Chapter 3 – Friendship and Revelations
They passed through Meryton in silence, the two girls sitting as far back in their seats as they could, with their heads down so that no one would notice or recognise them. Darcy was now certain Elizabeth – he did not like thinking of her as Miss Bennet, that was her older sister, and would rather not use the Miss either – was hiding something, maybe even running away from home. He would not ask anything or press for information until they were well away from Meryton, he had time, the journey to London would take about three hours, more with a short pause to rest the horses, and he would not let her go until he knew she was safe. He tried not to think too deeply about that thought or his feelings for Elizabeth, as he was not quite ready to admit the truth, even to himself yet, but he knew he had to help her, no matter what the situation was.
About five miles past Meryton, the maid expelled a small sigh and Elizabeth looked at her questioningly, with that bewitching eyebrow raised. "Oh, sorry Miss, Sir, 'tis just the furthest I have ever been from Lucas Lodge and Meryton in my whole life," Annie said blushing. Elizabeth laughed: "It is well, Annie, you will like London, I am sure, and Charlotte will be happy to include all the news about your family in her letters, even if your mama has no time to write at times." Turning to Darcy, she added: "Annie's parents are tenants at Lucas Lodge, and a better family of farmers you could not hope to find."
Darcy smiled at the beaming maid, and seeing an opening, he decided to start discreet enquiries: "Miss Bennet, may I ask where in London you are going? My coachman will require the address or directions when we stop to water the horses."
Elizabeth's smile tightened a little. "My cousin has a house on Audley Street, number twenty on the south side, although I have not been for a few years, since my mother forbid my visits, so cannot give more directions than this." She seemed to think for a moment, then sighed and carried on: "Perhaps, before you can decide whether to take us all the way to London or drop us at the next coaching in, I should explain a little of our journey, and destination?" Darcy nodded.
"This morning, my father's cousin, Mr Collins – your aunt's devoted parson, made me an offer of marriage, which I declined. My parents did not accept my refusal and, in the heat of the dispute, asked me to leave Longbourn. They may not have realised yet that Annie agreed to come with me, but at this point, I doubt their anger can get much higher."
She paused looking at her hands, intertwined on her lap.
"I am not yet of age, sir, so if they insist I go back to Longbourn, I will have no choice but to obey, however they expect me to go to my Aunt and Uncle Gardiner's home on Gracechurch Street, so I hope that by going to Isabella's, with whom none of them have any contact, they will not find me until I have more time to plan for my future." Another heartfelt sigh escaped her, and her eyes closed – Darcy felt this was to prevent the tears he had seen gather there when she had said 'Isabella'.
"Mr Darcy, I would understand if you would rather not be involved with taking a runaway to a relative or going far out of your way to do so; as I am sure you can gather my parents do not approve of my cousin, so going to her is yet another proof of my disobedience. If you prefer you can leave us at the inn where you will rest your horses, we will continue by post." Her sad eyes finally opened and gazed at him. Darcy smiled.
"Miss Elizabeth," Darcy replied, "I will accompany you both to Audley Street, it is very close to Darcy House on Grosvenor Square, so you are not delaying us at all." He thought for a short moment and chuckled: "I completely understand and support your rejection of Lady Catherine's parson, I only met the man once and he was ridiculous. Although I expect he gets on beautifully with my aunt, you would not have fared well under her influence. I will of course deny saying any of these words should any of my family ask." Elizabeth joined in the laughter at this statement.
There was silence for some time after this, while both Elizabeth and Darcy thought about their respective relatives. Both were also looking at the other simply smiling, with a new sense of peace and harmony they had not experienced together before.
The carriage stopped at an inn about halfway through the journey, and while Darcy's valet, Simons, was procuring a light collation they could enjoy during the remainder of the journey, Darcy offered Elizabeth his arm as they toured the village green and the churchyard, with Annie as chaperone walking a little behind.
