Page 27 of Darcy’s Guarded Heart

Elizabeth

T he moon was already making its descent the following morning when Elizabeth and the rest of her party finally stumbled out of Netherfield and boarded their carriages again.

Jane, Elizabeth, and Lydia sat with their backs to the horses, while Mrs Bennet, Kitty, and Mary sat across. All three had fallen asleep before the vehicle left Netherfield,

Lydia prattled on about the highlights of the evening, her flow of words only interrupted by the occasional yawn.

“It was such a grand ball. Jane, when you are Mrs Bingley, you must host a ball such as this every single week.”

Jane chuckled. “I should think not. Even if I were fortunate enough to become Mr Bingley’s wife, I do not think he would appreciate my spending all of his money on such nonsense.”

“Nonsense? It is hardly nonsense, Jane” Lydia interjected.

“Five thousand pounds per annum. He surely can afford it. Starting with your wedding. I shall dance and dance and dance and eat wedding cake and dance some more. It will be splendid!” She looked at her sleeping sisters.

“Look at Mary and Kitty. What bores they both are. I daresay, they act as though they worked in a mine all—” Alas, her rebuke was interrupted by a yawn of her own.

“I daresay you shall join them soon in the land of Nod,” Elizabeth said.

“I think not,” Lydia replied. “I am far too excited! If only that dreadful Mr Darcy hadn’t spoiled Georgiana’s fun. She was doing so well, snatching raisins!”

“Raisins?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes! We were playing a game of ‘Snapdragon’. I thought it quite surprising that Mr Bingley would set up such a game when it is usually only played at Christmas. But I was glad for it for it was such fun. And Georgiana was doing so well when suddenly Mr Darcy appeared and was rather cross. Poor Georgiana was ever so upset.”

“Do not say ‘ever so’, it is common,” Mrs Bennet chided from beside Jane. Elizabeth thought her mother was asleep, but it seemed she had only been eavesdropping this entire time.

“Yes, Mother,” Lydia said, “but it was ever… It was so very upsetting. It was fortunate that she recovered herself so quickly. Thomas attended to her immediately afterwards because she was crying.”

“Thomas tended to her?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes,” Lydia nodded. “Mr Darcy was so gruff with her. He censured her rather sternly.”

Elizabeth swallowed hard. The idea that Mr Darcy had been so upset with his sister that he had brought her to tears troubled her. Then, she thought back to their conversation earlier.

“Mr Darcy had a difficult evening,” she said. “It was the anniversary of his father’s death. Perhaps he was easily—”

“I daresay Mr Darcy must have a year’s worth of deceased fathers, for he is in a dreadful mood every day,” Lydia said.

“Lydia,” Jane tried to hide her laughter. “That is not—”

“Indeed, it is. Lydia, you should not say such things,” Elizabeth added.

“I’m surprised at you, Elizabeth,” Lydia continued. “Why are you defending him? You were the one most vocal about what a dreadful man he is.”

“I am not defending him. I am merely giving a reason for his behaviour. Though, I do not think it proper that he spoke to his sister in the manner in which you described.”

“It must be terribly lonely for her to be in that big house with no one her own age to keep her company,” Jane said. “Mr Bingley told me there are no girls her age near them, and all her cousins but one, are men. And the one who is a woman is older than her and very sickly.”

“It sounds as though she is in want of female company,” Elizabeth said.

“That is why I have invited her for tea,” Lydia said.

“Well, you should let your mother, the hostess, know you are to have a grand tea with a fancy young lady,” Mrs Bennet interjected.

“I would hardly call her fancy, Mother,” Elizabeth said, but her mother waved her hand dismissively.

“I am too tired to trifle with semantics now, Elizabeth. Well, what time is she supposed to come?”

“I am uncertain,” Lydia replied. “She said she had to ask her brother, so she may not come today, but perhaps tomorrow.”

“A grand tea with a fancy young lady on day yet to be decided, and yet I am expected to be ready for company at a drop of the hat?” Mrs Bennet tutted.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow in Lydia’s direction, and her sister chuckled.

“Mother, you are ever so…”

“Lydia,” Mrs Bennet said with a warning tone.

“Dramatic,” Lydia finished.

Elizabeth chuckled as Jane shook her head and looked out of the window.

Soon they arrived at Longbourn, and Elizabeth followed her family inside. It took several minutes before the gentlemen joined them and when they did, Mrs Bennet rounded on her husband.

“There you are at last. You left before us but arrived later. What kept you?” she demanded. “We might have been greeted by intruders and then be left to our own devices with no man to defend us.”

“I should say you would have managed,” he relied dryly.

