“I am sure I would have, Uncle Prescott. You cannot know how grateful I am that you came, and that Elizabeth was not here. I was worried about her mother’s inappropriate behavior, but it is nothing compared to Aunt Catherine. Could you have had her incarcerated?”
“I would not have her put in jail, but I certainly could have forced home confinement on her, probably in the Rosings Park dower house. Furthermore, I could have demanded Lord Matlock be censured for assisting her. I could have cost the Fitzwilliam family a great deal of grief and a significant loss in status, and he knew it. I do not believe you will be having any trouble from them again.”
As they were walking between Darcy House and the Willingham Mansion, they were talking about Darcy’s upcoming marriage and where it might be held. Darcy was not surprised, when Lord Willingham said, “Lady Edith made me promise to ask you once more if you would not consider marrying in London. She thinks that Lizzy’s acceptance by high society might be of more importance than you think and that it would be more likely occur if the wedding were held here in London, with the wedding ball at Willingham Mansion. We would also make it more generally known that you are my nephew. Furthermore, my wife assures me Lady Marie would be happy to hold a wedding breakfast at Dumont House. Both my wife and Lady Marie would welcome the help of Mrs. Gardiner and might even be willing to involve Mrs. Bennet, if you feel she would be able to behave properly among the upper-class persons who would attend.”
“That is very generous of you, Uncle. I will speak to Elizabeth about it, however, I believe her mind is set on Pemberley, and I must admit, we are of like mind. Neither of us has a desire to be active in the ton but would rather spend most of our time at my country estates and primarily socializing with our genteel neighbors.”
“That, of course, is your choice. We would like to see more of you here, particularly since Amelia and her children are on their way to live with us. She and you were always close, and I think she would like Elizabeth.”
“Amelia is coming here from Scotland to live with you? I was going to ask if you had heard from her recently, because she has not corresponded with me for over 18 months. What happened?”
“We do not want it generally known, but her husband committed suicide a few months ago. He put himself in serious financial difficultly through some poor investments and gambling to the extent that he was about to lose his estate. He left her a note saying she and the children would be better off without him, and he could not divorce her. It devastated her, because you know how much she loved him, and he had told her nothing about his financial difficulty until it was too late. The estate was sold to pay off his debts and she is returning here with no more that £70,000 to her name, most of that from her dowry, which he did not touch. Of course, our friends will only know her husband died unexpectedly, so please tell no one but your fiancée what I have told you. I tell you, because I believe your Miss Elizabeth might be good for her.”
They had arrived at the front door to Willingham Mansion, so that no more was said on the subject. The Marquess assured Darcy they would talk more about it later.
Chapter 18: Wedding Plans and Family Matters
On Wednesday morning, Elizabeth, Jane, Kitty, Georgiana, and Mrs. Gardiner again visited some of the modistes and shops that Elizabeth had visited with Lady Penelope on Monday. Kitty had brought even more drawings with her which she had produced since they had shopped on Monday. They received the best response to their requests, based on the sketches, from Madame Tellier, the modiste who was one of the best customers of the Gardiner’s Fabric warehouse. Thus, she was given the task of creating patterns shown in the sketches and making the gowns, dresses, and riding habits as soon as the patterns were complete. Gowns for which there were no sketches, as well as other items, were also ordered from Madame Tellier and other modistes, including the modiste from whom Georgiana usually bought her gowns. To Elizabeth, the cost of what she ordered was enormous, but it was less than half of the amount Darcy had told her he expected her to spend; therefore, she vowed she would not worry about it.
Darcy came to the Gardiners’ for lunch and then he and Elizabeth returned to Darcy House to make final plans about where and when the wedding would take place. As they were discussing plans with Kitty and Georgiana, Darcy received a note from Lord Willingham asking if he and Elizabeth would come to Willingham Mansion to discuss some important developments. Not long thereafter, they were shown into the parlor of the mansion, where they were surprised to see Lord and Lady Matlock and Miss Anne DeBourgh, along with Lord and Lady Willingham, Lady Monttard, and Lady Penelope.
