An Unknown
Quantity of a Girl
a Jane Austen fan fiction vignette
by Lucy
| | | |
"Yes, Miss Bennet, interest;
for do not expect to be noticed by his family or friends, if you wilfully act
against the inclinations of all. You will be censured, slighted, and despised, by
every one connected with him. Your alliance will be a disgrace; your name will
never even be mentioned by any of us.Ó
Jane Austen
| | | |
Darcy marries
Elizabeth against his family's wishes, but Colonel Fitzwilliam is determined to
support his cousin, while Darcy is confident that Elizabeth will, with time,
win their esteem.
| | | |
Netherfield, Hertfordshire
September 18--
Fitz, She is mine! What more need I say? I have won her
affections and her hand. I will not attempt to describe my elation but you, who
have been my sole confidant in this matter, can well comprehend it I am sure. I
confess I have at the moment only a desire to be in the company of Elizabeth, my
ElizabethÑthink what joy to have at last the right to name her thusÑand none
whatsoever for writing to you. So only tell me you will stand with me when the
family's disapprobation falls upon us, as I am sure it shall. I have sent word
to Lady Catherine and expect only the worstÑbut I am too elated to trouble
myself with her certain invective. Send me word when we can expect
youÑBingley's Netherfield is open to you at any moment and Elizabeth is eager
to renew your acquaintance. I have assured her that from you we will have
nothing but good wishes. I would have liked to promise her more of the same
from other quarters, but will not indulge in vain wishes. We are to wed within
two months here from Longbourn. I will send you word when we have a date that
you might ask leave and stand with me. Yours etc., Darcy
___shire Encampment
September 18--
Darcy, Blast the family! Your Elizabeth is well worth
all the petty disapprobation and she will, soon enough, charm them all. Even
that old goat of a father of mine. I am profoundly delighted for you old chap,
and for our dear Georgiana as wellÑat last she will have a sister and she will
be as fine and charming a sister as Georgiana could desire. Give Miss Bennet my
warmest and sincerest regards and well wishes. Send word of the date and I
shall arrive with a week's anticipation.
Yours etc. Fitz
| | | |
Proceeding to a family dinner in Town and conversation
among distressed relations
"Richard, my dear, we have started without you,
undependable as are your arrivals," said the elegant, if somewhat plain,
Lady Maria as Colonel Fitzwilliam strolled into the dinning room to find his
parents--the Earl of ___ and his wife Lady Maria--as well as his elder brother
and the future earl, Edward, commencing the second course, consisting of a
finely prepared partridge.
"You arrive at just the right moment brother,"
Edward remarked with an air of decided superciliousness. "We are
discussing Darcy."
"Oh?" the Colonel responded evasively as he took
a seat and motioned for the servant to fill his wine glass.
He could not be but a little peeved that the attack should
commence so rapidly, fully anticipated as it was. Darcy had only just announced
his engagement and the Colonel was as certain of the family's disapprobation as
was Darcy himself. He hoped, if nothing else, to encourage his family to soften
the tone of said disapprobation that an all out scandal might be avoided. He
had heard again from Darcy, a letter filled with anger at Lady Catherine's
abusive language toward Miss Bennet and insolent condemnation of Darcy's
character. Darcy had determined to cease all contact with Lady Catherine as a
result, and the Colonel doubted not that similar behavior from his own father
would garner similar results.
The Earl, a tall, stout man with more than a few vestiges
of a handsome countenance, disregarded his mouth full of partridge and began
the inquisition in a voice as markedly displeased as his eldest son's was
markedly supercilious. "As you and Darcy are so intimate, Richard, perhaps
you could tell us what he is thinking with this strange marriage."
"Thinking, sir? Why nothing at all but that he is to
be married."
"Do not pretend such stupidity boy. That may very well
do in that infernal army of yours, but not at my table."
"Sir, I am not sure what further explanation you
desire."
"Explanation?" Edward interjected. "Why
father, an explanation is hardly necessary. Darcy has clearly been bewitched by
some minx. Undoubtedly she is remarkably handsome and remarkably skilled at
feeding Darcy's pride with all forms of empty accolades and such. I must admit
I never expected Darcy of all men to be snatched by a common fortune
hunter."
The Colonel snorted inelegantly. He was always amazed at
how little his family, particularly his brother, understood Darcy's character,
and was, given the details he knew of Darcy's courtship of the fine Miss
Bennet, particularly amused by the vision of Miss Bennet they had conjured.
