Author's Note: Please let me know if you see any inconsistencies or errors. I am trying to fix them as I go through, but I know I have missed a couple. Thanks so much, and I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 12
Before Darcy could visit Elizabeth the following morning, he received a message from Mr Elliott, stating that, instead of arriving next week, he would arrive in London later this afternoon. He requested that Darcy meet him first thing Monday, so Darcy sent his reply to Mr Elliott's home, letting him know he looked forward to the meeting. This first meeting would be just between the two trustees as they reviewed the will and any other legal papers with the solicitors who had drawn it up in the first place.
Upon his arrival at the Gardiner residence, he promptly shared this information with Elizabeth. Leaving a note for Mr. Gardiner, he requested a meeting early in the upcoming week, intending to gather the trustees along with Elizabeth and Mr. Gardiner. The purpose of the meeting was to openly address matters related to Mr. Bennet and the stipend designated for her care. Acknowledging Darcy's intention to consult Mr. Elliott first regarding their potential courtship and marriage and recognizing the inappropriateness of her presence at the solicitor's office, Elizabeth smiled in agreement with the proposed plan.
The trio conversed for half an hour, primarily affording Elizabeth and Darcy the chance to deliberate on their plans for her stay in London. Mrs Gardiner interjected occasionally, sharing insights into the upcoming weeks based on the arrangements she had already made. Additionally, Darcy extended an invitation for the three of them to join him for dinner at his residence the following evening. The purpose was twofold—he intended to discuss various matters with Mr Gardiner, including acquainting him with his earlier connection with Elizabeth from their childhood, an omission he felt was necessary to rectify.
Finally, it was time to depart for Darcy House, where the two were to take tea with Georgiana before going for a walk in Hyde Park. "Mrs Gardiner, I rode here in my phaeton and hope you do not mind if I take Miss Elizabeth for a short ride on the way to Darcy House. I have my tiger accompanying me, of course, but there is no room in the carriage for a maid. It is an open carriage, so we will be easily seen by anyone passing by."
Mrs Gardiner considered this for a moment before she agreed. "I believe that will be acceptable." The two hastily gathered their things, and Darcy helped Elizabeth into the carriage, his hands lingering a trifle long on her hips as he helped her up.
"Mr Darcy, I confess that I hoped to see you today and spend some time alone speaking with you," she said hesitantly once they were seated on the high perch.
"To continue the conversation from yesterday that was interrupted?"
She nodded. "Do you truly believe me to be unsafe?"
He sighed, his brow furrowed in deep thought. "I am uncertain. I have sent a message to my man of business instructing him to investigate your uncle Bennet, Mr Phillips, and Mr Collins. I am eager to uncover any underlying motivations behind their actions. Once I return you to the Gardiners, I propose speaking to your uncle about arranging additional security measures for your well-being. As your trustee, I believe we should employ one or two footmen whose primary responsibility is to ensure your safety while you reside in town and especially if you return to Longbourn." He stopped for a moment to think before continuing.
"I also intend to discuss these matters with Mr Elliott, but I believe that he and I, as trustees of your estate, must approach Mr Bennet to inform him of our intention to discuss your inheritance with you before any decisions are made regarding your possible marriage. I will suggest we will meet with him in person so we can gauge his reaction. Mr Elliott has not yet responded to his note regarding the marriage contract, so he will be impatient to hear something regarding his plans."
Elizabeth grinned and could not resist a tease. "You have a personal interest in the matter as well, sir."
He laughed. "That I do. I have also considered what might happen were I to spirit you away to Scotland and marry you there. Regardless, the estate goes to you, not your husband, so I am uncertain if eloping would change anything other than the resulting scandal from such an action. While I would happily marry you in any circumstances, I also want to ensure you are protected should Bennet or Collins attempt anything untoward. This is another reason I want to hire protection for you."
She covered her mouth with her hands. "Do you truly think that is possible? What sort of untoward actions?"
"I honestly do not know, dearest," he sighed, pausing momentarily as he navigated the carriage through the crowded streets. "I am imagining the worst possible scenarios as I am terrified of losing you. Yesterday, I confessed that I loved you, and I immediately regretted it …"
Her gasp caused him to stop. "You regret telling me you love me?" she asked shakily.
