Chance Encounters

by Linda Wells

  “Silent as ever, I see. Well, hopefully your bride will have more to say?” Mrs. Drake looked hopefully at Elizabeth.

  “I assure you Mrs. Drake, I will be happy to entertain your questions.” She smiled, and Darcy shook his head.

  “Excellent!” The Drakes exchanged looks of delight.

  “Mrs. Drake, may I present my sister Jane Bingley, and her husband, Charles Bingley? They will soon be moving to Derbyshire.” The Drakes’ attention was fully on the Bingleys and Elizabeth and Darcy made a quick escape into the drawing room.

  “You realize that they will be hounding us for the rest of the evening.” Darcy whispered.

  She met his grimace with an arched brow. “Do you fear my skills at verbal discourse, sir?”

  “No, my love, not at all, I have simply known them for so long, and have managed to avoid their machinations thus far. I was hoping to continue the tradition.”

  She was curious. “What machinations were those?”

  He coloured and cleared his throat. “They have a daughter.”

  “Oh.” She looked at him. “Is she married?”

  “No.”

  “Is she here tonight?”

  Darcy glanced about the room and spotting her, stopped. “Yes, as are many other daughters who . . .”

  “Set their caps for you?” He nodded, embarrassed and worried. She looked into his dark warm eyes, and setting aside her own jealousy declared, “I care not, William. I won you.”

  “Touché.” Their gaze held, and the other occupants of the room disappeared. The arrival of Jane and Bingley broke their silent lovemaking.

  “Well that was exhausting!” Bingley declared, startling Darcy. He smiled at his blinking friend. “I have a feeling that Mrs. Drake is now somehow in possession of knowledge of my income, my family’s history, and my hat size. You were not far from the mark in your description of their relentless curiosity.”

  They laughed. “How did you fare Jane?” Elizabeth asked, taking her hand.

  Jane shook her head. “Oh Lizzy, I thought mother was a whirlwind of gossip, but she is nothing to Mrs. Drake!”

  Darcy took them around the room, making introductions. Elizabeth held his arm, performing with her excellent humour and wit. She seemed far more comfortable here with their country neighbours than the inquisition she received at her one dinner party in London at Matlock House. Although many of these people were only residents of Derbyshire in the off-season, they also seemed more relaxed here. All were eager to make the acquaintance of the new Mistress of Pemberley, and all were dying to hear the details of her storied kidnapping, the telling of which had been expounded upon in the drawing rooms of the district for months. Darcy kept his essentially silent but very obvious vigil, and stepped in when necessary to dissuade the more pointed inquiries. In the end, the only information their new neighbours learned was that Darcy and Elizabeth were together a force to be reckoned with, and would not allow anyone to violate their privacy.

  Mrs. Drake did not believe in place cards, so when dinner was announced, Darcy was delighted to find that Elizabeth was free to sit next to him. Upon taking their seats she smiled, and without taking her eyes from his, she surreptitiously entwined their legs. He gave no indication of noticing, but he also did not refrain from continually dropping his hand to his lap and caressing her thigh while attending with assumed interest the conversation of his other dinner partners. During one such caress, Elizabeth’s hand found his, and briefly their fingers grasped. Their eyes met; their gaze so brief but so open that Mrs. Drake, who had been watching them, nearly gasped.

  Upon the separation of the sexes, the ladies descended upon Elizabeth and Jane, alternately questioning and welcoming them into their society. New blood is always fascinating, and they wished to assess their new neighbours. For the most part, the women were curious and kind, although it was clear which ladies either had the disappointed unmarried daughters, or were very unhappy that a man of Darcy’s status had married someone outside of the ton. She felt the intense gazes on her body, and correctly assumed they had effectively destroyed the theories on a forced marriage. She could hear the whispers in speculation of her and Jane surely being fortune hunters. Not all of the women participated in the catty comments she was pleased to realize, and they did have a pleasant conversation with a quiet woman, Mrs. Sarah Hill, who had hidden away in a corner. Elizabeth then noticed a small group of young ladies, standing together and openly staring at her. She whispered to Jane. “I think that I have just discovered some of my unknown competition.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “William indicated that the Drakes wished him to choose their daughter, and many of the other landowners of the area had the same wish for their daughters.”

