Page 22 of Reputation, an Easy Thing to Lose (Reputation Verse #1)

Chapter 21

Duty and Honour

Pemberley, Derbys hire

13 June 1813, Early Mor ning

E arly morning rays of the sun showered Elizabeth in a brilliant warmth through the curtains of her temporary bedchamber. Though the massive Donisthorp longcase clock chimed only eight times, the manor house had been busy with activity for nearly three hours. The servants had begun preparations for the first full day of the Darcys’ house party even before dawn broke above the woods surrounding Pemberley. With the rising of the sun, so too did Darcy and Elizabeth rise from their cold, lonely beds. Neither slept well without the other, and they found that attempting sleep after the sun invaded their bed-chambers was a lost battle. It was a happy accident that they met on the stairs leading from the family wing to the breakfast dining room.

“Good morning, Elizabeth! You are up earlier than I would have imag ined.”

“Yes, I found I could not sleep in this morning. I also decided that I should take some time with Mrs. Reynolds today before the party starts in earnest to review any requirements or items she has been unable to ob tain.”

“I am sure Mrs. Reynolds has everything well in order. Even if there were shortages of requested items, alternatives have most assuredly already been prov ided.”

“Of course, you are correct, I just hate to leave it all on her shoulders. I have forever been an early riser, so there is nothing bothersome about the task. What has you awake so early this morning? Did you not adequately tire yourself out with racing horses yeste rday?”

Darcy made a frustrated face before schooling his features. “I cannot say that my body was over tired after the men’s horse sport yesterday, but I was definitely left in poor spirits and tired of mind.”

After leading the young men in a race to Pemberley the day before, Darcy had dutifully listened to his cousin and friends regarding the wishes of their mothers and sisters. Finwell had bluntly repeated the accusations of Lady Nottingham and Lady Fiona. Lord Asbury, the eldest son of Lord Derby merely stated his sister, Lady Miranda, had a long -s tanding admiration for Darcy. Finally, his cousin, Huntley, noted that Lady Matlock was becoming impatient with the unmarried state of all three of the Fitzwilliam male cousins. Darcy was as contrite as he could muster but defended himself, declaring that he was not inclined to marry any of the young ladies in their party. While none of the viscounts had been happy with the news, they were not particularly surprised. After hearing of the scheming and gossip circulating through the ladies of their party, it became difficult to keep his promise to Elizabeth to be a gracious host.

“Do not think on it anymore. Let us enjoy the entertainments set out for these days.”

“Yes, I am looking forward to many of the planned activities. This morning I must ride out with the steward and check on a few of the tenant farms. I shall be back in time for luncheon, I am sure.”

This first morning for Darcy and Elizabeth, spent in familiar surroundings, in familiar conversation at their sunny table, continued for another quarter hour with only their own servants in observa tion.

Or so they tho ught.

In actuality, the personal servants to Lady Matlock, Lady Nottingham, Lady Derby, Lady Grace, and Caroline Bingley all observed at least some portion of Elizabeth and Darcy’s morning repast. So, before any male guest had even begun to stir, and with the primary parties engaged with estate business and therefore insensible to the storm brewing inside their guest wing, all the matchmaking mammas and the scheming ladies were being regaled with some version, mostly exaggerated, of the Darcys’ early morning movem ents.

It was purely blind luck that Elizabeth’s abigail, Marianne, was stocking Lady Matlock’s bath with fresh linens at the exact moment the countess’s own abigail burst in with the morning gossip. As personal servant to the mistress, Marianne was considered on equal footing with Mrs. Reynolds and above such tasks as moving the laundry about. But with so many guests all arrived at the same time, it had been difficult for the upstairs maids to fulfil all the requests for specific comforts. This morning, it was a good thing Marianne did not consider herself too high to help the household generally, as there was no one better suited to deliver this message to Elizabeth than her self.

Marianne stayed long enough to get the full story of what Lady Matlock’s abigail was relaying before racing down the servants’ staircase to find Mrs. Reynolds. Along her way to Mrs. Reynolds’s office, she passed through the servants’ dining room where Lilian and Connor Grayson, Georgiana’s and Darcy’s personal servants, were both having breakfast. She paused long enough to beg that they both leave immediately to the upper floors and keep their ears open for any gossip amongst the visiting servants and gentry. With only one glance between the Darcys’ personal servants, all were off in a dash to gather what information they c ould.

