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!
Also, posting chapters will begin to slow down from this point as I will be not merely editing what was previously written before.
Chapter 20
Darcy arrived at the Gardiner's home the following morning as soon as it was an acceptable hour for a visit. He had slept poorly, imagining all manner of scenarios that would take Elizabeth from him. The more he considered these possibilities, which had become more preposterous the later it had gotten, the more anxious he grew. Finally, he had fallen into an exhausted sleep though he had awakened feeling far less rested than he would have wished.
"Are you well?" Elizabeth asked nearly as soon as he entered the Gardiner's drawing room.
He kissed her hand, wishing Mrs Gardiner could be persuaded to leave the two alone at some point during his visit. "I am better now that I am in your presence. However, Fitzwilliam and I spoke after everyone left last night and he shares my concern about Wickham being involved in this now, especially once our connection becomes common knowledge. I despise deception of any kind, and having you introduced as the woman I am merely courting concerns me greatly, especially when there are several others who would seek to take you from me."
She arched her eyebrow at him in question. "Several people have a vested interest in trying to obtain your estate and inheritance. I worry about what Mr Bennet may do, especially once he realises all his planning is for nought, and I confess, the fact that Bingley is still at Netherfield adds to that sensation a little. I have spoken to my aunt and uncle about what occurred at Netherfield, but what if Bennet remembers the connection and speaks to Bingley? Is Bingley sufficiently angry at me to attempt retribution for cutting the connection? And then there is the matter of Wickham and Collins. I worry less about Collins if left to himself, but what if he is manipulated by either Wickham or Bennet to do something to harm you—something that would take you away from me."
Elizabeth sighed and pressed her hand to his briefly, looking over at her aunt, who was focused on her sewing as she allowed the couple to speak. "I worry too. I am uncertain why Mr Elliott and your uncle were so insistent on our staying in town. If Mr Bennet comes … well, I know he has no authority to order me to return to Longbourn, but I feel that I am at risk remaining here, where he expects me to be. I spoke to my uncle in the carriage last night, and he and my aunt have a similar concern but are uncertain where else I could go."
Immediately Darcy suggested his own home. "You can stay with Georgiana as her guest. I can remove to Matlock House, if your uncle and Elliott insist upon it, which is only a few houses down from my own. I would prefer to stay, as I would not want you nor Georgiana left unprotected, but my house can be a fortress if necessary. Of course, I would much prefer to remove to Derbyshire than remain where we are."
Nodding, Elizabeth squeezed the hand that he had retained in his as they spoke. "I am amenable to the change, but we will need to confirm with my relations and my guardian. I wish we could simply marry, which would alleviate most of your concerns, am I right?"
It was his turn to nod. "It would," he replied simply.
Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth came to a resolution. "I know I have not yet reached my majority, but I believe it is time I take control of my own life. Mr Elliott has signed the marriage settlement, has he not?" At Darcy's nod, she continued. "I will remove to Darcy House today, and instead of waiting a sennight or more, we should depart for Pemberley on Monday. That gives us three days, including the Sabbath, to prepare, and then we have the whole week to travel if necessary. I do not want to wait to marry, and we can either have the banns read once we arrive, or you can purchase a common licence if your vicar will allow it. Perhaps if we explain the situation, he will aid us in ensuring we can marry as quickly as possible."
"If not, we can marry as soon as someone can arrive from London with the special licence in hand. My uncle was going to do what he could to assist my solicitor in obtaining it, and I know the paperwork is already prepared to transfer your inheritance. Legally, it will be under my ownership as your husband, but the marriage settlement places it under your purview and makes you the one in control of all decisions regarding it. It also places your dowry under your control, and I will settle an additional amount on you."
"I am not even completely aware of the full amount of my dowry, though I do know it is a substantial amount. It seems unnecessary for you to settle more on me."
"It was what my father did for my mother. The funds can be used for any children—our first-born son will inherit Pemberley, and another child, son or daughter, will have Briarwood. The Darcys own two or three additional smaller estates that can be left to any subsequent children. If we have only daughters, they will have substantial dowries of their own, along with an estate, though Pemberley would be inherited by the first son of our eldest daughter, provided he takes the Darcy name."
