Bingley regarded them all with some curiosity. “I beg your pardon, Darcy, but I do not understand. Your cousin’s death is, of course, regrettable, but I did not think you were at all close.”
Comprehension filled Darcy at once. “It is no surprise you do not understand, my friend, so I shall explain.”
As Darcy sat back on the sofa, the letter spread out next to his thigh, considering how this news would change everything. “The most important point is Pemberley’s disposition,” said Darcy at length, prompting Bingley’s eyes to widen. “It is not well known in society, as the Darcy family has ever kept our private business away from the eager ears of the gossips, but there is an entail on Pemberley.”
“Then Colonel Fitzwilliam. . .” said Bingley.
“Is writing to inform me of my inheritance,” confirmed Darcy. “I was not at all close to my cousin, but he ensured I knew that I was his heir, as required by law. With his passing, I am nowtheDarcy, the master of the family estate in Derbyshire.”
“The Darcy estate is entailed?” demanded Bingley.
“Two generations before my grandfather,” replied Darcy, “a profligate son threatened the estate, and the master of the time disinherited his son and instituted an entail to protect it. The estate now devolves to me after my cousin’s passing.”
“That is... surprising, my friend,” said Bingley. “I knew nothing of such intrigues.”
“Most in society do not,” agreed Darcy. “The Darcys have never been in the habit of speaking of their private affairs. Mr. Jameson Darcy has one sibling, a much younger sister. Whentheir father passed away five years ago, Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam became joint guardians of young Miss Darcy. I must assume that is why Colonel Fitzwilliam is involved.”
“And now you are to be more closely connected with an earl,” said Bingley.
The shock with which Bingley regarded him suggested a sort of awe at the prospect of a friend who consorted with the nobility. For that matter, Darcy could not help feeling overwhelmed, not so much at the thought of being connected to nobility, for he had some of those connections already, though distant. No, the thought that echoed over and over in his mind was how much the day’s news would change his life. Most importantly, how would Elizabeth react?
With the same sense of astonishment Darcy was now feeling. That would be the extent of it, for Elizabeth was not a woman to concern herself much for status or wealth. If anything, Elizabeth would wish for reassurance, the knowledge that this business would not change matters between them. Elizabeth was not lacking in confidence—nothing could be further from the truth. Just as this business had taken him aback, it would be a change for her, an alteration of what they had always thought their life would be. Anyone would be taken aback to have such a change thrust upon them.
“I believe we should focus on practical matters,” said Darcy’s mother, interjecting for the first time. “Can I assume that Colonel Fitzwilliam has requested your presence at Pemberley?”
“He has,” confirmed Darcy.
Then he blanched as a thought he had not considered came to him.
“My wedding is in less than two weeks.” His comment came out as little more than a groan.
“That it is, William,” said his mother, looking on with compassion. “As much as I have longed to have Elizabeth fora daughter, it seems there is no choice but to postpone your wedding.”
Try though he might, Darcy could think of no way around it. “I suppose you must be correct,” said he, a trifle sulky, he could own to himself.
“Do not worry, William,” said Mrs. Darcy, her tone brimming with affection. “Elizabeth will look on the necessity with as little enthusiasm as you do, but she will understand. When you return, I dare say she will be eager to meet you at the altar.”
Darcy nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and turned to his friend. “I apologize, Bingley, for it seems I must cut your visit short.”
“It is no trouble, Darcy,” said Bingley with a laugh. “This situation was not your doing, after all. I know you have spoken of your more illustrious branch of the family often, but this is far different from anythingIhad ever contemplated for you. How do you suppose your cousin’s close relations will greet you?”
“I do not know them well,” replied Darcy. “Of the earl’s family, I know Colonel Fitzwilliam best, though I have met him but a few times. The earl I have met only once or twice, and while he seemed a decent sort, I have no notion of how he will respond to this situation.”
“Do you suppose he will treat you as a usurper?” asked his mother, fixing him with amusement.
“No, I do not suppose it,” replied Darcy. “To own the truth, my interactions with the Fitzwilliams have always been more cordial than those with the Darcys. My father reported the same.”
Mrs. Darcy grimaced, but she nodded, for she remembered them as well as Darcy did himself. Darcy was of a disposition to be happy with what he had, so the Darcy family’s coldness had not bothered him, whereas his father, far more consciousof social position and his situation compared to the Pemberley Darcys took it much harder.
“It is odd, when you think of it,” mused Darcy. “The family history is littered with noble brides, though the Darcys have never held a title. Yet I have always thought the Pemberley Darcys considered my family to be something akin to poor country cousins, though we share the same ancestry, other than the most recent connection to the nobility.”
“That is rather amusing, Darcy, my friend,” said Bingley with a laugh. “From what I know of your situation, you are rather wealthy yourself.”
Darcy shrugged. “We have always been comfortable, but our wealth is nothing compared to the main branch of the family.”
“Now that wealth will belong to you,” said Bingley. “What do you know about your cousin’s sister?”
“She is yet a young girl, perhaps sixteen,” said Darcy. “I met her only once about three years ago, and she struck me as a pleasant girl, though quite shy.”
