Imperative: Volume 2, A Tale of Pride and Prejudice (106 page)

“I told Charles that I . . . I was angry with you for not coming home to help and failed to remember that your home was here now.”

“What did he say?” 

“He took me for the drive in search of an estate.”  Jane smiled a little.

“You see?  He wants to be with you.”

Jane twisted her handkerchief.  “But he is still disappointed.  I know that we cannot make it all better in one day.  He says that he has failed me, too.”

“I am glad that he takes on some of the burden.  Something must have come of your talking all day?  Or was it just him talking?”

“No, I . . . I talked, too.”  She smiled.  “How you must laugh at that.  You are never at a loss for things to say.”

“And sometimes that brings on great regret.  You should know that Fitzwilliam and I had our time of difficulty when we first married, too, beyond the issues with his sister.  And it took us time to fall into place.  We still argue, but we know how to resolve our differences now.  Do not look so surprised!  You certainly saw our beginning!  You expressed your doubts and shock that he would offer for me, despite your feeling that he liked me!  You
do
have the ability to see what is happening around you.  You were so correct in seeing his attraction, and I was so determined to be blind.”

“I cannot imagine you and . . . Fitzwilliam fighting now.”

“We do.”  Elizabeth smiled.  “And making up is the best part.  I love to soothe him.”

“Lizzy!”  Jane glanced at the doorway.

“Jane, you are married to a warm man.  Perhaps not as passionate as my husband, but he still would love to kiss more than your hand.”

“Not in public.”

“Fine.  Not in public.” 

Jane was quiet and then whispered, “Maybe tonight I could come to your chambers and we could speak privately about . . . marital duties?” 

Elizabeth touched her hand.  “Jane, if you came to my room tonight, you would find an empty bed.  If you walked into the master’s chambers, you would find me in Fitzwilliam’s embrace, where I have been every night from the day we married.”  She stood and smiled to Darcy’s portrait.  “I would not give that up for the world.”  Turning back to her stunned sister, she was distracted by someone looking in the doorway.

“Will?” 

“I saw the carriages coming, love, and rushed back.  I am stunned that they are capable of rising so early. I will just go and change. I have time . . .” Darcy saw Elizabeth glance doubtfully at her watch pinned to her gown and laughed.  “I do.  You are greeting them in the yellow drawing room?”  He watched her as different emotions crossed her face.  She was reliving memories of the first time she greeted this family and could almost hear the sound of the carriage rolling into the courtyard.  “Lizzy?” 

She found Darcy’s warm smile waiting for her and felt her courage rising.  “When has Lady Matlock ever greeted me at the door?”

“Never.  And she would surely have a comment if you did, even though she will surely have a comment that you did not.  There is no way of winning.”  Stopping her hands from nervously smoothing her dress, he took them into one of his and held her eyes.  “You are lovely.” He touched the rubies gracing her throat and then looked to her mouth, letting his eyes flick between the jewels and her lips until he saw the bloom of a blush warming her cheeks.  “Just lovely.”  He leaned forward to tenderly whisper against her ear.  “Simply lovely.”

“Will . . .” Her eyes closed as his lips gently brushed her mouth, and returned to her ear.

“I defy her to call you a maid.”  Darcy smiled with the soft intake of her breath and withdrew to hold her gaze.  “I knew what you were thinking.”

“Do you know what I am thinking now?”  She squeezed his hand as her blush grew deeper.

“I smell of horse and you would rather not face them without me.”  Feeling her grip again, he laughed.  “This is a banner day for me!  I will be back in the blink of an eye, dearest.” 

“You had better be.”  Elizabeth said with warning in her voice and pleading in her eyes.  She touched his cheek.  “Go.”

“I am going.”  Chuckling, he nodded to Jane and departed from the room. 

Elizabeth closed her eyes and when they opened, she found her sister staring at her.  “Well, let’s gather everyone together.”  She walked briskly down the gallery and Jane scrambled to follow her.  “Susie?”  She called.  “Would you please call Mrs. Reynolds?  Company is coming.”

“THEY ARE IN THE GALLERY so don’t clear breakfast away just yet, Mrs. Darcy may want to eat something.  Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley are walking around the garden with Miss Darcy.”  Thomas reported as he went past Mrs. Reynolds’ office. 

She watched him.  “Is she giving her sister another piece of her mind?” 

“It seemed to be fairly calm.” Disappearing into a storage room, he called behind him.  “She did look teary.”

“Well, that is common enough.  I do not like her being interrupted in the gallery, though.  Mrs. Darcy is not to be disturbed when she is visiting the Master.”

