Darcy House - London, 1798
It was late afternoon. Old Mr. Darcy had spent most of the day in his study responding to correspondence. Stacks of letters were piled up on a silver platter on his desk waiting to be read and responded to.
His son, Fitzwilliam, was returning home from school. For days now thoughts whirled around in his head making it hard for him to concentrate on business. Thus, he was trapped for days in his study to attend to his work.
It had been a year since his son had started going to Eton. Since then, the guilt he harbored had become even stronger.
Years had passed by now since he had made that secret agreement, or should he say absurd agreement?
Yes, that is right! He should call it absurd... For it was absurd in every possible sense!
Although very beneficial to his family, and this could not be doubted, with the passage of time, Mr. Darcy had allowed his doubts to grow to make his guilt almost unbearable. He had taken away one of the most important freedoms in a man's life from his son - the freedom to choose the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He had taken away from him the choice to love whoever he wanted!
His guilt was so excruciating, that anytime he spoke or saw his son, he could not help but ask him, "Forgive me!"
Fitzwilliam Darcy had never understood why his father said those words to him, but he had no longer gave it much thought, it had become a sort of habit. Old Mr. Darcy was aware of this, but he could not help but say it to relieve some of his guilt.
That day, all he wanted to do was to immerse himself in his work and not think. He was about to reply to would perhaps be the thirtieth letter of the day when a knock at the door interrupted him. With a voice strong and determined,he bid the visitor to enter.
With his usual solemnity, the butler, Ferguson, entered the room and ceremoniously spoke, "Forgive, sir! Lord Matlock is here and wants to see you."
"Lord Matlock? Why is he here?"
Ferguson looked at his master strangely.
"He did not say, sir. I assume is one of his usual visits unexpected!"
Darcy took a deep breath.
"I think so too! Very well, ask him to join me here."
Ferguson simply nodded and exited the room with a bow.
Darcy was surprised at how foolish he was to have asked his butler of the reason of the visit of his brother in law, after all, were years that his brother came and went from his house whenever he wanted.
Lord Matlock was aware of guilt that tormented George Darcy and never missed the opportunity to test his brother, even if the real reason for his frequent and unexpected visits was to distract him and make him see reason.
Henry Fitzwilliam had always been a practical man, with the typical attitude of the Ton when it came to marriages and alliances: wealths, benefits and connections were the more important elements to consider when you had to choose who to marry, and for him the agreements they had made with the Duke were quite advantageous for the both of them, considering the dowries that the Francis Orester would leave his granddaughters in his will and the connections to Orester family.
Mr Darcy knew that this visit would not differ from all other, but their views were too different on these matters. He believed and had experienced true love with his dear Anne, for this...
Mr. Darcy's thoughts were abruptly interrupted when the door of his study swung open and Lord Matlock unceremoniously entered in all his vibrancy. Sinking into the leather chair in front of his desk, he exclaimed, "I see you have again black clouds around you. Careful, brother, or you shall drown!" The laughter of Lord Matlock resounded through the room.
"That is very amusing, Henry! But today I do not have the ability to withstand your humor." Darcy looked grimly at the newcomer in the room, and stood and walked to the window.
"Come now, old chap! A bit of humor perhaps may remove those stormy clouds from around your head. You are positively fearsome as you are now!"
"Do not provoke me, Henry. Today is not a good day."
"As you wish, I shall be serious now. George, you cannot continue feeling this way. It has been years now."
"I know, but it is stronger than me. I have robbed my son of his chance to fall in love, Henry. You and I have different opinions when it comes to marriage. It is true, my union with your sister was arranged. But Anne and I truly loved each other, and I want the same love to be present between my son and his wife. I want him to be happy."
"But, as you have pointed out, even with an arranged marriage, you have found love, so why should it be different for your son?"
"What happened between Anne and I is a very rare thing. Most of these marriages end in the same way - the husband and wife live seperately and meet only to produce an heir. This coldness I do not want for my son."
Lord Matlock stared at his brother with a compassionate look. George was right, Henry Fitzwilliam knew, but this was the way of society. Families, to accumulate importance, used alliances to expand and increase their wealth. That was how things were in the present, and that was how things would be in the future, and so it had to be done. "Simple and clear, is it not?" he repeated in his head.
Rising from his chair, Henry walked over to Darcy and put a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of affection.
"You know I am a practical man and not a sentimental one, but I understand your opinion. I want the happiness of my son just as much as you do, but that does not mean that what we did was wrong. From what the Duke told us, Melissa Orester was a sweet girl, and her daughters may have taken after her." After a long pause he added, "Do not trouble yourself in this manner. It will not change anything now. You acted as you thought was best for your family, for your son."
