A Peculiar Connection (35 page)

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At last, we reached Longbourn. I do not know who was happier to see us—the Gardiner children or Mamá. Relief covered my mother’s countenance. Mary and Kitty seemed none the worse for the duties I knew she had fobbed off on them, but I doubted either of them would regret giving up their charges in favour of their own pursuits once again.

My parents seemed surprised that Mr. Darcy and Georgiana accepted their invitation for supper that evening before going to Netherfield, but once Mamá was assured that Hill could cover the extra company, she rallied to entertain such prominent guests. Her attitude toward Mr. Darcy had long since softened when she learned he and I were related, and she no longer railed against his proud, arrogant manners. Now, she professed they were his right as long as there was a chance he might procure a suitable husband for me.

Once dinner was over and the men repaired to Papá’s study, I found myself growing uneasy. The three men seemed to tarry much longer than usual over their brandy. At last, they emerged. My uncle and Mr. Darcy smiled at me, and I saw the light in my betrothed’s eyes. Papá, however, wore a downcast expression as he beckoned for me to join him.

I dreaded this private conversation between us but for the fact that it would secure my engagement to the man I loved. As soon as I closed the door, Papá fulfilled my apprehensions.

“Lizzy, are you out of your mind, accepting this man? Oh, I gave him my consent. One does not refuse such a man. We all know him to be a proud, disagreeable fellow, but if you like him, that does not signify. However, if you do not… Oh, my dear, let me not bear the burden of seeing you enter into a marriage with a man you cannot respect.”

“Is that your only cause for disapproval?”

“Yes, of course. Now that we know the whole of the story, no impediment exists. If you truly like the man, well—”

“I do…I do like him. I love him. Indeed, he has no improper pride. If you only knew how generous he is. He is simply the best man I have ever known.”

Papá blinked several times and patted my shoulder. “Well then, my dear, I am glad I was wrong. I could not bear to part with you to anyone less.” He walked around the desk and sat down, sighing deeply. I rose to leave when he called me back.

“Mr. Darcy informed me that you found your father.”

“Yes.” I waited to see what else he might say.

“I trust he is a good man.”

I looked him straight in the eye. “A very good man.”

“I am glad, Lizzy.”

“Is that all?”

He nodded and waved his hand to dismiss me. I turned to leave but not before I saw the sadness descend upon his countenance.
I should comfort him
, I thought, but I did not. I walked out the door without another word.

Why did I persist in that implacable resistance to forgive him? My head told me that Papá had acted in all good conscience, that he had rescued me from an unknown future. He had given me the home and name of a gentleman. Still, my heart remained bitter.

I thought of how close we had once been. I had known his thoughts before he spoke, for our minds were much alike. Our shared amusement at the foibles of others, our proclivity for the same books, and our like sense of humour had set us apart from Mamá and my sisters. Even the bond between Jane and me had never been the same as that between Papá and me. Perhaps that is why his silence resounded in my heart as betrayal. I had thought he would never keep the truth from me, especially about a matter as important as my birth.

Within a matter of moments, Papá left his study and followed me into the drawing room, where he shocked my mother with the announcement that Mr. Darcy and I were to be married. I shall not bore you with a recital of how she was stricken mute for at least a full five minutes and then proceeded to gush with enthusiasm over such a union. If one dismissed the merits of memory, one might have believed that she had favoured Mr. Darcy above all other men from the first night he appeared at the assembly ball in Meryton.

My sisters were alive with excitement and pressed us to name a wedding date.

“At least allow me leave to tell Jane first,” I cried.

“Yes, yes, you must tell Jane!” Mamá said. “Oh, think of it! Three daughters married! I am the happiest mother in all of England.”

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The Gardiners departed for Town the next day, but not before Jane and Mr. Bingley arrived at Longbourn along with the Darcys. My sister and I embraced and clung to each other, or as well as anyone could cling to a woman six months into her confinement. I marvelled at her size, but the bloom on her cheeks assured me that all was well. We had so much to tell each other, and I longed for some time alone with her.

