Page 15

A NEW FAMILY

T he wedding breakfast lasted for a further hour. The display that Georgiana had made meant that neither Darcy nor Elizabeth were desirous of prolonging their time with the family. So once the meal had been eaten, they made their excuses. Sarah had been efficient and Elizabeth’s trunk was ready and placed on Darcy’s carriage by the time their farewells had been finished.

“Come back soon,” Mrs Bennet begged, pulling Darcy down to kiss him on the cheek.

Darcy gave his cousin a cheeky grin. “I think Fitzwilliam will be very unhappy if we kept him away for too long.”

Fitzwilliam swallowed. “I would indeed.” He turned. “I would have liked to do this better, Kitty. I know your father has denied us a formal betrothal, but my wishes to marry you are unchanged.” He glared at Mr Bennet daring him to continue to deny what Fitzwilliam was about to ask. “Would you consider yourself to be in a formal courtship, which is guaranteed to end in marriage as soon as your father will agree to the engagement?”

Catherine blushed. “I will.”

Mr Bennet glared at Fitzwilliam. “I will not countenance any behaviour such as that which has led to Lizzy’s marriage today. You have both behaved in a despicable manner, allowing our society to believe that you were the same man. You have conspired to recklessly put the reputations of my daughters at risk. I want to see more open and honest behaviour from you both. Fitz is my son-in-law, but unless I see more honest behaviour in you both, I cannot say that I will be happy to see you and Kitty become any closer.”

“We are sorry, sir. It was never our intention to put the girls’ reputations in jeopardy. Courting at the same time was a new experience for us and we became careless,” Darcy answered. “I am distraught at the thought that I have been the instrument in hurting not only Elizabeth, but Kitty as well. “

Georgiana snorted.

“Georgiana!” Elizabeth snapped.

Georgiana glared at her. “None of you are my parents. I do not understand why I have to answer to any of you. You have encouraged my brother’s misconduct. I fully believe that you are a fortune hunter who has taken my brother in.”

The whole family sucked in their breath.

Darcy watched his wife cross her arms in front of her. “Georgiana, you will apologise to Elizabeth right now! I may not be papa, but Fitzwilliam and I stand in papa’s place. By our marriage, Elizabeth stands in mama’s place. You will give her the same respect that you do Fitzwilliam and me!”

Georgiana rolled her eyes. “Neither of you cares about me! So why should I respect any of you?”

“You should respect them because they care about you and are trying to do their best for you!” Mrs Bennet exclaimed. “Lord knows I have failed my girls! I would be ashamed as a mother to think that my girls would not respect each other or relatives who stood in our stead, should anything happen to Mr Bennet and myself. I have watched you for the past month while you have been in this area. I am concerned about your fate. I can see that it was your brother who looked after you as well as he could and kept you from a terrible fate. I have been disappointed in Elizabeth’s behaviour with Darcy, it is true. However, her behaviour was nowhere close to yours. Your brother is being kinder to you than you deserve. You deserve to be disowned by every single member of your family.”

“Mama!” Elizabeth exclaimed.

“Lizzy, you have done well, take care,” Mrs Bennet quickly answered. “I look forward to seeing you soon.”

Darcy bowed to his mother and father-in-law and the small family boarded their carriage, with the Bingleys following behind in their carriage.

Georgiana’s behaviour, however, did not improve. Once in the carriage, she took delight in teasing her brother and Elizabeth about it being their wedding night. No matter what anyone said to her, Georgiana continued to tease them. By the time the carriage completed the short three-mile journey to Netherfield, everyone was glad to escape the narrow confines of the carriage. Stepping into the vestibule of Netherfield, Miss Bingley tersely congratulated the couple and then excused herself to rest in her room. The Hursts were heartier in their congratulations, but Fitzwilliam and the Darcys excused themselves to pack and get on the road as soon as possible. Elizabeth joined her husband as he strode upstairs to his room.

As the door closed behind them, Darcy was met by his valet – who was laying out Darcy’s night clothes and preparing for his nightly routine.

“No need for that, Green!” Darcy grouchily ordered. “Please pack my belongings, we are to leave for Rosings tonight.”

“Sir?” Green asked confused. “Is everything in order?”

Darcy shook his head. “I am afraid not! I married this afternoon, but as you know we are all worried about my sister. It is her behaviour that concerns us. Thus we are to leave for Rosings, in the hope that my aunt can bring Georgiana under control – before she destroys herself and the family.”

