Upon my word, will you look at this - a second chapter in less than 24 hours, and the third one in a week! My Muse is suddenly on fire, and you can bet I am gonna feed the flame for as long as it burns.
ODG was being a stubborn fool last chapter, was she not? And a bit hypocritical of her to abuse Darcy for the past when she had, on previous occasions, praised him for being changed. Methinks our heroine is a little frightened by how quickly Darcy is charming his way into her heart - not too unlike her dear, departed husband did ten years before.
In this chapter, Darcy reflects and gets some advice on how to proceed.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Darcy's staff knew him well enough after their many years of service to know when his mood was dark.
On Monday, therefore, they knew as soon as he returned from his outing that it had not gone as their master expected it to. Mrs. Tolliver, his housekeeper, saw his sour expression through the front window of Darcy House and alerted her husband, who was the butler. Mr. Tolliver hurried to the study to make sure all the bottles of brandy, port, and whiskey were full and the glasses for drinking them clean, even though it was well before a respectable drinking hour. A parlor maid accompanied him to light a fire and ensure all the surfaces were dust-free.
Vincent, Mr. Darcy's valet, was stepping into the entry hall just as Darcy was entering the house. He bowed respectfully and moved to help his master doff his greatcoat.
"Thank you, Vincent," said the master in a terse voice. "I shall be in my study—see to it I am not disturbed. Unless my daughter needs me, of course."
Vincent nodded. "Of course, sir. I shall convey your message to Mr. and Mrs. Tolliver."
Darcy approved this statement with a curt nod and proceeded further into the house. Vincent stifled a sigh and started for the cloakroom, where he was met by the Tollivers.
After the valet conveyed his master's orders, the couple looked at one another, then the lady said, "I'll go on up to the schoolroom and have a word with Mrs. Annesley."
"Aye, and I'll not be putting the knocker on the door," said her husband.
"I wonder what happened that put the master in a foul disposition?" Mrs. Tolliver mused.
"Did I not know any better," said Vincent, "I'd think Mr. Darcy was disappointed by a lady."
"He has called on that Lady Stashwick a fair number of times. Maybe she's given him the what-for?" suggested the housekeeper.
"Now don't you two go gossiping about like a couple of busybodies with nothing better to do," warned Mr. Tolliver. "Let us all get back to work at once."
Knowing the cost of Mr. Darcy catching them gossiping—especially about his private affairs—the butler's wife and the valet followed his lead and returned to their regular duties immediately.
-…-
By dinnertime, Darcy's mood was less sour, and he was able to sit at table with Clara and Mrs. Annesley with greater equanimity.
"Papa, did you take flowers to the lady like you said?" his daughter asked with a hopeful tone.
Darcy blinked, having forgotten that he'd mentioned his errand to her. "I did, yes," he replied smoothly.
"Did she like them? I bet she liked them very much!"
He swallowed, not wanting to lie to Clara, but equally not wanting to dwell on what had happened. After a moment, he replied, "Lady Stashwick was not in when I arrived, I'm afraid."
That much is true, Darcy told himself. She doesn't need to know that the bloody past came back to haunt me.
Clara was thoughtful as she ate a mouthful of food. When she had swallowed, she said, "I am sure she liked them, because she liked the flowers we took that first time. Papa, can we call on the lady and my friends soon, or have them here?"
Darcy took a drink of his wine to give himself a moment to formulate a response and recalled that Elizabeth's relations had mentioned she was visiting hospitals that morning.
"I do not know when we might see them again," he said slowly. "Lady Stashwick is taking up her charitable work and it may keep her very busy. She was visiting hospitals today to determine if they should receive donations."
"But Papa, we have to see them again!" Clara cried. "How else can we make the lady love us if we don't spend time with them?"
Mrs. Annesley was clearly startled by this declaration, but she quickly schooled her features to keep Clara from noticing. Darcy struggled not to grimace as he wondered if it were even possible to achieve his daughter's wish, given the way Elizabeth had so stubbornly abused him for his past actions. How could she now be holding his mistakes against him when in previous meetings she had praised him for how much he had changed?
It then occurred to him that her behavior that morning might have been some sort of defense mechanism. After all, she had been rather vocal about having no inclination toward a second marriage—was it possible that she was already developing feelings for him, and was rebelling against the idea that her heart could be opened twice in one lifetime? How could she possibly dismiss the idea of a second attachment when she had been Henry Faulkner's second wife?
Or was it much simpler than that, and she just wasn't ready to move on? Did he still have hope if he just remained patient, as he had pledged to her on Saturday?
He was as reluctant to find out as he was eager, and thus found himself at a loss as to what to do next.
Darcy's own business kept him occupied for much of Tuesday, and it was not until Clara was down for a nap about one o'clock that he had anything resembling a moment to himself. His reprieve was interrupted by the arrival of Colonel Fitzwilliam.
