A/N - this has been updated to correct grammar and spelling - a big thanks to my beta reader Ann (goclimbatree), who has begun reading through and helping me fix errors and ensure clarity. I took down several chapters and am slowly adding them back.
Let me know if you continue to see any issues. This story will be published on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited at some point once it is finished (August 30?).
Chapter 19
Mr Bennet,
I do not know what you shared with your wife, but obviously, it was not enough to prevent her from sending my wife a letter accusing her of being selfish and forcing your family to live in penury. This was precisely why we avoided being at Longbourn when you acquainted Mrs Bennet with the details of what you had done — to prevent your wife from disparaging mine. You do realise this violates our agreement and I could call the loan, making it due immediately, do you not? When you cannot pay, you would be thrown into debtors' prison. Is that what you want? What your wife wants? Is she aware of the possible consequences of her actions? If not, you should inform her immediately to ensure this does not happen again.
Need I remind you that you approached me with a request for funds to pay your gambling debts? That if I did not pay, these men would take one of your daughters as payment? Would they have stopped with one?
I will warn you once, Bennet: do not violate our agreement again. Unless Mrs Bennet can hold her tongue, she should not write any additional letters to Pemberley. I will not tolerate your wife abusing mine any further.
From there, his letter went on to speak of the governess for the younger girls and other practical matters regarding their agreements.
At Lady Matlock's recommendation, one had already been hired and would arrive at Longbourn within a sennight. Darcy had several people keeping an eye on Longbourn to ensure that the rest of their conditions were being met. The steward was reporting to Darcy, as would the governess and Mrs Hill, about the actions of those who were still at Longbourn. Bennet did not know it, but spies would soon infiltrate his home, reporting on his every move.
Georgiana arrived at Pemberley, and a fortnight later, Darcy and Elizabeth boarded a carriage for their trip to Darcy Cottage in the Lake District for their wedding trip. After the bustle of the season and the trouble at Longbourn, the couple was looking forward to some time when they would not have to worry about anything but themselves.
The fortnight of their wedding trip was nearly perfect — they slept late, made love frequently, and explored the area around the cottage. Two very calm and gentle riding horses had been sent with their personal servants to Darcy Cottage, and Darcy began teaching Elizabeth to ride. She had never learned as a child and was a little afraid of the beasts at first, but he was patient with her and she came to enjoy the activity very much. He promised to continue working with her on her riding skills once they returned to Pemberley and to show her several places on the estate that could only be reached on horseback. This idea and the way he said it made Elizabeth's face flush, but she teased him back.
"And what will we do when we reach these far-flung locations," she asked him as he lifted her down from the saddle. In reply, he pulled her tightly into his embrace and kissed her deeply.
"Would you like a demonstration?" he growled.
She laughed merrily at him and darted away, silently encouraging him to chase her. With his long legs, he easily caught up with her and captured her. Lifting her into his arms, he strode into the house, carrying her into the first room he came across, and proceeded to show her exactly what he intended to do.
Their time at Darcy Cottage passed quickly, and on the last day, they celebrated their fourth month of marriage with a picnic in a nearby grove and a boat ride across the lake. Elizabeth and Darcy enjoyed this respite from their responsibilities and the season, as both of them found the constant activity wearing. Elizabeth had missed her early morning walks in the countryside and the freedom to explore that she had at Longbourn, and she so enjoyed this time at the Lakes with Darcy. Darcy's staff was tasked with caring for everything that might arise at Pemberley while they were away, and no emergencies requiring his immediate attention had occurred. They enjoyed a blissful fortnight of solitude and the pursuits they most desired.
When they returned to Pemberley nearly three weeks after they left it, they both almost glowed with their happiness, and it was clear they enjoyed their time away. A few of the footmen quietly placed bets on how soon the heir to Pemberley might be announced.
Waiting for the Darcys was a flurry of letters that had arrived while in their absence. Many were notes accepting the invitation to the small house party they would be hosting during the first two weeks of September, but there were also several from Longbourn, London, and Matlock. These were of far more interest than the acceptances, and so the morning after they returned Elizabeth and Darcy sat in his study and read through their correspondence.
"I did not see a letter from Papa in all of this," Elizabeth said after looking through her pile. "Did he send one to you? I do have one from Mama — I am almost afraid to read it after the letter you sent to Papa."
Darcy looked through his own stack. "There is one here from Todd and another from the new governess, Mrs Martin, but I do not see one from your father either," Darcy frowned as he looked once more through the letters in his pile. "It has been a month since his last letter, and he was supposed to write at least every other week. Let us see what these other letters say." Darcy opened these two first and began to read. Elizabeth watched his face as he read and grew concerned at the anger she saw developing.
