Page 15 of Chivalry & Chauvinism (The Victorian Vagaries #2)

Mary continued to accept calls from Lord Rutherford as well as the other stubborn and determined gentlemen who had been intent on winning her since the beginning of the season. Eventually the proposal was made, during a walk in Hyde Park, and Mary informed the earl she would not entertain any offers before she reached her majority. She asked for more time to come to know him better, for though she respected and esteemed him greatly, she felt their affection was not equal. He was disappointed by her refusal, but genuinely felt great respect for her honesty. Lord Rutherford would write to Darcy after the season was over, to determine the best way to spend more time near Mary and her family while they were in the country and he also asked for her permission to call on her in Brighton.

Finally, the season came to a close. Before it did, Elizabeth dragged Charlotte and the Dashwoods, who had just arrived from Pemberley, to the modiste for new wardrobes. Before they left town, Elizabeth made certain to take her cousins and aunt to the theatre and the opera, and gave one final dinner at home so the young ladies would have a bit of enjoyment of the city now that their full mourning had passed.

When June arrived, Charlotte left her mourning behind, the Dashwood ladies entered half-mourning, and, after sending for Lydia and Maria Lucas to join them for the summer, the household moved to Brighton for two months. Elizabeth planned to return to Netherfield one week before Mary’s birthday in early August, and would throw her an extravagant dinner and party when they arrived. Once they celebrated Mary’s majority, Elizabeth and Will had once believed that Richard would propose immediately, and then a ball and a wedding could have been planned for late August. It did not appear now that this expectation would bear fruit, though Elizabeth still wished to make Mary’s birthday and their visit to Hertfordshire special indeed.

The summer in Brighton was pleasant and sometimes peaceful, when Kitty and Marianne were not sniping at each other. As Elizabeth expected, Kitty had not seen sense when she heard of Willoughby’s defection. Instead she blamed Marianne, which was a shame, for the young ladies were close in age, and had been friends in their early childhood. Marianne was a rather passionate, impulsive girl, and her lack of concern for Kitty’s distress did not endear the girls to one another. Aunt Josephine was rarely helpful, bringing up Willoughby’s charming manners and handsome looks at every opportunity. The young man had told the ladies he would be travelling for the summer as well (or Marianne would not have agreed to go to Brighton at all) but promised to call upon them when they returned to Pemberley. Darcy was interested in seeing if this young man finally presented himself to the man of the house, as he ought. Georgiana and the other young ladies avoided mention of the situation as much as possible, lest they incur the wrath of Marianne or Kitty.

Mrs Dashwood had a distant cousin by marriage, a Sir John Middleton, who by chance lived in Derbyshire. His estate, Barton Park, was about an hour from Pemberley, and he knew Colonel Brandon very well. He resided with his elderly mother in law, Mrs Jennings, who was currently visiting Brighton with her daughter and son in law, Mr and Mrs Palmer, and their guest, a Miss Lucy Steele. Aunt Josephine spent a great deal of time with these ladies, and Elizabeth noted Miss Steele attached herself to Elinor immediately, and spent a great deal of time whispering with her in corners. Elizabeth observed that Elinor did not seem to be enjoying these encounters, and was looking pale and distressed lately.

Mrs Jennings took great interest in interrogating Marianne and Elinor about their romantic interests. Once Margaret allowed the tidbit to slip that Elinor was pining for a gentleman whose name started with the letter “F”, Mrs Jennings grasped this bit of information like a terrier, and teased the poor young lady relentlessly. One afternoon, Mrs Jennings observed to Elizabeth that the girl could keep her secrets, the ladies would find her out, would they not? To which Elizabeth finally put an end to the discussion by replying firmly that she had not the slightest interest in revealing her cousin’s secrets, nor meddling in her private affairs so impudently. This might have been considered impertinent given the older woman’s age, but Elizabeth had grown tired of her constant clucking. Elizabeth’s remark, along with her rank, did have the desired effect of chastising the woman into desisting in her behaviour.

Elinor became even more pale and distressed when the Dashwoods, her half brother and sister in law, arrived in Brighton and took a house nearby. Miss Steele instantly attached herself to Fanny Dashwood, who made a great fuss over the girl in order to rub in her snub of her husband’s sisters. That lady’s youngest brother seemed to take a great interest in Miss Steele, distracting her from Elinor, for which Elizabeth gave thanks. Miss Steele struck Elizabeth as a conniving, grasping sort of girl, and she did not particularly enjoy her company, nor did any of her sisters.

