Several heard this as they did not lower their voices as they browsed in the milliner’s shop. Several of those who overheard this conversation tittered at these machinations, as they were well aware of Elizabeth’s unwillingness to invite her Bennet family, particularly her mother and eldest sister, anywhere. Theresidents of Meryton were tired of the matron’s insistence her oldest daughter was the loveliest girl in town and how she always pushed her and her daughter forward whenever anyone new visited the town. She had frequently slighted all their daughters, and while she might be the wife of the largest landholder in their corner of the county, most of the families in town remembered how Miss Bennet had been born not long after the Bennets’ marriage or how Mrs. Bennet had once been Frannie Gardiner, the biggest flirt in the county. It had been quite the surprise when Thomas Bennet had married Miss Gardiner not long after her seventeenth birthday and an even greater shock when she had entered her confinement a mere six months later. However, few were surprised when Jane Bennet was the very image of Frannie Gardiner and did not possess a single feature of Thomas Bennet.
On the other hand, Elizabeth Bennet had taken after her father, and many wondered if that was why her mother had so soundly rejected her long after she should have gotten over her not being a boy. The fact that the Bennets’ second daughter had resided in the dower house with her grandmother for the first six years of her life had not escaped anyone’s notice. As the girl grew up and became the kind and generous child she was, no one wanted to injure her family by openly speaking against them. With Elizabeth married and no longer a Bennet and Mary settled into the Gardiner house in London, this no longer was as much of a concern for the people of Meryton.
As the Bennet ladies grew louder, so did the audience. Suddenly, the two ladies were surrounded by several women. “Do you honestly believe Mrs. Darcy will ever invite you into her home or allow you to impose on her new family, given how you have treated her? Mrs. Bennet, you have done little to hide your dislike for your second daughter her entire life. It was only outof respect for the elder Mrs. Bennet first, and then for Miss Elizabeth herself, that we have not cut you and your insipid eldest daughter,” Mrs. Goulding asked, upset at how Mrs. Bennet spoke of using her least favourite daughter’s connections to further her interests.
Another lady spoke up. “Have you never wondered why men call on you once or twice and then stop visiting, Miss Bennet? It is because you have nothing other than your looks to recommend you. You do not play, you do not read, or visit the poor—you have no conversation and only seem to be able to smile at them. And, quite frankly, were any of these gentlemen to hear how you speak of your sister, they would want nothing to do with you.”
Jane was horrified by the idea. “There is nothing wrong with me. Mama has always told me I am far prettier than any girl in Meryton, and I deserve a wealthy man who would care for me and provide for Mama when my father passes. With the estate entailed away from the female line, it was my duty to marry well, and since I am so beautiful, surely a man will offer for me.”
A male voice cut through the crowd. “But few men will marry a woman for her appearance alone. Perhaps it would be enough if you were beautiful and had a fortune, but you have nothing to tempt a man other than your smiles. Once they have sat with you for a half hour, they realise you have nothing else.” The voice belonged to the gentleman who had called on Jane once or twice but had just as quickly stopped. His name was Andrew Livesay, and he owned a modest estate near the small town of Blackburn in Lancashire County in northwestern England.
“I will make a match much higher than you,” Jane turned to hiss at her former suitor. “My sister may be married to the nephew of an earl, but I will make a far more spectacular match, regardless of what you say.”
“Yes, I heard your sister married Fitzwilliam Darcy,” Mr. Livesay replied. “He is an extraordinarily good man, and your sister is lovely. Not only is she beautiful, but she is also an excellent conversationalist. They are an ideal match, and I do not doubt he will make quite a success of his estate. Your sister will be the darling of thetonif she can persuade Darcy to remain there long enough to manage it. Fortunately, he did not inherit Pemberley, as he would have hated the attention he would draw as the master of that great estate. It was reported Pemberley earned more than ten thousand pounds a year when his father was alive; I do not doubt he would have made it even greater. He has always had the Midas touch with his investments, and I understand he nearly doubled what he inherited when his father died. And now he has an estate on top of that.”
The more Jane heard, the angrier she grew and the more determined she became to do whatever she could to replace her sister as Mrs. Darcy.“I was the one who was supposed to save the family by making a spectacular match, not Lizzy,”she inwardly fumed.“I will find a way to destroy her marriage and take what is hers as my own.”
Jane did not successfully hide these thoughts, as her anger was written across her face. Mr. Livesay has been a year ahead of Fitzwilliam Darcy at Cambridge. The two had rarely conversed, but Darcy had quite a studious reputation and had finished school almost a semester earlier than most of his peers. He had managed to do that by studying when most of his peers had been sowing their wild oats, a pastime neither Darcy nor Livesay had partaken in. Livesay’s father passed away not long after he finished school, and it had taken him a year or two to learn everything required to run his estate well. This visit to Netherfield with a friend leasing the estate had been his first time away from his estate since then, and Miss Bennet was thefirst woman he saw who attracted his interest, at least until he spoke to her.
Mr. Livesay considered it might be a good idea to warn his former schoolmate about this jealous harpy but was uncertain where to address a letter. He did know a few people to ask, and when he returned to Netherfield, he sent several notes by the next post to see what he could learn. One of these was Darcy’s cousin and a classmate of Livesay’s, Major Richard Fitzwilliam.
