RECAP:
Chapter 23 – Elizabeth tried to be more accomplished for her family but they made up in the end. Also, Lady Catherine revealed her past to Anne and both mother and daughter decided not to mingle with others' affairs for now.
© 2019 Zest Layne
"You truly are your mother's daughter, then." His Grace, Augustus Arthur Leighton, smiled at his only daughter. When he saw her expression reflecting his, he knew that he'd do anything to keep that smile on his daughter's face.
It was as if he was being brought back to the past when his wife had just finished giving birth to their youngest child and he'd seen his daughter for the first time. She was so tiny back then, lying beside his dearest Sophia and covered in a pink baby blanket. And when their eyes met, he knew that he was in love all over again.
"In fact, I am starting to get jealous. First, you look like your mother, and now, you even act like her. What about your poor father?" He asked dramatically, as if he was hurting, causing his daughter to laugh.
In truth, he liked that his daughter was the copy of his wife. He'd told Sophia early in their marriage that he wanted a little girl just like her. The only downside of this was, he feared that men would want to court his little girl left and right. Not just for her dowry, but for the rare treasure that his daughter was.
"I am sure I inherited something from you other than my eyes, Papa. Perhaps we can find out in the following days." Though Arthur liked his daughter's idea, it was not the reason for his glassy eyes. No, it was his daughter calling him 'Papa' that made him teary-eyed.
For years he longed to hear those words again and after a long time of separation, it had been granted. The last time his little girl called him that was when she was just a babe of seven months. Granted, his daughter might have yet to understand her words back then and she was speaking it in that adorable way babies tried to talk but it was one of his most treasured memories with her. His wife must've been remembering the same thing for she beamed at them happily.
Shaking his head with a grin on his face, Arthur pulled his daughter into an embrace. "I like the sound of that." Then, he kissed his daughter's forehead. However, upon feeling that she was very warm, he frowned. "You have a light fever, Sweeting."
"We could bond more tomorrow, darling, but you need to rest." His wife said before assisting their daughter to stand up. His sons kissed their sister goodnight on the forehead before they left the room and headed to their daughter's chambers.
"Good night, Isabel." He said once his daughter sat down on her bed. He was about to leave the room, knowing that his wife would want some alone time with her if he did not see her flinch. "What is the matter, Sweeting?"
"Is it your name?" His wife asked gently. "You can be honest with us, darling. We will not get mad."
Their daughter looked at them guiltily. "I am afraid that I've never really been comfortable by being called Isabel."
"We shall call you Elizabeth then." His wife said as he smiled at their daughter in assurance.
Once her lady's maid had been called for, his wife headed to the kitchen to ask Cook to prepare some broth while he headed back to the drawing room where they left their sons. To Arthur's surprise, instead of being calm like he and his wife had been after the misunderstandings had been resolved, his sons were looking at him with panic.
"What is wrong?"
"Father," Alex started, clearly trying to be calm, "we saw some bloodstains on the settee where Isabel was sitting earlier. We feared that it is not a simple fever, Father. We need to call the doctor."
"We've only just begun spending time with her, Father. We cannot bear it if we lose her because of her illness." Tony continued. "Why are you smiling? Isabel could be in pain and –"
That's it. Arthur could not help it anymore and he laughed out loud.
In turn, his sons looked at him in a mixture of confusion and frustration, perhaps also a bit of anger.
"Why are you not taking this seriously?" Alex asked sternly.
"Our sister is more ill than we thought and you laugh as if it was nothing!" Tony exclaimed.
Taking pity on his poor boys, Arthur placed a hand on each of their shoulders to calm them down. "Now, I wonder if William was wise to ask you advice on his problems." He commented, remembering that his Godson would always write to Alex and Tony to ask for advice, back when he was still at university.
Of course, William did not know that his friends hadn't even experienced attending a university [1], but because his sons did not like to be treated differently by their friends, his sons had managed to keep that fact a secret from their old playmates.
William would probably know about it if he was a more sociable lad. But alas, the boy only tolerated crowds like his father. His other Godson, Richard, on the other hand, had been too busy with the army to listen to gossips on whether the sons of the Duke of Leicester had gone to university or been taught at home. It was a long time since he'd last seen his Godsons but their parents and his sons kept him and his wife informed of their progress.