"Yet again, your father has failed to keep up his end of the contract," Darcy told her after reading the first. "Todd reports he has not begun making the improvements we agreed upon, nor has he ridden out on the estate a single time. Not only that, but he received a crate of books from a London bookseller, and Todd had to help him open it a few days before he wrote this."
Elizabeth sighed deeply. "What can we do if he continues to refuse to do as he agreed? Do we wait for the quarter day to see if he makes the first payment, although if he is ordering books from London, he is unlikely to have the funds to do so? I am angry at Papa for putting us into the position of having to threaten him with prison if he fails to pay."
"He does not believe we will act against him," Darcy said quietly. "As much as I hate to make this comparison, it seems as though, like Wickham, he believes I will not act because of his connection to someone I love."
"He is taking a ridiculous risk," she replied heatedly. "If he can acquire that much debt in a few months, what is stopping him from doing it again and then demanding more money to pay off these future debts? How do we make him understand how serious all of this is?"
It was Darcy's turn to sigh. "I do not know your father well enough, Elizabeth. Is there someone to whom he listens who could convince him of the seriousness of this situation?"
"I do not know," Elizabeth admitted, scowling when she noticed her mother's letter again. "Read the letter from the governess, and I will read Mama's, and then we may decide how to act."
It was quiet for several minutes while they read. When he was finished, Darcy looked up and observed that Elizabeth' was clearly angry as she finished her mother's letter.
"My mother is still complaining about 'living in penury' because we are forcing them to repay the debt," Elizabeth said. "As before, she either does not know or care that Papa gambled and Jane was threatened. She is angry that she has been 'replaced' by a governess. She asks what was so lacking in my own education that my sisters need a governess. Given that she had little to do with my education, I cannot imagine what she means, but she has never been able to see any fault in her own behaviour, and even less so in Lydia's. She does not like Mrs Martin and calls her an 'interloper' several times. I gather Papa has restricted her spending and put a stop to Kitty and Lydia attending events, but Mama is aware of the books he ordered."
Elizabeth paused to think for a moment before she grinned wickedly. "I know how to get his attention," she said, sitting up and looking rather pleased with herself. "My Uncle Phillips is an attorney in Meryton, and he and my father have never been the best of friends. Papa has violated our agreement several times now, most especially by purchasing a crate of books from London. If you sent a copy of the agreement to my uncle, could he not confiscate some of his books as a penalty? Did we not have the option to assess a penalty for any failure to comply with the terms?"
Darcy was rather surprised to see Elizabeth grin, but as she spoke, he smiled in response. "That Is an excellent idea, Elizabeth. His new books can be paid as a forfeit for his failure to comply with the conditions in our agreement. Will Phillips do as you have suggested?"
Elizabeth grinned at him. "He will, and Mrs Hill will assist him." Elizabeth held up a letter. "She has written to me as well and is displeased with my father's actions, or rather, inaction. Mama is aware Papa owes a significant debt, but she does not know the extent of the debt, how he acquired it, or the threat to Jane. Mama complains to Mrs Hill any time she is upset, so she knows all of what Papa has said. The girls do not know, and they are upset about the restrictions Papa has placed on them. Lydia is particularly frustrated by the governess requiring her to attend lessons, as she believes she is too old for such 'nonsense'." Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her husband as she told him about the letter. "I know we agreed to allow Papa to tell the rest of the family without us there, but clearly he believed he could keep part of the truth hidden and did not tell them the truth."
Elizabeth stood and moved to the small writing desk he had added to his study for her use. She wrote a letter replying to Longbourn's housekeeper and then another to her uncle outlining their plan. She imagined the look on Mrs Hill's face when she read the letter and struggled to hold back a laugh.
Darcy composed letters to his own informants from Longbourn and another to Mr Bennet about his lack of communication. When he finished those, he returned to the rest of his correspondence, although he frequently looked up to watch Elizabeth. Each time he did so, he smiled, happy he could share his office with the most beautiful woman he knew.
Several hours later, they finished responding to the most pressing letters, leaving the rest for the next day. Elizabeth went to speak to Mrs Reynolds about the Gardiners' upcoming visit and the house party a few weeks after their arrival. She found Georgiana and Jane on her way and encouraged both ladies to join the discussion, as she thought they would both have ideas to add.
