Elizabeth smoothed the stiff black material of her gown nervously, as she awaited near the window overlooking the road below to note if and when any carriage should stop in front of her aunt and uncle's home. Beside her, Jane patted her hand soothingly, having elected to stay and wait for her sister. Elizabeth had never been more grateful for her sister's attention as she waited, her nerves on fire, trembling because of the wait.
Today, Mr. Darcy was to arrive with his sister, Miss Georgiana, and his cousin, Richard, the younger son of his uncle, the Earl of Matlock-as he had written to her previously. Mr. Darcy had arrived in town a week after they had, and he had spent the three days he had been in town to settle, inform his family of their engagement, receive his cousin and sister, collect any and all legal documents needed, and now, to visit her in her aunt and uncle's home.
Elizabeth had been immensely gratified that Mr. Darcy was not to come visit immediately, but was to wait a few days, for it gave her time to comport herself, to think. She had already taken care of the issue of her mama, and her Aunt Gardner had spent almost every moment she was not with her children, with her sister in law, after Kitty and Elizabeth had informed her the next morning of what Elizabeth had witnessed in her mama's room that night.
Right now, she was attempting to persuade her mama to keep herself busy. Elizabeth hid her smile, as she considered the image of her mama studiously bent over needlework. For all that her mama used to wail and groan over Elizabeth's propensity for taking long walks, Elizabeth was now entirely sure that she had inherited her temperament not from her papa, as she had always thought before, but from her mama.
Currently, her mama spent her mornings keeping an eye upon the younger children as they played in the back garden, and in the afternoons poured over the fashion magazines that their Aunt Gardner had thought to buy from the shops. Mrs. Bennet poured over the French fashions, watching fondly as Lydia, Kitty, and Mary tore apart their bonnets to mimic the new styles that were introduced to them. Elizabeth was glad, for between that and her upcoming wedding.
The sound of a knocker startled Elizabeth, as she realized, with a start that she had missed Mr. Darcy's carriage in the drive. Standing up, she smoothed her skirts again, and made to walk downstairs. Jane grabbed her hand before she could go.
"Calmly, Lizzie." she said soothingly.
Elizabeth nodded gratefully to her sister, and calmly glided down the stairs.
Mr. Darcy was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, imposing and grave as always, and beside him stood a lighter haired man, who was not even attempting to hide the grin on his face, and a fair haired young girl, whom Elizabeth realized with dismay was Miss Georgiana Darcy.
That was whom Mr. Wickham had attempted to elope with? In her mind's eye, Elizabeth had sketched a rendering of Miss Georgiana Darcy, and that was not whom she had been able to form into her mind. To be sure, she had a womanly figure, but Georgiana Darcy looked painfully young, in the same way that her sister Lydia looked younger than her years. However, unlike her sister Lydia, she looked painfully shy and timid, unable to meet Elizabeth's eyes.
Mr. Darcy bowed in greeting, "Miss Elizabeth," he said warmly, and Elizabeth saw for the first time his smile, and that he had dimples in the grooves of his cheeks, "allow me to introduce my sister, Miss Georgiana," and at that introduction, Georgiana dipped into a low curtsey, which Elizabeth returned, "and my cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam." the friendly looking man also bowed, looking fairly amused as he did it.
He explained it a moment later. "I have not seen my cousin Darcy this nervous in quite a long while, Miss Elizabeth," he said with a roguish wink. "I shall need to know your secret."
Elizabeth led them to the parlour, where the servants had already laid the area out with tea, scones, biscuits, fresh preserves, and butter. They settled down and Elizabeth poured tea for her guests, noting the way that Mr. Darcy preferred his, and when they were contented with their tea, she poured her own.
"I should say this, before Darcy keeps you all to himself, Miss Elizabeth, but I am truly sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine what you must be going through." Colonel Fitzwilliam was the first to offer his condolences, Elizabeth's soon to be sister in law, falteringly echoing her cousin, although Elizabeth could tell that it did not make her sentiment any less real, nor false.
