Page 46 of The Talented Daughters of Longbourn
Matlock House
Richard opened the door into the drawing room, stepped inside, and halted.
His mother, father, and aunt were sitting in a cluster near the fire, with Lady Catherine holding forth about turbot, of all things.
His cousin Anne was off to one side in a large wingbacked chair, wrapped in shawls, with Mrs. Jenkinson sitting nearby watching her charge with care.
Lady Matlock, who was looking bored in a refined sort of way, stood up and hurried forward to greet her second son. “Richard, how wonderful to see you again so soon!”
“It is wonderful to see you, Madam, and the rest of you as well,” her son said, and turning toward his father and aunt, continued, “I have an announcement to make. I have offered my hand in marriage to Miss Jane Bennet of Hertfordshire yesterday, and she accepted.”
Her elders blinked at him in astonishment, while Anne straightened and turned toward him, openly interested .
“Miss Jane Bennet?” Lady Catherine demanded, recovering first. “I have never heard of the Bennets. Where is her family’s estate?”
“Hertfordshire,” Richard said succinctly, guiding his mother over to a chair, where she sat down. He then took his place next to her and turned a determined eye on his father, whose own eyes were narrowed.
“Has she been presented at court?” Lord Matlock demanded.
“She has not,” his son replied calmly. “The Bennets are members of the gentry, but do not spend much time in town.”
“I assume she is, at least, well dowered?” Lady Catherine demanded.
“Not particularly,” her nephew returned, bestowing a cool glance on his aunt, “but Jane is a lovely lady – intelligent, kind, and charming, and I adore her.”
Lady Catherine stared at him with open disdain. “Love? Love is for peasants, Richard, not the son of an earl!”
She slewed around to glare at her brother and barked, “Matlock! Surely you will not permit your son to marry an indigent nobody? ”
Lord Matlock looked as if he had eaten something unpleasant, but he said grudgingly, “Richard is of age and his own man. I have nothing to say about the matter.”
“Well, I am very happy for you,” Lady Matlock declared, leaning over to press a scented kiss on her son’s lean cheek. “Where is she at present? Hertfordshire? And when do you intend to marry?”
“She is currently in Town and lives with her mother and two sisters on Gracechurch Street. Her father died recently, and the family is in full mourning; thus we plan to wait several months for the wedding.”
“When can we meet Miss Bennet?” Lady Matlock inquired. “Perhaps we can call on the lady and her family in the near future?”
Richard smiled at her gratefully and said, “If you are willing, it would be best to invite Jane and her sister Elizabeth here to Matlock House. Mrs. Bennet is in deep mourning, you know, and would struggle at acting as hostess to an earl and countess.”
“Of course, my dear,” his mother replied, wrinkling her brow in thought before saying, “We have engagements the next three nights, but perhaps on Monday evening we could meet your young lady?”
“I will need to speak to Jane to ensure she is available, but I believe that will work very well. Thank you.”
/
Longbourn
A Few Days Later
“The child is nearly here, Mrs. Bennet,” Mrs. Bartlett, the midwife, said. Charlotte, who had been in labor for ten hours, heaved a gasp of relief at these words, and then gritted her teeth as the next contraction tore through her.
“Push, Madam, push!” Mrs. Bartlett urged.
Charlotte obeyed and tightened her grip on Lady Lucas’s hand.
The older lady winced at the strength in those fingers, but she suppressed any noise of discomfort.
Lady Lucas had borne seven children herself and well knew the agony of the last minutes of childbirth.
“Very good, Mrs. Bennet!” Mrs. Bartlett exclaimed, and a moment later Charlotte and her mother heard the glorious sound of an infant crying. The midwife carefully pulled the baby into her hands and said, after a quick peek between the legs, “It is a son. ”
Charlotte smiled at these words. She would like a daughter someday, but there was a certain security in birthing two sons, as it made it all the more likely that Longbourn would remain in her family.
“Is he healthy?” she asked wearily.
“He is a bonny young lad,” Mrs. Bartlett assured her.
/
The Bennets’ House
Gracechurch Street
Cheapside
The Next Day
“Jane!” Elizabeth called out, hurrying into her older sister’s room. She found Jane dressed in her best black dress and staring into a mirror with a slight frown on her face. She did not understand the frown, as Jane looked beautiful in everything.
“Yes, Lizzy? ”
“An express just arrived from Longbourn. Charlotte gave birth to a healthy son yesterday evening!”
“Oh!” her sister exclaimed, her frown giving way to a beaming smile. “That is wonderful news.”
“It is. Also, the baby’s name is Thomas William Bennet.”
Jane’s eyes welled with tears, and she found herself clutching Elizabeth’s hands in her own. “Thomas Bennet? Oh, how very kind of Josiah and Charlotte, to name the little one after our father!”
“It is,” her sister agreed. “Mamma is ecstatic.”
“I am certain she is!” Jane said and then turned back to the mirror. “Do you think I look well?”
“Yes, of course,” Elizabeth said. “You always look well. Are you particularly anxious about tonight?”