The valet bowed and began to swiftly pack his master’s belongings. “I am sorry she has turned out like that, sir. Your father would be disappointed.”

Darcy took a deep breath. “Yes, my father would be disappointed. I fear he would be disappointed in both of us.”

The valet’s face held an enigmatic smile. “Sir, I am sure your father would love your wife. He would be proud of you for marrying her, despite the situation as it stands.”

Darcy shook his head. “Fitzwilliam and I have courted scandal. I think my father would be disappointed in me for that.”

The valet shook his head. It was not his place to argue with the young master — and the valet knew his place. He discreetly went about the job that Darcy had requested of him.

Darcy pulled Elizabeth into his arms and nuzzled at her neck. “I am sorry, Elizabeth. We should not be in such a hurry to be on the road. You should have the time to get used to being my wife.”

“You and I both know that Georgiana’s behaviour needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later. We will have the rest of our lives together,” she assured him.

Darcy chuckled, his warm breath caressing her skin. Glancing over at Green and seeing that his efficiency was such that he had almost finished the packing. “We could delay leaving for a little while,” he suggested, caressing her body and eliciting a moan of delight from Elizabeth. “I would like to continue what we were doing when your mother interrupted us this morning.”

Elizabeth giggled and blushed. “As pleasurable as that would be, I believe that we need to get on the road. Once we have your sister safely at Rosings, we can decide where to go from there. I do not know about you, but I would enjoy our first proper night together more when I am less worried about your sister. I do not trust her not to attempt to run away right now.”

Darcy stiffened up. “Oh God! Do not say that, Elizabeth! Her behaviour has scared me enough already. If she did that, I do not know how we would even be able to find her. Do you truly think that is a possibility?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “I am not sure. All of us have threatened our parents to do so at one time or another, but we were not serious. All we wanted was to get our own way. Georgiana’s behaviour scares me that she might well do so, without the threat beforehand. That was why I told Fitzwilliam to keep her at the wedding breakfast. There is just something in her behaviour that makes me uneasy. I want her in our sight at all times until we get to Rosings. I am sorry for postponing our wedding night.”

“You are a wonder, Elizabeth. That you have taken my sister in hand like you have is amazing to me,” Darcy assured her.

Elizabeth turned in his arms and reached up to caress his cheek. ”She is important to you, how could I not take her in hand? I could not say I love you and leave your sister to destroy herself. I believe that she can come right, but only if we get the right help.”

Darcy leant down and kissed her. “Very well, Elizabeth. I do not like it, but I agree how important it is to get Georgiana to Rosings.” He stepped back and led Elizabeth to the bed where they sat down side by side. “Before we leave, I need to warn you about my aunt.” He took a deep breath. “Everyone in the family is wary of Lady Catherine. She is a woman of firm opinions who hates to be disappointed. I have already told you about the supposed engagement between her daughter and myself. I cannot be sure, but she will likely take a dislike to you merely because you are not Anne. Whether she will agree to host you at Rosings, I do not know. Even if she does, I do not know how she will treat you. I am sorry. The rest of the family avoids her as much as they possibly can.” He ruefully looked at the ground. “I have to confess that when we were small boys, my cousins, myself, and Wickham were all scared of her and I remember more than once when we all tried everything we could to avoid being in her company.”

Elizabeth placed her hand on his arm. “We married quickly and that on its own would be enough for her to dislike me. Then our behaviour before our wedding and how it came about would be further cause. We are not completely innocent,” she reminded him. “However, whatever her reaction is, we will be together. The most important thing is that she agrees to help Georgiana. Let her do her worst as far as I am concerned. I am your wife and that is all that matters. She can only break us apart if we allow her to.”

Darcy shook his head and looked around. While they had been having a heart-to-heart, the servants had removed his belongings from the room. “It appears that we are ready to leave.” He took a deep breath and stood up. Holding his hand out to his wife, he helped her to stand, and the couple left the room together.

* * *

F itzwilliam stood in the doorway of Georgiana’s room. Her maid was efficiently thwarting the obstreperous girl’s attempts to delay them leaving. Crossing his arms, Fitzwilliam glared at his cousin. “Hurry up, Georgiana! My batman and Darcy’s valet will have finished by now.”

Georgiana smirked at her cousin. “I told you I will not go to Rosings.”

