Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

J ust after eleven the following morning, Darcy paid a visit to his aunt’s home, hoping to see Elizabeth. It was too early for morning calls since most of the visitors would wait until mid-afternoon to begin their visits. An early riser, Darcy struggled with the timing of events in town, which was yet another reason he avoided it as often as possible. He hoped that by calling early, he would have a chance to see and speak with Elizabeth privately, or as privately as could be managed with his aunt there.

“Good morning, Darcy,” his aunt greeted him when he entered the drawing room where she and Elizabeth were sitting. Elizabeth smiled at him but was unable to speak. “I told Elizabeth that we would likely see you this morning. Your timing is fortuitous, for I wished to speak to you of our plans for the next several weeks.”

“I do hope those plans include outings to museums and the theatre, else I will have to decline,” Darcy replied dryly.

His aunt turned a shrewd eye on him. “You will attend several events a week with me and Elizabeth since we will need your assistance in squiring her about town, at least for the beginning of the season. She has a few friends, but I would prefer that you attend events with us, especially when my husband or sons cannot.”

Darcy attempted not to roll his eyes. “I will attend whatever events you tell me I must, but I beg that not all of them are dinner parties and balls. You know that I detest events when I am forced to make small talk for hours on end.”

“I do know, nephew. And fortunately for you, Miss Gardiner prefers to go to museums, the theatre, and the opera, along with a litany of other cultural and musical events. While she seems to enjoy dancing, she has already complained several times about the late nights required during the season.”

Elizabeth laughed. “I am an early riser. While I have lived in town for years, I have never fallen into the routine of so many society matrons, like you, Lady Matlock. Country hours are a far better fit for me.”

This statement made Darcy grin at her. “Yes, I recall how much you enjoy mornings. Speaking of which, Aunt, I have asked Miss Elizabeth to join me for a morning ride whenever possible while we are in town. I know you keep to town hours, but I know Elizabeth’s penchant for rising early and her need for frequent exercise. While not quite as early as I would normally prefer, might I come by at nine in the morning to collect Miss Elizabeth for our first ride?”

Lady Matlock looked between the two young people. “Elizabeth, you will need to take a footman with you, but I will give the order for one to be available to accompany you. Darcy, do you have a mount appropriate for her to ride? Side-saddle, not astride, as you allow Georgiana to do at Pemberley?”

Darcy grinned. “I do. And I assume you have had Miss Elizabeth prepared with a riding habit appropriate only for riding side-saddle? I taught her to ride both ways at Pemberley though it has been a while since I have been able to ride with her. I hope you have practised occasionally without me? ”

Elizabeth frowned. “I have not had much opportunity to ride except on holiday last summer. My uncle and I rode for a brief while, but the mounts he acquired for us were far from Pemberley’s standards.”

“You will like the mount I brought for you. She is an Arabian, light of foot and energetic. I think even you cannot exhaust her, at least, not while in town. At Pemberley, I think she could ride all day long without tiring,” Darcy told her.

“Perfect. Then an hour’s amble through Hyde Park will be a very enjoyable form of exercise, especially after so many days spent in boredom and forced stillness. Do you know that your aunt has required me to purchase more gowns within the last month than I likely owned in my entire lifetime, William? She adores shopping apparently and believes that I must accompany her on all of her trips to the shops,” Elizabeth complained, laughing as she did so and causing the others to laugh with her.

“My dear Elizabeth, you know that you cannot be seen in a gown more than once while in town. However, now that we have acquired a wardrobe for you, you can have some of those gowns repurposed at the end of each season. Until you marry, that is, at which point you will need an entirely new wardrobe.”

Elizabeth groaned. “Then I will never marry, for I do not ever want to have to endure this torture ever again.”

Once again, this elicited a laugh from the others. “Perhaps, Miss Elizabeth, you will meet a man who entices you enough that you will willingly submit yourself to the modiste once again. If not this season, then in the next?” Darcy teased.

Elizabeth did not rise to the bait. “Never, sir,” she repeated. “For I would have to find a man as good as my Uncle Gardiner, and I am not sure he has an equal.”

“And what does Gardiner do that makes him such an excellent man?” Darcy inquired, genuinely interested in how she would answer .

Elizabeth thought for a moment, and then responded seriously. “He brings my aunt her favourite delicacies, treats her as an equal in his business and family, spends time with her, fights battles on her behalf, and generally puts her above all else in his life. When Aunt Maddie needs him, he is willing to drop everything else in order to do what she requires. Obviously, there are moments when the children or the business take priority, but if she were to ask him of it, he would drop everything on her behalf. I suppose I want a man who puts me first—something my father refused to do.”

