Page 55 of Roses from Pemberley
“I shall make it my mission to find her a husband.”
Darcy began to choke on his glass of sherry. “Are you mad?”
“Mad? Why should you think so?”
“I simply do not think…” said Darcy, his voice trailing off.
“Yes, Darcy? What is it?”
“Miss Elizabeth is not some pawn you can manipulate and move about like a chess piece!”
“I shall not manipulate her, Darcy. I am just attempting to help her. I am a highly sought after lady, after all, and to be seen about town with me shall bolster Elizabeth’s popularity to no end! Why, she shall have more suitors than she will know what to do with.”
“Diana, this is madness. You hardly know her…”
“I know her well enough to know I like her. The thing is, Darcy, that there is an honesty to Elizabeth that I appreciate, that sets her apart from other ladies of theton.And I am certain many gentlemen will appreciate it, despite her lack of dowry.”
“And how do you know about her lack of dowry?”
“Richard told me.”
“Nevertheless, I forbid you to take her to London!”
“Forbid me! And who are you to forbid me anything, Darcy?”
Darcy blinked but could not think of a response. Thus, he simply continued to glare at her.
Eventually Diana laughed and finished off her own sherry, thinking she had teased Darcy enough. “Do not worry, Darcy, I shall not take her to London. I think she has enough marital prospects right here in Kent. Do you not think so?”
Darcy stared at her, then grudgingly smiled. “Yes, I believe you’re right.”
That night, during dinner, Darcy kept stealing glances at Elizabeth. She wore a cream-coloured dress that he had notseen before and was lovelier than ever. Somehow, her pallor, slim form and dark eyes were made more striking by her recent illness. Unfortunately, they could not converse in private as she was sitting across the table from him. However, when their eyes did meet, she always gave him a small smile which gladdened his heart tremendously. Perhaps all would be well between them.
*****
Elizabeth was pleased by the fact that Darcy did not appear angry anymore. In fact, he was perfectly polite and occasionally smiled at her. She decided that - if given the opportunity - she would speak to him of her changed opinion. Would tell him, in fact, that she no longer trusted Wickham. She smiled to herself at the appellation that Darcy had given him a few days earlier.Smarmy cad.It was actually quite apt, when she thought about it. For Wickham was rather too smooth in his speech, and perhaps too free with his compliments. She wished she had seen it before, but was relieved that she finally did.
It was during the separation of the sexes that she learned more about Darcy. And why he was always so serious. She sat in a group with Diana, her mother and Lady Matlock, while across the room, Lady Catherine, Anne, Mrs. Jenkinson, Jane and Charlotte formed their own group.
“Darcy’s mother died when he was twelve, you know,” said Lady Matlock to Mrs. Bennet after her mother had suggested that Darcy was more taciturn than most men.
“I never knew it,” murmured her mother.
“Yes, indeed. Lady Anne was a good friend of mine; we came out the same year. It was also during that year that I met Henry and she met George Darcy. He was tall, devastatingly handsome, and sought after by all the ladies. His son, Fitzwilliam, is remarkably like him.”
“Tell us more about it, Mother,” said Diana, apparently as fascinated by Lady Matlock’s recollections as Elizabeth was.
“We met frequently during events of the Season, and George would always seek out Anne who herself was quite lovely. Her daughter, my niece Georgiana, looks very much like her as they both have light hair and fine features.”
Elizabeth imagined the handsome George Darcy with the beautiful Lady Anne Fitzwilliam, dancing at a ball together - turning the heads of members of theton, but having no eyes for anyone but each other. It seemed so far away - this gathering of rich and well-connected people. So far removed from the country assemblies she was used to attending. She once thought that Darcy was her equal, as he was a gentleman and she was a gentleman’s daughter. But she could not have been more wrong.
“Does she?” asked Mrs. Bennet, surprisingly well-behaved and demure that night. Perhaps their recent conversation about respectability had changed her for the better.
“Indeed,” said Lady Matlock, taking a sip of her sherry. “In any event, Anne married George six months later and they began their life at Pemberley. We often visited them and had grand times there during the summer. House parties and the like.
“Unfortunately, after Fitzwilliam was born, Anne became rather sickly. But she loved that boy so much - him being her only child for many years. She took him with her wherever she went. Particularly, to her beloved rose garden. And, though she was much weaker than before, she often took him riding, the two roaming the hills of Pemberley together.”
“No wonder Darcy was such a good rider even when he was young,” commented Diana.
