Page 36 of Darcy in Distress (Pride and Prejudice Variation #17)

George snorted softly and said, “In the beginning, he stayed here because he was afraid of his father, of course. He feared coming across Lord Matlock by chance in Town. Now, yes, he has adjusted to living at Rosings, and it has been good for him. I think Cecil’s character is not a strong one, and he is strongly influenced by his companions.

Far better for him to live a vigorous country life surrounded by honorable people than racket about town spending his money on questionable pursuits. ”

“Good for him, and good for us,” Anne said softly, lifting her face.

“Yes,” George agreed, kissing his wife gently.

/

Fair Havens Park

Lincolnshire

“I need to go, Father,” the former Colonel Fitzwilliam said. “I will see you tomorrow.”

“Very good,” the old man said. “Now do not forget, my boy – do not offer more than three hundred fifty pounds for Lord Firth’s pair of matched bays. They are not worth more than that!”

“As you wish, sir,” Richard replied, glancing at the male attendant in the room, who nodded reassuringly.

The second son of the Earl of Matlock stepped out of the room, closed it, and somberly walked down the stairs into the east sitting room of the house.

Here, his pensive mood lightened at the sight of his wife, who was seated by a window carefully knitting a yellow baby sock.

“Richard,” Charlotte Fitzwilliam said with a welcoming smile. “How is your father today?”

Richard walked over to take his place next to his wife, whose thickening form announced the presence of new life in her womb.

“Extremely confused, as usual,” he said. “He instructed me to buy horses from one of his old cronies, Lord Firth, who has been dead these ten years.”

“I am sorry, Richard,” Charlotte said, gazing at him sympathetically.

Her husband looked back at her fondly. He had been wounded during the storming of Badajoz more than a year previously, and had returned to England broken both in body and spirit.

Darcy and Elizabeth had eagerly welcomed him to Pemberley to recover, and there Richard met Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s closest friend from Meryton.

The eldest Miss Lucas was not handsome or well dowered, nor was she well connected, but she was a supremely practical woman along with being a kind one.

They had spent many comfortable hours together talking, and by the time his arm healed, he was in love.

It was not, he knew, the vibrant, passionate love that he saw in Darcy in Elizabeth, nor was it the practical affection between George and Anne Wickham.

It was in between somehow; there was genuine love, but it was a gentle thing, though also strong.

He and Charlotte fit together, and now that she was expecting their child, the bond between them was more powerful than ever.

“It is probably for the best,” he said, putting an arm around his wife. “He was impossible in his right mind given his penchant for abduction and blackmail and the like.”

“Yes, he was,” Charlotte agreed, her busy hands continuing to knit row upon row of yarn.

“The collapse of his mental faculties is both bizarre and shocking, but as we have said before, he likely could not face a life where he no longer was able to control his family, and thus escaped into fantasy. At any rate, he seems far more at peace now, and certainly he is a far more agreeable companion. If he woke up out of his current confusion, he would be shocked and horrified to learn that Fair Havens now belongs to the Darcys, and that you and I are merely indigent relations caring for the estate.”

“You are entirely correct, my dear,” Richard answered, and kissed his wife fondly on her dark hair. “As always.”

/

The Nursery

Pemberley

Midnight

“Is Lydia well?” Elizabeth asked as she shifted Susanna from one breast to the other. The baby squawked in annoyance on being moved, then returned to suckling with her usual enthusiasm.

Kitty was sitting near a small table on which burned several candles, and she held her brother Adam in one arm and a letter in the other.

“I suppose,” Kitty said rather sadly, leaning over to kiss Adam on the head. “That is right, my dear. Go to sleep. All is well.”

“Ka,” Adam said drowsily, his eyes now half closed.

“Is she unhappy at boarding school?” Elizabeth asked with concern.

“She says she is having a wonderful time,” Kitty explained, “and perhaps she is. But there is a certain brittle gaiety in her writing that worries me. Or perhaps I am merely irritated with her. She goes on at some length about how boring Meryton is and how glad she is that she is no longer with us. I love Longbourn, and I love my family more. I cannot understand her attitude! ”

Elizabeth stroked Susanna’s bald head and said, “I think I do, Kitty.”

“Then tell me, because I am exasperated with her!”

Her older sister blew out a breath and said, “Mama always favored Jane for her beauty, and Lydia for her liveliness, as she believed both attributes would help her eldest and youngest daughters to win eligible husbands. Then Jane and I both married wealthy gentlemen, and a few months later, Adam was born. Lydia, who was petted and, yes, spoiled for most of her life, suddenly found herself of no particular importance at Longbourn, especially since Mama was so sick after she gave birth to Adam. Naturally our sister was distressed by the change in circumstances, and when the regiment moved to Brighton and Father did not permit her to go with them, she grew despondent. Lydia is not the sort of person to be quietly unhappy, and thus, after a few months of outrageous behavior on her part, Father sensibly sent her off to a strict boarding school. She, for her part, has far too much pride to admit to any unhappiness. I do think that Lydia will benefit under the tutelage of Mrs. Redlington, whom Darcy says is a very good woman.”

Kitty mulled this over for a full minute and said, “Yes, I understand. That makes sense.”

“Susanna is asleep, and I am most fatigued, so I will see you tomorrow, Kitty. ”

“Adam is asleep as well,” Kitty replied, her gaze on her little brother. “Until tomorrow, Lizzy.”

Elizabeth carefully laid her sleeping child into her crib, nodded at the nursemaid in attendance, and hastily made her way to her own bedchamber. To her delight, the bed was already occupied with her husband.

“Fitzwilliam,” she murmured, sighing with relief at the comfort of a soft bed. A moment later, her husband wiggled closer to her and put an arm around her slim form.

“Are you very tired, Elizabeth?” he asked sympathetically.

“Very, very tired,” Elizabeth said. “I love my family and having my parents and three siblings here is a delight, but at times I find it a trifle exhausting.”

“I understand,” Darcy murmured, pulling her a little closer, “and tomorrow the Bingleys will arrive, which will make the party even larger.”

Elizabeth sighed in pleasure and said, “Oh, I am so looking forward to seeing Jane and their little son, and Charles as well of course. And Jane is much better at keeping Mama calm than I am. It will be wonderful.”

Darcy smiled in the darkness. Yes, it was wonderful.

Pemberley had been a somber place for some years now, first due to the cruelty of Mr. George Darcy, then due to the fatigue and sorrow of Darcy himself in the wake of his father’s sins.

Now he was married to his precious, effervescent Elizabeth, and she had brought life and happiness to this place. Yes, it was wonderful indeed.