Darcy felt a great deal of pride in his intended—as always!—but worry shivered his spine. What would the duke do now?
In the next few days, Darcy’s and Gardiner’s carriages reached areas farther away from Pemberley, and people no longer took notice of them. Travelling through Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire was marred by summer showers, but the rain was never heavy, and the roads dried quickly. Next came Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire; the travellers became progressively warmer with the sun beaming down all day long, not a cloud in sight. Finally, they arrived in Hertfordshire, and they turned off the main road for Meryton and Longbourn.
Darcy still hoped to see Bingley either at Longbourn or Netherfield Park; and indeed, as they pulled into Longbourn’s gravel drive, Darcy saw Bingley’s familiar dark green carriage. Whether or not Bingley had forgiven him, he did not know; whether or not he and Georgiana would be welcome to sleep at Bingley’s estate, he had no idea, but he hoped that his mistaken advice to Bingley was on its way to being rectified.
Elizabeth’s sisters had apparently heard the carriages, and they began to pour outside even before the conveyances stopped, followed by Bingley and Mr and Mrs Bennet. Elizabeth herself was as eager to greet them and did not wait for the step to be lowered. Before long Miss Bennet and Elizabeth were hugging;Bingley was pumping Darcy’s hand and telling him that he and Miss Bennet were engaged; and Miss Mary was hugging both the Gardiners at once. The Misses Kitty and Lydia were like whirlwinds attempting to hug and speak with everyone in rapid succession. Mr and Mrs Bennet remained near the door, placidly waiting their turn to greet their daughter and relations. Last out the front door were four children he suspected were Gardiners; the children proved him right by calling out to their papa and mama as they flung themselves at their parents.
Elizabeth informally introduced Georgiana and before long herded everyone inside so that proper greetings and introductions could be made. Darcy felt that the stares directed to him were questioning more than welcoming, but he knew that Elizabeth had not informed any of them of his disastrous proposal at Hunsford, and Gardiner’s express informing them of the date of their return had only mentioned the Darcys’ plans to come to the area, without a word of explanation as to the reason.
By previous arrangement, once Elizabeth had ensured that Georgiana was ensconced between Miss Bennet and Miss Mary, she asked her father for a few minutes of private conversation and then beckoned for her uncle to attend as well. They came back to the group quickly, as expected, and indicated to Darcy that he should meet with Mr Bennet as planned—but the expression on Elizabeth’s face was a surprise. Rather than looking pleased or confident, she seemed anxious. Darcy hesitated, wanting to confer with her, but she just whispered, “Go speak with my father.”
Darcy’s stomach flipped once—would Elizabeth’s father withhold his permission?—and he realised that he had not yet eradicated all of his undue pride, because he felt frankly astonished at the idea of any father in England denying his request for his daughter’s hand! But he squared his shouldersand told himself,No matter what, now that Elizabeth will have me, nobody and nothing shall stand in my way.
After entering, he closed the door of Mr Bennet’s study; he looked around the relatively small, cluttered room. The books exceeded the shelf space, and there were stacks of books on several tables and even, in one corner, on the floor. He turned to Elizabeth’s father with a bow and tentatively said, “It is a pleasure to see you again, sir.”
“Mr Darcy.” Mr Bennet remained seated at his desk, which was piled with books, two ledgers, and untidy stacks of letters. He nodded and said, “Please, take a seat.”
“Sir, I would like to ask for your permission and blessing for Miss Elizabeth’s hand in marriage. I have long loved her, and I can well provide for her.”
Darcy considered speaking further, but he noticed Mr Bennet’s uncomfortable shift in his chair. Darcy hesitated, and Elizabeth’s father began to speak—and his words could not have been more unexpected: “I have had a letter from none other than the Duke of Lymebourne, and he writes that I might wish to prevent my daughter from aligning herself with you, given the fact that you may soon find yourself in disfavour with the Prince himself!”
Darcy’s eyes widened. “I gather that Miss Elizabeth and Mr Gardiner did not relate to you our dealings with the duke? They would not have had time….”
“They did not. Why do you not tell me, and then I will speak with each of them.”
And so it went. Darcy related the whole, starting with the duke’s reputation, emphasising what he himself had witnessed in the past and the stories he had heard, then explaining all that he knew and conjectured of his and Elizabeth’s recent interactions with the man. Mr Bennet looked ashen duringportions of the story, but by the end his face was flushed with anger.
When Darcy left, he sent Elizabeth in. And when she returned, Gardiner met with Mr Bennet. During this meeting, Darcy and Elizabeth took a walk. Mrs Gardiner went outside with them and sat on a bench while they circled the garden multiple times. Darcy promised Elizabeth that, no matter what, his love for her would be steady, and he would work tirelessly to ensure her wellbeing and their marriage.