Marianne knocked on the door to Mrs. Reynolds’s office but did not wait for an invitation to begin. “Mrs. Reynolds! Mrs. Darcy, I must have your attention! I am sorry to bring this to you, but Lady Matlock’s maid had some awful things to be saying this mo rnin’.”

“What are you talking about, Marianne? We have not been here above five hours awake. What disaster could have already befallen us all?” Elizabeth was in a very good mood after her comfortable breakfast with Darcy and inclined to waive away the young servant’s fervour. “Is there something wrong with the wallpaper in her ladyship’s room? I have already heard much from Miss Bingley about how unrefined the new papers are in her rooms even though that is the exact paper I saw on the walls in the music room at Lord Grafton’s home when we were there for dinner three weeks ago.”

Shaking her head, Marianne stumbled over her next words. “No, I do not know what to say. It is most… indecent and… ungene rous.”

Elizabeth patted Marianne’s hand comfortingly. “I shall not think less of you for having to say that which others are guilty of gossiping about. It is better we know what problems may arise than become surpr ised.”

“Yes, yes of course.” Marianne fumbled with her apron. “Well… I mean… Lady Matlock’s maid saw you at breakfast with the master, and then Lady Matlock discussed where she expected you might have slept last night to be up so early with Mr. D arcy.”

This got Elizabeth’s attention quickly. “Oh.” It took several moments for Elizabeth to be able to gather her thoughts. “That is certainly less than ideal. However, eating breakfast together in a public room is not strictly outside of propr iety.”

“No, of course, ma’am. I am glad I have got here before her ladyship. It is a miracle, as there was talk of coming straight away down the stairs in her dressing gown.”

Elizabeth chuckled. “I am not so sure that God’s miracles extend to keeping lies and secrets from Mr. Darcy’s family and other peers of the realm, but I do appreciate the war ning.”

Before any of them could decide how to handle any fallout from this situation, Lady Matlock barged into Mrs. Reynolds’s office without evening knoc king.

Just as Marianne had predicted, the enraged countess had donned her dressing gown and little else before storming out of her rooms. She initially demanded to speak with her nephew. When the guest wing footman informed her that the master had left early to inspect the fields, she turned her anger towards Elizabeth whom, she was informed, was meeting with Mrs. Reyn olds.

Not waiting for directions to the housekeeper’s office, Lady Matlock veritably flew down the stairs and rounded into the servant’s corridor. She opened the first door on her right with all the confidence of a woman who had daily run two households and overseen the operation of three others for more than thirty y ears.

“Miss Bennet! How dare you act in such a vile manner with a house full of quality guests! I am heartily ashamed to even know your name, let alone to have had you as a guest in my own homes. What have you to say for your self?”

“I am sorry, Lady Matlock, but I do not take your meaning. What actions do you disapprov e of?”

Lady Matlock was nearly purple, she was holding herself so rigidly. “Cavorting with my nephew for a start! You are not a stupid girl, so do not pretend to be ignorant now of the bounds of propr iety.”

Elizabeth sat up straighter in her chair and raised one eyebrow. “Is taking breakfast in the public rooms at the same time as Mr. Darcy a breach of propriety that I was unawar e of?”

“And exactly how did you know when Darcy would be at his breakfast if you were not with him before descending the st airs?”

“Excuse me, madam, but you are frank and entirely insulting. While I cannot stop your outbursts and idle gossip, I can choose not to grace certain questions with an an swer.”

“How dare you speak to me with such insolence, you, you, you adventuress ?” Lady Matlock took a menacing step towards Elizabeth’s chair, but Elizabeth just maintained her place without flinching. “I demand you leave immediately. Go back to your mother and take your baggage hooks out of my nephew. He is a nonpareil catch and will have his choice of the ladies once he is free of your Jezebel allurements! If you do not desist, you will be the ruin of both William and Georgiana. Have some dec ency!”

