An Unexpected Legacy

by Don Miller

  “And,” Georgiana told Col. Fitzwilliam, “she referred to him three times as William during their talks. I think that means when she thinks of him, she thinks of him as William and not as Mr. Darcy. I am sure that if I loved a man, I would think of him by his given name, not by his family name. So I think she thinks about him a lot, and she thinks about him with affection.”

  Georgiana and Col. Fitzwilliam detained Darcy for another ten or fifteen minutes questioning him about Elizabeth and his thoughts about what he was going to do next. Finally Darcy had to excuse himself, because he was already going to be late for his appointment with his solicitor.

  Elizabeth came down to breakfast to discover her grandfather had already departed for a meeting, and her grandmother had already eaten and was out in the garden. Elizabeth sat down to a light breakfast, and then went into the garden seeking her grandmother.

  Elizabeth had become concerned, and had not slept very well during the night, because she realized that at the ball Lord and Lady Denby were hosting for her coming out, she would probably meet young men who were potential suitors who would request to be allowed to visit her, and she did not know how to reject such requests when she did not want them to visit. She was particularly concerned as to her response if the requestor was the son of an Earl or Viscount or Duke. Would she be obligated to accept the visit if she was not otherwise occupied? Was it acceptable for her to say she was not interested in having a young man visit her until she was more settled in her situation, or did she have to accept the visits and then just try to discourage them during the visit? Even though she was twenty years of age, there were only a few times in her life when a young man had asked if he could visit, and she had known them well and had no trouble saying no. And they understood. But what was she to do with nobleman that she did not know and did not want to know?

  “I can foresee no problem, my dear,” said Lady Monttard when Elizabeth expressed her concerns to her grandmother, “in you saying you have no time available before you leave with us for Staunton Park. You can tell them there is a flurry of activity in the next week or so, because you have been asked to several social functions, and then you must prepare for your departure in a few days for Staunton Park. You can face how you will deal with these young men next season when the time comes. But I suspect by then you will feel more comfortable in your situation and know what you want to say. Besides,” she said with a twinkle in her eye, “who knows what decisions might be made between now and next season.”

  Elizabeth knew that she was referring to William. She suddenly realized she thought of him as William now. When had that started? She definitely had the feeling her grandmother favored him. In fact, she did not think she knew anyone with whom she had spoken since she had been in town who did not approve of him. She had dreamed about him last night, and, for the first time, she did think about what it would be like to be married to him. It had been a very pleasant dream of long walks and talks and children, like the Gardiners.

  She had thought that maybe there was someone out there that was her perfect match. But, the better she came to know William, the more she wondered if there was a better man out there? And even if there were, how would she know? In fact, what did better mean? Would the incremental increase in her happiness that she might realize be worth the struggle to find the better man, if indeed there was a better man?”

  “Grandmere, I have a problem. And I do not know what to do.”

  “Could that problem have to do with a tall, dark, and handsome young man?”

  Elizabeth smiled at her grandmother, “How is it that you already know me so well? It feels wonderful to be with him, and I miss him when he is not with me. I have never been in love, but I dreamed about it, and I said to myself I will not marry without it. But how do I know if what I feel for him is love? And I still feel there is so much about him I do not know.”

  “Elizabeth, I believe the root of your problem is that you are too intelligent. You analyze things too much, and you somehow expect you will know with absolute certainty when it is right. But you cannot know. Love, if there, can grow and deepen as the years go by if you and your husband allow yourselves to be flexible and compromise where necessary, or it can die if you find areas where you just do not seem to be able to work out your differences. A seemingly bad match can turn out to be wonderful, and a seemingly perfect match can turn out to be miserable. But it would take years to know someone well enough to know which path you will follow.”

  Elizabeth realized her grandmother was right. Somehow becoming Miss Dumont had affected her thinking about what was necessary for her happiness. She was sure that were she just Miss Elizabeth Bennet now, the affection she felt for William would be enough for her to accept his hand in marriage. So why was she expecting more now? Was it just because she had more, that she expected more? Raising her hands to beside her head and shrugging her shoulders, she said, without realizing it, “So how do I make a decision?”

  Her grandmother responded. “Can you not just let yourself feel? Just close your eyes and think about what is wonderful to you. If that does not necessarily include Mr. Darcy, then you do not love him. But if the picture of him or the sound of him or his touch keeps intruding into your thoughts, and those intrusions are pleasant, then you probably love him. But only you can decide if you love him enough to marry him. And if you are worrying about me and your grandfather, do not. Even though we have only had you for a couple of weeks as a granddaughter, we feel like we have had you, and will have you, forever. We will always find a way to be close. You may even get tired of us being so close. Do not think that marrying Mr. Darcy in a few months or even a few weeks, or any other man for that matter, is going to interfere with the closeness we feel for you and you feel for us.”

