Page 56

Elizabeth Darcy sighed happily as she looked at her husband, so handsome and serene as he read his newspaper at the breakfast table.

After being married for several months, she had come to cherish these moments together.

After their wedding trip, they had spent blissful weeks together in Pemberley.

From the first glance, Elizabeth felt she had come home.

She had known her husband’s estate must be grand, but she had not expected anything so beautiful, or so much to her own taste.

Now, with autumn drawing in, they had returned to the Darcy’s townhouse in London, to receive Elizabeth’s inheritance at last. Had she not married a rich man, Elizabeth had often thought wryly, matters might have been difficult indeed, for meeting Great-Uncle Alfie’s lawyer had taken more time than anyone could have anticipated.

Mr Hawthorne, who had written her great-uncle’s will, had abruptly passed away, leaving everything to be handled by his business partner, a Mr Simms. Poor Mr Simms suddenly had twice the work he had ever been accustomed to do, and a business that they might have expected to conclude with a single meeting days or weeks after their marriage had stretched out, with one difficulty after another, until the meeting was at last scheduled for that very day — weeks and months after it might have been expected.

But that hardly mattered. Elizabeth had the dearest wish of her heart — the love of her husband — and needed nothing else.

“What are you staring at now?” Darcy asked, giving her a wry smile over his newspaper.

“Oh, just the most distractingly handsome man in London,” she replied. She took a sip of her tea and waited for the response she knew was coming.

Darcy put his paper down without even bothering to fold it up. “Only in London?” he chuckled.

She leaned forward. He met her halfway, and they shared a slow, sweet kiss. “All right, in all the world,” she whispered. She kissed him once more.

He nodded, tweaking her nose playfully. “That’s what I thought you meant.” He winked and straightened. “What has made you so moony-eyed at such an early hour?” He, too, began eating his breakfast and sipping his tea.

Elizabeth sighed contentedly and looked out the window that faced the street. The air was already crisp and would soon grow colder still.

“I do not know. And I would not say moony-eyed, but pensive, perhaps. I suppose I am thinking of how short life is and how we must soak up every moment.” She took another sip of tea, unable to stomach more.

“Were you thinking of your great-uncle?” Darcy asked.

“Yes. And how I wish I had known him better.” Elizabeth sighed heavily. The meeting for which she had waited so long suddenly seemed to come too soon. “I wish we did not have to go to this meeting. I am so nervous.”

“There is nothing to fret about, my angel. It is only the preliminary reading of the bequest your uncle set aside for you. You need not go to any further meetings after today unless you would like to.” Darcy reached over and took her hand, running his thumb over her knuckles.

That simple touch made her feel more at ease.

And the knowledge that he would be with her every step of the way made her feel so much lighter.

Elizabeth sighed. “I suppose you are right. Thank you, my love.” She squeezed his hand, and they returned to their breakfasts. It would not do to dawdle too long. They were due at the barrister’s office in little more than an hour.

A moment later, Georgiana joined them and sat down with a brilliant smile. “Good morning!” she said and placed the linen napkin on her lap. “You are looking well this morning, as always, Elizabeth. You are positively glowing. Have you not noticed how glowing she is this morning, Fitz?”

Elizabeth and Darcy both laughed. “You are too kind, Georgiana. I do not think I am any more glowing than usual.”

Georgiana shook her head. “I disagree. A woman in love is always radiant.” She smiled at her, then turned to her brother. “Do you not agree?”

“I always agree with someone praising my delectable wife.”

Elizabeth could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. “Now, now, let us not plunge down that rabbit hole.” She held up her hands, looking between the two of them with a mock-serious stare. “What are your plans for the day, Georgiana?”

“Well, I thought of doing some shopping this morning. I still need to get Christmas presents for Fitz and yourself, and I have a few more I’d like to get for the Gardiner children. You did say they had agreed to come to Pemberley for Christmas?”

“Yes, I received their letter yesterday. They were happy to accept, and are all looking forward to it.” Elizabeth was looking forward to it as well.

The house would be filled with children, and she looked forward to the day it was not only her little cousins, but her own children toddling about the halls.