  “Oh Lizzy, he was not even safe from matchmaking mamas in his own district!”

  “I suppose that is to be expected, who would know him better than the families he grew up around? I imagine you will find something similar when you travel to Scarborough with Charles.” She met her sister’s suddenly disconcerted gaze and laughed at her innocence. “You never thought Charles was a sought-after commodity before?”

  “In all honesty, no.” She looked at the door to the room, willing her husband to reappear.

  Elizabeth grasped her arm. “Well, as I told William, I do not care about meeting these ladies, as I have won him. They may regret him, but he is mine. You should feel the same way about Charles.” Jane nodded, her brow still wrinkled in thought. At that moment one of the young ladies approached them.

  “Mrs. Darcy, I have not had an opportunity to greet you. I am Penelope Drake.” She curtseyed.

  “Miss Drake, it is a pleasure to meet you. This is my sister, Jane Bingley.” They exchanged courtesies. “Your parents are most wonderful hosts; I have enjoyed meeting everyone tonight, and feel quite welcome in my new neighbourhood.”

  Penelope inclined her head. “Yes, they have been quite anxious to meet you, especially after the story of the incident at your estate came out. I imagine Mr. Darcy was quite mortified to have such an event happen at Pemberley. He has always been the epitome of excellent behaviour and I am sure he was quite disappointed to have such happenings blacken his reputation.” She regarded the arched brows of her adversary. “I wonder if he regrets the circumstances that led to its occurrence.”

  Elizabeth regarded the woman with cold civility. She was daring to suggest that William made a mistake in choosing her. “I believe Mr. Darcy was more concerned with my well-being than mortification, Miss Drake.” She looked her up and down, noticing her uncanny resemblance to a shorter version of Miss Bingley. “And as I am sure his reputation in Derbyshire can prove; he is a man who considers very carefully before making decisions that would affect his family and estate. He is the best of men.”

  Penelope had no choice but to agree with such a statement, and sending a cold look she excused herself from the sisters. Jane’s eyes met Elizabeth’s. “Did she actually try to imply that marrying you has ruined William’s reputation?”

  “She did.” Elizabeth regarded the woman, who was now whispering furiously with the other single ladies. She turned back to Jane and smiled. “I never realized what a feeling of power I would enjoy being William’s wife.” Seeing Jane’s confusion she elaborated. “No matter what our background Jane, we have married for love, we were chosen specifically by our husbands for our own qualities, we were not weighed as worthy for material reasons. With that knowledge, no disappointed ladies, or their mothers, will ever have power over us. Let the ladies of the ton dare to object to us. We know that we are secure and will enjoy happiness of which they will only dream.”

  Jane smiled. “Thank you, Lizzy. I shall not let any of them intimidate me.”

  In another part of the house the gentlemen were gathered in the panelled confines of Mr. Drake’s library. The room rapidly filled with the low rumble of masculine voices and laughter. Darcy refused the offered cigar, keeping only to a small glass of cognac
, and Bingley raised a surprised brow while drawing on his. Darcy smiled at his silent question. “It has been made clear to me that the taste is offensive.” Bingley looked at him with confusion for a moment then his eyes opened wide with understanding. He took the cigar from his mouth and stared at it with regret, then to the laughter of his friend, deposited it in a nearby tray.

  “I am glad to be soon departing Pemberley. You set the bar far too high, Darcy. How am I to impress my wife with my meagre offerings when all she sees is you and Elizabeth together?”

  Darcy smirked. “Do you really expect an answer to that?”

  “No, no, I am just making noise.” Bingley laughed.

  Three men approached the friends. “Darcy! I have been charged by my wife to learn every detail of yours.” Frederick Hill declared.

  Darcy shook the proffered hand and raised his brow. “Surely your wife is capable of speaking to mine on her own, Hill.”

  Hill turned to his companions. “I told you he would not say anything.”

