Page 76

The morning after dining with the Somersets, Mrs. Darcy made her way briskly to the library, conscious that her sisters were waiting for her by the front door.

“Ah, here are my gentlemen, just where I expected to find you…” The amused look she wore suddenly crumpled into disgust. “Papa, what in heaven’s name are you smoking?!?”

Mr. Bennet removed his pipe and made a great show of examining the bowl. “It would appear to be tobacco, Lizzy, although I suppose it’s possible that the shopkeeper slipped some other herb into the mix.”

Lizzy covered her nose with a hand. “Well, it smells like an old chamber pot. Please do put it out, Papa.” She moved quickly to open a window in the hope that it might dispel some of the odor.

Mr. Bennet’s eyes twinkled but he snuffed out his pipe obediently. Before he might tease her, however, a footman appeared at the door. “Mrs. Darcy? The carriage is at the door, ma’am.”

“Thank you, Rodgers. I shall be there just now.” Elizabeth was accompanying Catherine and Georgiana to the exhibition so that her sisters might have time to sit and sketch at the masters’ feet.

Despite his good intentions in bringing Kitty to Town, neither of his daughters could imagine their father’s patience lasting more than an hour, no matter how fine the artwork on display, and Mr. Bennet saw no reason to exert himself when the situation was settled so easily to his own comfort.

Darcy had set aside the newspaper he had been reading and rose to meet his wife. “Did you hear back from the Somersets?”

“Yes, indeed,” she replied. “We are to meet Ava and Violet at the museum… and you and Papa may expect His Grace and Lord Jonah to call here later this morning. I’ve invited them all to stay for a late luncheon afterwards. ”

Elizabeth gave her husband a pointed look, having a fairly good idea as to why the younger gentleman was visiting Derwent House at a time that he knew Miss Darcy would not be at home.

Fitzwilliam’s grimace indicated acceptance but no expectation of pleasure from the interview.

Seeing that he meant to escort her to the coach, Lizzy turned back to her father.

“Farewell, Papa!” She stepped closer as if to kiss Mr. Bennet’s forehead but was too overcome by the stench. “And no more of that filth you call tobacco. If you must have it, go into the garden—the fresh air would do you good!”

The admonition appeared to have absolutely no effect, for not long after his daughter’s departure, Mr. Bennet was observed by a footman to have returned to his previous occupation, puffing away without a care for the mistress’ sensibilities.

He did not, however, return to his book, preferring to stare into the fire and chuckle to himself.

When Mr. Darcy returned to the library some minutes later, he was surprised to find himself the focal point of his father-in-law’s amusement, particularly as it had been a study of his life to avoid exposing himself to ridicule. “Mr. Bennet?”

Longbourn’s master had a twinkle in his eye. “Do you have anything you wish to tell me, young man?”

When Darcy continued to stare at him blankly, the older gentleman chuckled again and added, “I fear that you are in for it, lad. Elizabeth’s mother was just the same.”

As he was indeed concerned about his wife’s recent behavior, Darcy was not quite as diplomatic as usual.

“Elizabeth is nothing like her mother, sir. I fear she is suffering some sort of malady—she has been ill in the mornings and lost weight, as well. She has resisted seeing a doctor, but if these symptoms continue much longer, I shall have to insist.”

“Calling in a doctor would not be amiss, though Lizzy has always been a healthy girl.” Mr. Bennet’s cavalier attitude and general amusement over the situation prompted a reproachful glance from his host.

Thomas relented; “Perhaps I ought to be more precise and say that Mrs. Bennet behaved this way on five occasions over the years, though it has been some time, now, since the last.”

Mr. Darcy continued to look lost, which his father-in-law took as a reasonable excuse to continue; “She could not abide the smell of tobacco, mutton, or fish of any type. I even had to change my soap—Fanny claimed it was so sweet-smelling as to curdle her stomach from across the room.”

After several moments of contemplation, Fitzwilliam finally began to catch on. “You mean when… she was… with child?” His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper and his expression appeared closer to terror than joy.

