I Met Mr Darcy Via Luton

by Fredrica Edward

Upon reaching the vestibule, they found Mrs Annesley waiting inside with another lady dressed in an apron.

  "Elizabeth, I believe you met Mrs Annesley at Pemberley," said Darcy; "and this is Mrs Flowers, the housekeeper here in London. Mrs Flowers, my fiancée, Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn."

  "Miss Bennet, so pleased to meet you," said Mrs Flowers with a curtsey, before turning to the master. "The accommodations are arranged as you requested, Mr Darcy."

  An excited Georgiana lead the way upstairs, where she occupied a suite of three interconnecting rooms on the second floor, consisting of her bedchamber, which faced the square; a dressing room; and a sitting room that contained her pianoforte. She had proposed hosting her future sisters in her suite as both of these extra rooms contained daybeds. Georgie thought they would make a merry party; but her brother thought they would be cramped. He agreed Mary would probably like to stay in the sitting room, as she had done during the Bingleys' honeymoon, but believed his fiancée would be more comfortable in the green room, which was a dedicated guest room on the same floor. Lady Catherine occasionally used this room when she ventured to town alone.

  Darcy left the ladies to settle in on the second floor before proceeding up to the third floor, which housed his suite and was also used to accommodate Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr Bingley when they visited. Darcy's bedchamber was at the back of the house, facing the garden.

  The ladies first entered the sitting room of Georgiana's suite, which Mrs Flowers had prepared for Mary's habitation. A bowl of white roses sat on a low table.

  "Isn’t it a beautiful piano?" cried Mary, rushing to admire it.

  Elizabeth duly agreed.

  "Brother gave it to me, of course," said Georgiana, "Please have a look through the new sheet music, Mary, while I show Elizabeth to her room. Mrs Flowers will have your trunk bestowed in my dressing room next door."

  Elizabeth was rather overawed when Georgiana showed her to the bedchamber she was to occupy–it was decorated very much in the grand manner. Despite being called the green room, the bed hangings were decorated in a bluish-green brocade. The style was a trifle out-dated, but sumptuous. A large window overlooked the back garden. Elizabeth rushed to this, laying her hat and reticule down on a chaise longue that stretched below it.

  "Oh, what a beautiful room!" said Elizabeth.

  "It's a little old fashioned," replied Georgiana, "but I do like the wallpaper. I used to come in here as a little girl just to look at the birds."

  Elizabeth turned and saw that the wall that contained the door through which they had entered was covered in a beautiful chinoiserie wallpaper. The blue-green background was lifted by red and white flowers through which birds flitted.

  "How lovely! I'm sure I would have been fascinated by them too."

  After cleansing themselves of the dirt from the road and changing into fresh gowns, the ladies joined their brother in the dining room. Darcy had requested only two courses from Mrs Flowers, telling her they had dined well at Longbourn. This was not entirely true, but nobody was particularly hungry after only sitting in the carriage for several hours.

  Mary and Georgiana went to the piano in the withdrawing room as soon as they thought it polite to leave the table.

  Darcy got up and, following Mrs Annesley into the room, drew Elizabeth down alongside him on a chaise. After caressing her hand for an hour while they listened to the music, he made a great show of yawning, got up, and pulled her to the doorway where he interposed his body between Elizabeth and his sister before leaning over to whisper: "I'll come to you in an hour."

  Elizabeth was uncomfortable. "Fitzwilliam, you aren't planning on anticipating our wedding vows, are you?" she whispered back.

  "Well, no, dear, not if you are uncomfortable… But wouldn't you like to spend some time together?"

  "Yes, Fitzwilliam, but…"

  "Do you trust me?"

  "Yes, Fitzwilliam."

  "Then I will see you in an hour."

  He released Elizabeth back into the room and raised his voice to his sister.

  "Goodnight, Georgie. Goodnight, Mary, Mrs Annesley."

  "Goodnight, Fitzwilliam!" returned Georgiana brightly.

  After Darcy left, Mrs Annesley suggested they finish with a sonata. Mary and Georgiana would have happily continued playing for many hours but reluctantly agreed to retire.

