Chapter 5

Darcy and I sat in the kitchen, across from each other at the table. We were looking everywhere except each other. We both started when we heard the wagon coming down the drive, and Darcy went out to greet our "guests" and invite them inside.

And as we expected, Collins was overjoyed that we were getting married. Charlotte seemed politely happy, and when the men went outside to talk again, she pulled me aside.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" she asked.

"No," I answered honestly, "but I don't have that much of a choice."

"You always have a choice," Charlotte said, looking me right in the eye. "Trust me, I know. I truly didn't have a choice, but you just might."

"Thank you Charlotte, but after everything I've been through, I feel that this truly is the better option. It's not like I can go anywhere anyway," I said with a sigh.

"All right then, I just want to make sure that this is your choice and not something you feel pressured into doing." She said with a kind smile. "Well," she said with a sudden upbeatness, "since that's the case, I have something for you."

She took my hand and pulled me outside to the wagon. We passed Collins and Darcy, who were in the yard. They looked at us curiously and Charlotte led me around to the back of the wagon. She reached in the back and pulled out a small trunk, and then began to carry it back inside.

"My dear, would you like me to assist you with that?" Collins called from the other side of the yard, though he didn't move a step in her direction.

"No thank you. This is a matter between women," Charlotte replied.

I, too, offered to help her with the trunk, but she insisted that she was fine.

"Where is your bedroom?" She asked, and I directed her up the stairs and into my room.

She set the trunk down on my bed and closed my door. I stood by the bed, wondering what she could possibly be up to. Charlotte opened the clasps on the trunk and then the lid. Inside was a quilt. She unfolded the quilt to reveal the bodice of a cream-colored, satin wedding dress.

As Charlotte pulled the dress from the trunk, I was able to admire it bit by bit. The bodice was fitting, the sleeves long, and the skirt full. The entire dress was decorated with lace and beads, but not to an extreme. It was plain in a wonderfully elegant way. It was perfect.

"This was my wedding dress, and my mother's before me. It may be a little outdated but I think it's still beautiful," Charlotte told me. "A woman only gets married once, at least," she amended, "only married in white once. And I thought that you at least deserved a real wedding dress for the occasion," she said with a smile.

"Thank you," I breathed. I honestly felt overwhelmed. I gently ran my hand over the skirt. The satin was amazingly soft and smooth.

"You and I are about the same size I think, so hopefully it won't need any adjustments because we just do not have the time," Charlotte told me as she lay the dress across my bed.

She helped me into the dress, and buttoned up the back. It fit like a glove. Charlotte then braided my hair and twisted it up into a simple bun that seemed to fit the dress perfectly. I was suddenly overtaken with a feeling of embarrassment.

"I feel silly, like I'm playing dress up," I said. "This isn't a real wedding, merely one for convenience," I frowned at the word. The idea of a marriage for convenience had always seemed so empty to me, yet here I was.

"Oh hush. Whether you think it's real or not, you are getting married. And you are going to get married properly," Charlotte lightly yet firmly reprimanded me.

I sighed, and looked into the mirror at my reflection. The dress truly was gorgeous on me, I allowed.

As if she had read my mind Charlotte commented, "This dress fits you better than it fit me. There, finished," she said as she tucked in the last strand of hair. "I'm only sorry I don't have shoes to go with it. You will have to wear your regular ones. At least the skirt is long enough to hide them."

I stood up and we made our way downstairs. I turned to Charlotte and was about to thank her again for everything when Darcy and Collins came in. I could feel butterflies in my stomach, and not the good kind. This was it. Those two, tiny little words would be the point of no return for me.

I didn't bother walking down any "aisle." Instead, Darcy and I just stood facing each other in the sitting room with Collins next to us. Charlotte sat in one of the chairs from in front of the fireplace and acted as our witness. Georgie sat on her lap.

I heard the words that Collins said, but none of them registered. He insisted on saying the entire love, cherish, till death do us part. I only reacted when he got to the "I do's." He turned to Darcy.

"Do you, William Darcy take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Collins asked, his face very serious.

"I do," Darcy said stoically.

Collins then turned to me and asked me the same question, "Do you..." he paused and seemed confused for a moment, "What is your full name?" I sighed, "Elizabeth Thatcher."

"Well, do you, Elizabeth Thatcher take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

The words seemed to stick in my throat. For half a horrible second I thought I was going to choke. They managed to come out though, making me sound like a frog in the process, "I do."

This truly was a marriage of convenience, to an extreme. Although I was still unclear about whose convenience it was for exactly, neither one of us seemed overly thrilled at getting married.

"You may kiss the bride!" Collins exclaimed, seemingly happy. His annoying little voice shook me out of my thoughts, and I stared at Darcy, not quite sure what to do at this point. He leaned in hesitantly, and then gave me a quick peck on the lips. That was it, we were married.