“You will do as you are told, Georgiana!” Elizabeth snapped, making Fitzwilliam jump. “We are all leaving this evening, no arguments — even if you must leave all your belongings behind.”

“You have no authority over me at all,” Georgiana laughed. “My brother and Fitzwilliam will never force me to leave my belongings behind.”

“Get your pelisse and bonnet,” Fitzwilliam decided. “It is time to go.”

“But... but... I do not have my travelling clothes on,” Georgiana argued.

“Have you noticed that I still have my sister’s wedding dress on?” Elizabeth asked. “Fitz still has on my father’s shirt and breeches. I doubt that Christopher has changed into travelling clothes either. With none of us having changed, do you think that you will be given extra time to change? Get your outerwear on. It will not hurt for you to travel in what you are wearing. Your dress and boots are more hard-wearing than my dress and light slippers. If I can travel as I am, so can you!”

Georgiana grumbled, but seeing her brother and cousin were agreeing with Elizabeth she sullenly gathered her pelisse and bonnet, brushing angrily past Fitzwilliam in a blatant attempt to knock him off his feet.

Fitzwilliam grabbed her arm, causing her to yelp in pain. “You have disrespected us for the last time. It is because of you that we are in this situation. Try and knock me off my feet again and Fitz and I will resurrect the switch! I am going to tell Lady Catherine that she should use the switch.”

Georgiana’s eyes went wide. “I have seen Anne’s back. Please do not allow her to take the switch to mine.”

Fitzwilliam looked at her dispassionately. “You think that the thin light wounds on Anne’s back are bad?” He removed his jacket and cravat, carelessly tossing them over to Darcy. He then removed his shirt and turned his back to Georgiana. The thick scabs that covered his back in long lines, that were not straight made the ladies gasp. His back was a mess of scars and wounds in different states of healing. Fitzwilliam Put his shirt back on and roughly tied his cravat. He turned back to Georgiana, as he shrugged into his jacket. “Talk to me about the state of Anne’s back when hers looks like that. Those most recent wounds were my punishment for fighting with Wickham last month!”

Georgiana looked mutinous, but it was clear the state of Fitzwilliam’s back had scared her. “I. I.” She stammered, before stomping away towards the stairs, followed by the rest of the party.

“I will have Miss Darcy’s packing finished in five minutes,” the lady’s maid informed them.

Fitzwilliam thanked her and then knocked on Mrs Annesley’s door. Opening the door no more than a crack, Fitzwilliam asked her if she was ready to go.

“I am ready, sir,” she said quietly.

“Meet us downstairs in ten minutes, please. Georgiana has already gone down with her brother and her new sister,” Fitzwilliam informed Mrs Annesley.

“Very well, sir,” Mrs Annesley answered.

Fitzwilliam closed the door and took a deep breath. The wounds had scabbed over, but every movement was painful as his shirt tugged at the scabs – threatening to reopen the wounds. Much had happened and Fitzwilliam found himself in an awkward situation. One that he still did not have the opportunity to explain to Catherine and one he needed to explain soon. Twelve years of good conduct in the army could be all for nothing. He had barely avoided being dishonourably discharged because of the situation with his cousins. However, one of the conditions that he remain on half pay was that he marry Catherine within the month. The Forsters had besmirched his reputation thoroughly and the rumours that flew around the village about Darcy, Elizabeth, and Catherine were given credence by the Forsters. His superiors had decided that they would not pursue things further on condition that Fitzwilliam marry. He looked around him as he slowly descended the stairs. The weight of guilt for his past sat heavily on his shoulders and once Georgiana was safely with their aunt, he would have to face his own guilt and misdeeds. He also had a secret that he would have to divulge to Catherine before they married, one that could destroy her trust in him.

Fitzwilliam took a deep breath he would not think about that right then. The family was waiting for him. And as they stood in the vestibule quietly taking their leave of their hosts, Fitzwilliam’s guilt increased. He was in love with Catherine, that much was certain. So was the fact that he wanted to marry her. It was a mess that he had created. He and Darcy. However, it was mainly him and it was time that he faced his problems and straightened them out as a man.

“Are we ready?” He asked as they stood milling around.

“We are waiting for the carriage to be readied,” Darcy answered. “They are adjusting the trunks on the roof.”

Fitzwilliam nodded. “Bingley, can I apologise for our behaviour while we have been here?”

