Mary blushed scarlet, which was rare indeed. Her pious sister was usually in control of her facial expressions and so demure her blood dared not rush to her cheeks.
“’Meekness cultivated on Christian principles is the proper consummation, and highest finishing, of female excellence,’” she replied.
Mary’s reserves of Fordyce’s quotes were depleting, and she began repeating herself. The judge continued to test her on scripture, but Mary was well versed in that too.
The marital quarrel the judge had witnessed was not broached, which compelled Elizabeth to deem the visit a success.
“That went much better than I had dared hope,” Darcy admitted once the guests had left. “Thank you, Miss Bennet. Your knowledge of the bible and Fordyce’s Sermons does you credit.”
For the second time in less than ten minutes, her most collected sister blushed.
#
The next two days saw the Bennet sisters much occupied with procuring Mary’s new gowns. Darcy was a generous man, Elizabeth had to admit, when he did not feel taken advantage of, and Mary was nothing but grateful and unassuming. It did not matter much to Elizabeth that she had no funds of her own but the few pounds she had brought from Longbourn. That, she had used to buy her sister and herself ices at Gunter’s.
“You must show me what you have purchased,” Darcy entreated when they arrived home.
Mary eagerly displayed her treasures for her brother-in-law’s approval, describing what gowns she had ordered whilst thanking him repeatedly for his generosity.
“And you, Elizabeth. What bargains have you procured today?”
Elizabeth’s cheeks immediately warmed. He could not have forgotten that he had rescinded her pin money, demanding to approve her every expense in advance?
“Lizzy used her limited funds to buy us ices at Gunter’s, Mr Darcy.”
You could count on Mary to divulge every fact, Elizabeth grumbled to herself. The girl was perpetually honest and never knew when it was best to say nothing at all.
Darcy looked bewildered and his ears reddened.
“An oversight, I am sure. Elizabeth, would you follow me to my study? I have household matters I would like to discuss with you.”
“Certainly,” she hastened to agree before they quarrelled in front of Mary. With her sister’s earnestness, she might tell Miss Bingley everything.
“Why have you not purchased anything for yourself?” Darcy enquired as soon as the door was closed.
“I have no pin money, and you must approve my every purchase in advance. Since the shops we visited today were new to me, it was impossible to know what items would strike my fancy.”
“I may have acted a little hastily and harshly when we discussed the bills. In the light of recent discoveries, I may have uttered demands, in the heat of the moment, that were unfair. It truly was the spoons that irked me. I do not mind you purchasing items you need, and if your old garments from Longbourn are unfashionable, you may replace them. What I cannot abide is squandering my money on unnecessary frippery. A new set of spoons will not deplete my coffers, but I would rather save the coins if at all possible.”
It was lovely that Darcy so readily admitted to making a mistake, though an apology was too much to expect. His explanation was perfectly reasonable and spoke very well of him as a provider. It inclined her towards forgiveness and humour.
“Either way, I doubt I have any pin money left if you have not succeeded in returning all the items that I did not order. The excess was astounding. Do you not find that odd?”
“Merchants defrauding unsuspecting customers are nothing new, Elizabeth. You are unaccustomed to merciless London trade. There might be further attempts to trick you, which is why I entreat you to err on the side of caution in the future. If you are unsure aboutanything, please do not hesitate to ask my opinion.”
Darcy rose and opened a safe that was hidden behind a painting of Pemberley. From it he pulled a stack of five-pound notes and gave it to her.
“Put this in your safe box. Even though I trust my servants, it is unwise to tempt anyone.”
Elizabeth accepted but was too embarrassed to do anything beyond curtseying and returning to her room.
The ladies soon adjusted into some sort of order of the day. The Bennet sisters decided to hire their own music master; Georgiana was much more accomplished on the pianoforte, and her lessons would become very dull indeed if she were to include Elizabeth and Mary.
Of course, wild and mostly unfounded rumours soon ran rampant about Mrs Darcy’s lack of accomplishments, fortune, and connections. She had nothing at all to recommend her. Not even Mr Darcy entrusted her with his money, even though the Pemberley coffers were known to be filled to the brim. She was mocked, depicted, and discussed in the morning papers, which in turn made her more reserved towards the servants. Because who else would tattle to the gossip rags? It was certainly not her husband, and she could not believe it of either of her sisters. By way of deduction, there was simply no other choice; the rumours were becoming more specific by the day, which in turn made her believe that someone must be feeding the press her personal business.
Chapter 14 Endeavour to be Worthy
In the morning, two invitations of significance were delivered to the Bennet sisters. The gossip had prompted Lady Matlock to demand that Mrs Darcy attend her at her earliest convenience. She complied forthwith and arrived at Matlock House in a mere thirty minutes, whilst Mary continued on to her appointment with Miss Clarissa Darcy.