"So, Will, how goes the courtship of my young aunt?" his cousin asked as soon as they were alone in the study.
Darcy felt himself frown. "It does not go at all, I'm afraid," he said, endeavouring to keep any hint of resentment or bitterness from his voice.
"What happened?" Fitzwilliam asked. "You told me after Sunday service that you thought she was warming to the idea of a courtship."
"And I believed it at the time, Theo," Darcy conceded. "However, when I called at Stashwick House yesterday, I learned that something or someone had reminded her of my unfortunate behavior when first we met, and Elizabeth was transfixed by my thinking her beneath me until such time as someone of greater consequence showed her interest."
Fitzwilliam's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. "Good gracious, did she really say that?"
Darcy nodded, then recalled for his cousin the details of his brief meeting with Elizabeth the day before. "Her accusation is not entirely accurate, but it is also not entirely wrong. I knew that I loved her before your uncle made his intentions towards her clear, but I must own that it was his pursuit of her that helped me realize I could have done the bloody same and said to the devil with society's opinion of the match."
Fitzwilliam nodded slowly. "Yes, I recall you saying something to that extent back then when I asked why you weren't attending their wedding." He then sat back in his chair with a huff. "I'm sorry to hear this, Darcy. What, if anything, do you plan to do about it?"
Darcy sat back in his own chair, rubbing a hand over his face has he did so, and sighed heavily. "I don't know, Theo," he bemoaned. "I know she intends to be at Almack's tomorrow evening for the ball to debut her cousin Miss Gardiner, but given her present disapprobation, I do not know that she will consent to dance with me."
Fitzwilliam scoffed. "Oh, come now, Will!" said he. "I am sure that Lizzy will still dance with you, if only to be civil. Consider it an opportunity to remind her that you are a changed man."
"But how, Theo? How am I to convince her?"
His cousin sighed. "I'm afraid I cannot help you there. Maybe just… I don't know, point out that no one is the same person now that they were then—not even her. Henry's wealth and consequence may have mattered less to her than his affection for her, but they have changed her. Lizzy has the power to make a difference with her rank and fortune that she didn't have before her marriage, and she certainly has used them both to advantage."
"In all the right ways," Darcy said.
"Aye," agreed Fitzwilliam. "She is affecting change for the better in the local hospitals and in education and employment training for the poor like no one else in this ruddy town. She could not have done near so much without the consequence her marriage to my uncle gave her."
"True enough, Theo, but having the power to affect change has not altered her character her in essentials," Darcy said then.
"Perhaps not, but I daresay she is less prejudicial than she used to be—and you are less full of your own self-importance."
Darcy snorted. "You mean that I am less arrogant and conceited."
Fitzwilliam grinned. "You said it, not me."
"I have Elizabeth to thank for that, you know. I don't know that even Marian would have accepted me had I not had my eyes opened to how my behavior affected others' perceptions of me."
"You did always say that you wanted a partner in life, and not just a submissive little mouse who married you for your fortune and connections," Fitzwilliam mused.
"Yes," said Darcy with a nod. "And Marian was of the same mind. She knew what her role as a young lady of society was, what was expected of her as a wife, but she brooked no fools. We'd not have gone on well enough to make it to marriage, had we not been so much alike."
"You and Elizabeth are as much alike as you and Marian were, if not more so," observed Fitzwilliam.
Darcy smiled. "I like to think so," said he. "I have the utmost admiration for all the charitable work she has done, and she is a truly remarkable mother to her children. One sees it immediately in how well-mannered and accomplished they are at their ages."
Fitzwilliam grinned. "My little cousins will be among the best members of society in years to come, that much is certain."
The colonel then rubbed a hand over his chin. "You know, I've just had an idea of how you might be able to get back in my young aunt's good graces."
Darcy arched an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"
"Apologize to her," his cousin said simply. "You are sorry for thinking her unsuitable a match for you, are you not?"
"Of course, I am!" Darcy replied.
"Then tell her so and be earnest in your regret—that is my advice to you, cousin," Fitzwilliam said. "Doesn't matter that the offence is nearly eleven years old, just say how sorry you are and ask her to give you a chance to prove that her title and fortune are not what you love about her."
A sigh escaped him, and then Darcy nodded. "Thank you, Theo. I confess that I was half tempted to not even attend the ball tomorrow."
"Oi, no cousin of mine is going to be a coward and avoid a ball because a certain woman will be there!" said Fitzwilliam with a snort. "If that were so, you'd never have been in the same ballroom with Caroline Bingley, let alone stood up with her in any of them."
Darcy had to laugh. "You know very well that I only ever tolerated that woman because she was my friend's sister. Thank goodness she's married now."
Fitzwilliam scoffed. "As if that will stop her! You do know that Lady Dornan is rumored to have near as many lovers as her husband."
Darcy's brows rose in surprise even as he recalled Sir Frederick having spoken of his affairs at Bingley's dinner party. "Is that so?"