The Darcy family socialised little, and the majority of the socialising that was done was mostly among the Dashwoods, the Jennings and the Palmers. Elizabeth hosted a few intimate dinners, to which Fanny and John Dashwood took great offence at not being invited. Elizabeth had no desire to cause talk, but she had never liked Fanny Dashwood. She never invited the cruel or insipid to her table, and the company of the pair of them distressed Aunt Josephine and her cousins to the extreme. This was in part because Fanny Dashwood had not taken it well when Elizabeth had taken the ladies in. Mrs Dashwood preferred them to be exiled to some remote cottage, away from society, and made no attempt to hide that opinion while in company. Elizabeth did not see how it was Mrs Dashwood’s business where her relations went, or who Elizabeth welcomed to her home, and avoided the impudent woman at all costs.

One afternoon, a Mr Edward Ferrars, the elder of Fanny Dashwood’s two brothers, called upon the house, while Miss Steele was calling upon Elinor. When that lady finished speaking to Elinor, distressing her once again, she moved on to speak to Georgiana. Mr Ferrars did not notice Miss Steele’s presence in the garden, and was attempting to invite Elinor for a walk when Miss Steele intruded upon his notice, to his obviously very great shock and dismay. She manoeuvred him into escorting her back to his sister’s home, and the rest of the party wondered at the awkward exchange.

Elizabeth asked Elinor for a private word and said, “Elinor, I have observed that Miss Steele’s company causes you some considerable distress, and that Mr Ferrars’ visit has seemed to make it worse. Would you like to talk about it? Perhaps I can help.” Elinor intimated that there was a matter which disturbed her, but that she could not break Miss Steele’s confidence, and that she would be well. Elinor went upstairs to her room, and rested for the remainder of the afternoon.

*****

Two days later, Elizabeth learned what had been disturbing Elinor. Indeed, all of Brighton and London learned of the matter, and it was impossible not to hear of it. Miss Steele’s uncle had been a teacher to Mr Edward Ferrars, and long before his majority the two had entered into a secret engagement, which Miss Steele had now called to the attention of anyone interested, and indeed to many who were not.

When Miss Steele made this known, she found herself swiftly deposited back on Mrs Palmer’s doorstep, as Fanny Dashwood would no longer have her in the house. Mrs Ferrars sent word to her son from London to give up the young lady. When he had refused to go back on his word, she rashly and irrevocably disinherited him in favour of his younger brother. Everyone in the Darcy household quickly discovered that the subject was a sore one for Elinor, who would not speak on the matter, but became pale and tight-lipped whenever it was mentioned. They left off discussing it as much as possible.

A few days later there was even more news. Colonel Brandon had heard of the matter, and offered Mr Ferrars a comfortable rectory. That gentleman wished to reward Mr Ferrars’ steadfastness by giving him a living, which would permit him to marry his lady. Four days after that, it was announced that Mr Ferrars and Miss Steele had married by common licence, and left for their wedding trip.

One could only imagine Elizabeth’s surprise when the gentleman turned up in her drawing room two days after his wedding had been rumoured to have happened. The house was nearly empty, Elizabeth having sent all of the other ladies on a shopping expedition. She was enjoying the quiet of the house to sit with Diane and attend her correspondence. Darcy was with them, reading a newspaper, when the man was announced to the room. “Mr Ferrars, what a surprise. We thought you on your wedding trip,” Elizabeth said in greeting.

“That I-I was on m-my wedding trip?” replied the man with some surprise. “No Lady Darcy, I had hoped for a private audience with Miss Dashwood, if possible.”

“Miss Dashwood has gone shopping with the other ladies, but I expect them to return soon,” Elizabeth said. “While you wait, please have a word with Lord Darcy in his study, if you would be so kind?”

Mr Ferrars, understanding that the Darcys would require some explanation of the misunderstanding before he would be permitted to address a young lady under their protection, agreed nervously, and went with Darcy to the study. The ladies returned less than ten minutes later, and they all went to their rooms to refresh themselves.

Elizabeth followed Elinor into her room and began frantically rummaging through her gowns, “No time to waste, Elinor, shimmy out of that you’re wearing; we must get you changed quickly, for you must look your absolute best before you go down.”

“Wh-why must I?” asked Elinor.

“No time, Cousin; quickly now. This is the loveliest day gown we received from Madame Clarisse, and the lavender goes beautifully with your eyes.” Elizabeth sat Elinor at her vanity when she was dressed, and pulled her hair into a more stylish arrangement,. She then clasped a beaded mourning necklace that was actually quite pretty about her cousin’s neck, and pinched her cheeks.

“Cousin!” exclaimed Elinor, grasping Elizabeth’s hands, “Please, tell me what it is!”

“Mr Ferrars is here,” answered Elizabeth.

“Mr Ferrars? But why? He is supposed to be-”

“On his wedding trip, yes. But he is here, and he has asked for an audience with you,” Elizabeth explained quickly.

“Cousin Elizabeth, Mr Ferrars is married to the former Miss Steele now. I do not know why he wishes to speak with me, but it does not matter what I am wearing,” protested Elinor impatiently.

