The Portrait of Elizabeth

by Jane Angwin

  "Yes, I'm afraid it is true. Mary accepted his offer of marriage, and Mama is now promised a future at Longbourn. At first, I thought that Mary had accepted this plan to appease our mother, but when I questioned her, she gave me a reasonable and very well thought out conclusion for her acceptance. It seems that Mary has long felt that there is nothing for her in Hertfordshire and that she would most likely never marry. With no prospects and the thought of living out her life alone with Mama, she decided that no matter how ridiculous this man is, the thought of having her own home to run greatly appealed to her." She paused for a moment, but then remembered something else. "Oh, did I mention that Mr. Collins is a man of the church? She also favors the idea of assisting Mr. Collins with his pastoral duties. You know how she constantly studies the Bible, reciting scripture to us all the time. When she explained it to me like that, I almost praised her decision, but I could not imagine poor Mary living with him."

  "Really, Elizabeth. I am quite sure he could not be that bad" she said hopefully. "Or is he?"

  Elizabeth laughed and vigorously nodded her head. "Yes, Aunt, he is truly that bad. I fear he has not bathed in at least a fortnight, and he has a terrible odor about him. The little bit of hair that he has on his head is horribly greasy and hangs in strings over his collar." Now her Aunt and Uncle were looking mortified, but on the verge of laughing at this description. "When he greets someone, he bows so low, he will surely split has pants the next time he meets a newcomer, and he doesn't even wait to be properly introduced. The worst of it is that he endlessly pontificates in a horrid monotone about the virtues of chastity, modesty and the subservience of women, yet he lewdly leers at every female that he encounters. There is much more that I could tell you, but I fear you would think I am exaggerating. Poor, poor Mary."

  Elizabeth drank the rest of her tea, and then, feeling fatigued, she asked to be excused to go to her chambers and rest from her trip. "Of course, Lizzy" her Aunt assured her. "Take the remainder of the afternoon to rest, and we will call you for dinner, unless you would like to have a tray sent up. "I am sure you are quite tired from that uncomfortable carriage ride. Your Uncle has purchased a comfortable new carriage for our journey, and I am sure you will find it much more to your liking."

  Elizabeth spent the rest of the afternoon in her room, hoping to sleep a bit, but her thoughts kept returning to the last conversation she had with Mr. Darcy, and her confusion over his odd behavior toward her and his need to relate such intimate details of his life. The feeling she had when he was so near to her was the feeling she had always dreamed of when the man she loved declared his feelings for her, and he had been so close to her, holding her hand while he spoke. If she didn't know better, it had felt as though he was about to explain why it had all brought him to Hertfordshire and to declare his love for her, but now she knew that he was marrying someone else. But why had he told her the details of his mother's wish for him to marry only for love on her deathbed? And why did he share the mysterious happenings at Pemberley and the painting of his cousin? None of it made sense to her, but it was not for her to understand now. She finally fell asleep, but she dreamed about a beautiful room with glass walls and glass panels on the ceiling with hundreds of flowers everywhere, and the tall and handsome Fitzwilliam Darcy painting a portrait of a woman.

  Chapter Thirty Three

  The Letter

  Upon Darcy's arrival back at Netherfield, Darcy had intended to return to his room immediately to write a letter to Elizabeth, even knowing that it was improper for a gentleman to write a letter to a woman unless engaged, but he felt in his heart that he needed to tell her the truth about Anne. What would he say? Could he tell her his true feelings for her in a letter?

  Before he could take the stairs to his chambers, he was met by Mr. Blair with two letters on a silver salver. "These letters arrived while you were away, Mr. Darcy." Darcy saw that one was from his cousin, Richard, and the other was from his sister. It occurred to him that he had not written to Georgiana since he had gone to London, and he needed to inform her about Anne and their Aunt Catherine's outrageous wrongdoings. He knew that Georgiana would want to have him invite Anne to Pemberley, and perhaps he should do so.

  He went to the library, shutting the door so as not to be interrupted by Caroline, and he sat to read Georgiana's letter first.

