A/N
Chapter 17, something for the weekend, hope you enjoy
From your comments, got to know quite a few of you skip the Author's note :-)) …But please read this one (at least bullet points : ))
There are three more chapters after this
Will be posted on 6/7 Oct (depending on your geographical location)
Will remove them on 9/10 Oct
Will be removing previous chapters today as intimated; this will crank up the numbering. Please check the chapter numbers after opening the link
As always, a big and heartfelt Thank you, Lisa. Would very much like to mention your name in the acknowledgement. Should it be Lisa or Lily ?
And… dear readers, your comments, encouragement, suggestions, even criticisms are much appreciated! They are sustenance for this author. Please do keep engaging.
Now for a Rant - to 'Guest' reviewer who gave me a lesson on child psychology – if you are still reading this story - your comment was hurtful (only reader review out of 1138 reader reviews posted on my stories that I removed, and later felt sorry), guilt tripping authors for causing psychological damage is not done! If you are posting such comments at least mention what your 'technical' knowledge considers the right manner to treat a 3 year old child and how to tell her that she has become an orphan!
A Chance EncounterCopyright © 2021 by S. Neha
All rights reserved.
Chapter 17When Georgian returned to her brother's side, it was to see him standing up and surrounded by several people. There was Matten, hovering protectively around him. The butler was accompanied by a couple of footmen, Siddons, the head groom in Sebastian's stable, and finally, a cowering young lad. Elizabeth and Mrs Annesley, with Millie in her arms, were standing at a small distance from the group of men. Mrs Annesley had somehow managed to soothe a terrified Millie, who was now asleep in the good lady's arms.
Georgiana soon gathered from the men's talk that an angry Siddons was advocating the dismissal of the scared looking young man. He was the unfortunate groom riding Thunder when the accident happened. Luckily for the groom, her brother was unwilling to blame the hapless man for the accident. By the time he had pacified Siddons and, the stable staff left the site of the accident, the apothecary came calling. Only when the man of medicine gave his permission did their party remove to the manor house. Although the apothecary did not find anything concerning after examining Darcy and Millie, he advised against travel that day. He also provided some powders for relieving pain and inflammation, and then left after asking both his patients to take ample rest. A maid then came to help settle Millie for the night, and Mrs Annesley decided to accompany the little girl.
As they waited for their rooms to be prepared, Georgiana took the opportunity to share her discovery with Elizabeth and her brother.
"Brother?" she got up and made her way to the couch on which Darcy was sitting.
"Yes, Georgie?"
"I found this near the site of the accident," she said and offered the chain and locket to her brother.
"Oh, that is Millie's locket! Sadly, Thunder seems to have stomped on it," Darcy said as he took the locket from Georgiana and almost unconsciously flipped the two parts open to glance at the miniatures.
"Hey! Doesn't this man look like Geoffrey Baldwin…" Darcy broke off and then looked wide-eyed at his sister. "Oh… no!"
"Aunt Mel!" The brother and the sister exclaimed almost simultaneously.
"So that is why Millie's eyes are so familiar," Georgiana whispered. "But… Geoffrey had married about two years ago, and Millie is …" she began in puzzlement then broke off. "Oh!" she blushed painfully and looked away from her brother, who appeared equally embarrassed.
"Who is Aunt Mel?" Elizabeth asked finally when the dismayed silence between the siblings had lasted quite long.
Darcy sighed heavily, then answered, "Melissa Baldwin, Lady Vincent. She was not really a relation, but a very dear friend of our mother. However, she loved Georgie and me nearly as much as our Aunt Susan. More so after our mother died. She also passed away nearly five years ago." He glanced away and reluctantly added, "The miniature of the man in Millie's locket is that of her son Geoffrey Baldwin. It now appears that Baldwin is Millie's father."
"But… we do not know how Millie's mother came by that locket. How can we be sure that… this Geoffrey Baldwin is Millie's father?" Elizabeth objected.