Since his sons grew up intelligent and accomplished, it was easy to forget that they had yet to experience the real world. However, times like this reminded him that his sons grew up very sheltered. They might be very well read on different subjects but books on philosophies, business, farming and wars did not include womanly issues.
"Yes, your sister is more ill than we initially thought it would be, but you need not be alarmed. It is a natural for a woman to bleed when it is her time of month."
Alex furrowed his brows. "But we thought they only experience pains in the lower abdomen?"
"And headaches," Tony added. "You told us this before."
"I forgot to mention the blood, did I?"
His sons only nodded.
"Well then…"
And so, while his wife took care of their daughter's needs, Arthur explained to his son what he knew about the women cycle. He could tell that his sons were uncomfortable with the subject, so was he if he was being completely honest, but because his sons were very concerned with their sister they disregarded their discomfort to get their answer.
Arthur was amused, as much as he was touched, to see his sons act like the caring elder brothers he knew they would be. His wife had the same reaction about it when he told her about it later that night. Still, they were both surprised when they saw their sons on their way to their sister's chambers the next morning, with Alex carrying a tray with hot chocolate, fruits, cakes and broth while Tony carried some books and drawing materials.
-p&p-
"You need not spend all your time with me, Anthony," his little sister's soft voice stopped him from reading the next chapter of the novel he was holding. "I am sure you must be feeling bored, even Alexander's visit was brief today. Besides, I am feeling better."
While it was true that his sister's fever was now gone, she still had a little cold. To Anthony Robert Leighton, that made little difference. His little sister was still sick. "I may not need to, but I wanted to spend time with you, sister. I'll have you know that Alex would also stay with us all day if Father did not require assistance with some business matters, and it is only my second day here, you know? Do not tell me you're tired of my presence already. Aside from that, I am part of the reason why you are sick."
"You did not get me sick," Ellie frowned. "I am not used to the weather here so I would get sick sooner or later. You know that I have never been anywhere except for Hertfordshire and London."
"That may be true," Tony amended, "but we were the ones who pushed you. If you did not think that we disapprove of your actions then you will not be in your current state."
"Now that you mentioned it, may I ask what caused your frowns and severe expressions? I truly thought that you were angry at me."
Looking at his younger sister's curious expression, Tony sighed. Perhaps it was time to let everything out in the open.
"I can speak for both Alex and myself and say that we were angry at the time, yes," he admitted, "but not at you. It was the situation that we are in. As your brothers, we wanted to be the one to teach you how to ride astride and to climb trees. Hearing that you already learned all of that from other people… we were jealous of them. They got to share your childhood and play with you, see you grow up into a young woman, but we, your own brothers, did not. We know almost nothing about you."
"But it's not your fault…" Tony shook his head at her protest.
"It is, sister." He said firmly. "If only I wasn't such a mischievous child the night when the small estate we were staying had been caught on fire… then she wouldn't have sent you away. You see, mother told us to stay in the nursery until dinner.
"Even when we were younger, Alex took his role as an elder brother seriously. That year was the first Christmas that we didn't spend with our playmates. We had guests, of course, but most of them are adults and they left to spend the New Year with their own families. Our cousins didn't get to visit us because two of them got sick. It was only our family and Alex and I were the only children. We have you, of course, but you were only a babe and mother rarely lets you out of her sight. Naturally, I was sad at the lack of company.
"I came up with a plan to escape our governess. Alex caught me and he tried to tell me to go back but I refused. In the end, I convinced him to play with me. We spent the afternoon sneaking around the estate exploring every hidden corner we could find. Despite that, Alex was still the responsible one and when he knew that mother would be worried, he persuaded me that it was time to go back to the house."
He then looked up at his sister and smiled ruefully. "Of course, I just had to forget my favourite toy – a wooden horse – by the stables, so Alex offered to get it for me but he would only get it I returned back to the house. Naturally, I obeyed, wanting to get my horse back. But when I got back to the house, a part of it was already on fire. Luckily, Father saw me and brought me to Mother who was holding you in her arms. He asked for Alex and I told him that he was in the stables, fetching my toy horse. Little did I know because of that stupid toy, my elder brother was put to danger! You see, sister, it wasn't only the house that was on fire but the stables too."
