Page 62

“I’ll rub him down, sir,” the stable boy assured Darcy, grasping the lead rope and guiding his white stallion, Perseus, down the central corridor of the great horse barn.

“Very good,” Darcy replied absently, briskly brushing off the sleeves of his casual white shirt and sighing. He would definitely need a bath before he could sit down to dinner.

He strode out of the barn and into the beating sun of June. It was only two hours past noon, and the sweat ran freely under his clothing. Darcy quickened his step and opened the door into the conservatory where many delicate plants were kept safe during the cold Derbyshire winter. Right now most of the plants were outside, though the orange trees remained within at all times, tended with maternal care by the head gardener and his minions. There were also any number of potted plants displaying a profusion of flowers with the colors of the rainbow, all ready to be transplanted outside as needed. Thanks to the clever ventilation system, the conservatory was noticeably cooler than outside, and Darcy heaved a sigh of relief.

He turned a corner and stopped in surprise. Naturally, at a time when he was far from looking his best, Miss Elizabeth was inside the conservatory.

Georgiana, Miss Lucas and Miss Mary were present as well, though he hardly saw them. Elizabeth was dressed in a simple yellow muslin dress and her dark hair was piled high, with a few artfully arranged ringlets falling across her forehead. She was lovely.

If he had only known it, he struck quite a fine figure himself. Elizabeth had long thought him a handsome man, but she had never seen him dressed so casually. In addition to being tall, he was a strong man and his arm muscles showed through the simple cotton shirt. Really, he had quite an impressive physique ...

Before Elizabeth’s blushes could betray her, Georgiana Darcy spoke up.

“Brother!” the girl said merrily. “We are looking over the conservatory in preparation for the wedding breakfast for Mr. Collins and Miss Lucas. The head gardener has given us permission to set up the tables here, though I could tell he was slightly uneasy at the prospect of a rampaging horde in his precious conservatory.”

“I am most grateful, Mr. Darcy,” Miss Lucas chimed in, looking slightly uncomfortable. “I assure you that a wedding breakfast here at Pemberley is not necessary ...”

Darcy lifted a hand to stay her, “Not at all, Miss Lucas. It is our honor and pleasure. It has been too long since we have celebrated the joyful union of two friends in marriage.”

“Fitzwilliam?” Georgiana asked suddenly, her nose wrinkling slightly. “Is that smell...?”

He felt a stab of embarrassment followed by reluctant amusement, “Indeed, my dear. The bull has struck again.”

Georgie’s pealing laughter ran out, and Darcy laughed with her, mostly with joy at seeing her so happy and carefree. It was amazing how quickly his shy sister had grown comfortable with their guests from Hertfordshire.

“There is a valuable bull on the home farm,” Georgiana explained, turning to the other ladies, “He is a healthy beast but is not pleased to be confined to his pen when his services are required.”

“Indeed he is not,” Darcy continued, taking up the story. “With monotonous regularity, he breaks free of his enclosure and makes off to the nearest field containing cows. Then we have to round him up, bring him back and repair the fence. Today, he led us on a merry chase through the field before we recaptured him. Hence, my person is somewhat more odiferous than usual. Given that, I will leave you to your consideration of flowers and the wedding breakfast. Ladies.”

He bowed to all, but especially to Elizabeth, and strode away with his mind dwelling on the lady’s bright eyes and vibrant countenance.

***

“Miss Darcy is in the library, Mr. Darcy,” the butler informed him thirty minutes later, “along with the rest of our guests, sir.”

“Thank you,” Darcy replied, speeding up his pace. He had enjoyed a quick, cold bath and was now clean and properly dressed.

He opened the library door to hear Elizabeth speak with startled accents.

“She was but thirteen years of age? Surely not, Mr. Collins!”

“ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years, Let two more summers wither in their pride, Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride, " Mr. Collins quoted. “That is directly from the play, of course. Romeo’s age is not clearly designated, but Juliet is but a few weeks short of fourteen years of age in Shakespeare’s play.”

Elizabeth was seated on the couch next to Miss Lucas and Miss Mary, Mr. Bennet sat on a chair in the corner gazing on with interest, and Mr. Collins stood by the window overlooking them all. Georgiana was also present, curled up on a window seat overlooking the rose garden.

“Well, it is merely a play, of course,” Charlotte Lucas commented, “but that is really far too young to marry.”

“I agree,” Elizabeth stated decidedly as she smiled in welcome to Darcy. “I suppose it was for dramatic effect, but it seems it would have been far more sensible to place their ages at seventeen and nineteen or something of the sort.”

“I concur, Cousin Elizabeth,” Mr. Collins said. “An interesting facet of their ages is that it makes, in my view, the Friar Lawrence who married them something of a villain, though that is not Shakespeare’s intent.”

“A villain, Mr. Collins?” Mr. Bennet inquired. “A wise and beneficent man of God? The results were tragic but surely he sought a good thing in trying to end the feud between the families of Romeo and Juliet. He also desired, most nobly, to help two young lovers who were being thwarted in their love through foolish family enmity.”

“Their love, if you choose to call it that, was based on but a short acquaintance, sir,” Mr. Collins retorted. “They hardly knew one another. Furthermore, to abet the marriage of a mere child, for that is what Juliet was, in opposition to the wishes of that child’s parents is an arrogant and dangerous act. No, it is, as Cousin Elizabeth said, merely a play and thus we must not read too much into its themes of love, but the friar’s encouragement was both unwise and ungodly.”

