As soon as the carriage conveying Elizabeth away from him rounded the bend and disappeared from sight, Darcy had made his way upstairs to his private sitting room. There was a door there, opposite the one that led to his bedchamber, that he hadn't opened in eight and twenty years. The servants had opened it, to keep the hinges oiled and air out the room, or course, but he, personally, hadn't opened it, or entered the mistress' chambers, since his late wife had passed. Now, his object was to see what kind of condition the room was in, as it would soon have a new inhabitant.
Anne had had good, refined taste in decor, but the furnishings, papers, and decorations were still dreadfully outdated. Elizabeth would, or course, want to redecorate the room to suit her tastes. Anne had favored pinks and cornflower blue hues, but, if the colors of her gowns were any indication, Darcy suspected Elizabeth favored greens and yellows. Darcy immediately called for Mrs. Reynolds, telling her to find some needy family who would be blessed by some fine new furniture, and to clear the room of all that his former wife had placed there. He wanted Elizabeth to have a blank canvas with which to work. There would be no bed in the chamber when she arrived as mistress, so she would need to stay in his chamber until her rooms were complete. Something about the way she had kissed and clung to him gave Darcy cause to believe she wouldn't mind.
That task completed, Darcy rang for his valet and gave instructions for the man to begin packing his things for an extended trip to the south. He then ordered the carriage to be ready for departure at first light the next morning. In three days he would arrive at his London home, where he would take a day or so to meet with his solicitor and a few other business associates, before departing for Hertfordshire. He wanted to make sure his affairs were in order as soon as possible. His plans before deciding to make Elizabeth his wife had been to make his nephew, Colonel Fitzwilliam, his heir, with the condition that he took the Darcy surname before claiming his inheritance. If he and Elizabeth were never blessed with children, the estate would pass to Elizabeth. He was fortunate that his home was unencumbered by an entail. It meant he could leave it to whomever he pleased. Elizabeth would never be without a home, even with the great possibility that he passed on much sooner than she would.
Darcy also planned to find a gift for Elizabeth while he was in town, some token of his devotion that he could give her at the time their engagement became official. Jewelry was his preference. He wanted to give Elizabeth something she could wear always, letting all who saw it know that she was his. His initial thought had been a necklace, perhaps a locket with a lock of his hair inside, but then he remembered that she always wore a pretty amber cross around her neck. She had told him it was a gift from her father, so he was loathe to ask her to give it up. The next most obvious choice was a ring. He knew most women didn't wear a ring until the actual marriage took place, but, perhaps, if he purchased something pretty and tasteful, Elizabeth would consent to allow him to place it on her finger earlier.
Forcing himself to focus his thoughts on business, Darcy made his way to his study to attend to whatever matters required his attention before he could depart on the morrow. He set aside some things to take with him in the carriage, knowing he would be so dreadfully bored for the next three days that even the most mundane of business contracts would be a welcome diversion. He wondered what it would be like to make the journey between London and Pemberley with Elizabeth accompanying him. Her conversation would be the perfect diversion to make the time pass more quickly. Perhaps she would even be bold enough to allow him a few kisses to make the tedious journey more pleasurable. Darcy smiled at the thought, but quickly forced his mind to refocus on the pile of paperwork on the desk before him. Reminding himself that it was, now, for Elizabeth's sake that he needed to keep his affairs in order helped a great deal, and Darcy buckled down for several hours of necessary work.
Elizabeth's reception at Longbourn was every bit as boisterous as she could have expected. Her mother was the first to rush through the door to embrace her, something that was entirely new and unexpected. Elizabeth, who had always known she was her mother's least favorite daughter, suddenly found herself to have risen greatly in her mother's esteem, seemingly overnight.
"Oh, Lizzy, my darling, darling girl! I always knew you could not be so clever for nothing! Trust my clever girl to catch herself such a rich gentleman. Oh, the carriages you shall have! the pen money! the jewels!"
"Lovely to see you again, too, Mama," Elizabeth greeted her mother with suppressed exasperation.
Kitty and Lydia were the next to assault Elizabeth with excessive animation.
"Oh, Lizzy, is it true? Is he very, very rich?" Lydia tittered.
