Chapter 26

N ot that Elizabeth needed more proof, but upon meeting Miss Darcy, another of the late Wickham’s lies were revealed. The young lady was nothing like he had painted her; rather she was shy, demure, and eager to please once she warmed to the Bennet sisters.

She had not missed how Mr Darcy had shown pleasure when Elizabeth and her sisters had drawn his sister out, never overwhelming her, and making sure she was always comfortable.

The Darcys and Richard had arrived two days before the wedding as planned. The latter had reported that although his brother lingered there was a resignation that it was days now before the end. Just in case, Richard had said his goodbyes to his brother before departing London with his cousins. Elizabeth was aware Aunt Elaine and Uncle Reggie had insisted Richard attend so he could see Mary.

The same day they arrived, Richard, who refused to wait to see Mary, had brought his cousins to Longbourn. Elizabeth remembered how tentative both she and Mr Darcy had been. She was embarrassed at seeing him, as it was a reminder of all of the errors and misjudgements she had made while he seemed to be unsure of his reception by her.

Elizabeth had decided to take the bull by the horns. As it had only been the previous day, it was all very fresh in her memory.

Charles was already at Jane’s side, and after Richard had introduced Miss Darcy, he had led her to the settee where Mary sat so his ward could get to know her future cousin. Louisa—she had requested all the Bennet sisters address her informally—had seated herself next to Mama, while Mr Hurst took up across the chess board from Papa. When Mr Darcy had looked lost, not sure where to sit, Elizabeth had approached the uncomfortable looking man. “Mr Darcy, I know from your wonderful library at Darcy House and the tales I have heard about the one at Pemberley that you are a collector of first editions, is that not correct?”

“Ahem, yes indeed, Miss Elizabeth. I was pleased to hear you approved of Darcy House,” he had replied.

“Who could not approve of a house with such a library,” she had answered. “The reason I asked is that my father has managed to acquire some first editions of the bard’s works, including Venus and Adonis , which as you know was his first poem published. I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to the study to see them?”

She had seen a certain level of discomfort at her request. “Would your father approve?” he had enquired.

“As long as the door is kept open all the way, and it will be, I have my father’s consent,” she had relayed.

He had followed her and for the world he looked like a man being led to the gallows. Perhaps he thought she was about to berate him.

Elizabeth had led Mr Darcy into her father’s sanctuary. Before she lost her nerve, she turned to face him. “My pretext for inviting you here is only half true. I had an ulterior motive. You must allow me to tell you how very sorry I am for believing a man I had only just met, all in service of my pricked vanity…” She had ceased speaking when Mr Darcy had placed one of his hands on one of hers.

“Miss Elizabeth, the only reason you were open to believing that snake in the grass’s forked tongue was due to my ungentlemanlike behaviour. Even without that, many have been taken in by his guile whenever he turned his charm on them. As your father pointed out, had I revealed my father’s late godson for what he was as soon as I saw him, then…”

Now it had been Elizabeth’s turn to interject. “I, we all, understand why you felt you could not. I too would do anything to protect a beloved sister. In addition to that, as my father brought into stark relief, my surety in my own judgement combined with my inflamed prejudices would more than likely have caused me to reject whatever you said. Nothing that late reprobate did was on you.”

Mr Darcy had cogitated for some moments. “In that case, may we move forward and begin again? There is nothing to be gained by self-flagellation, in fact, I feel in a situation such as this a good memory is unpardonable.” He had smiled at her, revealing a dimple on his left cheek.

She had always known the man was handsome, but when he relaxed and smiled, he was devastatingly so. “As that agrees with my papa’s philosophy to only remember the past as that remembrance gives pleasure, I agree with you. Yes, Mr Darcy, I would like to begin again. She had dropped into a proper curtsy. “I am very pleased to meet you, Sir. I am Miss Elizabeth Rose Bennet of Longbourn, and you are?”

“Fitzwilliam Alexander Robert Darcy of Pemberley, at your service Miss Bennet.”

He had smiled again, this one even wider than the first, which revealed to her a dimple on his right side as well. Elizabeth had felt her heartbeat quicken as her breathing hitched. It took a moment or two before she felt she could talk. “Papa’s first editions are on the shelf there.” She had pointed with a shaky hand to a shelf behind her father’s desk.

Mr Darcy had enjoyed seeing the collection, some he had, but there were a few of Shakespeare’s works he did not own, ones which her father did.

By the time they had exited the study to return to the drawing room, Elizabeth had regained her equanimity. Papa had looked at her and she had nodded which resulted in an approving look from her sire, who it seemed had just vanquished Mr Hurst at chess.

Elizabeth brought herself back to the present. She was aware there had been a fundamental change between her and Mr Darcy, she was not sure what it was yet, but it seemed to be positive. He still looked at her intently, but unlike her wrongheaded prior opinions, she was sure the tall, dark, and handsome man was not looking at her to find fault.

