Never one to wallow in self-pity, Elizabeth pulled herself together and went downstairs to the kitchen to see what Antonia, the cook, was having prepared for dinner that evening. Normally she would have spoken with Antonia before the day began to plan the menu for the week, but she’d awoken later than usual that morning.
Elizabeth knew that because Darcy owned land and their tenant farmers raised cattle, horses, sheep, and chickens, they often had meat for their dinners, something the poorer classes could not afford. This afternoon she found Antonia directing her kitchen maids in plucking a chicken.
“How good to have a chicken for dinner tonight,” she said by way of greeting the servant. “Mr. Darcy particularly likes a nice baked chicken and boiled potatoes.”
“Yes, Mum, I know,” Antonia replied. “Has ever since he was a wee lad. Since I did not see you this morning, I assumed this would make a fine dinner and you would approve.”
“You are a thoughtful woman, and yes, I do,” Elizabeth told her.
To while away the hours until Darcy would come home and dinner would be served, Elizabeth went back to her library and picked up the new book that Darcy had brought to her from London when he returned from his last business trip. It was a novel set in the New World and had appealed to the adventurer in Darcy, and he hoped it would please his wife as well. It did. The reading of the first page carried Elizabeth away across the Atlantic Ocean to the strange new land that many Europeans had been flocking to ever since the Mayflower had made its historic run in 1620. So lost in the exciting adventures of the hero and heroine of the story that she failed to hear Mrs. Reynolds’ soft tap on the library door. It was only after the housekeeper bravely rapped louder that Elizabeth was drawn back to the present.
“Enter, please,” she called.
The door opened, and Mrs. Reynolds entered. “Madam, it is nearing dinner, and Lucy is awaiting you in your chambers.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Reynolds.” Elizabeth put a marker between the pages, got to her feet, and hurried to her room.
“Mum, we’d best hurry, you know Master Darcy does not like to dine late,” Lucy greeted her as she entered.
“I am aware, Lucy,” Elizabeth said as she allowed her to unfasten her day gown.
It took nearly half an hour to get herself redressed in the evening gown and her hair done up in a simple chignon. As she glanced at her watch, a gift from Fitzie, pinned to her skirt, she realized that she was running minutes behind schedule.
“I am glad you could grace me with your presence at table,” Darcy greeted as she took her place at his right, a touch of sarcasm in his voice.
“I am sorry to keep you waiting,” Elizabeth said apologetically. “I was reading the new book you brought me from London and did not notice the passing of time.”
“So you are enjoying it?” he queried.
“Oh, yes! It is terribly interesting,” she enthused.
They turned their attention to the meal before them and ate without further conversation for several moments. When Darcy’s plate was empty, he looked at his wife. She still had a few bites of food left on her plate. He contemplated the question he was about to ask, hating to upset her again, but he just had to know.
“Is there any news for me?” he asked, looking knowingly into her dark eyes.
Elizabeth held his gaze for just a few seconds before breaking it and looking down at her plate. She used her fork to cut the already small bite of chicken, then toyed with it before answering.
“Only that my cycle returned today,” she said, her voice filled with despair. “I guess there is just something wrong with me.”
“There very well may be,” he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
The quickness of his reply cut her to the quick, but she masked her hurt so he would not know just how deeply that off-handed remark hurt. He could have at least argued with me, she cried inwardly. He did not have to agree so quickly.
“I believe I will write to my mother and ask her if she has any advice for me,” she told him.
“Suit yourself,” he replied.
After the meal was finished, they went to the drawing room, as was their custom. Often, especially in their early days, Elizabeth would play the harpsichord and Darcy would sing the latest songs of the day. But lately, especially when Elizabeth was on her cycle, she had no interest in music. In fact, she had little interest in anything except moping about in her library and trying to distract herself by reading. This had become very disconcerting to Darcy. Elizabeth was naturally a happy, outgoing woman, and those traits were what had attracted him to her in the first place. But this business with her inability to conceive had so dampened her spirits that it was as if a pall descended over the entire household each time it became painfully evident that she had once again failed. This coldness was driving Darcy to distraction.
“How would you like to pay a visit to your parents?” Darcy asked, breaking the silence that hung between them.
Elizabeth looked over at him and asked, “Instead of writing a letter?”
“Yes. Why not?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Why not?”
“It is such a long journey. I would be gone at least five days, with four long days on the road.”
“It is entirely your decision, but it might do you good to have a change of scenery and a nice visit with your parents,” Darcy said.
“I’ll only stay over two nights, and then I’ll come right home again,” she said.
“Whatever you wish,” he said.
“I’ll go have Lucy pack my trunk right now so that I will be ready to leave first thing in the morning,” she said, getting up from the chair she had been sitting in.
“I’ll walk upstairs with you,” Darcy said, taking her elbow.
He sent a footman to get her trunk out of storage for her and had him set it down at the foot of the bed. “Thank you, Roger.”
With a slight bow, the footman left the room.
“Lucy, Mrs. Darcy will be taking a trip to Longbourn, please see that she has everything she’ll need.”