  When Mrs Annesley saw them all to their rooms, Elizabeth dispensed with the services of Georgiana's maid when she offered to prepare her for bed, and remained in her day gown. She sat on the chaise longue to read.

  At the appointed hour, she was listening for footsteps in the hall, when she heard a scratching in the wardrobe. She had begun to wonder whether the Darcys had a problem with mice, or heaven forbid, rats! when the wardrobe door opened and her fiancé stepped out, barefoot, dressed only in his shirt sleeves and breeches, and holding a candle in his hand.

  "Good grief!" she said as her heart skipped a beat, "How did you get in there?"

  "Did you think I was hiding here?"

  "Were you not?"

  "No," he smiled crookedly. "I came down the secret stairs."

  "You have secret stairs!?"

  "Yes, they run from the master's chambers to the library."

  "How convenient if you should want a book in the middle of the night," mused Lizzy.

  "Definitely. They have been used on many a sleepless night," he affirmed with his tongue in his cheek.

  "But why do they connect to this room?" she asked.

  Darcy smiled at her naivety. "Possibly, also, to do with those sleepless nights."

  Lizzy looked at him uncomprehendingly for a moment before his slightly lascivious look clued her in.

  "Are these the mistress's chambers then?" she said, looking about.

  "My parents both lived on the third floor. I believe this room was only ever intended for guests."

  Elizabeth paused, a little slow on the uptake. "Are you telling me your father used this room for illicit encounters? Or that you do?"

  Now Darcy blushed at her directness.

  "No, but I believe that may have been its original purpose. The Darcys have only leased this townhouse for thirty years: the original Darcy townhouse was on Brook Street. My father took out the lease on this property in Grosvenor Square so my mother could be closer to the Fitzwilliams, who are across the square. The house was originally configured for the Duke of Filchester, so I believe he probably had the secret stair installed. It's marked as a chimney on the plans. I'm not sure my father knew about it. Richard and I found it when we were teenagers."

  "So you aren't in the habit of housing other females here?"

  "The most frequent inhabitant of this room is my Aunt Catherine, and I can assure you, I don't come creeping in on her after sunset."

  Elizabeth laughed, then her curiosity got the better of her. "Will you show me?"

  "Certainly," he said. "But you had better bring your own candle, the stairs are very narrow."

  When she stepped into the wardrobe behind him, Elizabeth found the gowns she had hung there had been pushed to either side to reveal a set of narrow double doors at the back, which opened into the wardrobe space. Poking her head through these, she perceived a very narrow set of spiral stairs into which Fitzwilliam had descended until she could only see his head.

  "Be careful as you step into them as each tread is very narrow," he advised. "Keep to the outside and lean against the wall."

  Elizabeth obeyed his directions, and after following the curved wall for some time, found herself at an entrance to the library. Stepping out, she attempted to orient herself in the space.

  "So is this door behind a bookshelf?" she asked.

  "Yes," he replied, closing it behind her to demonstrate.

  "How gothic!"

  "Richard and I used to pretend we were pirates!"

  "Well, you look like a pirate in your shirtsleeves," she said noticing his exposed bull neck again. "But a secret stair seems more Castle of Otranto t
o me."

  This speech pleased Darcy, and he countered with, "We digress, sweet Isabella. I was about to visit you in your boudoir."

  She smiled at his witticism.

  After ushering Elizabeth back into the staircase, Darcy got a nice view of her ankles as they proceeded upstairs to the second floor.

  Once they arrived in her chamber, Elizabeth stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, holding her candle as she watched him exit from the wardrobe, wondering what he had planned. Darcy put his candle on the mantel and removing hers from her hands, placed it there also. She saw him glance briefly at the bed before he grasped her hand and pulled her towards the chaise longue.

  "Sit with me awhile," he asked, seating himself next to the backrest and tugging her down beside him. He craned behind her and kissed her lightly on the back of her neck. She shivered slightly as she felt his breath dwelling there.

  "May I take the pins from your hair?" he murmured.

  When she assented, Darcy drew the candle closer so that he might pluck them out. Elizabeth felt the mass of locks fall on her neck, then his fingers lightly caressing her scalp, searching for the ones he'd missed.