“Do you not believe in love at first sight, Mr. Collins?” Mary Bennet asked, rather to Darcy’s surprise.

“I am hardly an expert on such a thing,” the man demurred. “I have intellectual views on the subject, but not emotional ones.”

“By all means share your intellectual views on love then, Mr. Collins,” Bennet suggested, his eyes alight with amusement.

Darcy walked over to his sister and sank down next to her, placing his long arm around her shoulders. This was a challenging subject, to be sure, and he was slightly uncertain as to whether Georgie should be present when the very plainspoken Collins held forth. However, he could guide her out the side door of the library into the study as needed.

Collins stared at the gold and red Persian rug for a long moment and then lifted his head to gaze around the room at the various individuals present.

“Love is a gift from the Lord Himself,” he proclaimed. “There are different kinds of love; brotherly love, selfless love, passionate love. But when one is considering marriage, I believe the heart and the mind must work together. To love with the heart is a great gift, but to let the heart alone lead, as Romeo and Juliet did, is to invite destruction.”

“You propose a sensible sort of love, then?” Elizabeth inquired thoughtfully.

“I believe that passion and emotion have their places, even if I do not feel those things towards Miss Lucas. I am fond of her and I hope she will find herself fond of me. Perhaps with time, our mutual respect and admiration will deepen into something more. But to let mere emotion, infatuation, to guide one is to walk a dangerous road. I will add, however, that to depend entirely on intellectual or practical considerations can lead to disaster as well. If a man and woman marry for entirely pragmatic reasons and disdain or despise one another, that is a tragedy for husband, wife and children. Our own Prince Regent married his cousin because of pressure from the King and Queen, and the results have been most regrettable; the Regent and Princess of Wales have been at odds since the beginning of their marriage. Indeed, their fractious union has led to a most unfortunate result; do you realize that but one life, that of the Regent’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, stands between a stable monarchy and a succession crisis? The princess is the only legitimate grandchild of our current king. How much better it would have been if the two had been able to determine their compatibility before they wed and thus were a loving couple with more than one child. ”

There were soft sighs of agreement and Darcy spoke up, “It is sad, but monarchs generally arrange marriages for dynastic and political reasons. It is the way of things.”

“But perhaps it should not be the way of things,” Elizabeth mused thoughtfully, her eyes fixed on a portrait of Darcy’s mother which hung on the wall.

“I agree,” Darcy replied softly, his eyes following hers. His parents’ marriage had faced its shares of struggles, particularly with Lady Anne’s health, but they had loved one another dearly.

“The most important consideration,” Collins pronounced, “is for a man and woman to determine whether they can serve God together in whatever capacity is their lot in life. You, Mr. Darcy, ought to marry an intelligent woman since you are yourself a clever man. She should also be a woman who is focused not on your position in society and your wealth, but on her desire to devote herself to her role as wife and helpmeet as you care for your vast estate. I would add that ideally the young woman would be healthy enough to bear you an heir. In my case, I have great intelligence but difficulty in relating well to people; Miss Lucas is my perfect match in that she is practical, kind and content to marry a man with my limitations.”

“And what of monetary considerations, Mr. Collins?” Bennet asked seriously. “Surely you are not suggesting that money is of no importance?”

“It is, of course. Everyone must eat and wear clothing and have a roof over one’s heads. I daresay there is little more heart wrenching than parents who find themselves unable to provide their children with the basic necessities of life. But our Lord also has plenty of warnings about being very wealthy, as riches have their own temptations. Money is important, but seeking wealth and connections over compatibility and affection is the road to sorrow, or at least so I believe.”

Elizabeth found herself looking at Darcy, who in turn was gazing at the picture which had caught her interest a few minutes ago. Based on the lady’s resemblance to Miss Darcy, the portrait was almost certainly of the Lady Anne.

Miss Darcy was looking down at the floor biting her lip, and she rose now and walked quickly out of the room, her face downcast. Elizabeth frowned at Mr. Darcy, but the gentleman did not seem to have noticed his sister’s distress. Elizabeth rose and followed Miss Darcy out of the room.

“Charlotte,” Mary murmured into her friend’s ear.

“Yes?”

“May I talk to you privately?”

Charlotte looked at her in surprise but nodded, and both ladies rose, curtsied and left the room.

Darcy was staring at his mother’s portrait. His parents had loved one another. Yes, Lady Anne had been highly born as the daughter of an earl, and George Darcy immensely wealthy, but they had married due to affection, not merely for money and connections.

He had been fighting his attraction to Elizabeth Bennet for months and what was the result? He was more in love with her every single day.

Why was he battling his own desires? Miss Bennet – Elizabeth – was beautiful, intelligent, kind and yes, healthy. She would be his perfect mate. She would be a loving sister to Georgiana and a benevolent mistress to the many people who depended on Pemberley for their well-being.

“Mr Bennet?”

“Yes, Mr. Darcy?”

“May I speak to you in my office on a private matter?”

Bennet looked surprised but rose to his feet, “Of course, Mr. Darcy.”

The two men exited, leaving Mr. Collins quite alone.

“Hmmm,” Collins murmured to himself, and wandered over to a shelf in search of a book.