Darcy simply nodded at her list. He had witnessed Gardiner make similar decisions before. When Darcy’s father passed away, Gardiner had wanted to bring his wife and children back to London with him. However, at her insistence, Mrs. Gardiner had chosen to remain in Derbyshire. Though Gardiner would have preferred to keep his family together, he respected his wife’s judgement and ultimately agreed to her wishes, trusting her instincts.

Darcy already knew that he could be the person Elizabeth needed. However, despite their friendship, she was not yet willing to see him as a partner in her life, or at least he did not believe she was. It was challenging to read her feelings on this matter, and he wondered if he would be brave enough to broach the topic soon. Though he was only twenty-four and had not planned to marry so young, he was seriously considering making Elizabeth his bride. He asked himself how long he would need to wait. She would turn eighteen in just a few weeks, but he questioned whether they were both too young to contemplate marriage. Since his father had approved of Elizabeth, he did not doubt her suitability but was not certain she was ready to hear his intentions just yet.

He spent several minutes in contemplation as the conversation between his aunt and the woman he admired continued. Finally, Elizabeth’s laughter drew him out of his ruminations.

“Are you still with us, William?” Elizabeth’s cheerful voice called to him. “Or are you dreaming of your horses or estate? I have seen you smile that way only when at Pemberley.”

Darcy shook his head as though to clear it. “I was contemplating something pleasant, but not Pemberley in this instance. I was actually recalling something my father said to me shortly before he died, and it was a good memory. Elizabeth, I look forward to riding with you in the morning, and I will arrive at nine to collect you. Aunt, I would like to join you for tea later, but first, I think I must speak to my uncle. Is he at home?”

Both ladies looked at him inquisitively for a moment, but after a brief pause, Lady Matlock answered. “Please do return after you have spoken with my husband. We expect guests in a few hours, but the house should be empty for a while longer. Yes, he is in his study and will not mind you disturbing him for a few minutes.”

Darcy nodded and stood, bowing to both ladies before rushing from the room.

Elizabeth watched him depart, wondering what had occurred to him that caused him to rush out of the room as he did. “That was odd,” Lady Matlock said after a moment, voicing the same thought Elizabeth had.

"It was," she replied thoughtfully. "I have not seen William in over two years, but even then, he was always contemplative—reluctant to speak until he had fully worked through whatever troubled him. That last summer, when we rode the estate, he would often fall silent for long stretches, only to speak later when he was ready. Perhaps it is something like that now—a problem he is trying to solve, one where he seeks his uncle’s counsel to help him find the answer."

“Well, if that is the case, he will speak of it when the time is right. For now, let us review these invitations and decide which events you would like to attend and which ones we will require Darcy to accompany us to.” Lady Matlock gestured to the stack on the table, and the two spent the next half hour discussing their various entertainments. Considering Elizabeth’s preference not to be out every night, they selected two or three events to attend each week for the next month, along with outings to the theatre and opera. They also chose a few musical evenings, and soon the ladies had filled their social calendar with events for the next fortnight, along with tentative plans for the following weeks.

Elizabeth carefully copied out the list of events with dates that Darcy was expected to accompany them. The first of these was that very night for an informal dinner at Matlock House with the Gardiners. Darcy had seen Mr. Gardiner occasionally in the last two years, but he had not seen Mrs. Gardiner at all during this time. That night, Georgiana and the Gardiner children were invited to dinner—a rare invitation, but one that they occasionally made and always enjoyed. The Matlocks had two sons who were both unmarried, and though they hoped for grandchildren eventually, they had not yet been so blessed. The Gardiner children were presently standing in, something which both of the Fitzwilliam sons appreciated since it lessened the pressure from their parents to wed.

When Lord Matlock and Darcy returned an hour later, both men were smiling. Darcy practically beamed when Elizabeth handed him the list of events. They men found tea and coffee waiting for them, and the four of them enjoyed a quiet half-hour of conversation before the first guests were announced.

“That is my signal to depart,” Lord Matlock said as he rose to his feet. “Come, Darcy, I will escort you out. If the guests see you at the door with me, they will not think you are merely avoiding them. Elizabeth, I am glad to have you here, as I do not have to hear my sons complain about their mother’s matchmaking since she has turned that on you this season. ”

Everyone laughed at his comment, though Darcy and Elizabeth both flushed slightly at the mention of matchmaking. That Darcy was left out of the schemes was not lost on the gentleman, but he knew that it was because of the discussion he had just had with his uncle.