"Because of Millie's eyes, Elizabeth." This time it was Georgiana who answered. "They are the exact replica of her grandmother's. Aunt Mel had the kindest and the warmest, violet coloured eyes which always twinkled when she laughed," she added.
"Millie's eyes," Elizabeth whispered.
Georgiana nodded. "When I first saw Millie in my brother's arms, I was very puzzled by the wave of familiarity that washed over me. Now I find it strange that I did not think of Aunt Mel at all at the time," she said in a surprised voice.
"It is quite understandable, Georgie. You were only eleven when she passed away. I was much older, and still, I did not connect those eyes to Aunt Mel's, even when I wondered where I had seen them before!" Darcy shook his head in amazement. "But at least now I understand why I have felt a connection with little Millie from the very first moment. After all, she is Aunt Mel's own flesh and blood!" he added reflectively.
After a while, Elizabeth asked diffidently. "Umm… do the Baldwins' have a home in Bath?"
"You are nothing if not tenacious, Miss Bennet." Just for a moment, the troubled look in Darcy's eyes was replaced by a glint of amusement. "And yes, the Baldwins' do own a home in Bath," he added with a troubled frown.
"So… what do we do now?" Elizabeth asked when the silence grew oppressive.
"I believe Geoffrey Baldwin would be in town for the season, as is his habit. I will send a message to him now, asking him to meet me tomorrow at Darcy House," Darcy replied.
"But will he respond?" Georgiana asked doubtfully. "Strangely, we have never had much communication with Aunt Mel's family once she passed on," she added to explain away her uncertainty.
"I think he will, especially now," Darcy said with a grim smile. He did not tell Georgiana that they never did have a very cordial relationship with Aunt Mel's family because of Lord Vincent's cold attitude. While Geoffrey Baldwin and his elder brother were the kind of rakish ne'er do wells he had always kept a distance from.
"Why especially now?" Georgiana persisted.
"Because Lord Vincent is interested in a strip of land from Glenmore Park that borders their estate in Scotland."
"I think that one belongs to Geoffrey ever since his marriage," Georgiana added helpfully.
"Exactly, that is why Baldwin will come when I send a message. I had entered a negotiation with Lord Vincent a few months back. It is taking so much time as I was unable to decide whether to sell… or not. Now I think my decision will depend on how Baldwin responds," Darcy said grimly.
Just then, Matten came to tell them that their rooms had been prepared. Darcy told him about his requirements for the stationery as well as a messenger.
The accident had already cast a pall on their party. It had pained Darcy that Millie had suffered another setback just when they had tried to cheer her up. Now, this latest discovery only added to his disquiet. Supper that evening was, therefore, a solitary affair as everyone took a tray in their room. As Darcy retired for the night, he pondered over his forthcoming meeting with Geoffrey Baldwin and Millie's future. He had already promised himself to ensure that Millie was settled in a loving home where she would be well cared for. Now with the additional awareness of her connection to Aunt Mel, his resolve had only increased. Unfortunately, the revelation of her father's identity instead of bringing the expected relief brought doubts and uncertainties. Although Lord Vincent was considered a fair and just man by the ton, Darcy knew that he was, in reality, a cold and indifferent sort of person. He had seen its evidence many a time in Aunt Mel's eyes. And the less said about that rake Geoffrey, the better. However, he owed it to both Millie and Aunt Mel to try and settle the little girl with her own family. 'But only if they truly want her.' On this thought, he closed his eyes for the night.
The next morning, he was quite impatient to leave for Darcy House. Elizabeth and Georgiana both remonstrated with him to take things slowly and be more careful of his injury. However, he was too restless to stay at Cranfield Park even a minute more than was necessary. His forthcoming interview with Baldwin and the knowledge of Mr Gardiner's return both were making him edgy. Consequently, they left for Darcy House soon after breakfast.
