Mr. Darcy's Dream (25 page)

Phoebe rested her head in her hands. “Yes, you are right, Lord and Lady Caltrop were on the list of those to be sent invitations. But that has nothing to do with Mrs. Vereker. I do not know why you are talking about the Caltrops, I do not know who they are, nor do I wish to.”

“Mrs. Vereker, who is, as you may know, a widow, did Lord Caltrop the honour of becoming his wife a little while ago. They were married, to be precise, on the tenth of April. I know this, for I was present at the ceremony, which took place at St. George's Church.”

The tenth of April was a date etched on Phoebe's heart, for that was the day that she had seen Mrs. Vereker leaving Mr. Stanhope's house, and the day that she had written the letter to Mr. Stanhope breaking off all contact with him. “It is impossible! I saw Mr. Stanhope and Mrs. Vereker together on that very day, she was coming down the steps of his house.”

“I dare say you did,” said Mr. Portal. “He mentioned to me that she had called at his house that morning, for he had a wedding present for her. It was a particularly fine jewel that he
wished to give her, as a token of the happiness she had brought him in the time that they had been together. You may be an unmarried young lady, Miss Hawkins, but you cannot shut your eyes to the realities of the world. Mr. Stanhope and Mrs. Vereker had a long-lasting liaison, which was generally known. It was frowned upon by sticklers, and accepted by everyone else. It ended amicably on both sides, as such affairs generally do, and I dare say they will always remain on good terms.”

“So she had the chance to marry a nobleman, and, one may suppose, a rich one, and took it. It does not mean that his feelings for her have lessened, or, if she has moved out of his life, that he will not simply find another Mrs. Vereker, a new mistress.”

“Don't be prudish, Miss Hawkins. It does not become you, and you are too intelligent to indulge in that kind of prosaic thinking. Whatever you may have heard, Mr. Stanhope is not a rake. All the time he was carrying on his affair with Mrs. Vereker, there was never any suggestion that he was also enjoying the favours of other women.”

He patted her hand and got up. “There, you are looking a better colour. My advice to you, and please note that I rarely give advice, so it is worth taking when I do, is that you seek out Mr. Stanhope and have a proper conversation with him. I think it will clear up many misunderstandings, and you owe him no less, even if you do decide not to follow the instincts of your heart, but instead to separate yourself from him for good.”

Phoebe sat for a long time on the sofa, thoughts buzzing through her head. At first, she was inclined to dismiss everything Mr. Portal had told her, but sense came to her rescue, and she had to accept that it was as he had said. At least, as far as Mrs. Vereker marrying Lord Caltrop was concerned. But how could he speak with such authority as to Mr. Stanhope's feelings? How could he know that the liaison between Mr. Stanhope and Mrs. Vereker had come to an end? Lord Caltrop might prove to be a complacent husband, and Mrs. Vereker an unfaithful wife, happy to continue her relationship with her former lover.

Masculine footsteps, and there, standing over her, was Mr. Darcy. He was looking as handsome as he had ever done, in his black evening coat and white satin breeches. He held out his hand. “Come, Phoebe, the ball is about to begin, and you must be there. I have to congratulate you on your excellent arrangements; the ball is already declared a success.”

Guests were walking along the carpet laid down to mark the way from the house to the glasshouse. Flaming torches on either side gave the scene a fairy-tale quality, and the
figures moving toward the glittering structure appeared to be characters out of an opera rather than the English gentry at a ball.

Most of the guests fell silent as they went into the vast space of the glasshouse, the thousands of panes glinting in the flickering light of the ring of torches around the outside, and the candelabra hung within it. Exclamations of delight and praise came from every quarter, and Phoebe, glancing at her uncle, saw a look of real gratification and pleasure on his face.

Mr. Darcy moved over to his niece's side. “When I had a dream for a new landscape at Pemberley, I could not have conceived anything as exquisite as this is tonight.”

The musicians struck up, the dancers took up their places, and Mr. Darcy opened the Pemberley ball, dancing with the Marchioness of Lewisham. “Charlotte is an amazing beauty tonight, is she not?” said Eliza Bruton, watching her sister with great affection. “You look distraught, Phoebe, is something amiss? Mr. Darcy told me how much he owes you for making all the arrangements for the ball, you have done a wonderful job, tonight will certainly be a night to remember.”

Then Eliza's hand was claimed by a short man with a humorous mouth, and she went away to dance. Phoebe stood by herself, lurking behind one of the urns of lilies she had set up that morning. Her eyes were searching the company, looking again and again at the moving, shifting throng, at the dancers as they came past, looking for the one person she wanted to see.

Jack Harlow approached to ask her to dance. Even before the words left his mouth, he was thrust aside with a curt, “This dance is mine, Jack.” Jack raised his eyebrows, shrugged, and with a wink at Phoebe, went off to find another partner.

Mr. Stanhope stood before her. Phoebe's heart was in her
eyes, she could not say a word. Mr. Stanhope said, “Phoebe, we must talk,” and without another word, took her arm and led her out of the glasshouse. In a moment they were out of the light and in the eerie shadows cast by the rising moon, just showing its brilliant face above the hill behind the house.

They walked in silence down the path which led to the river, and out on to the arched bridge. The water was dark and full of the soft sounds of the night; music from the ball floated out to them on the still air as Phoebe sought to find expression for what she felt.

There was no need for words; he looked down at her, and then with a sudden, urgent movement swept her into his arms, for a kiss so passionate that it shook Phoebe to her core. Finally, reluctantly, they drew apart, and as Phoebe opened her mouth to speak, he laid a finger across her lips.

