Mr and Mrs Darcy 02 Suspense & Sensibility (9 page)

"I
would appreciate that very much."

He finished
his port but declined Darcy's offer of more. He appeared to have something
further he wished to say Darcy waited patiently, letting him seek his words.

"I am
most desirous of your good opinion, Mr. Darcy, and that of your family,"
he finally said. "For as long as I can remember, my mother has held great
ambitions for me. She longs to see me distinguished in the world somehow, or at
the very least to gain entree into the drawing rooms of every great family in
England. I've never had any interest in politics or Parliament or any of the
other schemes she's set before me, nor in the debutantes she perpetually throws
in my way as candidates for an advantageous alliance. The young ladies she presents
harbor even more ambition than she does. They would not be satisfied as Mrs.
Harry Dashwood until I made a great name for myself."

"Miss
Bennet, however, is different. I think that if Norland meets with her approval
- if I meet with her approval, as I am, today - that will be enough. She won't
spend the rest of my life trying to mold me into someone I don't want to be."

Darcy was
inclined to agree. Kitty might not possess the accomplishments and polish of
most young ladies of the ton, but neither did she suffer from their
social-climbing pretensions. Yes, she chattered about the possibility of
meeting a young duke
or earl, but, as Elizabeth said, her hopes were
no more than the idyllic dreams of any girl. Realistically, she knew her slight
dowry made a modest marriage probable, and she was prepared to accept that.

Too, there had been no talk of dukes since Kitty had met Mr. Dashwood.
In her eyes, he wanted no improvement.

"I believe you already possess Miss Bennet's good opinion,"
Darcy said. "And today's demonstration of a more serious approach to your
affairs puts you well in the way of securing mine."

"My interest in Norland is genuine. I appreciate your guidance, Mr.
Darcy" He rose and set his empty glass beside the port decanter. "Do
you suppose the ladies look for our return, or have they forgotten us
altogether?"

They passed the remainder of the evening in pleasant conversation with
the ladies. Mr. Dashwood enquired whether Kitty had yet enjoyed many of
London's amusements. At her negative response, he insisted she allow him to
escort her to the Vauxhall Gardens, drive her through Hyde Park, and visit
Madame Tussaud's. Before he left, he'd invited them all to accompany him to a
concert the following night.

"Mr. Dashwood seems to have risen in your esteem tonight,"
Elizabeth observed as they prepared for bed. She had changed into a white lace
nightgown and sat brushing her hair at the dressing table. "Of what did
you speak in the library for so long?"

Darcy loosened his cravat. "He is developing a greater interest in
his property at Norland."

A sly smile played across her lips. "Does he think of settling
down?"

Recalling her earlier badinage about his love of sport, he deliberately
withheld the information she sought, teasing her in turn. "A man requests
bookkeeping advice and you are ready to order Kitty's wedding clothes. That is
a leap of logic I would expect from your mother."

"You accuse me unfairly. Besides" - she turned back to the
mirror and continued brushing her hair - "I notice you did not answer no."

"If a lady has indeed inspired this newfound regard for Norland, I
would not betray a gentleman's confidence by revealing that fact to her sister.
One might as well just tell the lady herself and spare the intermediary."

"You know me to be a better keeper of secrets than that."

"Who said I referred to you and Kitty? Perhaps I spoke only
hypothetically"

"Oh - hypothetically." She set down the brush. "In that
case, you need say nothing more." Mischief danced in her brown eyes, but
he could not make out her meaning.

She worked her hair into a braid, then walked to the bed, slid beneath
the covers, and opened a novel while she waited for him. He thought no more of
Mr. Dashwood, or Kitty, or anyone save his wife. Anxious to join her, he
finished changing into his nightclothes and went to extinguish the candle at
the bedside.

She looked up from her novel. "What are you doing?"

He took the book from her hands and set it atop the night table. "You
suggested we retire early tonight."

She picked the book back up. "Didn't you realize, darling?"
She cast him an innocent look and reopened the volume. "I was speaking
hypothetically."

Six

Mrs. John
Dashwood
had never been a favourite with any of her husband's family; but she had had no
opportunity, till the present, of shewing them with how little attention to the
comfort of other people
she
could act when occasion required it.

- Sense and Sensibility,
Chapter
1

Upon
learning that her son planned to hold his birthday fete at Norland, and that a
certain Miss Catherine Ben-net topped the guest list, Mrs. John Dashwood paid a
call upon the Darcy family.

The announcement of her arrival sent Kitty into a state of shock followed
immediately by a flurry of nervous agitation. She cast aside her needlework
frame and raised her hands to her face. "Mr. Dashwood's mother! Lizzy,
whatever shall I say to her?"

Elizabeth set down her own stitchery and rose in preparation for their
visitor's entrance. " 'How do you do?' might form a good beginning."

Georgiana, who had been practicing her harp in the corner, abandoned the
instrument to join Kitty's side in support. "I am sure she is as kind as
her son," she said.

"Oh, gracious!" Kitty exclaimed. "Please tell me my hair
looks tolerable!"

No one had opportunity to offer Kitty reassurance on issues
of grooming
or any other, as the lady in question just then appeared in the drawing room.
Fanny Dashwood was a thin, proud-looking woman, with sharp cheekbones and a
tilt to her chin that threatened an unrestricted view of her nostrils to those
of shorter stature. Her sharp eyes assessed the three ladies to determine which
was her hostess. Elizabeth greeted her and performed the necessary
introductions.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Mrs. Dashwood
said to a Chinese vase as her appraising gaze drifted about the room. She took
in the draperies, artwork, and furniture, then studied Elizabeth, Georgiana,
and Kitty with the same calculating interest, her attention lingering longest
on Miss Bennet. Elizabeth wondered if Kitty had been judged more or less
valuable than the chesterfield.