"If you all wish to speak against Darcy's intended I
will not join you, nor will I remain at table."
"You always take Darcy's point of thinking," Lady
Maria replied in irritation and jealousy.
"Only when I think him correct and reasonable."
The Earl and his eldest son nearly choked simultaneously as
they cried out. "Reasonable?"
"Yes," the Colonel defended adamantly,
"reasonable."
The Earl dropped his heavy silver fork onto the fine china
plate that held his half consumed partridge, resulting in a resounding clatter
that, if they were not all accustomed to such occasional abruptness, would have
startled the gathered family. His mellifluous baritone voice boomed through the
smartly decorated room in all its potency, its very sweetness of timbre bellying
the fury of his words and emotions. "What in blazes is reasonable and
correct about this abomination of an engagement? Slighting his cousin Anne,
slighting his entire family and promising himself in matrimony to some unknown
quantity of a girl."
The Colonel exhaled noisily. While he held his family in a
sort of dutiful regard, and while he respected the Earl as was his due, his
given affections lay with Darcy and he was determined to buttress him, just as
Darcy had so often done for him.
"She is not an unknown quantity to Darcy."
"But how well can he be acquainted with her,
Richard?" Lady Maria inquired softly, hoping to ease the rising tension.
"He has never spoken of her before, we have never heard of her until this
letter announcing his engagement."
"Perhaps, but he first made her acquaintance more then
a full twelvemonth ago, mother. And they have been in each other's company in
quite varied society, including at Rosings Park."
"Rosings Park! But Lady Catherine said nothing of this
in her letter."
"I cannot imagine why she would not have, unless she
was too distracted by her assault to provide such facts. But yes, of course
Rosings Park, mother. Where did you believe that I made Miss Bennet's acquaintance?
I have not been to Hertfordshire. Darcy did mention, did he not, that I have
made her acquaintance?"
"This is all irrelevant," the Earl shouted
impatiently. "The pertinent point is that Darcy is the master of one of
the country's greatest estates and my nephew. Is he truly to align himself with
a girl of no family and no fortune? It is in every way shameful."
"Father, while I concur with your description of
Darcy's condition in life, I disagree with your interpretation of how it
impacts his consequent behavior. The pertinent point is precisely that he is
his own master and can therefore marry whomever he chooses. He wants neither
position nor fortune and is therefore free to act in accordance with his
wishes. And I must be allowed to insist, sir, that there is nothing shameful in
his choice. Miss Bennet is a gentleman's daughter."
"She has an uncle in trade according to Lady
Catherine."
"Yes. And from what Darcy has told me he is an
excellent man. Intelligent, sensible and gentlemanly. Darcy thinks quite highly of the man. In any case, he
marries Miss Bennet and she is in an excellent young lady."
"And your cousin Anne is not?"
The Colonel could not disguise the look of disgust that
passed over his generally merry countenance. "Must we start with this
nonsense again?"
"I fail to see how the tacit engagement between your
cousins is nonsense," bellowed the Earl as he slammed a fist on the table.
"Darcy has no promise to honor with my cousin Anne.
They have never been engaged!" Returned the Colonel with equal force.
"I concede not formally," the Earl reluctantly
replied. "We were simply giving Darcy time to come round to it."
"Which he would have never done, even had he not made
the acquaintance of Miss Bennet. The notion of Darcy married to Anne is, sir,
simply ridiculous. And, impractical as well."
"Impractical?" the Earl inquired with a furrowed
brow. "What stupidity is this?"
Turning to his mother, the Colonel said softly, "Pray
excuse the impropriety of what I am to reply mother." Turning again to
face his father, he continued. "I doubt very much, sir, that Darcy would
have fathered an heir in such a marriage, nor do I believe that Anne could have
even produced one should he have made the attempt."
"He has a point there father," Edward joined in
with a guttural laugh. "Duty can only take a man so far."
"Gentlemen!" Lady Maria cried. "Oh, when
will one of my sons marry that I might have companionship away from these men
and their rough language!" she added in agitation, more to herself then to
the table.
"But mother," the Colonel replied sarcastically,
"has not Edward secured the hand of Lady Patience Faircloth? Or, perhaps
it would be better to ask if father has not yet secured him her hand."
"Your tone is not appreciated Richard," the Earl
bellowed. "Your cousin might well follow Edward's example."