Talk of children caused Elizabeth to blush profusely, and for several minutes she did not reply. Finally, she managed, "Then I will allow you to do as you see fit, sir."
He glanced over at Mrs Gardiner before lifting his hand to caress her cheek. "Any children we have will be well provided for, my love, and know that I will include you in all decisions that are made. In fact, once we arrive at Darcy House, I would like to review your settlement with you if you like. You should know what funds you have available and I promised to speak to you about Briarwood when we left Hertfordshire. We have been so busy with other matters we have not had a chance to do so."
Elizabeth silently agreed with his suggestion. "I would appreciate that, William. I have felt like I have not had much say in how things have gone lately, and Mr Bennet's attempts to steal my inheritance, not to mention what he has already stolen, have been upsetting. I look forward to having matters permanently settled and that there no longer be this threat hovering over me."
"When will your uncle return home? We ought to inform him of our plans. We can speak to my aunt and uncle and Mr Elliott when we meet at Matlock House for tea. My uncle asked me to come early, but I will escort you there if you do not mind."
Mrs Gardiner interjected into their conversation. "I believe you two have the right of it. This waiting around for Mr Bennet to arrive troubled me, and I told Edwin so last night. He has received several messages from Kent regarding Mr. Wickham, and he believes that gentleman will be thrown into the gaol within the week. Mr. Wickham left Kent a sennight ago, and he has not yet returned. Mr Elliott has purchased several of the markers Mr Darcy holds for the man, enough to ensure a long stay in debtors' prison, so they can keep Mr Darcy's name out of the matter as long as they can."
She looked at Mr Darcy meaningfully as she spoke, and he knew they had done so to prevent Wickham from speaking out against either Darcy sibling. Elizabeth had confessed to her aunt the truth of Wickham's actions against the Darcy family the previous night with Darcy's permission, as he recognised that she would say nothing to injure his sister. He also trusted her to tell her husband what he needed to know about the matter, as he thought it would help the Gardiners protect Elizabeth as well.
"I do wonder, however, if it would not be better to have Elizabeth housed at Matlock House instead." She held up her hand to stop the protest from the couple. "Mr Darcy, I know that you would like to have Elizabeth housed under your roof for her protection, to be the one to ensure her safety, but you also want her with you, under your own roof. However, Mr Bennet is presently aware of your involvement in this matter and might attempt to go to your house. He is not aware of the involvement of Lord Matlock and his status as an earl would do much more to ensure her safety as my brother would never think to invade the house of a peer."
Darcy frowned even as he nodded. "As much as I do want you under my roof, Elizabeth, your aunt may be correct. My aunt would be, I think, willing to house you for a few days, and perhaps, we can persuade her to wait to conduct you around town until you might do so as Mrs Darcy. If we can convince her of the need to remove to Derbyshire quickly, then she will be more likely to convince my uncle of the same. If Mrs Gardiner cannot accompany us, then perhaps she will be able to do so."
"I would prefer to wait for my husband to be able to travel. We typically travel to Longbourn for the Christmas Season and remain for a sennight, though I intended to convince Edwin to arrange for us to stay away longer since the journey is so much longer. The children will need to accompany us, which might make the journey take longer, but I would be concerned to travel so far from them."
Mrs Gardiner excused herself for a few minutes to ask a maid to begin packing Elizabeth's things. This brief time alone gave Darcy the chance he had wanted since he entered the house. "Dearest," he whispered before kissing her, managing to keep it mostly chaste after their kisses of the previous night.
Before too much time had passed, Elizabeth's trunk was loaded behind Darcy's carriage, and the three made their way toward Matlock House. Mrs Gardiner was somewhat self-conscious about intruding on the visit, which had not officially included her, but felt that she was needed to help convince Lady Matlock to do as she suggested. Mr Gardiner had returned home briefly, and he reluctantly agreed with the plans that had been made, as he had received a report from Kent that Wickham had still not returned and had most likely travelled to Hertfordshire to 'investigate' the Bennet family. This report heightened Darcy's reservations about waiting, although he understood the Sabbath would necessitate them to stay in an inn for an additional day if they departed before Monday. Resigned, he knew that Elizabeth's plan was for the best, though he continued to feel anxious.