  "Your hair is so beautiful, so thick," he said, running his fingers through it and letting it fall around her shoulders.

  Turning towards him, Elizabeth reached up to his hair. "Actually, I've always liked your curls, especially when I first saw you at Pemberley."

  "At Pemberley? But I hadn't had a haircut in weeks! It was such a mess. My valet was so upset!"

  "Your valet wishes to present you to the world as evidence of his art," explained Elizabeth. "I must admit I think you look better when you are more carelessly arranged."

  "You also look very enticing when you are carelessly arranged," Darcy agreed, brushing her curls from the side of her neck and planting a kiss in the hollow above her clavicle.

  She stiffened. "Fitzwilliam, perhaps we should not be here alone…"

  "Are you tired from the journey? Shall I call for the maid before I go?"

  "I have already dismissed her," Elizabeth replied honestly.

  "Then how do you propose to get undressed?"

  "It is not so difficult," she said, realising she had made a strategic mistake. "I shall manage…"

  "Let me help you," he said, reaching for the ties at the back of her dress.

  Before she could protest, he was loosening the lacings.

  "Fitzwilliam! We should not…"

  "Do you not trust me? I merely wish to spend some time with you," Darcy said, sliding the sleeves from her shoulders and allowing the bodice to fall to her waist.

  "I am uncomfortable being alone with you like this!" Elizabeth protested, as he proceeded to undo her stay laces.

  Over her shoulder, Darcy watched in fascination as her breasts dropped to a more natural position.

  "My dear," he said, pulling her to her feet, allowing the dress to pool around her ankles, "you are merely in your underwear. Do you know, when my mother was first married, it was the fashion for beaux to be admitted to a lady's dressing room while she was made up for a ball? The dress was put on last, so she would have been sitting around in her underwear for most of that time."

  "Well, no doubt she was adequately chaperoned by the fifty-three maids dressing her," Elizabeth retorted.

  He laughed and pulled her closer. "One more kiss for the road," Darcy said as he leaned down to reach her lips, dropping his hand from her waist to her bottom but resisting the urge to pull her hard against him.

  Elizabeth submitted reluctantly before being sucked into the vortex of carnality his mouth offered. She swayed unsteadily as Darcy released her and lowered her gently to sit on the chaise longue.

  "Goodnight, sweet Lizzy," Darcy said, retrieving his candle. "Save a kiss for me for tomorrow."

  And with that, he retreated into the wardrobe and was gone.

  After gingerly getting to her feet on jelly legs, Elizabeth wedged a chair against the wardrobe door, and pulling off her stays, she climbed into bed in her chemise.

  Chapter 56: Bond Street

  Elizabeth awoke the next morning to the sounds of a pianoforte. Looking at the ormolu clock on the dresser, she realised she had slept past her usual hour of waking. It was cloudy outside, and she supposed the bed hangings also reduced the light that would normally have woken her at home. She quickly found the bell-pull and began to search for clothes. The chemise she was wearing was mostly clean, but a little grubby around the top from yesterday's travel, so she pulled out a fresh one and another pair of stays. She decided to wear her best day gown–the cherry muslin. She suspected even that would look provincial next to the wares of a Bond Street modiste.

  A chambermaid, who arrived with a can of hot water as Elizabeth finished laying out her things on the bed, poured it into the basin on the washstand. She added some cold water from the ewer before leaving so Elizabeth could perform her ablutions. Shortly after, Georgiana's maid arrived to help her into her clothes and do her hair.

  Deeming herself respectable, Elizabeth followed the piano music along the corridor to its source in Georgiana's sitting room.

  "Are you two music aficionados in need of sustenance?" she asked as she stepped into the room.

  "Indeed," laughed Georgiana. "It was our plot to wake you!"

  Mary looked rather perturbed at this and shook her head in denial, which caused Elizabeth to laugh at her total lack of a sense of humour. She mused this was the one distinctive trait her sister had inherited from their mother.

  Arriving downstairs, they found Fitzwilliam already at table.

  "Good morning! There is a note for you from your Aunt Gardiner, Elizabeth," he said.

  She unfolded it as she sat down.

