Mr. Darcy's Refuge (23 page)

“You may depend upon it, sir. And in the meantime, would you be willing to let me know from time to time whether all is well with her… or do I ask too much?”

“I would be happy to do so. We must invite you to dine with us soon. My wife will be anxious to meet you.”

“Thank you, sir. I cannot thank you enough – you do not know how greatly you have relieved my mind.”

Mr. Gardiner thought he actually had a fairly good idea.

***

Longbourn House usually teemed with activity and noise, but it was oddly silent when the three Bennets returned. To their surprise, they were greeted by Mary.

Mr. Bennet looked over his glasses at her. “I thought you were to be in Brighton.”

“I preferred to stay here where I can read and practice my music in peace. I find no enjoyment in such frivolous pursuits as balls and parties, and I think that flirting with soldiers shows a disregard for reputation unsuitable to a young lady, so Brighton has no appeal for me.”

Shocked, Elizabeth said, “Did our mother agree to leaving you here alone?”

Mary shrugged, her lips tight. “It was her idea. She said that if I planned to moralize on their pleasures the entire time, she would rather that I did not come. It has only been a few days, and I have enjoyed the quiet.”

Elizabeth exchanged a glance with Jane. “
We
will be glad your company, Mary.”

Mr. Bennet immediately disappeared into his library, while Jane and Elizabeth chose to refresh themselves first. Although Elizabeth’s bedroom had not changed since her departure, she discovered that it seemed smaller, as though she no longer fit in it.

Her trunk, sent from Hunsford, had been placed at the foot of her bed. She opened the lid to discover that it had not yet been unpacked. On top of the neatly folded clothes was a note from Charlotte.

Dearest Lizzy,

I hope I have managed to locate everything of yours, but if I have missed anything, I will bring it when I next come to visit. I have included a cloak which Mr. Darcy insists is yours, although I do not recognize it. I saw him for only a few minutes before he and Colonel Fitzwilliam departed for London, not long after you left. I cannot blame them for taking flight; Lady Catherine was beside herself with rage, and Lord Matlock as well. Mr. Darcy seemed in very poor spirits, and I was glad the colonel was with him. It seems so quiet here now that our parties only consist of Lady Catherine, Miss de Bourgh and my sister. Maria will remain here longer than we expected; Lady Catherine has decreed that she shall stay through the summer. We dare not mention your name for fear of Lady Catherine’s wrath falling on Mr. Collins for the crime of being your cousin.

The coach is waiting for your luggage, so I will write more later.

Charlotte Collins

Elizabeth read this missive twice, lingering over the part about Mr. Darcy’s poor spirits, wishing she had been there to comfort him.

She put the letter aside, then hurriedly moved the top layer of dresses and laid them on her bed with little care for the meticulous folding Charlotte had done. She burrowed through the trunk until the heavy wool of the cloak was revealed. She gathered it to her, and with a sound that was almost a sob, sat in the rocker and hugged it tightly, burying her face in it. It still bore the scent of leather and horses, taking her back again to that hour in his arms when she had felt safe.

***

Longbourn was indeed a different place in the absence of Mrs. Bennet, Lydia and Kitty. Its usual noisy chaos was replaced by civilized conversation. The only thing that remained unchanged was that Mr. Bennet continued to seek refuge in his library every day, seeing his daughters only at dinner. From the outside, it might seem as if nothing had changed between him and his favorite daughter, but the teasing and warmth that had once characterized their relationship was a thing of the past. Mr. Bennet still made jests, but Elizabeth no longer shared the joke with him.

To Elizabeth’s great relief, it did not take Mary long to realize that something was being kept from her. When she raised this question, Elizabeth readily agreed that it was true, and that she herself was unhappy about it and would like to tell Mary the full story, but that their father had forbidden her to discuss it. As she expected, Mr. Bennet was sufficiently displeased to be lectured at repeatedly by his middle daughter that he eventually lifted the ban where Mary was concerned, and Mary was treated to two very different versions of the same story, one from her father and one from Elizabeth.

Elizabeth anticipated a dramatic increase in morality lectures from Mary as a result of her new knowledge, but to her surprise, the converse occurred. When Mary, accustomed to being the least considered and valued of the sisters, discovered that Elizabeth and to some extent Jane were in parental disfavor while she herself was not, she responded by becoming protective of them. Elizabeth, who did not question her own actions to the degree Mary seemed to believe, found Mary a more pleasant companion and one whom she could confide.

Elizabeth’s other happiness was in the absence of the militia in general and Wickham in particular. She could no longer imagine finding any pleasure in flirting with handsome young men. She avoided even the usual parties in the neighborhood, not out of any distaste for the company, but because she was sure to be asked about the announcement, and she did not care to lie to her friends about the state of affairs. She found sufficient to interest her in the vicinity of Longbourn, and often went out walking for hours in the silence that allowed her to rest her thoughts on those days in Hunsford with Mr. Darcy.

