She grinned mischievously at him. “I seem to recall your mentioning something about an assignation in your study when we were in London. Are you certain you merely mean to acquaint me with its location, sir?”
He grinned rather boyishly at her remembrance of his comment. “Do you, madam? Exactly what sort of assignation are you proposing?”
She laughed at that. “I am not proposing anything, you silly man. I am certain you have no untoward intentions. You are quite proper, are you not?”
Laughing, he moved quickly towards his destination. Upon entering the room, he locked the door behind him before pulling her towards him and capturing her lips with his own. “I love you, Elizabeth,” he whispered. “Now, come here.”
They made it to their rooms sometime later, looking somewhat dishevelled and very well pleased with themselves.
Darcy intendedto spend his first week at Pemberley ignoring estate business and showing Elizabeth the house and its grounds, but the presence of Miss Bennet altered those plans, and instead, he spent the first week catching up on the business he neglected during his stay in London. Typically, he would not have remained so long in town, but his wedding to the former Elizabeth Bennet necessitated an extended stay for the season. That first week, each morning after breaking his fast with his wife in their rooms—their one indulgence in recognition of their recent marriage—he spent several hours in his study or riding out on the estate. Afternoons were devoted to his wife and her sister, although Jane graciously allowed the couple privacy on some of their excursions.
While Darcy worked, Elizabeth became better acquainted with Mrs Reynolds and her duties as mistress. Jane attended some of these meetings, particularly when the three ladies viewed rooms the housekeeper felt needed updating. They viewed the mistress’s chambers first, and Elizabeth was unwilling to make many changes to that room, given that she did not expect to use it. She made several suggestions to make their sitting room more comfortable, as Darcy had not considered awife’s preferences when having it redecorated following his father’s death.
Several days after their arrival, they received the much-awaited letters from Longbourn and London. The letter from Gardiners arrived first, expressing surprise and dismay at Bennet’s actions. In particular, they were upset on Elizabeth’s behalf that Bennet had so readily agreed to Elizabeth’s marriage because he hoped Darcy would pay off his debts. They were pleased with the conditions Elizabeth and Darcy set in the loan and offered their support for anything that might be needed, including hosting Mary in London and bringing her to Derbyshire. To that end, they expressed appreciation for Darcy’s offer of a second carriage for their travel to Pemberley.
Bennet’s letter arrived a few days later as he delayed sending it until the last moment. It was an act of petulance on his part that surprised neither Elizabeth nor her husband. They were, however, somewhat surprised by what the letter contained and by the contents of the letter from Mrs Bennet that accompanied it.
The note from Bennet was terse and stated he informed his wife of the loan with its conditions. As expected, he elected to keep his two youngest daughters at home with a governess and expressed annoyance with the Gardiners having been informed of the situation and Mary’s invitation to visit them in London and Derbyshire.
Mrs Bennet’s note was abusive in its language towards her least favourite daughter.
How dare you act in such a way, you selfish girl? How could you force us to live in penury while you live in elegant wealth far away? And you have taken my dear Jane away with you, so you had best see that she marries a lord. She deserves so much more than you, and I am still amazed that you managed to capture such a wealthy man. He would have been much better suited to Jane, although I suppose since you compromised him, he had to marry you.
Nonetheless, you need to immediately write your father and forget this idea of repayment. What is five thousand pounds? Your Mr Darcy has so much more that it should matter little for him to give such a gift to your family. In fact, I intend for you to sponsorLydia and Kitty in London next season. Lydia surely can capture a man of much greater consequence than your husband, as she is so much livelier and more beautiful than you. It is the least you can do since your father says they can no longer be ‘out’ in Hertfordshire, and we will be required to house a governess. I do not understand why you think they need a governess—there is absolutely nothing wrong with their behaviour. Just because you have married such a wealthy man does not mean you are above us now.
