Mrs. Campbell gasped with excitement as she read Lord Hertford's note inviting her and her daughter to Gunter's. Until a few weeks ago, their acceptance in the first circles of London had been limited, and overnight, one of the most powerful men in the Kingdom invited her and Marianne to Gunter's!
Mr. Campbell, who was reading the newspaper when her wife gasped, looked at her with curiosity, but before he could ask her about the reason for her excitement, she went off to find Marianne to tell her the good news.
PPP
Mr. Campbell was very much in love when he married his wife close to 25 years ago. They were happy, but one day, a few months after Marianne's birth, everything changed. He had gone to White's to meet a friend, and there he met some acquaintances from university who invited him to go to Madame Dupree's. At first, he refused since he loved his wife; they were happy together, and he could not conceive of being unfaithful to her. Unfortunately, after his acquaintances made several jokes and made fun of him, adding to the fact that he had drunk more than usual, he went with them. That was one of his worst mistakes. Unfortunately, he fell asleep after having sex with a courtesan and arrived home around 9:00 in the morning. He was dishevelled, with a woman's cheap perfume impregnating his skin. His wife had been very worried about him, and it was apparent she had not slept at all that night and had been crying. She had sent a servant to White's hours ago but was told that Mr. Campbell had left several hours earlier with other gentlemen.
From then on, the excellent relationship between them broke forever. Mrs. Campbell refused to be intimate with him again until a doctor assured her he had no disease. After three months, they were finally intimate again. Unfortunately, the experience was unpleasant since she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling the whole time.
He apologized to her several times and expressed his deep regrets for his actions, but over time he realized that she no longer trusted or loved him, and she never would again.
The relationship between them continued to deteriorate; his previously affectionate wife now treated him with indifference and avoided seeing him as much as possible. Their marriage was permanently destroyed, and he was the main reason why.
A year later, he was deeply depressed by the situation with his wife and made another huge mistake. He had his first mistress, who lasted two years, but unfortunately, that woman went to his house claiming she was pregnant and asked for money. It was a lie, but the situation was humiliating for his wife, and he felt intense remorse for his actions.
A year later, he had his second mistress for five years; after that, he had three more mistresses. The current one was twenty years younger than him. She was undoubtedly a beautiful woman and experienced in the art of love. Ironically, the problem was that none of his mistresses made him feel a tenth of the happiness and joy he had felt before that fateful night years ago.
His punishment was that, despite the years and all the mistresses, he was still very much in love with his wife and would be forever.
Late December 1811–February 1812
It is common knowledge that gossip about 'forbidden romances' was the most exciting and entertaining. In the salons of London's high society, the Ladies and some gentlemen were not talking about the Darcys or Miss Bennet but about the alleged romance between Lord Hertford and Mrs. Campbell. Several ladies had seen them together at Gunter's and claimed they had been lovers for years.
Upon hearing the rumour, Mrs. Campbell was initially horrified but later found the situation amusing. At least the Ton thought her 'lover' was one of the most powerful men in the Kingdom, unlike her husband, who only kept a cheap understudy actress.
Several Ladies who had hitherto ignored her began sending invitations to tea and visits, their agenda being to ask her questions about the Marquess. Mrs. Campbell always replied the same: He was a gallant gentleman, but they were not lovers. Obviously, no one in society believed her.
For his part, several of Mr. Campbell's acquaintances made allusions to him about his wife's affair with Lord Hertford. Needless to say, Mr. Campbell was distraught and jealous, though he had no right to be. He completely understood the humiliation he had put his wife through, and in his case, it was worse since he had cheated on her early in their marriage with a prostitute and then kept several women over the years.
Near the end of December, Elizabeth's cousin, on winter break from his first year attending Oxford, arrived in London to visit his parents for a few weeks' holiday. He took a liking to Darcy as soon as they met, and though Gabriel was only 18, he was pretty taken with Georgiana.
Darcy and Elizabeth continued their courtship through January and had opportunities to participate in various events of the season. At one point, they were invited to Lord Hertford's box, along with Harrison and Marianne Campbell, and Darcy gave Georgiana special permission to accompany them as well.
Since Marianne Campbell was a beautiful and sweet young woman and her family was friendly with Lord Hertford, many gentlemen became interested in courting her. To Mrs. Campbell's surprise, the son of an earl and a baron were among them, but her daughter was not interested in any of them.
In early February, Darcy received a letter from his cousin, Richard Fitzwilliam, with the news that Anne had died. A few months ago, his cousin agreed to marry Anne to prevent Rosings from returning to the hands of the de Bourghs and Lady Catherine from being evicted. Richard was now a widower and Rosings' owner.