While walking, Elizabeth asked about his family, for she had only ever heard of his much younger sister and his overbearing aunt from Kent. "It would be a kindness for you to distract me, sir, so you see you cannot refuse to enlighten me."
"You have mentioned the extremes in my family, I believe." Darcy was pleased to witness the return of her teasing: "My beautiful Georgie is the best part of my family, kind, generous and loyal to a fault; I am sure you will like her very much." Elizabeth did not challenge his assumption that they would meet, in fact she was feeling warmth and pleasure at the thought.
"Aunt Catherine is the opposite; she is my mother's oldest sibling, and has always been over-indulged, first by her parents then by her husband; Uncle Lewis was a baronet and overall, a very good sort of man, but he worshipped his wife and spoiled her, and since his passing she has become worse in my opinion. She has a daughter, Anne, who is a little younger than me, but sadly she is dominated by her mother and barely allowed any freedom. Aunt Catherine desires a marriage between Anne and me, but as neither of us want the match, it will never happen."
Elizabeth was surprised as both Mr Collins and Mr Wickham had mentioned the engagement, but she easily believed the man walking beside her.
He continued:
"My mother's brother is the current Earl of Mattlock, Uncle Reginald was raised to be the heir to an earldom, and sadly he also is used to getting his way on most things; luckily, he married well, and Aunt Susan, the countess, is a very sensible lady, educated and intelligent, with a core of steel underneath, she is a force to be reckoned with, and has been the making of the Earl. They have three children, the eldest is Henry, Viscount Sutton, who at four and thirty is nothing more than a typical rich gentleman, mostly idle and a little vain; I believe he is a good man underneath, no more dissipated than most of our class, and Uncle Reggie is attempting to help by making him take more responsibility for their estate. Then Richard, a colonel in his majesty's cavalry, and currently on tour in the Spanish peninsula, although I hope he will return soon; Richard is a little older than me and is my best friend, as close or even closer than a brother. Finally, Lady Amelia, who is now married to a friend of Sutton, quite happily I must say; she is a very accomplished young lady of four and twenty, but in my opinion very much like most of the ton." He paused, reflecting on the similarities between his imperfect family and the Bennets; perhaps Elizabeth's connections were not as reprehensible as he first thought; at least she had no Lady Catherine to content with.
His Darcy relatives were few, but less contentious, so he added with a smile: "I also have two uncles remaining on the Darcy side, an Archbishop and a Judge, both cousins to my father, and while we are not close, they are happy to support Georgie and I in anything we ask."
Elizabeth was pensive, "Your family is indeed quite small, even smaller than my own, where the only Bennet left outside of Longbourn is the cousin I will visit today. With an aunt and her husband in Meryton and an uncle, his wife and their four children all under eight years of age in London, that is all of us. I will not count Mr Collins as the relationship is very distant, yet even on his side, he is the last relative we seem to have."
"Then perhaps, Miss Elizabeth," Darcy concluded as he directed her back to the carriage, "you will need to learn to rely more on friends in the future." And he would be one of these friends if only she let him, he mused.
The rest of the journey was spent in lighter conversation, slowly affirming the budding friendship between Darcy and Elizabeth; they somehow knew they would have time for the more serious discussions once they were in London. Elizabeth could not help wondering at his changed attitude, and whether it was because of Miss Bingley, who brought a frown to his handsome face each time she was mentioned. And his face was indeed handsome when he smiled at her so softly.
When they reached Audley Street late afternoon and left the carriage to knock on the door of number twenty, Elizabeth was nearly overwhelmed by emotions, and Darcy had to give their names and enquire to the butler as to the availability of Miss Isabella Bennet. They followed the butler through a large well-appointed entrance to the mistress' study, and although Darcy noticed that this was a large room with bookcases along two walls and large windows letting in plenty of light, Elizabeth was entranced by the vision of her cousin and her emotions could not be repressed any longer. In mere seconds, Elizabeth was being hugged and held by Isabella, and Darcy, stepped quietly back into the hallway to give them some privacy and asked the butler to send his carriage home. Grosvenor square was close enough for him to walk home when he was ready to leave Elizabeth with her cousins.
