As Darcy was seeing him out after breakfast, Bingley added quietly, “Caroline is absolutely indecently happy about her engagement. I am sure that she has never forgiven you for marrying Elizabeth instead of her, and she is gloating over the fact that she will be a comtesse while Elizabeth is a commoner. Oh, she hasn’t been so vulgar as to say it aloud, but I can see it by the look in her eyes.”
Darcy smiled and answered, “Well, I hope that she gets all the enjoyment of her title that she deserves,” and, after Bingley gave him an ironic glance, sent him on his way.
***
That afternoon, Elizabeth and Georgiana called on the Bingleys and gave Miss Bingley their best wishes. She was very condescendingly gracious to both of them, and Elizabeth later told Darcy, “I felt rather like a peasant who was noticed by a royal personage—far more so than when I danced with a true royal.”
Georgiana could tell that Elizabeth was very amused by Caroline’s preening during the visit and had difficulty keeping her countenance serious and sincere, but she, noticing her sister’s waning control, squeezed her arm under the cover of her shawl. That captured Elizabeth’s attention, and she was able to sip her tea and control herself, although she refrained from looking at Georgiana for the remainder of the visit. When they were safely in the carriage, both of them relieved their feelings by giggling uncontrollably for several minutes.
“I must thank you, my dear sister, for pinching my arm,” Elizabeth said as she dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief. “I needed something to draw my attention. I am afraid that you will think me very ill-bred for being unable to keep my composure; however, Miss Bingley and I have a long history. I fear that her pride and condescension will be boundless now that she will have a title.” She sighed and shook her head.
“Yes, I expect that it will. Well, I hope that a title is enough to ensure her enjoyment of a life encompassed by marriage to a man who is twice as old as she and who has no fortune.” She coloured suddenly in confusion, realising that some ill-natured gossips might make similar comments about her engagement. She finally said with downcast eyes, “I hope, at least, that there is some affection between them. They have not known each other very long.”
Elizabeth took her hand. “I hope so too, my dear.”
They finished their ride home in silence and spent the rest of the day quietly reading; they had another ball to attend that night as the Season wound down to its finish. They would leave town in only a week and return to Pemberley. Georgiana was looking forwards to returning to the retirement and serenity of the country where they could relax and rest and get away from the soot of London.
10 June: I can hardly wait to leave for Pemberley, although I am not certain that my dear Edward will be able to accompany us. He is attempting to finish his duties so he can spend at least a fortnight in the north, but he has several important things in hand which must be concluded. There is something on his mind which he will not share with me; I do not know if it is his brother St. George or if it is a problem at the palace. (I cannot believe how close-mouthed this man is whom I always thought could talk the birds out of the trees!) Certainly, St. George’s behaviour is explanation enough for his lack of spirits.
Georgiana enjoyed the ball that evening and, on the way home, Elizabeth commented on the evident relief of her fellow debutantes that she had not taken one of the elder sons, but Georgiana merely shrugged off the lesser feelings of her acquaintances.
“They, of course, do not realise that I was never competing with them for the heirs once the Season actually began and that they are welcome to any future lord or landholder that they can enchant, with my blessings.”
Elizabeth patted her hand fondly.
***
Lord Whitwell came to see Darcy the next morning and was closeted with him for about an hour in his library. Later, Darcy told Elizabeth about the meeting.
“We discussed what we wanted to do for Georgiana and the colonel. My uncle would like to give them Longford House. I had not realised that it is not included in the entail, but he purchased it himself years ago and held it out of the entail because of his concerns even then about his eldest son’s behaviour. My aunt and uncle prefer to spend most of their time in the country, and Longford House is large enough to accommodate them as guests when they come to town. They have a smaller house near Berkeley Square, just around the corner from the Bingleys’ house, which is leased out and is included in the entail and will go to St. George when he inherits. I thought that I would see if I can find a small estate near Pemberley to give them for a wedding present so we could see them often and Georgiana can benefit from your society when the colonel must be in town.”
“That will be lovely! I am sure they will not want to be near Whitwell Abbey when your cousin inherits.”
“No, my uncle felt, as I did, that it would be better for them to be in another part of the county, and settling near Pemberley would solve that difficulty. My uncle is trying to decide what to do about St. George. They have still not heard from him since he left town. My uncle is quite exercised in his mind; he is struggling to determine how to be fair to both of his sons. He is hoping that St. George is somewhere quietly thinking about his iniquities and resolving to change but fears that it is not so.”
“Well, however the problem of St. George resolves itself, it will not affect Georgiana’s happiness. She tells me that they want to wait until next spring to get married, soon after she turns eighteen. Lady Whitwell would like them to have a big society wedding at St. George’s in Hanover Square, but Georgiana and the colonel have not yet decided if that is what they desire. I think Georgiana would prefer to have a quiet wedding, but she has plenty of time before she must decide.”
