“I told you to call me Aunt Augusta.”
Elizabeth pursed her lips a moment, and then, with a creditable imitation of Darcy’s earlier exasperation, said, “Yes, Aunt Augusta.”
Chapter 18
The dank smell of mold and stale air greeted Elizabeth as she entered the shuttered sitting room of the cottage. Darcy stopped in the doorway and said, “It requires cleaning, naturally, but do you think it will it suit your mother? It is not Longbourn, I know.”
“It is a great improvement over her present situation.” Elizabeth pulled the heavy curtain, releasing a small cloud of dust that made her cough. The window latch resisted her best efforts until Darcy reached around her and gave it a firm twist. With a loud creak, the latch came free, and Elizabeth pushed open the window, highly aware of the proximity of Darcy’s body to hers in the deserted room. It was so rare for them to be alone together, though tomorrow that would change forever. She leaned her face out the window, and a playful breeze made the curls beside her face dance. “There,” she said briskly. “Now we can see the room more clearly.”
Darcy smiled down at her ruefully, as if understanding her need for distraction. “And anyone who passes by can see us.”
“Indeed,” Elizabeth said, looking up into his eyes. “I believe it will suit admirably.”
His fingers fleetingly touched the back of her hand. “More than admirably.” His tone told her he was not speaking of the house. “The agent says it can be ready within the week.”
“I must thank you again for your generosity to my family.”
He took her hand in his. “Tomorrow they will be mine as well, just as my family will be yours. You have already won over Georgiana and my aunt.”
“Your Aunt Augusta was most amiable, though not precisely what I expected,” Elizabeth said with a teasing smile.
“She is not what anyone expects. Fortunately for her, she cares little for society manners and has an independent income, so she need not rely on anyone.”
“Ah, yes, the advantages of marrying an old man.” She pursed her lips in imitation of Lady Seaton.
Darcy shrugged. “She has never mentioned that before, but I am hardly surprised. I do not remember Lord Seaton; he died when I was still quite young, and we rarely saw Aunt Augusta during those years. She and my mother were not on the best of terms, but since my mother’s death, she has been a regular visitor to Pemberley. Even so, my father avoided mentioning her outside the family.”
“What had she done, to be so disregarded? It sounds as if she made a good marriage.”
“I do not know the details, because it was not spoken of in my family. It has something to do with my uncle, Lord Derby, who wished to marry her. She refused, against her father’s wishes, although my father apparently supported her decision. She was sent away to repent of her disobedient ways, but returned unrepentant and engaged to Lord Seaton.”
“And, apparently, she still carries a grudge against Lord Derby.” Elizabeth pulled aside a dusty cloth to expose a plain wooden table. Not Longbourn indeed, but it would do.
“She is hardly alone in that. He cares only for himself and for what can bring advantage to the family. I have always managed to be civil to him, but of late, even I have come to realize that he is not a man I can respect.” Darcy shook his head. “I am not in his good graces these days. It is a matter we should discuss, as it will have an influence on you as well.”
“How will it influence me?”
Darcy frowned. “Although my sister and Aunt Augusta are quite pleased to make your acquaintance, I think it more than likely that Lord Derby, as well as Lady Catherine, will refuse to recognize our marriage. I am sorry to bear such tidings.”
To his surprise, Elizabeth laughed merrily, and then her countenance took on a more sober mien. “I am sorry only to the extent to which it causes you pain, sir. I have never been under the impression that they would accept me, so it is no loss to me.”
“Many fashionable members of the ton will not risk offending my uncle by associating with us.” Darcy looked out the window as if distracted.
Elizabeth paled. “Are you attempting to tell me that you have had second thoughts about our engagement?”
“No! Not at all.” He gathered her hands in his, gripping them for emphasis. “No. I have no second thoughts, none at all. None.”
Elizabeth’s lips twitched. “I am relieved by the sentiment, and no further repetition is necessary, but if it is true, I do not understand your intent in warning me so seriously of the many disadvantages to you of this match. I am well aware of them, and I regret them more than you can imagine.”