The rest of the afternoon and most of the evening was spent in a pretty and cosy front parlour, mostly discussing the changes to Elizabeth's life.
After a light informal diner was served, Darcy inquired: "Miss Elizabeth, you mentioned that your father will expect you to go to your maternal relations, however I assume that once they realise you are not with these people, they will guess you are in this house. Is that not a possibility?"
"They will," sighed Elizabeth, "however they have never visited this house, and while my father has spoken about his brother's house in Mayfair, I am unsure whether he knows the exact address. If nothing else being here will slow him down."
"And if he does come here," her cousin added, "I do not have to give him full access to my home, and I will not make it easy for him to take Lizzy. I have had no letter or communication of any sort from him or his wife since I left Longbourn five years ago, even though I wrote often at the start, so I do not feel I owe him anything."
Darcy thought for a moment, apparently hesitant to continue.
"Perhaps, if they do come here, Miss Elizabeth could discreetly leave the house and come to visit my sister, so you would not need to lie about her not being in the house?" seeing the surprise on the ladies faces, he quickly added, "perhaps, Miss Elizabeth, well, could I introduce my sister to you? That is to say, would you do me the honour to allow me to call on you while you reside in London, and bring Georgiana? And would you visit me, us for tea or diner?" Darcy was flustered and quite red by now.
After so much time spent together Elizabeth had started to see the gentleman in a new light, and already saw him as a friend, all she could do was to consent with a nod, a smile, and a very pretty blush on her cheeks. Perhaps he would be more than a friend after all; all she thought she knew about the gentleman from Derbyshire was wrong and she needed more time to think and sort her feelings out for herself.
After Darcy's departure, Isabella asked a few questions about the gentleman and their meeting in Hertfordshire, and while not believing Elizabeth told her everything there was to know in their relationship, she decided to wait and observe as her cousin had just lived through a very trying day.
"Do you realise," said she, "Mr Darcy's estate, Pemberley is very large and covers quite a large area of the peak district in Derbyshire. Adlington Hall, being on the border of Cheshire, is no more than 20 miles away from there, maybe even less, making him a near neighbour both in London and the countryside."
Elizabeth chose to turn the conversation at this point: "You have written little about your estate after your original description of the state of the manor house after being empty for so long and the ageing tenants who were ready to retire. Have you achieved the repairs you wanted to complete this year?"
Isabella accepted the change of topic for now. "The hall itself is mostly as I want it now, a few of the guest chambers still need redecorating, but the main reception rooms and the family wing are all refreshed. The older part of the house and the east wing required quite a lot of work as mother never had time to decorate them, and the roof had to be partially replaced, however the newer west wing, where the ballroom, the library and the family rooms are, was perfect as it was and only needed a thorough clean and rearranging a few pieces of furniture. There was also a huge quantity of furniture in the attics, older but of very good quality, and well suited to my tastes in their simplicity, so the work on the east wing was achieved at surprisingly low cost." Elizabeth was looking round Adlington House, appreciating its sobriety and elegance: "If your country home is in the same style as your town house, I expect I will very much like it."
"Well," added Isabella, getting thoughtful, "you may find out sooner than you think. You will need to inform Charlotte of your escape from Hertfordshire, and I am certain she will respect your privacy, but Mr Darcy was right, your father will soon think of me when he realises you are not in Gracechurch Street. I also do not think he ever visited here before my parents died, but it will be easy enough for him to find the address. Adlington being at least three days by carriage from Longbourn, it should be safe for you to wait until your birthday there, especially if I get him to believe I have already sent you out of town to unknown friends. I do need to return to Cheshire soon in any case to oversee the preparations for spring, and assess how my new steward, old Mr Morton's son, and the two new tenant families on the northern part of the estate are settling in."
