Remorse and Reconciliation

by Don Miller

  Penny led them into the family sitting room, where they found not only Lord and Lady Willingham, but also Lord and Lady Vollenbrook. Lady Willingham arose and came to Elizabeth. “Mother, this is Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Miss Bennet, this is my mother, Lady Phyllis Sutherland, the Marchioness of Willingham.”

  “I am pleased to meet you, Miss Elizabeth and I believe, by looking at you, I can understand why you are staying with us.”

  “I am pleased to meet you, Lady Willingham. Given that your daughter guessed our relationship, I am sure you have also.”

  “We could not be happier, or more surprised. We did not even know William was courting anyone.”

  “It was a peculiar courtship, my lady, and a rather long story.”

  “I look forward to hearing it. Here let me introduce you to my husband, Lord Prescott Sutherland, the Marquess of Willingham, my son, Lord Roger Sutherland, the Earl of Vollenbrook and his wife, Lady Margaret Sutherland, the Countess of Vollenbrook.”

  After Elizabeth had greeted them, Margaret said, “Elizabeth Bennet. Where have I heard that name before? When was your coming out? You look to be my age.”

  “I have had no coming out in London, Lady Vollenbrook. I am from a small estate in Hertfordshire and have never participated in the ton. You may know that my sister, Catherine Bennet, is a good friend of Georgiana and is living with the Darcys or you may have heard my name from Lady Monttard, Lady Matlock, or Lady Denby, who are supporting my aunt’s charity, Hope House.”

  “That is it. Lady Denby is my grandmother and I lived with her before I married Roger in February. She told us of how impressed she was with Mrs. Gardiner and her niece, whom she met when she visited Hope House. You are Mrs. Gardiner’s niece.”

  “That is true, my lady.”

  “So, Darcy,” said Vollenbrook, “you could find no acceptable women in the ton, so you broadened your horizons. I am astonished, but delighted. You know, Miss Elizabeth, he had impossible requirements for a wife, including wealth, connections, and impressive family tree. May I assume you may not have some of those attributes?”

  “I have none of them, my lord. I am just a simple country girl who seems to have enchanted a prince.”

  “Ha! You may be a country girl, but I highly doubt there is anything simple about you. Does she meet all of your other requirements, Darcy?”

  “She does and more. I have never met anyone like her and probably never will. You may find it hard to believe, but I fell in love with her almost a year ago, and it took me many months and two proposals to convince her she and I were meant to be.”

  “Two proposals! She did not accept the first time. One of the most eligible bachelors in England, and you had to propose twice. Miss Elizabeth, you have my admiration. I cannot imagine Darcy deigning to propose twice to the same woman. I look forward to knowing you better.”

  “Since she is going to be staying with us and will be William’s wife and our neighbor,” said Penelope, “can we young folks drop the formal names? She is Lizzie, I am Penny, my brother is Roger, and his wife is Peggy.”

  “I will be happy to do that,” said Margaret. “Lizzie, are you musical?”

  “I sing reasonably well and play the piano well enough to play easy accompaniments.”

  “Most of her accomplishments are intellectual,” interjected Darcy. “She knows more about more things than anyone I know. She also has an ability to mingle sociably with anyone. She made the entire staff of Pemberley fall in love with her in ten days, even before they knew she was of interest to me. Once they found I was interested in her, they all hoped I would make her mistress of Pemberley. Happily, I did not need convincing.”

  “I would be interested in seeing how your Uncle and Aunt Matlock receive her,” said Lord Willingham. “Lady Helen has been trying to find you a wife for years, but always from high society. Will they not be disappointed?”

  “They may be, but it will make no difference to me. I have looked for years for the perfect woman for me and there is no doubt in my mind that Elizabeth and I were meant for each other. I would marry her even if I was ostracized by the entire ton.”

  “Lizzie,” said Lord Willingham, “I have never heard my nephew speak about anyone in such a manner. I do not care where you are from or who your parents are. If you can make him happy, and he thinks you meet all his requirements, I honor you.”

  “Thank you, my lord. I will do my best.”