At length, we all followed my aunt and uncle and their children to the carriage, whereupon we bade our farewells, securing their promise to return for my wedding.

“Shall we take some air?” I asked Jane as the others returned to the house. Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy remained to escort us to the side yard where we seated Jane on a stone bench. Mr. Darcy and I had agreed earlier to share the news of Father Darcy with my sister and brother. At Netherfield, the night before, he had told them we were to be married, an announcement that gave them much satisfaction.

Relating our find in Ireland, naturally, shocked both of them. Telling them of the lie that had separated my parents before my birth rendered them almost speechless.

“How could one do that to a sister?” Jane asked at last.

“I know little of Sir Linton,” Mr. Bingley said, “and none of it good.”

“That is why I leave for London on the morrow,” Mr. Darcy said. “I shall have it out with Willoughby and get to the bottom of this. I know my father. He would never have forsaken his brother’s child without cause.”

“But, Mr. Darcy, if he had not, I should never have had Lizzy for a sister, so it is not all so bad, is it?”

“Trust dear Jane to find some good in any situation.” After sitting beside her, I patted her hand, and I was rewarded with a smile.

“Shall I come with you, Darcy?” Mr. Bingley asked. “I shall be glad to lend a hand.”

“No, your place is here with your wife. I would not take you from her.” He turned his eyes upon me. “I regret having to leave Elizabeth for any length of time. Once this is behind us, I shall never let her out of my sight.”

We all smiled at his declaration, but I regretted that he was to go at all.

That evening, Mr. Darcy and I slipped out of the house, leaving Georgiana at the pianoforte and the others enjoying her performance. He led me back into the yard out of view from the parlour windows. There, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me gently.

“I must hold you as long as I can,” he said. “Long enough so that I can still feel your softness and retain your sweet scent within my senses all the days we are parted.”

“Must you go?”

“We have spoken of this, my love. You know the answer.”

“Yes, but I do not care for it at all.”

He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. “That shall spur my return.”

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I had anticipated Mr. Darcy’s absence lasting but a week or less. As it happened, I did not hear from him for almost a fortnight. A short letter arrived then, a poor excuse for his return, but one I was thrilled to receive all the same. Therein, he stated that he had deposited Georgiana with the Earl of Matlock at Eden Park, met with Sir Linton, and then with Mr. Darcy’s attorneys.

I found the missing pages from my father’s diary.
He promised to share them with me upon his return, which I hoped would prove imminent. Instead, he wrote that he would leave for Kent the next day. I was disappointed that I would not see him as soon as I wished. However, the remainder of his letter was filled with tender words that filled me with delight. My future husband certainly knew how to write a love letter.

I made valiant efforts to fill the days we were forced to be apart. Frequent visits to Netherfield occupied much of my time. Lady Lucas invited us to tea, and Mamá was pleased to see most of the Hertfordshire ladies in attendance, thus allowing her opportunity to crow over my successful alliance. We attended a card party at Mrs. Philips’s house, and my aunt called at Longbourn every other day. Mamá carted me to the dressmaker several times. Not only was I fitted for my wedding gown, but I also ordered three more new dresses. Papá had agreed to fund whatever I needed, and naturally, Mamá wished me to select only the finest of materials.

“She must go to Mr. Darcy in gowns befitting her new position,” she declared. “Oh, think of all our Lizzy shall have, married to a man with ten thousand a year!”

“I wager he will not spend the entire sum on Lizzy’s clothes,” Papá answered, a statement that made me smile, for I had just entertained the same thought.

I made time to assist Kitty with her latest addition to an old bonnet, and I even practiced the pianoforte enough to play a duet with Mary. It seemed that I wished to share my newfound joy with almost everyone. Such attentions were welcomed, and I realized how much I would miss my sisters, for soon, I would leave them for a new life. I hoped with all my heart that eventually each of them made happy unions with good men of their own.

Still, I found myself missing William more and more each day. I rambled through the Hertfordshire countryside, wishing I might happen upon him. Each time the post arrived, I raced to meet it. And every night, I sat at the window of my chamber, reliving each moment he had held me in his arms.