I turned to Charlotte, who was getting up and putting Georgie down on the floor. She came over and hugged me. She suddenly pulled back and gave me a worried look. I looked at her questioningly, and she just shook her head. She then turned to Darcy and Collins.

"Lizzy and I are going to go back upstairs and get her changed," she announced, and she had to lead me away. I still wasn't quite sure if any of this was real.

Once we were in my bedroom Charlotte turned to me, looking troubled again.

"There is just one more thing I want to make sure of," she started, seeming uncomfortable. I knew, suddenly, where she was going with this.

"You do know what happens on a wedding night?" she asked, a furious blush spreading across her face.

I groaned inwardly, but at the same time was touched. She truly did seem to care about my well-being. "Yes, Charlotte. I do. But it doesn't matter anyway because that was my very condition for marrying Darcy: no wedding night. At all," I reassured her.

"Oh good," she breathed out in obvious relief. "I figured you would know, but didn't want to take the chance of you not knowing... well. I'm glad I don't have to explain it." The awkwardness of the situation was beginning to thicken considerably.

"I thank you truly for your concern," I told her. "You have no idea what it means to me." I impulsively hugged the other woman, and she hugged me in return.

"I should probably take this dress off before it ruin it," I said, breaking away.

Charlotte helped me out of the dress and together we folded it back into the trunk.

Back downstairs, Charlotte also insisted in helping me with lunch. We prepared a simple meal and everyone ate quietly.

The Collins' left soon afterward, and Darcy and I were back to sitting at the kitchen table the way we were that morning. He eventually got up and went outside to feed the animals and I was reminded of the conversation I'd overheard between Darcy and Collins. The one where he basically called me an idiot.

I decided to finish the laundry that I didn't get to the day before. After spending another afternoon ironing and folding, I had come to the firm conclusion that I detested doing laundry.

After dinner that evening, I put Georgie right to bed and went to my room. I paced the floor for quite a while, but looked up sharply at the door when I heard Darcy coming up the stairs. I had a sudden idea, and could have slapped myself for not thinking of it earlier. I took my chair and wedged it under the door handle. It fit snuggly and didn't budge. I felt slightly better.

The next day, Darcy went to work. Neither of us spoke to one another or even looked at each other. The day went slowly. I did chores and managed to feed the animals without any drama. It wasn't until mid-afternoon that the excitement started.

I was in the kitchen when I heard the sound of another carriage coming up the drive. I went out onto the porch and saw a beautiful phaeton pull up outside the house, pulled by two beautiful ponies. This, I surmised, must be the esteemed Lady Catherine DeBourgh.

I had barely come to this conclusion when the lady herself stepped out of the phaeton with the help of her driver. She stood there for a moment and looked around the yard and, at the house, her expression seemed disgusted. Her eyes zeroed in on me, and she began to walk toward the house. I went down the porch steps and we met at the bottom of them.

"You must be Lizzy," Lady Catherine said, addressing me, yet her calculating eyes were still surveying the yard.

"Yes ma'am. You must be Lady Catherine," I replied.

She looked at me. "Darcy has spoken of me, then?" she inquired. There was something in her expression that I didn't like.

"No ma'am, he has not," I answered truthfully. "I first heard of you from Mr. Collins, when he came to visit."

"Well then," she seemed slightly put off with this answer. "I could use some refreshments after my journey," she announced, and then proceeded to climb the stairs to the porch and go inside.

I threw a quick glance at the driver, who was sitting in his seat on the phaeton, and then hurried inside after Lady Catherine.

I found her in the sitting room, looking around with that same calculating look. She sighed her disapproval and I was beginning to see that the woman found fault in everything. She seated herself in one of the chairs by the fire and looked at me expectantly.

"Well? Where are my refreshments? I must say, I am quite surprised that Darcy would marry a woman such as yourself. I thought the man had more taste," she said.

Her voice was so conversational, like she was merely stating fact, not insulting me in every way possible. What kind of friends did Darcy have anyway? Collins and now this woman? And how on earth did Darcy know anyone with a title anyway? Furiously, I stomped into the kitchen. That last question brought me up short though. How did Darcy know Lady Catherine? Through Collins, I concluded.

Luckily there was already tea on the stove, so I poured some for her ladyship and brought it out to her.

"I'm sorry but I have nothing prepared in the way of food, only tea," I told her, and immediately felt like kicking myself for apologizing for anything.

"I suppose this will do," she replied.

Her voice was continually arrogant. She had been in the house for less than five minutes and was already driving me insane. She reminded me of one of my former owners who thought that they were entitled to everything. It made me boiling mad.