Kitty, already flustered, struggled to maintain her composure under the
intense inspection. Elizabeth attempted to divert Mrs. Dashwood's attention.

"We had the pleasure of dining with your son last night," she
said.

"Yes, I know." She held Kitty in her unyielding gaze a full
minute longer before finally turning it on Elizabeth. "He told me at
breakfast this morning. I summoned him as soon as I rose, and my Harry always
accords me the utmost respect and deference. He came directly he received my
note."

"He seems a fine gentleman."

"He is. And a good son. Not like some of these wild young men who
run about making their own decisions regardless of the consequences. Harry
knows his responsibilities to his family." She studied the room's appointments
once more. "That is a lovely harp. Was it you whom I heard playing as I
came up, Miss Bennet?"

"No. the harp belongs to Miss Darcy."

"Harry adores music. Has he heard you play the pianoforte yet?"

"That is also Miss Darcy's. I don't play any instrument."

Mrs. Dashwood's face registered mild disapproval. "You sing, then?"

"No."

"Oh." Mrs. Dashwood blinked. "Well, perhaps if he calls
here again, Harry will have an opportunity to enjoy Miss Darcy's talent."
Fanny cast a warm smile at Georgiana. At least, it would have been a warm smile
if Fanny Dashwood possessed any warmth.

As it was, Harry's mother shuddered and shifted closer to the fire
screen. "It is a blustery day for April."

"I hope you did not catch a chill coming here," Kitty offered.

"I possess a hearty constitution," Mrs. Dashwood declared, "and
little patience for those who do not." She looked more closely at the fire
screen. "This is covered very prettily. Is it your handiwork, Miss Bennet?"

"No, Georgiana's."

"This is Miss Bennet's first visit here as our guest, so our house
does not yet enjoy her influence," Georgiana said in defense of her
friend. "Perhaps she will grace it with a gift, but until then, I am
afraid my things clutter it, as I have spent most of my time here these past
five years."

"You speak too modestly, Miss Darcy I would hardly call 'clutter'
something as beautiful as this screen, or that water-color on the wall. Do I
assume aright that it is yours, as well?"

Georgiana confessed that it was.

Kitty fidgeted and took up her embroidery. Elizabeth, desirous of something
to do with her hands, picked up her own hoop but left the needle secured in the
muslin.

"Are you skilled with a needle, Miss Bennet? What do you work on?"

"An infant's cap - a gift for our sister Jane."

"Has she recently delivered?"

"She expects her first child in autumn."

"How delightful. I see you also work on infant clothes, Mrs. Darcy.
I wish I'd had sisters to help with Harry's layette when he was born."

Elizabeth indeed had a sleeve for a tiny frock stretched in her frame,
though it was for her friend Charlotte Collins, due to be brought to bed any
day. After completing the frock, she would finish the quilt she'd started for
Jane. Elizabeth had never been fond of needlework but took pleasure in creating
these gifts. The more she worked on them, however, the more she found herself
wishing, in the secret recesses of her heart, that they were for a child of her
own.

She would contemplate those feelings in a more private time and place.
For now, she merely smiled politely as Mrs. Dash-wood asked to see Kitty's
work.

"Your backstitch is a trifle uneven there. But otherwise it is a
competent effort, Miss Bennet. I'm sure your sister will appreciate it."
She handed the bonnet back to Kitty. "My niece Regina does excellent
needlework. Why, even Harry complimented her on a sash she made, and you know
gentlemen seldom notice those things. Have you met Miss Ferrars? This is her
first London season."

Kitty was too rattled by Mrs. Dashwood's lukewarm praise to answer.
Elizabeth replied that while they had seen Miss Ferrars at the Middletons'
house, they had not been introduced.

"You shall certainly meet her at Norland. Harry tells me you are
all to be our guests for his birthday fete?"

"Oh, yes!" Kitty said. "We look forward to it."

"So do I. After losing my husband last fall, it will be nice to
celebrate something, and I cannot think of a finer event than my darling Harry
reaching his majority. My little boy, all grown up! Before I know it, he will
be married with a son of his own. I think that is every mother's wish, to see
her child well married."

At this, a hint of color crept into Kitty's cheeks.

"I
hope, Miss Darcy," Mrs. Dashwood continued, "that you will also be of
the Norland party?"

Georgiana
replied in the affirmative.

"Excellent.
The inclusion of another accomplished young lady will add to everyone's
pleasure. Miss Ferrars is quite accomplished, too. If I had a daughter, I would
want her to be just like Regina. Or you, Miss Darcy." She added lamely, "Miss
Bennet, with your sisters wed, it must be a comfort to your mother to have you
at home."

"I
think my mother shall be most comfortable when all five of .her daughters are
married," Kitty replied. "Meanwhile, my sister Mary also remains at
Longbourn."

"Your
mother is wise to want you settled. Five daughters would tax any family's
fortune. When my husband passed away, our having just one child made everything
tidy - Harry had no unmarried sisters to worry about providing for. The terms
of his great-great-uncle's will ensured that the Norland estate would pass
through successive generations whole, but you know how gentlemen sometimes feel
a sense of obligation toward siblings for whom no other provision was made.
Now, since I understand you have no brothers, to whom will Longbourn pass?"

"To
none of us. It is entailed on a male cousin."

"I see.
How very unfortunate."

Mrs.
Dashwood stayed only a short while longer, just time enough to invite them all
- Georgiana especially - to call upon her in Harley Street. "I do so enjoy
conversing with Harry's friends."

Kitty
trembled with humiliation the moment Harry's mother walked out the door.
Georgiana, embarrassed by the whole visit, quickly excused herself to perform
some imaginary errand.

"She
hates me, Lizzy! Mr. Dashwood's mother hates me."