Elizabeth drew up to her full height and held her shoulders back stiffly, returning her father’s glare to him. Darcy, knowing she needed to have her say, simply stood behind her, his hand on her back to demonstrate both his presence and his support.
“I came, sir, because my husband’s friend is the groom, and we were invited,” she said coldly. “We intended to stay atNetherfield and hoped that we might be able to speak with you to make amends, but I sincerely doubt that is possible now, given what your wife believes of me. Since you have never given a reason for your opinion of my marriage, one that is fully legal and sanctioned by the church, we thought we might attempt to speak with you to clarify any misunderstandings about it.
“However, given what Mrs. Bennet believes, no doubt because of what you have said to her or in her presence, I sincerely doubt there is any possibility of reconciliation at this point. What Mrs. Bennet said of me is unforgivable. She accuses my husband and me of having an improper relationship and calls me vile names, all the while her youngest daughter, the one most indulged and least disciplined, is hiding away at home in her shame, with child without the benefit of marriage, yet I am the one who is reviled, while she continues to be coddled.
“I have no intention of making Jane uncomfortable or forcing her to choose, so William and I will leave. We will host Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bingley in London after the honeymoon, but we will never return to Hertfordshire. You, sir, may continue to act as though your second child is dead if it pleases you because I have no father or mother.”
Mr. Bennet stared at his daughter. She had never spoken to him as she just had, and a small part of him, for the first time, felt a slight sense of shame for his treatment of his children. He recognised the truth of her words and considered why he had acted the way he had. Elizabeth had asked permission to marry a man she claimed to love, and based on their support of each other, it seemed to be real. For that, for what he allowed himself to believe based on the words of a fool and a rake, he had cast her off because her marriage to Darcy had meant she would leave him and give her loyalty to another man.
Whereas he has let Lydia back into his home, knowing she was likely no longer a maiden, knowing she bore the consequences of her actions, and that unless he acted soon, his entire family would be ruined. And he had no idea what to do.
Mr. Bennet had come to speak to the Darcys about his offer to send Lydia to Scotland for the birth, but now it seemed unlikely. He could only hope his new son would be willing to assist because he could not ask Elizabeth and Darcy now.
After long moments of silent staring, he dropped his head and finally spoke, “I know Jane would like you to be at her wedding. I will ensure Mrs. Bennet does not address you and will clarify some facts with her about your marriage. I had intended to come to discuss with you the suggestion that Lydia be sent to Scotland with her mother, but I should depart. Goodbye, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. I wish you well.”
He turned and walked toward the door. He stopped as he reached the threshold and turned around before he spoke one last time. “And I do hope that one day you will find it in your heart to forgive me for my utter foolishness in this matter,” he said, then departed.
Elizabeth turned into Darcy’s arms and cried. Bending slightly, he picked her up in his arms, nodded to Bingley, and then carried his wife to their rooms.
Chapter Thirteen
Arriving in their rooms, Darcy sat Elizabeth on the settee in their sitting room, lightly pressing a kiss to her forehead before heading into his dressing room for a moment to remove his boots, coats, and cravat. He quickly returned and sat next to his wife, pulling her into his lap and holding her tightly to his chest again.
“Are you well, my love?” he asked as her tears had begun to wane. “I was not expecting any of this today.”
“Neither was I,” she said, lifting her head off his chest and wiping her cheeks. Darcy took up the handkerchief in his hand and, moving her hands away, used it to wipe her cheeks and blot the tears from her eyes. Tenderly, he kissed away the remaining evidence of her upset. “If you still wish to attend the wedding, we can, but I will not attend the breakfast. I do not believe Mama … well, I think I can no longer call her by that name. I do not believe that Mrs. Bennet will be able to keep silent during the wedding breakfast if I am there, and she will be mortifying in one way or another. She will either continue as she did today or, if Papa convinces her we actually are married, she will attemptto curry favour and go on about how wealthy you are. I have no intention of being embarrassed in such a way ever again.”
Darcy could say nothing but squeeze his wife more tightly to him. “I love you, Elizabeth,” he said finally. “I will act however you see fit, but, like you, I am content never to enter Hertfordshire again. I can inform Bingley that we will leave on Monday, or sooner, if that is what you would like.”
She sighed. “I do not know what is best, William. Part of me wishes we had never come, but I am glad to finally know Mrs. Bennet’s real opinion of me.”
Elizabeth felt him stiffen. “She is a fool, Elizabeth, if you will pardon me for saying so. No one of any sense would value you so little,” he snapped.
