Chapter 17
Lady Sedley was all enthusiasm when she heard the news. "I know we cannot announce it just yet, seeing as you do not yet have your father's consent, but you have done very well for yourself, my dear! Mr. Darcy is quite the catch!"
Elizabeth was about to reply that she was not marrying Mr. Darcy for his wealth, but Lady Sedley continued. "Lord Sedley has decided that Mr. Darcy will travel in conjunction with us to Hertfordshire. We will leave early tomorrow morning, so make sure you are ready."
"I will be."
"I think it is a lovely idea for you and Mr. Darcy to marry with Jane and Nicholas. With all of Mr. Darcy's connections, it will be a grand wedding! Seeing as you do not have a mother to help you plan it, you must let Lady Dunmore and me take over all the details. She has told me that she would be delighted to help."
"I was planning on wearing the dress I wore for the ball."
"Oh no, you must have a new dress, absolutely!" cried Lady Sedley. "Lady Dunmore will agree, I am sure."
She went off on a paeon of all they had to do, and Elizabeth mostly tuned her out.
In the meantime, Darcy decided to speak with his daughter after getting all other business settled. He found her in the nursery, eating her dinner. He looked forward to getting back to eating together at every meal again. And soon, Elizabeth would eat with them. He smiled.
"Hello, Papa!" Melody said.
"Hello, poppet. I wanted to have a talk with you." He nodded to the nurse, and she took that as her cue to depart.
Darcy sat down at the small table beside her. "How would you like to have a mama?"
"A mama?" she said, her fork suspended halfway to her mouth. "I have never had a mama. Who would be my mama?"
"I have asked Miss Elizabeth to marry me," he said. "Would you like to have her as a mother?"
"Miss Lizzy?" Melody's face brightened. "Oh, yes, that would be wonderful! Would she tell me stories every night?"
Darcy smiled. "I am sure she would, if you asked nicely."
"Are we going to take her back to Pemberley with us?"
"Well, we must get married first."
"Oh." Melody pouted. "When will you get married?"
"It will be the beginning of October, I think. But first I must go to Miss Elizabeth's father to ask for his permission. You shall come with me. We will go first to Hertfordshire, and then on to London until the wedding."
"That sounds lovely, Papa!" Then she seemed to think of something. "But will Patches come with us?"
"You know what your punishment was, Melody. Patches shall stay at Pemberley."
She pouted again. "Very well. As long as I have Miss Lizzy with me, I suppose I do not need Patches."
Darcy hid a smile. "I am sure she will be very glad to hear it, my dear."
The journey to Hertfordshire passed quickly, although Elizabeth wished she could have had some time alone with Mr. Darcy. But Lady Sedley joined them in the carriage with Melody, and so they had little time to talk privately. Instead, they discussed the books that they had exchanged. Darcy had given Elizabeth Waverley, and she had lent him Romance of the Forest to read. In between their discussions, they played games with Melody to keep her from getting bored, and the three days passed quickly.
The Sedleys had purchased Netherfield Park the year before, so it was convenient for them to stay there until the wedding. They invited Darcy and Melody to stay with them, and Darcy gladly agreed. He would like to be close to his fiancée in the weeks before they could be married.
The two grand carriages pulled up in front of Longbourn first, however. Mr. Bennet had been expecting the Sedleys to bring his daughters home, but clearly did not recognize Mr. Darcy's carriage. He came outside to greet them.
"Lord Sedley," said Mr. Bennet, shaking the viscount's hand, "Thank you for looking after my girls."
"It was no trouble," said Lord Sedley. "Mr. Bennet, may I present Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire?"
"It is a pleasure to meet you, sir," said Darcy, surprised that Mr. Bennet looked so young. He must only be a few years older than Darcy himself. He did not look old enough to have two grown daughters.
Mr. Bennet raised his eyebrows at this. "Mr. Darcy! I have heard much about you from my daughter."
"This is my daughter, Miss Melody Darcy."
Melody gave a creditable imitation of a curtsey.
Mr. Bennet smiled. "What a lovely young lady you are," he said with a bow. "It is nice to meet you, Miss Darcy."
Melody beamed at him. "Miss Lizzy is going to be my mama!" she exclaimed.
There was silence suddenly throughout the group, and Darcy squeezed her shoulder warningly. She looked up at him in confusion. "Should I not have said?"
Mr. Bennet's smile had dropped, but Elizabeth could see the amusement dancing in his eyes. "Then I suppose I had better have a talk with your papa in my study, Miss Darcy," he said.
He invited the group inside for some refreshments, but the Sedleys declared they needed to retire to Netherfield for the night. Mr. Cranfield went with them, and Elizabeth brought Melody into the house to entertain her while their fathers spoke.