  Elizabeth closed her eyes, and, of course, the first thing that came into her mind was William. After all, they had just been talking about him. She tried to think of all the things she wanted to do and what it would be like to do them alone. She wanted to see all of her grandfather’s holdings and would it not be enough to do it just with him and her grandmother. But would it not be wonderful to go to bed and talk about it with her husband. And she could not imagine anyone else in that bed with her other than William, not even Col. Fitzwilliam, to whom she had felt an immediate kinship. And certainly not Mr. Bingley whom she liked very much, but she knew a man like him would never be a good match for her. And certainly none of the young men she knew back in Hertfordshire would do. Could it be that she had been lucky enough to find her perfect match without even trying?”

  “You really like him, do you not,” she asked her grandmother.

  “I do. I have observed him. I have heard Lord and Lady Matlock and others speak of him, and it is invariably good, except he does not mingle well in large gatherings and he sometimes gives an appearance of being too proud of himself, which Lady Matlock, by the by, assures me is not the case. Your grandfather knew his father, and was impressed with him. And I am impressed with the devotion he shows his sister and how good he is with her. From my perspective I could not find among the men I know a better suitor for you. But it is not my opinion that counts. It is yours.”

  Elizabeth admitted to her grandmother, “I told him yesterday that if I were still just Elizabeth Bennet, I would probably have accepted his proposal by now. Somehow, now that I have become the granddaughter of Baron and Baroness Monttard and the heir to an immense fortune, I feel I need to be more certain. You have given me the world, and somehow that has made it more difficult for me to see my way forward and to just let myself do what I want to do.”

  Her grandmother took her hands and said, with regret in her tone, “When we saw you and realized who you were, all we thought of was that we wanted you to know who you really were and who we were, and we wanted to be able to love a descendant of ours as we thought we would never be able to do. You brought a light into our world, and selfishly, we grabbed it without thinking of the effect it might have on you. I am su
re, that as Mrs. Darcy, with nothing to give him but yourself, you could have had a wonderful and fulfilling life, and now we have changed that path and cannot go back. Your grandfather so wanted someone to whom he could pass his heritage and life’s work, indeed, his family’s work for generations. You have been the answer to our dreams, but maybe we have not been the best answer to yours. I just pray that such is not the case.”

  “Oh, Grandmere,” cried Elizabeth, grabbing her grandmothers hands and kissing them. “Do not ever think I will regret for one moment you found and claimed me. As I told you, you have given me the world, and I could never regret finding the love we have found for each other. It is just up to me to find out how best to use my legacy. As happy as my life might have been as Mrs. Darcy, nee Bennet, I believe it will eventually be even better as Mrs. Whoever, nee Dumont. And I must admit, it is beginning to look more and more to me that it will be Mrs. Darcy, assuming that my uncertainly has not driven him away from me.”

  “Did you not tell him once that he was the last man in the world that you would ever marry?” At Elizabeth’s nod, she continued, “I do not think a man who loves you so much he can ignore a refusal like that is going to be discouraged with a little uncertainty.”

  “I have much to think about,” said Elizabeth and returned to the house, where she went to her room to think over in detail her entire history with this man who she now thought of as her William. And she came to the realization that what she felt for him went beyond affection. She loved him and, even more than that, she was not interested in meeting and evaluating other men. What qualities would a different man have that William did not have? He was intelligent, a good conversationalist, a good businessman, a good master, and, she suspected, a good lover, although she did not know what that entailed. And perhaps as important as anything, he needed her: her wit, her help in social settings, her willingness to share his problems, and her assurance that all would be well with them. She realized she did not want to have another man think he might even have a chance with her. She could still imagine, to some extent, what it would be like to be unmarried for the rest of her life, but she could not imagine, if she were to be married, it could be to a man other than William. She needed to have a talk with William before the ball.

  Elizabeth and Lady Monttard were invited to a tea given by the Duchess of Leister that afternoon, and all through the tea, it was difficult for Elizabeth to keep her focus on the discussion and the implications of some of the things being said. Both the Duchess and the Viscountess Vandergate, who were both at the tea, implied that they had sons who would be seeking her attention at the ball. She knew she had to talk with her grandparents at dinner that evening.

  At dinner Lady Monttard praised Elizabeth’s comportment at her first formal tea with nobility other than the Queen and how well she dealt with some of the questions and innuendoes directed at her. And then she mentioned that both the Duchess and Viscountess had mentioned their sons, at which time Elizabeth said, “About that. I need to say something, which may or may not come as a surprise to you.”

  She paused for a moment to let their anticipation rise, and then said quietly, “I have come to realize that I love Mr. Darcy and that if I am to marry, I want to marry him. But I also want to learn as much about the shipping line as soon as possible so I can help you as you grow older and know enough to continue managing it when you have gone. How can I do both of those things? Pemberley is inland and well away from the sea. You have moved to London almost permanently to oversee the line. How can I hope to do that from Pemberley, which is the heart and soul of Mr. Darcy’s life? And once I have children, how can I take an active hand in the management of the line?”