“Elinor, it is as plain as day that some sentiment at the very least has passed between you and this man. I do not know why he wishes to speak with you, but I do know that it does not hurt to have the confidence of knowing you look your best when you meet him. It is clear there has been some mischief or misunderstanding, given the fantastic tales that have been flying about this week, your pale, drawn appearance, and your apparent distress. The fact that you are under the protection of our house means he must satisfy Darcy before we will allow him an audience with you. They are in the study now. Come downstairs and wait with me.”

Elinor followed her downstairs to find Darcy coming out of his study alone. “Cousin Elinor, we will leave the door ajar, and the footman will remain in the hall to ensure your privacy. Elizabeth and I will await you and Mr Ferrars in the drawing room.” Elinor gulped and nodded, squeezed Elizabeth’s hand, and went in.

Darcy and Elizabeth waited in the drawing room. The other ladies wandered down one by one as they finished changing their gowns. It was nearly tea time, and so the entire family was assembled when Elinor and Mr Ferrars finally burst in, happily holding hands. Elinor had obviously been weeping; but it was equally obvious that she was radiantly happy. The couple announced their engagement, and the family was astonished by the news, given the recent gossip that Mr Ferrars had married Miss Steele.

Mr Ferrars explained that Miss Steele had been very mercenary regarding the entire affair, and that his brother did not seem to mind that one bit. Edward had entered a secret engagement with the girl when he was very young and knew no better. He did try to inform her that he now had feelings for another young lady, hoping that she might not like to be married to a man who was in love with another woman, and might perhaps wish to release him. Miss Steele had insisted upon proceeding with the engagement. His mother then demanded he give her up, which his honour could not countenance, regardless of his feelings.

When his mother disinherited him in favour of his brother, the younger son, who had no fear of losing that which he had just been irrevocably given, announced that over the last weeks he had fallen in love with Miss Steele. The lady wasted no time in transferring her affection, and the two married immediately. It was due to the kindness of Colonel Brandon that Edward had the ability to offer for Elinor now. That was what had caused the delay in coming to Elinor. Mr Ferrars travelled to London to explain the matter, and determine if Colonel Brandon was still willing to confer the living upon him if he married Miss Dashwood instead of Miss Steele.

The family happily wished the couple well, and Mr Ferrars stayed for dinner. The two indicated a great desire to marry quickly and hasten to their new rectory. Elizabeth, Darcy, and Aunt Josephine sat with them after dinner, and it was planned that the couple would apply for a common licence and marry in one week. An express was sent to Colonel Brandon in London, inviting him to the wedding, and Elizabeth and Elinor allowed the younger ladies to plan the small but elegant wedding breakfast.

*****

Elizabeth settled ten thousand pounds upon Elinor, and Mr Ferrars gladly signed a simplified version of the marriage settlement that Elizabeth provided, protecting Elinor’s personal freedoms. Aunt Josephine was persuaded to remain in the Darcy household at least until Marianne had married before she considered living with one of her married daughters, to give the young couple time alone in their modest rectory, and to give Marianne a better chance of making a good match.

The wedding was very small but elegant and joyful. The couple left for Derbyshire in one of Elizabeth’s carriages. Two days later, Georgiana visited Darcy in his study. “Brother, I would like you to take me to Windmere, to see Richard.”

Darcy regarded her seriously. “The family is quite fixed here for more than another month, Georgie. It would be a tremendous inconvenience to the household. What is the matter?”

“No, Brother. I wish you to take me there alone , just the two of us. It is long past time that we who are closest to him spoke to Richard. Mary has been positively miserable. Lord Rutherford was in Brighton for a week and she barely paid him any attention; the poor gentleman left dejected. Richard barely replies to my letters, and he does not reply to the rest of the family at all. The two of them are suffering, and I wish you to take me to my cousin and guardian so I may make him see sense and box his ears if he does not!”

Darcy watched his sister carefully as she spoke. She was no longer a child, but a young lady with sense and intelligence. “Very well. Can you be ready to leave tomorrow morning?”

“You will truly take me to him?” Georgiana gasped.

“Of course. You have asked to see your guardian and I am no one to stop you. Your argument is carefully thought out and well reasoned. I cannot disagree with you. We shall leave after breakfast,” replied Darcy matter of factly. “Pack enough clothing for a few days. If he is not willing to return with us after that time, I cannot imagine staying longer.”

Darcy told Elizabeth of the plan later that evening. The rest of the family were told the next morning at breakfast that Darcy and Georgiana were going away for a few days on family business. Mary eyed them suspiciously, but said nothing. It was not her business if Darcy and Georgiana were visiting their cousin. Indeed, Mary hoped they were visiting Richard. She worried for him and knew that Georgiana did as well.