I sat politely in the chair across from Lady Catherine with my own cup of tea and looked at the fireplace. I could feel her watching me and every time I glanced up, sure enough, she was staring. I couldn't quite make out why she was staring at me. She looked like she was trying to figure out a puzzle.

After a few more moments she spoke, "How do you know Darcy?"

"I beg your pardon, ma'am?" I asked, not quite sure what she was looking for.

"How did you meet my nephew and how did you come to be married to him?" she demanded.

I choked on my tea, and my entire mouth and throat burst into flames as the hot liquid scorched down my throat. "Your nephew?" I gasped out. "Darcy is your nephew? And you have a title?"

"Yes, well, as you can see, he didn't exactly live up to family expectations. Blacksmith indeed." She looked pointedly around the room.

I took a moment to process what I had just learned. Darcy had an aunt who had a title. He had said he was from England, but I would never have guessed.

"You have yet to answer my question," Lady Catherine said impatiently.

The woman was really getting on my nerves, and I threw all pretense of forced politeness and upholding the image of propriety out the window and answered her question.

"Darcy bought me as an indentured servant and Mr. Collins insisted that we get married for the sake of propriety. I have known your nephew for less than a week," I told her matter-of-factly.

She stared at me in horrified silence. "An... indentured servant?" she asked quietly, in a stunned voice. "My nephew married an indentured servant?!" Her tone was considerably less stunned and quite more enraged at this point.

"My nephew was engaged to my daughter. And I will not stand idly by and allow a tramp such as yourself to waltz in and try to ruin everything. Darcy and my daughter have been engaged since their infancy!" Lady Catherine continued, outraged.

She had stood up and we were now face to face. I turned and stalked into the kitchen. Georgie had been playing quietly with her toys in a corner of the kitchen, but she had come out to the doorway to and was staring at us with wide eyes. I scooped her up and held her protectively against me. Holding her also helped me to control myself, I couldn't do anything rash with her in my arms.

"You have insulted me in every way possible. I shall ask you to leave now," I said as calmly as I could to Lady Catherine. She may throw a fit but I wasn't going to stoop to her level.

"Well!" she gasped. "I have never been treated such in my entire life." She then settled her eyes on Georgie, and her expression became one of hate. I wrapped my arms securely around the baby as tight as I could.

Lady Catherine turned and stormed out of the house and was on the porch when Darcy came riding up the drive on his horse. He dismounted and handed the reigns to Lady Catherine's driver.

"Lady Catherine," he said. "To what do we owe this visit?" I couldn't help but notice that he was using much the same tone as he used for Collins, polite resignation.

"I demand that you get an annulment at once!" Lady Catherine stormed at him. "Unless of course it is too late. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this tramp has used her wiles on you already."
I gasped and Darcy's face became dark. "That is none of your concern. My personal life is my own and you should take care to stay out of it," he said tersely. "I believe you should leave now before anymore is said."

It was a clear dismissal, and not even Lady Catherine could ignore it. She huffed her indignation for a few more seconds before walking as quickly as her massive skirts would allow to her carriage. Darcy followed and took his horse from the driver.

We both watched as the ponies trotted the phaeton briskly away. I still held Georgie in my arms and she was curled into me as tightly as she could. I was truly sorry that she had to witness all the yelling, she was too young to have to hear that.

Darcy took a deep breath and let it out in the biggest sigh I had ever heard. He turned to me. "Are you and Georgie all right?"

"Yes, we're fine. Just a little shook up." I replied.

He nodded, and then led the horse around to the stable. I took Georgie inside and deposited her into her highchair after hugging her tightly one more time. I had just started dinner when Darcy came in.

"That was the fourth time I've been called a tramp since coming here," I said, not looking up from the table as I shelled spring peas for dinner.

"I am truly sorry about that. I had no idea that she would show up," he said.

"She's your aunt?" I asked, looking at him.

"Yes. What else did she tell you?" he asked.

"That you were engaged to her daughter. As you saw, she wasn't happy that we got married. Is there anything else you should tell me?" I asked, looking at him pointedly.

"I don't believe so. I think Lady Catherine told you everything you need to know," he said bitterly.

"She didn't seem happy to see Georgie," I hinted.

"Lady Catherine does not approve of my current living conditions, although I'm rather pleased with them. I have no desire to return to her idea of 'good company.'" Darcy replied.

Georgie was reaching her arms toward Darcy, so he picked her up. I was so frustrated with his vague answers that never told me anything, yet when I saw him with Georgie, he was so gentle with her. I couldn't make him out at all. And this new revelation that he obviously wasn't always just a mere blacksmith had once again thrown me. I didn't know what to think, and was so tired at this point that I decided to just stop thinking and deal with whatever came at me tomorrow.

School has been really hectic and is keeping me pretty busy. I'll try to post about once a week but no promises. Thanks for all your patience!