“Ah, Darcy, I am glad you could come. Please be seated. Lord and Lady Matlock have come to say something.”
After Darcy and Elizabeth were seated together on one of the sofas, Lord Matlock began. “Darcy, I have come to apologize for the scene at Darcy House yesterday. I had no idea that Catherine had become so obsessed with her plans for you to marry Anne. According to Anne, she has spoken of little else since you failed to come to Rosings Park this year because of the fire at Pemberley. Apparently, she was convinced you would do your duty, as she saw it, and propose to Anne this year. As you know, she had a complete breakdown when her plans were unquestionably thwarted and is currently under a doctor’s care. The doctor says she will require close supervision for an undisclosed length of time – perhaps the rest of her life. I have made arrangements for her to be moved to the Rosings Park dower house in Hunsford, where she will be under constant supervision.”
He paused, trying to determine how to continue. With great difficulty, he continued, “I also wish to apologize for my part in not recognizing her obsession, bringing her to Darcy House in her state of mind, and not preventing her from speaking as she did to Lord Willingham. I have not changed my opinion of your marriage to Miss Elizabeth, but I am assured by Judge Darcy and Lord Willingham that there is nothing I can do about it; therefore, I must accept it. I also regret my outburst on Monday when I said that you and Miss Elizabeth will not be allowed in Matlock House. I hope you know I respect and care for you and despite our differences, you will always be welcome at our home. I would hope you will still invite us to your wedding.”
“William, Miss Elizabeth,” interjected Anne, “please believe that I have never encouraged mother in her obsession with our marriage, but I will admit that I long ago gave up trying to dissuade her of it. I know I will never be strong enough to be a wife, but the doctor who has been treating me for the last several months assures me that by eating better and getting more exercise, I still may be able to live many years. For the next month or so, I will live with Uncle Robert and Aunt Helen, and then I will move into Maison DeBourgh, returning to Rosings next spring.”
She then had to pause and catch her breath, as she rarely spoke so long. Finally, she continued, “William, I know how much mother depended on you to help her manage the estate, of which I know very little. I hope you will continue your help and that you and Miss Elizabeth will visit occasionally or that I may sometime come to Pemberley. Also, I am sorry I did not spend more time with you, Miss Elizabeth, during your visit to Hunsford last April and want to assure you, I look forward to receiving you as a cousin.”
As Anne spoke, Elizabeth thought back to her first impression of Anne when she had visited Rosings Park and how that impression had changed after having an opportunity to speak with Anne when Lady Catherine was not present – when it was only Anne, Charlotte, and her. She remembered, after that meeting, hoping she could come to know Anne better. Now, it appeared she would have that chance. “Thank you, Miss DeBourgh. I regret we were not able to speak together more while I was at Rosings. I will look forward to knowing you better and will welcome you to any of our homes. As for visiting Rosings Park, I will certainly enjoy that, not only to see you, but to visit Mrs. Collins.”
“As for my continuing my help, Anne,” said Darcy, “you can be assured I will. Your steward, Mr. Rathburn, and I work well together, and I can promise you, Ros
ings Park, under his stewardship and my oversight, will continue to be a prosperous estate. I am sorry could not go to Rosings last April, but I could not bear to leave Pemberley when it was still under construction. Of course, in hindsight, I wish I had gone. Being at Rosings during the same time Elizabeth was there would have given me a chance to restart our relationship and perhaps convince her to marry me even earlier.”
“Anne will be staying with us for a month or so,” said Lady Matlock, “and therefore should be able to attend your wedding if it is in London or Hertfordshire. And speaking of your wedding, Lady Willingham told me of their suggestion that you marry in London, and that you have stated a preference for Pemberley. I assure you, if you would marry in London, I would love to be allowed to host your wedding breakfast at Matlock House. Have you given any more consideration to having it here?”