Darcy followed Bennet into his office, feeling nervous. It was clear Elizabeth had said something about him to her father, but to what extent he did not know. It was almost certain Mr. Bennet would object to the match on account of Darcy's age. Still, he would go to London soon to prepare the settlement papers and show his fiancée's father that he could provide well for her and their children.
"Well, Mr. Darcy, I am sure you did not expect an announcement like that," said Bennet.
"No. Well, perhaps Melody is a little too outspoken."
"You have something you wish to ask me, then?" asked Bennet, raising his eyebrow and appearing to enjoy Darcy's discomfiture.
"Yes. I have known your daughter for several month now and have fallen irrevocably in love. She tells me that she loves me too, and we wish to marry. I have come to ask for your permission and blessing."
Mr. Bennet looked at him seriously for a moment.
Mr. Darcy continued, "I know I am not perhaps what you looked for in a son-in-law. I will tell you that I reached my fortieth birthday this year. I am old enough to be your daughter's father. And yet I will love her, and take care of her better than any man half my age."
"Actually, you are mistaken, Mr. Darcy. I do not object on account of your age. It would be rather hypocritical of me, seeing as I have been courting a woman eighteen years my junior throughout the summer."
Darcy was surprised to hear this, but waited for Mr. Bennet to continue. "I have heard much about you both from my daughter, and from my brother and sister-in-law, the Gardiners, who seem to hold you in high esteem. You have my permission, and my blessing."
Darcy let out a breath. "Thank you, sir. I will be sure to bring the marriage articles to you soon so that you may see that I can provide well for your daughter and any children we may have."
"I am sure you can," replied Bennet. "I have heard that you not only own Pemberley, but an estate from your first wife, in Kent?"
"Yes, Rosings Park. It garners about £8,000 a year. Pemberley brings in a little more than £12,000 per annum."
"Then the only worry you will face is having me show up at any time of the year to spend time in that magnificent library."
"You would be welcome any time, sir."
"Thank you. I suppose we should decide on a wedding time. I assume you want to marry soon?"
"Yes. Elizabeth and I had hoped that we could share a ceremony with Miss Bennet and Mr. Cranfield."
"That sounds reasonable to me. As I myself shall be getting married soon too, perhaps we can make it a triple wedding," he joked.
"That would be agreeable to me, sir," said Darcy seriously. Any ceremony that made Elizabeth his wife would be fine with him.
Soon after, they left the library together. Elizabeth and Jane both looked up from the table where they were playing with Melody, their faces questioning.
"I have given Mr. Darcy my consent," said Mr. Bennet. "Would you like to be married together, girls? Perhaps a double wedding would be quite the thing."
"Lizzy and I have discussed it, and we would like that very much," said Jane.
"And I can be the flower girl!" declared Melody. "Miss Lizzy said so."
Elizabeth smiled. "That's right, I did."
Darcy smiled tenderly at her. "Come, Melody. We must repair to Netherfield for the night. Soon we will have to go to London for a few days."
"No!" She stuck her lower lip out. "Mayn't I stay at Miss Lizzy's house for the night?"
Darcy could see that Elizabeth had opened her mouth to agree, but he forestalled her. "We cannot impose upon the Bennets, poppet. We will see them tomorrow. Come now."
Melody pouted but obeyed her father. After the two had left, Mr. Bennet sat down at the table next to his daughters.
"Well, it seems as if my two birds must fly the nest soon," he said.
"Thank you for not giving Mr. Darcy too much trouble, Papa," said Lizzy. "I know his age must have been a deterrent to you."
"Indeed, no," Mr. Bennet replied. "As I told Mr. Darcy, it would be quite hypocritical of me, seeing as I proposed to Miss Lucas two days ago."
"Miss Lucas?" both sisters cried.
"Charlotte!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "That is whom you have been courting?"
"Yes. She is a lovely young lady, and only eighteen years my junior," he said with a twinkle in his eye.
"Do you love her, then, Papa?" asked Jane.
"Ah, my dear, you cannot expect me to be as open with my emotions as you are," he said. But he winked.
"Well – when is the wedding?" Elizabeth asked.
"We have discussed that. Miss Lucas and I have not announced our news to the neighbourhood since we were waiting to tell you first, but I have Sir William's blessing, even though Charlotte is past her majority. Now that you and Jane shall be marrying the same day, it will be awkward if we marry either before or after you both."
"Why, Papa?"
"Well, if we marry before, you and Jane will be living here with me and Charlotte in the days right after our wedding. If we marry after, you will have to wait to go on your wedding trips so you can attend the wedding. Could we make it a triple wedding?"
Both daughters exclaimed their approval of this scheme, and the three spent a pleasant evening talking about the house party over dinner.
The next day, Elizabeth went to Lucas Lodge as soon as it was late enough for a call.