  Henry Fairchild laughed. “I did not doubt you.” He grinned and turned to Darcy. “Congratulations, Darcy. You had best be prepared for a trial when you return to town. The ton was vastly unhappy that you spirited your bride away from the Season.”

  Darcy bowed. “We have received a great number of invitations but have no intention of returning until late January.” His curiosity got the best of him and he wished to confirm his uncle’s theory. “I suppose my choice has received some criticism?”

  Robert Hitchins laughed and looked to Bingley. “It seems your friend is curious!” Bingley grinned. “You married Mrs. Darcy’s sister, I understand?”

  The men shook hands. “Indeed I did. The greatest honour of my life was to win her hand.”

  Hitchins grinned. “Well we all say that at the beginning of the marriage, but with time, the bloom will fall away, especially after a few babes are born.” Fairchild nodded in agreement, while Hill frowned.

  “And our wives are more than pleased to send us to our own devices!” Fairchild smiled while Hitchins gave him a knowing smirk.

  Seeing Darcy and Bingley not joining in their frivolity, and deciding it was due to the newness of their marriages, Hitchins returned to the previous subject. “So Darcy, you were wondering at your wife’s reception in London? To be honest with you, I think it will go well. That little dinner the Matlocks put on went a long way to encouraging her acceptance. It seems all the right people were there to spread the good word of her. It was very well done on their part. Of course, that does not shut up the caterwauling of the disappointed ladies and mothers. Those ladies are waiting for your arrival with some amount of glee. You had best be prepared.” He looked at him significantly.

  Darcy found much of Hitchins’ conversation distasteful, but he did appreciate the warning, although it was nothing more than he expected. “Thank you, although, I imagine there is bound to be someone unhappy when any man marries.”

  “Especially you!” Fairchild laughed. “Oh my, the gnashing of teeth I heard from my wife’s sitting room when the ladies came to call!” He smiled and tilted his head. “Quite brave of you, really, taking on a simple country girl. The rumour around White’s was there was a babe on the way, but of course, everyone there knew better than to claim that of you. Nonetheless, a betting book was formed for a due date. Seeing your wife tonight effectively ends that speculation!” Darcy was not at all amused, and it took a great deal of concentration to keep his face calm.

  Several other men raised their voices in argument, attracting the attention of Fairchild and Hitchins, who drifted away, leaving Hill behind. “I am sorry gentlemen, their behaviour was abominable. Just because their marriages are cold does not mean that all of ours are.”

  “Thank you.” Darcy sighed. “They have not changed since we were all at Eton together. We were never close. The only time I see them is at dinners such as tonight or occasionally at the club.” He looked at Bingley who was still staring after them with distaste, and returned his gaze to Hill. “How is your wife, I do not believe we saw her earlier?”

  Hill smiled. “She is well, she hates these dinners, but you know we have to go. I hope she is faring well in the lioness’ den now, although, I imagine she is safe now that there are your wives there to investigate.”

  Bingley’s eyes opened wide, he had not thought of what Jane might be experiencing. Darcy had not stopped thinking of Elizabeth, but was also sure that she could take care of herself. Nonetheless, when Drake indicated that they return to the ladies, Darcy was first out of the door with their host.

  Upon entering the room Darcy went to her side. His gaze asked if she was well. She squeezed his arm and he relaxed. Before long the four took their leave, with the assurance of many upcoming invitations to the other homes in the area, and the promise of an invitation to Pemberley and Lyndon Hall in the future. Upon arriving at home, Elizabeth and Darcy dismissed their servants and went about readying each other for bed, soon finding themselves tightly entwined, recovering from the pleasure of their slowly simmering passion.

