by Ola Wegner
Georgiana gave him an offended look. “Mr. Bingley, I simply want to help.”
“Of course you do, my dear,” Darcy said warmly, tucking Georgiana under his free arm and kissing her forehead.
Elizabeth freed herself gently from Darcy’s embrace. “I would truly wish to stay longer, but I am afraid I was so agitated this morning that I neglected to acquaint anyone with the fact that I left the house. They must be worried for me. My usual morning walks are rather short ones, and I always tell Jane or Kitty that I am leaving.”
“Yes, of course, my dear. I shall drive you home,” Darcy assured her. “Bingley, could you order the curricle to be prepared?”
“Naturally,” Bingley responded jovially, slapping Darcy on the back before leaving.
Georgiana gave another hug to Elizabeth as well as her brother. “I am so pleased with the news,” she ensured before running lightly out the room.
Darcy and Elizabeth stared after her with astonishment before Darcy finally spoke. “I cannot believe how much she has changed; and it is all thanks to you, Elizabeth.”
“I have simply spent some time with her.”
“Obviously you have done something. Last time I remember her like this was before our father’s death.”
“I am glad. On second thought, perhaps going to London is not such a bad idea. I would like to see my Aunt Madeline before the wedding, to talk with her and spend some time with her. I am also curious about my future home. Moreover, the change of scenery would do me good, I believe.”
“So, it is settled. I shall start with the preparations for our trip as soon I deliver you safely to Purvis Lodge.”
“William, I know I have already taken a lot of your time today. There is no need for you to accompany me.”
He frowned. “Elizabeth, do not even say so…”
She placed her hand over his lips, not allowing him to finish. “No, I have interrupted your work.”
Covering her hand with his own, he pressed a tender kiss inside her palm, before removing it from his face. “It was certainly worth it.”
She smiled. “Then if it is not too much more of a bother, I would also wish you to take me somewhere else before returning to Purvis Lodge.”
***
Elizabeth knelt in front of her father’s grave in the yard behind the Longbourn church. Darcy’s tall figure towered over her.
She stared for a long time at her father’s name engraved on the tombstone when Darcy enquired softly. “ Dearest…”
“Yes, I am coming…” she whispered, not making a move.
“We can stay as long as you wish.” Darcy assured her.
“I have wanted…,” she paused. “I have not been here since the day after the funeral. I would wish for him to know that I have such a worthy man as you by my side.”
“I am not sure he liked me.”
“Oh, I think he did not pay much attention to your person. I remember, however, how displeased he was when he was told how you refused to dance with me when we were introduced. ‘He slighted my Lizzy?’ he said.” She dried the single tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. “I know he was far from perfect, but…,” she whispered brokenly, not being able to stop tears any longer.
Darcy reached for her, lifting her gently to her feet, straight into his arms. “Cry if you must,” he said, stroking her back soothingly.
Soon her crying abated and she smiled at him through tears. “It seems that I have a propensity to relieve my sorrows on your shirts. I am sure your valet is not pleased with it.”
“Well, things are to change, because now he will be the servant to a married man and not a bachelor,” Darcy spoke, taking out his handkerchief and handling it to her.
She accepted it, drying her eyes and cheeks and, at the end, energetically blowing her nose, which earned her a grin from Darcy.
“I shall clean and press it before returning it to you,” she promised, tucking the small piece of cloth in the hidden pocket of her skirt.
“There is no need.”
“And what would your valet say for this?” she teased. “Would he approve my messing your handkerchiefs?”
Darcy shook his head at her, smiling. “We should go. Your family must certainly worry about you. If we do not return soon, your mother will send out a search party.”
She nodded, but she did not make even one step forward. “There is one more thing I want to say to you.” He looked at her expectantly. “I want you to know how pleased I am that I am marrying you, that I will soon be your wife.”
He put his arms around her. “I have never wished your unhappiness, Elizabeth,” he said quietly.
“I know that.”