“I confess that I am, Lizzy. Richard tells me that his mother is moderately pleased at our engagement, his father is doubtful, and his aunt, a Lady Catherine de Bourgh, is hostile, as she thinks he should do better for himself.”
This provoked a fearsome grimace on Elizabeth’s face. “Well, she is wrong, Jane. You are Richard’s perfect match. ”
“I know,” Jane replied, and sighed. “I will survive, of course, but Richard intimated that Lady Catherine is a difficult person.”
“I will take up the cudgels in your defense,” Elizabeth promised.
“I will hold you to that!”
/
Cheapside
London
“I will do my best to keep Lady Catherine distracted,” Darcy promised.
Richard grinned and said, “Thank you, Darcy. Ordinarily I would fight my own battles, but Jane is, I believe, nervous at meeting my parents, and our aunt will only make the entire affair more difficult.”
The carriage pulled to a halt in front of the Bennets’ house, which prevented Darcy from replying.
The two gentlemen descended from the carriage and made their way to the front door, where a manservant opened the door and the two men stepped inside.
The two eldest Misses Bennet were waiting within, with Miss Lydia darting here and there and keeping up a running monologue.
“Here is your reticule, Jane! And Elizabeth, there is a little curl that has escaped your hat. Do let me fix that. Oh, Jane, your ribbon has … Oh, Richard, Mr. Darcy, good afternoon!”
“Good afternoon, Lydia,” Richard said, though his eyes shifted instantly to Jane, who smiled at him.
Darcy found his own eyes fixed, naturally enough, on Elizabeth. He watched with a peculiar twinge of envy as the youngest Miss Bennet twisted one of Elizabeth’s curls and carefully captured it with a pin. He wanted to touch Elizabeth’s curls. He wanted to see those long tresses down her back…
He cut off that thought, his face flushing.
“Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth said, “I hope you are well today?”
“I am,” he said, and swallowed hard. “And you?”
“We are very well. And is Miss Darcy also well?”
There was a sweet, kindly note to that question which Darcy recognized as being more than a conventional query, and he said, with equal fervency, “Yes, Miss Elizabeth, she is very well today.”
“I am glad,” Elizabeth said simply, but she looked so genuinely happy at his words that his heart sped up even more. She was such a tenderhearted woman, and her sister as well, to relieve Georgiana of some of her distress over Wickham’s crimes.
“Shall we go?” Richard suggested.
“Yes,” Jane said and blew out a breath. “We would not wish to be late.”
“I intend to be very nearly late,” Richard declared, taking her arm in his own. “That will give us less time in the drawing room with Lady Catherine, who is inclined to be rather difficult. She will be less annoying while we are at the table.”
/
Matlock House
“May I please introduce Miss Jane Bennet, my fiancée, and Miss Elizabeth Bennet, her sister,” Richard said, and he then turned toward his intended bride and said, “Jane, Elizabeth, may I please introduce my mother, Lady Matlock, my aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, my cousin, Miss de Bourgh, her companion, Mrs. Jenkinson, and my father, Lord Matlock.”
Jane and Elizabeth curtsied, and Lord Matlock bowed, and Lady Catherine, who had obviously merely been waiting for necessary introductions before going on the attack, said, “Well, Miss Bennet, it is easy enough to understand why my nephew has offered his hand in marriage. You are quite one of the most handsome women I have ever met in my life.”
Darcy opened his mouth in protest at this veiled insult, and he noted Richard doing the same, but Elizabeth spoke first. “Oh, Lady Catherine, I am certain you do not truly believe that; Mr. Fitzwilliam is, after all, a retired military man.”
Lady Catherine, who was taller than the petite Elizabeth, along with being considerably broader, turned to gaze down her nose at the girl. “What precisely is that supposed to mean, Miss Elizabeth?”
“Only that as a former colonel in the army, Richard is adept at strategic thinking. Jane is, as you say, one of the most beautiful women in all of Britain, but she will not always be three and twenty and blessed with the beauty of Aphrodite. Your nephew is not foolish enough to wed based entirely on a pretty face. ”
Lady Catherine’s eyebrows flung up in astonishment, and she glared at her opponent. “As a young lady, presumably of delicacy, I do not expect you to have a true understanding of the hearts of men.”
“I do not pretend to do so,” Elizabeth riposted, her smile fixed on her face. “Nonetheless, I know that Jane combines beauty with charm, intelligence, and grace, and Richard, himself a most estimable man, is privileged to have won her heart and hand.”
“Hear hear!” Richard said, grinning openly as he took his place next to Jane.
The butler entered at this moment and dinner was announced.
Lord and Lady Matlock arrived arm in arm, followed by Darcy with Lady Catherine on one arm and Anne on the other, followed by Richard with Jane and Elizabeth, followed by Mrs. Jenkinson.
Darcy was thankful that he had decided to leave Georgiana back at Darcy House; the upcoming dinner was likely to prove full of tension, and Georgiana, always sensitive to atmosphere, would not appreciate that at all.