Most Ardently

by Sheena Austin et al.

  In an effort to comfort him, Elizabeth discretely patted Darcy’s arm, “Sir, I understand. I believe that I saw you struggling at church because you were thinking of your sister. That is only natural, and no one would think less of you for loving your sister. Now, come let me congratulate Jane on her new husband and if you will allow it, I will introduce you to a few people and make your excuses when you are ready to depart. I understand that this is a trying time for you, and should you wish to talk I hope that you would come and visit Longbourn. You would be a welcome visitor.

  Darcy bowed. “Thank you, Miss Bennet. I have not the words to thank you, your family and friends for what you have done for me today.”

  Chapter 8

  A FEW DAYS LATER, DARCY understood why Mr. Bennet had invited him to stay with his family at Longbourn. The Meryton Inn was a decent, rustic inn, but it could get loud in the evenings and Darcy preferred quiet. His room at the inn was sparse and the walls were paper thin. Darcy was looking forward to the move to Longbourn. Mr. Bennet had offered him quiet and a room removed people.

  Hearing a knock, Darcy called, “Enter.” He watched as his valet, Adams, entered with his breakfast and an oddly shaped package on the tray. Darcy inspected the package, “Adams, what is that?”

  Adams met his master’s gaze, “Sir, the innkeeper told me that it was left for you. I was requested to bring it to you.”

  Darcy noticed the package had a tag inscribed with a number and a word that made no sense. He studied at his valet. “Are you sure that this package was meant for me?”

  Adams confirmed. “Yes, sir. The innkeeper indicated he was paid to ensure that the package was delivered to Mr. Darcy.”

  Intrigued, Darcy opened the package and discovered a small painted rock. It appeared to have been done by a child. Turning to Adams, he pondered, “What do you make of this? A painted rock? I wonder what it is supposed to be.”

  Adams leaned closer to inspect the rock, “Perhaps it is something to do with the festive season, sir. After all, today is the first of December.”

  Darcy acknowledged, “I suppose that is possible, but I wonder at the number and word. Strange, usually you start with the number one and go forward. This started with the number four. Well, let me prepare for the day. I plan to visit Longbourn today. Mr. Bennet has invited me to stay there instead of here at the inn and I am going to accept the invitation. I will let you know when we will make the move to Longbourn.”

  “Very good, sir,” Adams answered.

  A few hours later, Darcy was shown into Mr. Bennet’s library where the master of the house greeted him warmly, “Good morning, Mr. Darcy. Welcome to Longbourn. I am pleased that you have come for a visit. How are you enjoying your stay at the inn? Are you being well cared for?”

  Darcy bowed, “Good morning, Mr. Bennet. I am well, thank you. The inn is nice and very much like you described but they have been very kind to me all the same.”

  Mr. Bennet studied the younger man, “But, I sense that even though you do not wish to be alone right now, you are still wishing for a degree of quiet that you are not experiencing at present. Am I right, sir? Have you been reconsidered my offer to stay here at Longbourn with my family and I?”

  Darcy agreed. “Indeed, you are, Mr. Bennet. I have come this morning to see if I could indeed accept your offer to stay with you and your family until such time as my friend returns from his wedding trip. If the offer was still good, I was going to ask what would be a good day for me to take up residence in your guest room?”

  “Wonderful, young man!” Mr. Bennet exclaimed. “I was hoping you would change your mind. Now, I have not told Mrs. Bennet of my invitation just yet as I wanted to be sure that you would come and stay with us before I told her. That being said, it is our tradition starting the first of December to have small dinner parties with one or two of our four and twenty neighbors. Will this bother you? I ask as when I issued you the invitation, I had forgotten it was the start of the festive season.”

  Darcy stared at his future host in shock. “Bother me? Sir, I am a going to be a guest in your home. I would never dare tell you what you may or may not do.”

  Mr. Bennet chuckled. “I realize that, Mr. Darcy. What I meant to ask is, will it bother to be around too many people? You strike me a somber individual. That is not to say that you could not or would not enjoy a party, but rather during the final days of mourning, would the presence of dinner parties be off-putting to you?”