“That is our rule, Mrs. Reynolds, not hers.”  Evans noted when he appeared at her door. 

“If Mrs. Bingley upsets the mistress again, I will do more than accidentally catch my brush in her hair.”  Judy said coldly on her way to the laundry.  “Asking me questions about her!  As if I would reveal any of Mrs. Darcy’s business!” 

“And that other one,
Miss
Bingley.  I did not like her the last time she was here, walking around, taking inventory, remarking about the decoration, looking at the master like a prized pig at the fair.”  Mrs. Reynolds looked at the tea set ready to be used on a sideboard.  “She talked about how ugly the late Mrs. Darcy’s china was.  She changed her tune when I said it was the master’s favourite!” 

“She would change her tune at a moment’s notice if she thought it would please him.  I remember her at Netherfield, she was even worse there; you could smell the desperation when Mr. Darcy was falling in love with Mrs. Darcy.  He might not have known he was lost, but Miss Bingley saw it clear as day.”  Parker spoke with great satisfaction and smoothed over the coat he had just pressed.  “What a lovesick, blind fool he was, and the mistress, she had no idea she loved him either.”  Smiles appeared all around.  “But then again, Mr. Bingley was even worse.”  The smiles faded.  “Mrs. Bingley is not so bad, give her a chance.  Send your glares to Miss Bingley.”

“What can she want with him now?”  Mrs. Reynolds’ ire was raised again.  “If I have said it once, I have said it a hundred times, thank the Lord, Mr. Darcy did not marry her!” 

“I will gladly say a prayer of thanks for that.”  Parker murmured and turning; left the room.  Catching Judy’s eye, she followed him towards the back stairs.

Mrs. Reynolds watched them go.  “How is Mrs. Hurst?  She seems different?”

“She is quite polite.”  Evans nodded.  “Quite changed.  As is Mr. Hurst.  He gives Thomas no trouble.”

“What do you think, Jennifer?  Of Mrs. Hurst?”  The harried maid was carrying three gowns and on her way to start ironing. 

“She was nice enough.  I did not feel like a bug to be squashed like I heard she was like in the past.  Her gowns are not what I am used to though.”  She looked through the bundle in her arms.  “Her and Miss Bingley must not be as high as Mrs. Darcy.”

“They are not.”  Mrs. Reynolds said succinctly. 

Mrs. Johns bustled up with a spoon in her hand.  “If any of those women upset the mistress again, I will put alum in their tea!”

“Mrs. Johns!”  Evans growled.  “Return to your pots.  And the rest of you, enough of this gossip!  We have the party from Matlock arriving and we need to prepare rooms for their staff, you have white soup to make, the master wants to hold hunts, we have other visitors arriving soon, not to mention the ball.  I do not need you gathering like hens in a roost to cackle.  To work!”  He waved his hands and scattered the staff.  “We are doing the mistress no favours if we are not prepared!  This ball is a reflection of her household!” His voice was raised above the din.  “This ball is the master’s gift to her!  We must do him proud!” 

“Yes, Mr. Evans.”  They murmured and returned to their duties.  Pulling down on his vest, he regained his composure and frowned at Mrs. Reynolds.  “We may not like everyone who enters, but we serve the people who live in this house.  I will not have the guests leave here with a bad taste in their mouths and gossip on their tongues.   I hope that you impress your maids of that.”

“My maids know their jobs and who they serve.  You just keep an eye on your men.  You have enough grooms coming in here.  Make sure that the manure is off their boots before they walk over my floors!”  Mrs. Reynolds glared. 

“Mrs. Reynolds?”  Susie asked cautiously from behind Evans’ back.  “Mrs. Darcy is asking for you.”

“Thank you.”  Mrs. Reynolds picked up her ring of keys and attached it to her dress with an authoritative jangle.  “The mistress needs me.” 

Evans stepped aside and let her pass.  “Then take care of her, Mrs. Reynolds.”

“Sir?  The carriages from Matlock are arriving, too.” 

Sighing, Evans shook his head.  “You could not have mentioned that sooner?”  Raising his voice, he called out, “To your stations!  They are here!”

“OH, COME NOW CATHERINE!  You were so anxious to make the journey, the least you can do is lead the charge up the stairs.”  Lord Matlock demanded of his slowly moving sister.  “You are not that old.  I have long suspected that your walking stick was more for affect than need.  The way you wave it around without toppling over . . .”

“Careful, Father, she just might be aiming for your head . . .” Richard called from the back and grinned at Sophie.

