Chapter 54: Return
Darcy was relieved to see Elizabeth and Lord Anderson smiling as they emerged from the carriage. During the last half hour of their journey, father and daughter conversed on various other topics rather than their personal lives, and Elizabeth looked forward to spending more time with him. Lady Martha and the rest of the family welcomed them with warmth. The children ran up to Elizabeth with excitement.
"Miss Smith," they cried as they threw themselves at her.
Elizabeth embraced them joyfully and was happy to see they were well. Lady Isabella and Lord Ashton stood together, and it was clear to Elizabeth that they had resolved their differences.
"It is good to see you return in happy spirits, Miss Smith. We have missed you and my brother here," Mr. Anderson said.
Lord Anderson excused himself and headed upstairs, understanding his wife and daughter had no intention of receiving them.
"My dearest niece, how have you been? I cannot tell how we missed you," Lady Martha cried.
"I have missed you too. I am glad to be back in Ashton Park," Elizabeth exclaimed.
"Lizzy, do not be so joyous; I am certain you will have to miss Ashton Park again in some weeks," Georgiana said.
"That reminds me, Fitzwilliam, which date are you inclined towards? You did mention some in your letters."
"We should be able to decide in a couple of days, and we have a large party travelling for the wedding; I must make arrangements for the same. And we must be heading on our way to Pemberley," he said, finishing his tea.
"Won't you stay for dinner?" Lord Ashton asked, and as much as Darcy wanted to stay with Elizabeth, he had several matters to attend to, and Elizabeth hugged Georgiana when they left.
"I will miss you, Lizzy."
"I cannot thank you enough for the support you have given me throughout this journey. Your brother is very proud of you," Elizabeth said.
When she walked along with Darcy to send them off, Darcy kept looking behind.
"What is it, Fitzwilliam?"
"I am waiting for Lady Martha to dispatch a maid to follow us," he said in a serious tone, making Elizabeth laugh.
"I am truly glad that you and your father are getting to know each other better," he said.
"We are, and I hope things will be better in the future."
"I feel comforted to leave you here now that you are under your father's protection," he said, kissing her hand.
"I do not know whether what I say now would be sufficient for all that you have done for me in the past weeks; thank you," she said and touched his sleeve.
"You do not have to thank me for anything; you are well aware of that. I insist you rest; we have had a long trip, and I do not want you to exhaust yourself."
Elizabeth watched as Darcy left and wondered how her life would have been had she not met him. That day, she spent a lot of time with the children and met the new governess Lady Martha had appointed. She was an older woman, but the children liked her, and Elizabeth was happy with her choice.
Elizabeth finally met Lady Anderson and her daughter during supper. Both greeted her formally, but she could sense the resentment in their eyes. She understood that their civility was due to Lord Anderson's insistence. Despite his family's disapproval, his behavior towards her did not change while in their company.
That night, Elizabeth sat with Lady Martha and enjoyed a long conversation. Even though they had communicated frequently while she was in town, they were engrossed in hearing each other's stories.
"Yes, she left with her parents, and I tried to convince Philip to reconcile with her. He was very adamant until the children asked for her; it also surprised me. Even though she had never spent time with them since their marriage, Edmund and Emily wanted to know why she had left. Philip tried his best to explain and make them understand, but he could sense that his decision impacted them. Finally, he wrote to ask her to return, and honestly Elizabeth, she has tried her best to make up for the lost time. She seems to be a different person now, without her secret weighing down on her actions."
"I am so glad; I am certain the children will be happy with her."
"Now, let us come to my brother; he seems happy after returning from town. Irrespective of all that has happened. I understand you both have resolved everything," she said with happiness.
"I assure you, there is a long way to go, but I no longer hate him," Elizabeth said.
"He is a good man; our parents never understood him and forced him to do many things for the sake of status and society. I never understood why he was so depressed in life after his marriage. I wish fate had been kinder towards him and your mother, but when I think about it, you travelling here out of all the places in the country is beyond belief."
"It truly is; it seems as though I came home," she said.
"You deserve all the happiness coming your way, my dear. Had you not saved Lady Isabella that day, our family would have never recovered from another loss."