  Darcy pondered for a moment. “I see no reason why I could not attend most of the dinners, sir. Since it appears that you are planning for smaller parties, I will be able to attend. However, if I have a day where it becomes rather too melancholy for me to attend a planned dinner, I will simply retire to my room. Would that suit you?”

  Mr. Bennet clasped the younger man on the shoulder. “I would not have you hide away in your room if you do not wish to join us. When my wife made you the offer of my library during your earlier visit to our home, she did so with my full knowledge and consent. Feel free to borrow any book that interests you. I have a rather diverse taste in books.”

  Darcy offered a small smile. “Mr. Bennet, should you and your family ever travel to Derbyshire, I must have you and your family stay with me at Pemberley. The library there is the work of several generations as is the one at my townhouse in London.”

  Mr. Bennet raised a brow. “Pemberley, sir? Is this the name of your estate?”

  Darcy looked confused. “Yes, Mr. Bennet, that is correct. Do you know of it?”

  Mr. Bennet laughed, “Forgive me, Mr. Darcy, I did not mean to cause you alarm. My sister by marriage hails from Lambton and she has often spoken of how lovely your estate is. Now, since you have decided to come and stay here, when would you like to move from the inn?”

  “Since you need to speak with Mrs. Bennet and your daughters, how would the end of the week sound to you?” Darcy offered.

  Mr. Bennet agreed. “Excellent, sir. I will have a room prepared for you in the guest wing and the rooms in that part of the house are larger, your valet can have the adjoining room. We will not be having any other guests for the festive season. My brother and sister by marriage were just here for Jane’s wedding but decided against coming back again so soon. Does this suit you?”

  “You are very kind to me, Mr. Bennet. I thank you.” Darcy offered his hand.

  “I pray that you do not regret coming to stay here.” Mr. Bennet laughed. “My family is rather animated.”

  Darcy dismissed this. “I look forward to my stay. It will be a new adventure for me to try something new.”

  Chapter 9

  THAT EVENING AT DINNER, Mr. Bennet told his family, “Mrs. Bennet, daughters, Miss Bingley, I have some news to share with you. A few days before the wedding, I invited Mr. Darcy to stay with us while Jane and Bingley are on their wedding trip. I thought that Mr. Darcy staying by himself at the inn would be just as lonely as staying at Netherfield. I would like to ask you all to be kind to the man. Well, except you, Miss Bingley, as you already know the man. This will be his first festive season without his sister and timing is hard as well since he is also just getting ready to come out of mourning.”

  Mrs. Bennet glanced lovingly at her husband. “We will be sure to make his time here as happy as we can, Mr. Bennet. I do hope that you will be able to convince him to attend a few of our dinner parties.”

  Mr. Bennet shared, “I have informed Mr. Darcy about them already and he has agreed to attend them unless he happens to be in poor spirits on a particular day.”

  “Mr. Bennet, might I ask a favor of you and your wife?” Caroline inquired.

  “Of course, young lady. What can we do for you?” Mrs. Bennet assured her.

  Caroline glanced around the dinner table. “I would ask that you call me Caroline as your daughters do.”

  Mr. Bennet winked at his wife. “We will agree to call you Caroline on the condition that you call us Mother and Father or some variation of that. I know that
you and your brother and sister lost your parents several years ago. I am sure that they would not mind.”

  Caroline choked up. “I would be most happy to... Papa.” Elizabeth silently handed her a handkerchief to dry her eyes.

  “Papa, how was Mr. Darcy when you saw him this morning?” Elizabeth questioned.

  Mr. Bennet informed her, “He was quiet but that is not something unusual. Although, I did learn something new about our new guest this morning. Mr. Darcy mentioned his estate when we were talking about libraries and I learned that he owns the estate that your Aunt Gardiner has always spoken of.

  “How interesting,” Elizabeth muttered “Caroline, have you been to Mr. Darcy’s estate? Is it as grand as my aunt has described?”

  Caroline was unfazed. “I have been to Pemberley and it is a grand estate. I am not sure how your aunt described the estate, but many have deemed it one of the finest in the county.”