“I imagine she could strike you as well.”

“Notice how I keep us well behind.”  He tapped his head.  “I was a brilliant strategist.”

“Perhaps you should have remained a colonel, then.”  Gladney looked back at him.

“I will always wonder what I might be up to if I had stayed.”  Richard rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Do you?”  Sophie asked icily.  “Well then, perhaps you might return, then?”

“I was just telling Darcy how much I love raising you ire.”  He chuckled.  “I think that he does the same with Elizabeth.  That is the Fitzwilliam in him.”

“Annoying people?  Oh yes, that is a trait to crow about.”  Sophie sighed as he hugged her waist.

“Cathy, help your aunt.”  Lady Matlock ordered.

“I am.”  Cathy was holding Lady Catherine’s arm.  

“Shall I help you, Mama?”  Anne offered. 

“I am perfectly fine; now stop your fussing over me!”  Lady Catherine demanded and shook both of them off.  “Walking deliberately does not indicate weakness; I am taking in the decoration!”

In the drawing room, Darcy and Elizabeth stood arm and arm listening to the bickering family.  “Whose idea was this?  To invite this hoard of pleasant people into our home?”

“Yours, I believe.  You wanted to dance with me.”  She smiled with the sight of his rapidly nodding head.  “Why we could not have simply hired a few musicians and lit a few candles . . .”

“Poured some wine.”

“More than some.”  Her eyes sparkled up at him.

Darcy laughed.  “No, no, no.  I want to dance with you for hours.  And I want to feed you delicacies from my plate, and I want to,” remembering they were not alone, he murmured softly, “do many things in many places.”

“That sounds lovely.”  She smiled and leaned on his shoulder.  “Should we go out there?”

“Does that not defeat the purpose of not meeting them at the door?”  He cocked his head to see her face.

“Not at all, as we will be standing at the head of the stairs looking down upon them.”  Elizabeth said simply as he chuckled.  “Brilliant?”

“Your confidence is extremely enticing, Mrs. Darcy.  And I am delighted with its appearance.”  He murmured and kissed her temple.  Nodding to the company, he led Elizabeth out to the hallway. 

“I sincerely hope that Lady Matlock is not worse than Lady Catherine.”  Louisa looked to her curiously silent sister and then to Georgiana. 

“They are not dissimilar.”  She whispered apologetically. 

“Wonderful.”  Hurst looked at Bingley and rubbed his hands together.  “This will be great sport.”

“Mr. Hurst!”  Jane cried.  “How can you joke about such things!”

“Easily, listen to Elizabeth.”  Bingley said quietly.  “Hear her laughing?”  He went to the doorway and looked.  “Lady Catherine is barrelling up the stairs.  She
was
putting them on!”

“To what purpose?”  Louisa asked and looked around.

“To see what Mr. and Mrs. Darcy would do.”  Caroline sighed.  “Of course.” 

“They have reached the top.”  Bingley reported and returned to stand next to Jane.  “Brace yourselves.”  He smiled.  “Have your wits about you.” 

Hurst laughed. “I feel as if I am sitting in a theatre, listening to the orchestra tuning their instruments before the great performance.”  Grinning, he tossed back a glass of port.  “ahhh.  Let the games begin!”

Chapter 38

“Y
ou look so determined.”  Elizabeth laughed and touched the deep furrow in his brow.  “What is your goal, Mr. Darcy?” 

“Hush.”  He commanded.

“You put so much of yourself into every endeavour.  Do you never tire?”

“Hush, woman!” 

“Are you working for your pleasure or mine?”

Darcy stopped moving and stared down at his wife’s dancing eyes.  “At the moment, I endeavour to work for your pleasure, but it is not laughter I seek from you.” 

“No?  But is not laughter a certain sign of pleasure?”  She reached up to caress his stubbled cheek and stroke back the damp fringe of hair that covered his beautiful blue eyes.  “I love you, so very dearly.”

Sighing, he gently combed his fingers through her fragrant, tousled hair, “You teasing woman, I love you.”  Kissing her smile, he spoke seriously, “I will miss you terribly today.  We have not been so far from each other since the day I proposed.” 

“Shhhh, I do not like it any better than you.”  Her hands moved down his back to his bottom, and urged him closer.  Looking down to where their bodies were joined, his gaze travelled back up to her face.  Elizabeth opened her arms and he settled within her embrace, and then rolled so they were facing each other.  Darcy’s hand smoothed over her shoulder and down to her hip, drawing her leg up and over his.