With that pronouncement, Catherine shrieked and attempted to attack her brother with her cane. Footmen, who had been warned to be on guard whenever she arrived, subdued her quickly and forced laudanum into her mouth to calm her. Others had already retrieved her daughter from the carriage outside since she had left her sitting there, and she was in a bedroom resting when Lady Catherine was carried upstairs. A doctor was sent for, and footmen were assigned to keep watch over the rooms of both ladies. Another footman was dispatched to DarcyHouse with a note letting the residents of that home know what had transpired there that morning.
That couple was breaking their fast when the messenger from Darcy House arrived, followed by a messenger from Longbourn. William read the note from Matlock House to Elizabeth and was pleased to know they had been spared that confrontation. As Lord Matlock had it in hand, they were no longer worried about that quarter. The note from Longbourn was unexpected, and William opened it hesitantly.
Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy,
I see you have defied me and married without my blessing or consent. While my second daughter was of age, my consent was unnecessary but the Elizabeth that I knew would have never dreamed of marrying under these circumstances. Elizabeth Bennet is no more, and I will not think of her again. Thankfully, few in Meryton read the London papers.
I do not know why you have chosen to marry under these circumstances or at all and this is my final word on this subject. My only hope is that neither of you will come to regret the other as I came to regret my choice of wife. With Elizabeth dead and Jane leaving home soon with her marriage to Mr. Bingley, I foresee little of sense crossing over my threshold in the foreseeable future.
Thomas Bennet
Elizabeth’s face fell when William read the letter out loud. “He still believes us to be unsuited, but to hear myself being proclaimed dead so coldly is shocking,” she said.
William scooted his chair back from the table and pulled her from her seat and into his lap, drawing her tightly into his arms. “I am sorry, Elizabeth,” he said, stroking her hair, which was still down.
She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I will be fine, William. Clearly, this letter has been the least shocking since it is the first one you or my Uncle Gardiner have permitted me to hear.” She took another deep breath, attempting to shake herself from any melancholy. “When do Jane and Mr. Bingley marry? I am anxious to see my dearest sister again. She is the only one I have truly regretted. And you and Mr. Bingley have ensured I have been able to contact her despite my father’s prohibition.”
He hugged her tighter. “Soon - a week or two yet, I believe. I will have to look at his letter again to confirm the date. Bingley is not the easiest correspondent. They plan to stay at Netherfield for the first sennight after their marriage and then travel to London to stay in Bingley’s townhouse for a month or so. His sisters are still in the north and will stay there for a time. We can invite Mr. and Mrs. Bingley here for a celebratory dinner once they arrive in London unless you would like to attempt to attend the wedding.”
Elizabeth shook her head and sighed. “No, I think it best we not create a scene by arriving, even if just for the ceremony. I do not know how my father will react, and I prefer not to ruin Jane’s day by upsetting my father. No one has mentioned what my mother knows about the situation, and we know she would not be quiet if we were to show up unexpectedly.” She raised her head and kissed him slowly. “I hope when Jane comes, we will be able to talk to her about the circumstances at Longbourn, and perhaps she will be able to explain things.”
William sighed and rested his cheek on top of Elizabeth’s head. “I love you, Elizabeth,” he told her. “Have I told you today how happy I am to have you as my wife?”
She laughed her tinkling laugh. “No, you have not yet today, William. I am happy to be married to you and am looking forward to attending the theatre tonight to seeMuch Ado About Nothing,one of my favourite plays with our family. We were supposed to dine with your aunt and uncle after, but will we still do so since Lady Catherine is there?” Elizabeth asked.
Just then, a knock at the door delivered another note from Matlock. William laughed as he read the missive. “My aunt had the same thought and asked if they may dine here instead. We need to let the Gardiners know of the change in plans. She has also asked if Georgiana may return to Darcy House since Lady Catherine is in residence at Matlock House for the present. Lady Catherine is sedated, but Anne plans to join us for the theatre. She, it seems, is very pleased by our wedding and sends her congratulations.”
“I look forward to knowing Anne better,” Elizabeth replied. “And we can easily move the supper here. I will also be pleased to have Georgiana at home, although that will mean we will have to be more sociable now and leave our rooms more frequently.” She grinned up at him. “She can come this afternoon at teatime if she likes—will she join us at the theatre tonight?”
“She was not planning to attend, but perhaps we may persuade her to do so with Anne also in attendance,” William offered. “And I will be pleased to have her back at home as well, but you are correct—that will require us to eat more meals in the dining room rather than our sitting room.”
“In that case,” Elizabeth began. “Perhaps we should retire to our rooms to rest before anyone else arrives.”
William adjusted his arms around his wife and stood, carrying her back upstairs. It was nearly teatime before the staff saw them again that day.