  Mr. Bennet told them, “I am putting Mr. Darcy in the guest wing of the house and you are to keep your distance and keep the noise level in the house down to a respectable level. Mr. Darcy is used to a quieter environment and I do not want him to regret staying with us. Is that understood?”

  Mrs. Bennet agreed, “Have no worries, Mr. Bennet. I will set the maids to polish the furniture and air out the room before he arrives. Now, about our dinner party on Saturday....”

  THE NEXT MORNING AT the inn, Darcy sat in a chair by the window reading the newspaper from the day before. Having already broken his fast, but not looking to staying in his room all day, Darcy decided to take a walk along the street and look in the windows of the various shops.

  Darcy was just approaching the bookstore when he was approached by a boy around ten years old who called out, “Excuse me, sir. Are you Mr. Darcy?”

  Darcy confirmed, “Yes, I am.”

  The boy handed Darcy a small package, “I was instructed to bring this to you. Good day.”

  Darcy stopped the boy before he could leave, “Who gave this to you, lad? Do you know who it is from?”

  The boy shook his head. “Sorry, sir. I did not know the man. He just gave me a penny and a description of you. Told me to give it to you.”

  Darcy reached into his own pocket and handed the boy two pennies. “Thank you for your trouble. I am sorry. I do not know your name.”

  The boy grinned as he took the pennies. “My name is Tom King, sir. Thank you very much.”

  Darcy watched the boy run off. He examined the package in his hand. The package had a tag similar to the one from yesterday. This package had the number seventeen written on it with another word on it. With only two words to go on, Darcy has no idea what the message could possibly be or why someone would send him a message. He opened the package to find a small wooden horse like the kind of toy he had as a child. Darcy carefully placed the gift back in its packaging and slipped it into his greatcoat pocket and entered the bookstore distracted.

  The bookstore owner flicked his eyes up as Darcy entered the store and greeted him. “Good day, sir. May I help you find something?”

  Darcy’s eyes roamed around the store looking for the storeowner and finding him in a far corner, he called out, “Good day. I was wondering if you knew what kind of books Mr. Bennet favors. I would like to get a little thank you gift for his hospitality.”

  The shopkeeper chuckled. “Mr. Bennet is a fine man and he frequents my store as often as he can, or as often as his wife will allow. Now, I imagine you want to find a book that the gentleman does not already have, am I right?”

  Darcy agreed. “Yes, if you know of a book that Mr. Bennet would like but do not have in stock, I would be happy to have you order it.”

  The shopkeeper gave a sly smirk. “I do not believe that will be necessary, sir. I know of a few books Mr. Bennet has expressed an interest in, and I will be placing an order for them later in the week.”

  Darcy was pleased, “Excellent. Order the books and place them under my name and if Mr. Bennet inquiries about his order, you have had to wait for the books to become available.”

  “Very good, sir.” The shopkeeper agreed. “What name am I holding the books under?”

  Darcy thought for a moment. “Let me put it under my valet’s name otherwise Mr. Bennet might get suspicious. My name is Darcy but let the books be held under T. Adams.”

  The shopkeeper extended his hand, “I am Harris, sir. I will send a note to your valet when your order comes in, sir. Good day.”

  ADAMS LOOKED UP FROM packing his master’s trunk when his master returned. He enquired, “Did you find anything of interest in the bookstore, sir?”

  Darcy’s eyes bored into his valet, suspiciously. “Indeed. I found a few books of note and had a something of a surprise myself.” Seeing the confusion on his valet’s face, he pulled the package from his pocket, “As I was about to enter the bookstore, when a young boy approached me. After a few moments of conversation, the lad handed me this package.”

  Intrigued, Adams questioned, “What was in the package, sir?”

  Darcy produced the small horse, “It was this. It had a tag and another word just like the little rock from yesterday.”

  Adams brows rose in surprise. “What are you going to do with them, sir?”

  Darcy exhaled. “I do not know that I can do anything about it. So far, I have not been able to find out who is sending the gifts. Perhaps they will stop once I am with the Bennets. The servants would all know everyone locally and perhaps if we provide a description, we can figure out who is sending them and why.”

