Page 27 of I am Jael (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

“But Mr. Darcy is so dull and serious.”

“Do not worry, Mama. I will not. I am just glad Mr. Darcy proposed to Lizzy, not me. I am going to marry an officer in a red coat.”

“And well you may, my dear. Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley will throw you in the way of rich men, and some of them may be officers ...”

Darcy felt an insistent tug on his arm and looked down into the embarrassed face of his beloved. She was pulling him farther into the garden, away from the open window through which they could hear her mother and sister speaking so immoderately.

He increased his pace and glanced at her reassuringly, “It is quite all right, Elizabeth.”

She blinked in surprise at his use of her Christian name and smiled tremulously, “Thank you, Fitzwilliam.”

She chuckled now in amusement, “Fitzwilliam. It is rather a mouthful.”

“Georgiana calls me William.”

“William. Yes, I prefer that.”

“Do you prefer Elizabeth, or Eliza, or Lizzy?”

“I respond readily to all, though I believe I would prefer Elizabeth from your lips, dear William. In any case, I do wish to apologize for my mother and sister. I know they do not see our betrothal in the same light as you and I do.”

Darcy tucked her arm more tightly in his own and stopped by a small but well-tended bed of roses with colors ranging from deep red to glorious yellow.

“I am not offended,” he stated with certainty. “Your mother clearly has long feared for her future, and I am grateful that Mr. Bingley and I have mitigated those concerns.”

Elizabeth was suddenly teary with gratitude, “Thank you, William. Thank you. Yes, she has fretted about being thrown into the hedgerows for as long as I can remember. While I have refused to dwell on it excessively, it is true that when our father passes on, there will be little to support my mother and remaining single sisters. I fear, too, that my father ...”

She trailed away and looked down at the ground with difficulty.

“Your father has not attempted to assuage her apprehensions,” Darcy finished gently.

“Yes,” Elizabeth agreed sadly. “Mother is not a frugal woman and in the beginning, my parents assumed that economy was needless as they would have a son to inherit the estate. By the time it was obvious that Mr. Collins would instead inherit, it was too late to change the financial course of our lives, or at least my parents found it so. Regrettably, my father’s personality is more sardonic than comforting. ”

Darcy nodded and began strolling toward a more distant copse of trees, though he stayed within sight of Kitty, who was seated on a garden bench as a rather lax chaperone, “Georgiana and I have had our share of struggles, but money has never been an issue. I can well understand your mother’s legitimate uncertainty about the future and am thankful that she now is at more peace. ”

“I am very grateful too, William.”

“Elizabeth?”

“Yes?”

“Would you be willing to marry soon?”

/

“Is everything settled, Brother?

Darcy laughed softly and nodded to his enthusiastic sister, “Mostly, my dear. Mr. Bennet has given me his blessing and Elizabeth is eager to wed quickly. I will travel to London tomorrow to prepare the settlement papers and obtain a special license.”

“Oh, William, I am so excited!”

“I am as well. I must write a letter before dinner, but I will give you details of our arrangements later.”

Georgiana took a step away, her face aglow, just as the sound of a carriage impinged on their ears.

“Who is that?” Georgie asked in bewilderment, stepping over to a window and peering outside. A moment later, she turned to face her brother, her eyes wide, “It is the Earl of Matlock, Richard’s father!”

/

“Father, this is a surprise!” Richard Fitzwilliam commented, walking slowly toward the carriage where his sire had just emerged.

“Richard, I am glad to see you. Are you well?”

“Yes,” the Colonel replied simply, and waited. Where the Earl was concerned, it was wise to determine what he wanted before volunteering information.

“Uncle Matlock,” Darcy said, descending the house steps to the graveled drive. “This is a surprise.”

“Richard said the same,” Matlock replied, looking thoughtfully at the sprawling house. “I am here at my sister Catherine’s behest.”

As one, the two other men groaned.

The older man chuckled grimly and nodded, “We have much to speak of, but perhaps we can go inside?”

/

“We generally keep country hours,” Mrs. Bingley said, “but we would be happy to put back dinner if necessary.”

“Not at all, Mrs. Bingley,” the Earl replied heartily. “Our business will not require more than an hour.”

“Very well,” the woman replied, then turned and glided out of the east sitting room, shutting the door carefully behind her.

“A truly lovely woman,” the Earl commented, turning back to his son and nephew. “Bingley is a lucky man.”

“Yes, he is,” Darcy agreed.

“Well, let us sit down, shall we? I received a frantic letter from your Aunt Catherine this morning, sent express, telling me that Darcy has entered into an ignoble engagement with a vulgar hussy, Richard has supported the engagement, and that you both have contrived to kidnap both Anne and Georgiana.”

Darcy leaned forward in his seat, his face thunderous, only to be stayed by his uncle’s lifted hand, “Be at peace, Darcy. I have known Catherine my entire life and am well aware of her penchant for hyperbole. Nevertheless, given both her hysteria and her intention of traveling to Hertfordshire in the near future, I thought it best to come here as quickly as possible.”

“Aunt Catherine is coming here?” Richard demanded.

“Indeed,” Matlock replied drily. “I would expect her no later than tomorrow.”

“I will wait to travel to London to prepare the settlement papers, then,” Darcy said heavily. “I must be here when our aunt descends on us.”

Matlock’s brow creased at these words, “So that part is true, Darcy? You are engaged?”

“I am.”

“And is the woman lowborn?”

“Not at all, Uncle. She is the daughter of a gentleman, a country squire by the name of Bennet. Her family estate of Longbourn is but a few miles from here. Her elder sister is Mrs. Bingley.”