"I believe, sir, Darcy has made the better choice. He
will not need be concerned with dullness, frivolity and empty vanity in his
wife."
"You will not speak of her in such terms," Edward
interjected in defense of his anticipated bride. "Lady Patience Faircloth
is from an old and established family. She is a fine lady."
"Oh yes, a fine lady you shall have in her Edward.
Pity that her dowry and her title should be more appealing than her person or
her character. At least my cousin will not need depend upon such cold comforts
in his marriage."
"And just what will he have that is so very valuable?
That fine gentlemanly tradesman as an uncle and friend?" Edward
disdainfully inquired.
"He shall have what you never shall with Lady
Faircloth. Happiness, dear brother. Happiness."
The Earl's jaw dropped open in disbelief. "Happiness?
Why, what a romantic notion! I never suspected my hardened army son to be so
soft in the belly. Happiness, Richard, is fleeting. Fortunes and connections
are not."
"In my brother's hands, sir, I am not so secure in the
notion of the stability of fortune."
The Earl waved his hand, dismissing the slight to his
eldest son while said son stewed petulantly. "Mark my words son, your
brother's course will prove the wiser. Darcy will find this precious happiness
purchased at a very high cost when he inevitably realizes it wanting in
durability."
"Might I suggest sir, that we withhold judgment on the
relative durability of the happiness of the Darcy marriage until we have seen
it and witnessed it over time? I would wager, knowing what I know of their
courtship and their characters, that their happiness will be anything but
fleeting."
"And I would wager Darcy will rue the day he entered
into this engagement."
"Then you shall lose your wager, sir."
| | | |
Moving on to a not ill-intentioned mother and aunt
prodding for information
The Colonel entered his mother's sitting room and dropped into
a chair gracelessly. Passing his hands through his thick, sandy hair he sighed
deeply as he recalled the interview between his father and his cousin. It had
been fascinating to hear the peculiarly calm passion with which Darcy had
defended his intended. That is, until the Earl had attempted to press issues of
duty, family and honor and Darcy's tolerance was spent.
How dare you, sir! Darcy had intoned in that distinctly Darcy tone of
controlled, cold ferocity. You speak of honor and yet you have the temerity
to question the honor of my future wife, the audacity to question whether she
is a worthy sister to Georgiana, and thereby question as well my honor, to
question my devotion and care of Georgiana, as though she has not been my first
concern these many years. I shall be quite clear, sir. I will not allow you or
any person to dishonor Miss Bennet with such outrageous suggestions. If you choose to continue in this
fashion I will know how to act. As
my mother's elder brother I will have you understand that only respect for her
memory keeps me here now to await your expiation.
And with that bold, authoritative statement the Colonel had
witnessed what he had never witnessed before: his father stunned into mortified
silence. The heated and forthright interview quickly came to a tentative, if
unsatisfactory, conclusion. The Earl, as the head of the family, gave Darcy his
reluctant blessing but would not receive the young lady until she was Mrs.
Darcy. Lady Catherine's efforts to effectively disown Darcy from the greater
family circle were consequently for naught and scandal avoided; the rift
between aunt and nephew became now a purely personal affair. Still, the Colonel
was uneasy. Throughout the interview he had sensed some incipient change in his
cousin. Darcy had always been firm and decisive, unequivocally his own master
from the time he had inherited Pemberley at two and twenty, and long recognized
within their circle as among the most honorable and proper of gentlemen. But
the Colonel had sensed a new independence, if you will, a new resolve that it
is not the conventions of society that should be stood for, but the truth of
those very principles that society espoused but did not in fact exercise which
must be stood for and acted upon. Indeed, it was from this new independence and
resolve, in conjunction with the Earl's continued, acknowledged, albeit
suppressed disapprobation that the Colonel's unease was born. The situation
remained rift with unpleasant possibilities.
"Is Darcy very angry?" Lady Maria asked after a
time, unable to contain her curiosity any longer. After the interview between
the Earl and Darcy, the younger man had, most uncharacteristically, left the
house without a proper greeting to his aunt.
"Mother, he is more disappointed then angry. I believe
his anger has been spent on Lady Catherine. Lady Catherine's language,
particularly as regards Miss Bennet, was quite insulting. Father was more
interrogating, not quite insulting. I confess I do not understand father's
position, or your position, mother."