Elizabeth nodded, "You may well be right; all has been happening so fast I hardly know what to think just now. I will write to Charlotte first thing tomorrow, and I think I will also send a note to Aunt Gardiner so she does not worry, but I will not tell her where I am, just that you will forward any letter."
As soon as he entered his house Darcy sent a note to his sister, who was staying close by at Matlock House, on Berkeley Square, informing her of his return to London and asking her to join him at Darcy house with her companion, Mrs Annesley, on the morrow. He settled in his study with a light collation and a brandy, then set to writing a letter to Richard, the cousin who was as close as a brother; Darcy felt that knowing he was falling in love with a wonderful woman would brighten the colonel's day just a little.
Darcy was still breaking his fast when his butler announced the arrival of Georgiana and Lady Susan. He barely had time to stand and step away from the table before he received his sister in his arms.
"William, I am so happy you are back, I missed you, you know. Will you stay in London long? I have practiced some new music for you, will you want to hear me? And Mrs Annesley says my French is improving, so you can definitely test me this week. Will you help me with my history though, I simply can't get it to stay in my head." Darcy laughed at her sister rapid speech.
"In no order, Georgie," he calmly replied, "I will stay in London with you until we decide to return to Pemberley, I will try and help you with history and I always want to hear you play as you very well know. Did I miss anything? Now how about you sit down and join me for breakfast or for a cup of tea if you have already eaten and give me time to greet our aunt?"
Both Lady Susan and Georgiana accepted a seat and a hot cup of tea from the footman, with the later also picking up a small plate of food.
"Your sister was up extremely early after getting your note last night. I swear we have never eaten breakfast as fast as today, but I simply could not stop her coming to see you promptly." Lady Susan had a kind motherly smile on her face negating the criticism of her comment. "Mrs Annesley will bring their trunks back to Darcy House a little later this morning. I will also expect both of you for a family dinner on Monday evening as Sutton and Amelia will be home that night." This was not a request but a summon and Darcy did not consider declining.
"I have planned to visit friends this morning, so will not remain long, but we will need to discuss the season soon. I will not have yet another year with both you and Sutton remaining unwed. Haddon Hall and Pemberley need heirs and there will be many suitable debutantes, so I expect both of you to behave and attend the events I will select." Lady Susan brought her cup up to finish her tea before leaving.
Darcy used the short pause to attempt a reply. "Aunt Susan, I will thank you to refrain from matchmaking this season. While I cannot yet share details, I have asked a young lady for permission to call on her, and I will not have you interfering by pushing debutantes at me, nor will I allow you to meet her before we progress any further and scare her."
Georgiana squeaked "is it Miss Elizabeth?" Both her aunt and brother stared at her, "how do you know about Miss Elizabeth?" croaked Darcy, surprise closing his throat.
"You wrote about her in Hertfordshire, brother," Georgiana was embarrassed after her outburst, and her voice became much quieter, "you said she was clever, kind, and beautiful, and that you loved listening to her piano playing. I have wanted to meet her ever since."
"Well, I will need to hear everything about this Miss Elizabeth," interrupted Lady Susan, standing up, "however now is not the time. William, please call on your uncle and I on Sunday after church." Again, this was not a request he was allowed to deny.
Left alone, Darcy and his sister finished their repast before continuing with their conversation in the music room.
"I have so much to tell you Georgie," Darcy said, sitting next to his sister, "and a lot of it will not show me in a very good light, I'm afraid." He proceeded to relate the events from his stay in Hertfordshire, not hiding any of his poor behaviour from the girl who had previously seen him as the best of men.
"William, how could you! Miss Elizabeth must have been so mortified, if it was me, I would run away from the ball and never return. And all your behaviour afterwards, it is just too much." She exclaimed with tears in her eyes.
"I know, sweetling, and I deeply regretted my words, and subsequent actions. However yesterday, Elizabeth and I made a new start, and I am sure we can mend our relationship," He smiled at her, "before I left yesterday, I asked her for permission to introduce you and for me to call on her in London, and she agreed. I think the two of you will get on beautifully, she is very kind, you know, and she will absolutely love your gentle nature. In fact, we could pay the Bennet ladies a call later this morning if you are agreeable."