"Such worldly things shouldn't matter in a marriage," Mary solemnly stated, completely ignored by her sisters. "All that counts is that he is a man of upright character and sound morals."
"Is he handsome?" Kitty added.
"Oh, he's sure to be handsome!" Lydia answered for her, and a fresh round of giggling ensued.
Not trusting herself to reply civilly to her sisters' silly questions, Elizabeth simply kissed all three on their rosy cheeks, and pushed past them towards her father, who calmly and stoically awaited her approach from the doorway.
"Ah, there you are, my child," he began. "I understand you will soon be wanting to leave me all alone at the mercy of all these tittering peahens. However shall I manage?"
"Papa, I'm very happy to see you," Elizabeth replied, standing on tip-toe to kiss her father's cheek, pointedly ignoring his remark.
Claiming the need to refresh herself and rest after her journey, Elizabeth made her way upstairs to her room, accompanied only by Jane.
"Oh, Jane, it's every bit as bad as I expected!" Lizzy cried in exasperation as soon as the latch clicked behind them. "How ever shall we manage getting them under control in only a weeks' time?"
"I shall speak to Mama myself before Mr. Darcy arrives. All will be well, dearest," Jane answered, sympathetically. She remembered all too well what it was like to bring a suitor around her mother and youngest sisters. Jane didn't know enough about Mr. Darcy to truly know how he would react to such a spectacle, but she had been exceedingly grateful for the ease and good humor with which her own dear Bingley had handled their effusions. She was sure that any man Elizabeth would care so deeply for would be the sort of man to bear her family's quirks with patience and understanding.
With the gentle ministrations of a lifelong friend and confidant, Jane assisted Elizabeth in changing out of her dusty traveling clothes and into a fresh gown.
"Just like old times," Elizabeth observed.
Jane smiled serenely at her sister, and the two made themselves comfortable on the small settee by the window.
"Now, Lizzy," Jane began, "I want to hear all about Mr. Darcy and your time at Pemberley."
"Oh, Jane, I know not where to begin. There is so much to tell."
Decided it best to begin at the beginning, Elizabeth started by describing her initial impressions of Pemberley, then the awkward, but crucial, moment when Mr. Darcy had come upon her so unexpectedly. Elizabeth even recounted the events of Mr. Wickham's brief visit to her sister, who was properly shocked by the man's behavior and treatment of his godfather, though she was sure there must be some sort of mistake. Elizabeth merely rolled her eyes, and reminded her sister that she was much too apt to think well of people who didn't deserve it. Jane was then treated to a recounting of the events of their brief, unofficial courtship, complete with numerous blushes.
As happy as Elizabeth always was to confide in her sister, she hesitated when she approached the point in her story where Mr. Darcy had first kissed her. Knowing Elizabeth as well as she did, Jane could tell there was something Elizabeth was reluctant to tell her. She pressed, and Elizabeth, reluctantly, relented.
"Jane, being kissed by Mr. Darcy is the epitome of delight," she gushed after describing the circumstances of the kiss to her rapt companion. "Afterwords, he said perhaps he oughtn't to have kissed me until speaking with father about making our courtship official, but I, for one, cannot regret it. I am daily faced with the very real possibility that Mr. Darcy will come to his senses once he meets my family, and those kisses will be all I will ever have of him."
"Lizzy! How could you even think such a thing?"Jane cried. "Do you truly think so little of Mr. Darcy that you would believe him so inconstant? How do you think he would feel if he knew you have so little faith in him?"
"I'm sorry, Jane. I know I ought to have more faith, you are correct. Of course, you are. I simply do not have your ability to always expect the best in every circumstance. I know how Mama is, and I know that Mr. Darcy is used to being in only the best and most refined of society, when he is in society at all. He has kept mostly to himself these many years. I fear that he will be overwhelmed, that's all."
"I do understand your worries, Lizzy. Just be sure you don't behave differently around Mr. Darcy because of them. I know you, Elizabeth Bennet. You have a way of erecting walls around your heart when you fear being hurt. The problem is, these walls will also keep you from allowing others to love you, and to know you. You must make a conscious effort not to put up walls, Lizzy."
Elizabeth nodded her head in agreement. Jane knew her so well.
"That reminds me of something Aunt Gardiner told me before I left," Elizabeth said. "She said that I must continue to be myself with Mr. Darcy, no matter what happens."
