Chapter 23

23

E lizabeth appreciated Darcy’s efforts to keep calm in the house. Instead of returning to her estate of Rosings Park in Kent, Lady Catherine became a fixture in the nursery, sharing her knowledge about child rearing and every other subject under the sun with anyone and everyone, including the twins. Several times, Elizabeth was called upon to arbitrate an argument between her mother and Darcy’s aunt.

Mr. Collins took to following her father around, who spent inordinate amounts of time divided between the extensive library at Darcy House and Miss Clara in the nursery. One gentleman was welcomed in the room with the children; the other was not.

When Georgiana visited, she spent the whole time avoiding her aunt Catherine, as did Elizabeth’s sisters.

Twenty-four days after the Lord Chancellor made his decision, Darcy requested Elizabeth to join him, her father, Lord Matlock, and Richard in his study. Once they entered, a footman was stationed outside, and the door was locked.

Darcy addressed the group. “Gentlemen, Mrs. Darcy, we are gathered to make final arrangements for Bennet’s journey to Charleston, South Carolina.”

Elizabeth was flummoxed. America? There had been no discussion in front of her about the subject. In fact, in caring for her family and guests, one day slid into another, and the whole plan completely slipped her mind.

“My man of business has arranged a Letter of Credit against my investments there for the family to use. Already, items requested by Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have been removed from Longbourn and are carefully stored in the hold of a clipper belonging to Mr. Gardiner, the brother of Mrs. Bennet. The ship will depart on the tide in two days. By the time our thirty days are up, they will be well outside the English Channel into the Atlantic. Mr. Gardiner has personally selected the boat and crew. The manifest for the trip shows their eventual destination to be Italy. Only we will know that their first port of call will be in the Americas.”

Two days? How can that be? For as much as she and Darcy endeavored to be alone, they still spent hours with the family. Yet, there had not been a hint from either of her parents that removing the children from Darcy House was still an option or that the plans were already far advanced.

She was especially proud of her mother for not speaking out of turn. It proved her attachment to the twins. Who could blame her?

Charlie was particularly endearing. Only once since his initial illness had his fever risen. Darcy’s doctor was called for reassurance. This time, he quickly recovered. After all, between her mother and Lady Catherine, who knew everything about child rearing, along with Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Congden, the room was bursting with “experts.”

Miss Clara favored and held the hearts of Elizabeth’s father, Darcy, Mary, Lady Catherine, and Cook. She basically ignored everyone else.

Additionally, Anne de Bourgh and Georgiana were fixtures in the music room along with Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, who took it upon themselves to partner the others dancing like they were all attending Almack’s.

The separation would be difficult for every member of the household.

Tears threatened. Brushing them away, Elizabeth refocused her attention on the conversation.

Lord Matlock said, “As you suggested, Richard and I will meet you at the club every day this week, Darcy. I invited Lords Singleton and Harper for tomorrow. Once they tell their wives with whom they shared a meal, word will be around Town that you are not hiding out and that you have not kidnapped the babies and departed for an unknown port.”

The colonel added, “Since we are close to the deadline, I am sorry to report that none of my men, who have been surreptitiously tailing Lord Armstrong, have discovered anything wrong, not even a visit to his mistress. An interesting side note is that he seems to have paid Wickham off since the last I saw of the mongrel was him boarding a ship to Canada not six days ago. I have kept my men on the watch in case he changed his mind and returned. So far, he is still at sea. Good riddance!”

“Aye!” The men raised their glasses of brandy in relief. At least there was some good news.

Tension still filled the room.

Lord Matlock addressed her father, “Are you decided on this?”

Setting aside his glass, Papa nodded. “Yes, my lord. Darcy will arrange for the lease of our property once the ship departs. Although I found pleasure in Longbourn and never had any intention of leaving, my wife and I are willing to make any changes necessary to protect Jane’s children. In effect, we will be parents again. Something you should know: our names will be entered on the ship’s log as Mr. and Mrs. Benedick from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It is close enough to Bennet that there should be no mistake when someone addresses us.”

How could a person be happy and sad at the same time? The evidence of her father’s good humor warred with his plans to separate everything connecting her to Jane.

She yearned to be on the ship with her family while at the same time she could never see herself leaving her husband alone. The painful truth was that her heart was being torn in two. Half would go with the twins and the rest of her family. The other half would stay in London. However, she knew exactly where her loyalty belonged. She would remain with the man she loved.

Two days later, on the morning Bennets were scheduled to depart, a powerful storm hit London. High sustained winds toppled trees and tall shrubs in parks and gardens. Rain and hailstones poured from the heavens until you could barely see your hand in front of your face. Travel was impossible, especially via ship.

Shops were closed. Even Darcy’s appointment with Lord Matlock and the gossipers at his club was impossible.