The door opened the same time his little sister gasp of surprise. Before Tony could continue his narrative, Alex entered the room and glared at him before smiling at their sister's direction. "It's not as bad as Tony make it to be, sister."
"Not as bad as I make it to be? It was worse, brother! Half your torso was burnt!"
"Anthony, that's enough!"
Hearing his older brother's stern voice and seeing the look of horror on their sister's face, Anthony did his best to calm down. It was not his intention to scare his younger sister. He just wanted to confess his sins.
If Alex hadn't been severely injured that night, then their mother wouldn't have sent their little sister a week after the incident. Tony might have been young back then, only a boy of seven, but he was smart enough to know what happened when he heard his parents yelling at each other at the study, three days after his sister went missing.
At first, he had been so angry at Maria Smith, the servant who ran away with his sister. And when he found out that his mother was the one to hand his babe sister to her, his young mind transferred that anger to his mother. Of course, that was until he heard that she wanted to keep his little sister safe. Not knowing the full story back then, he realized that if his elder brother didn't suffer from the fire, their little sister would be with them.
He was even more devastated to know that his little sister was announced dead from drowning two weeks after that. It was his fault. So, as he grew up, Tony always tried to follow his elder brother and be the obedient child. He never escaped from his governess anymore and he tried not to cause any mischief unless necessary.
By necessary, Tony meant that if his brother needed him to cause trouble for the sake of their amusement, then he would. He still remembered catching frogs into a jar and bringing it to his brother's room just so Alex would have more company, other than him, when his elder brother was still recovering from his injury.
Because Alex had been recovering from his injury the time their mother had sent their sister away, Alex had little idea about what was happening in the family. He didn't know their parents arguments or about their missing sister. Alex only found out about it two months after the night of the fire, when he had finally been allowed outside his rooms.
Tony thought about telling his elder brother what he knew, but knowing that Alex was suffering from his own pains that his injuries caused, Tony focused on cheering up his elder brother. He'd come up with silly jokes and games to keep him occupied. And when Alex healed fully, Tony never showed his brother any signs of sadness or distress. He started his façade of being the jester and happy-go-lucky younger brother.
Of course, no secrets remained hidden. About five years ago, when Alex was twenty, and he was nine and ten, their parents called them to their father's study. To Tony's surprise, they started talking about his sister and the possibility of her being alive. Then, their parents also told them about the Viscount obsessed with their mother and his mother's conspiracy with Maria Smith to take their sister away.
Alex had been calm and level-headed throughout the whole ordeal which was no surprised. His brother was always the rational man. Tony would probably burst in anger, but because he knew some of the details since he was younger, he managed to stay calm as well. The whole story made him angry at the people who tried to harm their family but he still blamed himself for his part in hurting both his siblings.
"Do not think much about what Tony said, sister," his elder brother's voice brought Tony back to the present. "I am well now. My injuries were healed. It was a long time ago. And," he saw Alex smiled, "I daresay it was worth it for Tony proclaimed me as his hero until he turned twelve. Unfortunately, we were surrounded by the same people so once they got tired of hearing it, Tony got tired of proclaiming it."
Also wanting to assure his sister, Tony voiced out his protest and said, "I still think you're my hero but I realised that I you might thought that I'm mocking you whenever I do that so I stopped."
"I know you wouldn't mock me, brother."
Sitting back on the chair beside the bed, Tony looked at his sister apologetically. "I'm sorry, sister. I only wanted you to know that I was mad at the situation, at myself, but never you. You were the only innocent in this. If I hadn't caused any trouble, then perhaps mother wouldn't be as frightened as she had been."
His sister only hugged him in response. Then, to his surprise, she whispered quietly: "Do not blame yourself, brother. I do not blame you and I can tell that Alex does not too."
He didn't reply.
When they pulled away, his sister yawned exaggeratedly and said: "I think I shall sleep now to get better quickly. Alexander, would you mind keeping Anthony some company while I rest? I shall be fine here with Mr Knight." She gestured to the kitten that was sleeping on the carpet near the fireplace.
Alex rolled his eyes at their sister's antics but agreed and kissed her forehead. Tony did not like his sister's idea very much but he could see what she was trying to do, and so he kissed her on the forehead as well before following his elder brother out of her room until they reached Alex's study.