Lady Maria rose from her chair and began to slowly pace the
length of her quiet and tasteful sitting room, her long, elegant neck stretched
like a swans as her plain but pleasing face expressed her consternation more
eloquently than could words. "And I, Richard, have difficulty
comprehending yours. I understand that you are inclined to be supportive of
your cousin as the two of you have been so closely aligned for so long now. But
precisely because you care for his interests, as well as Georgiana's, you must
realize that this is in every way a very poor match for Darcy. I know you have
long been convinced that he would never marry Anne, so I will not reflect on
that situation. I have, indeed, never comprehended the real nature of that
agreement. But the question of Anne notwithstanding, with his fortune and
connections he could have, nay, he should have selected a lady from a
respected, well-connected family. A titled young lady, as did his father before
him. With his fortune and the correct marriage he could rise even further to
become not just the first gentleman of Derbyshire, but one of the very first
gentlemen of England. Instead he has selected a lady of no fortune and no
family from some remote southern county. You must understand Richard how
peculiar and unsuitable this match is, how contrary to his interests."
Colonel Fitzwilliam rose himself now, and stopping in front
of his mother he took her hands into his own, forcing her to look him in the eyes.
"Mother, what I understand is that Darcy has found for himself a wife who
is his equal in all manners that are of import to him. Darcy, you must
understand, while he cares for rank and position, cares more for honor and for
honesty, for integrity, all of which she possess. I would even dare say, most
particularly integrity." He paused for a moment, seeing her unswayed.
"Mother, she is a gentleman's daughter, but more importantly, she is his
equal."
"How is she his equal, son?" Lady Maria pulled
her hands from her son's hold and began to pace the room again, finally seating
herself in a chair that faced the Colonel. Her voice, usually endowed with a
faint murmur of diffidence, was stern and unbending. "I am not as ignorant
of her station as you believe. I have my intimates as well, my own sources of
information. Her mother's family is in trade and the law; her father's notably
modest estate is entailed away to Lady Catherine's parson; her sister is wed to
the son of Darcy's father's steward and a more raffish young man it would be
difficult to produce. How can you
possibly conceive that she is his equal?"
"Mother!" the Colonel replied with exasperation,
"If you care for Darcy at all you must learn to see this differently. She
is to be his wife and his first loyalty will be with her. The family must learn
to accept her and to treat her with the respect that is her due or Darcy will
walk away from us all. You must see that mother."
The Colonel's admonition appeared to reach Lady Maria, and
when she spoke again her voice was again endowed with her customary hesitant,
vaguely diffident tone. "But such connections Richard. Such insignificant,
unfortunate connections."
"I will concede that taken as a whole and abstractly
her family is not particularly desirable.
I will even tell you, in the strictest confidence, as it means that I am
in some way breaking faith with Darcy, that her family is what caused him to
delay in acknowledging to himself his sentiments and wishes when he was first
in Hertfordshire. But mother, she is his equal."
"Very well, if I desist on the question of her
connections, what of her lack of fortune? What of Darcy's fortune? Are you sure
she is not a very clever fortune hunter?"
"Quite sure!" he replied emphatically.
"How can you be? How can Darcy be so sure?"
"I am not at liberty to divulge everything that I know
mother. I will however tell you that he did not win her easily. She was not, as
have been so many young ladies of his acquaintance, ready for the picking, if
you will. He had to earn both her affections and her respect or she would have
nothing of him, and some of his behavior upon first making her acquaintance did
not make that easy for him."
"But surely any girl of her situation would be eager
for the attentions of such a man as Darcy, with his fortune and
connections," she replied almost scornfully. "I find it difficult to
accept that he did not win her easily, as you claim. Many girls far better
situated, any girl, I dare say, would more than welcome the opportunity to be the
mistress of Pemberley."
"You have just made a most salient observation,
mother. Miss Bennet is not any girl and she did not, as so many have and do, look
upon Darcy as a position offered or a station to be achieved. Miss Bennet looked
at him and judged him and has now accepted him as a man. Do you at all
comprehend what that signifies for Darcy?"
As Lady Maria watched the expression of earnest
determination spread across her son's face she was hit with a sudden clarity.
"You seem to admire her very much yourself, Richard."
"I do," he replied unhesitatingly. "She is
worthy of esteem and respect and I believe unequivocally that my cousin has
chosen well for himself and for Georgiana."
"I confess I grow quite curious to become acquainted
with this remarkable creature who has charmed you both so completely. For
remarkable she must be."
"I do not wish to create false expectations, mother.