She was relieved to receive a letter from her aunt a few days after their arrival which mentioned in passing that Mr. Gardiner had found time to deal with all the correspondence that had piled up on his desk during their visit. It was little enough to know that Darcy had received her note, for she could barely call it a letter, but she took consolation in the fact that Mrs. Gardiner did not mention anything amiss in the delivery of the letter, and that her aunt did not seem distressed with her for having made the request. If she was surprised by the degree of subterfuge in her aunt’s reply, it did not last through the next day when her father summoned her to his library.

He held a letter in his hand. “Mrs. Collins wishes you to know that the pigs found their way into the garden, causing severe depredations, to the despair of Mr. Collins. She also mentions that Jenny, whomever that might be, is now able to hobble about on crutches and is to live with her aunt at Rosings. The village is apparently being rebuilt slowly.” He dropped the letter onto his desk. “The remainder of her letter consists of messages from Darcy. Kindly inform Mrs. Collins in your reply that I will be reading any correspondence you receive, and that if she wishes you to see it, she will refrain from such discussion. Is that clear?”

“You read a letter sent to me?” Elizabeth struggled to keep her voice level.

“I was apparently correct to do so. That will be all, my dear.”

If only she could snatch the letter from his desk and run off with it! Perhaps she could lure him away and return for it later. “Jane wishes to know if you would like to join us for some tea.”

With an exaggerated sigh, he picked up the letter and tore it across, then into quarters, then once again. For good measure, he tossed the fragments into the fire.

Helpless fury burned inside her. “I will tell her that you have no interest in tea,” she said icily.
Or anything else to do with me
, she thought.

Chapter 12

On Elizabeth’s return from one of her walks, she spotted a figure in uniform approaching Longbourn on horseback. At first she thought it was one of the officers who had returned for some reason, but as he drew closer, she realized his uniform did not match that of the militia. The face under the black bicorne hat seemed simultaneously familiar and strange, and it was not until he dismounted in front of the house that she recognized Colonel Fitzwilliam.

She had never before seen him in regimentals, and it made him appear quite a stranger to her eyes, but she approached him with pleasure. Her discomfort in refusing his proposal was quite forgot in the happiness of seeing someone who knew the truth of her engagement.

She hailed him by name, and he swept her a bow so extravagant as to make her laugh. “Colonel, this is a delightful surprise. I had not thought to see you at Longbourn.”

“Although I will never complain of your charming company, I confess the object of my visit is to speak to your father. I left him with quite the wrong impression that morning at Hunsford – I had no notion at the time that he was your father – and I felt it was my duty to attempt to mend the damage I had done.”

“That is very good of you, but most likely he will refuse to see you. He is not precisely reasonable on the subject of that day.”

“That is what Darcy said as well, but as it happens, he
cannot
refuse to see me. I am, after all, an officer in His Majesty’s service, and I come bearing a letter to him from no less a personage than the Secretary at War himself.” He leaned closer and said in a confiding tone, “It is, in fact, merely a letter of introduction to serve as a character reference for me, but Lord Palmerston did direct me to deliver it to Mr. Bennet, and I must do my duty to King and country.”

She laughed, as he had no doubt intended. “I cannot stand in the way of a soldier performing his duty, but I would expect a very cold welcome indeed if I were you.”

“Your father holds no terrors for me. You have met
my
father; can yours do anything worse?”

“I suppose not! But since I will not be allowed to speak to you once he is aware of your presence, may I inquire as to whether you have any news of Mr. Darcy?”

“Does he know that I am here, do you mean? He is aware I planned something of this sort, though not the details. This concerns my honor, not his.”

Elizabeth felt her cheeks grow warm. “But is he well? I have heard nothing since I left Hunsford.”

The colonel tapped his crop against his leg, considering the matter. “He is well enough, though I cannot say that he is happy with the situation. He keeps rather a grim visage these days.”

“I feared as much. I am forbidden to send him messages, but will you tell him you saw me?”

“If that is what you wish.” He bowed slightly.

With a rush of embarrassment, she recalled that the colonel might have mixed feelings about facilitating communication to Darcy. “I should have said this immediately, had I not been taken by surprise, but you must allow me to express my gratitude for your efforts to turn Lord Matlock’s wrath away from both Mr. Darcy and me. It was very generous of you. And if you were ever to decide to sell your commission, you could have a bright future on Drury Lane! Had I not known you had been perfectly sober before their arrival, I would have believed you to be quite foxed!”

His eyes crinkled as he grinned. “You do me too much honor, Miss Bennet. I would be much better suited to play the jester.”

“I hope that day had no lasting consequences for you.” It was something that had worried her.

“Nothing of note. I am forbidden access to Matlock House, but losing the opportunity to enjoy the charming company of my father is not much of a punishment.”