"I do not blame you for what happened, Tony," his elder brother began once he closed the door, "and I apologise that you have thought like that for so long without me noticing. You always managed to jest about everything, even that night of the fire that I didn't think you were very much affected by it until I heard you tell the story to our sister."
Alex sighed. "I supposed it was my own fault for always avoiding the topic but I never once blamed you. I do not like talking about it because I was responsible for what happened and it's my fault –"
"But –"
Alex held out a palm to stop him from speaking further, "I'm the older one. I shouldn't have supported your idea of escaping our governess. I should've listened to mother. Whatever happened to me, it was my fault alone because I was the one who decided it. I will admit, I also felt guilty for not being there for you when our family was falling apart. I might have been stuck in my room for two whole months, Tony, but I am not blind and I know that mother and father had their disputes at the time. I thought you were clueless about it but when they finally told us the truth… I knew that you knew some of it."
Tony nodded.
"I should've talked to you that day but I was a coward. My little brother knew all this time and I didn't protect him from the family issues –"
"Brother, stop," Tony said, "you need not protect me from the truth and I would not like being kept in the dark. Besides, I am the one prone to eavesdropping so no matter what you do I shall be the one to get information first."
"Yes," Alex rolled his eyes, "had you been born a lady you would be the matron with the most gossip."
"You wound me, brother!"
Alex didn't respond and reached up for two glasses and a bottle of port. Once he poured an even amount to both glasses, he handed him one and took the other for himself. "Perhaps, we ought to follow Richard's advice and forgive ourselves and let go of our guilt."
While Tony knew that he could not stop blaming himself overnight, it was a start of being free from their guilt. So raising his own glass, he said, "To the Leighton siblings!"
Their glasses clinked together before they drunk its contents.
"You know what's even better than this?" Alex asked.
Tony smirked and nodded, "Father's brandy in his office?"
At his brother's nod, Tony rushed towards the door.
"Only one glass for each of us though," Alex said.
And while Tony did roll his eyes at his brother, he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him.
-p&p-
Lord Milton, Alexander Francis Leighton, spent the past three days with his younger brother and sister inside the manor and mostly on his sister's chambers. It was odd that he spent the past days in his sister's room. When he was younger, the room had always been locked and only his parents were allowed to enter it. Back then, however, Mother and Father wouldn't enter the room with one another.
Despite being only almost eight years old at the time, Alexander understood that there was a point in their life when Mother and Father couldn't stand being together. Fortunately, they managed to repair their relationship after about a whole year of grieving for his sister. The moment his sister's chamber was no longer locked, Alex knew that his parents would be alright.
He still remembered the time when it was only an ordinary room and not his sister's. His mother had been so despondent on her last pregnancy – he would only find out the cause of it more than ten years later – but once his little sister was born, his mother was back to her usual cheerful self. She had been so enthusiastic that she did not let his sister stay in the nursery for long.
Instead, she redecorated one of their biggest rooms to be his sister's chambers. Even when his sister had gone missing up to the point when they thought her to be dead, his sister's room did not change. That was until they've been given hope that she was alive.
Though grasping unto thin hope, Mother had removed the crib from the room and put it back in the nursery. Next were the toys that were in good condition but remained untouched. She replaced those with a four-poster bed, new curtains and she ordered new gowns for his little sister. Soon, he and Tony joined their mother in her enthusiasm and they helped her choose their sister's writing desk and other furniture.
Years passed and they were starting to lose hope. However, God has been kind to their family for while it did take long, his sister was now with them and Alex was very grateful for that.
Meow.
The little kitten brought Alex out of his thoughts. Aside from him and his brother, Mr Knight refused to leave Ellie as well. He had been amused at the little cat ever since it meowed continuously on the footman who handed them their mails. From then on, it was obvious that the kitten disliked having other males around Ellie.
Fortunately, the cat never seemed to be bothered by him, Tony or his father. Still, the cat seemed to dislike every other male. When they noticed this, Tony immediately suggested naming him Mr Knight. His younger brother had even suggested that they would only let someone court Ellie if he somehow passed Mr Knight's approval.