  Adams agreed. “Very good, sir. Most of your things are packed and ready to be moved to Longbourn. We will be ready to go there tomorrow when you are ready, sir.”

  “Excellent,” Darcy sat at the desk. “I will send Mr. Bennet a note to let him know to expect us after tea tomorrow.”

  Chapter 10

  ELIZABETH APPROACHED her father several days later while Darcy was out posting a letter. She knocked on his library door, “Papa, do you have a moment?”

  Mr. Bennet put his newspaper down. “Lizzy, to what do I owe this surprise?”

  Elizabeth grinned at her father. “Papa, you know that I have been helping Caroline get used to being around Kitty and Lydia more. I know that Mary has been enjoying learning more music from Caroline, but Kitty and Lydia are livelier than she is used to.”

  Mr. Bennet chuckled, “Yes, I imagine you are correct. But tell me, why have you sought me out?”

  “I wanted to check and see how our little plan is going?” Elizabeth inquired.

  Mr. Bennet grinned. “Lizzy, I do believe that the mystery gifts have truly taken Mr. Darcy’s mind off his more depressing thoughts. Adams slipped me a note to say that his master is confounded as to how many different people have stopped him with these random little gifts. I noticed that we are short on a few gifts. Have you come up with any more ideas?”

  Elizabeth thought for a moment, “I have a thought, but I had another idea for the final gift – if it is possible. I heard you and Mr. Darcy discussing his cousin who is in the regulars.” She stopped at her father’s raised brow. “Very well, I eavesdropped to see if I could learn anything.”

  Mr. Bennet gazed at his daughter. “What did you discover that you sought me out?”

  “If Mr. Darcy discovered that his cousin is to return back to London before Christmas day, could we not surprise Mr. Darcy with a family member?” Elizabeth proposed.

  Mr. Bennet considered her suggestion. “That is an interesting idea, Lizzy. Now, I have included Sir William and several other gentlemen in the scheme to help distribute these little gifts. Are there any other gift ideas that you came up with?”

  Elizabeth lifted a shoulder. “I did, Papa, but I do not know if it is something that the gentleman will find agreeable.”

  Mr. Bennet leaned forward, “What was your idea?”

  “A puppy,” Elizabeth paused, then explained. “Charlotte’s bitch recently whelped a litter of puppies. She has one puppy
left that has not been spoken for. It is a female puppy and the runt of the litter. Sir William is going to give that puppy away as it might be too weak to be of any use.”

  Mr. Bennet offered his daughter a small smile. “You have a gentle heart, dearest. Forgive me, Lizzy. I am trying to picture the proper Mr. Darcy with a small spaniel that he would not even be able to use for hunting. Let me think on this. I might discuss it with Adams and gain his impression of such a gift. I will let you know in a day or two of my decision. In the meantime, please ask Charlotte to keep the puppy for us for now.”

  Later that afternoon, Mr. Bennet approached Adams while Darcy was out riding, “May I have a moment of your time while your master is away?”

  Adams replied, “Of course, Mr. Bennet. How may I help you?”

  “How is Mr. Darcy faring with my rather loud family?” Mr. Bennet inquired. “From what I have heard, your master is used to a quieter home life than what my family provides.”

  Adams offered a small smirk. “I believe, sir that at first Mr. Darcy was a little surprised by the family. Not that their behaviors or manners were in any way improper but rather to see the love and pranks that everyone seemed to delight in.”

  Mr. Bennet chuckled. “Yes, I gathered that from the look on his face when he discovered himself the subject of one of my Lizzy’s pranks was priceless.”

  Adams shared a small smile. “I understand. Apparently, Miss Bennet leaving a frog in his chair at the breakfast table was something of a shock but the smile on my master’s face was something that I thought I would not see again.”

  “Yes,” Mr. Bennet agreed, “which is why you find me seeking you out while he is otherwise engaged. Since the little gifts have been a success, I thought I should mention that we are still a few gifts short for the full five and twenty days. Lizzy has thought of two additional gifts, but I am not sure how either gift would be received.”