Mr. Darcy knew that what his brother was telling him was the truth but could not resign and forgive himself for what he had done. He let his anger get the better of him and in the impulse of the moment, cried, "What would you know? That day you were in seventh heaven and accepted that agreement without second thoughts and you dare tell me you understand me? Stop it! Stop it now! I will not continue this absurd charade! You say that the Duke said that Melissa Orester was sweet? And what did you expect him to say? She was his daughter, even if illegitimate. But this is precisely the point - she was illegitimate! This is what have I chosen for my son? To marry my son to the daughter of an illegitimate? Have I fallen so low? And my son? Will he ever find love because of my actions?" Covering his face with his hands, he exclaimed: "Good heavens! What have I done?"
Lord Matlock was surprised by this sudden outburst, but recovered almost immediately and looked at the despair of his brother in law with concern. He knew that George Darcy had always been a sentimental man and loved his children more than anything. Fitzwilliam and Georgiana were his world. After the death of Anne and departure of his son to school his remorse had become increasingly strong.
Tightening his hand on Darcy's shoulder, he said sternly, "George, you must calm down now! It is not like you to give in to despair and even less like you to speak ill of a lady who is dead and whom you never knew. Because you know very well that despite everything, she was a lady."
The reproach and the stern tone of Lord Matlock was like a cold shower for Mr. Darcy, and he realized what he had just said. Horrified by himself, he began to violently tremble, swaying on his feet. For a moment, Henry thought that his brother in law would fall to the ground. He headed to the decanter of brandy and filled a tumbler, forcing Darcy to sit down and pushing it in his hand.
Darcy unthinkingly grabbed the glass and swallowed the burning liquid in one gulp. The burning sensation of the liquid in his throat calmed him down.
Composing himself, Darcy regained control and looked at Henry with a mixture of gratitude and dismay.
Lord Matlock was extremely worried about his brother, but possessing a jovial character, chose to break the tension in the room with a little humor, "As I told you - those clouds over your head have made you fearsome."
Darcy realized Henry's intentions and, after some hesitation, he let go of himself and laughed for the first time that day.
"You were right, Henry, I behaved like an ogre a moment ago, did i not?"
Lord Matlock grinned, "You would have the dead trembling in their graves, believe me, but no matter, it seems like the ogres have soft hearts after all!"
Mr. Darcy chuckled, "Indeed!"
"Now that you have calmed down, I must ask you, George. Why did you accept that proposal? If you had all these doubts, you could have refused. I have always wondered why you said yes! It is not in your normal character to do something like this. What prompted you to accept? Do not tell me the vain excuses with which you try to convince yourself, I want the truth."
"The truth? The truth is that I do not know."
"How do you not know?"
"When the Duke made the proposal, my first instinct was to refuse. But the advantages and connections that such an alliance would offer made me think. However, there was something else," he confessed. "I felt a strange impulse, something that I can not define that made me agree!"
"A strange impulse, you say?"
"Yes, like a voice inside my head that prompted me to accept."
"The voice of reason I would say is my logic, but knowing you, you would say that was the voice of madness, is it not?"
"Yes."
The two friends looked at each other and laughed loudly in the room.
"But you are correct about one thing. Should anyone hear your story about voices in your head telling you what to do, they will think you have lost your mind!"
"Again, you are right. I can only say that it was like a sudden impulse that, in that moment, swept away all the doubts I had and made me say yes! Although immediately after, realization of what I had done hit me twice as hard, but it was too late "
"Do not you think that impulse may have made you do the right thing? Perhaps without knowing it, you have chosen for Fitzwilliam the love of his life."
Mr. Darcy looked at Lord Matlock with a frown on his face.
Henry ignored the look and continued, "And when you gave the Duke my name for the husband of his other granddaughter? Was that also an impulse?"
"No, that was dictated by reason - I know your ideas for a good marriage, so you seemed suitable for such a request."
Lord Matlock inclined his head. "Thank you."
"Do not be sarcastic! I am serious, Henry! All this is truly absurd!"
"What's done is done, George. You can not contiue in this way. I understand your concerns, but today you should enjoy the return of your son and have a spend time with him."
"I will not tell you for the fourth time that you are correct. That would be too humiliating."
"it seems that lately I am your voice of reason."
"And that scares me."
More laughter rang loudly between the two brothers in law.
"Oh, give me this triumph, old chap! If you did not have moments of weakness and would always be the perfect gentleman, you would not be human!"