Darcy smiled. “Hopefully, Fitzwilliam will be able to get to Pemberley often this summer, once the Season is over and the turmoil from Napoleon’s defeat dies down. Now that Napoleon is on Elba, the situation in Europe should stabilise and the prince’s cronies will settle back into their usual spiteful gossiping and backbiting.”
Chapter 25
…Virtue solely is the sum of glory,
And fashions men with true nobility.
—Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great
As the week neared its end, the Darcys were beginning to prepare for their return to Pemberley. There was much to do in the way of packing and planning after such a long stay in town, and Elizabeth and Georgiana were kept busy supervising the servants. After several days of bustle they were finally ready to depart and planned to leave early the next morning. Georgiana was rather downcast to be leaving her fiancé, who still had some unfinished tasks, but she was trying to keep her spirits up by anticipating how beautiful it would be at Pemberley this time of year and how many lovely walks she would be able to take with Elizabeth and Pilot and Lucky. On their last evening they were engaged to dine with the Bingleys, who would also be leaving town in the next day or two and taking Kitty with them to Netherfield for a visit. The colonel was, of course, included in their invitations and arrived at Ashbourne House an hour before dinner. He was announced to Darcy, who was in his library reading, and said, “I am sorry to interrupt your plans to leave, Darcy, but the Prince Regent wants to meet you tomorrow at one o’clock.”
“Whatever for? We have no further business to conduct since I last saw him,” Darcy said shortly.
“I know only what I have told you, Cousin,” he said, holding up his hands in submission. “I am, once again, merely acting as a messenger.”
Darcy sighed and said, “All right, I will be there. I can hardly refuse, can I?”
***
Georgiana and Elizabeth were disappointed that they were to put off their departure, but they would have an enjoyable dinner with the Bingleys that evening. They then would all leave London on the same morning.
Georgiana spent her evening tête-à-tête with her fiancé while he whispered the usual
sweet flattery in her ear. Miss Bingley, on the other hand, was a picture of vivacity as she fawned over the count, who was also present, until even Elizabeth’s good-humoured countenance became rigid with boredom.
The next day was spent in waiting. Darcy left the house in good time for his engagement at the palace and was gone for more than three hours. All of their trunks were packed and ready to go on the carriages, but they must await the pleasure of the Prince Regent. After she had played her pianoforte until her fingers hurt, Georgiana finally came down to the drawing-room with Lucky in her arms and plumped herself on the settee discontentedly. She was hard put not to comment on the prince’s rudeness in waiting until they were almost in the carriage before he demanded to see her brother, but Elizabeth, correctly interpreting her sister’s expression, just shrugged silently.
“Would you like to play a game, Georgiana? It might keep our minds off our grievances.”
“I suppose. What would you like to play?”
“Backgammon?”
“It requires too much attention. How about draughts?”
“Perfect. I will set up the board if you will order tea.”
They both played badly, but the game at least gave them something to do with their hands.
***
When Darcy returned to Park Street, accompanied by the colonel, the door was opened by Burton himself instead of one of the footmen. He bowed deeply and murmured, “Welcome home, my lords.”
Darcy stopped in astonishment and stared at the old butler as Fitzwilliam burst out laughing.
“How did you know, Burton?”
Burton just smiled smugly.
“Does everyone in the household know?”
“No, my lord! Of course not!” the butler said, shocked, “I would not say anything until I had your permission! I sent the footmen to the kitchen when I saw you returning.”
Elizabeth and Georgiana were in the music-room practising a duet after finishing their unsatisfying game of draughts when Darcy came in with the colonel. Georgiana looked up and saw that they were each holding a piece of paper in their hands, and her brother had a rather odd look on his face: a combination of amusement and chagrin.
“What in the world is the matter?” she asked in surprise.
Darcy merely handed her the paper, and Elizabeth and Georgiana read it together. It was a letter of patent renewing the title of Earl of Winslow and bestowing it upon Fitzwilliam Edward George Darcy, “for his support and assistance to the Crown.” Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open for a moment and she was unable to speak while Georgiana stared at the letter. Darcy obviously noted the rapidly changing expressions on their faces as they comprehended all of the ramifications of his title, for he started laughing, but soon controlled himself and gave them the details of his afternoon.
“The Prince Regent evidently felt that he owed me a debt after this spring, and this particular gift costs him nothing—there are no lands with it or other benefits beyond the title because they all devolved to the king when the title fell out of usage, and he is not giving them up.”
He paused for a moment, looking over their shoulders at the letter and then added with a crooked smile, “In fact, I am sure that he particularly enjoyed giving me this, since he knows that it means that I will have the duty to become a member of the House of Lords and come to London when Parliament meets and he knows me well enough to know that I will not shirk my responsibility, however repugnant I find London society. I believe he also means it as a snub to my aunt, Lady Catherine, since she will be absolutely livid to find that, instead of being ostracized by society, we are moving up to the nobility—particularly so since the title was originally her father’s. Fitzwilliam tells me that the Prince Regent is not very fond of our aunt’s domineering nature. He knew her husband well and always felt pity for the poor man’s being attached to her, however noble her birth. Because of her respect for his title, the Prince Regent has, fortunately for him, been relatively safe from her personal criticism of his behaviour, but he nonetheless finds her a trial.”