~~~§~~~
Darcy sanded the letter he had written to Mr Gardiner and put it on the tray holding the outgoing messages, to be sent out later in the day. As he absentmindedly continued to gaze at the letter, his thoughts wandered in the same direction they often did these days - towards Elizabeth. 'If whatever Elizabeth has told of her uncle is correct, I suppose Mr Gardiner will be accompanying the messenger back to Darcy House.' Just for a moment, a smile quirked his lips at the thought, then disappeared. 'And she… she will be gone from my home by the time the sun sets on this day.' The acute sense of loss he felt at the thought shocked him. He had felt this extent of melancholy only a handful of times previously. 'Lord, Darcy, quit being so melodramatic. You can ride to Gracechurch Street in half an hour and meet her whenever you want,' he tried to tell himself, but to no avail. It still felt as if his heart was being torn into two, exactly like it had felt the day she had rejected him. Why he should be feeling like this puzzled him. After all, yesterday's events had proven at least one thing – Elizabeth was not indifferent to him, and she did not dislike him. 'Then why?' he asked himself. Feeling too restless to keep sitting, he got up and wandered to the French windows. As he stood staring at the garden unseeingly, his mind kept travelling to those beautiful moments from yesterday. He recollected how he had woken up with his head in her lap and how her beautiful eyes had clearly revealed all that she felt. They had given him hope for the future like nothing before. He closed his eyes, rested his forehead on the cool glass and relived those moments one more time. Suddenly, he straightened. 'Enough of this diffidence! Decorous behaviour or not, I have to tell her how I feel before she leaves here. And beg for… some understanding – a reaffirmation of the hope she offered me yesterday!'
As he moved towards the door of his study, his gaze fell on another letter on his desk - the acceptance of his invitation to Geoffrey Baldwin. 'This is another thing that I have to tell her. But where would I find her at this time? Georgie is busy with her practice, and Millie is taking a nap. Elizabeth could be in the library, but…' he looked out of the window and smiled. 'At this time of the day she is more likely to be in mother's favourite parlour,' he thought, and his legs automatically moved thither. At this particular time, bathed in sunlight streaming from its windows, the red and gold parlour always gave one the feeling of being ensconced in a warm embrace. The room was a favourite with Georgiana too. 'Perhaps if I find her there, it will be a good omen? Elizabeth is favouring the choice of other Darcy women as she would soon be one?' Shaking his head at his ridiculous thoughts, he peered inside the sitting room and… smiled in delight. There she was, sitting on a couch near the window and staring out dreamily. Her legs were tucked comfortably under her, and a half-finished embroidery pattern was lying forgotten in her lap. Ridiculous fantasies aside, her presence here in the room gave him the encouragement he needed, and he went inside after gently shutting the door behind him.
"Elizabeth?" he called out softly.
She started at the sudden interruption to her reverie and turned her head towards him quickly. "Mr Darcy!" she exclaimed as her gaze involuntarily strayed to the door. If she was disconcerted to see it shut, it did not show on her countenance. "How are you feeling now?" she asked instead, gazing at the bruise on his face.
"I have felt better, Elizabeth, but things are definitely on the mend. Mostly it hurts when I accidentally touch the bruise," he replied with a wry smile.
"Hmm... I hope you are taking the medicine Mr Stuart left for you."
Darcy nodded, then said, "I have had a response from Baldwin. He will be here in an hour or so."
"Oh, I really hope he sees the error of his ways and makes adequate arrangements for Millie."
From what he knew of Baldwin's character and his current situation, Darcy had his doubts about that. However, he chose to keep quiet. After all, he could always threaten Baldwin with revealing all the sordid details to his father, Lord Vincent. "I hope so too," he said in response. "I … I have written a letter to Mr Gardiner also. He… might come here in the evening.
"Oh…" was all Elizabeth said. Although she tried to keep her face neutral, Darcy did not miss the shadow of sadness that passed over her face and disappeared swiftly.
"You know that whatever you choose to tell him, I will be there with you, supporting it, don't you?" he asked quietly.