"Charlotte!" she exclaimed, hugging her friend. "You sly thing! I had no idea you were interested in my father!"
"Oh, I think I have admired him since I was about seventeen," Charlotte said with a beaming face.
"So, ten years of pining!" Elizabeth cried. "I am glad he finally noticed you."
"I thought he never would. I thought I was too young for him."
"It seems we have had similar problems lately."
Charlotte looked at her inquiringly, so Elizabeth shared with her her news about Mr. Darcy, and the feelings that had led up to the proposal. Charlotte was very happy for her friend.
"Oh, Eliza, I knew you would find some wonderful man to love you," she said. "Now we both have admirable gentlemen!"
"Yes," responded Elizabeth, "as long as you do not expect me to call you 'Mama'!"
They both laughed.
Mr. Bennet agreed to go to London with his daughters the following week. Lady Sedley wanted to finish arranging the wedding, now that it would be a triple ceremony, and Lady Lucas had insisted on being involved as well. Elizabeth had to go to London to have her trousseau prepared, and also to go to see Mr. Darcy's friend, Mr. Pritchard. When all three Bennets arrived at Gracechurch Street, Mrs. Gardiner gave Elizabeth a big hug.
"I am so pleased that everything is settled between you and Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth," she said. "You know, I suspected even when you were in London in the spring that he admired you."
"Apparently you are more perceptive than I am, Aunt," said Elizabeth.
Then they discussed her planned trip to see Mr. Pritchard.
"Mr. Darcy is going to take me, and Papa is going to come," she said. "My problem is that I only have half a story prepared. I did not have much time to work on it during the house party."
"You must simply take the books that you gave to the children," said Aunt Gardiner matter-of-factly.
"Oh, but I cannot take the gifts away from them."
"I am sure Mr. Pritchard will not need the originals forever. Once he makes adequate copies, you can return the books to your cousins."
Finally, Elizabeth agreed, and so it was that the next day she set out for Mr. Pritchard's with several books in hand. Mr. Darcy picked her and Mr. Bennet up from Gracechurch Street, and the carriage wended to a part of London Elizabeth had never been before.
"You will like Mr. Pritchard," said Darcy, clearly trying to soothe the nerves he saw in his fiancée. "I met him years ago when I was looking to publish a work on agricultural advancement."
"Mr. Darcy, you have something published?" cried Elizabeth in amazement. "That is quite an accomplishment."
"It is nothing to your skill and talent, my dear," he said, reaching out his hand to take hers, but then remembering her father was in the carriage.
Mr. Pritchard was indeed an interesting man. A pixilated character, with wispy white hair and the look of a cherub despite his sixty-some years. He greeted Darcy amiably, then turned to Mr. Bennet. "And I suppose this must be your talented friend."
Mr. Bennet looked amused. "No, in fact that honour falls to my daughter."
Mr. Pritchard's eyes fell on Elizabeth, but showed no surprise that a young lady was the author of so many fine literary works.
"This is my fiancée, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Pritchard," Darcy introduced her.
"A pleasure to meet you, sir," said Elizabeth.
"A pleasure, a pleasure indeed!" cried Mr. Pritchard. "Well, I always said women were just as gifted as men in the literary arts, and this just proves my point. Do you have some works to show me, Miss Bennet?"
Elizabeth revealed the books that she had borrowed from the Gardiner children. "I made all these for my young cousins," she said. "I never had any notion of having them published."
Mr. Pritchard spent a good half an hour looking through all the works. "These are marvellous! Marvellous! I would like to publish all of them!"
"All?" cried Elizabeth in amazement.
"Well, not all at once, of course. We will start with one, and once we see how well it sells, we can do a second one. You have five books here. Once these have sold, you can start on some new works to put on the market. I suppose you could make £1,500 a year on royalties from one book alone."
Elizabeth was pleased to hear this. She was not concerned about the money; but that her talent really was as elevated as her fiancé said, and that it should be recognized by the world, was exciting. She and the gentlemen spent the next hour negotiating terms.
"Now, seeing as you are a young lady, and about to marry a prominent gentleman, I would suggest using a nom de plume," said Mr. Pritchard. "It is not considered quite the thing for young ladies to write and publish, unless it is gothic romance." He shook his head in disapproval. "As I said, talent can be found in women as easily as men. Prejudices these days are absurd."
Elizabeth agreed, and they came up with the name Gilbert Galbraith as her pen name. Mr. Pritchard promised that he would give her word when there was an update with the publishing.
"We shall be going on our wedding trip to the Lakes, Mr. Pritchard," said Darcy, "so you will not be able to reach us by mail then. But afterwards we are going to Pemberley. Send your letters there."
Mr. Pritchard offered them his good wishes, and they departed with cheer.