Two nights later, the residents of Netherfield were invited to a dinner at Lucas Lodge. The Bennets had very noticeably not been invited. As Mr. Livesay circulated the room, he heard several discussing that family and began a conversation with Miss Lucas, a woman he had not paid attention to before now.
“Miss Lucas, what do you know of the newly married Darcys,” he asked his host’s daughter. “Darcy was a classmate of mine; well, he was a year behind me, but I knew him by reputation, and we occasionally spoke. I have spent most of the last few years at my estate immersed in business there. I participated in a conversation yesterday in town that worried me. Miss Bennet seemed rather angry, unreasonably so and was vocal in expressing her belief she was entitled to more than her sister. I truly could not understand her attitude, but she seemed so certain. I wrote several letters to friends in London to see what I could discover about where the Darcys might be.”
“They are on their wedding trip, but I do have their direction, or I will soon. Is it important enough to send an express, or do you think the news will keep until they return to their estate? They have yet to select an estate—his grandfather left two for the potential second sons of his children—and they will decide on travelling to the Lake District. After a month at Darcy Cottage,they will return to their estate as neither particularly wants to return to town.”
The two conversed further about the Darcys, with Charlotte revealing more about Elizabeth and Livesay sharing what information he had about Darcy. Gradually, the conversation transitioned from the Darcys to discussions about themselves. Before the evening concluded, he requested permission to visit her, and he soon felt regretful that he was obliged to depart for his estate via London, where he had several commitments to attend to as the Season ended.
CHAPTER 18
Settling In
Upon their arrival at Oakridge Manor, the letters awaiting the Darcys encouraged them to return to London for the last month of the Season. Now that Fitzwilliam was an estate owner, he needed to have a presence in town and spending June in London was one way to establish both himself and his wife in their new position. This argument proved far more challenging to contradict than they might have liked. Additionally, there were some items to obtain to decorate the home more easily obtained in London—specifically at Gardiner Exports—and so armed with lists of what was required, they made their way toward the Capital.
They arrived at Darcy House on the first day of June. Although they did have their own residence, Lady Anne had asked them to stay with her for their first sennight in town to allow her to instruct Elizabeth on a few of her responsibilities as a hostess. Elizabeth was pleased to further the relationship between herself and her new mother. She adored her new sister and enjoyed the opportunity this gave her to get to know Georgiana better, but she missed the privacy of sharing a home with only her husband.
During the week they were in residence at Darcy House, Elizabeth heard many stories of a young Fitzwilliam Darcy as he pilfered biscuits from the cook, harassed the stable boys in his attempts to sneak a ride on one of the horses, and frustrated the gamekeepers when he let loose the hounds. These stories amused Elizabeth while embarrassing her husband, and sheagain regretted their lack of privacy as she could not soothe him as she wished. However, the time with her mother-in-law was beneficial, as she spent her days attending a kind of accelerated finishing school to teach her the niceties of entertaining in town.
“Dearest,” Fitzwilliam appealed to his wife one evening in their rooms after they had returned from a dinner party at the Matlocks, “do you mind removing to our townhome soon? Mother asked us to stay at Darcy House for a sennight, but it has now been ten days, and, I admit, I am missing the privacy we had on our wedding trip. It … it is difficult to be newly married and staying down the hall from my mother, brother, and sister. Mother will keep finding reasons for us to remain if we do not insist upon departing.”
Elizabeth chuckled. “I was thinking the same, Fitzwilliam. As much as I appreciate your mother’s willingness to help me prepare for myentreeinto theton,I miss the freedom of our honeymoon. I would prefer dining alone with you in our sitting room, perhaps not every night, but at least having the option to do so.”
“Not to mention, Mother seems to control our schedule while we are here,” he said. “At least in our own home, we can refuse to attend these events if we desire to do so.”
“Are you certain of that?” Elizabeth laughed. “I have a feeling your mother would show up on our front step and demand we accompany her if we did not show up somewhere when she expected us.”
Fitzwilliam groaned. “You are correct, my dear, but nonetheless, I want to go to our home tomorrow or the next day. Mother might object, but I will insist. We are still newlywed and deserve our privacy.”
“How will you convey this to your mother without mortifying you or me, Will?” Elizabeth teased him.
“Perhaps we should just sneak out our trunks and say nothing,” Fitzwilliam proposed, causing Elizabeth to laugh loudly. He silenced her by pulling her to him. “Hush, love,” he whispered. “We mustn’t give ourselves away.”
They retired soon after this and continued planning to depart as they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Three days later,their trunks and personal servants left Darcy House and travelled the three blocks to their borrowed home. Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth arrived several hours later, as Lady Anne had determined her new daughter needed additional instruction in managing the house while putting her son to work copying down the events the couple were expected to attend. As much as they both adored Lady Anne, they were feeling rather put out with the lady when they were finally able to leave her home full of admonitions not to be late to escort her to the theatre that night.
“Finally,” Fitzwilliam huffed as he slumped against the squabs of their carriage. “Mother has made this difficult at every turn, and I believe, had we not insisted, she would have continued to make excuses for why we could not leave her house. I have not lived under the same roof as my mother for more than a sennight since I came of age, and I am uncertain why she thought I should now that I am married.”