  During supper, the conversation revolved around the history of Darcy and Elizabeth’s romance and the upcoming wedding. All were highly amused by the mistakes and misunderstandings which had been part of their courtship. All assured Darcy and Elizabeth they would be happy to spend time at Pemberley, which all acknowledged was one of the most beautiful estates in England. After dinner, they went into the salon, where Margaret played a piano sonata and Elizabeth thought she had never heard it played better. She also discovered Margaret was an excellent harpist. When Elizabeth was asked to sing, Darcy suggested she sing one of her unaccompanied songs and when she was finished, all were most impressed. Margaret then listed several songs for which she knew the harp accompaniment, one of which was a Thomas Moore poem put to music which Elizabeth knew. Elizabeth had never sung to harp accompaniment, but agreed to try singing the song with Margaret’s accompaniment, and found it a highly enjoyable experience. Margaret was so enthused about it, she made Elizabeth promise to work on other pieces with her when they were both in town.

  The next morning, Darcy went to the Willingham Mansion for breakfast with them and he and Elizabeth took a stroll in Hyde Park until it was time for them to go to Matlock House. Darcy had sent his footman to Matlock House, which was only three blocks away from Darcy House, to ask if he and a friend could come for lunch. The footman had returned with Lady Matlock’s acceptance of his request, so at 11:00 they decided to walk to Matlock House. When the butler showed them into the parlor, they were pleased to see not only Lord and Lady Matlock, but also Lady Alicia Rutherford, the daughter of Lord and Lady Matlock, and Col. Fitzwilliam, who had a somewhat shocked look on his face.

  After introductions, Lady Matlock said, “We have met before, have we not, Miss Elizabeth, at Hope House? You are Mrs. Gardiner’s niece.”

  “That is true, Lady Matlock. I believe that was two years ago.”

  Fitzwilliam had arisen and walked over to shake Darcy’s hand and took Elizabeth’s hand and kissed it. “Miss Elizabeth. I must confess, I did not expect to see you again, particularly with my cousin. I believe matters between you must be far better than when I saw you last.”

  “It is good to see you again, Colonel, and it is true that matters are much improved.”

  “You know Miss Elizabeth, Richard? When did you meet her?”

  “I met her at Rosings Park. She was visiting Aunt Catherine’s preacher’s wife, Mrs. Collins, who is an old friend of hers. The three of us met on several occasions.”

  “Why did neither of you tell me this. She is obviously a gorgeous and talented young lady, and I cannot believe you forgot to tell me. That is very unlike you.”

  “It was my fault, Aunt Helen. I asked him not to say anything about it. It will all be explained in due time. However, surely you can guess why we are here.”

  “I noticed Grandmother Darcy’s ring on her finger as soon as she came in,” said Lady Matlock, “so I am rather certain why you are here. I did not even know you were courting her.”

  “That was because I did not ever truly court her. I fell in love with her many months ago, but finally getting her consent to my proposals took a little time.”

  “Finally and proposals in the plural. You had to propose more than once?” asked an amused Fitzwilliam.

  “Yes, Richard. The time I told you I stopped by to visit her at the cottage in Hunsford, I did not just speak with her, I proposed and she quite rightly told me in no uncertain terms she would never marry me. However, we managed to work through our problems and now here we are, convinced we were made for each oth
er.”

  Both Lord and Lady Matlock found it difficult to believe what they had heard. “Darcy,” said Lord Matlock, “may I speak to you in my office?”

  “No, Uncle Robert, you may not. I thought you might not approve of my choice, but it is of no matter to me. She is the only woman I have ever met, or ever will meet, whom I believe will make me happy and be the kind of wife I want. Because of my respect for you, I have come to tell you in person of our engagement, but there is nothing to be done about it. The wedding will be in about four weeks at Pemberley and all of you are, of course, invited to come and spend several days. Richard, I did not expect you to be here, but since you are, will you stand up with me?”

  “I would be delighted to do that, Darcy. I will be in England indefinitely, so it will not be a problem.”

  “Darcy, you know we have always expected you to marry a woman of wealth and position. How can you expect me to approve this marriage? I am sure she is a fine woman, but she adds no prestige or wealth to your family and will not be accepted by most of our circle as one of us.”