"Please do not even think about something as horrific as that. I must ask you, how is Lady Anderson and her daughter? It must have been painful for them to stay here without him. I can clearly see they still cannot accept me; honestly, I do not expect them to."
"I did have some conversation with Augusta, but her anger has not subsided, nor is she willing to forgive her husband. They expected to leave when Mark returned; they did not expect Mark to stay for your wedding."
"It must be very unpleasant for them to see me every day."
"That is not your concern, my dear. Please do not ruin the happy days before your marriage with things you have no control over. My brother would never let them cause you any distress; I assure you of that. You must be exhausted. I suggest you sleep well; there are many matters to discuss about your wedding, and I have not been this excited in years."
Elizabeth smiled, seeing the excitement on Lady Martha's face.
"Go on, my dear, sleep well," she said, and to her surprise Elizabeth hugged her.
"Good night, Aunt Martha," she said and left the room, much to her aunt's surprise.
Within a couple of days, the date for the wedding was finalized, and it was decided that Darcy and Elizabeth would marry a few days before Christmas. All the preparations were in full swing, and the party from London was to arrive a week before the wedding. Elizabeth was impatient to see Mary and Charlotte.
Darcy meticulously planned every detail regarding the wedding and supervised preparations for the arrival of the guests.
Meanwhile, in Ashton Park, Elizabeth established a routine of spending time with her father whenever possible. Lady Anderson and her daughter avoided her company and kept to themselves.
One morning, Lord Anderson and Lady Martha summoned Elizabeth to the study.
"Good morning, my dear!" Lady Martha said.
"Good morning; I understand you both wish to speak with me. Is something wrong?" she asked, observing the look on her father's face.
"No, nothing is. We wish to discuss something with you and decide accordingly. It is always a tradition to have an engagement party at Ashton Park for any wedding in the family, and we intend to host yours here."
"Do you think it is necessary? Our engagement was already announced in Pemberley."
"Well, that is what we would like to discuss," Lady Martha said. She looked at her brother and continued, "When your engagement was announced, you were addressed as Miss Smith, and now maybe it is time to change that."
"Elizabeth, I want to declare to the world that you are my daughter before you become Mrs. Darcy."
"I am very certain that everyone is aware of it by now."
"Not everyone. This would be an official announcement, and I wish to do it because I owe it to Sarah. I cannot let you get married as Miss Smith."
"All these do not matter to me, and you know that. Please do not assume that I am insulting you; the status, wealth, or right I get because of this is trivial to me. You have already given me what I need: your love and affection."
"I am well aware of your sentiments, but this is important for me as a father, and this is the right time to do it. Please do not assume I am doing this for Mr. Darcy as well. You are my daughter, and as late as it may be in your life, I want everyone to know that you have a father who would do anything for you."
Elizabeth stayed silent as she knew this would increase the animosity with his wife and daughter.
"Elizabeth, what are you thinking?" Lady Martha asked.
"I am not certain."
"All right, let's assume you get married as Miss Smith, and you regret the decision at some point in the future; there is no way we can make it right then. Please do not hesitate."
Elizabeth thought about it; more than her father's wishes, she felt she owed it to Darcy, who was willing to marry her as a governess.
I must do this for him; after all, I rejected his proposal initially because of the scrutiny he would face in society because of my status.
"Very well! I agree," she said, much to the joy of her father and aunt.
Lady Anderson was enraged when she heard the news and argued with her husband relentlessly.
"You will not leave before that girl's marriage. Now you want to declare to the world that she is your daughter and Beatrice is not?" she cried angrily.
"I am only declaring that she is my daughter; I am not disowning Beatrice. Augusta, after all these years, how could you doubt my affection for Beatrice? How many times am I to tell you that Elizabeth, being my daughter, will not change anything between us? I have always protected and respected you as my wife and showered my love and affection on her as my daughter. How could you doubt that I would change?"
"Because everything changes, you never cared for her like you do now. And that girl who acted as though she despised you and did not want anything from you now behaves the opposite way. Can't you see, everything is an act? She made you believe that she was innocent and trapped you, just like her mother."
"Enough! I will not have you say a word against Elizabeth or Sarah. You are pushing me beyond the limit, and I do not know when my patience will run out."