  "Dear Fitzwilliam,

  I trust that you are well and enjoying your stay in Hertfordshire. Your last letter mentioned the surprising beauty of the countryside so near to London, and the stark difference to the wilds of our beloved Derbyshire. I do love our part of England, but it would be lovely to visit Mr. Bingley in his new home the next time we are in Town. From your letter, it does sound as though he will decide to continue on there. You also mentioned meeting several neighbors to Netherfield, and one family in particular. Five sisters! I am astonished at such a thing! I would love to have even one sister, and they each have four to share! You must be sure to describe each of them to me when I next see you. Is Mr. Bingley finding any of them to his liking?

  I have many things to impart, so this letter will be long, I'm afraid! Much to our great surprise (but not yours, I'm sure!), several days ago, Frederick and Angelique and I were enjoying a quiet afternoon in the music room when Mrs. Reynolds informed us that a carriage was approaching. To be honest with you, I was afraid that it might be Aunt Catherine making one of her unannounced visits that alarm me so, and so I decided to wait and see who it was before greeting anyone. When James came and announced that the visitors were there to see Frederick and that they were from America, Frederick gasped aloud and rushed out of the room as if his hair was on fire! Angelique knew immediately who it was and told me that she was quite certain it was Frederick's brother and sister! He has talked of them quite often, and he shared with us just yesterday that he would give anything to have his father see his brother and sister again.

  We allowed him the privacy of his reunion in the front hall, but within minutes, he ushered them into the music room to meet us. What a wonderful thing it was, Brother! He introduced them to me in English, but then introduced them to Angelique in French, and for the next few minutes there was such a cacophony of four people speaking French at the same time, I couldn't understand a word of it! I did understand the tears and the many hugs, however, and it was a truly beautiful experience to behold. My only confusion was that they were introduced to me as Janine and Nicolas Chastain and not Charron. I have not asked, but perhaps they will explain the name difference to me in due time.

  Frederick's father has been joining us for a short time each day now that he is getting stronger, but fortunately he was in his room resting and was not there for the unexpected shock of seeing his children after so many years. They have grown much older, of course, but Nicolas's resemblance to Frederick is uncanny, and I'm sure that Gerard would have known in an instant that they were his younger son and daughter. I daresay that it could have been injurious to his heart without the proper forewarning.

  After a short visit, Mrs. Reynolds entered and offered chambers for them to refresh themselves, and it was decided that they would avail themselves of the offer to change clothes from their travels while Frederick would go to Gerard and gently inform him of their arrival. When they returned within the hour, they were escorted into their father's room, and we were allowed to watch the reunion from the doorway. Gerard almost stood up on his own to greet them, but they rushed to his bedside and insisted that he stay seated. There was much weeping and excited conversation in French, of course, but he seemed to withstand the enormous surprise quite well. The color in his face has begun to return, and he looked absolutely radiant.

  Oh, Fitzwilliam, I am so delighted with our new guests! Janine is practically my age, and I am so excited to have her here at Pemberley! We have already become good friends, and I am practicing my French with her. Her brother, Nicolas, is such a gentleman, and he is so very handsome! He speaks to me in English all the time, and it is interesting to hear
his American and French accents at the same time when he speaks! They have told me all about the life they have been leading in America, and it is so interesting to hear about this place called South Carolina. Nicolas has given me complete instructions on the cultivating of cotton, and he also told us of the prevalent practice of having large numbers of negro slaves working and living on the plantations in the South. He said that the slaves are well taken care of, but he knows that they were purchased like cattle, and they have absolutely no freedom. He told me that he personally found it quite objectionable, but as his family was given a home to live in at the plantation when they arrived in America, he was not allowed to voice his displeasure. He has also told me many things about America, and it sounds so interesting there. Perhaps someday you can take me there, although he has great concern about the relationship between the British and America, and he fears another war. I would dearly love to have him, and Janine, of course, remain here in England, but I know they desire to return to France along with Frederick and their father.

