Page 23 of Mr Darcy Gets Angry

“I was arrogant enough to believe that we were above you, and I even declared it to you. I would give anything to efface that conversation—”

“I thought we had done with that subject,” she said firmly.

“I believe we must speak of all that has passed, and only then move forward.”

“My mother will never be other than she is. I will not even imagine what she may be saying now in Meryton and its neighbourhood,” Elizabeth said, and he regarded her attentively.

“I think that if we weigh the gossip of Meryton against what would be spoken in London were Richard to be married to a spy, the scale would fall heavily upon our family. A treason in war cannot be compared with the idle talk of ladies.”

“Then let us make no further comparison, no conjecture, nor bring the past between us. Let us wait with patience to see what the future may bring. Yet, at my mother’s first indiscretion, you must know that I shall look upon you with all possible severity if you permit yourself any remark—”

“I am assured of it,” he answered, lightened in spirit. He would have clasped her to him and pressed a kiss upon her lips, whispering in her ear how deeply he loved her, certain she would hear only a murmur, more stirred by the kiss than by the words.

But they turned again towards Mr Gardiner, somewhat more tranquil, for between them no doubt remained. However matters might fall, Darcy had accepted her family in its entirety, such as it was, and Elizabeth was prepared to stand by him, whatever might arise within his own.

“How are we to find the Colonel in Eastbourne?” Mr Gardiner asked when they were again upon the road.

“Lady Matlock received a letter from the colonel, telling her he was lodged at the Devonshire Mansion there. Our family was long intimate with the late Duke of Devonshire, whose principal seat in Derbyshire lies not far from Pemberley and Matlock.”

“What a piece of fortune. We do not have to look for him too long. From what I know, there are several scattered hamlets.”

“Not so; it now claims to be a seaside resort. The colonel wrote that it grew fashionable late in the last century, after four of the King’s children spent a summer there.”

Elizabeth smiled, and Darcy’s eyes ordered her to say why.

“If the Colonel knows such particulars, it means he has had leisure to converse with the townspeople. Let us hope he is alone and merely gathering information about Eastbourne’s medicinal airs. But why was he sent there?”

“He told me something of it. Eastbourne is becoming of strategic consequence. The War Office is placing infantry and artillery to defend the bay from French attack between Beachy Head and Hastings. Some years ago, they built a fortress called the Eastbourne Redoubt, where troops are now stationed.”

Mr Gardiner shook his head; the news displeased him. Eastbourne’s importance to the French was plain, and a shadow of apprehension fell over them all.

They took their dinner in the small parlour which the innkeeper had prepared for his guests, both gentlemen observing Elizabeth’s silence. She was far from the cheerful lady who had left London that morning.

“What troubles you, my dear?” asked Mr Gardiner.

Elizabeth laid down her knife and fork. “I am sorry—I cannot eat.”

They looked at her anxiously.

“Elizabeth?” Darcy said as if she were already his wife. He knew her too well to believe her tired or discomposed by the mere inconveniences of travel.

“Until now, speaking with the colonel seemed but a friend’s duty.

Now it is far more. In London, the word ‘treason’ was uttered more than once, and now, as we draw nearer Eastbourne, I feel we approach the truth of the whole affair.

I am afraid I shall not persuade him, or that he may already be married. ”

“I know,” Darcy said softly. “I know, and I regret laying such a burden upon you.”

“No; I am strong enough for any burden. It is not for myself I fear, but for him. I dread only that I may fail to make him believe me—believe us.”

Darcy said nothing. His butler was already in Eastbourne, charged with a private mission known only to his master.

“What shall I tell him?” Elizabeth asked.

“Follow your heart, Elizabeth, and let your mind direct the way.”

Darcy’s voice was so assured that her courage revived.

“We know that her father, Mr Henry, is not dead, and is French. You have the letter. Any reasonable person would see enough. Her mother feared recognition by Mrs Bennet and Mrs Phillips, who might have revealed his origin. Then there is the fact that Miss Henry sought an officer at Brighton.”

“This is what we have inferred from all that we know, but can we be certain that it is the truth?”

“You doubt it?” Mr Gardiner asked gravely. “We travel because we are all convinced she is not what she pretends, and that she is with the Colonel for unworthy reasons.”

“Perhaps she merely wished to marry.”

“We have already discussed that,” Darcy said, grieved that he could not hold her and dispel her fears. “The Colonel is no great ‘catch’—he has neither fortune nor title; and such ladies as Miss Henry seek more than an officer in the War Office, unless—”

“Unless he serves some other purpose for them. Enough,” Mr Gardiner interposed. “We shall retire to our rooms; you and Mr Darcy may remain ten minutes in the parlour to settle the last particulars. I require sleep.”

This was not wholly true; he was not exhausted, but believed Mr Darcy might better console Elizabeth alone.

Darcy looked his thanks, and once in his arms, Elizabeth breathed more freely. He did not kiss or caress her, but sat in silence, dreaming of a life with this remarkable woman.

“I shall make that devil pay for spoiling my betrothal—you may be sure of it, my love. I shall ruin his wedding day when he weds a virtuous lady.”