***
Half an hour later, Darcy pulled in front of Purvis Lodge. The moment he handed Elizabeth down, a seriously agitated Mrs. Bennet ran out of the main entrance.
“Mr. Darcy, where have you found her?” the older woman cried.
“She came to Netherfield, ma’am.”
“Oh, that girl! Prepare yourself, Mr. Darcy, that you will wake yourself one morning and she will be nowhere to be found! Not telling anyone a word of where she has gone! Oh, my poor nerves! We thought something terrible had happened to you, that you were abducted somewhere. Poor Jane and Kitty went in the direction of Oakham Mount to look for you. Mary went to Lucas Lodge thinking that perhaps you might have called on the Lucases. Lydia has gone to Netherfield to enquire whether you are there.”
“I am sorry, Mama, but I lost the sense of time,” Elizabeth explained. “I needed some time to be alone and think things through. I got up before dawn and went for a walk.”
“Going for a walk before dawn! To be alone with yourself! What I am to do with you?”
“But Mama…” Elizabeth began but was soon interrupted.
“We shall see whether you will have time for such nonsense in a few years with several little ones around your skirts and another one at your breasts.”
Elizabeth blushed brightly. “Mama!” she gasped, greatly embarrassed.
“What? This is how life is, child. If you are to be a wife, mother, and a mistress of the large estate, you will have to change your high minded ways, Miss Lizzy, that is how it is,” Mrs. Bennet stated firmly, her hands on her hips.
“Speaking of Elizabeth as my wife to be, we have talked and agreed not to wait until the end of the mourning period.” Darcy decided to voice himself. “We would like to marry by the end of July.”
Mrs. Bennet’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her daughter, before fixing her full attention on Darcy. “So soon?” she asked, sounding suspicious.
Elizabeth smiled. “Yes, Mama. I think it would be for the best. I know there will be some talk, but….”
“Everyone shall think that you have to marry sooner.” Mrs. Bennet stared pointedly at Elizabeth’s waist. “Do you?” Her eyes flew to Darcy.
“Certainly not,” Darcy stated firmly.
Elizabeth looked confusedly from her mother to Darcy, before turning bright red again upon her comprehension of what had been implied. “Mama!”
Mrs. Bennet shrugged her shoulders. “It would neither be the first nor the last time when such a thing happened. Take her, Mr. Darcy, the sooner the better. I cannot tell how much longer my poor nerves will bear her wild behaviour. Now come inside and we shall take some tea, an herbal one for my poor nerves.”
“I am afraid I cannot, Mrs. Bennet. There is some urgent business I have to attend yet today.”
“You see, Lizzy, Mr. Darcy has important things to do, and you interrupted him with your wild ideas,” Mrs. Bennet scolded, looking pointedly at Elizabeth.
“Mama, I am truly sorry….”
Mrs. Bennet lifted her hand, silencing her. “Do not say more… I shall go upstairs and rest some after all these emotions. Goodbye, Mr. Darcy. I thank you for bringing home that wandering child of mine.”
“Always, madam,” Darcy bowed gallantly, following with his eyes Mrs. Bennet’s figure disappearing in the
house.
He turned to Elizabeth. “You had better go inside. They have been worried for you. I would be sick with worry if I found you missing one morning without a word. Your mother is right about that. You could have at least told Jane that you were leaving.”
“I know; I should have,” Elizabeth whispered guiltily.
“Goodbye, my sweet. We shall see each other tomorrow.”
Elizabeth lifted herself on her toes, her arms reaching to wrap around his neck. She kissed him on the cheek, before running into the house.
***
Twenty minutes later Darcy stopped the curricle in front of Netherfield.
His sister ran down the entrance steps to greet him. “Oh, Brother, you cannot imagine what has happened!” she exclaimed.
Gracefully he descended from the vehicle. “Everyone is well, I hoped,” he said.
“Miss Bingley and Miss Lydia are locked together in the library.” Georgiana announced, her eyes wide.
Darcy laughed shortly. “What are you talking about, sweetheart? Locked together?”