One lady most pleased with the new Mrs. Darcy was Anne de Bourgh. She had liked the lady in April when she had visited and wondered then if Darcy was interested in her. Despite their discussions of the matter, Anne had worried that her mother’s claims were preventing Darcy from offering for that lady, but since she and William rarely spoke, she could not be confident about the state of affairs between them. Together with Richard, Anne had thought it seemed the lady in question had not particularly cared for her cousin in April, and Anne, at least, still wondered what had led to the change.
Now, away from Rosings and, for the first time in her life, out of her mother’s control, she felt good and was looking forward to attending the theatre that night. It would be a night of firsts for her, as her mother hated travelling and had rarely travelled as far as London for any reason. She spoke to her Aunt Matlock about the possibility of attending other events while in London, and her aunt had promised her a trip to the modiste in the next week.
Arriving at Covent Garden in company with her aunt, uncle, and cousin, Anne spent several minutes in awe of all she saw. Dressed in a hastily altered gown of her aunt’s and with her hair carefully arranged, she looked far more beautiful than she ever had in the dresses chosen by her mother. Walking into the theatre on her Cousin Richard’s arm, she was pleased to be in attendance but yet felt a tremendous amount of trepidation at all the eyes on her.
The Darcys arrived a few minutes after the Matlock party, along with the Gardiners. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, together with Georgiana, were gawked at as they made their way through the theatre entrance, and a few brave souls stopped to speak with them as they navigated the crowded lobby. Most of those who stopped them were friends of Darcy, but a few were simply gossips who wanted to know more about the lady who had captured the elusive bachelor since the marriage announcement had shocked most of society. Most of these were easily ignored, but a few did push too far, and Darcy quickly silenced them with his scowl and sent them scurrying away. The party all met together in the Darcy and Matlock boxes and were soon settled into their seats to watch the play—the Gardiners and Matlocks sat in the latter’s box while the rest of the party sat with the Darcys in theirs.
On several occasions that evening, Anne had the opportunity to observe the antics of the newly married couple. She had already decided she liked Mrs. Darcy, but she was delighted with the change in her cousin and attributed it to his being in love with this woman. He appeared happier than she had ever seen him and was surprised at his frequent breaches of propriety as he seemed to touch his new wife constantly, and she even noticed them kiss when the lights went down at the beginning of the first act.
During intermission, the gentlemen left to get drinks for the ladies. Many attempted to speak with the known members of the party, while only a few were granted an invitation. Only a couple of close friends were invited to stop by later or were encouraged to call at Darcy House the following week; the rest were turned away.
Arriving back at their boxes with the beverages, they found their ladies surrounded by a few who had stopped to speak with Lady Matlock and to beg introductions to her friends. Many were surprised to find Anne de Bourgh speaking so pleasantly with the new Mrs. Darcy, which ended much of the speculation about Darcy jilting his cousin. Many believed the new Mrs. Darcy to be a pretty enough girl, although not as beautiful a lady as he could have married. These also wondered what made him choose her over the well-connected, well-dowered, and, in some cases, titled, ladies that he could have chosen.
However, as they had watched him throughout the night and noted the frequent touches and mild breaches of propriety displayed by the couple, the least cynical among the crowd realised he had indeed married for love, while the more cynical decided she had entrapped him into this marriage somehow and were inclined to ask how quickly the babe would arrive. The worst mentioned this speculation out loud.
When the play was over, the group departed for Darcy House for a late supper and some conversation, but Anne soon became tired and needed to return to Matlock House, ending their first entertainment as a married couple. Both were pleased with the events of the night.
Saturday and Sunday passed quietly for the couple. Early Monday morning, Lady Matlock arrived at Darcy House with a full schedule of visits for Elizabeth to accompany her and invitations for evening entertainments for the next several weeks. Nearly all were hosted by friends of Lady Matlock, and Elizabeth spent that afternoon penning notes for those invitations that had been accepted.
Every day that week found Elizabeth visiting the homes of her new aunt’s friends and becoming acquainted with the ladies oftheton. Most of those introduced to her by Lady Matlock were interesting, although several, especially those with marriageable daughters, seemed to be watching her closely to see if she would stumble. With those, Elizabeth held her head up slightly higher, but still was her charming self. While some did find fault with her, many of those she first visited did not and were pleased to be acquainted with Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy. Lady Matlock and Darcy were very delighted with her performance at these visits and at the balls and parties they attended.
For the next few weeks, the couple settled into a comfortable routine. Matlock banished Lady Catherine back to Rosings, having arranged for a nurse to accompany her, and settled her into the dower house, allowing Anne to take control of her inheritance. All the men of the Fitzwilliam family had been shocked to learn that Anne had inherited everything a little over a year ago when she had turned 25 years of age. Lady Catherine had convinced the solicitors that Anne was too ill to take control, and they had allowed her to continue as its mistress.