Her great charm, her worth, is not perhaps immediately obvious; it is more
subtle and more profound than that of, say, a remarkably handsome face or
figure. Although she is handsome, it is her character, her intelligence and her
liveliness that quietly and resolutely wins one to her."
"I am sure she is all these things, and yet I still
struggle to understand."
The Colonel struggled for a moment in silence, doubting how
to reach the goodness within his mother, that portion of her heart that hoped
for only happiness for those she cared for, that portion of her mind that
understood the sometimes heartrending constrictions forced upon a person's
wishes by society's peculiar and often unbending demands. "It is not
fashionable in our circle to be concerned with such things," he finally
said in a soft voice, "but mother it is really very simple. He loves her
and she him."
"Yes, well, I will grant that love is a rare
commodity."
"It is not a commodity mother. It is a gift. And my
cousin was wise enough to understand that when he found it in Miss
Bennet." The Colonel paused for a moment and looked down upon his mother's
face and noticed for the first time a wisp of loneliness, of sadness quite
distinct from their topic of conversation. He walked to her side and again took
her hands in his. "Simply promise me this mother, that when you do make
her acquaintance, you shall give her a fair opportunity. Not only for Darcy's
sake, but also for your own. You may just find in her that sensible and warm
female companionship that you have long desired and that your sons have failed
to provide you."
A sweet smile graced her lips and warmed her features.
"I promise I shall, Richard."
| | | |
In which the Colonel furthers his close alliance with
the Darcy household in defiance of the old goat
Colonel Fitzwilliam approached Darcy's townhouse with great
interest. He had last seen his cousin at the time of his wedding, when even all
the well-executed proprieties of an engaged couple could not disguise the
unfettered joy that alighted Darcy's dark eyes with a heretofore absent
brilliancy. Now he was a husband of one month and the Colonel was well nigh
bursting with curiosity at how his besotted cousin would behave with the
familiarity of comportment that is a reward of marriage. He had been so pleased
for Darcy when he had gone to Hertfordshire for the wedding and witnessed the
sweet and artless affection Miss Bennet demonstrated toward her betrothed, so
different from the antagonistic repartee he had witnessed in Kent, and yet
still as teasing and challenging. The Colonel and Miss Bennet immediately
resumed the friendly and natural discourse of their acquaintance in Kent and
found it quickly developing into a conspiratorial friendship based upon their
mutual affection and concern for Darcy. The Colonel had been particularly
amused, as perhaps only a bachelor can be, by the tender softness that emanated
from their voices and carriage when Darcy and his bride conversed in what they
believed to be unobserved intimacy.
The footman led the Colonel into the blue drawing room
where he found Mrs. Darcy by herself, the late morning sun illuminating the
room and casting caressing rays upon her shiny and thick chestnut hair.
Standing and turning to him upon his entrance the Colonel was momentarily rapt.
Mrs. Darcy looked radiant. She wore a simple, becoming morning dress, her only
pieces of jewelry her fine and impressive wedding ring and, encircling her long
and elegant neck, a delicate locket adorned with a small ruby. She is as
unpretentious as ever,
he thought as he approached her, but with a new loveliness. She verily glows
with happiness and health.
"Colonel Fitzwilliam," Elizabeth remarked
happily. "What an unexpected pleasure."
"Mrs. Darcy! I need not ask how you are, for I have
never seen you look lovelier."
"I thank you for the pretty compliment. I am quite well."
"But all alone? Do not tell me that my cousin has
abandoned his lovely wife so soon? He is not, heaven help me, at his club or
drowned in correspondence in his study while his lovely bride sits all alone?
Do tell me he is not an inattentive husband."
Elizabeth laughed merrily at the Colonel's suggestion.
"Rest assured Colonel, a wife could not ask for a more attentive or
devoted husband than Mr. Darcy. He is in fact, at this moment, only gone to
fetch me something from the library."
"Ah!" The Colonel chuckled. "The power of
love! For I have never known Darcy to fetch anything for anyone."
As Elizabeth, with a knowing smile and a soft chuckle,
gestured for the Colonel to take a seat, Darcy himself came into the room, his eyes
turned down as he toyed with an object in his hand. "Darling," he
said in a light and airy tone, devoid of all reserve or tautness. "I was
unable to locate it. Perhaps I took it to Pemberley. But this curiosity might
suffice for our purposes."