"I know that, Alex. As I informed you earlier, I would like to tell him all the pertinent facts, including the one about our stay in Bassingtonstoke."
"Of course," he said, then as he pondered over how Mr Gardiner might react to their story, a thought struck him that almost rendered him breathless with shock. Despite all his efforts to protect Elizabeth's reputation, there was a strong possibility that her uncle might insist on their marriage, and he would gladly agree. In these circumstances he would have said yes even if he had not wanted Elizabeth for himself. He also believed that Elizabeth knew this much of his honour. The very possibility that she might think he was offering for her under compulsion was so abhorrent that he would have blurted out the truth, had he not come there to expressly confess it all.
"Elizabeth?"
"Yes?"
Despite the encouragement her eyes had conveyed yesterday, Darcy found it safer to observe the familiar pattern on the carpet as he started to talk. "I… I had thought to wait until you were under your uncle's roof to confess this. However, I now find I cannot let you leave here without telling you that my wishes and affections remain unchanged. No… no, I lie - my affections have changed." He swallowed hard and forced himself to look into her eyes and continue, "I find that I love you more ardently than ever before," He turned away from her when he saw her eyes widen in surprise. 'It seems that I once again misread the emotions in her eyes,' he thought and closed his eyes in disappointment. But the images from yesterday once again intruded before his eyes, and he found himself asking, "You told me that you no longer dislike me, Elizabeth. Now, I beg you to end my misery and tell me one more thing… is there any hope for me?"
He waited tensely for her response - his eyes still closed. For a moment, there was silence in the room. Then with a whisper of a sound, he felt a light touch on his shoulder, and something came to rest just below his shoulder blade. His eyes sprang open in surprise, and as he turned his head, his gaze fell on the window glass, he could see Elizabeth standing right behind him. Her right palm was on his shoulder and her forehead was resting very lightly on his back. Captivated, he was still staring at the image when she started to speak.
"Oh, Thank God!" she exclaimed, her voice raw with emotion. "I thought you would never ask me again… that I had completely alienated you with my vile accusations and angry words that day in Hunsford." She had to swallow hard to continue. "Yesterday when I finally realized what it would be to lose you, for one mad moment I thought of begging you to give me one more chance - until better sense prevailed." Her voice broke at the last word and to his distress Darcy saw tears slip out of her closed eyes. "Elizabeth, sweetheart, please don't cry!" Darcy begged urgently as he turned to take her into his arms and hold her tight. She started to mumble something into his chest, and he had to bend his head to hear. "… I can tell you that I love you too, Alex, so much that I do not have the words to tell you how much. All I can tell you is that a life without you would be meaningless. "
"Elizabeth, my heart," he murmured. He cupped her face in his hands and raised it up to his. Feeling too overwhelmed to say anything in response to her haunting words, he chose to show her the depth of his feelings. He began by kissing her forehead. Then his lips trailed to her beautiful eyes – eyes which had taught him to hope. Then his lips trailed further down over her cheeks till he could finally capture her lips with his own. It was not long before he realized that not only were her lips as sweet and as soft as he had imagined, but her ardency also matched his own. He had been right - they did make an excellent team, he thought exultantly. He broke the kiss only when he had to, then stood looking down at her flushed face, smiling foolishly down at her.
"Elizabeth?"
"Hmm?" she opened one eye to look at him.
He grinned. "Can I ask you something?"
When she nodded, he asked, "When did you find out that you love me?"
Elizabeth smiled and gently placed her hand on his cheek. "To be utterly honest, Alex, my feelings for you started undergoing a change the moment you cajoled little Millie out of that carriage, but I knew for sure that I loved you on the day of the picnic at the farmhouse."
"What! Oh Lord!" he groaned and shook his head.
"What is the matter?"
"If only I had known! It was the very same day that I decided to wait till you reached your uncle's home to beg you for another chance. I wanted to court you, to show you that I am not so very dislikeable…"
"Please don't say that. You are not one bit dislikeable!" Elizabeth said fiercely.
