“Yet I will love you all the days of my life. We shall brave the vipers in London together, already joined in matrimony, frustrating the legions of ladies hoping to find an easy mark, inexperienced in the ways of higher society.”
“I shall look forward to it.”
They spent several moments making their goodbyes, their affection for each other shared in the endearments and stolen kisses in which they indulged. Darcy drank in the reality of her, storing these cherished moments for the weeks of their separation. Much sooner than Darcy might have wished, he forced himself to bid her farewell and begin on the journey to the north. Before he could depart, however, another joined them, his laughing countenance displaying his pleasure at finding them engaged thus.
“Darcy!” exclaimed Mr. Bennet as he approached them. “I thought I might find you here in the company of my wayward daughter, especially as she was nowhere to be found this morning.”
“Mr. Bennet!” greeted Darcy, accepting the man’s outstretched hand. “I might credit your comment if Elizabeth were not nowhere to be foundeverymorning when the weather is fair enough for her to walk.”
All three shared in the amusement, though Elizabeth stood arms akimbo, as if annoyed with their teasing at her expense. Such comments were frequent enough that Darcy knew she was unaffected by their witticisms.
“Too true, Son. Too true by half.”
“Then it appears you are as acquainted with us as we are with each other.”
“Another truth.” Mr. Bennet chuckled and shook his head. “I shall not blame Elizabeth for wishing to farewell you in private, nor shall I protest, for I can see you are both still under good regulation.”
Mr. Bennet winked. “Now, have you completed your farewells?”
“Yes, we have,” said Darcy, looking to Elizabeth and seeing her nod. “I was just about to enter the carriage and leave, unwilling though I am.”
“Very well,” said Mr. Bennet. “You have a long journey before you. Ere you depart, however, I have a bit of wisdom to pass on if you will listen.”
The snort from Elizabeth informed her father what she thought of hiswisdom, but though Darcy grinned, he nodded to his mentor. “I am pleased to hear it, sir.”
“What I would have you remember,” said Bennet, “is that you are a member of an old and prestigious family. Perhaps you are a member of a cadet line, but you are about to assume control over the main branch of the family legacy. Though I know nothing of this Colonel Fitzwilliam or his titled relations, I would advise you to allow no one to intimidate you or make you feel inferior. While they fancy their high and mighty positions allow them to look down on others, they are still mortals with all the infirmities the state infers.”
“Thank you, Bennet. I believe you have hit on the crux of the matter.”
“I know you are a firm and confident man, Darcy,” said Bennet, grasping his shoulder and squeezing with affection. “Yet you go into a situation you cannot predict, and I do not think you have truly experienced the depth of pride to which many members of society descend. Keep your confidence in mind and meet these people with determination. I cannot think you will wilt under the pressure, for you are a good man and I am excessively proud of you.”
“I shall,” said Darcy, feeling emotional at the praise of this man who had been more father to him than his own had been. “Colonel Fitzwilliam is known to me; he is a genial man—I do not expect any condemnation from that quarter. I do not know the earl, but I suspect he will be cordial at least. Once matters at Pemberley settle, I shall return, for I have unfinished business left in Hertfordshire.”
“That you do, Son,” said Bennet. “Then you had best be on your way. I have no notion of the adage about ‘sooner away, sooner to return’ is at all applicable in this situation, but I suspect it would be best not to delay.”
“I agree.”
With a final few words of farewell, including the proper kiss to Elizabeth’s hand now mandated by her father’s presence, Darcy boarded his carriage and departed. So reluctant to depart was he that he looked back until he could no longer see the pair standing by the road watching him.
Now, two days later, at the end of his long journey, the carriage made the last approach to Pemberley’s front drive, he took several deep breaths to both center himself and prepare for the trials to come. While he lost himself in reminiscence, a pair had exited the house and now waited on the front steps. While Darcy recognized the tall form of Colonel Fitzwilliam, the woman by his side must be Miss Georgiana Darcy, three years older and taller than she had been the one time he had made heracquaintance. The moment to which his travel had built these past days, it appeared, was now upon him.
A few moments later, the gait of the horses slowed and then stopped, the carriage impacting the traces and slowing to a rest. Eager to escape the confines of the carriage, even if it was only to escape the frying pan by entering the fire, Darcy opened the door and stepped from the conveyance to face his destiny.
“COME, LIZZY,” SAIDMr. Bennet, interrupting Elizabeth’s contemplation of the point on the horizon she had last seen William’s carriage, “it is time to return to Longbourn.”
Obediently, she turned to walk beside her father. In part to take her mind off the yawning absence of her betrothed that now beset her, she turned to her father with a tease.
“This is unusual, Papa. You are not such a walker as to follow me to this far-flung corner of the estate.”
“If I had ridden a horse,” rejoined her father, “it would be more difficult to walk back with you.”
“And this was part of your purpose, to escort me back to Longbourn?”
Mr. Bennet chuckled, shaking his head with affection. “No, Lizzy, I am aware of your ability to traverse the paths of my property. I declare you are far more familiar with them than I am. On this occasion, a companion to keep thoughts of your lover’s absence at bay should be welcome.”
“It is,” replied Elizabeth simply. “I am also fortunate that today turned out so temperate; I cannot always walk this far in the dead of winter.”
“Fortunate, indeed.”