“You misjudged me, and my affections, the strength of my feelings for you. No, listen. I was greatly honoured by Mrs. Vereker—do not wince at the name; it is time for us to be honest with one another. It is over between us, it was over some while ago, and since I met you, there has not been a thought of another woman. I'm not the philanderer your father takes me to be, although I can't deny that his other objection to me, that I come from a Whig family, is justified, and that I cannot change. I want to marry you, and if your feelings for me are what they were before that dreadful day when I saw your father, then we shall be married, however much your parents are opposed to the match.”

Phoebe's head was against his shoulder, and she lifted her face to reply to him, laughter in her voice. “And what of your parents? Will they welcome me as a daughter-in-law?”

“They'll come round in time, and they won't have to see much of either of us, since we will be overseas for much of the
time. My love, such a joy we shall have of it, and how busy you will be. I dare say you will outshine even my mother as a hostess, your parties will be the talk of Europe.”

They stayed there for a long while, watching the silvery reflection of the moon rippling across the water, delighting in each other's company.

They had been missed. Sir Giles had been casting an anxious father's eye over the guests, looking in vain for Phoebe. His brother-in-law saw what he was at, and came over to him. “Giles, a word with you. It is about Phoebe and Arthur Stanhope. You may not want to hear what I have to say, but Phoebe's happiness means as much to me and to Elizabeth as it does to you and Georgiana. My aunt, Lady Redburn, has apprised me of the situation. I do not agree with her judgement on this, as on many other matters, and I think it is time that you and I put our heads together to work out what is best for Phoebe.”

The musicians launched into a waltz, Arthur Stanhope circled Phoebe's waist with a strong arm, and as the beams of the moon filled the glasshouse with shimmering light, they went back into the glasshouse and began to dance.

Mr. Darcy's Dream
begins with heartbreak: Sir Giles Hawkins forbids Phoebe to marry Arthur Stanhope. Why did you begin the novel in the middle of Phoebe and Stanhope's love story: after they fall in love at first sight, and at the beginning of their separation and misunderstanding?

 

Because this is a very dramatic point in their love story, and because the story is about how they come to know and understand each other better, so that, in contrast to some of the other marriages we see in the story, they can build a relationship which should make for a strong and lasting marriage.

 

The climax of
Mr. Darcy's Dream
takes place in the glasshouse that Mr. Darcy dreamed of and Hugh Drummond designed. What inspired you to feature a glasshouse in the novel? What does it symbolize to you?

 

I found a picture of an extraordinary glasshouse that was built at about this time in England. It was an amazing structure of curves and lightness and elegance–in fact you would think it was modern. It was the new iron technology that allowed people at this time to erect a glasshouse like that one. Glasshouses are about growth and light, just as the pineapples which grew in them are symbols of prosperity.

 

One could argue that
Mr. Darcy's Dream
—with its cat-and-mouse love story and rampant misunderstanding between the two lovers—is the most similar of your books to
Pride and Prejudice
. What do you think?

 

I don't think I would agree with that. The misunderstanding in
Pride and Prejudice
comes from exactly that, Darcy's pride and Elizabeth's prejudice. The misunderstanding in
Mr. Darcy's Dream
comes from Phoebe's mistaken belief that Mr. Stanhope is a rake. She is inclined to jump to this conclusion, without finding out if it is true or not, because of her experience of infidelity in her own family, and her knowledge of the amorality of the Whig families such as the Stanhopes.

 

Servants play a substantial role in the novel, especially the two maids, Miniver and Betsy. Why are they given such a strong voice in the novel?

 

I wanted servants to have a voice in this novel because so much of it is set at Pemberley, a great house, and these households were very much a community, with the servants in their way as important to the well-being and well-running of the house as their masters and mistresses.

 

Relations between England and France are highlighted in the plot, from Stanhope's memories of the Battle of Waterloo to Hélène Verney's spying for France. Do you see this political and military background as a departure from Jane Austen? Why did you include this historical context in
Mr. Darcy's Dream
?

 

Jane Austen famously makes few references to the war with France that went on for most of her lifetime, even though several members of her family were caught up in the aftermath of the French Revolution and in the Napoleonic Wars. I'm not attempting to write a new Jane Austen novel, nor a sequel,
and for me the historical and political context adds an extra dimension to the story.

 

George Warren resurfaces in
Mr. Darcy's Dream
as a villain; readers will remember his scheming ways from previous books in your series. Why did you revisit this conniving character?

 

George Warren has been the villain of all the previous books in this series, and so of course, I had to include him in
Mr. Darcy's Dream
and show him getting his final come-uppance!

 

A reader could easily enjoy
Mr. Darcy's Dream
without having read the earlier books in your series. Do you purposely craft each novel as a stand-alone experience? Do you recommend that new readers start at the beginning of the series?

 

It's always fun to follow a series through from its beginning, but since each book in this series has its own heroine and a stand-alone story, although with some characters from the other books playing a part or being mentioned, I don't think it much matters which book you being with—as long as you enjoy it.

 

From architecture to evening dress, the details of nineteenth-century England truly come alive in
Mr. Darcy's Dream
. What is your most reliable resource for researching this historical period?

 

There's no single reliable resource that I use for my research. It's partly knowledge and awareness of the period accumulated
over many years, and partly having access to a good collection of books about the period and of that time.

 

Mr. Darcy's short speech about Phoebe's happiness closes the novel. Why does Darcy get the last word?

 

Mr. Darcy is only an unspeaking “presence” in the previous five books, as I deliberately decided not to use Jane Austen's main characters as characters in my stories. But I felt that he should have the last word in
Mr. Darcy's Dream
.