The Lady of the Mount and Patience Rewarded: Two Stories of Darcy and Elizabeth

by Don H. Miller

  “I think, sir, I will also enjoy the task more than usual.”

  “Before I go, might I ask a rather personal question?”

  “Sir, you may always feel free to ask a question; however, you must be aware that I will feel just as free not to answer it, if I think I should not.”

  He chuckled. “Touché. I understand that is true. My question is this. Why would a young woman who has caught the interest of a wealthy man, who is the son of a peer, refuse a request from him for a courtship when her station in life is so much lower than his, and he is such a good man? Mr. Farrington has been a friend of mine since Cambridge, and I can attest to his good character. There are many women of the ton who would be thrilled to be courted by such a wealthy and well-connected man.”

  Elizabeth did not reply immediately, because she was somewhat dismayed with his question. Why is he so concerned about my relationship with Mr. Farrington? Has he decided to try to further his friend’s relationship with me, rather than pursue one of his own? Does he think me unsuitable or is he not as attracted to me as I am to him?

  When she hesitated, he continued. “I know he is now the sole owner of Coldstone and not answerable to his parents with respect to whom he marries. Therefore, I must believe there is a compelling reason you have refused his request. I am not so bold as to ask you what it is, but only if my deduction is true.”

  “Sir, I am afraid this conversation is becoming too personal, although I will admit there is a compelling reason I have been reluctant to tell him, and I believe it is not appropriate you hear my reason, so I will not answer. Now, will you please leave so I can descend and make my way to Longbourn?”

  He had not missed the look of concern on her face when he asked about Farrington. What could I have said that disturbed her?

  “Very well, I will leave, but you can be sure I will be at Longbourn to formally meet the Lady of the Mount.”

  As he rode Ulysses down the trail, he could not help but wonder why she thought it was not appropriate for him to hear the reason. Does she think any man of my station and opinions would be shocked to hear her reason, or did she think only I would be shocked to hear it? If that was the case, what could the reason be? I wonder if she comprehends what a puzzle she has given me?

  Chapter 6: Longbourn

  Elizabeth was sitting in the swing in the backyard at Longbourn, thinking about her meeting earlier that morning with Darcy. She smiled as she thought how unusual their conversation had been. It was not at all a proper conversation between a man and woman for whom it was only the second conversation they had ever had. She was certainly amazed that Mr. Darcy had been willing to speak so informally to her. She remembered the first time, when she was seventeen, that she had seen the portrait of him which hung in the grand hallway at Pemberley. It had only been finished a few months before she saw it, and she recalled standing and looking at it for a long time, trying to envision what it would be like to be part of the life of such a wealthy, handsome, and strong looking man. She had immediately dismissed her imaginings as the foolish dreams of a young girl, but over the years, she had never forgotten them.

  Now, she could not believe her luck, meeting him as she had, in the comfort and casual atmosphere of her hilltop domain. Certainly, the man I met was neither reclusive nor unsocial, as he told me others might describe him. Such a man I might find it difficult to love, but the man I met on Oakham Mount is a man with whom I could imagine falling in love. Certainly, should the impossible occur and we become a couple, if he is taciturn and unsocial in large gatherings, I would undertake to make him smile more and let all people see the pleasant man he truly is, but that is a challenge I would enjoy. Besides, we have our Irish wolfhounds in common. That ties us together to some extent. Perhaps there is a chance we could become a couple.

  She contemplated how she might determine if they should become a couple, and if she decided they should, how she would convince him. Will I ever be able to admit to him that the main reason I refused Mr. Farrington was because, as a very young woman, I fell in love with an image of him, was impressed with him when meeting him a month earlier, and, once I knew I would see him again, I could not allow Mr. Farrington to court me unless I became certain my imaginings could not come to pass?

  As she was contemplating this, she heard her Mary calling her. “Lizzy! Lizzy! Come quickly. They are here.”