He stammered, his expression reflecting a mix of emotions. "Yes… no," he began, then wiped his hand across his mouth as he took a breath to start over. He used his free hand to cover Elizabeth's. "I do not regret loving you, Elizabeth, though I had not planned to reveal my feelings until things were more settled with your family situation. I understand it may have been… unfair to you to express my emotions while you grapple with so many other concerns. My intention was to wait for a better time. Moreover, it was not the ideal moment or setting for such a confession. I would have preferred to share those words with you in private and when I was more certain of your sentiments toward me."
"Oh," she responded, brushing away tears that had welled up in the corners of her eyes. "I do understand. I was disappointed that our conversation was interrupted. I… I want you to know that I do care for you. I… it is too much for me to say that I love you at this moment, but I sense that it is on the horizon. You are correct—things are too much in disarray for me right now, and I scarcely know which way is up."
"I do not want to put additional pressure on you, Ellie," he whispered, hating their terrible timing once again. This was far too serious a conversation to be had while driving through the streets of London. She echoed his sentiment, and he laughed. "Our minds are in sync; I was just thinking the same. Some day, we will talk about this where we will not be interrupted and where we can give each other our full attention. First, I cannot speak to you as I would like because we were staneding in the entryway with my sister and your aunt, and now I cannot because I am driving a carriage through London."
She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling once again. "What is the fun of that? Nothing in our relationship has proceeded as usual; why should we change that now?"
He laughed before he replied. "That is true. You are a most unusual woman, Elizabeth Tomlinson."
Her smile changed to something else, something more ethereal. "We likely still should speak to Mr Gardiner, but please, call me by that name going forward. I like it, and I believe I am ready to throw off the name of Bennet entirely."
"Once again, our timing is terrible. I would love to embrace you right now," he replied, smiling rakishly and suggesting. "Perhaps I can steal you away for a moment once we reach my house?"
Her laughter floated in the air behind them.
On Sunday, the Gardiners and Elizabeth joined Darcy, his sister, and his cousin, Colonel Jonathan Fitzwilliam, for an intimate family dinner. It was a pleasant meal, and, once again, Elizabeth and Georgiana found much to discuss. During their visit the day before, the two had begun to address each other by their Christian names and had dismissed Darcy to work in his study as they came to know each other better by practising duets on the piano.
Both girls were accomplished performers, although Elizabeth's technical proficiency was not on par with Georgiana's. Elizabeth had a gift for infusing more emotion into her music, making her quite enjoyable to listen to, and Darcy found great pleasure in hearing her play, despite the distance that separated them. Elizabeth also had a beautiful singing voice, a talent Georgiana did not possess due to her shyness and reluctance to perform publicly. In private, Elizabeth gently encouraged Georgiana to prepare her to perform in front of others, as she believed Georgiana had a delightful voice.
The colonel was surprised by his cousins' guests since, other than Bingley, Darcy had a habit of looking down on those in trade. However, it did not take him long to discover Darcy's motivation behind this change, as it quickly became evident that his cousin was utterly besotted with his guest. To that end, he did what he always did—he flirted with Elizabeth, intentionally raising his cousin's ire.
A skilled and charming flirt, the colonel soon had Elizabeth blushing at his forwardness. When dinner was announced, he quickly stood and offered her his arm before Darcy had the chance. "Miss Tomlinson," he said as he extended his arm, "might I have the pleasure of escorting you to dinner?"
Glancing toward Mr Darcy, she tried not to show her disappointment. "Certainly, Colonel," she replied, taking his arm lightly while still looking toward his cousin.
Seeing this, the colonel increased his efforts, "Thank you. I confess, I was surprised to meet you here tonight; my cousin had not mentioned you at all until just before you arrived. I actually think he was trying to get rid of me, but I planted myself in his study and refused to take his hint. Is there a reason he does not want me to meet you?"
"Perhaps he was afraid of your stealing my attention from him? Or that I would be frightened off by your forwardness?"
Darcy, his irritation growing, interjected, "Miss Elizabeth, I believe the colonel has a natural gift for flattery, but his words are as fickle as the wind. You should not be swayed by whatever he is saying to you. I hesitated to have the two of you meet because I know what a rogue my cousin is and did not want to subject you to him so soon in our courtship."