"I thank you both, Colonel, Miss Georgiana," she smiled pleasantly at them both, and then turned to Mr. Darcy, "although truthfully I am glad that he is no longer in any pain. It was a long…." here she stumbled over how to describe her father's death, what it was, what it was not, "illness" she finally settled on a word, "and I am glad that he is at peace now." There, Elizabeth was satisfied that she had not embarrassed Mr. Darcy at all in her description of her father's passing to his family.
Elizabeth turned to address Mr. Darcy, and then his sister, "Are you well, Mr. Darcy?" When he replied that he was, she then asked Miss Georgiana if her journey was tolerable, to which her soon to be sister in law replied very quietly that it had been a smooth journey, although she had no wish to undertake it again quite so soon.
They maintained pleasantries for a few more minutes, until her Aunt and Uncle Gardner arrived with her sister Jane, Lydia, Kitty, and Mary. Her mama was still preoccupied with her cousins, an occupation Elizabeth was grateful for.
Mr. Darcy stood up, almost at some prearranged signal with her uncle, and offered her his arm. "I was wondering, Miss Elizabeth, if you would take a walk in the gardens with me for few minutes?"
Elizabeth glanced back at her aunt, who gave her an encouraging nod, and took Mr. Darcy's arm.
Mr. Darcy led her to the gardens, and they walked a bit, Elizabeth still holding on to Mr. Darcy's arm. For his part, he seemed content to let her clutch at him, and continue taking a turn about the garden.
"Shall we say something, Miss Elizabeth?" his words startled her, for she recognized them as her own, cloaking the anger and bitterness she had felt at the time, in levity and tartness.
"I suppose we must, Mr. Darcy," Elizabeth agreed quietly, unsure how to process the feelings that were now welling inside of her-reminders of things she wished to forget, of a previous life.
"Miss Elizabeth, are you content?" Mr. Darcy was looking at her now, concern dominating his features.
"I am well, Mr. Darcy. Simply tired." she rushed to assure him. To keep him distracted, she spoke of his sister, "Your sister seems like a lovely girl, Mr. Darcy. I am sure she is a credit to you, as Miss Bingley often stated."
"Yes," Mr. Darcy replied distractedly, "Georgiana is very accomplished."
"Perhaps she could play for us later, Mr. Darcy? I am sure my cousins would enjoy such a lady playing for them. Unfortunately," she said with a laugh that sounded even tight to her own ears, "only one of their cousins play, and I am sure listening to Mary or myself play are vastly different than hearing someone who has been trained play."
Mr. Darcy frowned at her belittling jabs, and regarded her with serious eyes,
"I am sure that we shall be just as entertained if you or Miss Mary should play, but for you, I will ask my sister if she would be willing to play. She is rather shy, you see." Mr. Darcy trailed off uncomfortably, and Elizabeth held back a flinch as she had distressed Mr. Darcy.
She searched for a subject that might distract him, anything.
"And would you tell me of Pemberley, sir?"
She knew she had made the right choice, when his eyes lit up in a manner that she had rarely seen of him, and he led her to a nearby bench, and began to speak in a most animated manner. Later, when she had gone to bed, Elizabeth would realize that the ghost of a smile still touched her lips, as she thought about the beautiful grounds, as described by Mr. Darcy, who had been kind enough to take great care in describing the grounds to her.
Two weeks later…
In the coming weeks, Elizabeth's days were divided into the time period where Mr. Darcy was not visiting Gracechurch street, and the time he was. Generally most mornings Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy would take tea and some small pastries, as Elizabeth found it difficult to adjust to Town hours-a trait she shared with Mr. Darcy-then taking a turn in the garden or the park for a few hours before joining the rest of the family for breakfast. She found that each day she spent with Mr. Darcy, simply walking, was a day that she found it easier to breathe. His sister and the Colonel often joined him in domestic felicity with her sisters, as more and more days passed.