  Bingley and Jane were similarly engaged. Each of them had their eyes opened to new ideas that night. Jane realized that Charles probably was pursued quite strongly by some ladies. After all, if her own mother’s reaction to her finding a man of five thousand a year was any indication, surely there were many such ladies who hoped to secure him. Although she was his wife, it was the first time she had felt the gnawing sting of competition, and fully appreciated his sacrifice in choosing her, instead of a lady with a fortune. Bingley’s ears were ringing with the obvious declarations of the other men they had met, who had not so subtly indicated their betrayal of their wives. The fact that their marriages were ones of convenience was not lost on him, and it made him value the choice he had made all the more. On the way back in the carriage, both of them watched the open expressions of affection that Elizabeth and Darcy made to each other with nothing more than their gaze and entwined fingers. Bingley moved his hand to cover Jane’s and soon held it in his clasp. When they arrived back at Pemberley, neither couple expressed a desire for anything other than a wish to retire. Charles followed Jane into her bedchamber and dismissed her maid and his valet.

  “What are you doing, Charles?” Jane asked with confusion.

  He smiled and began undressing her. “I am going to love you Jane, and I am going to leave you breathless and wanting more.” She gasped at his declaration.

  “Charles!” Was the last word from her mouth before his lips claimed hers. It was many hours before either one of them said anything intelligible again.

  Charles and Jane departed for Hertfordshire with a new glow, amid promises to write, and assurances of their arrival for Christmas in mid-December. The Darcys settled down to enjoy the rest of the autumn, and the remaining days of sunshine before the rain and snow descended upon them. The shades of Pemberley found peace at last.

  Chapter 36

  Georgiana went in search of Elizabeth, who disappeared soon after breakfast. She looked in her bedchamber, the library, the music room, and finally after thinking about it for a while, she entered the gallery. There she found her sister, sitting across from the portrait of her brother.

  “Elizabeth?” Georgiana said cautiously.

  “Do you need me Georgiana?” Elizabeth looked away from William’s face and smiled; her eyes suspiciously red and bright.

  Georgiana sat down next to her and looked up to the portrait. It was very well done, and captured the gentle smile that she often saw him give to Elizabeth. “He will be home soon.” She said reassuringly and put her arm around her sister’s shoulder.

  “I know.” She said softly and glanced up at his sweet brown eyes. “I miss him.”

  Georgiana sighed and clasped her hands together. “I know. I miss him, too. It was always hard when he would leave home. I would just become used to him coming back and he would be gone again. I think he was always happy to arrive here, but then he always seemed in a hurry t
o leave.”

  Elizabeth wiped her eyes with her handkerchief and turned to Georgiana. “Did he travel a great deal when you were younger?”

  “When I was in school he was touring the continent. I remember the summer he left. If I did not have a portrait of him, I would have forgotten what he looked like.”

  “I cannot imagine forgetting his face.” She returned her gaze to his eyes.

  Georgiana watched the expression of love on Elizabeth’s face and felt her own hidden heartache. “Elizabeth, I cannot remember what Mr. Carrington looks like.”

  She glanced at Georgiana and forced her thoughts away from her absent husband. “Do you wish to remember him Georgiana? I have not heard you mention his name in six months.”

  She looked down at her hands. “That is because I knew William would not let me see him until I came out. I thought it was best not to think about how much I liked him too often, so I would not miss him.”

  Elizabeth took her hand. “And did that work for you?”

  Georgiana shook her head. “No, not at all.” She looked sadly at Elizabeth. “Do you know if he is well?”

  Elizabeth smiled. Sitting on the bench nearby was a large stack of letters. She was answering her correspondence with William, as she would have done if he were home. “As a matter of fact Georgiana, I received a letter from him yesterday.”

  “He wrote to you?” Georgiana’s eyes grew wide. “How is he? Did he ask about me?” Elizabeth smiled and gave her the letter. With trembling hands, she opened it, tracing the words formed by his pen strokes.

  December 1, 1811

  Kingston Hall

  Buckingham

  Dear Elizabeth,

  I was delighted to receive your letter. My parents and I would be honoured to spend Christmas at Pemberley with the Darcys; unfortunately we are already committed to spend the season with my mother’s family. If it were my decision, I would prefer to be with you, and to see Miss Darcy again. I hope that she is well. Could you please let me know when she will be presented at court? I realize that it is months away, but as I promised Darcy to not declare myself until she is out, I would at least like to know when I may finally see her again. Does she ever mention me? I look forward to seeing you all in London. May I wish you a very happy Christmas.