“You do not understand. Please do not think I blame you in any way. I merely wished for you to understand that marrying me might not bring you all the advantages you have the right to expect. There is no disadvantage to me.” He paused, searching for words. “I do not wish to associate with those members of my family. I am heartily ashamed of them. My opinion of the ton is no better. I would be quite content to live my life with you at Pemberley and never attend another society ball or soiree. In fact, I prefer it so. I hope I will not be a disappointment to you in this way.”
Elizabeth smiled. “It seems to me that as your wife I will have such extraordinary sources of happiness that I will not repine. The loss of the opportunity to experience Lady Catherine’s great condescension in attempting to direct my every action may, it is true, be seen as a disadvantage, but upon the whole, I believe myself capable of determining the placement of shelves in a closet without reference to her vast compendium of knowledge.”
“Such extraordinary sources of happiness.” He did not even realize he was speaking aloud, but her words brought him such a cascade of joy that he could not help savouring them in his mouth as he gazed into her laughing eyes. How easily Elizabeth could chase his worries away!
“It is true, but I shall say no more on that subject, lest your vanity and pride grow overweening.”
He shook his head. “No fear of that. By you I have been properly humbled, and I am a better man for it.”
“I am the one who has been humbled, not you.”
“Your circumstances may be humbler, but your understanding has always been superior to mine. I have learned so much from you, my dearest, loveliest Elizabeth.” His breath caught in his throat, and he desired nothing so much in the world but to take her soft form in his arms and drink deep from her lips. He could see her eyes growing dark and soft, making his heart pound with anticipation.
She broke away from his gaze, shattering the intensity of the moment, instead looking out the window into the lane. In a voice laced with amusement, she said, “Yes, Charlie?”
Darcy silently damned the boy for interrupting and turned to give him a level look. To his surprise, it seemed to cow the usually fearless boy.
“Sorry, Mr. Darcy, but I thought Miss Bennet should know that there’s a gentleman what’s come calling on Mrs. Browning, and she were upset by it, crying, and she told him to go away, but he’s still there.”
“A gentleman?” Elizabeth jumped to her feet. “Did he give a name?”
“I saw his card. Big-something, I think it said.”
Darcy’s hands clenched. “Bingley.”
“Could be that, sir.”
Elizabeth rubbed her hands on her skirt and glanced at Darcy apologetically. “I must go to her. You were right to tell me, Charlie.” She was halfway to the door before Darcy realized her intent and strode after her.
Bingley would have received his letter the previous day, and already he was in Meryton. This did not bode well, but Darcy could understand neither why Elizabeth was so distressed by the news nor why her fascinating lips, instead of being curved with humour, were in a tight line. “Elizabeth,” he said, “What is the matter?”
“I cannot believe she has done this!” She spoke under her breath.
“What has she done?” Darcy was bewildered.
“Summoned Mr. Bingley. I know that she—?
?? Elizabeth broke off abruptly and walked even faster.
“I think it more likely that he arrived of his own volition,” Darcy said. It had been difficult enough to keep Bingley in London when he left.
“His timing is remarkable, then. Why would he come now, of all times, if she had not sent for him?”
“That is perhaps my fault. Bingley was with me when I received your letter. He was quite distressed; he has never forgotten your sister.”
“That is not news.” The taut lines of her face were a radical change from her earlier smiles.
“You are distressed.”
“To say the least.” Elizabeth slowed her pace and then said in a calmer voice, “I am sorry. It is not your fault, and I should not punish you with my ill temper.”
Darcy reviewed in his mind the letter he had sent Bingley. He did not think there was anything in it to provoke this sudden action, but had he missed something? “Perhaps it is my fault. I delivered a letter from Bingley to your sister.” He waited to see anger flash in her eyes. Was a little peace to enjoy their brief engagement too much to ask? After tomorrow he could be alone with her whenever he wished, but he wanted it to be with joy.