  “Uncle Robert, I care not whether you approve or not. You may be head of the Fitzwilliam family, but I am the head of the Darcy family, and I wed whom I wish. You may feel free to object to my marriage to Elizabeth and not attend the ceremony, but until you accept her, you will never see me or our children. Uncle Prescott and all of his family have accepted her and I am sure the Dumonts and Carlsons will accept her, and that is sufficient acceptance in our circle for me.”

  Lord Matlock stood and said, “Miss Elizabeth, I am pleased to have met you and I am sure that if Darcy chose you, you must be an exceptional woman. But your family background and connections are not what I consider acceptable for Darcy’s wife. Now, if you will excuse me, I will retire to my office. If I had my way, this marriage would not occur.”

  There was silence in the room for a minute or so after Lord Matlock had gone. Finally Lady Matlock said, “I am sorry, William, but you must have known this sudden announcement of your engagement to a young lady of her status would upset him. He is aware that her aunt and uncle here in town are merchants, which in his mind is a black mark against her, no matter how wealthy or genteel they may be. He has not been happy that I have been working so closely with Mrs. Gardiner on Hope House.”

  “Are you as against this marriage as he is?”

  “Had you asked me before you proposed to her, I would have tried to talk you out of it. I have great respect for Mrs. Gardiner and Miss Elizabeth, but they are certainly not of our circle. However, now that it is a fait accompli, and I can feel how determined you are, I will accept it, if only to try to keep peace in the family.”

  “Mother,” said Lady Alicia, “I remember you telling me after you met Miss Elizabeth two years ago you thought she would be perfect for William if only she were a member of higher society. As I recall, I said she sounds right for him no matter the society to which she belongs. It seems he agrees with me.”

  She turned to Elizabeth. “Miss Elizabeth, I am happy William could finally find that perfect woman he has been seeking. If you meet all of his requirements, then you must be special, so I look forward to being part of our family and I will assure you, my husband and I, if he is not at sea, will be at your wedding.”

  “Thank you, Lady Alicia. Lady Matlock, I am sorry you and Lord Matlock are against this marriage. I believe I will be an entirely adequate mistress of Pemberley and can fit into any society which is willing to accept me apart from my family history. That you should accept my sister as a fit companion for Georgiana, but have decided I am not a fit wife for Will, seems somewhat inconsistent to me. I truly pray that in the not too distant future, these differences can be forgotten, and Will and our children will not be deprived of his favorite aunt and uncle.”

  She turned to Darcy. “I believe it would be best if we not stay for lunch, Will. I believe we might be able to talk Sir Ronald and Lady Inez into letting us have lunch with them.”

  “Nonsense,” said Lady Matlock. “You were invited for lunch and lunch you shall have.”

  “No, I believe she is right, Aunt Helen. It will not be a happy atmosphere, and I do not want to deprive Uncle Robert of his lunch. Richard, Alicia, we look forward to seeing you at Pemberley in a few weeks, which is where the wedding will be. I will send the details after we return to Pemberley.”

  “Please, William, you do not have to go.”

  “I think we do, Aunt Helen. Hopefully we will see you at the wedding, even if Uncle Robert chooses not to come.”

  As they left Matlock House, Elizabeth said, “I am so sorry they are so adamant, Will. I was afraid such as this might happen. I hope it will not disappoint you too much that they will not be at the wedding and may not be willing to meet socially with us for some time.”

  “It disappoints me, but frankly, I expected it and am not going to dwell on it. As I told Uncle Robert, there will be those in the ton like the Willinghams who will welcome us and their number will be sufficient for me. We are on our way to a couple whose good wishes I am certain of receiving. Let us just rejoice in those we have.”

  After a fifteen minute walk, they came to Rosewood House, the townhome of Sir Ronald and Lady Inez Carlson. After they knocked and were invited into the entry hall by the butler, Michael, the blind ten year old son of the Carlsons came running out of the parlor. “Lizzie, Mr. Darcy, hello. We are about to have lunch.”