She laid her head on his shoulder. “I love you, Will,” she said before taking a deep breath and letting it out. “I would like to speak to Aunt Gardiner before we decide. It almost appeared as if Papa was planning to be accepting of our marriage, although it may have been wishful thinking on my part.”
It was Darcy’s turn to sigh. “I believe you may have been correct, my dear,” he replied. “Mrs. Gardiner had shared our ideas about what to do about Miss Lydia, and he did say he had come to discuss them. I do not know what Mr. Bennet will be able to do about your sister without some assistance. However, I am unwilling to host Mrs. Bennet at any of our homes regardless of our presence after her attack on you.”
Elizabeth grimaced. “I cannot disagree. Surely, shouldn’t my mother think better of me than to assume I would ever allow you to make me his mistress? Although, given that Lydia allowed Mr. Wickham … liberties without the benefit of marriage, I shouldnot be so surprised that she could think it.” She suddenly gasped out a sob. “Oh, Will, as soon as we speak to Mrs. Gardiner, I want to return home. I suddenly do not want to face the people of Meryton who may have been told such tales of me. Did they believe them as well? At this moment, I cannot wait to return to Pemberley.” She once again buried her face in his chest, feeling mortified all over again.
Darcy lifted her head and kissed her softly. “Elizabeth, I promise we will never visit here again,” he told her, attempting again to reassure her. He kissed her more deeply this time, but almost immediately, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. At his groan, Elizabeth laughed and stood, walking to the door to answer it.
“Yes,” she said and was informed by a maid that Mrs. Gardiner was there and hoping to speak with them. Reluctantly agreeing, she informed the maid they would be downstairs in ten minutes.
Darcy encouraged Elizabeth to go down first, as he still needed to change out of his riding attire. After one more brief kiss, Elizabeth headed down the stairs and was soon in her aunt’s embrace.
“I am so sorry, Lizzy,” the lady said. “Your mother overheard a conversation between Jane and Mary about your being at Netherfield. Mary was upset because she had planned to attend tea with Jane yesterday, but Jane had left without her. Mrs. Bennet had not been downstairs in days, and it was not until your father and I were about to leave that we learned that she had left moments before us. I am so sorry that no one considered that she would come to confront you when she had not left the house in days or weeks.”
“It is not your fault, Aunt,” Elizabeth said. “I have always known that I was not my mother’s favourite, although I had believed she loved me at least a little since I was her child. However, I have two wonderful aunts who I believe will stand in my mother’s stead when I need them to. William and I discussed this and are determined to never come to Hertfordshire again. We discussed leaving for London tomorrow.”
“I cannot say that I disagree with you, although it is possible after some time has passed, you may want to see your father again,” Mrs. Gardiner said. “His intention in coming today was to ask for your forgiveness for not taking the time to speak to you about your decision to marry Mr. Darcy. He believed the rumours and did not trust your decision as a result. Part of him wanted to believe Mr. Darcy was unworthy of you and that you would choose to return and abandon Mr. Darcy. When you did not, he was angry and allowed his anger to rule his actions and words.
“For what is worth, Mr. Bennet never doubted or questioned the veracity of your marriage to Mr. Darcy. Mrs. Bennet has not been to town in several weeks and has not heard about how he has restored his reputation. All her allegations were her assumptions based on what had been said about Mr. Darcy in the past, along with what Lydia has said to her since returning home. Lydia blames Mr. Darcy for all that has befallen her, her aborted elopement, Wickham’s arrest and subsequent court-martial, and, of course, there are Wickham’s claims of his ill-treatment.”
Elizabeth’s eyes flashed with anger. “As much as I hate to say it, you can reprimand me all you like, aunt, but my mother and Lydia are exceptionally stupid. Lydia has allowed herself to be used by that profligate rake, yet they are convinced mylegitimate marriage to a truly good man will somehow cause the ruin of the family, completely ignoring the fact that it is Lydia’s actions that will do so. They are inordinately fortunate that Mr. Bingley has not broken things off with Jane because he is aware of the ruin, and he will be far closer to the Bennets for the foreseeable future.
“I am resolved, Aunt. My father has claimed I am dead to them, and that is how I will remain. We will depart as soon as may be, and Jane may visit us in London or Derbyshire. We will not return here.”
Darcy entered the room as Elizabeth made this pronouncement. “Elizabeth, I will go with Bingley and tell him our decision. I am certain he will understand our reasoning, and we can encourage them to come to dinner when they are in London. It is too late to leave today, but we will leave first thing in the morning.”
