Page 42

CHAPTER 42

Travelling to London

4 NOVEMBER 1811 - LONDON

M onday morning came all too soon for the newlywed couple.

The dinner at Netherfield had been a success, and without Miss Caroline Bingley there to criticise, had been quite enjoyable for everyone present.

Even the Hursts had been pleasant company, and Mr. Hurst appeared far more sober and talkative than usual.

Elizabeth and Jane had enjoyed the company of Mrs. Hurst, speaking to her more often than they had done when her sister was there.

Several carriages met at Longbourn to begin the journey to London.

To Elizabeth and Darcy’s dismay, Bennet and Livesay both boarded their carriage, instead of riding with the Gardiners as had been expected.

The reason soon became clear.

“I am certain your butler at Darcy House will have an interesting tale for you, but we had a visitor on Friday that may surprise you,” Bennet began.

“She was there for you, Darcy, but as a wedding gift, I decided not to send her your way.”

Darcy steeled himself, knowing who the visitor likely was.

“My Aunt Catherine was at Longbourn?” he guessed, groaning when Bennet nodded .

““Your father mentioned her once or twice in his letters, so I was prepared for a harridan—and she was exactly as I imagined,” Bennet said drily.

“She went to Darcy House first, expecting to find you there. When she did not, she came to Longbourn, ready to scold me, my daughter, and you—although you were conveniently absent—for the outrageous notion that George Darcy had signed a marriage contract with my daughter and not hers.”

He shook his head, half amused, half exasperated.

Elizabeth covered her laugh at the thought of the imperious lady being so disappointed.

“I showed her the copy of the contract which nearly sent her into apoplexy. She tried to tear it up until I calmly pointed out that it was merely a copy; the originals are safely stored and far beyond her reach.”

His expression darkened slightly.

“She was, let us say, enthusiastic in her disapproval. She instructed me to inform you, wherever you may be, that she is ‘seriously displeased’ and that she intends to ‘carry her point.’ With whom, I do not know or care. I told her, quite plainly, that the marriage is already made, and that there is precious little she can do about it now.”

A brief smile tugged at the corners of his mouth while Livesay let out an amused laugh, seeing the look on Darcy’s face at that pronouncement.

“In case you wondered how she knew, Collins informed her as soon as he arrived in Kent. She must have set off immediately and travelled without thought for her horses or her coachman,” Bennet added.

“I suspected as much,” Darcy replied, shaking his head, then looking at his new father-in-law with a grin.

“Bennet, I am certain you put my Aunt Catherine in her place. I almost wish I could have seen that although I admit that I am glad you were subjected to her and not me. I had better things to do with my time. ”

Livesay leant forward in his seat, his tone thoughtful as he shifted the topic of conversation to one more serious.

“Your uncle is aware of your marriage. With the countess already in London and spreading favourable talk about your ‘love match,’ he will be hard-pressed to oppose it without making an utter fool of himself. Even when he was the viscount, he was acutely conscious of both status and gossip and would not do anything to create a scandal. That is why his threat to spread rumours about your sister is so out of character.”

Allowing a small smile, Livesay continued, “I received word from a few friends in town that Lady Matlock, bless her, has already begun to make the rounds among her friends and peers since returning to London the day after your wedding. She has been quite vocal about her attendance and has expressed nothing but delight in the match to everyone whose opinion carries weight.”

He paused briefly, then added, “She also made a point of mentioning how much she has enjoyed having your sister with her since the summer.”

Elizabeth grasped Darcy’s hand more tightly.

“She means to make it known that Georgiana has been with her so that any gossip can easily be refuted, should Lord Matlock still attempt anything,” she concluded.

Livesay nodded, and then he and Bennet proceeded to fill Darcy in on what had been discussed over the last several days.

More details had been discovered about Lord Matlock’s involvement in the smuggling operation, along with that of the viscount, and Darcy’s messenger had returned with additional details about Miss Sedgewick.

Armed with all of this information, they felt the confrontation with Lord Matlock would go in their favour, and of course, with Darcy’s marriage already made and Lady Matlock ready to swear that Georgiana had been with her all summer, any attempts the earl would make to harm Georgiana’s reputation would be easily refuted .

Still, Darcy preferred not to go that far, and he hoped that the confrontation with Lord Matlock would be more easily resolved than expected.

With so much conversation required along the way, the journey to London passed quickly.

However, with others accompanying them the entire way, there had been little opportunity for intimate conversation or making plans for their time in town.

Still, it had all been necessary so they could be prepared for what would meet them in London.

After a brief stop to rest halfway through the journey, the seating arrangements changed once again.

A rider from London had been waiting at the inn with fresh news from Lady Matlock, urgent enough that it required immediate discussion among the men.

Reluctantly, Darcy boarded his carriage alongside his father-in-law; his new uncle Gardiner; and Livesay.

He watched with visible disappointment as Elizabeth climbed into the other carriage with Mrs. Gardiner, Miss Livesay, and the younger Mr. Livesay.

However, he was not able to remain lost in thoughts of his bride for long.

“The colonel is already in London; apparently his mother sent him word early this morning to inform him that it was necessary for him to be present during the confrontation. Matlock is incensed with your Aunt Catherine’s description of how your marriage came to be, doubtlessly tainted by her own impressions and those of her fool of a parson,” Livesay said.

“I know we have discussed it before, but I confess that I was shocked at his behaviour at the wedding. Of course, after meeting Lady Catherine de Bourgh, it was less so.”

“What is my uncle threatening to do?” Darcy asked, unable to tolerate such unnecessary conversation at the moment .

“Lady Catherine arrived at Matlock House on Saturday, and the earl and the viscount spent all of yesterday at Devonshire House. When Lord Matlock arrived home late last night, he spent more than an hour in his study, rifling through papers before apparently falling asleep at his desk. Since waking this morning, he has attempted to gain entry to Darcy House, but your servants have kept him at bay,” Gardiner said, repeating the information from the letter.

