“Not until you finish speaking to me.”
And so I spoke to her in the shadows of a humble patch of scrub willow, standing to our shins in sodden, fallen leaves, shivering lightly when the clouds rolled over us. And if my eyes filled with mist as I did so, she did not despise me, for she, too, was weeping out her heart to me.
CHAPTER 47
Elizabeth and I married in the simple setting of the church in Meryton. My mother-in-law was overjoyed with me, excepting only the matter of my bride gift, which was a necklace of common peridot. Elizabeth could not stifle her shout of laughter when presented with this gift, but Mrs Bennet, not privy to the joke, was affronted I had not given her daughter the diamonds she deserved. Aside from this blunder on my part, we had her tearful blessing, and Mr Bennet even shook my hand. We endured the good-natured harassment and occasional vulgarities of country society, and as soon as we reasonably could, we went north to Derbyshire.
We lived in a time of great conformity, when aberrations from the norm were best rejected. I had personally had to fight through my own upbringing in order even to entertain the possibility of bringing such an original to Pemberley to serve as mistress. I was prepared to defend her, but she was met with a surprising degree of openness, so much so, I soon began to speculate that Carsten had done a great deal to prepare the sceptics below stairs.
By this time, my valet and I had been through so much more than was usual and customary in our association that he was asmuch my seneschal as he was my personal attendant. And one day, as we stood face-to-face for the ritual of a perfect knot in my neckcloth, I chose to ask him directly.
“By chance, Carsten, did you speak glowingly below stairs of Mrs Darcy?”
“I have certainly never had any occasion to speak ill of her, sir.”
“She seems a great favourite with the maids already.”
He studied my face as if gauging the depth of my curiosity before he answered my question. “Mrs Darcy has certainly madeyouhappy, which is the only recommendation she needs.”
“Lord, Carsten. Even I am aware that in the case of certain ladies, the servants can palpably withhold respect while obeying orders to the letter.”
“Mrs Darcy will never be treated like one ofthoseladies, sir,” he said while brushing my coat one last time.
“That is just as well because I have something in mind for her that might stretch the boundaries of their forbearance, and I need you to assist me.” I spoke to him for nearly twenty minutes, and assured of his comprehension, I gave him both the latitude and resources required. Having thus pleased myself so much it was a struggle not to grin like a fool for the rest of the day, I went in search of Elizabeth.
She was seated at my mother’s escritoire in one of the little parlours set aside for her exclusive use.
“Ah, here you are,” she said archly. “For some reason, I half-expected you to ride off on estate business today so that I can ponder this week’s menus and double-count the silver.”
“If you could somehow master the mischief so clearly writ on your face when you are being satirical, you would better remind me of your father,” I said. “Are you bored of Pemberley so soon, love?”
“No, but I confess I do not now know what to do with myself. As much as I railed against how you prolonged our courtship, I am beginning to think you might have been right—that was the best part of love.”
“I see I must prove to you how wrong I was,” I said dangerously, shutting the door with a decisive snap. Without preamble, I brushed aside her menus and initiated her into the particular delights to be had on an escritoire.
As I too relinquished the rhythm of the chase, I discovered the power of letting every page in my life turn when it chose to do so, for the consummation of my quest had led to so many more equally delightful conquests. My bride, I discovered, dearly loved to play, and there were several regrettable shocks suffered by my servants when I chased her through the gallery as she ran laughing for cover behind the ancient clock at the end of the hall, or bellowed after her as she flew headlong down the backstairs. We were sadly forgetful of locking the doors, and word had spread quickly to knock twice, andloudly, before entering the library—or my study, any one of our unused guest rooms, or even morescandalously, the music room.
Thankfully, Georgiana had stayed behind in London, and she intended to continue to live in town for the coming Season. Perhaps to lessen the bittersweet loss of her friend while also joyfully gaining a sister, she kept Jane with her for consolation, and they, too, grew close.
With regard to Jane, Fitzwilliam had arrived in Hertfordshire to stand up with me, and in seeing the lady’s face again, it seemed to me his pride fell at her feet. Bingley had kindly opened his house for us, though he was busy in town preparing for his own more lavish nuptials, and several nights before the wedding, my cousin and I found ourselves at the local tavern with Carsten, Keller, and Donaldson. Emulating an altogether different night spent at such a lowly establishment, Iset down a fat purse, and half of Meryton came to drink toasts to me and my bride-to-be. Later, Fitzwilliam had come to my room, and having had enough libation to actually fall off his horse if Keller had not driven us home, he ended the night confessing a great deal more than I expected he ever would.
“I have hopes we may yet be brothers in more than spirit, Darcy,” he said.
“You risk a break with your family.”
“That is rich, coming from you. You have broken with everyone.”
“Lady Matlock will snub your bride, you know.”
“I am prepared. I have been forced over the years to look over one hundred ladies, and in only one did I find a woman I knew beyond all doubt would be kind to my children. You cannot know how many times I thought of her from the moment we were introduced.”
“Thinking of her and marrying her are two different things.”
“Says the man who will be fitted with a leash tomorrow.”
I smiled, but fortunately my face was in the shadows, and he did not have occasion to bristle at my amusement. Eventually, I spoke again, intent upon clearing the air between us once and for all.
“I do not mean to deter you so much as prepare you.”