Georgiana enthusiastically agreed as Darcy expected.
"Before this, however, my darling sister, we need to talk a little about recent events in Miss Elizabeth's life," Darcy said turning serious, "and what I want to discuss must not be shared with Aunt Susan or anyone else at this point."
Darcy gave his sister a short version of Elizabeth's flight from Longbourn, leaving out any part played by Miss Bennet or the younger girls as he could not make out how Elizabeth felt about them; Georgiana spontaneously offered to invite Elizabeth to Darcy House if her family came to London, so that she would not be found, making Darcy very proud of his sister's quick mind and generosity.
Despite being better rested, Elizabeth still felt discomposed at the thought of Mr Darcy, of all people, calling on her and introducing his sister, leaving her more than commonly anxious when the two visitors were announced at Adlington House.
Miss Darcy and her brother appeared, and this formidable introduction took place. With astonishment did Elizabeth see that her new acquaintance was at least as much embarrassed as herself. [Previously], she had heard that Miss Darcy was exceedingly proud; but the observation of a very few minutes convinced her that she was only exceedingly shy. She found it difficult to obtain even a word from her beyond a monosyllable.
Miss Darcy was tall, and on a larger scale than Elizabeth; and, though little more than sixteen, her figure was formed, and her appearance womanly and graceful. She was less handsome than her brother; but there was sense and good humour in her face, and her manners were perfectly unassuming and gentle. Elizabeth, who had expected to find in her as acute and unembarrassed an observer as ever Mr Darcy had been, was much relieved by discerning such different feelings.
(Pride and Prejudice, chapter 44)
Elizabeth, who wanted to make herself as agreeable as possible, all the while fearing she would fail, found the young lady so unassuming and sweet that she quickly regained her natural liveliness and managed to please both Darcy siblings without even trying.
"Will you tell me more about growing up with many sisters?" Georgiana queried once she felt more comfortable with the company. "I only have one brother and there are few girls my age near Pemberley; I always wanted sisters and having four sounds heavenly."
Elizabeth replied slowly, carefully choosing her words: "Five girls may have been too great a number for harmony or peace of mind. Perhaps in a different family, the heavenly picture in your mind might exist, but I will admit that at times having so many girls under the same roof was difficult. We only had a governess during the five years Belle lived with us," she smiled at Mrs Turner who was sitting near the window with a book, "in most of my memories we were rather separated in different groups, and I must confess to not being blind to my younger sisters' wild nature. After Belle's departure, I would say most of my time was spent with Mary, taking care of the estate and the parish, or with Jane in the sitting room.
There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.
(Pride and Prejudice, chapter 24)
Except for Belle and Mary, I have accepted that my other sisters must be loved because of who I am rather than who they are."
She shook her head to dispel the melancholy that threatened to overcome her.
"I do believe that there is a tendency in most of us to desire what we do not have simply because of its absence rather than because it would truly lead to happiness. You, without sisters, believe they would brighten your life, when for myself, with a surplus of sisters, I would prefer having had a calm and sensible older brother to take care of us."
Sensing her cousin's sadness, Isabella intervened, "well, I do not feel that I am deserving of pity from anyone for having no sibling at all; I have many friends and am always finding wonderful people where I do not expect them, such as the present company. And the best company is that formed of well informed and well-mannered people, whether they share family links with us or not."
With a smile Darcy added "I believe, Miss Bennet, your cousin may not value the company of all her recent acquaintances quite as much as that of Georgie. Although if I misunderstood, I am certain my friend's sisters will be happy to join us on future calls." A chuckle escaped Elizabeth, with a low, "no, indeed, thank you!" and the mood of the whole party was lifted.
After tea was served, Miss Darcy sat next to the oldest Miss Bennet, engaged in comparing Derbyshire to Cheshire. It had only taken the younger girl a few moments to shed enough of her natural shyness to speak openly, if not loudly or confidently yet, with the Miss Bennets, and Darcy was pleased to see his sister behaving more like the lovely young lady she was with close family, while in company with one he hoped would become family, and her closest friend.