“Of course, Master Darcy.” Lucy bobbed a curtsey and got busy pulling things from the wardrobe. A nightdress and slippers, her toiletries, and several changes of dress for both day and evening as well as two extra travelling dresses all went into the trunk along with their matching footwear. “Will you be riding, Mum?”
“No, I do not believe so, Lucy.”
With a nod, Lucy closed up the trunk and then set about preparing the additional luggage for her bonnets, it would not do to have them crushed. When everything was packed, Lucy bobbed another curtsy and went to recall Roger and another footman, Jack to take the trunk downstairs.
Darcy turned to take his wife in his arms once the staff had gone. “I’ll miss you while you are gone,” he said, drawing her close.
Elizabeth’s body was stiff in his arms at first, but as he began to stroke her back with one hand, she relaxed somewhat and leaned into him.
“I will miss you, too, Fitzie,” she murmured against his shoulder.
* * *
After a light breakfast early the next morning in the breakfast room, Darcy helped Elizabeth and her maid, Lucy into the family carriage. It had the family crest engraved upon its side and had the plushest interior to make the ride more enjoyable. Hitched to it were two sets of black geldings. They were trustworthy, gentle, and fast. He should escort his wife to her parents’ estate, but he had a business meeting a little later that morning that he just could not beg off. So he was sending his faithful groom, Toby, with her. Toby had been at Pemberley since Darcy was twelve years old. Now in his sixtieth year, Toby was still strong and fit, and completely reliable as far as trusting the man with his wife. He would help to keep her safe from ruffians and highway men while Fredrick, one of their coachman, drove.
It was a full twenty-four-hour drive from Pemberley to Longbourn. Elizabeth had brought along the book she had started the previous day to read when she grew tired
of looking at the scenery or conversing with Lucy. At the end of the day she reached up to bang on the carriage roof to gain Carter’s attention.
As the carriage came to a halt, Toby opened the door and asked, “Yes, Mum?”
“I am sorry, Toby, I just wished to inquire as to when we might stop for the evening?”
“Of course, Mum. We are nearly to Lutterworth. Master Darcy already sent Conner ahead to bespeak rooms at the inn for the night,” he returned with a favorable reply.
They were up early again the following morning, eager to reach Longbourn before nightfall. Fortunately, it was late spring, which meant long, warm days that made the journey more bearable.
Elizabeth was relieved when they finally arrived at her parents’ estate. Toby helped her and Lucy down out of the carriage and then he and Carter carried her trunk up to the front door. They left her and Lucy to go take the team and carriage around to the Bennets’ carriage house. They had, of course, been there several times before, so they knew their way around, and were soon greeted by Daniel, the Bennets’ groom.
To say the least, Mrs. Bennet was surprised to find her second-born daughter waiting in the sitting room where the housekeeper had left her to go announce the young woman’s arrival.
“Elizabeth, what are you doing here?” Mrs. Bennet asked, fearful of bad news. “Have you quarreled with Darcy?”
“Oh, no, Mother, nothing like that,” Elizabeth said. “I just need some advice from you. I was going to write a letter, but then Darcy suggested that I just come for a short visit.”
“How long will you stay?” her mother queried.
“Just until the day after tomorrow,” Elizabeth said. “I do not wish to leave my husband for long.”
“Very well, I will have Mrs. Farmer take you up, and then you may come and join me for tea.”
“Thank you, Mother.” Elizabeth smiled and gave her mother a hug before she and Lucy followed Mrs. Farmer up the stairs to her old room. Once Lucy helped her change out of her travel attire and into something a bit less cumbersome, she made her way back down to the sitting room.
“Now, just what is it that you need my advice badly enough to come all the way to Longbourn?” Mrs. Bennet inquired after pouring their tea.
Elizabeth sank down onto the familiar couch that had been in her family’s sitting room all of her life. It was rather nice to be back in her childhood home, but she knew that without Darcy, her visit would be as short as planned.
“It has been two years and I still cannot conceive a child,” she said at last, after accepting a delicate china teacup filled with steaming tea from her mother. “It just is it not fair. Lydia and Jane both have babies, and I have none.”
“Is your husband doing his part?” her mother asked bluntly.
“Of course, Mother,” Elizabeth said, her pale cheeks coloring at the bold question. “It is not him. It cannot be. It has to be me. Something must be wrong with me. There must be something I can do to be able to conceive.”
Mrs. Bennet studied her daughter as they both sipped their tea. It was obvious from both her words and her demeanor that Elizabeth was quite distraught over this apparent defect in her person. She pondered the situation. There was not very much that she knew about the subject, even though she herself had birthed five daughters. But there was something she had heard of. Whether it worked or not, she could not say. But it was worth trying, if it would bring a smile back to the face of her daughter.
“You could try the ‘conceiving aromas’,” she ventured. “Both Mrs. McMurphy and Mrs. Donohugh swear by them. Invite your sister, Jane, to come for a visit. Perhaps being around her will trigger your body to respond and to be able to conceive.”