Darcy was grateful to have more time with the twins but scared at the predicament they were in. Every minute drew them closer to Lord Armstrong’s arrival.

Fortunately, Lady Catherine, her daughter, and Mr. Collins returned to Kent the day prior to the weather changing. The grand lady claimed that it would be a travesty for her to witness the babies being severed away from her favorite nephew and his wife by the Armstrongs. Whatever Lady Catherine’s reasoning, it was much quieter in the house with them gone.

The hours flew by as the deadline drew dangerously near. Nerves unraveled, and tensions increased. For the first time in their marriage, Elizabeth’s temper exploded, catching Darcy in its wake. His reaction was little better.

“We are on the verge of losing everything that matters to me, Fitzwilliam.” The softness of her tone was far more threatening to him than if she had shouted. “Tell me, husband, what will happen to us, to you and to me, when our world collapses tomorrow?” She flung her arms into the air. “I cannot imagine Lord Armstrong will allow raging winds and blinding snow to keep him from coming for Charlie. No, instead of being reasonable and waiting for the weather to improve, he will arrive in his stately carriage with his revolting arrogance to strip Jane’s son away from me, and you will do what? Have you anything planned to stop him?” His wife bent double, her arms clasping her middle. “What am I to do? How can I survive this heartbreak?”

Deeply troubled, Darcy wanted first to defend himself from her accusations. She knew that he poured his heart out to its last drop, coming to love the children dearly, to appreciate the affection of the Bennet family, and to cherish his wife beyond measure. Did Elizabeth appreciate none of it? Frustration almost brimmed over until he spewed his anger until she felt his suffering.

Except, he loved her. This woman, his wife, was everything to him. Despite their trials, she brought a level of joy into his life that he never hoped to receive. She delighted him, frustrated him, and perplexed him while she soothed him, invigorated him, and rejoiced with him.

Recognizing that her charges against him were mere expressions of her pain, he did the only thing he knew to do: he held her as her tears shook her until she melted against him.

Immediately, her expression changed from ‘I’ to ‘we,’ demonstrating the power of a caring embrace.

“What will we do, Fitzwilliam? How will we manage to move beyond this pain? How can we help Clara? She will be devastated losing her brother. Already, she suffers when he is only inches away. What will we do when she realizes, even at her tender age, that he is not coming back?” She sobbed, her arms surrounding him, extending solace to him through her suffering. “And my parents, my sisters, and Georgiana? They love Charlie so much. For the past month, they have tended to his needs, teased him, and poured out their love for him. What will they do when he is no longer here?” She pulled him tighter to her. “And what of us? Would you have married me without the children? Would I have married you? What will happen when we only have Clara in the nursery? Will we be able to move forward with our hearts broken and crushed? Can we have a future? Fitzwilliam, what are we going to do?”

His inclination was to address each question one at a time, but that was not what Elizabeth wanted. Instead, she needed reassurance.

Drawing from deep in his heart, he considered his words carefully, how much he desired her to know and how much he was willing to reveal to the woman in his arms. Brushing his fingertip over her cheek, he wiped the tears away.

“My Elizabeth, I have come to love you with all of me to the point that I feel your pain intensely. I also feel your joys and your concerns.” The fabric of her dress was soft on his palm as he ran his hand slowly up and down her arm. “In the short time we have been wed, I discovered that each kiss we share is a promise. I learned that with you by my side, we are invincible.” He sighed when he felt her stillness. “In truth, I do not know how we will move forward when Lord Armstrong comes. At the same time, I know beyond doubt that we will always head in the same direction together. I love you, Elizabeth, and I always will.”

In a flash of movement, Elizabeth cupped his face in her hands and kissed him like he was more important than air.

Intense relief filled him that somehow, someway he said something that resonated with her heart. He was not used to vulnerability. Yet, he would expose himself to her again and again if it eased her way. Each word he spoke was the absolute truth to him. She needed to know how cherished she was.

He drank in the comfort she offered, the overwhelming evidence that she needed only him.

When she leaned back slightly, he brushed his lips across her forehead. Her eyes were puffy, the skin of her face blotchy red, and her bottom lip swollen from his kiss. She never looked so beautiful.

Finally, she said, “I love you too, Fitzwilliam. I realized several weeks ago that Charlie was not the only male who held my heart in his hands.” She exhaled as she leaned back into him, one hand rubbing his back like he saw her do a hundred times to Bingley’s son. “You are correct that we will survive the separation, that in time we will thrive. I cannot imagine enduring without you, my husband. I promise you that I will make every effort, as I am confident you will as well, to be a family, a nucleus where Charlie can return when he is fourteen if he is willing and to see that Clara knows her value as you have shown me mine. I love you, you dear, dear man.”

This time, when they kissed, they sealed their tender affection into something permanent and sweet. Something everlasting. Something forever.