Lady Matlock's parlour was empty when their party was announced. "Welcome," she greeted her guests. "Mrs Gardiner, I realised after you left last night that I had forgotten to extend my invitation to include you. Had you not arrived with your niece, I would have asked Darcy to send his carriage to collect you. I want to speak to you about what our men have planned. Darcy, I believe your uncle is waiting for you in his study."
"Aunt, I wanted to inform you of what Elizabeth and I have discussed with the Gardiners before I speak to my uncle." At her nod, he continued to speak. "We have decided it is best to remove Elizabeth from London. It does not make sense to leave before Monday, so early Monday morning, we will depart for Derbyshire. However, we are not certain Elizabeth is safe in the Gardiner's home since her uncle would know where to find her there. We considered Darcy House, but …" Here he trailed off to allow Lady Matlock to draw her own conclusion. She did not disappoint.
"Oh, no, she cannot stay there. Even if you were to remove to your club, her reputation would still be questioned if she stayed at your home. No, Miss Tomlinson, you must stay at Matlock House, and if you, Mrs Gardiner, cannot accompany them to Derbyshire, I will. I know that Georgiana and Mrs Annesley will travel with you as well, Darcy, but my going along will lend further respectability. There is little point in hiring a companion for Miss Tomlinson for only a week or two, though I do know someone who could serve the purpose until the two of you marry. However, a companion would be unnecessary while you are with me."
Elizabeth agreed with Lady Matlock and graciously accepted the invitation. While Mr Darcy went to his uncle, Lady Matlock showed Elizabeth and Mrs Gardiner the room that would house Elizabeth until Monday and assigned a maid to unpack her trunks.
The conversation in the study was less easy than the one in the drawing room.
"What do you mean, you are removing to Pemberley on Monday? Surely Mr Elliott did not agree with this step."
"He has not," Darcy said, his tone brooking no opposition. "In truth, I have not had the opportunity to inform him just yet. However, Elizabeth has decided there is little point in her confronting her uncle, as Elliott has the right to speak on her behalf. We can prove that he has deprived her of over three thousand pounds, though that number is likely much higher. If Elizabeth is needed to speak on her own behalf, she would still be able to as my wife."
Lord Matlock scowled his displeasure. "You can marry from London once the licence has been obtained. The archbishop implied it would be ready by Monday, so there is no need to depart."
"I would like to take Elizabeth to where I can protect her while Wickham still presents a threat. I do not trust him at all and Gardiner has been unable to locate him so far. The investigator believes he may be in Hertfordshire learning what he can about the Bennets to aid Collins in claiming Elizabeth's estate."
Lady Matlock entered the study then. "Malcolm, I will be travelling to Derbyshire along with Darcy. Mrs Gardiner is unable to travel, and my presence will lend the group respectability. If they have the licence in hand, so much the better, but I still believe they should marry at Pemberley. The court will be unlikely to take up the matter until the new year as it is. If the licence is not ready when we depart, you can follow in a day or two, bringing Elliott with you."
"You agree with our nephew?" he asked incredulously.
"What reason is there for Miss Tomlinson to speak to the uncle who has only neglected her for all these years while allowing her aunt to abuse her? Instead of telling the truth about her heritage, they allowed their neighbours to believe she was the natural child of her other uncle, knowing all the while that was untrue. They hid the truth of her parentage, and her aunt regularly spoke ill of her in her presence while her uncle hid in his library and ignored the estate. Now, he is attempting to barter his niece's inheritance for his own security, or that of his wife and daughters, instead of taking steps to provide for them himself. He is indolent, yes, but also manipulative and mean and not worthy of our notice. I suggest merely having the solicitors serve him with a writ demanding repayment of the funds and let him scramble. If we are all from London, including the Gardiners, he will waste his time looking for them, allowing us to get our nephew married. Once that is done, he can do nothing."
Grudgingly, Lord Matlock admitted her plan had merit. He sent a note to the archbishop regarding the licence and, after receiving assurance it would be ready on Monday, sent a note to Elliott requesting his attendance as they finalised the plans for travel.
A/N: I'm trying not to make this too complicated or too angst-ridden. Mr Bennet is awful, Mrs Bennet not any less so. Mr Collins is a fool, and Wickham is devious but not particularly bright. Don't worry, all will get their comeuppance-even the Bingleys-and D&E will have their HEA. The story is half done, if not a little further along.