Chapter 10

The next afternoon, Darcy arrived on the Gardiners' doorstep, accompanied by a young lady. The young lady Elizabeth supposed was his sister, Georgiana Darcy, who would soon turn sixteen. Elizabeth and Darcy had discussed the girl several times, and on one of those occasions, Darcy had confided a little of the trouble his sister had recently been through. He did not state it directly, but Elizabeth heard enough to know that she had been disappointed in love, having been pursued by the worst sort of scoundrel and fortune hunter.

Georgiana Darcy was a lovely girl, appearing older than her age in her looks, but her actions were those of a young girl. She was terribly shy and constantly looked toward her brother for confirmation whenever she spoke. Elizabeth did all she could to make the girl feel at ease with her. Mrs Gardiner did the same, and within an hour, the three were speaking together easily. Darcy watched them speak, smiling at how quickly Elizabeth had made his sister feel comfortable in her presence. He realised she had a similar effect on him, as she had made him feel at ease from the first time they spoke together.

Finally, it was time to depart. "Ladies, I apologize for the extended visit, but I hated to interrupt your conversation before now. I am afraid we have overstayed, and I do have business to conduct yet this afternoon," Darcy spoke during a break in the conversation. The younger ladies appeared startled by his voice as they had nearly forgotten his presence in the room.

"Oh, I apologise, Mr Darcy; we forgot you and completely excluded you from our conversation. Forgive me," Elizabeth cried.

"It is quite all right, Miss Elizabeth," Darcy replied sedately. "I was pleased to see how easily you befriended my sister and was contemplating other matters as you spoke. However, if you do not mind, I will call on you tomorrow morning by myself. Perhaps your aunt will also allow me to escort you to Darcy House after for tea and perhaps a walk through Hyde Park."

Elizabeth turned to her aunt, who nodded, and the invitation was readily accepted. "Miss Elizabeth, I introduced you to my sister today as Miss Bennet, but I wondered … would you like to keep that name for now? Or would you prefer to be introduced as Miss Tomlinson? Of course, we can wait until we consult with your other trustee, but well, I wanted to speak to my aunt and uncle about our unofficial courtship and ask them to invite you to dinner soon."

"Perhaps that should wait until we learn more from Mr Ellis. Today is Friday, and he is to arrive in town next week: is that not what you said? Surely you can delay a little longer to tell your relatives about me?" she teased.

"I worry about what your guardian intends," Darcy confessed privately as Mrs Gardiner and Miss Darcy spoke together. "I have had too much time to think of scenarios where Mr Bennet could force you to return to Longbourn and into a marriage with Mr Collins somehow. I worry that I could lose you."

She smiled gently at him. "I cannot be forced to marry; even if Mr Bennet requires me to return, he cannot make me agree to marry that man."

"Elizabeth, he could do things that would make a marriage necessary. He could allow that man to take you somewhere and ruin you, and I do not mean only your reputation. I would love you regardless, but …" he stopped as he realised what he had said.

"You love me?" she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I do, Elizabeth," he replied, his voice equally soft. "Your uncle commented yesterday afternoon that you would not have cried in my arms as you did yesterday had you not felt safe with me. I want to be your safe place always. "I felt the first stirrings of love from the moment you handed me a cup of tea at the assembly, and as I have learned more about you, I have fallen more deeply in love. I told your uncle I would marry you as soon as you would have me, but I have asked for a courtship for now until you are ready."

She smiled up at him. "And how will you know when I am ready?" she asked lightly.

He wanted to touch her, to pull her into his arms and show her his love. He mentally cursed himself for starting this conversation when they were in a room with her aunt and his sister. "I do not have the slightest idea, Elizabeth," he replied. "I was hoping you would tell me?"

"Was that a question, sir, or a statement," she asked him.

"I think I told you I have never courted a lady before now, never wanted to do so, and I tell you, and only you, that I do not have any idea of how to go about this, my dear. I am relying on you to assist me through this," he told her, suddenly aware that the others were watching.

She sighed as she saw what he did. "We can continue this conversation tomorrow. For now, I will ignore all requests, should any come, for me to return to Longbourn. Surely we can invent an appropriate excuse. But I doubt that Mr Bennet will attempt to do so before he has word from Mr Elliott. Mr Bennet is not a very good correspondent."

The two Darcys took their leave and soon departed the house. Mrs Gardiner began speaking almost immediately after the door closed behind them. "What were you and Mr Darcy discussing so intently at the end of the call?" she asked.