She suspected it was admiration, but she was not willing to think along those lines just yet. The path they were now on was too new for her to try to divine what he may or may not feel for her. Before she thought of that, she needed to know what her own feelings were if he did in fact look on her with favour.

The Gardiners were to arrive within the hour, and Elizabeth was looking forward to speaking to Aunt Maddie about her jumbled feelings. Even though she and Mama got along just like mother and daughter should, there were certain things she simply felt more comfortable speaking about with Aunt Maddie. It was a habit of more than ten years and was hard to break.

Elizabeth was looking forward to the pre-wedding dinner which would be hosted at Netherfield Park that evening. As much as she was growing to like Miss Darcy, she was not the Darcy that Elizabeth most desired to see.

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

When the Bennets, the Gardiners, and Phillips were shown into the drawing room at Netherfield Park the evening of the dinner, it was hard not to miss the grave looks on the normally ebullient Richard Fitzwilliam’s countenance. Mary went directly to her fiancé. “It is your brother, is it not?” she asked quietly.

“It is. He still lives. Father sent a message with a courier. I will need to depart right after the ceremony on the morrow,” Fitzwilliam related. “William and Giana will of course accompany me.”

“You will write to me, and let me know how you are, will you not?” Mary enquired.

“Of course I will. Now that we are engaged I will write every day, as long as you do not get tired of my writing to you,” Fitzwilliam had insisted. “Mayhap not every day, but at least twice each week,” he promised.

“They will join the one you sent me from London in my memory box,” Mary replied. “How soon after your brother passes will it be before you and your family accompany him back to Derbyshire? Also, will you remain at Snowhaven for the full six weeks?”

“As I intend to marry you after six weeks, I think it is safe to assume I will arrive back in Hertfordshire around the time my deep mourning ends, which I will pass at my parents’ estate,” Fitzwilliam informed his beloved Mary. “We can still apply for a common licence and marry on the morrow with Jane and Bingley,” Fitzwilliam jested to lighten the mood. “Letters while I am at Snowhaven will not be the same as seeing you, but they will have to suffice.”

Elizabeth had taken a seat next to Miss Darcy. She had learnt from her about the Darcys’ imminent departure with Richard right after the ceremony in the morning immediately following the wedding. She looked across the room where Mr Darcy was speaking to her father, and Uncles Edward and Frank. She felt a tinge of disappointment, but would not let it take hold knowing the emotion was selfish. They were not leaving after the wedding ceremony because they wanted to do so.

“Have you heard more from your brother?” Gardiner enquired.

“Not since that first letter from Iceland, but given his youngest’s injuries, I do not expect them before late in March and more than likely after Easter,” Bennet responded.

“Brother? Iceland?” Darcy queried.

“You are not aware I have a younger brother who has been living in the former colonies these past five and twenty years, are you?” Bennet verified.

Darcy confirmed it was so.

“He has two sons and a daughter, his wife is no longer alive, and was on his way to England when the youngest boy was injured breaking both of his legs, which is why they are in Iceland.”

“That means my Aunt Catherine’s sycophant is not the heir to Longbourn about which he likes to crow,” Darcy realised.

“No, he is not. Not only that, but my brother’s eldest son will be one and twenty when they arrive, or soon thereafter, so we will be able to break the entail,” Bennet explained. “In case you were not informed, we are standing in my brother’s house on his estate.”

Darcy was beyond shocked. So many things he had thought he knew about the Bennets were inaccurate. He turned to Mr Gardiner, the man with whom he knew both his uncle and Richard invested—just another one of his past assumptions that had been proved wrong. The Gardiners were as genteel, if not more so, than many so-called members of the gentry. “Mr Gardiner…”

“Please call me Gardiner, he is Bennet, and our brother-in-law is Phillips,” Gardiner interjected.

“And I am Darcy. Gardiner, once the three weeks of deep mourning are over for my cousin, if you are accepting investors, I would like to add my name to those of my family members who invest with you,” Darcy requested.

“When you are ready, send a note and we will set an appointment,” Gardiner agreed.

“It is a pity you have to leave so soon after church on the morrow, Darcy,” Bennet mused, “I have heard from Hurst you are a capital chess player. When we meet again we must play. If you are able to beat me, you may be able to take on my Lizzy.”

Knowing how intelligent Miss Elizabeth was, Darcy told himself he should not have been surprised she was proficient at chess. “I look forward to challenging both of you,” he replied.

At dinner Darcy had the pleasure of being seated next to the lady he loved. Between courses they debated some points of philosophy. The difference between Miss Elizabeth being argumentative before Wickham’s unmasking and his apology and the debating now were stark. What he had thought as flirting before was instead Miss Elizabeth showing her displeasure without being outwardly rude. Darcy much preferred the way things were currently.

