Chapter 34
Over the next few evenings Darcy, the Fitzwilliams, Elizabeth and Jane attended events together in the evenings and Darcy ensured he saw Elizabeth for a time each day, other then mealtimes, to court her. On one such day, Darcy suggested to Elizabeth a walk in Hyde Park. She happily agreed and the two acompanied by Jane and Col. Fitzwilliam, and Georgiana and Littleton set off for the park. As they approached the serpentine, Elizabeth noticed a flash of scarlet and looked that direction to see a familar face. "Wallace why don't you take Georgiana to see the children feeding the ducks," Elizabeth suggested.
Littleton looked at her and seeing the set of her chin, agreed, understanding that there was something she did not want Georgiana aware of. Littleton agreed and set off with Georgiana to where the ducks were. Once the two were out of hearing, Elizabeth said grimly, "I believe Richard, that the gentleman towards our left you have some unfinished business with."
Looking the direction she indicated, Col. Fitzwilliam caught sight of Wickham and swore, before striding off towards him.
To Darcy, she merely said, "He has been allowed to wander around and prey on innocents for too long. In a letter from Mary the other day, she mentioned that he was attempting to claim a romantic connection to me, after learning I was an heiress."
"He what?" Darcy asked turning pale.
Elizabeth stepped closer to his side and squeezed his arm with her hand to offer him comfort and reassurance. "He was telling the neighborhood how we both supposedly favored each other when mama, informed him that as an heiress and the niece of an Earl, I certainly was not going to align myself with a soldier that had abandoned me for another heiress. She was upset on my behalf and accused him of being a fortune hunter. She may not have the most intelligent understanding, but she did arrive at the correct conclusion. He then began to pay attention to Lydia, and papa banned him from Longbourn. I do not know what he is doing in London, but I do know Richard will put the fear of God in him."
"I'll give him something to fear if he ever comes near Georgiana or you again," Darcy growled.
"Let Richard handle it, William," Elizabeth gently said. "He enjoys causing you distress and I refuse to give him that kind of satisfaction today, so you will stay here with me and Jane and pretend he does not exist. Richard will take care of Wickham. Wallace will take care of Georgiana to ensure she does not have to see him and you will take care of my sister and me."
Darcy, who wished to always take care of Elizabeth, gave his agreement as soon as she presented staying out of dealing with Wickham, as taking care of her. He agreed to allow Richard to handle it and offering his other arm to Jane led the two away. He had been livid when Wickham attempted to elope with Georgiana, but the fact that Wickham thought to ply his trade with Elizabeth once he found out she was an heiress, made Darcy want to confront him and snarl, mine at him regarding Elizabeth. Having Elizabeth next to him soothed the anger inside him at Wickham.
"Are you quiet sure you are against Richard's suggestion of armed guards, Lissy?" Darcy asked seriously.
"My opinion is the same now as it was before, William. Absolutely not. I refuse to live my life in fear. Nothing may ever happen. I wish to settle back into my family and into the ton with a minimum of fuss."
"As an heiress with connections, the fuss cannot be minimal," Jane reminded her serenely. "Your cousins only wish to see you protected. Perhaps you should give Col. Fitzwilliam's idea some consideration. "
"This from my dear Jane, that only sees the goodness in others?" Elizabeth exclaimed playfully.
Darcy considered voicing his opinion that Jane was learning not to be naively trusting, while Elizabeth was refusing to consider the evil she knew existed in the world.
"It is hard not to see the evil in the fact that you have been in danger before and your cousins fear you could be in danger again," Jane retorted calmly to her sister's teasing.
"Could be the operative word. Could be in danger. As far as we know I am perfectly safe and the villan is dead. Should I be required to live my life in fear over nothing?"
Deciding to speak up with his opinion on the subject, Darcy said, "If could is the operative word, then you could be in danger, just as easily as you could not be. Therefore we should see you protected. The villan could just as easily be alive as dead. We would rather see you have a life to live. " Darcy gazed at her earnestly, his voice betraying his emotions as he stumbled over the idea of her not living. Pausing to regain control of his emotions, he continued, "The existence of guards to protect you would mean you could live with less fear."