He didn't know how Tony could jest about Ellie being courted so soon but Alex was not yet ready to think of his sister as a young woman. To him, she was still his little sister, the one whom he chased while she crawled around the carpeted floor of the drawing room. It was irrational of him, perhaps, because his sister was now a young lady, but he wanted to spend more time with his little sister before a man took interest in her.
"Really, Beth, if I didn't know any better, I say you are trying to get rid of us." Tony's voice brought Alex out of his thoughts.
"I am not." Their sister huffed and tossed a small berry to Tony, which the latter caught with his mouth. "How are you so good at that?"
Tony only smiled smugly, "I'm the talented older brother."
Alex only rolled his eyes at him. That game of theirs started when Ellie had complained about being bored on their third day of being confined in the house, which was yesterday. They'd read to Ellie and all of them took turns in drawing each other. They'd even played with the mini toy theatre in Ellie's room but it seemed that all of them were easily tired with that routine.
As soon as they had confessed being bored as well, a servant, sent by their mother, brought them some berries and tea. Alex didn't know what had gotten into his little brother. For as soon as he'd set the tray on the bed, his little brother had picked up a berry, threw it in the air and caught it with his mouth.
Naturally, their little sister had liked the trick and had asked Tony to teach her how to do it. Much to his and Ellie's dismay, they didn't have Tony's skill at catching berries.
"I give up," Ellie had said after trying for the umpteenth try and only managing to catch three berries.
"Don't pout, Beth, I'll help you practice." As soon as Tony had told her this, Ellie's pout turned into a surprised smile.
"Beth?"
"I like the name Elizabeth but I'm your brother so I ought to call you with a nickname. Lizzy is already used by other people so I chose another one."
At his sister's confused expression, Alex had joined in the conversation. "We will call you with the name you're more comfortable with. You're our sister whether we call you Isabel or Elizabeth. Mother and Father already agreed on calling you Elizabeth. So, if Tony's going to call you Beth, I'll call you Ellie. Are you alright with that?"
The grin on his sister's face had been enough confirmation for Alex to continue using the nickname.
For Alex's part, he couldn't remember being this happy. With Christmas and his birthday soon approaching, he couldn't think of anything he could wish for this year. His family were all happy and healthy… and for the first time in years, they were complete. Not only that but he and Tony were starting to move on from their guilt. Not fully, but little by little. It was still progress.
The only thing he could think of that could add to his happiness was, if he was reunited with his childhood playmates once again. Since three of them were his cousins, two of them were attached (Richard being engaged to Anne and William already in love with his unknown county girl) and one of them (Henry) was also a protective older brother, he saw no problem in letting his sister meet the men who would've been a part of her life had circumstances been different.
Perhaps he might just ask all of their parents for a reunion.
-p&p-
Fitzwilliam Darcy sighed in relief upon seeing a 'Mr John Lucas' on his newly arrived letters that day. It had been three days since he received her last letter and he was starting to get worried. Their correspondence was usually every other day if not every day. Despite Elizabeth's suggestion in her first letter, they didn't send letters to John Lucas or her Abigail. Instead, they wrote to each other using Digby and Mr Lucas' names.
Of course, this was done with their permission which Elizabeth had asked for. Despite the little deceit, it was more practical this way since they were closer to one another, being both in the North. The missives were exchanged quicker and they didn't have to inconvenience their friends.
One of her previous letters alarmed him for two reasons. One was because of her new acquaintance named Mr Knight, whom she was very fond of, even going as far as telling him that she was charmed by him at first sight. Of course, this has been resolved when he found out that Mr Knight was a kitten that she'd found upon climbing one of the trees in her family's garden. And while he didn't like that Elizabeth had played with him for a few paragraphs, he understood why she had teased him so. It was for the second reason that alarmed him.
In the same letter, Elizabeth had implied that her family frowned upon her unladylike behaviour. She had told him that her family was wealthier and more connected than the Bennets, so he understood Elizabeth's concern about why she felt unworthy of them and that she should polish her behaviour for her family's sake. But just because he understood it, did not mean that he supported her plan.
He tried in his letters to tell her that she did not need to change and that her family would love her for who she was. But the stubborn girl she was, Elizabeth still went with her plan. Fitzwilliam worried for her but their opinions on this subject also made him think about his situation.
