Chapter 3
The night following Mr.
Bennet’s visit found an insomnious Darcy lying in his bed, staring
blankly at the canopy above him as the words expressed by his future
father-in-law resounded in his head. ‘You must now win her
heart’. This statement really took him by surprise, as Darcy had
never imagined that he would have to earn Elizabeth Bennet’s regard. Not
that he thought she already loved him, but he had always assumed that the lady
in question held him in some esteem. Apparently his assumptions had been
inaccurate. Still, Darcy was sure that winning her affection would not be an
impossible task, in fact, he felt quite confident of his success. No doubt, he
was one of England’s
most eligible bachelors and he was certain that Elizabeth would not fail to understand the
importance of her future husband and the advantageous position this marriage
would bestow upon her. And if the passion he had felt on her lips that morning
they kissed had not been just a figment of his imagination, Elizabeth had more interest in his person
than she had dared to admit to her father.
While Darcy did not deny the
reprehensibility of the actions that produced their engagement and the possible
consequences it might bring, as time passed, he felt more comfortable with his
present circumstance. He was marrying the most desirable woman he had ever met.
Even more, he was perfectly persuaded he was engaged to the lady of his dreams.
If he left aside her unsuitable social status and absolute lack of connections,
Elizabeth Bennet possessed every quality he wanted in a spouse: beauty, spirit,
strength, charm and impeccable manners. A woman that he knew would become an
excellent wife and a great mistress of his estate, able to provide him with
healthy heirs.
Despite the fact that these
qualities made of Elizabeth an appropriate match to him, Darcy was perfectly
aware that the news of his engagement to someone so beneath himself would
provoke an adverse reaction among certain members of his family. The strongest opponent,
he was most certain, would be his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh of Rosings Park. Not just because he knew that she
would purposely dismiss each and every one of Elizabeth’s qualities, but also because
of her undying expectations of a union between the houses of Rosings and
Pemberley. His uncle, the Earl of Matlock, though known for being a liberal
man, might also display some reticence to the match, especially if his sister
Catherine of Rosings succeeded in convincing him of his bride’s unsuitability.
In case the Earl expressed any objection, Darcy knew he could enlist Col.
Fitzwilliam’s help in the task of obtaining his uncle’s grace. His
friends and London’s society usually
followed whatever the Earl determined so if that obstacle was overcome right
from the start, his felicity with Elizabeth
would be assured.
The only serious inconvenience
that might result from this alliance, and one that could not be overlooked, was
the new and most undesirable connection that would be established after his nuptials
with Elizabeth.
That was indeed a matter of concern for him and one that he would have to
resolve immediately after his marriage. Darcy would be forever connected with
people below his rank, whom not only did he disdain, but also considered so beneath
himself as to persuade him that they would never meet with his family’s
approval.
However, there was one member
of his family who would be more than delighted with the match: his sister
Georgiana. Certainly, she would be one to be greatly benefited from the union. Elizabeth’s
liveliness would perfect to help Georgiana overcome her shyness. Darcy was
absolutely sure that the girl would love Elizabeth
from the moment they became acquainted, so he fostered no concerns on that
score, in the same way he was confident of the instant affection Elizabeth would develop
for his sweet Georgiana when they finally met.
These reflections convinced
him of the importance of persuading Elizabeth
of the necessity to quit all appearance of connection and avoid unnecessary
communication with her family once they married. With Georgiana in particular,
these measures were not enough. His dear sister could be neither exposed to the
wildness of the youngest Bennet girls nor to the vulgarity of their
progenitors. Any eventual contact that might occur would have to be under his
personal supervision and always overseeing that Georgiana’s permeable
mind would not receive any sort of negative influence from his future in-laws.
Deep inside, Darcy reckoned his bride may show
some reluctance to this imposition at first, yet he was most certain that
Elizabeth would quickly accommodate herself to her new circumstance and admit
that keeping these connections would not beneficial to her new role of Mistress
of Pemberley. In more than one occasion he had seen her show embarrassment for
her sisters’ and her own mother’s ill behaviour –the
Netherfield ball was the latest and most outstanding reminder of their lack of
manners- so Darcy had no doubt that Elizabeth
would immediately appreciate his efforts in separating her from them. With
time, all would be well.