“Perhaps,” Elizabeth said slowly, considering the outlandish proposal. “Nothing is happening anyway, and it would be good to see Jane again.”
* * *
Upon arriving back home a few days later, Elizabeth could hardly wait for Darcy to come home so she could tell him of her mother’s suggestion and ask for his consent to invite her sister to come for a visit.
“Of course, if you think it will help,” Darcy said when Elizabeth broached the subject over dinner that evening. “Anything to see you smile again.” He thought it was the silliest thing he had ever heard of, but he was willing to humor his wife.
Two weeks later, Jane arrived to spend a few days with Elizabeth. It was so good to see her older sister again. They had not seen one another for quite some time, even though they lived just a few hours ride away. Their last visit had been when Jane and Bingley had their last child. The first two days, the sisters chattered away, catching up on each other’s lives. Every time Jane mentioned her little ones, she noticed a shadow pass across Elizabeth’s countenance. By the third day, Jane was missing Charles, her husband. She, too, thought their mother’s notion was quite far-fetched. On the fourth day, she could not wait any longer to get home. So, after packing her things, she set off on the journey back home.
Since her cycle had ended about the same time that Jane had arrived, Elizabeth was in a better mood. She was still just as intent on bearing a child, but her moroseness was gone for now.
“Fitzie,” she began one evening as they sat together in the sitting room after dinner, “Jane did not stay as long as I thought she might. Would it be all right with you if my sister, Lydia, comes for a few days? She has had three babies, so maybe her ‘conceiving aroma’ is stronger than is Jane’s, who has just two children.”
“I think this business with a ‘conceiving aroma’ is nonsense, but if you would like to have Lydia come for a visit, I certainly do not mind,” Darcy told her.
“It may be, for all I know,” Elizabeth conceded. “But I am so desperate, I will try anything. I will send for her in the morning.”
“Come upstairs with me now,” Darcy said, reaching for her hand. “Maybe we will not need any ‘conceiving aromas’.”
Elizabeth looked into her husband’s eyes and saw the longing there. She knew she had not been herself lately, so she clasped his hand and smiled as he pulled her to her feet.
Chapter 2
The very next morning, Elizabeth wrote an invitation to Lydia, her youngest sister, to come visit her at Pemberley. Darcy sent Roger to deliver the message posthaste, with the instruction to wait for a reply. He returned late that evening with the response that Elizabeth was hoping for.
Dearest Sister, I would be delighted to come for a visit. Please send the carriage for us the day after tomorrow. The children and I are very much looking forward to the visit.
With fond anticipation,
Lydia
“Oh, Fitzie!” Elizabeth exclaimed after reading the note aloud to him. “She will come! I am so excited. I have not seen her in ever so long.”
“It will be a pleasant diversion for you. I shall send Carter to fetch them,” Darcy said. “She and the children will keep you company while I travel to London.”
“Oh, you are going away again?” Elizabeth asked with dismay in her tone.
“Yes, I’ve been summoned by Lady Catherine. While I am there I plan to visit Westin’s for a new wardrobe. Mine is looking a bit shabby of late. I will bring you something, too, my love.”
“Yourself is all I need,” said Elizabeth, her eyes misting at the thought of her beloved leaving even if just for a few days.
“Just the same, I shall bring you some pretty baubles, a gown in the latest fashion, or anything you like.”
“I do not have need of anything,” she replied. “You see to that, you darling man. But if you find another book as interesting as the one you brought last time, I would love that.”
“A book you shall have,” Darcy said. He was secretly pleased that his wife had an interest in intellectual things—things beyond rounds of parties, the latest fashions, and the area gossip, though it would not do to have her seen in anything less than the best.
Most men preferred that their wives content themselves with running their households, rais
ing their children, and socializing with the other ladies of their set. There seemed to be an unspoken fear that if a woman learned too much, she would be dissatisfied with her husband and lot in life. Darcy differed from most men. He enjoyed the ability to have a stimulating conversation with his wife rather than having to frequent the gentlemen’s clubs for that pastime.
Elizabeth spent the next day driving poor Mrs. Reynolds nearly to distraction with her overseeing all of the scrubbing and cleaning the already spotless house. Mrs. Reynolds and team of housemaids kept the house in perfect shape all the time anyway, but Elizabeth was experiencing an energy spurt that she had not known in several weeks. She even went so far as to help the maids a bit by encouraging them to lift the knickknacks and small lamps in the drawing room so that they could dust the tables underneath. She knew that she was frustrating them with her interference, but she could not seem to stop herself.
She had not felt this excited about much of anything for quite a while. Not even Jane’s anticipated visit had aroused this much headiness. Darcy did not quite know what to make of this sudden change of mood, but he did not question her for fear of altering her happiness. When Mrs. Reynolds came to him and politely asked him to do something before her maids took French leave, he acquiesced and invited her to take a walk out to see the new foal that had been born the day before, she readily agreed.
Elizabeth and Darcy: A Romeo and Juliet Twist: A Pride & Prejudice Regency Variation Page 17