"He is anxious that Mr Bennet will attempt to call me home sooner than we anticipated and do something to force me into marriage with his heir. I do not think he has a very good opinion of my guardian, and while I confess he has cause, I struggle to think of him being so terrible as to be capable of what Mr Darcy seems to believe possible," Elizabeth admitted.

Mrs Gardiner looked at her askance. "What did he suggest?"

"That Mr Bennet might attempt to force the matter by having me ruined in more than just reputation," Elizabeth said blankly.

Gasping, Mr Gardiner brought her hand to cover her mouth. "I would not think Mr Bennet capable of ordering that, but we do not know what Mr Collins might attempt if he believes he could get his hands on your estate. Mr Darcy thinks he is likely to be a fool, but is he mean? Perhaps your uncle and Mr Darcy should have him investigated to see what they can learn about the man."

"If they have not already considered it," Elizabeth replied while agreeing that it was wise. "Mr Darcy also asked whether I should be introduced as Miss Bennet or as Miss Tomlinson while in town. I deferred the question for now, saying it was best to seek the opinion of Mr Gardiner and Mr Elliott. I believe Mr Darcy would prefer to have me known for who I truly am, but I am not certain his reasoning is completely disinterested."

"Because you are courting?" she asked. Elizabeth merely nodded, not ready to confess everything that had been discussed. She needed to sort through her own feelings toward the man before she spoke of them to anyone.

She had an opportunity to do that later that evening. As she thought over their relationship—had they truly only met three weeks ago—she realized that she did care a great deal for him. She had never felt as though she belonged in her home, and now she realized she truly had not. Longbourn had never been her home, and those vague memories the Bennets had waved away were real. She wanted desperately to go home—to her real home. She wanted to have somewhere she belonged.

The question of Mr Darcy made this all a little less clear. Briarwood, her estate, was her home in truth. It was hers, or it would be soon enough, but she had never been there. Well, she had, but she did not remember it, though perhaps when she arrived she would feel some familiarity with the place. But would it feel like home?

She remembered the day before when she had collapsed and been caught in Mr Darcy's arms. She had felt safe, just as he said. It had been heavenly to be held in his embrace, and she had felt a sense of belonging she had never before experienced. Is this love? she asked herself.

Still uncertain, she wondered if she could talk it over with him the following day when they called. It would not be improper for the two of them to ride together in an open carriage without a chaperone, would it? She would love for some time alone to speak with him about this.

Darcy was cursing himself as the worst sort of fool. Making a declaration of love at that particular moment and in that manner was not what Elizabeth required. She needed time to become more familiar with him, to let the complexities of her changed circumstances sink in. She was confronting a substantial upheaval after discovering that her family was not truly her own and there were numerous other matters on her plate. Adding further pressure from him was the last thing she needed.

More than any other time in the last five years, he missed his father. He needed to speak to someone, though he did not know who. His cousin Richard would never understand, not really, and he was uncertain what his uncle would say. Of course, he would be pleased that he was finally taking a wife and that the woman was an heiress, although he would have preferred for him to marry a peer. However, the earl would scarcely allow for feelings to be a part of the matter and would gladly make the contract regardless of the bride's feelings in the matter—or the groom's. According to the earl, marriage was about building wealth and connections; the feelings of the parties were irrelevant.

No, he needed to speak to Elizabeth. He would apologise for pressuring her and reassure her that he would wait for her—however long that might be. He would speak to her uncle about ensuring she was protected; he felt certain that Bennet had this plan in place for longer than they realised and would likely take it further than they presently expected to make it a reality. He wished he knew more about the man.

Feeling the need to do something, he sat down to pen a note to his man of business asking him to hire investigators to find out anything he could about Thomas Bennet and William Collins. Just to be safe, he also requested they investigate Mr Phillips, the solicitor in Meryton. Darcy did not know his Christian name but felt Meryton was a small enough community that he would not be hard to find.

This done, he drafted a letter to his own solicitor about creating a marriage settlement. It would be an unusual settlement, he knew, since it would stipulate that all property the bride brought into the marriage would remain hers, and he still would settle thirty thousand pounds on her. She did not need his additional funds, but it would serve as a dowry for a daughter or would provide a good start for a son should it be needed. Darcy was suddenly very distracted by two images that appeared side by side in his mind—the image of his Elizabeth carrying their child and, the more tantalizing of the two, the image of what it would require for him to get Elizabeth with child. It took him quite some time to return to his work.