Elizabeth hesitated, being somewhat reluctant to give her thoughts before she and Darcy had discussed the various options more. She looked at Darcy, “Will, do you want me to express my opinions here before you have heard them?”
Darcy looked at her, wondering what those opinions would be. But, looking around the room, he could see no reason the others should not hear what she had to say. “I am sure you will say nothing that would distress me so much I would wish you had not said them, so certainly, tell us your opinion.”
Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I most appreciative of your offer and that of the Lord and Lady Willingham, particularly given my background, but, unlike many young gentlewomen, a grand wedding in London has never been my dream. Until I fell in love with Will, I thought there were many things I wanted to do and that I would delay having children until I had seen more and done more. I wanted to travel and study and learn about the world. Once I fell in love with Will and Pemberley, suddenly the most important thing in my life became making not only Pemberley, but even the estate in Scotland, vibrant homes where we know our neighbors well and make our homes centers of culture and happiness. Every night, since Will proposed, I have dreamt of having children, at least four, living at Pemberley during the late fall and winter and spring, then travelling to Ireland for a few weeks, and finally going to the estate in Scotland where we would stay for much of the summer. Remember, I am a country girl and I love to walk and ride and visit and see sights I have never seen before. One of the reasons I am so happy to be marrying Will is because of his love of the country and indifference to taking an active part in this, to me, somewhat artificial society life in London. I fear, with my dreams, once Georgiana and Catherine have debuted and found husbands, Darcy House would be used more by family and even friends than it would by us. We would come occasionally for plays or cultural events, but not for lengthy periods of time, at least, not until our daughters are ready for their debuts. I hope to have at least two sons, so that each of them can inherit one of the estates and by the time they inherit them, they will have learned to love all of them. With dreams such as these, you can see, to me, being accepted by the ton is not as high priority as being accepted by the society of the regions in which we live. Therefore, my preference is, without a doubt, that we be married at Pemberley, that my somewhat unacceptable family be at the wedding, and that we invite local gentry, as well as family and our closest friends, to attend. And if many of Will’s friends from London or elsewhere want to attend, that is fine, for Pemberley is a huge place and can accommodate many guests. Also, the Inn of Lambton is a very comfortable inn, should there be more guests than Pemberley can handle.”
The room was silent for some time after her speech and she wondered if she had offended them. Suddenly Darcy put his arm around her and hugged her. “Elizabeth Anne Bennet, you cannot know how much I love you and what a beautiful picture you have just painted for me of our life. There is no doubt in my mind that there is not another woman in the world that could have or would have said that.” He turned to the others. “I am sorry, I do not think there is going to be much discussion. My fiancée has spoken, and I have never heard better words. I hope you will not be too disappointed.”
“Lizzy,” said Lady Penelope, wiping her eyes, “even to a city girl like me, you made it seem like a wonderful life. I can just imagine you at Pemberley in the huge library sitting near the fire, with children next to you, teaching them some of the amazing things you know, and turning that fantastic Pemberley ballroom into a magical place, or riding the hills of Scotland or raising horses in Ireland with Darcy and your children. Everyone in the family, and I include us, will discover they want to visit you.”
“I hope that is so, Penny, for I would love us to be a catalyst for drawing all of Will’s extended family closer together.”
“You are a unique young lady, Lizzy,” said Lady Willingham. “You are definitely not a woman of the ton, a phrase I have at times used to express disappointment in a young woman, but not in your case. From what I know of Darcy and even Georgiana, you are indeed the perfect wife for him and the perfect older sister for her. We had always hoped to make Darcy more like us, but he resisted, and it is good he did. For had he not, he would not have recognized you for what you are and would never have found the true happiness I believe he deserves. I would have loved to give your wedding ball, but I will be just as happy to go to Pemberley to attend your wedding and ball there.”
“Thank you, Lady Edith. You cannot know how much your acceptance of me gives more courage to attempt to create the kind of life for us I envision.”