The father of the bride called
on his future son-in-law the next morning to arrange his daughter’s
settlement. Albeit Mr. Bennet knew that Darcy was a wealthy man, he was most
favourably impressed by the size of the gentleman’s fortune and, most of
all, with the extraordinary generosity he showed in the settlement of Elizabeth. True, he was
still concerned about her happiness as he feared that Mr Darcy’s
insufferable pride and Lizzy’s sometimes unconquerable stubbornness --or
the combination of the two---would make their connubial felicity more difficult
to achieve. Still Mr Bennet had faith that the newlyweds would eventually
arrive at a mutual understanding once they had become better acquainted with
each other’s whimsicalities and faults. All in all, Mr Darcy seemed to be
a kind man –when his recurrent obnoxiousness was repressed-- and the
combination of his strong character and his affection for his daughter would certainly
contribute to Elizabeth’s
eventual taming.
If not, God helped
them.
Mr. Bennet returned to
Longbourn to announce the positive conclusion of his business in Town. At home,
a small crowd of six women were anxiously awaiting his news, some of them with unguarded
optimism and others with bleak despair.
“Oh, Lizzy, what
wonderful news! You will be so rich!” Mrs. Bennet cried overflowing with
delight. “I knew Mr. Darcy was an honourable man and that he would
consent to marry you. Oh! Now I have to plan the biggest ceremony in
Meryton’s history!”
“No, Mrs. Bennet, I fear
you will not,” Mr. Bennet interjected. “I have merely agreed to a
simple ceremony.”
Mrs. Bennet readily protested.
“What? No, no, Elizabeth
deserves the ….”
“Hush, Mrs Bennet. Given
the unusual circumstances that produced this marriage, common sense forbids us
to think grand. A small ceremony will do.”
“Can we not have a
wedding breakfast? I see no harm in it,” Mrs Bennet insisted.
Mr Bennet beheld his wife from
behind his reading glasses. Her face betrayed such unbearable distress that he
took pity on her. “Very well. But only with the immediate
family.”
Mrs. Bennet wasted no time and
readily accommodated this little concession to her own ideas of what was grand or
small. There was so much to do and so little time, so she rushed to her desk
and settled herself to the task at hand.
“I must start the
planning of the wedding reception. There are so many friends that I wish to
invite. Oh, where will I find the white lace? I shall write to my sister in London post haste! I am
sure she will have no trouble in directing me to the best shops.”
“Mrs. Bennet,” her
husband protested. “Mrs. Bennet! There will be no lace! No friends!
We must prevent the ‘scandal’ from reaching the circles in which your daughter shall move once she
becomes Mrs Darcy.”
Elizabeth, who had been
witnessing the entire scene, almost cringed when they mentioned the name that
soon would become her own. Mrs. Darcy,
Elizabeth
thought with despair. The name sounded odious when coming from her
father’s mouth. All in all, she could forgo her mother’s
enthusiasm. Elizabeth
had long learned to accept her necessity to secure her offspring’s
future. Yet she could not believe that her good father still persevered in his
intention of marrying her to Mr. Darcy while knowing how she felt about the
gentleman.
“Papa, please, do not
force me to do this!” she begged one last time.
“My darling,
Lizzy.” Mrs. Bennet walked toward her daughter, addressing her in her
kindest voice, much to Elizabeth’s
astonishment as she was not used to being the recipient of her mother’s
sweetness. “Your father is in the right. You shall marry the gentleman,
and all shall be well. No scandal, I promise.” Giving a little shriek of
pleasure she said, “Just imagine, a house in Town, the carriages, the
clothes! You will be rich!”
“Lizzy, my dear,”
Mr. Bennet tried to ease his daughter’s worries, “Mr. Darcy seems
to be a good man. I know he is a proud sort of man, but he is not as disagreeable
as you presume. He has behaved very generously in consenting to this marriage,
and I dare say, he will take good care of you. You must try your best to accept
him. One day you will learn to appreciate his qualities.” He gave a
sideways glance at his wife and sighed with resignation while she moved
euphorically about the room. “Well, at least he has some qualities
to be credited with.”