"What purposes Darcy? A talisman perhaps to ward off
unfriendly spirits this evening?" the Colonel interjected.
Darcy's head shot up and a broad and warm smile spread
across his face. He placed the object on the nearest table and approached his
cousin with hand outstretched. The Colonel noted that Darcy, like his young
wife, seemed to be radiating mirthÑa most unusual site in his oft dour cousin.
"Fitz! What a delightful surprise. To what do we owe
the pleasure?"
"Must I have a purpose?"
"Not at all, but we are to dine this evening at the
Earl's. I thought we would see you then."
"Precisely why I came old chap. I wanted to be sure
you had forewarned your lovely wife about the lion's den. We would not want her
unprepared."
"Oh he said nothing of lions," Elizabeth
interjected playfully. "He only mentioned some dragons, but promised to be
my own Saint George, so I am quite prepared."
"Indeed I have, for what it may be worth," Darcy
replied as he gazed upon his wife's lovely, smiling countenance. "She
needs no Saint George to protect her Fitz. It is all my own conceit to rather
wish to be of service. The Earl is nothing, after all, to Lady Catherine."
As the light laughter subsided the Colonel thought for a
moment that perhaps his father was correct and he did have a soft underbelly
after all, because he could not at the moment recall anything so charming as
the look of unabashed affection with which his cousin and wife were looking
upon one another.
"Well," he said dryly, "perhaps Darcy was
correct to leave out lions, Mrs. Darcy. After all, the Earl is really just an
old goat when it comes down to it."
"An old goat!" Elizabeth laughed softly. "I
hardly think, Colonel, that is quite the proper manner in which to refer to
your father."
"Of course not Mrs. Darcy, but now that you are
Darcy's wife you will have to allow me some leniency when we three are not in
greater company. I cannot be anything but slightly irreverent and grossly
inappropriate when I am in private company with Darcy and knowing you as I do I
would expect it would take much more than that to offend or shock you. There is
no person I am more intimate with than my cousin, Mrs. Darcy, so I would hope
that you and I can be equally unreserved with one another."
"By all means," she replied with a warm smile.
"To that end, you must know that my family all call me Lizzy."
"And Darcy calls me Fitz."
"Yes," Darcy replied. "Much to your mother's
consternation."
"And why to her consternation?" Elizabeth
inquired.
"She finds it lacks dignity," the Colonel bowed
dramatically, his voice playfully serious. "But then, I find that I myself
lack dignity, so it is quite appropriate."
"Fitz it shall be!" Elizabeth's eyes were bright
with goodwill.
"Very well, and Lizzy it shall be," the colonel
added as he walked over to her chair and gallantly kissed her hand. Idly
curious, he continued. "Darcy why don't you ever call her Lizzy? It suits
her so well."
"I?" Darcy stammered uncharacteristically.
"Sometimes he does," Elizabeth replied, blushing
as Darcy looked at her and smiled a small, almost secret smile.
Sensing he had inadvertently touched on some intimacy and
feeling unaccountably intrusive, the Colonel quickly changed course. "So,
about the old goat."
Elizabeth rose from her chair. "Amusing as it would be
to discuss the old goat, as you so shamelessly have named him, I am afraid,
Fitz, that I must immediately abuse of our new found rules of intimacy and beg
that you will excuse me. I have an appointment with my aunt and I am afraid that
if I do not depart now, I shall be inexcusably late."
With a few parting words to her husband and a parting,
lingering kiss on the hand bestowed by said husband, the Colonel and Darcy were
left alone.
"I need not ask you how you are enjoying the married
state Darcy. You look positively smug."
Darcy threw himself vigorously into a chair and sighed
contentedly. "I can say with all sincerity, Fitz, that this last month has
been the happiest of my life."
"I am truly pleased for you."
"She is in all ways delightful. It may be an old
clichŽ, but there simply cannot be a man happier."
"Not even your friend Bingley?"
"Not even Bingley. Mrs. Bingley is a very pretty and
very admirable lady in her own right, but she lacks Elizabeth's liveliness, her
vivacity and wit. No, not even Bingley, Fitz, with all his natural tendency to
good cheer."
"As I said, I am pleased, although after this evening
you may not be so very content."
"As long as they receive her with respect, I shall
be."
"That is all you desire?"