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

“Your Abraham has the advantage of youth, so in my opinion, and that of my brother Stellan, he is farther along than we had thought he would be by this time,” Lars Skarsg?rd told James Bennet. “We think he can join you at your home in a few more days.”

“Does that mean we will be able to leave Iceland earlier than we had thought?” James asked hopefully.

“Ja. If he continues to improve as he has been, you should be able to depart Stykkishólmur before the end of February,” the surgeon reported.

“I thank you and your brother for all you have done to aid my Abe in his recovery. Do you think he will be able to walk and ride again?” James enquired. He knew telling his son he would be restricted from an activity he loved would be a very cruel cut.

“It is our pleasure. From what I can tell, young Abraham should be able to do everything he did before, as long as he is more careful.” Skarsg?rd smiled.

“Thank you Skarsg?rd, that is the best news. I will tell Abe now,” James stood and shook the surgeon’s hand and made his way to the chamber which his son was using as his sickroom.

Three expectant faces were waiting for him when James entered the room. “Well?” Abe wondered impatiently.

James related what he had been told, which led to wide smiles on all three of his children’s faces.

“When can Abe join us at the house we are renting?” Henry wanted to know. His sister and brother nodded their heads also desiring the same information. If it was possible, their smiles grew even wider when James related that the move would be soon.

“We have a bedchamber ready for you on the first floor…” Maria began to say.

“You need to become used to calling it the ground floor,” James interjected. “In England the first floor is what we would call the second floor.”

“In that case, we have a bedroom waiting for you on the ground floor ,” Maria corrected. “It will be so good to be all together under the same roof again. Wait Pa, does that mean we will be able to leave Iceland sooner than we expect to?”

“Yes, in fact it does. We will know for sure in about a fortnight or so, but the surgeon and doctor believe we may be on our way by the middle of February. To that end, I need to write to the Dennington Lines’ offices in Liverpool like Captain Hillard requested I do once we had an idea of the date of our departure from here,” James informed his children.

“Pa, will you write about this good news to Uncle Thomas?” Henry enquired.

“As soon as I know for certain when we will be able to continue our journey, I will send a missive to my brother,” James replied. He sat back and watched as his and Mattie’s three children happily discussed the resumption of their journey. He lifted his eyes to the heavens knowing that his beloved wife was smiling down on them.

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

The day before the wedding of his cousin to Mr Bingley, a certain rector in Hunsford had considered making his way to Longbourn to object to the marriage, but as soon as his wife reminded him of the threat the former colonel and Mr Bennet had both made, with no good cheer he had subsided and sat stewing in his study at the time of the ceremony.

Charlotte finally understood she had not made a wise decision in accepting William Collins as a husband, but now it was too late.

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

The wedding of Jane Clarissa Bennet and Charles Arthur Bingley went off without any complications and no objections when it came to that time. During the ceremony Bennet had noted the besotted way Darcy was watching his second daughter, and from what he could see, she was not aware of his feelings. For now he would just observe.

As soon as the new Mr and Mrs Charles Bingley made their way back into the nave of the church from the registry, both with swollen lips from their five minute sojourn within, they were swamped by their family members and their well wishes. Once they had had a chance to congratulate the newlyweds, Fitzwilliam and the two Darcys mounted the Darcy travelling coach and commenced their journey back to London. The inevitable sadness due to the impending loss, which could have already occurred, descended. All three were not happy to be departing. Giana had begun to make good friends who drew her out more each day, none of whom were interested in anything but herself; Fitzwilliam was already missing his fiancée; and Darcy craved to spend more time in Miss Bennet’s company. He did not think he was only seeing what he wanted to see, but believed she was not indifferent to him.

One more member of the travelling party was sorry to be travelling so soon. Mrs Annesley had spent much time with her sister, especially as her charge had become friendly with Elsa’s Misses Catherine and Lydia. Her sister must have worked wonders because the two were nothing like Mr Darcy had described them after his first visit to Hertfordshire. Unless she was mistaken, Mrs Annesley had a feeling there would be many visits to the area of Meryton in the future, regardless of their need for an early departure.

Even while living within a budget, Fanny Bennet lived up to her reputation of being a consummate hostess. The budget notwithstanding, food and beverages were plentiful, and many compliments were paid to the mistress of Longbourn and her cook.

Less than two hours after the wedding, the new Mr and Mrs Bingley departed for their three week honeymoon at Darcy’s house near Brighton. Before the wedding, Bingley had signed a lease on Purvis Lodge.

Rather than wait for the James Bennets to arrive, he decided to move so Netherfield Park would be made ready for its master. The Hursts, with assists from the Bennets, would supervise the move to the newly-leased estate.