“Well, Elizabeth, we should prepare for our meeting,” Darcy said, standing. He offered Elizabeth his hand as the footman pulled out her chair for her. “We shall see you this afternoon, Georgiana. Are you taking a maid with you on your shopping trip?”

“No, Lady Alice and her mother are accompanying me to the shops.” Georgiana stood and hugged Elizabeth. “Do not fret, Elizabeth. I am sure all will be well with the inheritance.”

Elizabeth patted her back and thanked her.

Even over the last few months, Georgiana had grown attuned to her moods, as Elizabeth grown accustomed to hers.

They were true sisters, in every sense of the word except blood.

She was grateful for her friendship and sisterly affection.

“I will try,” she said, giving a weak smile.

“I do not know how well I will succeed, but I will try.”

Elizabeth and Darcy went upstairs and finished their preparations to depart, then headed down to the foyer of the townhouse to wait for the carriage to be brought round.

Elizabeth could not help but wring her hands.

She had never been in this position before, and while Darcy had vast experience with barristers and the like, she could not help but be a little nervous.

“Georgiana seems to be spending quite a lot of time with Lady Alice and Miss Dalton,” Darcy mused as they rode down the frigid streets of London toward the barrister’s offices. “It was not a connection I would have expected, but I am pleased she is making friends.”

Elizabeth smiled wryly. “I think it has everything to do with how they have welcomed her with open arms, and not a little to do with Lord Everett’s son.”

The Dalton heir, Henry, was a pleasing young man, without a spot of guile in him. Though shy, Georgiana had charmed him out of his quietness. Of late, she had been spending more and more of her time with the Dalton family.

“Do you really think so?” Darcy asked. He shrugged and blew out a breath, as if he did not know what to make of it. “Well, you would know better than I about these things. I am happily married now, and have grown oblivious, I suppose.”

“You are allowed to be oblivious. She has a sister now to help her navigate this maze called love,” Elizabeth teased. “She is too young still, but I should not be surprised if it is a match one day.”

He took her hand and rested their interlaced fingers on his thigh. “I trust your judgement,” he said softly.

They soon arrived at the barrister’s office, a rather shabby building.

Had it not been for the brass nameplate with “Hawthorne & Simms” on the door, Elizabeth might have doubted they were in the right place.

Darcy placed her hand in the crook of his arm and they walked up the stairs together.

He knocked on the door. After a pause, a bent old man answered, leading them down a narrow, dimly lit corridor toward a cramped office with peeling wallpaper and no fire in the hearth.

“Are you not cold, Mr Simms?” Elizabeth asked, feeling sorry for the man having to work in such frigid conditions.

“I can stand it if you can. One must make economies wherever one can, you know,” Mr Simms said. Once they were settled, he brought out a sealed envelope with great pomp and circumstance. She would have thought he was reading the last will and testament of a monarch rather than an eccentric old man.

“No one has ever seen the contents of this bequest. Your great-uncle was very particular about such things. My departed partner, Mr Hawthorne, was the one who witnessed and sealed the letter. Only he knew its contents. All I knew was that there was a very impressive sum to be passed along to you.” Mr Simms opened the letter with great gravity, then peered through his horn-rimmed glasses to make out the words.

“It says here that the sum of forty-thousand pounds is to be paid to Miss Elizabeth Bennet, either on the event of her marriage, or on her twenty-fifth birthday.”

Elizabeth nearly fell off the wooden chair when she heard the monumental sum. “Are you certain, Mr Simms? Did you say four thousand or forty thousand?”

Mr Simms looked again at the paper and then back up at her. “Forty thousand,” he repeated, as loudly and clearly as though he thought her hard of hearing. He looked at Mr Darcy then. “Have you the marriage certificate?”

“Yes,” Darcy said, pulling out a leather carrying pouch. “We’ve our marriage license just here,” he said and handed the document over.

Mr Simms took it and studied it for several moments. “Hmm, it seems that all is in order. Well then, all that is left is for me to finish reading the bequest, and we can start to draw out the funds. Would you like them sent over to your bank, Mr Darcy?”

“Yes, please,” he replied.“I have the information written here.”

“Very good. Now, it says here that the funds are in the form of an investment that your great uncle bought into, the —” Mr Simms halted, frowning deeply. “The Galbraith Trading Company.”