Mary and Georgiana went to Darcy House while Kitty returned to the Gardiners. Jane shopped for her trousseau while the other three girls attended lessons with masters. Kitty was frequently at Darcy House with the other two, and the three girls benefited from their friendship. Lady Matlock had once more requested that Georgiana come out this year. Still, with the confirmation of Elizabeth’s confinement, she gave up on that idea and began planning for all three girls to be introduced to society in the coming year. This year, she was to introduce Anne de Bourgh, a woman with a thirty thousand pound dowry and the ownership of Rosings, to theton. She was challenged to overcome Anne’s shyness and her absolute certainty that she never intended to marry.
Early in February, all the Bennet sisters returned to Longbourn to finish preparations for Jane’s wedding. Mr Bennet had given Mrs Bennet a strict budget for the wedding breakfast and Jane’s trousseau. The Gardiners and Darcys had also contributed funds towards Jane’s trousseau, which was as complete as possible. Darcy had also settled five thousand pounds on Jane to supplement the thousand pounds she would receive from her mother. This, combined with the inheritance Mr Hastings had from his grandparents, had enabled the gentleman to purchase a small house for them to set up housekeeping. This was all communicated to Elizabeth through letters, and she felt a pang at not being able to participate.
“William,” she opened one morning as they sat in breakfast in their sitting room, “are you certain we cannot travel to Hertfordshire for Jane’s wedding?”
He looked up from where he sat, reading a letter. “You cannot be serious?” he stuttered.
“I am serious,” she informed him. “I would like to go to Hertfordshire to celebrate my sister’s wedding.”
“No,” he stated simply, somewhat taken aback by her request. “We discussed this weeks ago. We agreed that itwas too difficult, not to mention dangerous, for you to travel at this time. Nor do you want to stay at Longbourn, meaning we would be forced to stay at the inn in Meryton.”
“Would you want to miss your sister’s wedding?” she asked petulantly.
“Of course not, and I understand you do not wish to miss it, Elizabeth, but we have discussed the reasons for this already. We had agreed that it was best to remain at Pemberley,” Darcy replied, attempting to be patient with his wife, who had become increasingly irrational.
“We should consult the doctor to see what he thinks,” Elizabeth suggested. “He is due to visit me in a day or two.”
Darcy stared at his wife for a moment. “Elizabeth,” he began.
“No, Fitzwilliam,” she said. “You will not cajole me into changing my mind. I do not want to miss my sister’s wedding. It is so difficult to read about all the shopping and planning they have been doing and not be able to participate. I am hearty enough—a little travel has never bothered me.”
“This is not a ‘little’ travel, dearest. The weather is against us, potentially adding days to our travel. You were extremely affected by our return from Longbourn in October—you ached for days afterwards and were exceedingly tired. It took a week to recover, and I can only imagine it would be worse now,” he reminded her.
She brushed off his concerns. “I will be well,” she insisted.
Darcy scoffed. “I will allow you to speak to the physician when he calls, but I will express my concerns regarding this travel to him as well,” he stated before striding off to his study. He was frustrated with his wife, recognising that her growing irrationality likely resulted from the rapidly growing child within her. He sat to write a note to the physician asking him to call sooner and requesting an audience with himbeforehe visited with his wife.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Darcys spent much of that day in separate pursuits without crossing paths. This was unusual for the couple, and the servants noted the distance between them. A few times, Darcy hovered by the door of whatever room Elizabeth was in, watching her for a few moments before sighing and moving on, unsure of how to approach his wife. He knew he was correct—they had already discussed this and agreed on this course of action—but he was concerned about speaking to Elizabeth without upsetting her further.
Finally, he moved to his room to dress for dinner and waited for his wife in their sitting room to escort her downstairs. After some time, he finally knocked on her bedroom door to check on her.
“Dearest,” he called as he opened the door. “Are you well?” His voice betrayed his uncertainty.
“I am tired,” Elizabeth replied from the bed. “I requested a tray in my room this evening.”
“Might I join you?” he asked softly.
She sniffed. “If you like,” she replied diffidently.
He nodded but then stepped away. After speaking to his valet to send a message to deliver an additional tray to the mistress’s bedchambers,he removed his coat and boots and went to join his wife in her bedchamber.
The room had been rarely used during their marriage except as an extension of Elizabeth’s dressing room. She had not fully redecorated it but replaced a few faded and worn pieces and ordered new curtains and a counterpane to brighten the room.
“Are you well, my love?” he asked as he entered the room, pulling a chair nearer to her.
She looked abashed. “No,” she replied. “I feel somewhat foolish for hiding here this evening and avoiding you all day. I have missed you but was too proud to seek you out. I am glad you discovered me here. I am sorry for behaving childishly.”
“Are you still determined to travel to Longbourn?” he asked quietly.
She sighed deeply. “No, you were right. We had agreed that it was a foolish idea. I was exhausted by our travel in October, and I was uncomfortable travelling to Lambton just a few days ago. It is ridiculous to suppose that if I struggled to travel just five miles, I could manage a journey of more than a hundred and fifty miles. I would be miserable travelling for days and likely make you miserable. I do know better, but it seems that this baby makes me incapable of thinking reasonably.”
Darcy attempted not to laugh at the look on her face as she said this. Uncertain if he should agree with her, he made a non-committal noise in his throat. Elizabeth noticed this and grinned at him. “I no longer feel so irrational, so you may laugh at me if you like. I dare say the physician will arrive tomorrow and want to meet with you before you see me, and you can tell him all about it.”
He grinned in return and released the chuckle he had held back. However, he had not kissed her since that morning, so he moved to sit beside her on the bed and remedy that problem. They were interrupted several minutes later when her abigail arrived, leading several footmen carrying the trays that contained their dinner.
As they ate, Darcy addressed the argument again. “Elizabeth, is there something else on your mind that led to your earlier upset? You cannot truly want to go to Longbourn, can you? Not after swearing never to step foot in your mother’s house again.”