To his relief, instead of anger, she seemed more at peace, and she took the arm he offered, leaning on it a bit. “You did not know the circumstances. Last autumn, he met illicitly with Jane.”
“I knew he had spoken with her, but I assumed it was in public.” Good God, what had Bingley been thinking? If they had been discovered, the Bennets would have been disgraced and in the hedgerows.
“I should not have told you. Jane would not have wished it.”
He placed his hand over hers. “You may rely on my discretion. It is my dearest hope that you will be willing to confide anything in me, and this is something I need to know, if I am to protect your family.”
She gave him a tentative smile. “You are too good, sir.” They reached the Browning abode, and Elizabeth led him into the house through the garden, not the front door, and stopped just before the sitting room. Darcy stood as close behind her as he dared, letting her soothing scent of lavender drift over him. She cared for him. What more could he want in life?
Bingley’s voice sounded clearly, and when Darcy leaned forward over Elizabeth’s shoulder, he saw Bingley on his knees beside Jane. “I beg of you, come away with me. I cannot bear this.” His words made Darcy’s joy slip away.
Jane turned her face away, tears running down her cheeks. “I cannot. I cannot.”
“There is nothing to keep you here any longer. You can do nothing for that man now. You do not love him. He cannot live long.”
Jane hunted for a handkerchief, slowly dried her tears, and then looked at Bingley, with almost preternatural calm. “Even if I do not love him, I can do my best to make him comfortable. I can prepare his favourite foods. I can read to him and tell him all the news of the village. I can sit by his bedside where he can rest his eyes on me. He likes to do that. He is a real person, not merely an impediment.”
“But what can he offer you?”
“He can offer me nothing now, but when I had nothing, he helped me. He supported my family. He was good to me in my time of need. I will not abandon him in his.”
Bingley’s face was ashen. “I cannot blame you. It is my fault you were in such a situation. You had nothing because I was a fool. How could I expect you to forgive me for deserting you to this fate?”
Jane rested her hand lightly on his arm and their gazes locked. “It was not meant to be. I wish it could be different. For all of us.”
“Someday you will be free. I will wait for you, I swear it.”
“Do not say such things. I must ask you to leave.” Jane’s hand remained on his arm.
Elizabeth decided it was the time to interrupt. “Mr. Bingley, please do not distress my sister any further.”
At the sound of her voice, Jane pulled her hand away as if it had been burnt. Bingley leapt to his feet, his face flushed. “I do not wish to distress her. It is my greatest desire to make her happy.”
Jane chose that moment to burst into tears. Elizabeth put her arms around her sister, directing a glare at Bingley. Her look moved Darcy into action. He took Bingley by the elbow. “Come, man. I must have a word with you.”
“Not now, Darcy!” Bingley tried to pull away.
“Yes, now!” He half-dragged Bingley out of the room and through the shop, ignoring the looks they received from two young women passing by. He did not release him until they were well back in the alley, out of sight of the street. “How dare you? You claim to care for her, but you were willing to risk great harm to her to meet her in secret last autumn, and now you are prepared to do it again. I cannot believe it!”
“Darcy, it is not what you think!”
“How can it not be what I think? You left London in disgust at society’s lack of morals, immediately after seducing a married woman and risking her reputation, her security, and that of her family.”
Bingley winced. “It was not like that. I love her. Neither of us meant it to go so far, but neither of us could say good-bye. You do not understand what it is like, having the woman you love in front of you and knowing she will never be yours.”
Darcy knew only too well, and the thought made his stomach churn. “So now that her baby is born and her husband is too ill to object to your presence, you are here to take advantage of her vulnerability once again.”
Bingley blanched. “I had no idea about the baby or her husband’s illness until you told me in London, I swear it. I would never take advantage of Jane.”
“Then why are you here, if not to take advantage of her?”