“Yes, about an hour ago Miss Lydia came here enquiring about Elizabeth. I explained you took her home. She said how very tired she was after having walked here from Purvis Lodge. I suggested that she could stay here and rest before going back. As we were taking tea together I had to excuse myself for a moment. When I returned to the parlour, she was gone. Then we heard cries coming from the library. It turned out that Miss Lydia went to the library and closed the door behind her.”
The understanding dawned on Darcy. “The lock is broken.”
Georgiana nodded. “Now the door cannot be opened.“
“What was Lydia looking for in the library?” Darcy asked more himself than his sister. He had never seen the youngest Bennet girl with a book in her hand.
“I am not sure, but Miss Bingley was already there when Miss Lydia entered.
“They are locked in together,” Darcy pronounced unbelievably and then started to laugh.
“What is so funny, brother?”
“Nothing, Georgiana,” Darcy replied, squeezing her cheek lightly.
“We must try to set them free. They cannot stay there for the whole.”
Darcy gave a slight nod. “And where is Bingley?”
“Mr. Bingley is in the corridor by the library. He is with the butler, trying to open it.”
“Then let us go there,” Darcy said, heading decidedly inside the manor.
“How is it, Bingley?” he asked when they reached the door.
The butler was on his knees, obviously trying to open the door, putting a long wire into the keyhole.
“Difficult. I will have to send somebody to Meryton for help, perhaps a carpenter.”
“Charles, Charles, why is it still closed? I demand to be released this very instant!” Caroline’s muffled voice was heard from behind the solid oak doors.
“Calm down, Caroline. We cannot open it. I shall send to Meryton for a carpenter.”
“It is unbearable! I will not stay here with that little shameless country chit a second longer!”
Someone’s fist banged at the door from the other side.
“Caroline, do not do that anymore. You will harm yourself. Find some book to read and wait patiently until we can manage to open the door,” Bingley advised calmly.
“I do not want to stay with her either. She is being very mean to me!” Lydia’s pitiful voice was heard.
“We shall bring help as soon as can be, Miss Lydia,” Bingley assured her.
“Bingley, do you not think that it would be better if…” Darcy began with a twinkle in his eye, but then he looked at Georgiana and the servant standing next to them, and paused.
Taking Bingley to the side whispered something to him. Bingley seemed to be confused at first, but then nodded his head and grinned at his friend.
***
“Poor Lydia… Can you imagine that? Locked in the library without food or even tea for almost nine hours,” Jane spoke compassionately.
The sisters were sitting together in Elizabeth’s bedroom, Jane on a comfortable chair, facing the fire, while Elizabeth stood behind her and was putting her freshly washed and brushed hair in curl-papers.
“And with the Caroline Bingley to say the least. I can only sympathize with her,” Elizabeth murmured.
“Lizzy, do not be unkind,” Jane admonished her sister gently, turning her head slightly to look up at her.
“Do not move your head. The curls will turn uneven and you will look a fright,” Elizabeth lectured, curling one long wisp of hair around the paper with concentration.
Jane obediently stared back at the fireplace in front of her. “I am surprised they could not find anybody who could open the door sooner,” she remarked after a moment, handing Elizabeth another curl-paper.
“Perhaps, it was not their priority.”
Jane turned her head abruptly and looked up again. “Lizzy, that cannot be… No, I cannot believe that Mr. Bingley or Mr. Darcy could have delayed the whole matter on purpose. Poor Lydia was so distressed when she came back.”
“Jane, I have asked you not to move your head. Now I have to start this one from the beginning again.” Elizabeth sighed patiently, curling the previous wisp once again.
She spoke again when she had secured the paper to her satisfaction with a pin. ”Forgive me, Jane, but it is difficult for me to pity Lydia after what she did yesterday. Moreover, I still cannot understand what she was doing in the library. Perhaps she entered the wrong room? But if that was the case, she should have left it at once and not have locked herself there. Her behaviour makes no sense to me.”