  "Oh no!" exclaimed Lizzy. "Aunt Gardiner cannot come this morning–one of the children is ill."

  "Nothing serious, I hope?" Darcy enquired.

  "She does not think so," Elizabeth replied. It did not seem polite to say vomiting at the breakfast table, which she would not have hesitated to do at home. "But she wishes to be with him until she is sure."

  Elizabeth was very disappointed. She had been feeling daunted about shopping in such a select location as Bond Street, and she had just lost her crutch.

  "I'm sure we will manage without her," reassured Georgiana, sensing her trepidation. "There is so much to do. We could just look at the styles and materials, and note our preferences today. How long are children usually ill?"

  Elizabeth looked at her in surprise. Having had extensive experience with sick Gardiner and Lucas children before she even stepped foot into the infirmary, Lizzy realised that Georgiana and her brother were really quite isolated.

  "Usually a day is enough to know if it is serious. Mostly they recover sufficiently within that time." She laughed to herself. "It is usually quite easy to tell, especially with the boys, as they get up and start running about as if nothing has happened."

  Darcy felt his loins throb under the table. Good Lord! Is her mere discussion of children enough to get me going?

  Elizabeth absentmindedly put the note into her reticule like a talisman.

  Darcy tried to distract himself with the mundane. "Well, you see the usual choices before you. I typically have ham, eggs, and toast with coffee; and Georgiana prefers hot chocolate with chocolate brioche; but I'm sure cook will be happy to procure anything that your heart desires."

  Elizabeth opted for the ham and eggs but requested a cup of tea while Mary chose Georgiana's chocolate combination.

  "It's so quiet here in Grosvenor Square," mused Elizabeth. "In Gracechurch Street, vendors wander up and down the street hallooing, selling muffins and all manner of things."

  "How interesting!" exclaimed Georgiana. "Sometimes I hear them when I go out in the carriage, but I have never actually purchased anything. Have you?"

  "Of course," replied Elizabeth in surprise, "there's a man who sings Greensleeves who has the most delicious muffins!"

  Georgiana laughed
. "But what has Greensleeves to do with muffins?"

  "Oh, nothing," replied Mary, "it is merely his signature tune, so people may recognise he has come into the street."

  "Nonsense, Mary, you have not listened closely to the words," retorted Elizabeth, and then sang archly:

  Come hither, my love, to buy my wares,

  They're fresh and taste amazingly,

  Of eggs and flour and fruits to spare,

  They're baked by the dozen daily…"

  Darcy had blushed beet red after the first few bars of the song and seemed to be having trouble composing himself. Fortunately, only Elizabeth had noticed his difficulties. As she had sung the first words that came into her head quite innocently, she was resolutely ignoring him.

  "Does he really sing that?" asked Mary.

  Elizabeth smirked at her.

  "No, she is joking, Mary!" cried Georgiana. "Oh, that is famous, Elizabeth! You are just like Cousin Richard! What fun we will have together!"

  A teapot and her breakfast promptly arrived. Elizabeth could only marvel at the efficiency of the servants.

  "Excuse me," said Darcy, coughing and wiping his mouth with a napkin. "My man from the city has been waiting for me this past half-hour. Please enjoy your shopping."

  With this, he stood up and handed a sealed letter to Georgiana, which she smilingly accepted.

  After partaking of a leisurely breakfast, they moved to the vestibule to don their coats.

  When a footman opened the front door, Elizabeth was amazed to see that the Darcy coach had magically appeared outside. She had not noticed when it had been summoned or by whom.

  Descending the front steps, she felt a little like Cinderella.

  The trip to Bond Street was not a long one; Georgiana and Elizabeth chatted amiably while Mary stared out the window at the sights.

  The modiste had obviously been expecting them. She rushed to the front door, effusing over Georgiana. Her manner reminded Elizabeth a little of Mr Collins, although the modiste possessed considerably more poise. Georgiana introduced her future sisters-in-law and produced Darcy's letter from her pocket.

  Madame Bouchet unsealed the missive and smiled widely. "We are very happy for your brother's custom, Miss Darcy," she said, reserving an especially deferential nod for Elizabeth.