“I will remind you that I left several minutes before you because Sir William’s cousin required transportation as he had rather overindulged.

I am happy to report that the entire Lucas party is settled at Lucas Lodge, with the young gentleman now resting upon the chaise longue downstairs with a bucket conveniently located. ”

“I do not need to know so much detail, Mr Bennet. Let us go upstairs now. I am dreadfully tired, and I know that that unfortunate rooster is going to be crowing at any moment.”

“I dare remind you to suspend your criticisms; it was not my idea to stay at the Netherfield ball until sunrise,” Mr Bennet said, putting his hand on his wife’s. She took it and then let out a deep sigh before resting her head against her husband’s shoulder.

As the family dispersed to their various chambers, Mr Collins grumbled and groaned about an upset stomach of his own and how nobody had enquired about his need for a bucket. He went into Thomas’s chamber and shut the door.

“Poor Mr Collins,” Thomas said. “He had a rather mortifying evening.”

“How so?” Elizabeth asked. “I have scarcely seen him.”

“That is because you are very good at hiding from him. He attempted to make conversation with Mr Darcy and ran afoul of him. Indeed, the man was in a dreadful mood.”

“Not when I first spoke to him,” Elizabeth said. “He was civil enough, we had a rather enjoyable conversation.”

“Did you?” Thomas said, dipping his head to one side.

“Yes, but I hear that he and his sister had a rather unpleasant encounter.”

“Indeed. The poor girl was crying. She did not deserve that. She worships the ground her brother walks on. For him to talk to her in such a manner in public is unconscionable. She truly does not deserve it. She is so lovely a girl.”

Elizabeth paused and dropped her voice. “You are fond of her, are you not, Thomas? Tell me the truth. I can see the way you look at her.”

“And so what if I am fond of her? What is there not to be fond of? She is kind and sweet and well-spoken. And she has a great interest in many things—things one would not think a young lady interested in such as fishing, riding, and hunting. Yet she likes to read, she enjoys studying the newspaper and foreign lands and their customs…” Thomas shook his head.

“I am silly, I know it. I have had too much to drink and too little rest. Forgive me.”

“You are forgiven, but for what, I do not know. You like her. She likes you. There is nothing wrong with that.”

Thomas groaned. “There is everything wrong with that. I know that you adore me, but it makes you sometimes forget who I am. I am nobody… I have nothing. I could never offer someone like Georgiana Darcy the life that she deserves!”

“Maybe the life she deserves is one of happiness at the side of somebody who admires her,” Elizabeth proposed. “And if that is you, then that is you.”

“You know, as well as I do, that it would never be accepted. Her grandfather was an earl. Her uncle is an earl now.”

“And so? There have been grand stories such as this. Rules that have been broken many times. Look at King Henry VIII, he married his brother’s widow! It was a scandal at the time, and yet…”

Thomas laughed. “And yet she found herself divorced in rather rapid fashion, living a miserable life thereafter and producing a miserable daughter who slaughtered countless innocents on account of religion.”

“Very well, Elizabeth Woodville, then. Her family was middle rank when she wed Edward IV.”

“The fact that you must look to the medieval era to find examples, should prove my point. Besides, the examples you gave show powerful men marrying woman of less than ideal standing. In our case, the roles are reversed.”

She sighed dramatically. “Goodness gracious, Thomas! Are you so determined to be unhappy?”

He lowered his voice. “I am not determined to be unhappy. I am determined to not get myself and your family into any trouble. In any case, Mr Darcy would never allow it. He would never allow Georgiana and me to be alone in a room together, let alone anything else.”

Elizabeth crossed her arms. “Mr Darcy is quite a miserable man. I had wished to see more in him, to see good in him, but the way he has acted tonight makes me think that perhaps I was wrong. And yet—” she waved her arm.

She wasn’t even certain anymore what she felt or thought.

Exhaustion and wine were clouding her judgement.

“Now of all times,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I wish it were not so complicated. I wish Georgiana were of common birth then perhaps I would be considered suitable, but that cannot be helped. I shall put her out of my mind.”

“Not so fast. Do you not think the lady deserves a say? Let me issue another invitation to Miss Darcy to come visit us for tea. Lydia already invited her once. If she comes, if she visits us, we will see what becomes of it.”

Thomas sighed and nodded. “Very well. I already know better than to argue with you, Elizabeth. Whenever you are determined that something should come to pass, you always find a way to make it so.”

“Indeed,” Elizabeth said with a grin as she bade him goodnight and made her way back to her room.

But sleep eluded her for some time as she was occupied with replaying a conversation with Mr Darcy in her mind over and over.

If only he could understand her. If only he would allow her to understand him.