Page 9

“For shame, Henry; Georgiana looks up to Richard as her guardian, like a favorite uncle. I love him dearly, but our Richie is more than ten years her senior and centuries older in experience!”

Eleanor’s husband moved to lean against the window casement, staring out into the night. His fisted hands showed his distress. “Ellie, you must understand. Our government is in a very precarious state, what with the King’s… illness, and Perceval’s assassination.”

“But Henry, that was six years ago! Lord Liverpool seems to be doing a reasonable job as prime minister… and not without challenges, within England and abroad, I should say.”

The Earl sighed heavily. “It’s just that he’s so young, Ellie.

And I suppose I still think of him as young Robert Jenkinson—barely twenty when he was elected to sit in the Commons from Rye.

But by God, I shall never forget those speeches he made against the abolition of the slave trade—just the memory gives me chills.

Even if his father did raise him to think so, Jenkinson believed it; you could see it in his eyes.

He has done well so far, but I fear what he might try if his power continues to grow…

and with the King practically locked away in his madness and the Prince Regent carrying on as he does with his gambling and women…

I sometimes wonder if King George doesn’t have the better situation; Queen Charlotte must be disgusted by her son’s dissipated lifestyle…

and he treats her with such disrespect that it make my blood boil. ”

Lord Henry moved back to his chair, exhausted by his choler. Eleanor had known that her husband worried over the direction of the government, but she hadn’t realized that his anxieties were so extensive.

Eventually, he spoke again, in a quieter tone.

“I returned William Lamb to his seat in the House of Commons for Peterborough because he truly is a brilliant mediator and we need him in these trying times… but by God, I do not know how much more of the scandal I can take! It seems as if every time I open a newspaper there is some bit about his wife and Lord Byron. Sometimes I wish that he would just divorce Lady Caroline and be done wi th it. Certainly there can be no question regarding her adultery.”

The Countess was generally willing to provide a sympathetic ear for her husband, but it was late, she still couldn’t piece together how his worries related to Darcy’s betrothal, and she wished the matter settled before having to deal with Lady Catherine on the morrow.

“Henry, I see that all of this is causing you a great deal of anxiety but I still don’t understand what it has to do with Darcy’s engagement?

” Eleanor was pleased that her voice did not reveal quite how exasperated she was with her husband’s rambling.

Henry Fitzwilliam pounded his fist against the chair’s arm. “I don’t have time to clean up after him right now! If he had just come to me and said he was ready to marry but did not want Anne, I could have arranged something…”

“Arranged something?”

The Earl leapt to his feet again and began pacing.

“Yes! When my sister died, I swore to look after her children as my own. Obviously I’ve failed in that vow.

I can only pray that it won’t take too much to pay off these Bennets to keep quiet and not accuse Darcy of jilting the chit publicly when he comes to his senses.

Dear Lord, I can’t even imagine the scandal if they decide to sue… ”

As Lord Henry’s mind ran along a familiar track of planning out his nephew’s life, he did not notice his wife’s furious look until that lady stepped up and slapped his face.

“Eleanor!” he exclaimed, more surprised than angry, touching his cheek where a red mark was already growing.

“Henry Fitzwilliam, you are acting the fool! Or worse than a fool, you are acting like Catherine! I was Anne’s friend since we were in school together and you will listen to me, as you appear not to have known your own sister!

Anne would want her son to be happy in his marriage…

to wed a woman who cares for him , not for his wealth and connections!

Look what good such a marriage has done for our own son, or your sisters, for that matter! ”

The Earl was shocked by his wife’s fury and only managed to stutter, “But… but he could do so much better… a title…”

Lady Eleanor looked at her husband as if he was a schoolboy who had failed his lesson. “Our nephew is Fitzwilliam Darcy, Master of Pemberley and head of the ancient and honorable Darcy family. That is quite as good as a title, and better than many!”

Lord Henry stood motionless for a minute before collapsing back down into his chair. “But…”

“No more buts! Are you so busy as to have confused the power you have in that gentlemen’s club they call Parliament for consequence in the real world?

Do you not remember how honored your father was when George Darcy applied to him for his daughter’s hand?