That meeting lasted nearly two hours, and finally, the family gathered for tea in one of the smaller family sitting rooms. Georgiana and Jane had gotten along well while Darcy and Elizabeth were away, and Jane smiled as Georgiana peppered her brother and sister with questions about their trip to the Lakes and even managed to ask a few of her own. Darcy and Elizabeth answered all the questions patiently, although the frequent glances between the two silently expressed their desire for more time alone. They had thoroughly enjoyed the time they had spent at the Lakes, and it was proving difficult to return to Pemberley, where privacy was far more difficult to find.
The couple made it through dinner and sat with their sisters for some time after dinner before claiming fatigue and retiring to their rooms for the rest of the evening.
For the next few weeks, the days fell into a pattern of Darcy and Elizabeth breakfasting together in their sitting room before adjourning to his study to review correspondence together. Then, they would separate to pursue individual tasks — Elizabeth to meet with the housekeeper and her sisters, and Darcy to meet with his steward or conduct other business. If she could, Elizabeth would join him in the study until they joined their sisters for tea and then dinner.
Some days, Darcy rode out on the estate with the steward, and when Elizabeth accompanied him and his business was completed, they rode to another of those locations Darcy wanted to show her with a picnic lunch and a blanket, and Darcy would demonstrate for Elizabeth once again his purpose in seeking out these isolated locations.
They had been at Pemberley for almost a month when the Gardiners arrived, bringing their children and Mary with them. Almost immediately, Mrs Gardiner noticed a change in Elizabeth and determined to speak with her privately as soon as she could manage it.
It took Mrs Gardiner a few days to manage an entirely private conversation with her niece. "Elizabeth, you look very well," she began. "Tell me, though, how are you finding married life?"
"It is wonderful, Aunt," Elizabeth replied. "William is such a good husband, and despite all of the trouble with my family, he has been incredibly patient and generous. I know I wrote you about Papa's reaction to our claiming his books as a forfeit for his failure to comply with the conditions of the loan. The letter he sent my dear husband after that was almost contrite, although it held an undertone of bitterness.
"William has not been happy about Mama's letters to me. She is still angry with me for all the changes at Longbourn, but at least Papa is now making something of an effort on the estate. I do not know if he has realised there are several people at Longbourn reporting the goings on there, but he is taking more interest in the estate and is attempting to restrain Mama's vehemence toward me."
"I truly hate that you must endure this," Mrs Gardiner told her. "It was good of your Mr Darcy to loan your father the money, and I am very pleased it was a loan and not a gift. I know the two of you came up with these conditions for the loan and that your intent is to make things better for them all in the long run, even if they do not understand it right now. Mary is doing very well with us, and she is much improved under the instruction of the music master. I think you will enjoy hearing her play."
"Mary just needed someone to pay her some attention. I know I did not do enough, but she craved the attention of our parents, not her sisters," Elizabeth admitted. "She told me she appreciates your allowing her to live with you and plans to stay as long as you will let her."
"We are happy to have her with us," Mrs Gardiner replied. "Now, I do not know how long we will remain alone, and I have a particular topic of conversation I want to broach with you."
"Yes, Aunt, what is it?" Elizabeth asked, growing concerned at her tone of voice.
"It is nothing to worry about, my dear girl. I just have a few questions to ask you," Mrs Gardiner said. "I notice you are only picking at your food, especially at breakfast, are sleeping later than usual, and appear tired in the afternoons."
Elizabeth sighed. "William has noticed the same, and he is worried about me. I think I am well, although at times my stomach does not tolerate food well. A few times, I have felt like I needed to cast up my accounts, but I have not done so, and the feeling eventually passes. Dry toast sometimes helps with that feeling."
"Elizabeth, I think you are forgetting some of our conversations before you wed. Can you tell me, when is the last time you had your courses?" Mrs Gardiner asked gently.
Elizabeth thought for a moment. "Not since before we left for the Lakes. We deliberately waited until after that event so we could enjoy ourselves fully." Elizabeth smirked at her aunt. "That was nearly two months ago, which means I have missed an entire month. Do you think …?" she trailed off.
"Yes, I do," her aunt replied.
"Oh, William will be so happy!" Elizabeth cried. "But how will I know for certain? Should I tell him now, or is there something I should look for so I can know for sure?"
"Right now, you only suspect it, but it is likely," Mrs Gardiner told her, then thought for a moment. "If what you say is correct, you will likely give birth in mid-April. In another two months, you should feel the quickening. You can wait to tell him then, or you can go ahead and let him know what you suspect. He may begin to notice changes to your body, especially if you are intimate as frequently as you hinted."
Elizabeth blushed. "What changes should I anticipate? Other than the obvious, I mean."
They spoke for a little while longer before their conversation was interrupted by the others. Elizabeth decided to tell her husband what she suspected that very night.
Copyright 2023 by Melissa Anne