Gazing thoughtfully at him Elizabeth said, "But armed guards would not lessen your worry anymore, would they?"
"They would not," Darcy reluctantly agreed. "But they could allow some peace of mind for everyone. "
"For the sake of everyone else's peace of mind, I will take the idea under consideration. Though I warn you, armed guards following me would cut up my peace of mind."
"It would not be forever, Lissy," Darcy said softly.
"Would it not? What if nothing happens and continues to not happen? At what point do you conceded that there is no danger? We have been in London for weeks now, with no sign of danger. Perhaps there is none, other than fortune hunters like Wickham, and ladies like Lady Andrea, who wish to claim you. Perhaps, you need some armed guards trailing you," she concluded playfully, her voice losing its serious tone.
"I can think of the solution I would prefer for those type of dangers," Darcy said watching her intently.
Elizabeth blushed and said, "I do not think there is any need to be hasty. I will consent to an armed guard when I am out without you, Wallace or Richard. If either of you three are present, I find your protection adequate. And I insist they be discrete, I would rather not invite speculation. So tell Richard he does not get to select the biggest burliest men he can find that will stand out and draw attention."
"Thank you, Elizabeth, " Darcy said. "I know you wish for there to be less fuss. I promise it will only be temporary."
...
As Darcy prepared for that night's entertainment, another ball, he reflected that Elizabeth seemed to favor him more now then she had the night of the Richmond Ball. He hoped that was the case. After they had returned from Hyde Park she had grasped his hand and given it a reassuring squeeze and admonished him not to dwell on thoughts of Wickham. When Col. Fitzwilliam had arrived back at Darcy House, he had been gleeful. Wickham it had turned out was absent from his regiment without leave. Wickham was now languishing in a cell awaiting the army to deal with him.
From what Col. Fitzwilliam had been able to gleam from Wickham's more reccent companions, he had claimed to be in town to secure a wife, a young lady of fortune he had met previously while stationed in Meryton. It did not take a mind skilled in military tactics to realize the heiress Wickham chased to London was Elizabeth. He was disgusted with what his father's godson had become. He could not possibly believe that he could fool Elizabeth like he had, Georgiana to agree to an elopement, Darcy considered, and certainly he had to realize that Darcy would never approve of an engagement anymore then when his target had been Georgiana. Whatever Wickham's scheme had been, he was the army's problem now and likely to be demoted and transferred to the front as punishment according to Col. Fitzwilliam. Setting aside thoughts of Wickham, he joined his cousins downstairs and headed to Matlock House.
…
As Elizabeth danced with Darcy that night one disgruntled young lady opined to her friend, "It is vulgar how Miss Fitzwilliam attempts to use her position to lure Mr. Darcy."
Her friend responded, "Yes, the savages she grew up with most not have had the sense to teach her anything. It is offensive to all of society's sensibilities, to cast allurements at her own guardian is a disgrace."
Before the first young lady could respond, Countess Lieven, one of Almack's patroness addressed the two young ladies, another one, Mrs. Drummond-Burrell at her side. "What is disgraceful is young women of supposedly superior breeding being to obtuse to see what is in front of their faces. Mr. Darcy is clearly the one doing the pursuing. His actions, that are not the same as his customary practices during the season, make that obvious. He has never pursued a young lady before, so do not attempt to convince yourselves that either of you, or any of these other young ladies present, ever had a chance with him. Miss Fitzwilliam is his choice," Countess Lieven said.
Regally, Mrs. Drummond-Burell, a high stickler for decorum and what was considered acceptable behavior added, "Furthermore society approves of his pursuit. I would go as far as to say that an engagement announcement sooner rather than later would be rather welcome. Perhaps then others would learn to focus their attentions elsewhere, rather then attempt to decry a match that should be made."
"Well said," Countess Lieven said addressing her counterpart, rather then the shocked young ladies. "Too many sons are focused on a match they will not attain while jealous misses make spiteful comments because they desire a match they would never have succeeded in bringing about."