Lady Matlock’s diatribe hit too close to many of Elizabeth’s own fears for her family’s reputation. While the rightful mistress of Pemberley would not be bullied into admitting wrongdoing where there was none, she did start to shed silent tears at the thought that they would be unsuccessful at protecting all the Bennets, Darcys, Fitzwilliams, and Gardi ners.

“Josephine Finch Fitzwilliam! You will stop this madness, at once!”

The four women in Mrs. Reynolds’s office looked back at the door and were very surprised to see an angry Lord Matlock bellowing at his own wife.

“Henri! What are you doing here? I would not need to take this hussy to task if you had spoken to William like I had a sked.”

Lord Matlock had spoken to Richard and Huntley the night before regarding the outcome of the young men’s separation from the traveling party and the conversation that necessarily took place. While Richard had relayed that Darcy vehemently denied anything illicit regarding his relationship with Elizabeth, he had also decided to shared his private knowledge of Darcy’s love for Elizabeth before her father’s death, and Richard’s belief that, once Georgiana was well settled, Darcy planned to marry her.

Before retiring for the night, the earl had decided that he had seen enough misery amongst his family members in regards to forced or arranged marriage. His own older sister had been sacrificed to Sir Lewis de Bourgh to pay his father’s losses from a failed horse breeding investment. Lady Gwyneth had been neglected, due to the circumstance of her birth, and sold to the first man to look in her direction. While he and Josephine were tolerably happy, Lord Matlock personally knew of only one couple, Lady Anne and George Darcy, who had been truly in love during their marriage. If his nephew wanted to be happy with the sweet tempered, intelligent daughter of a gentleman, he would support the boy when the time came. He never imagined that time would come before breakfast next.

Standing in the Pemberley housekeeper’s office, having heard several of the vilest things ever uttered by a lady come from his wife’s mouth, Lord Matlock decided that he had to put an end to his wife’s machinat ions.

“Josephine, you will desist abusing the young lady, this instant! She has done nothing except rise at an early hour to attend to her duties before the rest of the guests begin demanding her attention.” He raised his finger and pointed a menacing finger at Lady Matlock. “This is NOT your house! I have allowed you too much latitude in your scheming concerning our nephew’s marital state. Well, that ends today. If William is inclined to marry a woman you have deemed a good match, then bless them both. But if he is not so inclined, then when he does make HIS choice, you are hereby ordered to wish him joy and graciously accept the lady into our family. I do not care if she were to have been born a street urchin or sold flowers at Covent Garden before meeting William. The next Mrs. Darcy shall be given all the advantage of our connections and our support. Until that day, you are not to make one mention of his current state, you are to desist throwing young women into his path, and you are NEVER to abuse a member of his household again. Now, apologize to Miss Elizabeth and come back upstairs to right your appearance before we are expected to break fast.”

With a very sour look on her face, Lady Matlock turned towards Elizabeth. “Miss Elizabeth, it seems that this morning’s gossip has been greatly exaggerated. I am sorry if my words caused you dist ress.”

Lord Matlock took Lady Matlock’s arm and forcefully escorted her out of the housekeeper’s office, then back up the stairs to their suite of r ooms.

Several long moments passed before any of the remaining ladies said anything. Finally, Marianne broke the silence. “I really must be going back upstairs. There are lots of towels and linens left to be sent around. Sally and Emily were having a hard time of it. I will keep my ears open for anything else, m a’am.”

Elizabeth sighed. “Yes, I believe that is the best we can do for now. Thank you again for coming to me with the warning, even though we could not avoid the unpleasant discus sion.”

“Of course, ma’am. I shall see you when it is time to change for di nner.”

Elizabeth nodded and turned back to the list of meat orders, which was still in her hand.

“Mrs. Darcy, as I was saying before, we are well in stock for the requested items. Please do not trouble yourself overly. If you would like to take some tea in your sitting room for a while, or perhaps even lie down again before the rest of the guests rise, I believe that would be a good thing. You seem a little pale this mor ning.”

Elizabeth managed a smile. “You are right, of course. I slept poorly last night, and my stomach was upset this morning. I believe I will take some tea. Oh! I did want to ask, did Cook change the recipe for the lemon -d ressed potatoes? They were not much to my liking last n ight.”