Darcy stared at her in surprise, then smiled, "Elizabeth, I was talking about your previous impression. There is no need for a pretence. I am not so sensitive that I cannot take criticism in my stride." He quirked his brow at her playfully and added, "I agree I am a little arrogant, but I have enough sense to know that I make mistakes and try to rectify them if I can."
"I am not pretending! I meant what I said, and I do not like it if anyone tries to put you down… not even you," Elizabeth replied, still fierce, but by the end of her sentence, her voice had started to crack.
With a frisson of shock, Darcy realized that she was in earnest. He pulled her to him in a tight embrace, "Oh, Elizabeth! Sweetheart, please do not put me on a pedestal in this manner. I am but a man with enough weaknesses!"
"I know that! No one in this world is perfect. I am not, and neither are you. But you are the kindest person I know. The best of men… and that's all there is to it," her voice came out muffled but he could understand each word and truth or not, they warmed him to the core.
He chuckled. "Very well, have it your way. I'll remind you of this every time you are angry with me or fight with me."
"Who said one does not fight with kind men?" She pulled away from him a little and looked at him with a raised brow.
"Hmm…" he did not say anything further, just gazed at her with a happy smile.
"Alex?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did you decide to wait till I reached Gracechurch Street to… to ask me again?"
"Well, you… I believed that you were dependent on me at the time… I did not want your response to be coloured by any obligation," he shrugged.
Suddenly she chuckled and he raised his brow, "What?"
"You and I are more alike than I thought!"
" How so?"
"One of the reasons I dropped the idea to confess my feelings to you was that I did not want you to accept me out the kindness of your heart. As… as a sense of obligation just because a woman expressed her partiality towards you," she replied in a muddled fashion.
Darcy raised his brow in astonishment. "Good God, Elizabeth! My parents taught me to be empathetic to others, but I am not a complete numbskull. I don't want to sound like a coxcomb, but had I been in the habit of proposing to females out of kindness, just … just because they showed a partiality towards me – then I would have proposed a minimum of fifty times in the last two or three years. Twenty times only to Miss Bingley!" He looked at her with a comical expression, and Elizabeth couldn't help but chuckle at his words.
"What were the other reasons?" he asked after a while.
"Pardon?"
"What were the other reasons you decided against confessing your feelings yesterday?" he asked curiously.
"Apart from the fact that it would have been shameless and wanton?" she asked dryly.
"I could never consider you shameless or a wanton," He said firmly. " Er… the other reason, Elizabeth?"
She sighed. "At the pool yesterday, when … when you pulled away so abruptly, I concluded that you were trying to keep your distance," she said with a blush. "I could not then make myself embarrass you by forcing my feelings on you."
He groaned. "Oh, Lord! I was only trying to be the gentleman that I promised you I was, Elizabeth. Otherwise, it required every bit of my self-control to keep my distance as you so delicately put it." He looked at her wryly. Elizabeth blushed and hid her face in his chest.
"I do hope that now you have realized that keeping my distance from you is the last thing on my mind," he murmured in her ear. When she stayed silent, her face still hidden, he prompted, "Elizabeth?"
At first, she only nodded in response, then she pulled away from him slightly, and Darcy took a sharp breath at the alluring, impish smile on her face. "I would not mind a confirmation, though," she said huskily.
"Minx!" he muttered, then bent down to kiss her fiercely. He stopped only when he felt himself in danger of losing his famed self-control. As he stood looking down at her lovely face, her lips curved in a tremulous smile that she seemed unable to stop, he felt happiness fizz through his veins. It humbled him that this kind, beautiful woman now returned his love so totally. He was also grateful that she felt comfortable enough to be so open and honest with him. Suddenly it occurred to him that he had not been completely honest with her - at least in one matter. And although the point was now moot, he wanted her to know.
"Elizabeth?"
"Hmm?"
"There is something I have to tell you."
"What?"