  “I am coming, Mary.” She jumped off the swing and calling to Calabas, lifted her skirt slightly and ran toward the house. She slowed before coming to the front corner of the house and at a much more sedate pace, walked toward the front door, watching Darcy and Bingley as they dismounted and tied their horses to the post.

  Seeing her walking toward them with Calabas, Darcy was even more persuaded she was about as far from being ugly and deformed as a young woman could be. He bowed and started to greet her, when Jane walked out the front door. Then remembering that only Bingley knew he had met Elizabeth, he turned to Jane, who coming down the walk.

  “Good morning, Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth,” said Bingley. “It is good to see you again. May I present my friend, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire. Darcy, these are Miss Jane Bennet, and Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”

  Darcy bowed to them and exchanged greetings with them, receiving a curtsy from both, Elizabeth acting as if she had never met him. Only Mr. Bennet, who was watching the meeting out his study window, seemed to notice the dogs obviously knew one another and that Darcy had started to bow toward Elizabeth when he first saw her and seemed about to greet her, as if he already knew her.

  “Will you come in for tea before we go for our walk,” asked Jane.

  “Thank you, Miss Bennet. It would be our pleasure,” replied Bingley.

  When they entered the parlor, Mr. Bennet was there, having been helped in there by his man, Malcolm, a huge man who had served him since his accident. After Jane introduced Darcy to Mr. Bennet, Bingley took the seat on the sofa next to Jane, but Darcy sat in a chair across from Mr. Bennet, while Elizabeth sat in a chair next to Jane. Mary was also there, but Kitty and Lydia had gone to visit Maria Lucas at the Lucases’ house. After Mary was introduced to Darcy, they enjoyed small talk about the weather until the tea was served and then Mary said, “Mr. Darcy, we regretted you were not at the assembly last night.”

  “I am sorry I had to miss it, but I had arrived late in the afternoon and was not feeling up to coming. I was tired and had a headache. I hope, in the coming weeks, there will be another such event and I will be able to mingle with the local folk then.”

  “There will certainly be a tea party or two, but I fear no balls are scheduled. I suspect you attend many such events when you are in London.”

  “There are certainly ample opportunities in town during the Season of the ton, but fewer this time of year. I came here from my estate in Derbyshire and will return there before Christmas.”

  “Mr. Bingley,” said Jane, “I did not ask you last night, are you quite socially active when in London?”

  “I am. More so than Darcy. I attended most of the balls during the Season with my sister.”

  “We look forward to meeting your sisters.”

  “And they look forward to meeting you.”

  During this conversation, Mr. Bennet kept looking at Elizabeth and Darcy and could see them look at each other often and then quickly look away. Once more he was convinced that their meeting a few minutes ago was not the first time they had met.

  “Tell me, Mr. Darcy, did Mr. Bingley have to twist your arm to act as chaperone? I would not expect a man of your consequence to agree to act as a chaperone.”

  “To tell the truth, Mr. Bennet, I have never acted as a chaperone. It will be a new experience for me. I am pleased that Miss Elizabeth will be joining me. I was not looking forward to taking such a long walk with only my dog for companionship.”

  “And how did you know she would be accompanying you?”

  Darcy realized his faux pas and quickly answered, trying
to cover his error. “Bingley told me that Miss Bennet was to ask Miss Elizabeth to chaperone. I just assumed she would.”

  “Are you going to join them, Lizzy, now that Mr. Darcy has agreed?”

  “I promised Jane I would, and given Mr. Darcy’s expectations, I think it best I do. Unlike Mr. Darcy, the lack of company would not distress me greatly, since I am used to taking long walks with only Calabas for company. However, like Mr. Darcy, I believe it will be more pleasant to have someone with whom I can converse without bothering Jane and Mr. Bingley.”

  “You can talk about Pemberley,” said Mr. Bennet. “Mr. Darcy, did you know Lizzy has been to Pemberley with her aunt and uncle. Her aunt’s parents live in Lambton.”