Elizabeth worried about bonding with her soon to be sister, as she had no concept of her true character, once the shyness had been stripped away, other than what Miss Bingley had spoken of her-a demure, well bred lady who delighted in the arts-the complete opposite of her younger sisters, who, although were a great deal better behaved than before, had little in the way of a lady's education. While Miss Georgiana was too well bred and mannered to note such a thing, Elizabeth could see the differences-the way in which Miss Georgiana devoted herself to her music and her studies, and the way in which her younger sisters focused on their bonnets and lace.
Hopefully, Elizabeth sighed as she turned a critical eye over herself in the mirror, that Mr. Darcy was as willing to overlook their deficiencies-her deficiencies-as he claimed to during his proposal. She would admit, as she reflected criticisms at her sisters, that those same criticisms, excepting any obsession with her dress and hairstyle, could also be accurately targeted at her. Miss Bingley's voice drawled through her mind, as she recalled that night that Miss Bingley praised Miss Georgiana for her talent at the pianoforte, her beautiful drawings, her sweet disposition-all of which pointed to the makings of a substantive, accomplished lady.
The cobbled steps of horses and a carriage jostling to a rest in front of her home shook Elizabeth out of her thoughts.
She peered out of the window in curiosity, as her Uncle Gardner was away, visiting one of his warehouses, Mr. Darcy had informed her only the day before that he should be gone for a week or ten days to attend to some business concerns within Derbyshire, and her mama, Aunt Gardner, and younger sisters were out shopping-for they would have special gowns made for Elizabeth's wedding, which was less than a month away. Jane had settled down for a much needed nap after wrangling with her niece and nephews all morning, and Elizabeth was alone in her sister Mary and Kitty's room to give Jane some privacy and quiet.
Elizabeth watched as an older lady, formidably dressed in black and gold swept out of the carriage, and descended upon the steps of her uncle's home, followed by a footman dressed similarly.
A few moments later, a maid knocked urgently on the door, telling her that the lady was none other than Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and she was requesting an audience with Elizabeth.
"Yes, thank you Lucy. Please tell her ladyship that I shall be down presently.", wincing for the maid, as she could now hear the querulous tones of the lady below. She was not stupid, she knew why the lady was here-through their conversation the very first day they had interacted after their engagement, he had spoken very little about either of his extended family members-Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the Earl and Countess of Matlock, the Viscount of _-and had instead focused on his sister and his cousin-and it was common sense to propose that they should not have been pleased to hear of his engagement to a country bumpkin.
Elizabeth steadied herself, mentally preparing herself for the lady's attack, as she turned the corner into the parlour where Lucy had situated the woman and her footman-who stood silently in the corner, his face expressionless.
She curtseyed. Lady Catherine regarded her with cool, disapproving eyes. Before she could introduce herself, Lady Catherine barked,
"Are you Elizabeth Bennet?"
"I am your ladyship." Elizabeth replied, despising how weak her voice was.
"I do not wish to stay in this part of London for any longer than necessary, Miss Bennet," the lady started, her voice tinged with scorn, as she had to travel to Cheapside, in order to speak to the woman who was so presumptuously engaged to her nephew, "so I shall be brief and to the point. I presume you know who I am, but I shall state my identity to begin with,"
Here, she drew herself up as though she were preparing herself for battle, "I am Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the daughter of the late Earl of Matlock, and the widow of Sir Lewis de Bourgh. My nephew, Mr. Darcy, is your supposed fiancee, and I wish for you to break off the engagement. I am willing to pay you a substantive amount of money, Miss Bennet, for you to do so."
She then spread her hands, bejeweled in several rings, as if to show off the supposed wealth she could deluge Elizabeth in.
Elizabeth lifted her chin, and said firmly, not wishing to speak to Mr. Darcy's aunt in a manner that would displease or embarrass him, yet not wishing to bear her company any longer, after paying her such an insult, "I will not accept your offer, Lady Catherine," and then, seeking to move towards the door, "I shall walk you to the door" she said politely.