"What will you do, Mark, if it runs out?"
"I have committed many mistakes in life before, and don't be the sole reason for me to commit another which may impact our lives forever."
"What do you mean?" she asked in horror.
"You very well know what I mean," he said, leaving the room as his wife sank into the chair in despair.
Elizabeth was surprised when a servant requested her presence in Lady Anderson's room one afternoon. She wondered what the matter was and was well aware that her father was not in the house.
When she entered, she saw Lady Anderson's countenance brimming with anger and resentment. Her eyes were cold and spiteful.
"I understand that you wish to see me," Elizabeth said, trying to keep calm.
"Do not think I will fall for your act like my husband. I know women like you very well; you were nobody a month ago, and now you want to claim the position of Lord Anderson's daughter. You want me and my daughter to vanish from his life, don't you?"
"Please be sensible in your accusations; I never wanted any of this."
"Then what happened in London that changed your mind? You are marrying the most eligible man in the entire country; you have his wealth and status at your disposal. Why can't you leave my husband alone? We should have been in Scotland by now, but I cannot make him leave this place, all because of you."
"You know very well that he will leave with you soon. You are his family; he will never forsake you because of me."
"He already has; he cannot look at us like before; he is prioritizing only you and is planning this stupid engagement party to satisfy your pride. You want to prove to the world that my daughter and I have no place in his life, and that is why you have agreed to this."
"I am sorry you feel this way, but that is not my intention, and I need not speak on behalf of Lord Anderson. Having lived with him all these years, you must better understand his character."
"Ask him to stop this party, now. I do not care about your marriage with Mr. Darcy anymore; with the amount of people you have hurt, I doubt whether you can ever be happy in the future."
Elizabeth took a deep breath and composed herself.
"I can see that you perceive me as a threat, but I am not. You may not trust him; of course, you have your reasons, but I do. He will never forsake you or your daughter, nor will his regard lessen because of me," she said and turned to leave.
"Beatrice wants to end her life," Lady Anderson cried with pain.
"What?"
"Yes, she talks about it all the time, my poor innocent girl. She cannot bear to see you with her father, and the very mention of your name pains her. If something happens to her, you are responsible, and do not doubt me; I will not spare your life if my daughter hurts herself because of you. Promise me, this party will not happen, nor will he make any official announcement about you."
"I hope you can protect Miss Anderson from making a foolish decision, and I apologize; I cannot make any promise of this kind," she said. She left the room and headed to Lady Martha.
Lady Anderson's words worried her, and she wondered if the party should be canceled. Lady Martha listened keenly to what Elizabeth had to say.
"And do you think you are the only one she threatened this way?" she asked Elizabeth.
"I do not understand."
"Since you left for town, time and again, she has been saying the same to me. And she has threatened Mark with the same."
"It is not easy to brush this aside; what if Miss Anderson does something to herself."
"I am not brushing it aside. I care about Beatrice, too, but this is an empty threat. After your marriage, they will be in better spirits once they return to Scotland. I can understand their animosity towards you, but they must accept that you are Mark's daughter, and his relationship with you can never be broken."
"Somehow, I am worried; maybe I must speak with my father and see if we can cancel this party."
"Do not be ridiculous, Elizabeth. You are worrying for nothing. I will address this matter with Mark, but if he knows that Lady Anderson had this conversation with you, he might get furious."
"Oh! Yes, please do not mention that I said anything. I am just worried; I do not want my happiness to be a cause for someone else's misery," Lary Martha smiled, admiring her niece more than ever.
The engagement party was fast approaching, and the large guests were expected to arrive a few days before the party. Georgiana requested Elizabeth's assistance in making some arrangements. Elizabeth decided to spend some time in Pemberley helping her, and Lord Anderson and Lady Martha accompanied her one morning to visit the estate.
Though Darcy and Georgiana had frequently visited Ashton Park, this was Elizabeth's first visit to Pemberley after their return from town.
Darcy and Elizabeth struggled to maintain composure amongst the others, as the wedding was just around the corner. At the same time, Darcy longed to be alone with her but understood very well why Lady Martha had made an effort to accompany Elizabeth.