“I think I know the reason.”
“You do?” Elizabeth asked distractedly, focusing her entire attention on brushing another very long, sunny blond strand of hair.
“Yes, Kitty hinted it to me. She said that Lydia had wanted to inspect the Netherfield library for a long time.”
“Whatever for?” Elizabeth cried in astonishment. “With all due respect to Mr. Bingley, you cannot place his library among the best in the country, or even in the county.”
“Yes, I know Lizzy, but Lydia got the idea from somewhere the idea that in a bachelor household there must be the books about the intimate matters between husband and a wife.”
“I can understand her curiosity, but the idea that Mr. Bingley has to have them just because he is a bachelor is so…” Elizabeth shrugged her arms. “...Lydia-like.”
“What do you think, Lizzy? What they were doing for so many hours there alone, I mean Caroline and Lydia.”
“I have no idea, but they have been undoubtedly charming company to each other,” Elizabeth answered dryly.
There was a compatible silence for a long moment between them as Elizabeth worked on her sister’s hair, before Jane said. “Lizzy…”
“Yes.”
“Can I ask you about…” Jane began uneasily but Elizabeth interrupted her gently. “About my wedding being much earlier than expected.”
Jane bit her full lower lip. “Lizzy, are you certain of this?”
“Yes, Jane. Yes, I am,” Elizabeth answered, her voice unwavering.
“Forgive me, but… is it Mr. Darcy who wanted you to marry him so soon?”
“No, Jane. The decision was solely mine.”
“I cannot comprehend it, Lizzy. You almost have never spoken about the wedding as if it was a matter of a very distant future for you.“
“Yes, Jane. That is true. So far, I have pushed the fact that the engagement will have to lead one day to a wedding from my thoughts. But now I feel relieved that I have finally made the decision and that it is behind me.”
“But, Lizzy…”
“Jane, I knew I would have to marry him one day; it was in our agreement. He promised his protection for my sisters and Mama, and, in turn, I vowed to be his wife. It is high time to face the reality and fulfil the obligation I have made to him.”
“Lizzy, you sound as if it was a business dea
l,” Jane said after a while, in a very quiet voice.
“Jane, I am not unhappy. On the contrary, I eagerly anticipate my future life. I cannot wait to see Pemberley. Georgiana has told me so much about it. Here everything reminds me of Papa. The year Mr. Darcy promised me is not possible, not for me. He would not be able to stay here for much longer; he is needed in Derbyshire. I cannot allow him to pay for everything as he does now, for Lydia and Kitty’s school, for Purvis Lodge, while at the same time offering him nothing in return. At least as his wife I will be in position to repay for his generosity. I will run his household, keep his company as he seems to be very lonely, and fulfil other wifely duties.” Scarlet blush covered her face as she spoke the last words.
Jane stared at her younger sister with great concern. “It sounds so sad, Lizzy.”
Elizabeth walked around the chair, kneeling in front her dearest sister, taking her hands in hers. “Jane, but it is not. I like him and Georgiana very much. They need me; and it is a nice feeling. And when I marry, there may be a child, soon, I hope,a little creature who will be only mine to love, cherish and care for. My only real concern which bothers me is how I will survive separation from you, my dear.”
“Oh, Lizzy,” Jane cried softly and the women embraced.
“Oh, Jane, do not cry,” Elizabeth whispered, she herself on the verge of tears. “Promise me you will visit me as soon I am settled in Derbyshire,” she pleaded.
Jane nodded her head, smiling through the tears.
Chapter Eleven
Fitzwilliam Darcy felt that at last everything in his life was as it should be. He did not remember being so happy since the times before his mother’s death.
His heart swelled with joy as he gazed indulgently at his fiancée and sister. The ladies were seated in front of him in the carriage, talking animatedly and smiling at each other.
His life truly could not be any better than now. Of most import was that the wedding with his beloved Elizabeth was to take place in merely two weeks, after which he would take his wife to Pemberley where she would stay with him forever.