"Ah… on the first night we spent in Mrs Webster's home you… you came down with high fever and were insensible for a time. Although I gave you the powder Mrs Webster had supplied just for that purpose, your fever did not reduce." Darcy paused to take a deep breath, "You … you kept shivering uncontrollably, even after I had wrapped my blanket around you. Unfortunately, there were no other bed linen in the room. So…" he came to a halt feeling uncomfortable.
"So?" she asked interestedly.
"Ahem… so I could think only one way of keeping you warm. I lay down next to you that night…" When he found her looking quizzically at him he hurried to add earnestly, "But, that is all that happened that night, Elizabeth, I promise."
"I know, Alex, you did not have to say it," she said with a soft smile.
He looked at her searchingly for a moment, then hauled her into his arm with a groan. "Please do not make such a paragon out of me, Elizabeth. There was one moment in that night when…" He broke off.
"When?" she asked curiously.
"When you came in my arms seeking warmth and I wanted you so badly…" His hold tightened on her reflexively.
As Elizabeth stood in the circle of his arms listening to his rapid heartbeats, she felt a thrill of pleasurable anticipation pass through her at his words. She found, however, that she could not really disclose her feelings to him. 'This time, he will definitely think that I am a wanton!' she thought ruefully. To be fair to herself, she also realized that she felt pleased with his disclosure now. She shuddered to think what would have happened to poor Alex had she woken up in the middle of that particular night!
To dispel the awkwardness that seemed to be growing between them at her continued silence, she leaned back and gently touched his cheek. "But you already told me that nothing untoward happened that night. You did what you had to for my wellbeing, and I am grateful to you. Also, I am thankful that…" she paused.
"That?"
"That I did not wake up that night, otherwise…" she paused again teasingly.
"Otherwise?" Darcy asked impatiently, and he was surprised to see her eyes suddenly gleaming with amusement.
She grinned. "Otherwise, I do not believe you would look as pretty with two bruises on your head at the same time!" she replied very deliberately.
For one moment, Darcy stared in surprise at her impertinent words. Then he threw back his head and laughed uproariously. "Minx!" he grinned and then hugged her to him.
~~~§~~~
A while later, they were still in the parlour, sitting in chairs placed decorously apart. In a belated display of propriety, Darcy had opened the door to the room also.
"I am so happy right now, Alex. I only wish little Millie could be too," Elizabeth said a little wistfully.
"Somehow, I have a feeling that everything will turn out fine for our darling girl," Darcy replied quietly.
"Alex?"
"Yes?"
"If you do not mind, I would like to hear what Mr Baldwin has to say… it would give me an idea of what sort of a person he is."
"I would also like your impressions before we make the final decision about the poppet. But to be honest with you, Baldwin is not the kind of person I would like you to meet in the best of times and definitely not in these circumstances," Darcy replied soberly.
"Oh, of course!" Although Elizabeth was disappointed, she could see the sense in his words.
Suddenly, he grinned. "However, just a few days ago, an intrepid young lady told me that she could hear what goes on in my study from the library. Now what can I do if something like that happens all over again?" he asked, quirking his brow at her.
"Oh? Oh! Thank you, Alex," Elizabeth jumped up and, after swiftly throwing a glance at the empty doorway, bent to kiss Darcy on his cheek. "I will be in the library." As she made to go out of the parlour, Darcy called her back, "Elizabeth!"
She turned to him and was surprised to see his flushed countenance.
"I… er.. your hair… it needs a bit of tidying…" he said and gestured vaguely with his hand.
Puzzled, Elizabeth moved towards a small gilt mirror mounted on one of the walls. She blushed a fiery red when she saw how her hair was falling out of her coiffure. She hurriedly straightened her hair, and not a moment too soon. She had taken only a few steps away from the mirror when Higgins came to the parlour door and announced the arrival of Mr Geoffrey Baldwin, who was waiting in the ante room.
Darcy nodded. "Very well, Higgins. Please announce his arrival in the study after five minutes."
~~~§~~~