Page 22 of Searching for Elizabeth (A Pride and Prejudice Variation)
—later in the morning—
Fitzwilliam Darcy’s breakfast, in the library of Netherfield Park, was interrupted by a message from Longbourn. Smithson entered, crossed the floor swiftly, and said, “This was just this minute handed to me from Mr. Hill, from Longbourn.”
Darcy discovered that the message was from Mary, and it turned out that her uncle, Edward Gardiner, had arrived at Longbourn that morning.
He hurried away without eating another bite. Grabbing his outerwear, he ran to the stables for his horse and took off as soon as he could.
When he presented himself at Longbourn just a quarter hour after he had received the note, he was shown into the parlor. Mary had an approving look in her eyes, but neither Elizabeth’s father nor her uncle were in the room. Mr. Collins was; the parson was speaking on and on about his patroness and his bride-to-be, and nobody seemed to be listening.
Darcy was sure that the men would be in the book room, and he felt fairly sure they would be discussing Elizabeth. If so, he was positive he should be a part of whatever was being decided. He strongly wished that he could magically transport Elizabeth herself into the room as well, but…well, he would have to do his best to consider what she would want.
He did not ask to be shown into the book room, and he did not alert Mrs. Bennet or Mrs. Hill of his intentions. Instead, he simply got up, went down the hall to the correct door, knocked, and when Mr. Bennet called “Enter,”
he let himself into the room and closed the door.
Mr. Bennet appeared confounded.
“Mr. Darcy!”
he said. He started to look outraged, so Darcy hastened to answer him and make his interest known to both men.
“Good morning, Mr. Bennet.”
Darcy turned to the other man, who looked only a bit older than himself and very fashionable. He asked, “I assume you are Mr. Gardiner?”
At the man’s astonished nod, Darcy introduced himself: “My name is Fitzwilliam Darcy, of Pemberley, in Derbyshire.”
Mr. Bennet tried to interrupt: “You—”
Darcy smoothly asked, his eyes mostly turned toward Mr. Gardiner, “I would imagine that this meeting concerns Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Is that true?”
Mr. Gardiner nodded. Mr. Bennet spluttered, “There is no—”
Darcy said, “Gentlemen, if this discussion concerns Miss Elizabeth, I feel compelled to be a part of it. Yesterday, she accepted my proposal of marriage and agreed to be my wife. Mr. Bennet, I had meant to come today to ask you for your permission and blessing, but I was going to wait until a more appropriate hour to do so. But when my valet informed me that Elizabeth’s beloved Uncle Edward had come from his home on Gracechurch Street, I realized that I needed to expedite our meeting.”
Mr. Gardiner was a bit pale, and his eyes wide, but he smiled at Darcy and said, “Well, this certainly changes things. It is nice to meet you, sir, and I look forward to getting to know you, but I would also like to see my niece.”
Mr. Bennet, still stumbling on his words of protest, said, “Wait a minute! You cannot—”
Darcy said, “Mr. Gardiner, I am honorbound to secrecy on Miss Elizabeth’s location, although, if this meeting concludes in a favorable way, I am almost certain that she would wish to return here to see you and all of her family.”
“The effrontery of—”
shouted Mr. Bennet.
Mr. Gardiner offered his hand to Darcy, and said, “We will soon be family; call me Gardiner.”
Darcy shook his hand firmly and responded, “Then you should call me Darcy.”
Gardiner’s smile was broad as he asked, “So, you are Mr. Darcy of Pemberley? Oh, how I wish my wife was here. She met you when you were only a child, but she has so many positive things to say about your dearly departed parents, and her admiration for your estate is quite extreme. Apparently the grounds are splendid.”
“Such a small world, that my Elizabeth’s beloved aunt knew my parents. If you do not mind, I would love to know her maiden name and where she lived at the time she met my family.”
Darcy noticed that Mr. Bennet, having been ignored during all his protests, was now glowering at him. He worried that he might not be able to win permission to marry Elizabeth, and he wondered how long it would be before her birthday.
But he pushed aside his anxiety and listened to Gardiner’s answer, “My wife was born Madeleine West, and she grew up in Lambton.”
“That is not five miles away from Pemberley! West…she is the former parson’s daughter?”