Sitting together on a sofa, Darcy was attempting to be as open with Elizabeth as he had been with his sister earlier that morning.
"Miss Elizabeth, I must apologise for my behaviour in Hertfordshire," he looked and felt uncomfortable, "I arrived in the country cross and worried; having Miss Bingley as hostess certainly did not improve my mood, and my behaviour was not at all what it should have been."
Elizabeth looked at him, slightly puzzled, and asked: "What exactly are you apologising about, Mr Darcy? You were at Netherfield Park for several weeks."
"I am ashamed to say my apologies must cover many instances during my stay," he replied with his head bowed down, "the first being my utterly awful words at the assembly, which I expect were overheard. Had a man uttered such reprehensible words about Georgie, I would have called him out, yet these came out of my own mouth. You must know that I had not truly looked at you, and I have long felt that you are one of the handsomest ladies of my acquaintance." Elizabeth could not stop herself from blushing at hearing these words.
"My whole behaviour in Hertfordshire was abhorrent, in fact." He continued, "The people in the neighbourhood were welcoming and friendly and yet I rebuked any offer of friendship. I also believe I treated you quite poorly while you were tending to Miss Bennet at Netherfield, and I cannot now think of any reason why neither Bingley nor I stopped Miss Bingley abusing you so horribly. Would you forgive me?"
Elizabeth stopped him by instinctively placing her hand over his: "Please do not worry yourself so, while your behaviour was not beyond reproof, neither was the behaviour of some in the neighbourhood, in fact, I was often quite shamed by my own family. As for your original comment on my lack of beauty," he flinched at these words, "I did indeed overhear, and resented you, and behaved quite as badly by sharing my opinion with many of my friends. This would have made your acceptance into Meryton's society very difficult, no matter how well you behaved." She finished with a smile.
Mr Darcy sighed, relieved she was not rejecting any of his apologies "There was also the matter of George Wickham," he said in a low voice, "I do not know under what pretence he imposed on you, but your defence of him at Bingley's ball does concern me. I do not believe now is the right time to discuss his history with my family in details, but I would ask you to warn your friends in Meryton; George cannot be trusted, and he runs through money faster than anyone I have met. He certainly would have told you of being my father's godson, and in his will, my father left him a thousand pounds and a living in the church, should he choose to be ordained. As he had no calling to join the church, he requested and was granted three thousand pounds in return for resigning any claim to the living."
Elizabeth gasped at this point "Four thousand pounds? That is quite a fortune for the son of a steward!" she exclaimed.
"It should have been, and had he invested it, that sum would have supported him for many years," Darcy continued, relieved to see belief on Elizabeth face, "yet when the old incumbent to the living passed away two years ago, George contacted me asking for the living as his circumstances were dire and all his inheritance gone. There is much more I could add of his character, but for now, suffice to say that merchants giving him credit and young ladies listening to his sweet tongue are not safe. I could not inform any of your neighbours directly for he could harm Georgie's reputation as revenge, but perhaps you could find a way to warn them without implicating the Darcy name?"
"I believe," answered a thoughtful Elizabeth, "another letter to my dear Charlotte and Sir William is in order. You will find that partly founded yet very vague gossip is a very powerful weapon in a small community such as Meryton. I expect Lady Lucas can spread a rumour fast enough to protect most of the neighbourhood, and as you have already left, and as you said yourself, you were not very sociable in Hertfordshire, nobody will suspect you of anything."
She paused and smiled, "Now that was indeed serious, too serious for such a day, therefore we should leave off discussing Hertfordshire and its residents altogether. And I must add - You must learn some of my philosophy. Think only of the past as its remembrance give you pleasure. I insist you do in fact as neither of our past behaviours was beyond reproof, and therefore it must all be forgotten, so we can now be the best of friends."