Elizabeth gasped. “Another letter from Jane! At last!” She hurried to secure the precious missive, beaming at the senior servant who had lowered himself to deliver it personally. “Thank you for seeing this into my hands at the first possible moment. Would you see that Mr Darcy is told? I believe he is in his study.”
With a bow, Mr Harding acquiesced, a rare twinkle in his hazel eyes; Mrs Darcy had won over the entire household within a fortnight of her advent, and the master was only one of many who now went about his work with a lighter heart. Darcy soon joined his wife, and together they read their sister’s news.
Dearest Lizzy and Fitzwilliam,
I write for both my husband and myself, as he declares that his correspondence is not legible enough to be worth sending across the globe. I cannot disagree.
Darcy muffled an inelegant snort and continued reading.
We have arrived safely in Bombay after our unplanned stop in Gibraltar, detailed in my last, which I hope you received.
When the ship was repaired, we made our way across the Mediterranean, which is very beautiful, to Mesopotamia. In Basrah, I made many more sketches, and Charles rode a camel! The journey across the Arabian Sea went smoothly and we completed our voyage to Bombay without incident.
Oh, Lizzy, I can hardly describe this place. There are great numbers of English here, so everywhere one turns there is some reminder of home, and yet it is so very different also. We have only been here a few days, so I shall certainly have more to tell in my next, but for now you must believe me entirely happy, except for the distance from you.
I remain your devoted sister,
Jane Bingley
* * *
When the old year gave way to the new, as it generally does, Parliament opened and the London Season launched. The Darcys dutifully made their way to town, though they would not remain for the whole of the Season, as Lady Matlock had wished. Elizabeth was in expectation of a happy event near the first anniversary of their wedding and would have to retire from the social whirl when her condition became too apparent. They would remain through Easter and no longer. After several months in company with her new sister, Georgiana was actually looking forward to attending a few small dinners and musical evenings in preparation for her come-out the following spring.
It was immediately clear that society was still of two minds regarding Mrs Darcy. Though a goodly number could not believe that the upright, clever Mr Darcy could fall prey to entrapment or base desire, or that Lord and Lady Matlock would admit into their company such a lady as the slander described, others found it more gratifying to believe the worst. The young ladies who had wanted Mr Darcy for themselves, and the mothers who had wanted him for their daughters, comprised much of this latter company, along with a number of gentlemen who had long scorned Darcy for his inflexible morals and clear disapproval of their own profligate ways.
Unlike her husband, Elizabeth was more amused than angered by the insinuations some chose to make in her presence. She was more than capable of dealing out genteel set-downs, but once she became known for her wit and warmth—and society saw the genuine affection between the couple—she saw more smiles than frowns directed her way and new acquaintances became friends.
There were old friends to be met with, as well, for Mr and Mrs Jones were now residing with the Gardiners while Mr Jones completed his training. Visits to Gracechurch Street were now an even greater joy for Elizabeth, made all the sweeter as she watched the regard between her beloved husband, her dear relations, and her cherished friend deepen and grow.
Two acquaintances who were not to be seen, on this visit or any future ones, were Mr Wickham and Caroline Bingley. He had been taken up for debt while the Darcys wintered at Pemberley, and was unlikely to ever win free. She, and, by extension, the Symondses with whom she stayed, had found invitations were in short supply after Lady Matlock’s disdain for her and her lies became widely known. Darcy returned home one afternoon from White’s and regaled his wife and sister with the story of the chilly reception Sir Everard had received there on account of the wagging tongues of his wife, daughter, and houseguest. Furious, he had declared that Miss Bingley would be removed from his home forthwith. A letter from Louisa confirmed the tale, including her refusal to receive her sister at Netherfield. Miss Bingley had had no choice but to seek refuge with her relations in Scarborough.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE
A few months later,Elizabeth strolled the paths of Pemberley's formal garden, a riot of colours on a pleasant late July day, smiling as the bundle in her arms squirmed. “Yes, darling,” she murmured, “I'm happy to be out of doors, too.”
Footsteps behind her heralded the arrival of her husband. She smirked. It had taken him all of ten minutes, this time, to seek her out. As he took his place beside her, she regarded him with one eyebrow cocked, almost daring him to object.
He shook his head with a little sigh. “I do wish you would have a maid carry Bennet, at least.”
“I am perfectly well, Fitzwilliam. I am not going to faint and drop our son. Indeed, I am entirely convinced that staying abed for a month would have made me ill, and that easing back into my routines has helped me to recover more quickly from what was, I am assured, a very easy birth.”
“You got up after five days.Five, Elizabeth,” he grumbled.
“Which is more than twice as long as I have ever known a tenant's wife to stay abed after an uncomplicated delivery,” she retorted. “I am not delicate. And besides, Ben loves the sunshine. Do not you, my sweet?” she cooed at the heir to Pemberley. “You are a fortnight old today! How quickly it goes.”
“Before we know it, he will be answering back,” the proud father said with a fond smile at the two most important people in his life. “I hover because I care, you know.”
“I do know, which is why I have not lost my temper with you over it, though it has been a near thing at times,” she replied cheerfully. “He is the dearest little creature, is he not? Worth every moment of swollen ankles and being smothered by my well-meaning husband. Though I do wish his arrival had been a bit more conveniently timed. I am sorry to miss Papa’s wedding today.”
“Well, as to that, the post has come, and with it a letter from the lady who, by this hour, should now be Mrs Bennet.” He drew the missive from his pocket with a smile. “Shall I take him while you read?”
Elizabeth handed the baby to him and accepted the letter in return, opening it eagerly. Her eyes flew over the lines, penned in Louisa’s elegant copperplate hand. “Oh! Jane and Charles have returned!” she exclaimed. “That is a relief. I could not be entirely easy until they were in England once more.”
She read further, then chuckled. “Let me read to you what Louisa says.”
They were, as you might imagine, most surprised to learn that Mr Bennet and I are to wed next week. Dear Jane looked as though the world had turned inside-out, and my poor brother nearly swallowed his tongue. But once they had got used to the notion, I believe they were happy for us.
“It must be strange,” Darcy commented, “to know that your friend is now your step-mother.”