Wasn't he in the same situation as her? He might not have been a missing child that was recently found, but like Elizabeth, but he was seeking his father's approval. Whenever he was with his father, he always tried to be as perfect as he could be. Fitzwilliam followed his advice by wearing the 'Darcy mask' to hide his real emotions from the people around him to avoid mistakes and failures.
So could he really blame Elizabeth for wanting the same thing with her family? Still, he did not like it. So while he did not directly contradict her in her plans in his last few missives, he still reminded her to take care of herself and that he loved her for who she was.
For his part, since he did not want to be a hypocrite, advising his betrothed against seeking her family's approval while he was doing the same with his father, he started little changes in his behaviour. He would allow a smile on his face when talking to the servants and visiting their tenants. He remembered Mrs Reynolds fond smile when he thanked her the other day. His mother seemed to like the change in him too, as well as his little sister. He didn't know if his father saw his interactions with their servants but so far, he'd said nothing to Fitzwilliam.
Aside from being free of his mask at his family's favourite estate, the little changes he tried to make with his self also served as an act of defiance against his father. Alex and Tony were right. If he wanted his father to accept Elizabeth then he would have to fight for her – and what better practice than standing up against his father with his own behaviour?
Speaking of his beloved, he opened her latest letter and began reading it.
Dearest Fitzwilliam,
Do forgive me for my late reply to your last letter. I am afraid that my body is still adjusting to the weather here in the North for I have gotten a cold and a mild fever two days ago. Before you worry too much, let me assure you that I have already recovered and only a light cold remains; hence I was able to send this to you.
My family has taken great care of me and I was delighted, as much as I am ashamed to admit, that you are right. They do not disprove of my unladylike behaviour but the frowns and severe looks on their expressions were caused by their disappointment of having missed the opportunity to teach me what I am doing. To think, my love, that my brothers wanted to teach me to climb trees and ride horses astride!
Before he could continue, however, a knock was heard from the door. Quickly, he folded Elizabeth's letter and hid it inside his breast pocket before saying, "enter."
To his surprise, it was not a servant who entered his study.
"Father," he stood up in greeting.
"William," he said, taking a sit on the chair across him.
They were silent for a couple of minutes before his father cleared his throat and began, "You can be at no lost to understand the reason for my presence here."
"I assume you are here to talk to me about business matters and if not, then you came to see how I am doing," Fitzwilliam said casually.
His father shook his head. "It is your behaviour, William. Is that how I taught you to act with the servants and tenants? As long as you treat them with respect, it is enough. You did not have to be amiable towards them."
"But what if, it is what I wanted, Father?" He asked, proud at the calm tone of his voice. Despite knowing that this conversation would happen soon, it was still the first time that Fitzwilliam was going to contradict his father instead of taking on and agreeing to all his words like the previous times they had a talk like this.
"I am not playing games with you, William. I am telling this for your own good. Servants will abuse you if tried to be friendly with them. They cannot be trusted. None of them can be trusted."
"None, Father? Then how come you trusted George Wickham, over me, your own son, no matter how many times I tried to tell you what a scoundrel he was?! If I did not manage to prove –"
"This is not about him, William. Do not raise your voice on me."
He sighed, trying to calm himself. "I mean no disrespect, Father, but I will stand my ground and treat our servants as I deem fit. As far as I can see, I am not doing anything wrong."
"The future Duke of Derbyshire does not –"
"I know what my duties and responsibilities are, Father. You need not remind me of it. And speaking of the future," he took a deep breath and discreetly raised a hand to his breast pocket where Elizabeth's letter was hidden, drawing courage from there. "I am now an engaged man."
As soon as the words left his mouth, his father stood up from his seat. "Engaged? Have you been compromised? My God, William! I thought I taught you how to avoid debutantes and their matchmaking mothers?"
"I am not compromised, Father. I fell in love with the woman I met in London and –"
"That is even worse! She has caught you with her arts and allurements –"
Fitzwilliam couldn't help but stand up as well. "Father, please, calm yourself and I ask you not to speak to my betrothed that way. 'Tis true when I say that we fell in love and I am sure that you will approve of her too. She prefers the country like I do, she knows how to –"
"A country girl? I thought you met her in London?"
"Yes, we met in Town but she lives in the county. She knows how to take care of tenants well. She is very well-read in various matters. She is also a gentleman's daughter."