Once they had tea, the men left for the study, and Georgiana took Elizabeth upstairs. She showed her the guest rooms and the other arrangements she had made.
"I am so excited to see Mary again; I hope she can stay longer than planned," Georgiana exclaimed.
"I am not certain, as Mr. Bingley plans to take her on their honeymoon."
"I wonder where Fitzwilliam plans to take you," she said
"We do not have any plans to go on a honeymoon, Georgiana."
"You may not, but my brother definitely has, and I can sense it," she said.
Georgiana showed the dresses she had bought for the wedding and the engagement party.
"These are so elegant; the yellow one will suit you beautifully," Elizabeth said, admiring her choices.
"I cannot wait for you to live in Pemberley, Lizzy. Imagine, we can spend the whole day together," Georgiana said innocently, and Elizabeth smiled, wondering what her brother's opinion would be about the same.
Finally, Georgiana took Elizabeth to the storage room on the upper floor, where she showed her some new curtains and sheets that had arrived for the guests.
"I am not certain which one I must use. Mrs. Reynolds usually leaves it to my choice, but we have not hosted so many guests in a very long time. I am worried that I may do something wrong. Here, all these are new; I need your assistance with this. There was another set with lace; maybe the servants placed it in one of the guest rooms. I thought it would be nice for the room your cousins would occupy. I hope they did not misplace it somewhere. Lizzy, give me a few minutes. I will find those and return soon," she said, leaving Elizabeth alone.
Elizabeth kept herself busy, selected some curtains based on her choice, and heard the door open.
"I have selected these, Georgiana. Honestly, I understand why you felt it difficult to make a choice; all of them are so beautiful," she said, assuming it was Georgiana.
"Is that so?" someone whispered into her ears, making Elizabeth jump. She turned around and faced Darcy.
"Fitzwilliam? You scared me," she cried, trying to calm herself.
"I promise you, that was not my intention," he said.
Elizabeth suddenly felt very nervous in his presence. She could see something in his eyes that she had not witnessed before.
Darcy slowly stepped towards her, and she instinctively moved away from him, as her steps retreated she felt the wall against her back.
Where is Georgiana?
Darcy did not stop until he reached her and blocked her from moving away. He said nothing, but the passion in his eyes made Elizabeth tremble.
"Fitzwilliam, I must leave."
"Why?" he asked, bending towards her lips.
"I…I.."
He gently touched her cheeks, and her hands held on to his coat for support as she closed her eyes, aware of what would happen.
"Look at me," he said.
Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes, and Darcy did not waste a moment as he kissed her on her cheek ever so gently. Elizabeth felt intoxicated by his scent. He traced his finger along her jaw and lifted her chin.
"I assure you, this is all I intended to do. Do not be scared," he said, noticing her discomfort.
"This all you say, sir. I must remind you that if Lady Martha sees us, she may ask us to get married tomorrow," she said.
"I dare say your warning is more of an encouragement for me to kiss you again if the punishment will result in our marriage," he said, teasing her.
I have been alone in his company many times, and he has never kissed me.
"What are you thinking, my dear?"
"You have never… I mean…"
"I never attempted to kiss you before? Is that right?"
Elizabeth nodded.
"If you think I did not want to, then you are a simpleton. I wanted to; every moment I spent alone with you was a battle of self-control. But I could not act per my wishes as I considered you my sole responsibility then."
"And what changed now?"
"Well, you have your father to protect you, and I can freely enjoy my pursuits until we are married."
"I must remind you, my father is a very angry man. If he knows what you did right now, you may have to face his wrath," she said, playfully pushing him away.
He caught her and pulled her into his arms.
"I cannot wait for you to become a part of this house permanently; you cannot imagine how lost I feel without you," he said. Just then, they heard footsteps outside and quickly moved away from each other.
Georgiana entered and looked surprised at her brother's presence.
"Fitzwilliam, what are you doing here?" she asked innocently.
"He was helping me decide on whether we should go with the peach or lavender tablecloths," Elizabeth said.
Georgiana looked at him, puzzled, and Darcy immediately left them.
"He is behaving really strange these days, Lizzy," Georgiana said.
"I assure you I feel the same way," Elizabeth replied, suppressing her smile.