"She is absolutely right," Jane concurred. "Mr. Darcy is coming here to court you, not your family. You must remember that, and all will be well."
"Thank you, dearest. I do hope you will try to spend as much time here as possible. You have ever so much more success at calming Mama when she gets herself worked up into one of her states than I ever have."
"I will try, Lizzy. I promise. And, if it is any consolation, Charles and I have spoken about inviting Mr. Darcy to stay with us at Netherfield. It is must quieter there, as there are fewer people residing in a larger space. Perhaps it will make him more comfortable."
"Oh, Jane! Thank you! Yes, I'm sure he will be much more comfortable at Netherfield than he would have been here. It does ease my mind greatly."
The sisters spoke quietly of the goings-on at Netherfield for several moments. Elizabeth groaned, as she always did, when Jane mentioned that Caroline Bingley had come to stay with them since the season was drawing to a close.
"As much as I hate to wish such a fate on any decent man, I will be relieved when your sister-in-law finds herself a husband, and she has a home of her own to inhabit. We are sure to see less of her, and for that I, for one, shall be grateful."
"Oh, Lizzy, you mustn't be unkind!" Jane chided. "Caroline may have her faults, but she has always been kind to me."
Elizabeth knew better than to argue with her sister on this point, though she completely disagreed. Jane may have chosen to remain ignorant of Caroline's vehement objection to her brother's initial pursuit of Jane Bennet, but Elizabeth saw Miss Bingley for what she was - a conniving, social-climbing, disdainful, snob.
Steering the conversation to a more pleasant topic, Elizabeth asked Jane how she had been feeling.
"Better now," she answered. "For the first three months or so I was terribly ill each morning, and very tired throughout each day. Around the time I felt the quickening, about a month ago, I began to feel more like myself again, though there are still some differences."
Jane blushed deep scarlet as she said this, averting her eyes bashfully. Elizabeth, knowing her sister as she did, could tell Jane was thinking of something of a rather personal nature.
"Come now, Jane, you must have no secrets from me," Elizabeth prodded. "Besides, if you are correct and Mr. Darcy decides to stick around after all, I will need to be prepared for when I experience the joys of impending motherhood myself."
"But, Lizzy, it isn't the sort of thing one can speak of, especially to an unmarried lady."
"Now, Jane, my curiosity will not go unsatisfied. You simply must tell me."
Jane blushed anew, but decided it was right that her sister should be prepared for the more intimate aspects of wifehood. As embarrassing as it would be for Jane to speak of, she would rather Elizabeth hear of such things from herself than from their mother, whose vivid descriptions of humiliation and discomfort had left Jane in a bundle of terrified nerves on her wedding night.
"Well, Lizzy, I suddenly began to desire Charles' attentions more...a great deal more, actually...in...you know... in the way married people desire to be together."
"I may not know much about what transpires between a man and wife in the privacy of the bedchamber, Jane, but I do know something of desire. When Mr. Darcy kissed me in the more...intimate ways, I..."
Elizabeth found herself unable to complete the thought, but Jane saw enough in her expression and the flush of her cheeks to understand, completely, what Elizabeth couldn't put words to. She reached for her sister's hand, and patted in encouragingly.
"Being together as man and wife can be a very wonderful thing, Lizzy. I was frightened, at first, but the more familiar Charles and I become with each other, the more I enjoy our interludes. There is nothing quite like it, to know you are as close to the one you love as you can possibly be. When you love someone...well... to have a part of him quite literally inside you is...the most wonderful, fulfilling thing in the world. You must never allow Mama to scare you into thinking of marital relations as a chore or a duty. It is an act of love, and," here Jane paused to place their joined hands on her belly, "it yields the most beautiful of results."
For several minutes afterwards, the sisters spoke cheerfully of plans for the baby's arrival. They spoke of names, of the baby clothes Jane was working on, and her plans for the renovation of the nursery. For the moment, Elizabeth was able to feel optimistic that she, too, would understand such joy in the not-so-distant future.
Hope you enjoyed some good "old married lady" wisdom from Jane. Next time, Darcy travels south, and Elizabeth tries to prepare her family, especially Mr. Bennet, for Darcy's arrival.