“You have painted a lovely picture, Miss Elizabeth,” said Lady Matlock. “I truly hope it is not an unrealizable dream. We find the ton and the culture of London the most exhilarating place in the world to live. It is the most vibrant city in the most powerful nation in the world. I will not deny it has its artificialities, but what place does not. I suspect when you are older – particularly when your children are grown and left – you will want to be part of this culture and may have wished you had established yourself here earlier in your life, but that is your decision. However, you brushed right by something we consider to be of significant importance - Georgiana’s and Catherine’s debut. If you and William ignore the ton, their chances of finding a suitable match will be considerably lessened.”
“I must agree with my wife, particularly about Georgiana and Catherine.” said Lord Matlock. “I find it hard to believe the bucolic life you envision will be as pleasant as you believe it will be, but I must admit, I was not brought up in a country atmosphere and therefore am unacquainted with its pleasures. I will concede, I have looked at your marriage completely from my perspective and disapproved, but, perhaps, could I somehow suddenly understand your perspective, I might very well think that it is right for you. I promise, I will support your decision, whatever it is.”
“Thank you, Uncle Robert. I appreciate that. As for the debut of Georgiana and Catherine, I doubt that my marriage to Elizabeth would deter any man whom I believe worthy. In fact, I am not sure the ton is necessarily the only place Georgiana or Catherine could find suitable mates. I certainly could not, nor has Richard, to this point. Also, I am sure that you would be more than happy to sponsor the girl’s debuts, if we thought it best. We will be discussing this topic with Georgiana and Catherine, but I do not think I need worry about the success of the debuts of young ladies with large dowries who are as beautiful and talented as they are.”
“As I told you before, nephew,” said Lord Willingham, “Lady Willingham and I would also be more than happy to sponsor both young ladies, should you think it necessary.”
“Thank you, Uncle Prescott. I appreciate your offer but hope it is not necessary. Now I think we are going to return to Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle to discuss our wedding, because I think we will ask her to help arrange the wedding breakfast and ball. She is an amazing organizer and has connections in the merchant world that will help us make the breakfast and wedding events to remember. We will try to set the date and then travel, probably on Friday, to Hertfordshire to speak with Elizabeth’s mother and father.”
As they were leaving, Lord and Lady Matlock also decided to leave, and Lady Matlock called to them as they were starting down the drive to walk to Darcy House. “Miss Elizabeth, I am sure your aunt is very good, but I know the staff and house very well. If I can give any help, please feel free to call on me.”
“Thank you, Lady Matlock. I will discuss it with my aunt and mother.”
Darcy could not keep from smiling the remainder of the day. Elizabeth’s speech had touched something within him that had made him believe his life could not be better. When they were eating dinner that evening, Kitty and Georgiana could not help but notice his happiness. “What happened today that has made you so happy, Will? You have not stopped smiling since we sat down.”
“This has been one of the happiest days of my life, Georgie. When we were at the Willingham’s, Elizabeth gave a short speech on how she envisioned our life in the coming years, and it was almost as if she had read my mind and knew exactly what kind of life I most wanted. I was reminded of how lucky I was to have found her and convinced her she should marry me. We decided we would be married at Pemberley and went back to the Gardiner’s to talk with them about the arrangements. Again, her aunt was a font of knowledge and had ideas on how to transform Pemberley into a perfect place for a wedding. I have often believed I was fated, at best, for a life of an acceptable marriage and rather unremarkable later life. Now I believe I am fated to be one of the happiest men who ever lived, and it makes me smile.”
“What did she say?”
“I will let her tell you. We will be going to Hertfordshire on Friday, and she can tell you in the carriage. We will also discuss your debuts and the effect our decision about being married at Pemberley may have on it. Unfortunately, she will not be here tomorrow because she is going to spend all day with her aunt at various shops, warehouses, and dressmakers.””
The Lady of the Mount and Patience Rewarded: Two Stories of Darcy and Elizabeth Page 36