  So, now I have brought you up to date, dear Brother. I am quite pleased that you have already met Janine and Nicolas, so you know of whom I write so much about! We learned of how you aided in their journey to Derbyshire, and Frederick has asked me to send his appreciation and profound gratitude to you. I have never seen him so happy.

  I am also happier than I have been in a long, long time. Our home is full of kind and lovely friends, and I am surrounded by other ladies to speak of things only ladies care about. Thank you so much for this, Fitzwilliam. It is a dream come true, and you are the best brother in the whole world to have made it happen.

  Fondly,

  Your loving sister, Georgiana

  Darcy folded the letter and sat back in his chair to think about his sister's words. How he wished that he could have been there to see the reunion of the Chastains. He wondered if Frederick would soon share the entire story with Georgiana to eliminate her confusion about their different surnames. He knew that she now considered them like family, and she would not be displeased with how the name Charron came to be. He had not given it much thought when Nicolas was in his townhouse in London, but he truly was a handsome young man, and it gave him some displeasure at how Georgiana had described his countenance in her letter. It sounded like she was quite taken with him, and he hoped that the young man was a gentleman in his absence. Surely Frederick would curtail anything he saw that was inappropriate, but he still felt some concern. He knew that Georgiana's head had been easily turned at the smooth talk and handsome face of George Wickham, and he could not allow any more temptation so close to that heartbreak and near calamity. It was perhaps time to return to Pemberley.

  He opened the second letter and noticed that his cousin's usual neat handwriting was somewhat hurriedly executed.

  "Darcy - Forgive this urgent missive, but I must request that you return to London post haste to help me with matters that have arisen regarding our cousin, Anne. Unfortunately, Aunt Catherine did not leave London as we had hoped, and she convinced her driver to take her to her townhouse here in town instead of returning to Kent. She has hired a fleet of lawyers, and she is now insisting that the entire story of her husband's death and Anne's inheritance is a lie. She claims that Mr. Statten, the lawyer who handled Percy's will, was paid off by all of us, and Percy is not deceased, but living in America with his new wife and family, and he is, in fact, a bigamist! They are prepared to demand that Statten is a fraud, that legally we have no right to keep Anne here with us, and we must allow her to return home with her. We have not allowed Anne to hear her latest tirade and lies, but she is well aware of her mother's presence, and she knows that something nefarious is going on. She is terrified that she will be forced to return to Rosings, and she is begging me to take her anywhere to get away from her mother. Even though we know that we will legally prevail in the long run, it will be a long and ugly battle causing Anne tremendous agony and more heartache, let alone exposing our family's situation to all of London society.

  The only option Mother and Father can think of to eliminate Anne's further distress and our family's reputation is for Anne to marry immediately to void her mother's ability to take her back to Rosings and to protect her inheritance. The names of men that they have suggested as prospective husbands for Anne are ridiculous, and I cannot allow them to proceed with this outrageous plan. Anne deserves so much better than that, and since I know that you require an heir for Pemberley, and her health most likely does not allow for childbearing, that leaves only myself. I do not require an heir, and I believe that I am well suited to take care of Anne and the best one to deal with Aunt Catherine. I have discussed this with Anne, and she is amenable. I have applied for a special license, but I will need you here to stand up with me. Please hurry, Cousin. Time is of the essence.

  Your Cousin, Richard

  Darcy could not believe what he had just read. His Aunt Catherine's treachery and obvious madness would force his two favorite cousins to marry, not for love, but for Anne's safety and to save his Aunt and Uncle's reputation in society. He abhorred the thought of them sacrificing themselves in this way, but he could think of no other plan. He thrust both letters into an inner pocket of his tailcoat and bounded up the stairs two at a time to find his valet to pack to leave for London. In his haste, he totally forgot to write the letter to Elizabeth for Jane to forward to her. Only Richard's urgent request could have caused such a grievous omission.