Lady Catherine gave her a look of rigid disapproval, a look that did not scare Elizabeth, not anymore for she had endured worse, and said harshly, "You are making a mistake of improbably magnitude, Miss Bennet."
"How so, Lady Catherine?"
Lady Catherine screeched in outrage at her bored tone, her eyes glancing to the open window, as though there were several of peers watching her breach of propriety. Elizabeth waited for her to compose herself, which, unfortunately was a relatively short amount of time.
"Do you honestly believe that my nephew should marry you! You! A young woman of inferior birth and no fortune, who had not the good sense to thank the Good Lord that her own honorable cousin, heir to her father's estate was willing to marry her, when he shall be able to marry my daughter, the heiress of all that her father left behind! Mark my words, Miss Bennet, this union shall not stand! My nephew may have forgotten himself to your wiles for a brief time, but he shall soon set himself to rights, and that includes you and your family!"
The tirade, and oh Elizabeth could not categorize it as anything but, continued on as Lady Catherine began to list her family's deficiencies-prior or otherwise-as though she were reading aloud from a list.
"And do you honestly think that my nephew should seek to align himself with a woman whose younger sisters are shameless, vulgar hoydens, flitting after any male in a red coat, a cripple elder sister who also seeks to use mean, shameless arts in the capture of another wealthy man, as well as a shameless mother who advocates such behavior and arts from her daughters! It shall not be born! You do not know my nephew very well Miss Bennet, and you shall understand this soon enough!"
These words were delivered in such a biting tone, that Elizabeth almost did not catch the note of desperation that clung to each and every word that poured out of Lady Catherine's furious form.
"And then, I wonder, Lady Catherine, that you should wish to have your illustrious name sullied with such a man!" Elizabeth noted drolly, mentally cataloging each micro expression that dominated Lady Catherine's face.
"I will not stand for this! I shall make this offer one last time, you headstrong, impertinent girl! I have with me thirty thousand pounds, and all of that shall be yours the moment I have confirmation that you have refused my nephew."
"I will not." was Elizabeth's reply, and without waiting for anything further, the grand lady swept out the house, her ever silent footman trailing her form without notice.
Safely situated in her carriage, Lady Catherine looked out the window to see the horrid area, Gracechurch street, leave her view as her carriage swiftly carried her out of Cheapside.
Glancing down at the letter gripped tightly in her hand, she mentally catalogued all that she should need to accomplish when she reached Rosings Park. A letter to Mr. Collins would be sent out posthaste, requiring his arrival to Rosings as soon as possible.
One way or another, the country chit would be taken care of.
Elizabeth had debated whether or not to inform Mr. Darcy of his aunt's visit, when he returned from his trip, but she found that she did not have to, as he had immediately apologized for his aunt the moment they were alone in the garden, Jane and Mr. Bingley trailing a discreet distance behind them.
"I must apologize, Miss Elizabeth, for Lady Catherine's behavior." he said before she could even open her mouth.
"There is nothing to apologize for, Mr. Darcy" she rushed to assure him before he could self flagellate himself at all. "I was expecting there to be disapproval from your family, although I was not expecting it to be quite so," here she paused, seeking a word that would not sound as condemning as she wished it to, "direct, although I am used to such directness," she awkwardly joked, her mind retrieving Lady Catherine's references her younger sisters' and mama's former behavior, "so it was not quite so bad." she ended, peering into her betrothed's face.
He gave her a strange look, and opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted with the girlish cry of her mama, calling out enthusiastically to Mr. Bingley and Jane.
Elizabeth turned away, the corners of her mouth downturned, as she studied the flowers. It was moments like this that she realized that her mama truly favored Jane above everyone. When Mr. Darcy had written to inform Elizabeth that Mr. Bingley had to delay his visit due to some unexpected business coming up, her mama had wept and had to be consoled by Kitty and Elizabeth for the rest of the day and the majority of the night, so convinced she was that Mr. Bingley was never coming to visit Jane.