  Both Elizabeth and Darcy, smiled and shook their heads. It never failed to amaze them how Michael seemed to know who it was just by their smell and the sound of their voice. Elizabeth knelt and held out her arms to Michael. “Come, give me a hug. I have not seen you for a long time.”

  Michael happily went into her arms and kissed her on the cheek. “I am happy you are here Lizzie. We missed you this summer.”

  “And I missed you.”

  As they were speaking, Sir Ronald, Lady Inez, and Sophie, their twelve year old daughter came into the entry way. “What an unexpected pleasure and a surprise, seeing you together,” said Sir Ronald. “I did not know you even knew each other and here you are without a chaperone.”

  “Yes, we have had a relationship since last October, but it has been a bit tumultuous and not generally known. However, all our problems were put to rest a week ago, and now we are engaged. We have come to invite you to our wedding at Pemberley in about four weeks. We have not set the exact date yet.”

  Lady Inez stepped forward and hugged Elizabeth. “Well, this is certainly a pleasant surprise. I believe I once remarked to your aunt that Mr. Darcy might be a good match for you, but, of course, he would never consider you. Obviously I was wrong. Mr. Darcy, you have won the best young woman in the land.”

  “I assure you, I am fully aware of that, Lady Inez.”

  “Lizzie, can I come to your wedding,” asked Sophie.

  “Of course, you can. Both you and Michael. I expect Leah, Roger, and LizaJane to be there also, so you will have friends to enjoy while you are there.”

  After a pleasant lunch with the Carlsons, Elizabeth and Darcy walked back to Darcy House to get the carriage and traveled to Cheapside to visit the Gardiners. As expected, they were most pleased for Elizabeth and Darcy and assured them they would be at Pemberley to attend the wedding. The happy couple then returned to Darcy House and Darcy introduced her to the staff, who was as happy as the staff at Pemberley that Darcy had finally found his perfect woman.

  Five days later Elizabeth and Darcy were back at Pemberley and started making plans for the wedding.

  Epilogue: Darcy’s Journal Entry – November 17, 1809

  It does not seem possible that I have been married to Elizabeth for only three days. These days have been, without a doubt, the most glorious days of my life, and I look forward to a lifetime of such days. When we returned from London after the quick trip to inform our relatives, it seemed as if the day of the wedding would never come. We would sneak in a kiss occasionally, just enough to make the waiting for the wed
ding almost interminable.

  Everyone assures me the wedding was magnificent, and that everyone greatly enjoyed it, but I hardly remember it or the breakfast or the ball. But I will never forget the wedding night. I finally discovered that there is nothing in the world as glorious as making love to a woman whom you love and whose love you know you have. She was innocent, but seemed was as anxious to consummate our marriage as I was, and both of us discovered she had a passion that made our wedding night a night to remember.

  At this moment I am sitting at the table in our bedroom, looking at her, sleeping as I write, and even with her hair in disarray, she is the most gorgeous woman I have ever known. I pledge that I will never let this love we have do anything but grow. I do not know how all those who have had arranged marriages or who marry for status and wealth rather than love feel when they make love, but it cannot approach the feeling we have. I feel sorry for them and think with horror that if I had not found Elizabeth, I might have had to settle for what they have. I can only imagine that our love will grow and the comfort we find in each other will give us a life few will ever know.

  As I feared, Uncle Robert refused to accept our marriage and did not come to the wedding, nor did Aunt Catherine, but I full expected she would not. I do regret that there was no way to get Anne to the ceremony. She would have loved it. I think she would like Elizabeth. Perhaps we can find a way to get her away from Aunt Catherine. I am convinced her health is made worse by the way Aunt Catherine controls her.

  Georgie and Kitty are almost as happy about the marriage as we are, but particularly Georgie. She is ecstatic that Kitty and Elizabeth are now truly her sisters. I regret I never recognized how much she needed a young woman of her own age with whom she could spend time and share her worries and secrets. On the other hand, where would we have found that friend? I do not think Kitty would have been acceptable at an earlier age. Perhaps it worked out as well as it could. In any case they are inseparable now and are looking forward to debuting together in 1811. I am looking forward to having them live with us, and I believe Elizabeth is looking forward to their debut and their experiences in the ton.