"Which gentleman? Who are her parents?"
Fitzwilliam could tell his father that he did not know and explain Elizabeth's peculiar situation. However, a part of him wanted to know if his Father trusted his judgement enough and that he would at least accept the fact that he was already engaged. And so, he answered, "You will not know them, for her family dislikes Town."
"And yet you met her in Town?"
"Yes, when she was visiting her relatives."
"Where exactly did you meet her?"
"In Hyde Park at first but our meetings usually occur in her uncle's warehouse –"
"An uncle in trade! Are you out of your mind, William? You allowed yourself to become attached to a woman with relations to trade. I knew that Bingley boy was not a good influence on you. You stoop down to their level."
Fitzwilliam clenched his hands. "Do not bring my friend into this and do not insult my betrothed any further. She is a gentleman's daughter and she acts with the manners of one and that is all that matters."
"All that matters? Many people depend on your choice, William!"
"I know that many people depend on me," he said, "and it was one of the reasons why I know she is the only one for me. She knew about estate matters so she would be able to help me. She is very caring and kind and I know that she will be a good sister to Georgiana. She is also very accomplished – she can play the pianoforte and sing very charmingly. She loves reading and it is only one of the things we have in common. But most of all, she makes me happy. She is not superficial. She loves me for me. Not for my title or for my fortune but for myself, despite my flaws. And I love her too, Father. Like you love, Mother…"
His father narrowed his eyes at him. "Do not bring your mother into this, William. We are both of noble birth so we are different from you and the girl you are infatuated with."
"So if Mother didn't have her dowry, if she was not born as a daughter of an earl, you would not marry her? You will not fall in love with her? Then your love for her is superficial Father. But my love for E–" he stopped himself, not wanting to give his father clues about her identity, "my betrothed is not like that. I love her whether she's the daughter of a minor country gentleman or someone of a higher rank, with or without her fortune and connexions." He was panting by the end of his speech but his Father's face was still unreadable to him, except for the obvious surprise at his outburst.
"I understand if it's hard for you to believe, but please Father, give the two of us a chance. I am sure that you will like her if you have the chance to meet her –"
"I am truly happy that you get to experience that kind of love, William."
"Does this mean that –?"
Before he could finish, there was a knock on the door followed by Mrs Reynolds voice. "Your Grace, my Lord, Her Grace wishes for both of your presence in the drawing room."
"Yes, we will be right there, Mrs Reynolds." As soon as his father said that, he looked at Fitzwilliam one last time before walking through the door and exiting his study.
Fitzwilliam could only look at the closed door in silent contemplation as he tried to analyse their conversation. Did that mean that his father approved of Elizabeth? Shaking his head, he willed himself to follow his Father to the drawing room where his mother and sister were probably waiting for them. No doubt they had just arrived from their shopping excursion at Lambton.
He would read Elizabeth's letter later.
As for his father, if he hadn't been able to convince him of his choice yet, then this was not the last time that they're going to have this kind of conversation.
[1] It was not uncommon for young men to be prepared for school or university at home, by their parents (James Mill educated his son John Stuart Mill entirely by himself) or by tutors or sometimes a governess. Sometimes this was because parents could not afford school fees, but private tutors were expensive too – Jane Austen's father made a considerable amount of extra money taking in and tutoring local boys. More often, it was because a boy was deemed delicate or sickly: boarding schools were notoriously rough places, and epidemics of illness often caused deaths amongst the pupils. Jane Austen herself was removed from her first school, along with her sister and cousin, after all, three caught typhoid fever.
source: blog/c-jane-austen-news/regency-period-mens-education
This chapter tells us that Alex and Tony did not attend university like normal gentlemen in their stations. Instead, they were home-schooled, which was natural, considering their situation. More explanations are coming in the following chapters, as well as family bonding.
Also, we'll get to see more of the Darcys father-son relationship and talk later on.
Thank you for reading this far, for the favorites, follows and reviews. I really appreciate it. I know my story is not perfect but I'm glad to know that people are enjoying it. I learned a lot this past year and part of that knowledge are from you, dear readers. So thank you :) I hope you guys enjoy your Christmas and who knows, maybe the next chapter will be posted by that time ;) Take care, stay safe and Merry Christmas!