  “Yes, I did know. Mr. Bingley mentioned that Miss Elizabeth had told him about her visit when they spoke during the orchestra break. I will be happy to speak with her about it. As you can imagine, it is a favorite topic of mine.”

  After a few more minutes of pleasantries, Mr. Bennet said. “I believe the main object of this visit was to allow Mr. Bingley to call on Jane and take a walk with her. Therefore, it is time we gave them their chance to walk, but I do have a final question. Lizzy, if Mr. Darcy and you are to be Jane and Mr. Bingley’s chaperones, who is to be your chaperone?”

  Elizabeth was surprised at the question, and when she hesitated, Darcy interjected, “We will have our dogs with us, sir, and I believe Mr. Bingley and Miss Bennet can be considered our chaperones as we are theirs. Would you like someone else to accompany us?”

  “I fear Mary would complain at such a role and certainly I am not be able to go. Are you not concerned, Mr. Darcy, at the speculation that might arise if you are without another chaperone?”

  “Mr. Bennet, if I was calling on Miss Elizabeth or we were courting, then I would probably expect another chaperone, but given our status, I am not concerned. However, if you are, you may certainly send an employee to chaperone us.”

  “No. I am not concerned, Mr. Darcy. Frankly, I thought possibly you were, but were reluctant to bring it up. Since that is not the case, I hope you have an enjoyable walk.”

  Jane, watching her sister and Darcy, had the sudden thought that perhaps Darcy might be interested in Elizabeth. Bingley had told her his wealth was nothing compared to Darcy’s. Would it not be wonderful if Darcy could fall in love with Elizabeth? Wanting to do all she could to encourage both men to court her and Elizabeth, she said, “Would you gentlemen care to have lunch with us? I expect we will be gone until almost lunch time. We would be happy to have you for lunch.”

  Bingley looked at Darcy, who shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, “Why not.” Therefore, Bingley said, “Thank you, Miss. Bennet. I believe we would enjoy that. Could you please send a message to Netherfield telling my sisters we will not be there for lunch?”

  Jane was obviously pleased that the gentlemen were interested enough in her and Elizabeth to want to stay for lunch. She directed Mary to send a note to Bingley’s sisters.

  Chapter 7: Chaperones

  Once the four of them were on their way, it was decided they would walk toward Netherfield, take the trail to Oakham Mount, and when they met the trail from Meryton to Oakham Mount, take it into town where they could have another cup of tea and some pastries. They would then return to Longbourn by the road. The round trip should take nearly two hours, assuming they strolled rather than walked briskly, and they would then be back at Longbourn just before lunch.

  Once that was decided and after a few comments about the gathering clouds making it look like it might rain later in the day, Elizabeth said, “Now Jane, you and Mr. Bingley go on ahead. He is, after all, calling on you.” She then turned to Darcy and said teasingly, “I hope, Mr. Darcy, you can tolerate being alone with me and the dogs for the remainder of this walk.”

  Trying to look serious, he responded, “Miss Elizabeth, as unaccustomed as I am to being alone with a young woman for any length of time, I believe, for my friend’s sake, I will be able to tolerate being alone with you. In fact, it is a new experience to which I look forward.”

  Once Jane and Bingley were at least twenty yards in front of them, Darcy said, “I am sorry about stating my foreknowledge that you would be chaperoning with me. Do you think your father is suspicious about our relationship?”

  “I could not tell. Your response was reasonable, but my father is very perceptive. We will just have to hope it did not concern him.”

  “I suppose there is no use worrying about it. If it did raise a red flag for him, there is little we can do about it until we see him again. Now, on another subject. I have been meaning to ask you, since we first met on Oakham Mount weeks ago, would Calabas truly have attacked me if you ordered it. It is not a something which the Carlsons taught Polegra.”

  “Truthfully, I do not know. Lady Inez taught him such a command because she said Calabas was one of the most trainable wolfhounds she had ever raised. She used a professional dog trainer who specializes in teaching guard dogs to do most of the teaching, and he had a Great Dane trained to attack to show Calabas what to do. Even then, it took well over a month to teach him. However, in four years, I have never had to issue such a command, so I cannot be sure he would have attacked you.”