The rest of the letter carried on in this vein, alternately hateful and abusive or demanding. One particular complaint she repeated several times was that while her pin money could not be decreased, Mr Bennet required that she use more for the household, as the estate’s income would be spent on improvements to increase its income and repay the loan from the Darcys. Mrs Bennet clearly did not know or understand why her husband required a loan, or she did not care, but Elizabeth and Darcy were both incensed to have received such a letter.
For the first time since they married, Darcy insisted Elizabeth obey him and forbade her to respond to either parent. “Elizabeth, you cannot respond to such a letter as that. Clearly, your mother has little regard for you, or she would not have written in such a way. Allow me to respond,” he argued.
“It is my mother, and she has insulted me. I have always been her least favourite,” Elizabeth replied. “Truly, William, I have become inured to her criticisms of me. It does not disturb me as it does you.”
“Nonetheless, Elizabeth, if I will not allow my aunt to speak of you or to you in such a way, you cannot think I will allow your mother to do so,” he insisted. “No, Elizabeth, you must allow me to respond to your father and send a copy of this letter with my own. She cannot be allowed to abuse you or make demands of you, not when we have rescued her from true penury. If your father were thrown into prison for his debts, what kind of life would she have? How long would your father survive?”
Elizabeth sighed heavily. “I do understand your point, William, and my mother is truly awful, I know. But I still think you should allow me to respond to them.”
“Elizabeth, one of the conditions of the loan was that your fatherexplains the entire situation to your mother,” he said patiently. “It is clear he has not done so, especially the threat made to Jane, and your mother was not to say anything negative to you about it. As your husband and the one to whom the debt is owed, I need to be the one who informs him of his failure to comply. It is obvious he is not taking this seriously.”
With a huff, Elizabeth agreed that her husband should write to Longbourn. However, he allowed her to read what he wrote, and when she finished, she hugged him. “You do write an excellent letter, William,” she teased.
He kissed her in reply before he sealed the letter and sent it by express.
Chapter Nineteen
Mr Bennet,
I do not know what you shared with your wife, but obviously, it was not enough to prevent her from sending my wife a letter accusing her of being selfish and forcing your family to live in penury. This was precisely why we avoided being at Longbourn when you acquainted Mrs Bennet with the details of what you had done—to prevent your wife from disparaging mine. You do realise this violates our agreement and I could call the loan, making it due immediately, do you not? When you cannot pay, you would be thrown into debtors’ prison. Is that what you want? What your wife wants? Is she aware of the possible consequences of her actions? If not, you should inform her immediately to ensure this does not happen again.
Need I remind you that you approached me with a request for funds to pay your gambling debts? That if I did not pay, these men would take one of your daughters as payment? Would they have stopped with one?
I will warn you once, Bennet: do not violate our agreement again. Unless Mrs Bennet can hold her tongue, she should not write any additional letters to Pemberley. I will not tolerate your wife abusing mine any further.
From there, his letter spoke of the governess for the younger girls and other practical matters regarding their agreements.
At Lady Matlock’s recommendation, one had already been hired and would arrive at Longbourn within a se’nnight. Darcy had several people keeping an eye on Longbourn to ensure that the rest of their conditions were being met. The steward was reporting to Darcy, as would the governess and Mrs Hill, about the actions of those who were still at Longbourn. Bennet did not know it, but spies would soon infiltrate his home, reporting on his every move.
Georgiana arrived at Pemberley,and a fortnight later, Darcy and Elizabeth boarded a carriage for their trip to Darcy Cottage in the Lake District for their wedding trip. After the bustle of the season and the trouble at Longbourn, the couple was looking forward to some time when they would not have to worry about anything but themselves.
The fortnight of their wedding trip was nearly perfect—they slept late, made love frequently, and explored the area around the cottage. Two very calm and gentle riding horses had been sent with their personal servants to Darcy Cottage, and Darcy began teaching Elizabeth to ride. She had never learned as a child and was a little afraid of the beasts at first, but he was patient with her, and she came to enjoy the activity very much. He promised to continue working with her on her riding skills once they returned to Pemberley and to show her several places on the estate that could only be reached on horseback. This idea and the way he said it made Elizabeth’s face flush, but she teased him back.