  Chapter Thirty Four

  A bevy of barristers

  Darcy had almost finished preparing to leave Netherfield when Bingley arrived home from Longbourn. Seeing several valises in the front hall, he knew that Darcy would be leaving for longer than a short trip to London and that he would most likely not be returning to Hertfordshire. He wondered if Darcy had decided to try to follow after Elizabeth and the Gardiner's, but when Darcy hurriedly came down the stairs, he quickly explained that there was a matter in town that he needed to take care of, and then he would be returning to Pemberley. He apologized for the sudden decision to leave, but he explained to Bingley that it truly was a matter of great importance, and that since he had thoroughly inspected all of Netherfield's books and found the condition of the property and surrounding land to be most agreeable, his presence was no longer needed.

  Bingley dearly wished to ask if the urgent matter had anything to do with Elizabeth, but he knew better than to ask such a personal question of his friend. Darcy kept his thoughts and feelings to himself, and Bingley knew that if he wanted Bingley and Jane to know, he would have told them. "I'm sorry to see you leave, Darcy. I have valued your advice, and I have greatly appreciated your presence. I want you to know that I have asked for Miss Bennett's hand, and she has accepted, so naturally I will be leasing Netherfield." He beamed at Darcy, and Darcy stuck out his hand and heartily congratulated him. "I am a happy man, my friend, and coming to Hertfordshire has been a most fortuitous and joyous twist of fate. " Darcy inwardly cringed at the knowledge that both he and Bingley had experienced a fateful journey to this small country village, but that his own outcome was not at all joyful.

  The footmen had loaded all of the luggage onto the carriage, but Darcy chose to ride Omega, while his valet rode inside the carriage. The tone of Richard's letter was quite urgent, and he wished to arrive in London more quickly than the carriage could make the trip, so he bade Bingley goodbye, and rode down the driveway, fortunately not observing the frantic Miss Bingley streaking down the front steps, calling after him. Bingley grabbed her arm as she loudly protested, chastising her unladylike behavior and steering her back into the estate. Some things would never change.

  On entering the city streets of London, Darcy debated whether to go to Darcy House to change his clothes or to go straightaway to Matlock House to learn what had occurred since Richard had written his letter. He opted to go directly to Matlock House, and he was glad that he had chosen to do so, because there in front of the townhouse sat his Aunt Catherine's carriag
e, another grand carriage that surely belonged to someone of note, and four other less impressive carriages. He was greeted at the door by the obviously distressed butler and escorted into the sitting room where for all intents and purposes, it appeared to be an improvised courtroom. Three men dressed entirely in black robes were all seated on one side of the room, each wearing the short white wig of a barrister with curls on the side and a pigtail down the back.

  On the other side of the room sat Mr. Statten, simply dressed in black gentleman's attire and an older gentleman nattily dressed in a colorful waistcoat and emerald green topcoat, as if he was on his way to a social engagement. At one end of the room sat his Aunt Catherine, regally posed in a large throne-like chair, and at the other end of the room sat his Uncle Alexander, his Aunt Edith, and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam , dressed in his formal red uniform, emblazoned with numerous gold medals and a long sword hanging from his belt.

  A quick glance at his Aunt Catherine caused her to bellow at him, "Fitzwilliam Darcy, what in blazes are you doing here? This is a family matter and you are not needed here! Leave us at once!"

  "I was under the impression that this is my family too, Aunt Catherine. My presence has been requested, and I will not be leaving." He took a seat next to his cousin, nodding an unspoken greeting and offering a look of support. "Pray, tell me what I have missed?"

  "You have only missed Aunt Catherine's ridiculous accusation that our family paid Mr. Statten to falsify a death certificate for Percy De Bourg, the former husband of Lady Catherine De Bourg." Catherine glared daggers at her brother, but remained silent. "She claims that Percy is very much alive and is living a life of bigamy in the Americas! We have asked these three esteemed barristers to my left to provide proof of these claims, but thus far we have seen no such documents. They claim to know something that we do not, and they threaten that if we choose to go forward with this charade, absolute proof will be provided, and we will be shunned by all of society when the truth is revealed." He nodded his head at Richard, and Richard walked to a doorway on the side of the room and escorted a woman into the room. "I believe that we have a witness to dispute Lady De Bourg's claims. Come in, Mrs. Barrett."