She interspersed her own promises: “I assure you, Fitzwilliam, that my father is reasonable. He will give his permission and blessing…. My birthday is less than two and a half months away; if we are not allowed to wed by then, I promise I will marry you the day I turn one and twenty…. I would not allow the disapprobation of the duke—not even of the Prince—stand in our way…. If the worst happens, and you are arrested, I will work with your cousin and uncle and make certain you are released.”
Arrested! Darcy had skated around the word, not wishing to worry Elizabeth, but she knew as well as he that peers sometimes wrongfully wielded the law against people they considered enemies.
Eventually Darcy met again with Mr Bennet; he showed him the rough draft of the marriage articles he had crafted and sent to his attorney and assured him that he could have the finished documents within a day. Mr Bennet said, “I give you and Elizabeth my permission to marry, but I insist that we hold off on announcing the formal engagement until we see what the duke plans to do and, perhaps, how your defences and remedies fare.”
Darcy agreed, and they briefly discussed Elizabeth’s earlier stated preferences for the Meryton church for the wedding. Mr Bennet agreed with Darcy’s decision to purchase a commonlicense rather than the usual reading of the banns, given the situation, and he promised to make arrangements with the vicar when he got the all-clear message from Darcy.
Just as their meeting had drawn to a close, Elizabeth and Gardiner came back into the room. Gardiner held a letter, just delivered by an express rider; the duke was threatening Gardiner’s business if he continued to associate with Darcy. Again, the duke invoked the Prince in his threats.
Darcy turned towards Elizabeth. “I am uncertain how much I might accomplish by letter; I should go to London to fight this battle, and I imagine that your uncle will say the same. I wish never to be parted from you, however. I wonder if you and your parents and sisters—or any two or three family members—would wish to come to London, as well, to make arrangements for your trousseau?”
Mr Bennet reminded all that he wished Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s relationship remain a secret, even from his wife, but Darcy assured him that it would seem very natural for Elizabeth to go to London to help her engaged sister shop, and that the modiste would be able to take measurements and note Elizabeth’s choices discreetly.
Darcy’s brilliant idea was adopted. Georgiana and he stayed the night at Netherfield, and Darcy and Bingley took advantage of their one night together to catch up, speaking well into the early morning. Darcy was grateful that, not only did his cheery friend forgive him for his interference in his relationship with Miss Bennet, he even took responsibility for his decision to remain away, saying, “I should never have relied on your opinion of Jane’s feelings. I should of course have returned as I had promised and asked her directly!”
Bingley asked Darcy to explain everything about his romance. “You and Miss Elizabeth! I have to admit that I thought you well matched, but I never realised that eitherof you agreed with me!” Darcy related many truths, although he glossed over the specifics of his horrible proposal and Elizabeth’s scathing refusal, and of course he never even hinted at the embraces, kisses, and honest discussions about intimacy that he and Elizabeth had shared.
The next morning, at first light, Darcy’s carriages met with Gardiner’s in Meryton, and they travelled together—again flanked by the guards—to London. Elizabeth, her mother, and her sister Jane all rode with Georgiana and Mrs Annesley in one of Darcy’s carriages, and he rode Orion, who had arrived at Longbourn the evening before.
Darcy had invited the three Bennets to stay at Darcy House. He spent a joyful hour showing his beloved the principle rooms and especially the mistress’s rooms; she was as appreciative of the elegant wall and floor coverings, the beautiful art, and the comfortable furnishings as he had known she would be.
Just as he ended the tour, and just before his meeting with the senior servants of Darcy House, Darcy received a message from Lodge and a copy of the second issue ofThe Peak Report.Both were remarkable. He sent messages to Gardiner and to his own uncle, the Earl of Matlock, and later that afternoon he sat down with Elizabeth, Uncle Henry, and Gardiner to discuss the note and the newspaper.
Twelve
The Peak Reporthad a very bold headline:DUKE ANGERS DERBYSHIRE RESIDENTS. The article featured events, quotes, and sources. Both Darcy and Elizabeth were amazed at the number of people willing to go on record describing unacceptable things that the Duke of Lymebourne had done, from importuning female servants and two gentlewomen to killing one man and wounding another man in duels, from shutting down a mine and a quarry to running a tenant off his land because he had the temerity to disagree with the duke regarding best planting times. The article told of a hunt and, later, a shooting party that had been organised by the duke, each at the wrong time of the year; these ill-planned sporting events decimated populations of deer and game birds and thus ruined local hunting and shooting for years.
The duke’s plan to relocate Shirethorpe was detailed, with quotes from workers and the villagers who would be impacted. The possible problems Darcy had identified for Lambton as well as Shirethorpe residents were analysed. Darcy was mentioned as having founded a local newspaper and another school as possible remedies for some of those problems.
