It had been three days since their argument and Elizabeth was still seething. The nerve of him, ordering her about like that. The sheer audacity he had to insinuate that she was not as well bred as Caroline Bingley. Oh, the man made her see red. He would not be forgiven easily.
Walking to her husband's study, she rapped on the door.
"Come in," Mr. Darcy called.
Elizabeth walked in to the room, stopping a few feet shy of his desk. She had come to visit her husband with a specific purpose in mind. Now that she stood before him she was afraid that she was losing a bit of her courage. She took a deep breath and let it out before speaking.
"Mr. Darcy, I would like to visit my family. As a dutiful wife, I am, of course, asking your permission first," Elizabeth said.
Ignoring her impertinence, he asked, "Why this sudden desire to visit Longbourn?"
"I find that I miss my family a great deal, even my mother. Also, Jane and Bingley will soon be settled at Netherfield. I should very much like to see them."
"I have some business in London. I had thought that you might come with me. You could go shopping. Possibly decorate our home in London. Buy some new dresses for yourself."
"If it is your wish, then I shall go. I would hate for others to think I am not an obedient wife."
"No. If you would like to visit your family, then by all means, Mrs. Darcy, do so."
"You are so kind, my lord. Mayhap while I visit Netherfield I will run into Miss Bingley and be taught how to properly behave in society."
"I hope that you shall for she is quite knowledgable in such matters. Her wisdom could prevent you from embarrassing yourself in front of your new circle of acquaintances."
Stifling the biting retort that came to her lips, Elizabeth instead coldly replied, "If you'll excuse me, I shall prepare myself for the journey. I expect to leave tomorrow morning."
"Have a safe journey. I, myself, leave for London in the morning."
"May your journey be a safe one. Good day," Elizabeth said before briskly exiting the room.
Feeling all of the emotions of her younger adolescent self, Elizabeth raced upstairs and threw herself on her bed. She cried for hours until she mercifully fell asleep. Later that evening, she did not hear the footsteps approaching her room nor did she wake when her husband tucked her under the covers or when he kissed her brow.
"Enjoy your visit, my dearest. I will miss you," he whispered to his sleeping wife.
"You seem beyond happy my dearest Jane. It warms me to see you so," Elizabeth said as she walked the grounds of Netherfield with her sister.
"I am happy. So very happy. Charles is the most wonderful of husbands and so good to me," her sister said. After a moment, Jane added, "I had thought when I saw you last that you were happy as well. Now, I feel as if something has changed. I am quite surprised to see that Mr. Darcy did not travel with you. As was Miss Bingley, I noted."
"I am sure it was not surprise but delight she was feeling," Elizabeth muttered. Grabbing her sister's hand, she squeezed it gently. "I cannot lie to you. My relationship with my husband is not what it was. We were so happy, but now everything just seems so hopeless."
"Oh my, what happened?" Jane asked.
"It was all because of the silliest thing. I went out for a walk around the grounds, which I do every day, only with Mr. Darcy, but one day I went alone. After walking for some time, I began to feel tired and I decided to rest against a tree. Well, I had apparently fallen asleep and I awoke to find my husband who had been looking for me. I did not make much of the situation but apparently it is unbecoming for a lady of my station to take a solitary walk upon her own estate. Then, he actually forbade me to go anywhere without an escort. Can you believe such behavior? From my own husband? But that was not all. He had the audacity to compare my behavior to that of Caroline Bingley's! Our argument was well over a month ago and I am still fuming at how overbearing he was."
Jane bit her lip as if she wanted to say something but was not sure how it would be received.
"Out with it," Elizabeth ordered. "I must know what you are thinking."
"Did you not think how Mr. Darcy might have felt that day? He did not know where you were. It most likely frightened him."
Elizabeth pondered her sister's words for a moment. "I confess I did not think about how the situation might have affected him."
"You are his wife, the woman he loves. Any normal person, man or woman, would feel fear at the thought of losing the person most important to him. He is perfectly correct in ensuring your safety. As a good wife, you should not go wandering about, especially alone. I am sorry if he hurt your feelings, but you did choose to be his wife. You should not embarrass or cause him unneeded worry by your behavior."
Elizabeth looked down at the ground, slightly ashamed. Speaking with Jane had given her a whole new perspective on the situation.
"I think when you return home you should ask to speak with him. Discuss the matter and I am certain that you and Mr. Darcy will come to a peaceful resolution. After all, he is a reasonable man, is he not?"
"Yes, indeed he is. I must confess I did provoke him by mentioning Caroline Bingley first. I do not know why I envy her so much."
"I think she envies you a great deal more. After all, you are the one Darcy chose to be his wife and mistress of Pemberley, not her."
Elizabeth woke up the next morning, tired but feeling hopeful about her future. She had spent most of the night before writing and subsequently crumpling up letters to her husband. She longed to tell him that she wanted to fix their misunderstanding but couldn't find the words to tell him. Instead, Elizabeth decided to cut her visit short and return home a fortnight early.
After getting dressed, she walked downstairs to eat breakfast with her family and tell them of her plans. Sitting down at the table, Elizabeth put a piece of toast on her plate and spread the thinnest smear of strawberry jam on top. She poured herself some tea without milk in it.
"Lizzy, cook has gone to all this trouble to make breakfast. Eat something besides toast for goodness sake," her mother said.
"I am sorry mother, but toast is the only thing that looks remotely appetizing."
"I remember I ate that way myself when I was...Lizzy, you are not with child, are you?"