At last—at long last—the day came when Hill announced his name, and Mr. Darcy walked into the parlour. It was all that I could do to keep from running into his embrace. He bowed as he kissed my hand while Mamá welcomed him with excessive effusions. He spoke to her in a cordial manner, but his eyes never left mine. Papá joined us, and they spent no little time in general pleasantries. All the while, my arms ached to hold him, and my lips longed to be kissed.

We suffered through dinner, sitting across the table from one another. I was not surprised to find that, at the end of the meal, I had scarce touched the food on my plate. After having a drink with Papá and spending sufficient time thereafter within the company of my family, Mr. Darcy rose and bade us good night. I read the message in his eyes to follow him from the room.

“I shall see you to the door, sir,” I said.

“Oh yes, let us all see you off, Mr. Darcy,” Mamá said.

“There is no need,” he protested. “I know the way perfectly well, ma’am, but, Elizabeth, I would speak to you a moment.” He bowed in my mother’s direction. “With your leave, of course, ma’am.”

She nodded, still in awe of her new son-in-law to be, and I saw Papá smile. At the door, I took William’s hat from the servant and dismissed him.

We closed the door behind us and walked out into the dark and into each other’s arms. His mouth covered mine before a word was said. How could a man taste so sweet? I gave myself up to him in willing surrender. Again and again, he took my lips while his arms bound me closer to his warm body, his hands roaming up and down my back.

“Oh, how I have missed you,” he whispered, “your lips, your skin, the scent of your hair, the way you feel in my arms.”

“No more than I have missed you.” I nestled into his neck.

“Oh yes, more, much more. No one could ever miss anyone as I have missed you. Dearest, at times, I found it hard to breathe for want of seeing your face. Tell me you will marry me without delay.”

“I will, I will,” I said, laughing. “But when?”

“By the end of the week?”

“This week?”

“Yes,” he said, nodding vigorously. “I have the licence. Why should we wait?”

“Why, indeed?” I answered, laughing again.

“Shall you come to Netherfield tomorrow? Bingley will allow us time alone, and I have much to tell you.”

“What happened at Kent?”

He shook his head. “Not tonight. I shall tell you all on the morrow. Tonight, I wish only to hold you.”

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In the Bingleys’ drawing room the next day, I visited with Jane for what seemed an impossible length of time. Most days, I should have welcomed a long span of time to talk to my sister, but that morning, my eyes kept straying to the doorway, hoping that Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley would soon return from shooting.

At length, they came. William strode to my side immediately and kissed my hand, his lips lingering and his hand pressing mine. Jane asked them how they had fared in their sport, and her husband was only too willing to enlighten us on each and every shot. Even when we sat down at the table, Charles continued on and on. I learned more about the exercise that day than I ever wished to know.

We tarried over the meal for some time, and I had to admit that it was most pleasant. There, with my favourite sister and brother, and my own dear love beside me, I could not have asked for more—other than the fact that I was anxious to be alone with William and to hear what he had learned on his journey.

“Shall we retire to the drawing room?” Jane asked at last. “Or perhaps you would enjoy a walk in the garden, Lizzy.”

I saw a knowing look pass between William and Charles. “My dear, I must insist that you rest,” Mr. Bingley said. “Come along, now. Our guests will understand.”

“But, Charles, I do not wish to forsake Lizzy.”

“Go, Jane,” I said. “You should keep up your strength.”

“Besides that,” her husband said, “I am sure Darcy is more than willing to keep our sister company.”

“Oh, of course.” Jane blushed and allowed Mr. Bingley to help her rise from her chair.

“I shall go along to make certain the drapes are drawn so that you will not be disturbed.” Charles turned and glanced over his shoulder, giving William another sly look as he escorted his wife from the room.

Mr. Darcy led me into the library and closed the doors behind us. He then proceeded to kiss me as any man ill with love would do. I certainly did not protest but responded to his lovemaking as I did each time his lips met mine, filled with wonder at how his mere touch could provoke such exquisite ripples of desire in me.