“But why did he give the title to you, Brother?” Georgiana asked, a frown creasing her brow.
“I am afraid, my dear, that I cannot tell you that.”
“It has something to do with that time you were gone, before my presentation, does it not?”
He kissed her on the top of her head, but did not answer.
Elizabeth finally overcame her shock and breathed, “I am… absolutely astounded.”
“There is more. Georgiana, this concerns you.” He pushed the colonel forwards and said, “He made the colonel a baron and gave him an estate not five miles from Pemberley.”
“Truly? That is wonderful! Where is it?” She could not understand the odd looks on their faces.
“It is the Walker estate.”
She was startled, thinking she had misheard him. “I beg your pardon?”
“Yes. This is, I am afraid, very shocking,” the colonel said, his face grave. “As you both know, young Walker has mortgaged the entire family estate to try to keep up with his debts while he looks for a rich wife. Apparently, things came to such a difficult pass that he decided to take more direct action to relieve his financial distress and joined a group which was smuggling English arms to the French and their supporters. When the government agents caught them, his estate was confiscated.”
“But it did not really belong to him yet… his father was merely letting him run the estate,” Elizabeth protested.
Colonel Fitzwilliam shrugged. “I presume that, since one of the charges in this case was treason, they had the powers necessary to take it. Ultimately, that is for the courts to decide. It is possible that the elder Walkers could make a claim to have it returned to them, but they are absolutely destroyed by their son’s actions and have retired to a small cottage near Derby, where they can hide their shame in anonymity and still see their daughters and their grandchildren. They will have to disown their only son to save some semblance of their good name and a future for their grandchildren in even the lowest level of good society. It is a tragedy.” He shook his head regretfully.
Elizabeth shivered and said, “Those poor people. I never did like their son; he reminded me too much of another worthless young man of our acquaintance, although less bad in a way. His face smiled, but his eyes were cold and calculating—unlike Wickham, he was unable to dissemble well enough to hide his true nature, which was beneficial to the rest of us since it allowed us to detect his schemes more easily. The elder Walkers, however, always seemed very friendly and forthright.”
“At any rate,” Darcy said, picking up the thread of the story, “my cousin is now Lord Lambton, and the estate was given to him. I will have to think what I should do about his creditors and about the elder Walkers.” He turned and grinned at his sister. “Georgiana, I had thought to find a country estate near Pemberley for the two of you for a wedding present, but this has saved me a great deal of money.”
Georgiana looked at him indignantly, but he went on, pointedly ignoring her glare, “The house could, I believe, be made very charming with some modernisation and, of course, the location could not be better.” He walked around the room, tapping his leg with the beaver hat which he still held in his hand, having forgotten in his astonishment at Burton’s greeting to give it to him when he came in.
Georgiana spoke again, sadly, “I feel very bad that my good fortune is at the squire’s expense.” She paused for a moment and then her eyes opened wide and she said, “What about Miss Blake?”
“I do not know what will happen to her. Presumably she will break the engagement. Thank God they had not yet married. They seemed to be in a hurry when they became engaged, but Sir Robert was apparently able to discourage too precipitous a marriage after our conversation. Do not worry, my dear, I will do what I can to assist the elder Walkers without offending their pride, but if the colonel refused
the estate it would merely go to someone else, and you and Fitzwilliam would have no income to support the responsibilities that come with his title. Also, even if the Walkers applied to the Crown for the return of their property, it was mortgaged for its entire value, and they would never be able to pay it off.”
“I suppose that is true, but I still do not feel quite right about it.”
“Perhaps if I approached them and said that I know that they could probably obtain the return of their property—but that I would like to buy it, not wanting my sister to be uncomfortable in her home—they would sell it to me. I will want to pay off those that hold the mortgages, at any rate, so you do not have any problems with them in the future and can enjoy your home in good conscience.”
“You are so good, my dear brother!” she said, embracing him, “I would feel much better about it if you could try to do that.” She turned to her sister-in-law. “Elizabeth, could we go see Miss Blake as soon as we get back to Derbyshire? I assume they will be home soon.”
“Of course, Georgiana, we will go as soon as we can.”
Darcy kissed Georgiana on the forehead and escorted the two ladies upstairs so that they could all dress for dinner, while the colonel settled himself in Darcy’s library with a book. Jane and Bingley were coming tonight with Kitty, so they would have one last evening together before both parties left town. The colonel had managed to finish all his duties and so would also stay for dinner and would travel north with them as well, allowing him to delay as long as possible his separation from Georgiana. They would have an early evening since everyone was travelling at first light the next morning.
Later, when Burton announced the Bingley party in the drawing-room, Bingley burst out as soon as the door had closed, “So it is true, Darcy! I heard just before we left the house that you had received a title this afternoon! Burton looked as if he could die from happiness when he said, ‘I will announce you to his lordship and her ladyship.’”
Mr. Darcy's Little Sister Page 32