Bingley opened his mouth, then closed it again and shrugged helplessly. “I have no explanation. I could not bear not knowing. I wished only to see her, to talk to her. On my honour, that is all.”
“And to ask her to go away with you.”
“I did not intend that, by all I hold holy! I could not stop myself. You have seen her circumstances, her misery, her fatigue. How could I leave her here?”
How could Darcy criticize him, when he had faced the same dilemma not so long before? He was the fortunate one; he could marry the woman he loved. He shifted restlessly from one foot to the other, wishing he were not in the close confines of the alley and could pace to his heart’s content. “You must leave here, Bingley. I will take responsibility for Jane’s circumstances. I have already taken steps to increase her comfort and that of her family. Your presence can do nothing but endanger her. I hope no one here has recognized you.”
“I—” Bingley cleared his throat. “Mrs. Long greeted me when I arrived.” He turned a beseeching look on Darcy, as if asking for forgiveness.
Darcy swore under his breath. “So it will be all over Meryton by tomorrow.” Tomorrow, when he wanted to think of nothing but his wedding. Perhaps that was the solution. “We will have to minimize the damage. We can tell people you are here to stand up with me tomorrow. You will have to spend the night here.”
“Will Jane be at the wedding?”
“Naturally, but I expect you to keep your distance. You owe her that much.”
“I would do anything for her.”
“Then do not jeopardize her reputation any further!”
Bingley nodded slowly. “You have my word.”
Chapter 19
Elizabeth was glad to escape upstairs to make her final preparations. Jane helped her change into a stylish dress borrowed from Charlotte. The hem dragged on the floor a bit, since Charlotte was the taller of the two, but otherwise Elizabeth could make no complaint. She was glad she would not have to walk up the aisle to Mr. Darcy in a dress that showed the wear of two seasons.
Mary laid out the curling irons in the hearth and then began to brush out Elizabeth’s curly tresses. It had been a long time since anyone had done Elizabeth’s hair for her, and it was an odd sensation, taking her back to her days at Longbourn, where there was always a sister or the maid to help. The b
rush became caught in a tangle, and Mary tugged to free it. Elizabeth gritted her teeth against the sharp pain but said nothing.
Mary must have sensed her reaction, though, since she said, “I’m so sorry, miss. I have never worked on such curly hair before. It’s beautiful.” She began carefully teasing the snarled hair apart.
“It can be troublesome,” Elizabeth agreed. “Miss Darcy’s hair must be easier to manage.”
“Easy to comb, but hard to get it to hold a curl. Her lady’s maid is the only one who can do it satisfactorily. I’ve watched a few times.”
“Have you worked for the Darcys long?”
“Not me. Just a few months is all.” Mary separated Elizabeth’s hair into four strands and began to weave them together in a complicated pattern.
“I hear that Miss Darcy is very fond of you.”
“Aye, she’s a sweet lady, without a doubt. She likes having someone near her own age around, and I make her laugh. She didn’t laugh much when I first met her. Too much time with old people, I figure.”
“Old like Mr. Darcy?”
Mary laughed. “Oh, he’s not so old as all that. Quiet, that’s all. He’s a good man, but I suppose you know that. I owe my position to him.”
How could she possibly feel jealous of a servant girl an hour before her own wedding? But it seemed odd that someone other than the housekeeper would be choosing maids, and Mr. Darcy had a mysterious interest in Mary. “Mr. Darcy hired you?”
“Aye, I met him in Kent when he was visiting his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. I was supposed to go in service to Lord Derby, but Mr. Darcy decided to take me instead. Very lucky I was, I’d say. Lord Derby, he’s a bad-tempered one.” Mary frowned at her handiwork and redid one section of hair.
More mysterious all the time! Elizabeth wondered if Mr. Darcy would explain Mary’s provenance to her if she asked directly. “Is he why you had to leave London?” Elizabeth tilted her head to one side to allow Mary to comb the tendrils of hair that drifted across her cheek.