“Indeed,” responded Mr. Bennet. Observing his host’s countenance, he took pity on the younger man and explained, “For three or four months early in her confinement, she would be very sensitive to smells and tastes. I understand that most women struggle with nausea, particularly in the morning. As far as I know, Fanny rarely purged her stomach, if ever; she was merely more energetic than usual and there were any number of smells and tastes that she found highly offensive. None of which had ever bothered her before… or since, come to think on it.”

While the older gentleman amused himself with his recollections, Darcy blocked out the unnerving image of a more energetic Mrs. Bennet.

Fitzwilliam remained absolutely still and silent for some minutes; those who did not know the Master of Pemberley well might have mistaken his mood as remarkably calm.

However, stillness is not always indicative of relaxation, and silence may belie tumultuous thoughts.

His mind full of midwives and accoucheurs, travel plans and nursery furnishings, Mr. Darcy barely remembered to nod to his father-in-law before fleeing the library, already making lists in his mind.

Left alone, Mr. Bennet chuckled a little before refilling his pipe and reaching for a particular volume he had had his eye on. Rather than begin reading, however, he amused himself by speculating on Mr. Darcy’s reaction should Lizzy begin acting like her mother.

To Bennet’s surprise, these imaginings brought him little pleasure.

His impatience with Fanny’s tribulations had found their outlet in sarcasm, but Thomas discovered that he did not like the idea of Elizabeth being derided in a similar fashion.

She was his favorite child and he could not abide the thought of her being treated with such disrespect…

and, he had to admit, because he had also come to esteem his son-in-law, and such behavior would greatly lessen his opinion of Mr. Darcy.

Thomas Bennet was not a stupid man and the hypocrisy of his thoughts did not escape him. His amusement drained away and left him in grave contemplation of his wife and their marriage.

Meanwhile, Darcy’s mood was very far from contemplative. He had departed the library with no clear intention beyond the absolute certainty that something needed be done, and immediately. Had Elizabeth been at home, he would have whisked her away to their rooms to be scrutinized and cosseted.

Before Fitzwilliam could call for a carriage to take him to the exhibition hall and bring Lizzy himself, however, he was faced with the Duke of Grafton and His Grace’s youngest son being admitted to Derwent House.

In later years, Mr. Darcy would endure a great deal of ribbing that he approved Lord Jonah’s request to court Miss Georgiana Darcy with so little interrogation… indeed, far less than either of Darcy’s own daughters’ suitors would claim to have suffered.

For better or worse, Sir Richard Fitzwilliam appeared at the door not long after the Somersets’ arrival and, upon admission to the library, did his best to terrorize his young cousin’s suitor, much to the amusement of Mr. Bennet and His Grace.

With only a little prompting from his cousin, Darcy accepted that it was his duty to lead his guests in a toast to the young couple.

Some combination of the unprecedented situations he found himself faced with, the companionship of several gentlemen more experienced in the ways of pregnant wives, and the unaccustomed liquor so early in the day, somehow led Pemberley’s Master to be much more open with his concerns than usual.

As a result, Mrs. Darcy returned home with her sisters and friends some hours later to discover that, not only was there a physician whom she had never heard of before in her life waiting to examine her, but the entire household appeared to have been alerted to her possible condition before she herself even suspected it.

Not a little flustered, Elizabeth insisted that the doctor’s examination could wait until after the luncheon she had arranged for the Darcys and their guests.

This was perhaps not the wisest decision, for the gentlemen were slightly in their cups by that point and it was not long before the entire company was aware of Mr. Bennet’s speculations.

Georgiana and Lord Jonah were happy to cede the limelight and received quite an education on those various symptoms that a husband might observe during various stages of his wife’s confinement.

As a result of this memorable meal, the physician’s confirmation of Elizabeth’s pregnancy was rather anticlimactic.

Mr. Darcy had already begun preparations for them to depart within the week and Lizzy could not regret leaving London behind.

For a moment, she wondered if she could delay the news from spreading around Derbyshire for a time, but upon further consideration, decided it was better not to hope.

Georgiana’s disinclination to leave London (or more particularly, her beau) very nearly caused an argument between the Darcy siblings, until Elizabeth suggested very sensibly that Miss Darcy might remain at Derwent House, chaperoned by the Fitzwilliams and Mrs. Annesley, for a few weeks longer.

Charlotte and Richard were happy to accept the invitation as the townhouse he had purchased still required some renovations before it would be habitable.