And when Mr. Darcy had informed her that he should be bringing Mr. Bingley with him after his business concluded in Derbyshire, it were as though God himself had proposed a visit, for mama spent the next two days directing the servants and the cook to her increased demands.
Not even at her engagement to Mr. Darcy had her mama displayed as much enthusiasm or happiness for her-she had indeed thanked Elizabeth for her actions to save the family, her cunningness in refusing Mr. Collins, and had been ecstatic on the news that Mr. Darcy was willing to pay for their new gowns, but never had she greeted Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth on a stroll throughout the garden with as much happiness and pride as she had with Mr. Bingley and Jane.
She missed her papa, so much that it ached.
Beside her, Mr. Darcy must have sensed her thoughts, as he smoothly slid his bare hand to hers, gripping tightly. Neither of them said a word, and Elizabeth found, that for once, they did not have to.
Elizabeth and Darcy's wedding day…..
"Shall I leave you alone for a moment, Lizzie?" her sweet sister asked, as she watched Elizabeth pace up and down the length of the room.
Elizabeth was dressed, had been dressed for nearly an hour now, and was now awaiting the carriage to take her to the church in which she would be married.
Jane had barred the door to her younger sisters and mama over an hour ago, sensing Elizabeth's distress, and had offered to leave the room to leave Elizabeth alone with her thoughts, but Elizabeth had wished her to stay.
Jane looked at the small plate of uneaten fruit and toast, and then back at her sister.
"I shall bring these to the kitchen Lizzie." she offered, and without awaiting her sister's reply, took the place and quietly left the room. Elizabeth's eyes followed her. With more regular exercise, Jane's movements were becoming less stiff, less painful, and it showed in her attitude.
Jane did not return, and a short time later, a small knock alerted her to a presence at the door, and Elizabeth turned her gaze towards the door, expecting her sister, but instead it was her future sister, Miss Georgiana with a small package in her hands, shyly standing in the doorway, unable to enter without permission.
Elizabeth gave her an encouraging smile, and said "Come in, Miss Georgiana."
Georgiana blushed prettily and closed the door behind her.
"You look lovely, dear." Elizabeth complimented her on her simple and plain gown, although she could clearly see Lydia's influence in the detailing of her small reticule that she held loosely in one hand.
"Thank you." A few moments passed, and Georgiana pressed the small package, rather clumsily, into Elizabeth's hands.
"These are from my brother," she rushed to explain, blushing furiously at the thought of being a mediator between any type of flirtation between her brother and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was not surprised. She had received several gifts-some large, such as the shopping trip Mr. Darcy had provided-and some small, such as a simple gold bracelet with their initials inscribed, and a small cross necklace, tastefully encrusted with seed pearls and tiny rubies-a replica of the one she had lost to Longbourn. She wore both today.
Aware that Miss Georgiana was anxiously waiting her to open the package, as well as watching her face directly, no doubt to inform her brother of what she thought of his gift, Elizabeth carefully opened the package, and enclosed of the package lay a pair of pearl and diamond earrings, that would go wonderfully with her dress.
Elizabeth glanced to Miss Georgiana who was visibly excited.
"My brother especially wanted you to wear them, Miss Elizabeth. They belonged to my mother, and my father gave them to her before their wedding as well."
Elizabeth gave Miss Georgiana a fond smile, carefully noting the tightness around Georgiana's eyes as she spoke of her parents. If Elizabeth had not known better, she would have thought it a wonderful anecdote from a young girl who had been raised by loving parents, or, rather a loving father. She knew Georgiana had neither, and before she could stop herself, she embraced Georgiana gingerly, minding her dress.
Georgiana stood ramrod straight in her arms for a few moments, and then relaxed, and returned her actions.
They stood there for a few minutes longer, wrapped in each other's arms, and then at the sound of another knock, parted from each other. Elizabeth checked herself in the mirror to see if she was still presentable, and when she saw that she was, she followed Miss Georgiana out of the room.
In a few short hours, she would no longer be Elizabeth Teresa Bennet, but would be Elizabeth Bennet Darcy.
Elizabeth Darcy.