Yes, it was likely surprising that he had married a woman who was, strictly in terms of wealth and consequence, beneath him. But Elizabeth’s true value was easy to see.
The next morning, they finally managed their visit to the booksellers—though Elizabeth spent rather less than she had planned, as Darcy had to confess many times to already owning a copy of the books that she wished to purchase. In the end, Mr. Bennet was the chief beneficiary of this visit.
Then in the evening they went to dine with the Gardiners.
While he did not say this to Elizabeth, Darcy had some concern about this visit. It felt odd to dine with a man still in trade. And he had a concern that he would be unable to enjoy the dinner. It was a generally believed thing that those who were presently in trade had their minds too filled with the seeking for and earning of wealth to pay attention to more important matters.
Though given the characters of those idle gentlemen who frequently said this, what they seemed to mean as more important things were card games, fox hunting, horse races, elaborate pranks, cheating those tradesmen who deserved to be bilked due to their obsession with money, and, for variety, the occasional murderous duel.
Darcy was absolutely determined to be as friendly as he could be to the Gardiners. Whenever Elizabeth talked about them, it was clear that she liked them very much, and Mr. Bennet had also highly praised both of their good sense.
Within ten minutes of their arrival, Darcy had decided that he liked Mr. Gardiner a great deal. As for Mrs. Gardiner, it was simply delightful to talk about the general neighborhood between Pemberley and Lambton, where she had grown up. While they, of course, had socialized in different circles, there were a half dozen acquaintances from the neighborhood who they held in common, and whom Darcy could give her intelligence about.
George and Emily were familiar with their cousins, who ranged in age from substantially older than George to a few months younger than Emily, and they quickly fell into happily running about, playing, arguing, and joking about each other. George loudly bragged about how he now had a papa, and how his original papa had also been killed in a duel.
Georgiana was present, and Elizabeth had very much wanted her to be there, saying that she wanted her dear new sister to become acquainted with her family. Darcy appreciated this particularly as the way that she had been talked about the previous morning had caused him to worry about her general reception in society. He had always known that it was unlikely to be kind to her, but the sense of what that would mean was slowly seeping into his bones after he had seen her once in company.
The Gardiners were intent to involve Georgiana, and Mrs. Gardiner made a strong effort to encourage Georgiana to speak, which combined with Elizabeth’s support made Darcy’s sister soon start to venture full sentences. By the time the evening was over, she had several times expressed her own opinion without being specifically asked for it.
After another visit or two, Georgiana might be almost as free in talking with the Gardiners as she was in the domestic circle.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were annoyed withElizabethat the start of the visit. Or at least they referred to how infrequently she had visited them over the past two years, and how she had kept herself too apart.
At this hint, Elizabeth blushed and said, “Aunt, Uncle, I must apologize. I have been too proud. And I shall try to be less driven by that in the future, though it is difficult; I beg you to understand that itisdifficult.”
“Oh,” Mr. Gardiner said smiling at his niece. “I know very well how easy it is to let pride govern us. Often for good, but sometimes for ill. What is important is to know when we must improve, and to make the effort.”
It proved an extremely pleasant dinner, and every time Darcy glanced at Elizabeth, she glowed at him with approval and happiness.
They stayed with the Gardiners late, as Darcy’s tendency to fall asleep very early in the evening was less serious than it had been the first two days in London.
When they arrived home and had retired into the joint sitting room between their suites, she said to him, “Thank you.”
“For what?” Darcy smiled as he settled into the sofa, not sure if he would get up again. Though John would of course show up at some point and insist on undressing him.
“Well, for many things, but particularly for being so friendly with my aunt and uncle.”
“They are important to you.”
“I know there is still a great deal of the very great gentleman in you. I saw that you were a bit concerned about going to dine with tradesmen.”
“I will confess to having worriedbefore—I was surprised by how civil, and how well mannered, and how…enjoyable it was to talk to them. I hope to see a great deal more of them in the future.”
Elizabeth’s expression showed her happiness at this intelligence.
Darcy had an urge to ask her if she was averse to engaging in marital intimacies. Except he would sound silly if he asked the question in precisely that way, and he was scared to do so, even when she looked at him with such an encouraging smile.
After a little, Elizabeth frowned and said, “I am worried about Georgiana—you saw, I am sure, how she was sick this morning.”
“You perhaps know better than me, how late are her courses?”
“Very—late enough that I would be surprised if she is not with child.”
“So, we are past the point where we can hope that nothing will come of that.” Darcy felt a flash of rage towards Wickham go through him. That rage was immediately followed by a sense of disappointment in himself for feeling that anger, since he did not have a proper right to it after he had killed the man.
“There is still chance of mistake or miscarriage,” Elizabeth said, in a soothing voice, “and there will be several months before it is clearly visible.”
“Poor, poor Georgiana! And she is so young. So terribly young.”