Their point made, the two powerful ladies, arbritors of Society, moved on. With Darcy's preference clear, neither considered it likely that Elizabeth would favor another, even though other highly eligible bachelors sought her out. She appeared to favor his company and he was considered one of the best catches. They, along with their peers read the current situation with ease. To them, the disappointed debutantes were expected to move on with grace and find an appropriate match, something most of the matchmaking mamas understood. It was time they had determined to push society into being eager for the engagement, before mother's began to bemoan their sons were wasting their time persuing Elizabeth.
If society anticipated the match, any that chose to waste their time persuing Darcy or Elizabeth would for the most part be considered ridiculous. There were a few that's continued pursuit of Elizabeth would not be termed ridiculous and Lady Jersey hoped that the existence of those, such as Lord Westcott, would encourage Darcy to act sooner rather then later. Lady Jersey was fond of Darcy and she had become fond of Elizabeth. She saw herself as a matchmaker and enjoyed engineering mathces in society and guiding the ton to her desired outcomes.
In another part of the ball room one young man complained to his friends, "He's her guardian. He shouldn't be courting her."
"My mother was eager for me to secure Miss Fitzwilliam's affections, but tonight she suggested I look to other ladies. Told me straight up that the match was likely to be sanctioned by anyone that matters and I was wasting my time attempting to gain Miss Fitzwilliam's regard. Mind you she thought it would be acceptable to still enjoy a dance with Miss Fitzwilliam, afterall it would not hurt to be on good terms with her," one of the gentlemen he was with responded.
"Speaking of being on good terms, ever since they chased Matthew de Bough out of town, the de Boughs have received less and less invites, even with Miss de Bough being a first cousin to the Fitzwillias and Darcys," another said.
"I don't think they were on good terms with Miss de Bough before Matthew de Bough fled town," commented a fourth gentleman. "None of them ever asked her to dance or spoke more then a civil greeting to her, whenever they encounter her. If Miss de Bough was close to the Darcys and Fitzwilliams, through de Bough's connection to her, the de Boughs should have known better."
"My mother claims she gave Miss De Bough the cut yesterday. She said it would not do to appear friendly to them. Miss de Bough kept claiming that Darcy was to marry her while at the modiste, claiming to be there for her trousseau and calling Miss Fitzwilliam a schemeing hussy and how she would get the body. Her companion hussled her out of there, my mother said, but not before others witnessed the scene," said the second gentleman.
"Proves that it is social suicide for ones family to go after Darcy's ward. Miss de Bough I have heard has caused a few scenes in the lower ton regarding Miss Fitzwilliam this week. The de Boughs cannot bring her to events of the higher ton, even if they received invites, to keep her from disparaging Miss Fitzwilliam. Their standing sinks with every event they cannot attend," the third gentleman commented.
"I heard the that her vouchers to almacks were revoked after the first week of the season and she had only been granted them becuase of her connections. Remember the rumor that Darcy would betroth his ward to Matthew de Bough before the season started?" asked another.
"Yes," answered the first. "Matthew de Bough is a gambler. If it was not for the de Bough's connection to the Fitzwilliam family they would not be members of higher society. It isn't surprising Darcy did not wish his ward trapped by the likes of him, considering how upright and proper Darcy has always been. Doesn't make it right that he is courting her though."
One of the previous gentlemen added, "My aunt doesn't hold with love matches but she agrees that a marriage between Mr. Darcy and his ward won't be scandalous as long as he goes about it in a proper form and that it was a good match on both sides. She suggested to my mother that I turn my eye elsewhere." He snorted and said, "Miss Fitzwilliam is a pretty piece, but I'm not anxious to settle down, regardless of my aunt and mother's desires. Mr. Darcy can have her. Never thought he would end up in a love match. My cousin was hoping her connections, beauty and dowry would catch his eye this season when she came out. She was livid to loose him before even entering the race. My aunt finally put her foot down and forbid her to make a cake of herself chasing a man that was lost to her."
"Your cousin that is the Earl's daughter?" asked another young man. When the third nodded, he requested an introduction and the two moved away from the group.