Father,
I do not understand why you are forcing me to choose between my love for Mr. Darcy and my family. If you will issue ultimatums, know that I will choose to marry the man I love. As I have learned to understand the man better, I have found that he truly is the best man I have ever known. What your specific objection is, I do not know or understand, and your ultimatum prevents me from discussing this matter with you as I would have hoped.
If you are willing to discuss this matter, I would be pleased to do so. However, my choice is made and my loyalty from this point on is toward my future husband. Since you have not seen fit to contact me regarding your decision, and sinceyou have declared in my uncle’s letter that I am no longer your daughter if I pursue this course, I no longer owe you any loyalty. Apparently, I only had value so long as I was doing what you wished.
Farewell,
Elizabeth
“I hate this for you, Elizabeth. I do not understand his reasoning, and he gives no reason in either letter that I can determine other than the assumption I am toying with you and will not marry you. I cannot understand what in my character or history would lead to him calling me a rake. If that were the case, if I had dishonourable intentions, why would I have requested his permission to marry you? The letters should have proved my intentions,” he told her.
“I do not understand it either, William,” she said, caressing his hand. “I would have expected him to be disappointed that I would settle so far away, but to go so far as to disown me for marrying you is an outrageous overreaction. Especially as he cannot be bothered to check my younger sisters. To threaten to disown me over marrying an honourable and wealthy gentleman who loves me and who I love in return is ridiculous.”
He stood and pulled her into his arms. They stood in each other’s embrace for several minutes before he kissed the top of her head. “I am sorry that you have been placed into this position, my love. I would take away all your pain if I could.”
“Thank you, William, but know you have nothing to apologise for. You have not created this; he has for reasons unknown to us. He could not even bother to write me a letter—only to you and my uncle. He values me so little. I am surprised, I will admitsince I had believed myself to be his favourite, but I was only his favourite when it was beneficial to him.”
He hugged her tighter to him and then released her. “Perhaps his fear of losing you caused him to react badly. Maybe after a little reflection, he will change his mind.”
“Perhaps,” was all she said. Then, after squeezing him briefly, she stepped away. “We still have more letters to write. Let us finish those so we may call my uncle and send them on their way. Before luncheon, I would like to walk in the gardens with you.”
They both sat again and wrote letters to send to Netherfield. Elizabeth wrote a short letter to Jane that William would include inside his letter to Bingley. William’s letter explained the change in plans due to Mr. Bennet’s response. Those letters completed, and the couple sent again for Gardiner to join them.
When Gardiner arrived in Williams’s study, he saw his niece sitting on the settee next to her intended, her hand in his, as they discussed the upcoming harvest and the harvest celebration. With the wedding planned for London, William would be missing both, but his steward and housekeeper would have things well in hand.
“If I did not know better, I would think the two of you had been married for several years already,” Gardiner said as he watched them for several minutes.
Elizabeth flushed at his comment but greeted her uncle. “We have both written letters to my father but left them open for you to review before we send them. William has a rider waiting to carry them to Hertfordshire as quickly as possible and is prepared to bring us any letters in return. William also wrote toMr. Bingley, and I have included a note for Jane if he can pass it to her without being observed.”
“Excellent, Lizzy. It does seem that she is not aware of anything that has been going on. I am surprised she was able to send that one letter,” Gardiner replied, accepting the letters William offered him. After reading them, he nodded and returned them to be folded and sealed. He handed over another letter, already sealed, as well.
The rider was summoned and handed the letters with instructions to ride first to Netherfield and then to Longbourn. If there were replies from either location, he would wait for them and deliver them to the travellersen route. He had the names of the inns where they were to stay and money enough to ensure quick travel.
After he left, Gardiner excused himself to return to his wife, and the engaged couple walked out to the gardens.
In the sitting room attached to the Gardiner’s bedchambers, they discussed the situation. Mrs. Gardiner was planning what would need to be done to prepare for Elizabeth’s wedding now that it was to take place in London.
“I do not understand Thomas’s reaction, and it is clear that my sister is unaware of this. I cannot imagine she would allow Thomas to refuse his consent to allow any of her children to marry such a wealthy man. Of course, she has always claimed that Lizzy would never marry and would not have expected her least understood child to make such a spectacular match. But she would be in raptures at Lizzy’s good fortune and would expect to use her new connections to assist her other daughters,” Gardiner told his wife.
“It is shocking,” his wife replied. “And I hate that he is making Elizabeth choose.”
“She did not hesitate even a moment before she chose Darcy,” Gardiner told her. “Her loyalties shifted the moment she agreed to marry him, and she will not waver in her course. If anything, her father’s ultimatum will make her even more determined to wed him. She heard enough to rouse her protective instincts, and she is not one to be cowed.”
“No, she is not, and she protects those she loves fiercely. Thomas’s reaction will only make her more determined to wed William and perhaps to do so sooner than originally planned,” Mrs. Gardiner agreed.
“She will go straight to London with the Darcys until we arrive. We should only be a day or so behind them. Then, the two of you may begin shopping for her trousseau. Darcy also suggested speaking with his aunt and uncle about the plans for the wedding to see what suggestions they may make, given the particular circumstances. This will, by necessity, change some of the plans we had discussed,” Gardiner added.
The two discussed other necessary changes to their plans for their return, noting that they would not be staying at Longbourn any longer than it took for them to gather their children. Both Gardiners wrote letters—some to post and some they hoped to deliver in person.
Chapter Seven
In the garden, William and Elizabeth discussed the letters he had received from his own family.
“My aunt is anxious to meet you as she has heard much of you from Richard. Apparently, Richard told her how you were not cowed by Aunt Catherine and, in fact, challenged her on more than one occasion. He also told them bits about my first disastrous proposal to put to rest any fears you may be a fortune hunter,” he grimaced as he remembered that night and the weeks that followed. “They are predisposed to think well of you and have pledged their full support for the match. My aunt has requested that I bring you to call soon upon our return. I feel she will want to go shopping with you and assist with the shopping for your trousseau.”
He paused momentarily and caressed the hand in his arm as he considered how to phrase his request without offending. “While I am certain the Gardiners are very capable of providing you with a trousseau, given the lack of support from your family, I would like to be of assistance if I may. Since we will soon bewed, I can ensure you have accounts where Georgiana shops or anywhere else you may care to go.”
“Hatchards?” she enquired.