Elizabeth could hardly
believe her ears. Her father held Mr Darcy in his good regard?
“And when am I supposed
to marry this ‘superior gentleman’?” Elizabeth asked in an icy tone.
“By the end of January.
Mr. Darcy shall confirm the date on his next visit,” replied Mr. Bennet,
steeling himself in front of his daughter’s grief.
Elizabeth paled. In less
than two months she would marry a man that she was perfectly persuaded she
would never be able to love. Seeing no other choice but to accept her fate, Elizabeth took a deep
breath and assented. “I am sure Mr Darcy is the last man in the world I
would have expected to be prevailed upon to marry,” she said with
contrition. “Yet I shall do as you wish.”
“Lizzy, you must try to
calm yourself. It is no use rebelling against what has already been decided. On
the contrary, you must embrace what is to come,” Jane told her sister
before they went to bed that night. “I am sure Mr. Darcy is indeed
a good man after all and eventually you shall learn to love him. Our father
wouldn’t force you to marry him if he did not think him respectable.”
“Respectable?”
cried Elizabeth.
“He’s a rascal with no consideration for the feelings of others. I
do not think his conduct is at all respectable or gentlemanlike.”
“Perhaps his actions
were not gentlemanlike at the time,” Jane answered thoughtfully.
“But he is Mr. Bingley’s good friend. I am sure that speaks better
of him.”
“The man is so arrogant
and proud ... and resentful, he even confessed that himself!” she
affirmed with her usual eagerness. “I know I will never respect him, much
less love him.”
Jane was very much aware of
her sister’s inclination for dramatics and her tendency to exaggeration
yet she had to make her understand that she needed to make the best of her
present circumstance. “Lizzy, there is no way you can escape this
wedding. If you don’t try to soften your opinion of him you shall be
exceedingly unhappy!”
Her sister’s words of
wisdom might have helped Elizabeth
in other occasion yet in this case they did not serve to change her mind.
“I know, Jane. ‘Tis only I have always wished to marry for the
deepest love and respect and now I am to wed the man I hate most!”
“You should do as Papa
said. You must dismiss the bad qualities and see him for the good
ones.”
“He has none,” Elizabeth replied
stubbornly.
“I am sure he has many.
Let us see …” Jane said thoughtfully, “… he is
tall.”
Making her best effort, Elizabeth agreed,
“Indeed he is. But I cannot account it as an asset, it is mere …
good fortune.”
“Tall is a thousand
times better than short and meaty,” Jane teased. “Now, it’s
your turn.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at
her sister’s insistence, yet came up with a virtue she could not deny the
gentleman had. “Well, he is ...fit.”
Again, Jane made a gesture of
encouragement.
“And presentable,
he’s always impeccably groomed and dressed.” Elizabeth added with a little more
enthusiasm.
Jane smiled at her
sister’s progress. The day would come when Elizabeth Bennet would admit
to herself and others that Mr. Darcy was indeed a handsome man. “And
rich, you should not forget that one.”
“Oh, that is his best
side!” Elizabeth
laughed feigning herself mercenary.
“Lizzy!”
“That should suffice for
now,” declared a satisfied Elizabeth.
“Three compliments are more than enough.”
“I am sure you will
discover that Mr. Darcy has many more good sides, Lizzy.”
“Maybe,” she
shrugged. “Perhaps he improves on closer acquaintance.”
“He will.”
“Thank you, Jane,”
Elizabeth
smiled at her sister, “you are indeed an angel.”
Jane took her sister’s
hand in an attempt to offer her more comfort. “Well, there is one thing
in his favour with what he should be particularly credited, Lizzy.”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow
at the appearance of Jane’s mischievous smile.
“At least he is not Mr.
Collins.”
Elizabeth giggled at her
sister’s unexpected attempt at humour. Indeed, Mr. Darcy was no Mr.
Collins.