  “I hope, should a situation arise where you do need to order him to do it, he will.”

  He had turned his head slightly, so he could look at her more directly, picturing her as he had seen her on the Mount, with her beautiful hair flowing across her shoulders, and wished he could see her that way again. Sensing he was looking at her, she tilted her head slightly and looked at him with a sideways glance. Seeing the look in his eyes made her blush and quickly look away. “Mr. Darcy, I believe we are chaperones and are to watch the couple in front of us.”

  “I suppose you are right, but I was remembering my first sight of you this morning and thinking how unfortunate it is that our society believes young ladies should keep their hair covered with bonnets when outside. It is a shame you must hide your gorgeous hair under that bonnet.”

  She turned her head to look at him briefly and with a small laugh, said, “Mr. Darcy, I believe society has dictated young women should wear bonnets outside precisely because the sight of a woman’s flowing locks can cause thoughts in young men not appropriate for the situation.”

  He chuckled. “Touché, Miss Elizabeth. Touché. Then, let me ask you the question which has been in my mind me since we parted this morning. Why did you say I am not yet ready to hear your compelling reason?”

  “I am sorry, Mr. Darcy, but I am still not prepared to answer that question, just as I am not prepared to tell you what the compelling reason is.”

  “Very well, but I am sure you know that I will keep searching for an answer.” He stopped for a moment and snapped his fingers. “Perhaps that is the point. I will keep searching for the answer and, thus, I will be often thinking about you.”

  Elizabeth answered somewhat testily. “Mr. Darcy, any young woman wants to be remembered, but I assure you, I would hope, if you remember me, it would be for some physical or mental characteristics I possess, not for my answer to a question you asked.”

  He looked at her and saw she was, in fact, annoyed. “I am sorry, Elizabeth. I meant that teasingly. I am afraid I am not as good as you are at making my attitude known.”

  Deciding she would not chastise him for forgetting the to use ‘Miss’ in front of her name, she gave a soft laugh. “You are forgiven. Besides, your teasing conclusion has added a weapon to my womanly arsenal. I can make a man keep me at the front of his mind by giving him a puzzle to solve he cannot resist. I did not do it purposely to you, but I cannot withdraw it now.”

  “If you are feeling guilty for using such a ploy, you can tell me the answer, and then I can forget the puzzle.”

  “Good try, Mr. Darcy, but I am afraid I still will not tell you.”

  “Very well. Why do we not talk about my favorite subject: Pemberley? How well do you know Pemberley?”

 
“I suppose no better than most visitors know it. I was given a tour of the house and the grounds and had time to walk on the trail which went around the lake.”

  “Thus, you never been on any of the riding trails which abound on the property?”

  “No, we went there by carriage, and I never even considered asking if I might be allowed to use one of your sidesaddle-trained horses to take a ride.”

  “Then you shall have to go to Pemberley when we are there. There are so many beautiful sights which can only be seen on horseback, because they are so far from the house.”

  “I fear the only way that will happen is if you do not participate in the Season one year and stay at Pemberley during May or early June. With Miss Darcy coming of age soon, I suspect that will not be the case for some years.”

  “Perhaps Bingley and Miss Bennet will marry, and you could visit with them.”

  “Sir, they have only just met. Also, given you are mentoring him as he attempts to become a member of the ton, I must believe you have warned him that marrying one of our level of society will possibly be detrimental to his accomplishing that goal.”

  He had to grimace, because he had just reminded Bingley of that on their way to Longbourn, to see if he was still adamant that all he wanted was to be a country gentleman. When he did not respond immediately, she said, “I can see by the look on your face that I have just guessed some advice you have given him. I cannot fault you for it, Mr. Darcy, because it is certainly true. However, I do hope you have also told him a marriage of love and respect may lead to a happier life than a loveless marriage for which the only purpose is to gain him acceptance in the ton.”