The colonel flashed a sly grin in Darcy's direction. "Ah, but Darcy, you underestimate the power of a well-turned phrase. Miss Tomlinson deserves all the admiration we can offer her, do you not agree?"
Darcy took Elizabeth's other hand and pulled her away from the colonel to claim her as his own. "You may escort Georgiana to dinner; I will escort Miss Elizabeth. Go away, Jonathan," Darcy nearly growled.
Elizabeth arched her eyebrow at him before saying so only he could hear: "That was quite the display of possessiveness, sir.".
Darcy let out a soft sigh. "I apologise, Miss Elizabeth. My cousin delights in provoking me and was intentionally attempting to anger me in a method common to brothers. While we are cousins by birth, we are as close as brothers, and he seems to think it is his role to torment me."
"Yes, I recall," she said, laughing lightly as she allowed herself to be led to the dining room and seated to Darcy's right. The seating was informal, and everyone else was encouraged to sit where they liked, although Georgiana did take the hostesses' seat at the end of the table. Colonel Fitzwilliam sat to her left, allowing the Gardiners to sit next to each other on the other side of the table.
Dinner progressed easily, with conversation encompassing the entire table most of the time. The colonel was intrigued by Darcy's frequent references to his guest as "Miss Elizabeth" when she had been introduced to him as "Miss Tomlinson" and the oblique reference to a courtship. He was somewhat surprised Darcy would enter into a courtship without informing at least the earl and countess, although he considered it might be recent enough that he had not yet had time. He had been amused by his cousin's show of possessiveness regarding the lady and by the lady's clear preference for his cousin.
When the meal was finished, the ladies retreated to the music room to continue their practice from the previous day. The three gentlemen retreated into Mr Darcy's study, where Fitzwilliam immediately asked his cousin for an explanation, which was hastily given.
"That is our little Ellie?" Fitzwilliam asked incredulously. "I never saw her again after that summer at Briarwood, and neither mother nor father knew what happened to her when her grandparents passed away. They would be interested in meeting her again."
"I intend to bring her to meet your parents soon. However, for now, I need to see what can be done to protect her from the marriage Mr Bennet hopes to arrange. That is one of the things I intend to discuss with Mr Elliott and the solicitor tomorrow. Do you know a few men who could be hired to protect Miss Elizabeth?" Darcy asked, then turned to Mr Gardiner to explain. "It may be unnecessary, but I would feel better knowing Miss Elizabeth had a footman or two to accompany her wherever she goes for her protection. You know your brother better than I, but is he capable of forcing Elizabeth to do as he wishes? I worry that he might attempt to abscond with her or force her to wed his heir against her will. I fear that he has had this plan "
Gardiner started. "I would not have considered Bennet capable of it in the past, but I also would not have thought he would have kept this sort of information from Elizabeth and the rest of the family. I doubt this was his intent when he first accepted her care, but he has obviously grown used to the extra funds from her estate. I do not know how far he may be willing to go to ensure his plan comes to fruition."
"What will you do about that, Darcy?" Fitzwilliam asked.
He sighed. "Ellie does not want him to get away without any consequences, though she does not want her cousins to suffer too much. He has lied to Mr Elliott for years about how the funds were spent, though I am uncertain if he can be held accountable for that. I supposed there is a possibility he could be prosecuted if he failed to do what was required; that is what Elliott and I seek to find out in our meeting with the solicitors tomorrow," Darcy explained.
"Can Bennet require her to return to Longbourn?" Gardiner asked.
Becoming aggravated by these questions, as these were the very ones he had himself and had so far been unable to answer, he replied tersely. "I have many more questions than I have answers at the moment, gentlemen. Can we cease this inquisition and rejoin the ladies? I hope to discuss all of these with Mr Elliott and the solicitors on the morrow."
Fitzwilliam laughed at his scowl. "I think we must, or you will become even more surly," he quipped, earning another glare from his cousin. "You are just out of sorts because the lovely Miss Tomlinson prefers my company to yours."
"Not a chance, Fitzwilliam," he retorted, breaking away from the group as he entered the music room. Inside, he found Elizabeth seated beside Georgiana at the piano, and an instant smile graced his face as he gazed upon the heartwarming scene. "This," he thought, "this is what I wish to cherish for a lifetime."