English to him.”

Lady Susan nodded.

“I will steal that analogy Maria, it is very good. I see exactly what you mean. It is as if Miss Bennet is a foreigner within society and does not yet speak the language. And even more pertinently, she is making no effort to speak it?”

“Your own analogy is equally on target. So tell me about Darcy? Is he truly blind to the fact he is calling on a young lady? You have mentioned that he had a heightened sense of consequence and was always worried about raising expectations.”

“That is the thing, at the ball two nights ago he danced the first with a Miss Lytham. He has spoken, in a light and cheerful tone, of using his consequence for good and one dance will not raise expectations. He is not mocking himself but he is definitely not taking himself too seriously any more. He is polite and formal but not severe or stern.”

“That is quite the change.”

“It is. You have seen him with Miss Bennet. They last danced, what four nights ago, and they looked an attractive, and happy, couple. They both smile when they see each other, and the conversations between the two of them appear to flow even while dancing. We have both heard them at supper.”

“Is Richard jealous?”

“No he is not. He has not used the word, and I will not ask him directly, but my sense is he is intimidated by Miss Bennet.”

“Intimidated?”

“You just talked about her perusal of innumerable newspapers and journals. She can talk about politics, trade, the war on the Peninsula, the deterioration of the situation with the Americans, and those are just the supper topics of four nights ago. If she could be appropriately disguised she would not stand out at any club.”

“And Darcy is not intimidated?”

“He has given no indication that he is. He seeks out her company and they both take delight in knowing a fact that the other does not. But neither of them are precious when it occurs. Did you not hear Miss Elizabeth ask Darcy where he had learned about the current situation in Guadeloupe? It was so that she could subscribe to the émigré newspaper.”

“If they both wake up and realise that they are close to courting, what is your thought on the idea. And will the Earl object?”

“Less than two months ago Miss Bennet was an unknown, and I would not have approved, or at least withheld my approval at first. She would have been guilty and needed to prove her innocence rather than the other way round. But the last two months have demonstrated her qualities. Not the least of which is her intelligence,”

“You mean the tournament?”

“We have been out and about for the last two weeks, it is all that anyone can talk about. Sir Edward is reaping the public praise for the idea, for hitting that perfect mark of engaging interest without going overboard. And the brandy is the perfect prize. Richard tells me there are wagers between gentlemen every week that are in excess of the value of the brandy, even with that rare bottle. But by tying it back to honour for the regiment, a chance for public bragging rights, that is genius. But we both know that it was Miss Elizabeth’s idea, and she got the idea from listening to my son talk of his exploits. She wanted a way for his bravery and courage, the bravery and courage of all the men fighting there, to be recognised. The Earl has not met Miss Elizabeth, but he knows that she is the originator of the idea, and she got the idea from Richard. He may question an alliance with Darcy but he will not automatically oppose it.”

“Is he going to attend the event?”

“Oh yes, he would not miss it. Andrew will be there as well. He is proud of his younger brother, not that you could get him to admit it, and so all three of us will be there. I presume you will attend?”

“Without question. My father was the Colonel in command of the 25 th Regiment until his death. I will be supporting whichever officer from that regiment is in the tournament.”

“I think that by the time of the event all of the participants will have supporters from unrelated families. With so many sons going into the Army there are numerous ties, even if they do not include the current generation. And the Navy has been allocated one quarter of the spots. Who would have thought a fencing contest in the grounds of the Royal Hospital would become the social event of the season?”

--

Georgiana Darcy could have sat with Lady Maria and Lady Susan, her own thoughts were similar to theirs. But also like them she had no idea how to address the subject. She worried that if she raised the matter with him that he would revert to the William of prior seasons. It was only a week until William and Richard departed for their annual trip to Rosings Park. Georgiana maintained a correspondence with her only female cousin, Anne. She would like to accompany the two gentlemen to Kent but was not prepared to deal with her aunt. Two weeks of being found at fault every day was more than her spirit and self-esteem could cope with.

With her brother going to be away until the day before Good Friday she gathered her courage.

“Brother, may I ask a favour?”

“If it is within my power, of course Georgie.”

“Would you introduce me to Miss Bennet please. I would like to get to know her, and with you and Richard being in Kent until Easter, it seems like the perfect time.”

Darcy had been close to suggesting the same thing to his sister so Georgiana was pushing against an open door.

“I think that is an excellent idea. Just this week I was praising your playing and Miss Bennet said she looked forward to hearing you play.”

“I will send a note to Aunt Susan and ask her to host a lunch. Lady Maria and Miss Bennet will be invited and you will have the comfort of a familiar venue to meet her.”

“That is very thoughtful of you William, thank you.”

Darcy smiled as Georgiana gently hugged him.

