Both Lizzy and Kitty were impressed with the elegance of the dinner, even though there were just the six of them. The earl mentioned that they expected his sister, Lady Catherine, and his oldest son and heir, the viscount, to arrive quite soon. He said that they had wanted to meet their new daughter with few guests in attendance, so they could get to know each other.
After dinner, when Darcy and the earl had rejoined the ladies, the earl asked Georgiana to play for them, which she did very proficiently. She shyly asked Lizzy if she would also like to play the piano, but Lizzy reminded her that it was inappropriate as she was in full mourning. Darcy managed a quiet word with Elizabeth while Georgie was playing, and asked if she still liked to walk early in the morning, saying that the gardens here were very fine. When she said that she might, he said that he would like to meet her as he needed to speak to her. She slightly nodded her acquiescence. The countess, noticing that Lizzy looked pale, soon announced that she was ready to go up. The three young ladies went up with her. The countess would have liked to speak more privately with Elizabeth, but decided to wait. She was very curious about her relationship with Darcy as she had noticed their reactions when they met.
The earl and Darcy stayed for a final brandy. The earl said, "Darcy, I wish things had worked out differently for Richard and that we had had more time to get to know Mrs. Fitzwilliam before they married. She seems to be an exceptional woman in spite of her full mourning. I gather from both your faces when you met that you have known her for some time and may even have a history with her."
Darcy was impressed by his uncle's acumen and was so discomfited on seeing Elizabeth again that he opened his heart to him. "I first met Miss Elizabeth Bennet in Hertfordshire two years ago when I went with my friend Charles Bingley to his new leased estate of Netherfield. The Bennet estate of Longbourn was close to Netherfield and we met at many social functions. Bingley was very impressed by the oldest Bennet daughter, Jane, and married her last summer. Mrs. Bingley is a very beautiful woman and her gentle demeanor suits Bingley perfectly. I know they will be perfectly happy together.
"I met Miss Elizabeth again in Kent when Richard and I visited Aunt Catherine at Easter last year. She was staying with her cousin, William Collins, who is aunt's vicar and had married Charlotte Lucas, who was a very good friend of Miss Elizabeth from Hertfordshire.
"My third encounter with her was when I returned to Pemberley last summer with Bingley and his sisters and she happened to be touring Derby with her aunt and uncle Gardiner from London. Her aunt had grown up in Lambton and wanted to visit some old friends there. The day I arrived, they happened to be visiting Pemberley and we met completely by accident in the garden. I was there only for a couple of days, but I introduced her to Georgiana and I took her uncle fishing. I knew they would become very good friends and that Miss Elizabeth would be a very good influence on Georgiana. I had to rush to London on business, and the day I came back, Bingley's sister Caroline Bingley compromised me completely, so I had no option but to marry her, even though I had no intention of ever doing so.
"I had not seen Miss Elizabeth since then until today, but you know that Georgiana stayed with Richard at Rosings after my marriage as she was so disgusted with my new wife that she refused to be with her. Miss Elizabeth again visited her friend Charlotte Collins in Kent and she married Richard just after he heard that Napoleon had escaped from Elba as he knew he would be recalled to his regiment very soon. Georgiana stayed with Mrs. Fitzwilliam at Rosings until I asked her to join me in London when Beth was born and Caroline died. I was feeling so despondent that I needed her company.
"You might know that Richard was very impressed with her when they first met at Rosings that Easter and I believe that he would have courted her then if his finances had been secure. I believe he did court her, although unofficially, after Anne died, when they met again at Rosings and he had become master of Rosings. Napoleon's escape from Elba just pushed his offer forward as he knew he would be called up to fight the new French threat. I believe that Richard wanted to control who would inherit Rosings if he did not come back; plus, of course, I believe he really loved her."
The earl sat considering all that Darcy had told him, "Thank you for telling me all this. I certainly believe your narrative, but I somehow feel that you have left out many details, especially of your interactions with the lady and feelings for her. I saw how both of you reacted when you first met today. Now that you are both widowed, what are your intentions to her? As she is now my daughter and you are my nephew, I believe I have the right to ask this question. I just hope you will remember that she is in full mourning."
"Uncle, you have always been very perceptive. I admit that when I saw her today, I realized I have strong feelings for her, but I would never disrespect her period of mourning, and she would never consider doing anything so disrespectful either. But tell me, what if in the future she and I do get together? Would this upset you or my aunt? I know that Aunt Catherine had had a very poor impression of Miss Elizabeth when they first met as she did not give my aunt the degree of respect that she has always demanded, but I am not sure if this has changed since her marriage to Richard. Miss Elizabeth is certainly a lady as she is the daughter of a landed gentleman, but his estate is not large. They are clearly not in the same social class as ours. Of course, I have no idea what her feelings for me are or might be, so this discussion is very premature, to say the least."
"Darcy, if you respect her period of mourning and after we have more opportunity to get to know her better, I doubt that we would have any objection to her. After all, if Richard considered her to be good enough for him, how could we object to her? Catherine may even be pleased if you do marry as this would mean the uniting of Pemberley and Rosings, which is something she has long wanted. Do you believe she would make a good mother to your Beth? I suspect that neither of you had very good feelings for Beth's mother."
Darcy seemed relieved to have had this talk with his uncle. "As Elizabeth is now your daughter-in-law, I admit that I am pleased that you are considering her future. As I said, neither of us would ever contemplate doing anything that would disrespect Richard's memory. I am quite confident that once you get to know her, you will come to recognize her very good qualities as much as I do. Elizabeth is one of the most intelligent women I have ever met, and I have come to admire her good qualities very highly. I do hope to keep in contact with her so we have our options open for the future, besides knowing that she will be very good for Georgiana. My sister has very few friends her own age and both Mrs. Fitzwilliam and her sister Miss Catherine seem to be able to help her overcome her natural reticence. As for being a good mother to Beth, I believe her maternal instincts would be strong enough to accept her. She comes from a large family with three younger sisters, so she would not be uncomfortable with young babies. Beth is such a sweet baby that no one can resist her.
"The only other requests I would have of you are that we keep Aunt Catherine under control so she will not interfere with her, and that we both are available to help Elizabeth if she has any problems in the management of Rosings. She will not be able to turn to her father as he is quite indolent in the running of his own estate, but she has a very competent uncle in London who has a successful business there, dealing in imports and exports. I have had dealings with him and was quite impressed with his acumen. Richard had begun to make some improvements to Rosings and I believe that Elizabeth has continued them. As I said, she is highly intelligent and competent at whatever she does."
With these words, Darcy went up to dream about the future and a life with Elizabeth. He was pleased that his uncle seemed open to their eventually being together. He knew that he would have to go slow in developing his relationship with her because of her period of mourning. He just had to make sure they saw a lot of each other during the next few months. He felt that his sister would be a good ally for accomplishing this as she liked being with Elizabeth.
Meanwhile, Lizzy lay in bed trying to sort out her feelings for Darcy. She was till uncertain, but knew that nothing could happen for months until her period of full mourning was over. She had to admit to herself that it would not take much to rekindle what she had begun to feel when she had met him so unexpectedly at Pemberley last year.