“What could he be looking for? And why would he want to get into Darcy House while I am not there?” Darcy wondered aloud, setting off another round of discussion.

While the men speculated, they were no closer to an answer when they arrived at Darcy House more than an hour later.

The Darcy carriage arrived first, and the men had just stepped down when the Gardiner carriage pulled in behind.

Darcy moved swiftly to assist his wife, reaching up to take Elizabeth’s hand as she descended with grace.

At the same moment, Livesay stepped forward to help his daughter alight, guiding her from the Gardiner carriage to the one that would soon take her on to their family’s home.

Mrs. Gardiner remained seated—she would be returning to Gracechurch Street to tend to her children—while Mr. Gardiner rejoined the group of men.

Darcy, still holding Elizabeth’s hand, leant in and murmured against her ear, “This is not how I imagined you would first see Darcy House, dearest.”

Elizabeth laughed softly.

“You can give me a private tour another time, Fitzwilliam. For now, I suppose we must do what we can about your uncle.” As they began ascending the steps, she glanced sideways at him, recalling the reason for their separation during this last leg of their journey.

“Is there anything I ought to know before we go in?”

To her surprise, Darcy did not answer immediately.

Instead, he paused at the top of the steps—then swept her suddenly into his arms and carried her over the threshold.

Elizabeth gasped, then laughed as he grinned down at her.

“We need all the good luck we can find,” he said, his voice low and warm.

“And I rather liked the excuse to hold you in my arms, particularly since we cannot be alone for quite some time.”

After setting her down and introducing his new wife to his staff, Darcy led their party to his study.

He nearly laughed upon seeing Colonel Fitzwilliam already in his study and seated behind Darcy’s desk, his feet on top of it.

Before Darcy could say a word, the colonel stood and greeted them all.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Darcy, gentlemen,” he said, jovially acting the part of host.

“Why are you here, Richard? You know how I feel about your sitting in my chair and placing your feet on my desk,” Darcy said drily.

“I was here as protection against my father,” he replied with a grin.

“I knew my being here would stop my father from searching for whatever he might be looking for, or to keep him from placing something here that was not present before his arrival. Your servants are rather tenacious, however, and my assistance was not needed.”

His expression turned more serious.

“Regardless, we must speak of my father. A servant was dispatched to Matlock House as soon as you arrived to let Mother know. I expect that Father will ‘discover’ this soon enough and make haste to scold you.”

“Do you or your mother have any idea what the earl might be looking for?” Livesay asked.

“No, I do not, but he was heard muttering about a contract,” Fitzwilliam replied.

“Could he have a forged document about a marriage that he might use in an attempt to invalidate our marriage?” Elizabeth asked, her brow furrowed.

“If he had a marriage contract forged, he would not need to search for it,” Gardiner said.

“He would need to get inside Darcy House so it could be ‘discovered,’ but even then, he could do little about it now that the two of you are wed.”

“Father would have never signed a contract with the viscount to marry me to his daughter,” Darcy added.

“He detested the man.”

Any further conversation was ended by a knock at the door.

“Lord and Lady Matlock are here to see you, sir,” the butler said upon entering at Darcy’s call.

“Should I show them here or the drawing room?”

Darcy looked towards his wife, who shrugged.

“I think we will be more comfortable in the formal drawing room. Please have a maid bring refreshments and then keep everyone away from this part of the house. Have them wait a few minutes while we get settled in that room so we can receive them properly.”

The butler nodded and hurried to do as he was bid.

Five minutes later, the earl and countess were shown into the room where the others sat.

“Welcome,” Darcy said in greeting, before drawing his wife nearer to him.

Ignoring the usual practice, he began by introducing his wife to his uncle without asking for his permission.

. “Uncle, allow me to introduce you to my wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy. You know the rest, do you not? It has been many years, but I know you have met Father’s friends, Mr. Thomas Bennet, my wife’s father, and Mr. James Livesay. I am told you have also had business dealings with my new uncle, Mr. Edward Gardiner.”

The earl scowled at these men, all of whom were far below him in consequence .

“I heard from Catherine that you had married some penniless nobody,” the earl sneered.

“Of course, I did not realise that you had tied yourself to the daughter of Thomas Bennet. He was useless at Cambridge, and I cannot believe that has changed much since then. I never could understand why your father befriended those men.” He glanced between the others in the room disdainfully.

“Perhaps because my father valued character over status, a lesson he passed down to me,” Darcy replied.

“Now, you will either greet my wife properly, or this meeting is over before it has even started.”

With a scowl, the earl turned to Elizabeth.

“Did you target my nephew due to his wealth?” he asked.

“Your father always was indolent and lazy, and the pittance he earns from his estate could not have enabled him to save much for your dowry.”

“I fell in love with your nephew, and my dowry is of no concern to you,” Elizabeth retorted.

“Like your nephew, I prefer to look at one’s character rather than their purse.”

The earl scoffed, and Darcy stepped forward, standing directly in front of the earl.

“How dare you treat my wife in such a way,” he snarled, and was inwardly pleased to see the earl retreat a little.

“Enough, gentlemen,” Lady Matlock snapped.

“Come, all of you, and let us sit and see if we cannot have a civilized conversation. Husband, that is enough from you. As I have already told you, Mrs. Darcy is delightful and exactly what our nephew needs.”

Grudgingly, everyone took a seat, with both Lady Matlock and Elizabeth doing all they could to keep up the appearance of a pleasant conversation.

The butler showed in the maids with the tea tray, and after setting it in front of the new Mrs. Darcy, gave a nod to the master before shutting the door firmly behind him.