--

“Elizabeth are you well? Is there something troubling you?”

Elizabeth started at the questions, lost in her own thoughts until then.

“Did you not enjoy meeting Miss Darcy? You seemed to be getting on well.”

Lady Maria’s first indication was the long sigh. There was definitely something troubling her protégé.

“No, Miss Darcy was delightful. But meeting her has my mind off on a long ramble into the jungle that is my family.”

Lady Maria parsed that sentence but made no comment, at least to Elizabeth. She did order fresh tea, this was not going to be a short conversation.

“As you know I have been corresponding with Jane once again. Her letter of apology was heartfelt and she bared her soul, talking about her jealousy. I now regularly write to both Mary and Jane, although the letters back and forth are still routed through my Aunt Philips. Jane and Mary have taken it upon themselves to try and protect Kitty and Lydia, even from themselves. What struck me today when meeting Miss Darcy is that she was a young woman, hardly more than a girl, who lost her mother at a very young age and her father when only 10. She had no parents yet is a charming young lady. Now I understand that she has wanted for nothing; nursery maids, governesses, tutors, they have all played a role in moulding the young lady. But she did not organise those herself, she had an extended family who made her upbringing a priority.

“It is this aspect that troubles me. Kitty and Lydia have two parents alive and healthy, where they live in a Manor House on our estate. Longbourn is only a modest estate, I updated the ledgers for 10 years, I know this better than anyone. But their pin money is still more than the wages of even the senior servants. Neither of them realise how lucky they are, how fortunate their circumstances, and they are being allowed to throw it all away. It should not be Mary trying to separate them so that she, Jane and myself can get to know the ‘real’ Kitty. And it should not be Jane that has to constantly chaperone the two of them when they leave the house, or Lydia when she and Mary are successful in separating them.

“When I add these latest revelations on top of my own experiences both here in London and in the three months I was back in Hertfordshire, I find myself trapped in the jungle I mentioned at the start. And I do not have a machete to aid my escape.”

Lady Maria internally shook her head. She could just imagine Elizabeth swinging a machete severing the vines in her path. Best not to give her any more ideas!

“I have come to realise that I need to be busy, busier than most people. I trained myself to be this way during the four years I lived with the Gardiners on Gracechurch Street. It does not suit, it would not suit, most people but for me it is something I take comfort in. But what this need for industry means, there too I am unsure.”

Elizabeth’s sigh was softer, less frustration, more a sense of defeat.

“As usual, when it comes to my family it is all a big muddle.”

Lady Maria waited but she appeared to be done, at least for the moment.

“Do you think of yourself as the mother, or at least the mother figure, to Sir Edward’s children?”

This apparent non-sequitur had Elizabeth looking at Lady Maria in confusion.

“Why do you ask?”

“You see your cousins Angela, Rebecca and Michael every week. I wondered how you felt about them?”

Elizabeth Bennet was not a stupid young woman, she saw the issue Lady Maria was raising.

“Not maternal, but proud of them; their behaviour, their learning, their newly gained accomplishments. Spending time with them is reinforcing the disparity with my own sisters?”

Lady Maria nodded. Elizabeth thought back to the end of the summer of ’07, the first birthday since the death of their mother. It happened to be the youngest, Michael, who was turning four.

“Uncle Gardiner had no thoughts of remarrying, in the summer of ’07 it was less than two months since the death of his wife. He and I talked about how I would act with the children. If they had all been under five then maybe the situation would have been different, but Edward was already 13 and the two girls seven and six. I was always Lizzie, or cousin Lizzie, with them. On Michael’s birthday, the first to fall after their mother’s death I took all three children that were at home to the graveyard at St. Magnus. They each put flowers on their mother’s grave and I told her how each of the children, including Edward who was away at school, were doing. Just a couple of sentences for each of them. Their father was able to take them in the December when it was Angela’s birthday but he too talked to Aunt Madeline about how each of the children were doing. Ever since then each birthday all the family present go to the grave and talk to their mother about their life. Between their four birthdays, the birthdays of both their parents as well as the date of their wedding they visit the graveyard seven times, in addition to Easter and Christmas.”

If ever a sigh could be described as happy, Elizabeth breathed a happy sigh.

“Aunt Madeline is still in their hearts, even although it is close to five years since her passing. My longwinded way of saying, no I never thought of myself as their mother, nor do they think that of me.”

Lady Maria blinked away the tears that had unexpectedly pooled as Elizabeth had spoken.

“You know that your parents will never change.”

“Yes, much as I wish they would, I know that nothing will change. I used to be intensely frustrated with Kitty and Lydia, it seemed I was constantly annoyed with them. I realise that they have been very poorly parented. But it will not stop the mortification when one or both of them bring ruin to the family name.”