“That is right. I agree that it is a small world. Madeleine will be delighted by this news.”
“And your entire family must come stay at Pemberley whenever your wife wishes to visit her friends and relations in Lambton.”
Mr. Bennet laughed; it was not a very nice laugh, but Darcy turned to him with his impassive mask firmly in place. The older man said, “If you two are quite finished with polite chitchat, I would like to discuss my missing daughter.”
Darcy said, “Sir, I wish to assure you that Miss Elizabeth has stayed warm and safe and fairly well fed.”
“And you know this because…?”
Darcy smiled briefly, then turned to Gardiner for a more genuine smile. He replied, “As you know, Mr. Bennet, I was quite upset that you did not know Elizabeth’s whereabouts, and I was every bit as perturbed that you had done nothing to search for her. I assiduously rode and walked for hours every day, remembering and checking the places she had said she loved, such as Oakham Mount. I rode every horse trail and walked every foot trail. I finally found her, quite literally, in a forest, and she assured me of her comfortable and safe situation. However, she did not authorize me to share her location with anyone—indeed, she had me promise not to tell—and I believe she fears retribution or a renewal of efforts to marry her to Mr. Collins.”
Gardiner said, “I assume that, after you gain Mr. Bennet’s permission to wed Elizabeth, you will draw up a marriage settlement?”
“Yes. Actually, in case she accepted me, I asked my lawyer to start the settlement papers last week, so I can probably have them expressed here in mere hours. As I said, Elizabeth accepted my proposal only yesterday afternoon.”
Gardiner turned to Mr. Bennet, saying, “If Lizzy truly has accepted this man, it is a stupendous match for her. I believe you should give them permission instantly, and although we will of course read the settlement carefully, Mr. Darcy does have a reputation for being extremely honorable.”
“Extremely rich, you mean,”
Mr. Bennet said.
“I have heard ‘ten thousand a year’ incessantly around here.”
Darcy said, “Actually, Mr. Bennet, that figure is just a rumor. In actuality, with the income from all my properties and my investments, I have more than twice that.”
Both men looked at him with gaping mouths. Gardiner shut his mouth first, shaking his head with a rueful grin.
“‘Well done, Lizzy,’ I should say. But, Darcy, I want you to know that it is your sterling reputation, and the esteem everyone has for your family, that counts more than your income.”
“Thank you, Gardiner. I feel the same way about your niece; everyone talks about her beauty, which is unparalleled, but it is her intelligence, her spirit, and one might even say her spunk, her kindheartedness and generosity, her creativity…I mean, I cannot fathom listing all her praiseworthy qualities in one go, because she is just so amazing, my sincere praises will start to sound meaningless.”
Gardiner smiled and nodded.
“I see that you have accurately taken Elizabeth’s measure. Do you know how she often employs her creativity?”
Darcy nodded.
“I do, in general terms. Just yesterday, I sent a package to Mr. Briggs and an order to Hatchards, but as of yet I have not read the various items posted or ordered.”
Mr. Bennet was spending his time looking back and forth from man to man, repeating words every so often.
“Twice that?”
“Employs her creativity?”
“Hatchards?”
Gardiner turned to Mr. Bennet and asked, “Well, Thomas, are you going to give Mr. Darcy here permission to wed Lizzy?”
Mr. Bennet opened his mouth twice before he was able to utter actual words, but the actual words he muttered were, “I suppose. He is the kind of man to whom I should never dare refuse anything which he condescends to ask.”
Darcy stood up, held his hand out to Elizabeth’s father, and said, “Thank you, sir.”
Mr. Bennet did not shake his hand, so he shrugged and bowed in his direction, grinned at Gardiner, and said, “I will see if I can convince Elizabeth to visit Longbourn.”
He heard more splutters behind him—“Visit?”—but swiftly left, mounted his horse, and galloped away before anyone could saddle a horse in order to follow.
Darcy made sure to take a very circuitous route before tying his horse’s reins to a convenient branch and striding to the cottage. He could hardly wait to tell his betrothed the good news.
But the moment he reached the door of the cottage, he sobered and slowed. The door was halfway open. All was quiet, inside and out, and Darcy was certain that something was wrong.