"Perhaps not, but my darling wife, in addition to all
her manifold charms of person, is also astonishingly sensible. She has
convinced me to give time to time. She is quite convinced that once our
relations see that she has neither embarrassed the Darcy name by letting pigs
roam the garden or some such peculiarity, nor led me into perfidy, misery or
ruin they will come round. She sees no reason to push the matter, and I quite
agree with her."
"Very sensible indeed. And quite generous."
"Not completely," he chuckled.
"What do you mean Darcy?"
"Having made the acquaintance of some of her family at
the wedding, you may comprehend her notion that the good opinion of some relations
is not much worth the bother of repining. She quickly established that for me
those good opinions that would be worth repining do not go much beyond
Georgiana and yourself, so as long as the two of you are on good terms with
her, she has determined that she shall certainly not allow our happiness to be
sullied by concerning herself overly much with the rest."
The Colonel laughed heartily. "Yes, you are correct.
Sensible and not stupidly generous, but still generous. In any case, the old
goat will come round soon enough, particularly when he finds himself sharing a
table with both your wife and my brother's intended. For whatever my father's
many mysteries of character, that he does not suffer stupidity with much grace
is not one of them. Therefore, it shall be his just deserved misery to have the
utterly dim Lady Patience Faircloth as his daughter. "
"Is Edward promised at last to Lady Faircloth?"
"Indeed. Barely a fortnight ago it was all agreed
upon, like the fine business transaction that it is. A more insipid creature I
defy you to find Darcy. More the fool Edward!" the Colonel added crossly.
"Do not be so unbending Fitz. We all have our own
expectations of marriage, and perhaps all your brother requires is a good name
and a good dowry."
"I am surprised at you Darcy. You, who know better,
would still advocate such a match?"
"I knew better only after I met Elizabeth. You know as
none other does how entirely astonished I was by what I felt for Elizabeth when
I first knew her in Hertfordshire. I quite simply had not known that I could
love a woman with such passion, such abandon. I am grateful beyond words that I
won her and that she returns my affections in full. But it does not follow that
what I, upon finding Elizabeth, desired in marriage is what others desire.
Moreover, I have seen enough of the world to observe that it is not just
conceit when I say that what Elizabeth and I share is not of the common way.
Unless Lady Faircloth gives you cause to mistrust her, accept her as your
sister gracefully and openly. She need not be your dearest friend, but for your
brother's sake be open and receptive."
"As receptive and open as Edward has been to your
wife? Come now Darcy, you must be softened by this love business after
all."
"No," he chuckled good-naturedly. "I am sure
I would suffer all fools as gracelessly as your father, I certainly have been
known to in the past. But I have learned that for those we most esteem we must
sometimes exercise equanimity."
"Yes well, I will abide by your good council, but it
does not follow that I must think her any less insipid."
"Indeed it does not." Darcy laughed.
"Well enough on this, I have no patience for the topic
of Lady Patience," he wryly remarked. "Tell me instead how does
Georgiana? I quite expected to find her here."
"She should return shortly. She is shopping for sheet
music with Mrs. Annesley. Speaking of, I assume that you are in accordance that
Mrs. Annesley's services are no longer required now that I am married."
"Naturally. When will she depart?"
"Georgiana insists that she stay on until
summer."
"Why through summer? If you return to Pemberley in a
fortnight it hardly seems necessary."
"Yes, that is what Elizabeth and I have told her, but
Georgiana insists that she wishes for Elizabeth and I to be unencumbered with
her care when we are first at Pemberley."
"Well, I suppose there is something to that."
"Elizabeth and I disagree, but in any case, it is
done. I trust you are well with the decision?"
"Darcy, I fully anticipate that now you are married my
role as Georgiana's co-guardian is no more than a formality. It never has been
much more as it is. Indeed, I would surmise that we will both shortly be
displaced in her confidences, if that has not already occurred."
"They do get on rather well I am pleased to say.
Although Georgiana has been somewhat surprised I believe at Elizabeth's teasing
manner."
"Yes, she would be. Pemberley has been far too stoic
for too long, Darcy. Your Lizzy will certainly liven the place up."
"That she will," Darcy smiled.
"Perhaps she could liven up the old goat as well. I
suppose we'll see tonight the chances of that."
"Oh, perhaps not tonight," Darcy remarked almost
dreamily, much to the Colonel's amusement. "But I can testify that she has
a way of stealing your heart away quite without warning. I do not imagine the
old goat will be as immune to her charms as he would like."
"No, I don't imagine he will be. But I say Darcy, it
shall be a delight to watch him fall."
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