Bingley looked stunned. “We have all behaved reprehensibly. You have nothing to apologise for.”

“I won’t fight for who holds the greatest amount of the blame, but I promise you that my apologies are very much needed,” Fitzwilliam admitted. “Will you be marrying Jane?”

Bingley shrugged. “I’m not sure. She’s sweet and nice, but… there’s something amiss. Something not quite right.”

“Can you see yourself making an offer?” Fitzwilliam asked.

Bingley shook his head. “As attractive as being Fitz’s brother-in-law is, I do not. Not at present.”

“Be careful not to raise too many expectations then, Bingley,” Darcy advised. “Mrs Bennet is already screaming from the rooftops your interest in Jane.”

Bingley audibly groaned. “She screamed your interest, too.”

A wide smile appeared on Darcy’s face. “And I won my prize! I’m now married to Elizabeth, with no pomp or ceremony!”

“And no proper wedding night,” Georgiana giggled.

The faces of Darcy and Elizabeth flushed a deep crimson.

“How dare you?!” Darcy hissed. “You know too much. You are acting like a child.”

Elizabeth leant close to Georgiana’s ear and hissed, “If you ever intrude into my marriage with your brother again, I promise you that you will regret your actions! My sisters and I have found ways to get our revenge on each other that you cannot even imagine. Remember your place and that I now run your brother’s homes.”

Georgiana scowled. Elizabeth’s threat had hit its mark. For the first time, Georgiana went silent.

The conversation felt awkward afterwards. The reminder that Elizabeth and Darcy had sacrificed their wedding night sat awkwardly amongst the group assembled. It stood the silent victim of the situation – a silent sentinel blocking all topics of conversation. Everyone was embarrassed. So it felt like a reprieve when the loaded carriage pulled around the front of the house and the embarrassed family took a final leave of Netherfield.

In respect of the marriage, Fitzwilliam sat on the same bench as Mrs Annesley and Georgiana, opposite Elizabeth and Darcy. Elizabeth scowled when she saw Georgiana had taken the outside seat squashing Mrs Annesley in the middle.

“Georgiana, you’re the smallest, sit in the middle,” Elizabeth instructed.

Georgiana said nothing, but she sullenly obeyed.

“Elizabeth, what have you done to my cousin?” Fitzwilliam asked in wonder.

Elizabeth gave him an enigmatic smile. “I just reminded her of her place.”

Georgiana crossed her arms over her chest. “Threatened me, more like.”

Elizabeth shrugged.

Darcy chuckled, but did not say anything.

“You’re going to be trying to get rid of me!” Georgiana grumbled.

“That depends on you,” Elizabeth retorted.

“Elizabeth is not trying to do any such thing!” Darcy angrily argued. “She cares about you, the same as Christopher and I do.”

Georgiana didn’t argue. She began shuffling in her seat, trying to get comfortable. “Christopher, move over. I want to sleep.”

Fitzwilliam rolled his eyes and went to move.

“Don’t move, Christopher. Mind your manners, Georgiana. Christopher is not a servant to be ordered. Even the servants deserve the respect of a please and a thank you. If you want something then you will ask for it properly,” Darcy reprimanded his sister.

Georgiana deliberately slouched in her seat and tried to take up as much room as possible, but Fitzwilliam and Mrs Annesley positioned themselves in such a way that Georgiana found herself in a situation where she had less room. Eventually, she gave up and rested her head on Fitzwilliam’s shoulder before going to sleep.

Fitzwilliam allowed a gentle sigh to escape him as he watched Darcy tenderly wrap a blanket around Elizabeth, before placing his arm around her as they relaxed into a gentle slumber. The hour was late and it was not long before the quiet of the carriage was disturbed by nothing other than the gentle snores of the other occupants. He closed off the light of the lantern and was thankful for the blackness of the night as he allowed the ugliness of jealousy to wash over him. In the light of day, he would not allow himself to acknowledge that he was jealous of the happiness Darcy had found with Elizabeth nor that he wished the head resting on his shoulder was that of Catherine and not his errant ward. Yes, Fitzwilliam was jealous and he wanted nothing more than to be away from where he was. All Darcy had to do was to have his settlement drafted and the business of his marriage would be complete. Yet, Fitzwilliam did not even know if Catherine felt the same way that he did. Fitzwilliam did not know how to grasp the life that he wanted. The one thing he knew was that he would find a way to do so!