"Not even you believe in what you say, Henry, and this certainly does not make me feel better. I care only for Fitzwilliam and his future."
"I know, but for now, you must forget about it."
Lord Matlock began pacing anxiously around the room and when he had gathered his thoughts, he said, "In addition to comforting you, as per usual, I have come to tell you something else which is important."
"What could possibly have happened to make you so nervous?"
"Apart from having arranged a marriage for my son which I cannot reveal to him until the Duke allows me to?"
"You know that the Duke categorically expressed his will to maintain the secret until the time his granddaughters reach the age to debut."
"Yes, although I have never understood just why he asked us to do so."
"He must have had his reasons."
"Ah, here he is again - the perfect Mr. Darcy, reasonable and understanding. Welcome back, old man!"
"Stop joking!"
"I am sorry. Perhaps it is because of the father of the girls?"
"I do not know, the Duke was quite vague regarding Thomas Bennet in his tale, but he did assure us that his family owns the custody rights of the girls."
"I wonder why the girls did not live with him from the beginning. He did tell us that as soon as they would be of age, his family will take in the girls and will introduce them to Ton with their fiances."
"Who are our sons..."
"Darcy!"
"Sorry."
"Perhaps Orester left his granddaughters with this Bennet man because he is their father. The man lost his wife and parents almost at the same time. It must have been terrible for him"
"Yes, the Duke did mention that he had never forgiven him, but deep down he knew that Thomas Bennet loved his daughter and his granddaughters. Orester is a hard man, but has a soft heart."
"How would you know that? We do not know him so well."
"Of course not, but I saw how he spoke of his daughter, he loved her."
"You are right, George"
"Anyways, back to what you wanted to tell me, what is it?"
"Ah yes, sorry Darcy, it is something that will shock you, and most definitely will change the cards on the table for all of us."
"What is it, Henry?"
Lord Matlock swallowed hard and said with a dry throat, "Francis Orester, the 5th Duke of Leedwick is dying!"
George Darcy froze and instantly paled. The shock pervaded his entire body, and with a trembling voice, he said "What? But are you sure?"
"Yes. He is apparently quite ill. The doctor has said he has no more than a year to live."
"What ails him?"
"He has cancer."
With a deep sigh, Darcy replied simply, "I understand."
"When that happens, what will we do?"
"I do not know. I assume that his successor will become the new guardian of the girls?"
"I believe so."
"I think it would be best to go to visit the Duke and discuss this with him in person."
"Are you quite sure? Fitzwilliam is returning and you are emotionally unstable today."
"Henry!"
"I apologize, but it is true! And your stupid guilt is the cause of it!"
"It is not stupid!"
"Sorry. I know that you are worried about your son, but all will be well."
"I hope so."
"I propose we go to Duke after tomorrow. Today your son returns and tomorrow you will want to be with him. In fact, should he not already be here?"
"Yes. It is strange, he is late."
At that precise moment, the two gentlemen were interrupted by a knock at the door.
Mr Darcy, with firm voice, exclaimed, "Come in!"
Ferguson came in with his usual formality and bowing, he said, "Master Fitzwilliam has arrived, Sir!"
Lord Matlock, looking at Darcy, exclaimed, "Courage, Darcy! Now forget everything, smile, and go to greet your son!"
"You are right."
"Here, this is the fourth time that you told me that I am correct!"
"Stop it!"
Lord Matlock smirked at his brother-in-law and thumped him on the back.
Mr. Darcy looked askance at Henry Fitzwilliam and thought to himself that the whole situation was absurd.
The two gentlemen left the study and moved to the entrance to greet the newcomer. As soon as Mr. Darcy saw his son at the entrance, who was in the process of removing his coat, hat and gloves and handing them over to the servants, he thought: "All this is absurd! It is very absurd, indeed!"
Here's the first chapter of the story, I hope you enjoy it.
I repeat that I'm not a native English speaker so I apologize in advance if there are errors, I'll try to improve with time.
I also used historical figures, obviously also inventing or distorting elements in their lives directly, if someone is strictly historical I apologize but it is a fiction.
I hope that the Chapter will meet your expectations and if you see something wrong or is confused and unclear, please tell me. Thank You.
I am happy to accept suggestions from all of you.
I also want to thank ViolaBee for helping me with the site, tinkcook for giving me a better overview of the Regency era and khaduhr448 who has offered to help me reviewing my chapters and is an incredible collaborator!
Thank you and good reading.
PS: To respond to some your comments: Mr. Bingley will be there, but to know his fate... you'll have to read th