Everyone thought his father was arranging for him to marry the Duke of Northrop’s daughter! ”

Eleanor sighed and, trying to let go of her irritation, moved to stand beside her husband, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Henry, Darcy has no interest in Society, an attitude which was certainly made more feasible by the fact that he was endowed with greater consequence upon his birth than many of the most ambitious peers. And, though I know little of our nephew’s business, I cannot imagine that he is so profligate with his spending or irresponsible with his investments that his estate is in need of an infusion of funds in the form of a wife’s dowry. ”

The Earl hunched his shoulders and rubbed his face. “Unlike Edward,” he muttered, sounding exhausted.

Still trying to understand what was upsetting her husband so, Eleanor sat on the chair beside him. “Henry, what is this really about?”

Unable to look her in the eye, Lord Matlock studied the rug at his feet for some minutes before he responded in a strained, gruff voice.

“I am so tired, Ellie. As our family is so eager to remind me, I turn sixty in a few days’ time.

After Father died, it all seemed like a grand game…

to manage the estates and take my seat in the Lords…

I truly felt that I could make a difference in the governance of this nation.

Now… well, parliament and even the monarchy feel like a house of cards, as if the slightest breath will cause it all to come tumbling down.

And worse, I can’t find any signs to be optimistic for the future.

We’ve lost the American colonies—there’s no going back there.

Despite all our efforts, the Regency is firmly in place and when King George finally does pass on, God only knows what travesties of legislation the Prince of Wales will press upon us, let alone the treasury.

And I just don’t have the energy to fight it all, although I know very well how much there is to be done. ”

Her husband sounded so defeated that Eleanor took his hand in her own. He looked up with a tired smile when she squeezed it affectionately. “Can you not give some of it up?”

He sighed. “You know I can’t trust Edward with Matlock; the estate would be mortgaged within five years, possibly less.”

“Your work in parliament, then?”

The Earl grimaced sourly. “Edward would probably have them voting to lift the ban on slavery, or some other equally unscrupulous affair. It grieves me to say it, but our eldest son is not a moral man. Much like the Prince Regent, I fear.”

Husband and wife sat quietly for some minutes until Henry finally admitted, “I had hoped that, if Darcy married Anne, the de Bourghs would help me arrange a title for him so that he would have a seat in the Lords and could support or perhaps even replace me in organizing certain legislations. ”

“Ah!” said the Countess softly, finally understanding her husband’s thinking. “But Henry, has Fitzwilliam ever shown any interest in being politically active? If he was interested, don’t you think he would have put himself up for election to the Commons?”

Henry grunted and his wife smiled gently. “My dear husband, you need to talk with our nephew about what he wants in his life. He is a grown man, not some boy in leading strings. How would you have liked it if your mother’s brother had decided to order your life when you were eight and twenty?”

The Earl’s face showed his genuine dismay—his own uncle’s interests had leaned primarily toward horse racing and fashion.

Lady Eleanor laughed outright. “Henry, talk with Darcy… and then listen to him. I believe you’ll find that his priorities in life are rather different from your own.”

“But he has grown into an intelligent, honorable man. Surely he will want to be involved in our nation’s governance during these unstable times?”

Eleanor held his hand and stared at her husband until he met her eyes.

“Henry, Fitzwilliam is everything you say, but you must remember the life he has led. Orphaned at twenty-one with only Georgiana, and we both know that even before that, George Darcy was never the same after the Anne’s death.

Our nephew has been alone in that big, empty house for much of his life.

I suspect that his desires are much closer to hearth and home…

an affectionate wife and lots of children to fill Pemberley with laughter and love again. ”

The Earl remained quiet but his wife could tell that he was considering her words. “Talk with him, Henry,” she urged. “But do it tomorrow, after a good night’s rest.”

After many minutes of silence, Matlock finally stood, no longer angry but not particularly happy, either. “Well. We can speak to Darcy tomorrow about when this Miss Bennet shall be in town. I suppose I would like to meet a lady with the courage to turn down the Master of Pemberley.”

Eleanor stood and favored him with a kiss. “Thank you, dear.”