“You shall do no such thing, Fitzwilliam,” she said, meeting his gaze.

He laughed outright. “My God, she already speaks like my mother.”

∞∞∞

“Please be calm, be concise, and impart to him no particulars that may appear perplexing at the beginning of the conversation,” Mr Darcy said, as the carriage drew near Eastbourne.

They had already resolved that Mr Gardiner should accompany her.

The colonel was not to be informed at the outset that Darcy too had come.

It must appear, at first, that she had arrived attended only by her uncle.

And though the presence of his uncle might seem no more than a matter of decorum, Darcy secretly considered that it was far more; it was likewise a question of the safety of his future wife.

Never would he have left her unprotected in such a situation, which, though it might seem but a conversation between two civilised persons, could conceal dangers not yet discerned.

Miss Henry had too much at stake if her design were malevolent and exposed by Elizabeth’s intervention.

Elizabeth turned her gaze through the window, her eyes fixed with wonder upon the sea.

“Look at me, Elizabeth. Forget the sea. I pledge you shall behold it as often as you desire, but now—”

Mr Gardiner concealed a smile at these words. Elizabeth was indeed like a child living her dream. In some measure, it was well for her to be diverted from the encounter soon to begin.

It was not difficult to find the Devonshire mansion at Eastbourne. In the distance rose a stately edifice, more resembling a royal palace than a dwelling by the shore.

To the astonishment of Elizabeth and Mr Gardiner, the carriage halted long before the house, and Mr Darcy himself opened the door to admit a gentleman.

“Miss Elizabeth, Mr Gardiner, permit me to present my butler, Mr Watson.”

The man appeared somewhat abashed, yet Darcy commanded, “Pray be seated, Watson. This is no time for ceremony.”

Elizabeth regarded him with curiosity; she had already met his other butler at Pemberley, but Mr Watson was different. Attired with elegance, his tall hat in his hand, he presented the very image of a gentleman.

“She is here, sir,” he said, and Elizabeth felt her courage tremble. “She is likewise a guest of the Duke. I delivered the message you gave me yesterday evening, and half an hour later I have seen him return from Eastbourne Redoubt.”

Elizabeth comprehended that the letter she had written in London was now in the colonel’s possession.

“Has he seen you?”

“No, sir, assuredly not.

“They are not married,” added the butler. A sigh of relief, issuing from three breasts at once, was heard within the carriage.

“Are you sure?” Darcy asked even if he had confidence in the man.

“Yes, sir, I am assured. John befriended as soon as he arrived with the colonel’s orderly, and after a few mugs of ale, he discovered all that was to be known—”

“John is our footman, who accompanied Watson.”

Darcy paused for a moment, but then he continued with determination, “Watson brought another man…an old soldier, tried in many hardships. I thought it important to have with us one so brave, who has served England with honour. John and this man would be all the time, not far from you, hidden in the garden. The colonel does not know them,” explained Mr Darcy; then he turned towards the butler and gave him silent thanks with a slight inclination of the head, and again addressed Elizabeth and Mr Gardiner.

“We must now alight. I would not be seen here…not yet. Pray, my dears, proceed to the mansion. I am persuaded that orders have been given for you to be taken to the colonel. Please do not tell him we are together. I shall present myself a little later. I still have some things to attend to. The excellent news is that they are not married.”

“But they live…under the same roof,” Mr Gardiner said with much contempt.

“This is not new to me,” Darcy said. “The lady made every effort to bewitch Richard, to entangle him in her snares.”

Darcy and his butler descended and vanished from sight, while Mr Gardiner turned to his niece. “Are you prepared, my dear?”

Elizabeth nodded, though her eyes told him all he required. She was prepared.

Never before had she experienced such a state: a strange firmness of purpose arose within her, mingled with an excitement that quickened every sense. The colonel’s future hung in the balance of her power of persuasion, and, in the end, the fate of an entire family rested in her hands.

As they drew near the house, her uncle leaned closer.

“Lizzy,” he said, in the gentlest tone, “it is essential that you understand something. You may bring your mission to a successful end, yet your intervention may not result in a positive consequence…as we all wish. And if it be so, you must not blame yourself.”

“Uncle, I do not understand.” Elizabeth’s countenance bore once more the marks of her inward conflict.

I am so sorry for her, Mr Gardiner thought, but he had decided to let her see the wholeness of the matter.

“He may refuse to abandon that woman, or—”

“Or? Pray speak. You make me wretchedly anxious.”

“I regret to say it, but you must enter that room prepared for every issue. It may be that he is as culpable as she.”

“No!” Elizabeth cried with force. “No!”

“I comprehend your worry, but you must be prudent. Should he indeed be guilty, you might find yourself in peril. Mr Darcy has not spoken plainly of this…but he prepared for this possibility.”

“Mr Darcy did not speak plainly because we possess entire confidence in the colonel. I shall enter that room persuaded of his innocence.”

“Do as your heart tells you. First, I shall accompany you, and you will present me. I would have him know that I am in the adjoining chamber.”

Elizabeth assented, though with impatience. Now that she was so near, she longed only to act, and every further word seemed idle.