“Think what you will, but you do smile an inordinate amount these days.”
“Elizabeth makes me happy,” he shrugged nonchalantly.
Fitzwilliam sighed.“May we all be so lucky, Cousin.”
Darcy looked at him with sympathy.“Is there no way to make it work with Miss Covington?”
“You know my situation.Unlike you, I am dependent on my father’s approval for my future prospects.”
“I thought your father had decided to settle some property on you.”
“He has.But it is not without conditions.”
“Ah.”
“Exactly.”
“He would not approve of Miss Covington?She was acceptable two years ago.Has she not maintained some connections?”
“I am sure she has, but Father is notoriously difficult to please, you know that.”
“Surely he would not withhold your birthright if you wished to marry,” said Darcy.
“If I married a woman he approved of, he would not.The irony, of course, if that if I married an heiress, I would not need my legacy.”
“That is ludicrous!Lord Blackburn’s investments are doing well, his eldest son is not a spendthrift or a gambler, and the harvest has been strong several years in a row now.He could well afford to give you a small estate in Staffordshire.”
“Unfortunately, what he can afford and what he will afford are two different things.”
Darcy shook his head.“If there is anything I can do, promise you will tell me.”
“I promise, but I doubt there is much you can do besides convince Father I have not lost my head entirely.”
What Is It About Thursdays?
Mrs.GardinercametoElizabeth’s room the next morning as she was putting up her hair.
“I would speak to you, my dear.”
“Yes, Aunt?”
“I assume you have spoken to Jane?”
Elizabeth sighed.“Yes.She is in low spirits, but she will recover.Mr.Darcy is embarrassed and has said he will apologize to Jane himself.”
“Lizzy, I do not wish to overstep my place, but I must caution you.Indeed, I would be remiss if I did not.Many in the upper circles are accustomed to behaving however they please, regardless of who they hurt in the process.I know Mr.Darcy is a fine match, and he may be all that is worthy himself—”
“He is, Aunt,” interrupted Elizabeth.
Mrs.Gardiner looked at her sympathetically.“I am sure you are right.But he cannot be divorced from his situation any more than you can.As much as I hate to say it, what occurred last evening was not so very unusual.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened.
“Perhaps it was odd that a guest in the earl’s own home was treated so infamously, but the upper classes have long been in the habit of doing exactly what they wish, whenever they wish it.If you are to enter these circles, you will see this for yourself.Jane will as well if she marries Mr.Bingley, though perhaps to a lesser extent due to Mr.Bingley’s lower status.”
“Have you experienced such things yourself, Aunt?”
“I have sat on committees with wealthy ladies and been ignored as if I were not even in the room.I have been talked over and cut in front of at the haberdasher’s and the modiste, because I could not possibly be as important as a grand lady.You saw this behavior in Miss Bingley last autumn.She is not the rule, but neither is she the exception.”