  Her grandparents looked at each other and smiled. “First things first. What brought you this sudden realization that if you marry, it must be Mr. Darcy? And why do you say ‘if I am to marry’?” asked Lord Monttard.

  “I do not know if Grandmere has had a chance to speak with you this evening, but she and I had quite a talk in the garden this morning, and I went back to my room and reexamined my whole life for the last several months and my relationship with Mr. Darcy. As I sat there and looked at my life ahead of me, I realized it would not be right without him there. After he left Hertfordshire, I was sure I disliked him, but I now realize I missed him terribly. And when I discovered he was at Kent when I was there, I was distressed, but deep down I know I was happy. If the manner of his proposal had been a little different, and he had been willing to explain more while he was with me that evening, we might be married by now. His letter left me very upset at myself, and I missed him while I was at the Gardiner’s, and I was sure I would never see him again.”

  “And how did your first meeting in town happen?”

  “It is a long story, but suffice it to say I had criticized him to his face about separating my sister Jane from Mr. Bingley, a friend of his. He said it was because he could see no evidence that Jane loved his friend, and he felt the Bennet family would be a detriment to his friend’s attempts to gain a place in higher London society. He apparently decided my criticism was justified, and when his friend returned to town the week you met me in the bookstore, he convinced his friend to seek out the Gardiners to see if Jane was still staying with them. Although Jane was not there, he did discover I was staying with them and was at that time visiting a friend, who was you, Grandmere. Mrs. Gardiner told him I would be in the bookstore on Thursday, and it was one of the happiest days of my life when he came to the bookstore with Georgiana to see me. I did not want to admit it to myself even then, but I now know it was the thought I had a new chance with him which was the source of that happiness.”

  She paused, remembering how disappointed she had been when he had not called the following Saturday, and then the pleasant day she had with Georgiana on Sunday. Feeling that was not relevant, she continued her story from there. “It was the next week that my life was turned upside down and I learned my true heritage, and somehow that made me think I had to change. But Grandmere made me see this morning that with respect to him, nothing had changed. I wanted a new chance with him, and it happened. Today, I realized I love him, and I want to be his wife. I guess the absolute realization of it came this afternoon at the tea, when the Duchess and Viscountess were speaking of their sons, and I realized I did not care what their sons were like, I was only interested in one man. But, and this is my biggest concern, I have to know he understands what I want to accomplish and the consequences of marrying me. If he feels he cannot live with my ambitions, then I believe I would eventually be unhappy, and it would be best we not marry. I cannot imagine ever finding another man whose personality is so suited to mine, so if we do not marry, I cannot imagine I would ever marry.”

  Her grandparents were silent for a moment, and then her grandfather said, “Firstly, I do not believe your last assertion. I am sure you will marry sometime and have a family. From the dedication you have shown to us already, I know you want to ensure the Dumont legacy continues. Knowing that you must marry may affect your decision. Secondly, as regards managing the shipping line, I do not know how you could manage the line from someplace like Pemberley, but I believe it would depend on ensuring you have a competent and honest home office management staff. Your involvement would have to be done by mail, courier, occasional visits by you to the main offices, and more regular visits by the managers to wherever you are residing at the time. I believe it can be done, but it would be a challenge. And remember, I am planning to live for many more years, so I believe we would have many months to work out how it might be done. But it is something about which you need to talk to Mr. Darcy.”

  She thought over his assertion she would think she must marry, and she recognized he was correct. She would ensure the Dumont legacy was passed on to another generation. This made waiting for some other perfect man seem a ridiculous idea.

  “I asked him this afternoon if we were to get married, when would he prefer to get married, and he said as soon as possib
le. But the trip to see your holdings is very important to me. I cannot imagine marrying and then separating for several months. The only way I can see it working, if we marry soon, is that we take this multi-month trip you have planned as a couple, both of us learning about your shipping line. Do you think that would be acceptable, or do you think, for instance, it is better to be able to introduce me to your subordinates as a Dumont, rather than a Darcy?”

  Her grandfather thought for some time about her question. Finally, he said, “If he is willing to take the trip, I believe I would enjoy having him along. And as far as introducing you to the staff at the various sites, your name is not a concern, as long as they know you are my granddaughter and heir.”

  “Do you suppose it is too late to send an invitation to Darcy House to ask if Mr. Darcy could visit us tomorrow morning?”

  “It is not yet 7:30. I think we could do that. He might even be willing to come tonight. What do you think Marie?”

  “I am sure that Mr. Darcy would be happy to come. After all, he’s only a few doors down the street. Why do you not repair to your study to write a note, and I will get Hubert to deliver it.”

  Twenty minutes later Hubert was knocking on the door at Darcy House. Hubert gave the butler who answered the door the hand written message and said he was instructed to wait for a reply. Shortly thereafter the butler returned to instruct Hubert to tell Lord Monttard his master would be at Monttard House within half an hour.