"Oh yes. He broke their marriage vows first, but it is very likely that their daughter Phoebe was sired by Humphrey Travers."
Darcy snorted. "And he had the audacity to come at me at the theatre regarding my association with Elizabeth," he muttered.
"Indeed, that was rather brazen of him," Fitzwilliam agreed, before clapping his hands together and standing. "Well, now that I've an idea where things stand in your quest to win the fair Elizabeth's heart, I shall be going. Antoinette has a meeting with the Niles sisters about investing in their sporting club for ladies, and I promised I would be at home to keep the boys from driving my mother mad."
"I wonder if Elizabeth will be there—she mentioned having a meeting with the sisters at dinner on Saturday," Darcy said. "She intends to invest in the club as well."
"I'll send word if Antoinette mentions having seen her; perhaps she'll have some advice as to Elizabeth's state of mind."
"Do be subtle in your inquiries, Theodore, even when it is your wife to whom you speak," Darcy pleaded. "And I beg you would not speak of this to your parents, or anyone else for that matter."
His cousin held his gaze for a moment. "I'll not break your confidence again, Darcy, you have my word."
"Thank you," Darcy replied, and after a nod of his head, the colonel left.
As soon as Fitzwilliam was gone, a sudden memory flashed before his mind's eye and Darcy rummaged in the drawer where he kept personal correspondence for the note he'd received from his brother-in-law; a moment later he groaned. He was engaged to dine at the Hannings' that evening. He was not in the mood to put up with his mother-in-law's attempts at matchmaking and he'd not had the chance to ask Elizabeth if she would join him, but he had no legitimate reason for backing out.
I'll just have to endure it as best I can, he thought as he returned the note to the drawer. He still thought very fondly of Marian's mother so had no wish to be rude, and though he wasn't as close with Albert as he had been at university, they were still on very friendly terms—enough that his brother had warned him about the matchmaking. Darcy determined to be genial and polite, but he would not put himself forward with any of the ladies, especially the cousin. He would make a point of speaking more to the men of the party than the women, as far as civility allowed, in the hope of discouraging Mrs. Hanning from making any other attempt to match him with some young lady of her acquaintance.
Fortune chose to give Darcy a reprieve after the terrible reception at Stashwick House in the absence from the Hannings' dinner party of the very cousin to whom his mother-in-law wished to introduce him. Albert drew him aside and informed him that his cousin Rebecca would not be in attendance due to having come down with a cold.
"Mother is quite put out, though she can hardly blame the poor girl for being ill," said his brother.
"Indeed, Albert," Darcy agreed. "Though I am relieved to be spared from having to display my indifference towards the young lady. It's not her fault that my affections are engaged elsewhere."
Albert's eyes widened. "Do you mean to say that you are courting Lady Stashwick? Bold of you, Darcy!" he whispered.
"It is my intention to yes," Darcy replied, also keeping his voice low. "Our first few meetings were purely for the purpose of enabling Clara to make friends, but when one is in company with Lady Stashwick, you simply cannot help but admire her intelligence, her compassion, her wit…"
"And her beauty, I daresay," said Albert with a grin.
"I have always thought her beautiful, ever since our first meeting more than ten years ago," Darcy confessed. "But maturity and motherhood have been extraordinarily kind to her and made her even more so. I like Lady Stashwick very much."
"And you've been a widower far too long, brother. Marian would be pleased."
Darcy regarded his companion seriously. "Do you think so?"
Albert nodded. "I do. Look, I know you and my sister weren't a love match—Marian knew it as well."
"Albert, I had the deepest respect and admiration for Marian—"
"I know you did, and so did she," Albert interjected. "She also felt the same about you, and I am sure she had as much hope of your coming to love each other in time as I daresay you did."
"I did, brother. I wanted to love her as she deserved to be loved," Darcy confessed.
Albert nodded again. "And as I said, she felt the same about you. It is no fault of yours or hers that God chose to call her home when He did, preventing you from discovering if your hopes could be realized. Now, the reason I mention this at all, Darcy, is because I know that my sister would have wished you to find happiness in her absence. She would have wished for her daughter to know the benefits of a mother's love."
He lifted a hand to Darcy's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "So, brother, if your heart is fixed on the Marchioness of Stashwick, I wish you all the luck in the world."
Darcy sighed and lifted his lips in a smile of relief—a part of him had worried over what Marian's family would think of his choice.
"Thank you, Albert," he said. "Do me a favor, if you would, and keep this to yourself for the present. As you know, Lady Stashwick is only recently out of mourning and I must exercise patience in giving her time to get used to the idea of being courted again."
"You have my word," Albert agreed. "But if I may, try not to take too long in securing the lady's affections, or my mother will continue trying to match you up with some cousin or other of mine."
Darcy had to laugh. "I will keep that in mind."