Page 16 of The Duke of Derby (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

Elizabeth closed her last trunk with a sigh. “You seem unhappy, Lizzy,” said Jane as she sat on the bed.

“Not unhappy,” replied Elizabeth. “I am only tired. Three months of shopping, learning, and gown fittings sound like fun, but I am ready for something different, something new. Although, I am definitely not ready to spend three days in a carriage.”

“I can sympathize,” said Jane. “Honestly, I wish we were going back to Lockwood, at least for a few weeks, rather than going straight from Manchester to London. It would be nice to just rest.”

Elizabeth eyed her sister carefully. “I believe you would rather not go to London at all,” she said.

Jane grimaced just a tiny bit. It was one example of how Jane had changed in the last few months.

Gone was the overly optimistic beauty with far too much patience and forgiveness for her own good.

Jane was much more honest with herself and with Elizabeth.

She still maintained her placid cheerfulness around everyone else, but she let it drop when the two sisters were alone.

“I admit, I am not looking forward to London,” said Jane quietly.

She sighed. “I was always frustrated at how much pressure Mama put on me to attract a wealthy husband, but that pressure was nothing compared to what I feel now. It is no longer an option. I must marry, and it must be done soon, preferably within a year.”

“It shouldn’t be difficult,” said Elizabeth. “With your dowry being an estate that brings in over four thousand a year, the gentlemen of London will flock to you.”

“If they do, it will be for all the wrong reasons,” she said.

“Northdale is attached to my title, not to me, personally, so my husband will not own it. What man in all of England will marry a woman who is destined to have all the power in the marriage?” Elizabeth was surprised to see Jane clench her fists in frustration. “It is an impossible situation.”

Elizabeth hugged her sister. “Try not to think about it too much,” she said. “Just focus on finding a man you like and who is honorable. If I remember correctly, Mrs. Rigby suggested looking at younger sons rather than heirs. Perhaps you could start there.”

“Perhaps,” said Jane, though she did not look confident in the least.

“No matter what happens, I will be right there next to you,” said Elizabeth, “and Papa will exercise all his new power to ensure that whatever man you take an interest in is a good man.”

Though Elizabeth never would have believed it four months ago, her father had learned how to wield his new power relatively quickly.

The entire time they had been in Manchester, the family went by the name of Bennet, and no one knew who they really were.

Behind the scenes, however, Papa had hired several different kinds of men for their protection.

There were the obvious footmen who accompanied any family member wherever they went, but there were also several private messengers as well as a couple of private investigators. Elizabeth didn’t know much about them, but she had heard her father mention them a few times.

It was all very new, but Elizabeth felt safer knowing how much her father was willing to do to ensure the safety and happiness of each of his ladies.

“At least we have had some practice here in Manchester,” said Elizabeth. “The assemblies here were far more entertaining than I would have supposed, and most of the gentlemen we met were quite pleasant. Mama and Kitty even made some new friends.”

“We have had practice mingling with strangers and making friends,” said Jane, “but very few of them were of the caliber that we will encounter on a daily basis in London. Besides, none of them knew who we are, only that we are very wealthy.”

Elizabeth sat on the bed facing her sister as she took both of Jane’s hands in her own.

“Jane, whatever pressure others try to place on you, in the end it is up to you to find your own happiness. I have no doubt whatsoever that somewhere in London is a man you can respect and who will make a good husband for you, and I am certain you will find him.”

Jane squeezed Elizabeth’s hands and tried to smile. “Thank you, Lizzy. You are my rock. I don’t think I could face this without you.”

The two sisters hugged again. Then, Jane left to go to her own room.

~~~~~

The journey to London was not as bad as Elizabeth feared, but it was certainly not enjoyable either.

The family traveled in two separate carriages, so that each person had a comfortable amount of space.

There was an additional carriage which carried five ladies’ maids and a valet.

Then there was a fourth carriage which carried all the luggage that did not fit on the other three.

The ladies had acquired so many new clothes and accessories that they each had two large trunks plus various bags and boxes full of their new belongings.

Elizabeth had honestly lost track of how many hundreds, or more likely thousands, of pounds Papa had spent on them, but no matter what they asked for, he had not denied their request a single time.

Their convoy was surrounded by a group of four outriders, and there was an additional footman sitting with the driver on two of the carriages. Once they were out of Manchester, Papa allowed his coat of arms to be displayed on the lead carriage.

Elizabeth wondered whether such ostentation was more dangerous, since it tended to attract attention, but in the end she decided it was worth it.

With a duke’s coat of arms and a small army of servants, they received the best service at every inn where they stopped, whether it was overnight or simply to change horses.

Finally, they arrived at their new home in London. None of them had seen it before, though they had heard reports of it from various servants who had visited at one time or another.

Elizabeth was surprised to see that it was not the largest home on the street, though it was certainly large enough, likely about three or four times the size of Longbourn.

Since the sun had already set, there was no opportunity to explore the house. They all sat down to a pleasant supper and then headed straight to bed, each of them exhausted from their journey.

~~~~~

Papa must have sent a letter ahead of their journey, because Mr. Darcy called at the earliest polite time the next morning.

It was the first time she had seen him since he arrived at Lockwood to collect his sister months earlier. Even then, he had not spent long in her presence. He only stayed long enough to share a few of the details of Lydia’s marriage that Papa had not included in his letter.

Seeing him again was odd in the extreme.

Though she had been busy for much of the summer, she had still had plenty of idle moments when memories of his proposal flitted through her mind.

More prominent, however, were the memories of the time he spent at Lockwood assisting her father with his finances.

There, he had been kind and generous with his time. Her father had commented several times that he had the patience of a saint as he explained the same concepts multiple times in multiple ways until Papa fully understood them.

As Elizabeth thought about him, her mind invariably remembered his poor behavior in Hertfordshire.

At first it was confusing how a man could be so proud and unbearable in one place and so respectful and helpful in another.

As she thought more about it, however, it began to make sense, especially as she became more accustomed to her new life.

The life of a wealthy person came with a certain standard of comfort, which invariably included a standard of cleanliness and manners, both of which contributed substantially to one’s comfort and the comfort of all those around them.

Such standards were harder to maintain without a sufficient number of servants and an excess of clothing, both of which could become rather expensive.

Mr. Darcy’s apparent pride in Hertfordshire could very well have sprung from genuine discomfort from being surrounded by those who were less than pleasant smelling and those whose manners clashed with his own.

A tiny voice reminded Elizabeth that during his proposal, he had distinctly insulted Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. She did not dismiss the thought, but she wondered if he had since amended his opinion.

Now that he was in the parlor of her new London home, she hoped she would once again get a chance to speak with him. But it was not to be.

Mr. Darcy greeted all the ladies kindly, but once Papa entered the room, both men headed for Papa’s study.

The following two weeks were just as busy as their time in Manchester had been, though their activities were significantly different.

Mr. Darcy had apparently introduced the duke to quite a few of his acquaintances, at least those who were in town at this time of year, and he had helped Papa get a membership to his gentlemen’s club.

Papa’s new acquaintances then brought their wives and daughters to call at the duke’s residences, thereby giving his family a much wider social circle almost immediately.

Because of this wealth of new acquaintances, Elizabeth, her sisters, and her mother were kept busy with morning calls, both making them and receiving them.

Elizabeth was genuinely surprised at how many ladies of quality were in London at this time of year.

She had assumed that most of them would still be in the country, but apparently there were plenty of gentry and noblemen who simply preferred the city and only went to their estates during the hottest months of the year.