“Ah,” Matlock murmured softly, “and is your young lady as beautiful as her sister?”

“Yes,” Darcy stated in an adoring tone.

“No,” the Colonel said a moment later.

Darcy shot his cousin a ferocious glare and Fitzwilliam chuckled, “No offense intended, Darcy. Miss Bennet is a beautiful woman but Mrs. Bingley is more handsome in the conventional sense.”

Darcy opened his mouth to protest but his cousin waved a dismissive hand, “It matters not which woman is more attractive. The relevant facts are that Miss Bennet is a lovely, ladylike, intelligent, lively woman. She is Darcy’s perfect match, Father.”

“So you approve of this admittedly surprising engagement?”

“With all my heart,” the Colonel assured his father heartily. “Darcy is well able to support a poor woman and his chosen bride has the intellectual capability to assist in overseeing Pemberley, and the personality to win the hearts of all.”

Matlock still frowned, but he nodded slowly at these words, “Very well. What of Anne? Catherine claims you well nigh abducted her.”

His son scoffed as Darcy rose to his feet, “That is nonsense, Uncle. The truth is that Lady Catherine was so enraged by my betrothal that she went quite mad. She ordered her obsequious parson to hurl Miss Bennet from the parsonage where she was staying with her dear friend Mrs. Collins, wife of Lady Catherine’s rector.

Naturally, I chose to escort Miss Bennet home immediately since she was no longer welcome in Kent.

Richard and Georgiana invited Anne to come with us to get away from her overbearing mother, and Anne chose to accompany us. ”

Matlock sighed, “I fear that my sister has grown only more autocratic and dictatorial with time. I regret that Anne has had such a difficult time of it all. Nevertheless, as head of the family, I must speak to her myself to ensure that I have the facts from her own mouth.”

Darcy nodded, “Very well, Uncle. That is reasonable.”

/

“My mother is coming here?” Anne asked anxiously.

“According to her letter to me, yes,” Matlock replied. “You need not return to Rosings with her, however. I am in agreement with your cousins that you would do well to go to London for a Season. Lady Matlock would greatly enjoy hosting you for as long as you wish.”

“My mother will not be pleased,” Anne de Bourgh replied, twisting her handkerchief in her restless hands. “She is already angry about Darcy’s engagement and I am certain she is furious with me.”

“She cannot force you to leave with her. You merely need tell her that you wish for a season in London and that I intend to escort you to my home. That will be sufficient.”

Anne turned a pleading glance on Georgiana, who was seated by the fire.“I believe that it would be better for Anne to not meet with her mother at all,” Georgiana stated firmly.

Matlock turned in surprise, “My dear niece, it would be entirely inappropriate for Anne to refuse to see her own mother.”

“Why?” Georgie demanded, rising to her feet and walking over to settle by her pale cousin. “There is nothing that our aunt can say which will be courteous or useful. She will instead berate Anne for her daughter’s entirely reasonable decision to leave Rosings. I see no benefit to such a meeting.”

“Anne?” Richard asked. “What do you think? Do you agree with Georgiana?”

Miss de Bourgh nodded as she bit her lip, “I do not want to see my mother. It is likely that I will not be able to stand firm in her presence.”

“Are you afraid of her?” Darcy asked softly.

“She has always demanded absolute obedience from me. I am five and twenty and she has always treated me like a rather dim witted child. I feel free here at Netherfield, and happier than I have been since Father died, but I fear that when she orders me to return to Rosings, I will not have the strength to refuse.”

“Then you need not see her,” Darcy stated, his dark eyes meeting his uncle’s resolutely.

The Earl shook his head, “I fear this entire matter could result in a most regrettable scandal.”

Richard’s lip curled disdainfully, “If there is scandal, it will be due to Lady Catherine's idiocy. We will not sacrifice Anne on the altar of family honor.”

/

“But Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy has such a large income! I cannot bear that you marry without appropriate wedding clothes!”

Elizabeth smiled gently at her mother as she took a sip of tea.

She was usually the first Bennet up, but the excitement of the last few days had resulted in restless sleep.

Her sisters had already broken their fast and now she was in the breakfast room alone with her mother, who was quivering with barely suppressed excitement over the upcoming nuptials of her daughter and an extremely wealthy man.

“Mother, Mr. Darcy and I wish to marry quickly.”

“Are you so eager to leave your family forever?” Mrs. Bennet demanded, allowing her face to slacken piteously. Elizabeth suppressed a smile. Her mother was notorious for using that particular expression to coerce her family into submitting to her will.

“Not at all, Mother. It is merely that there are certain members of Mr. Darcy’s family who are opposed to our marriage. We are in agreement that a rapid marriage will be the irreversible act to silence dissenting voices.”

In actual fact, only Lady Catherine had openly opposed the marriage, but it was likely that other highborn members of the Darcy and Matlock clans would be unimpressed with the Bennets’ connections.

Thus, Elizabeth felt she could legitimately suggest that there would be hostility from numerous individuals.

As Elizabeth anticipated, the suggestion of opposition to the marriage resulted in an immediate turnaround in her mother’s attitude.

“Yes, of course, Elizabeth. That is indeed very sensible. You will have the banns called in church this Sunday, then?”

“Mr. Darcy intends to obtain a special license, Mother. We plan to marry in a week.”

“So soon! Lizzy, we must go to Meryton today to ask Mrs. Smith to make up one dress for your wedding. I insist!”

A maid stepped into the parlor, interrupting Mrs. Bennet’s flutterings.

“Mrs. Collins, Ma’am.”