“I am sorry, I do not believe the recipe has changed, but I shall ask.” Mrs. Reynolds eyed Elizabeth with some suspicion. “Cook specifically included them last night as they are your favou rite.”

“They have always been the most excellent boiled potatoes with a hint of lemon and dill, and you are correct, quite my favourite. Perhaps it was just the traveling that has me out of sorts. No one else seemed to have any complaint about the potatoes. I am sure they were quite the exemplary vegetable.” Elizabeth chuckled to herself with the memory of another dinner which seemed so long ago now.

Mrs. Reynolds gave Elizabeth a critical eye as she took her leave. Then, she went to the kitchen to personally prepare a special blend of tea with certain restorative and medicinal properties for her mist ress.

By luncheon, which was to be taken on the large patio overlooking the extensive formal gardens, Elizabeth was feeling more herself, and Darcy was returned from the morning tenant meetings. Elizabeth was directing the final placement of chairs and tables as well as arranging the buffet table. Several of the guests, including Lady Matlock and Lady Nottingham, were milling about near the doors to the music room. Darcy was engaged in a discussion with several of the men just a few paces off from the la dies.

Elizabeth approached the gathered guests. “I believe that all of the food has been put out. Please come find a p late.”

The friendly overture was met with stony silence from the countesses. Lady Matlock took the arm of her niece, Lady Fiona, and brushed past Elizabeth without looking at her directly. Lady Nottingham followed suit immediately. From inside the music room, most of the remaining assembled ladies headed outside without speaking to Elizabeth. Only Caroline Bingley interacted with Elizabeth on her way towards the buffet. Caroline smirked most ungenerously, then opened her fan directly in Elizabeth’s face.

From ten paces away, Darcy saw all. He was just about to go demand what was wrong from someone, but Richard stopped him.

“Darcy, come talk to me for a moment.” Richard led Darcy off to the far end of the terrace and directed them both to look out over the bal cony.

“Why have you separated us from the group?” Darcy demanded. “Do you know something of Elizabeth’s ill treatment just now?”

Lord Matlock had spoken with the other men before Darcy arrived home that morning and informed them that he would support his nephew and the members of the Darcy household against the vicious rumours regarding his relationship with Elizabeth. Lord Matlock, with help from Richard and Huntley, insisted that the only real evidence showed that his young, motherless niece had taken a particular liking to her witty, compassionate companion and Darcy was only guilty of allowing a sisterly, familial affection for the young woman. However, Lord Matlock’s support for Darcy did not guarantee that Elizabeth would be treated with kindness. It just ensured that there would be no more public outbu rsts.

Prob ably.

“You must understand how disappointed some of the ladies are with your… lack of interest in the very eligible, very beautiful, very rich daughters of earls. It makes them talk. My mother was chastised by Father for her abuse of Miss Eli…”

“What do you mean, abuse ?” Darcy gro wled.

“Lower your voice, man! When did you lose your ability to stay stoic and silent for weeks on end?” Richard sighed and cleared his throat before continuing. “Yes, my mother confronted Miss Elizabeth this morning about some ridiculous gossip started by Mother’s own abigail. Father was none too happy and took her to task for it. He has also spoken to the men, but you must be careful. Let Miss Elizabeth have some personal space. Be a little more hospitable to the ladies. Get this over with and then come up to scr atch.”

Richard did not wait for Darcy’s response. He simply walked away to find his own p late.

While Darcy fumed across the terrace, Lady Sefton approached Elizabeth and linked their arms. “Come, dear, let us find a place to sit. I see you and I are not popular conversation partners this afternoon. I wonder why?” Lady Sefton’s eyebrows rose with genuine questioning, but the effect was ruined by her large smile and laughing tone.

“Perhaps we frighten the other ladies with our taciturn nat ures.”

Lady Sefton laughed. “Ha! My dear, I have never known a less taciturn young lady than yourself. Even when you have every right to be withdrawn. No, it must be our sharp wits. For neither of us suffers fools well, and who is more a fool than a woman chasing a man of good for tune?”