The opening was an insult. He could be no more dear to her than a used and tattered quill. Or else she would not have left him.
I had not imagined that superior society could be so mean, so unforgiving, and so completely unreasonable. It pains me exceedingly to see the toll it is taking upon you. How I, during the span of a few short weeks, shifted from giving you pleasure to becoming a burden, an embarrassment, and a wretched wife.
Darcy could no longer read the words that had blurred into a greyish illegible mass. His mind went blank but for the rhythmic steps of his cousin approaching.
“Mrs Darcy’s dressing room looks half empty. Are you certain that these are all the gowns she has?” Richard spoke from the threshold.
Darcy went to her room and glanced through the door of her dressing room. “Yes…or perhaps not. What difference does it make?”
“Nothing, I am sure.”
“She might have given the unfashionable tattered raiment she brought from Longbourn to the rag and bone man.”
“Was she truly that lacking?”
“I would not know. Why do you ask?”
“I doubt you would have allowed yourself to fall in love with someone who wore rags…”
“I allowed nothing. My emotions would simply not listen.”
“So, Miss Elizabeth Bennet was truly lacking in every sense?”
“If you are still speaking about her attire, I never saw any fault in what she was wearing.”
“You just called it unfashionable and tattered.”
“You must have read the tattle in the newspapers. The whispers are all over London, that she was countrified compared to those of our sphere.”
“Yes. I heard thebeau monde’s cats disparage her no matter whether her gown was from the famous Mrs Bean or from Meryton. You must have known it was jealousy and spite that was talking, which is not rooted in reality.”
Darcy looked at his indistinct cousin. He made sense, and yet he did not. The letter in his hand beckoned.
You want a divorce…
He did not! How could she even think of such a revolting notion?
I shall save you the trouble and leave you. I shall not hold against you the need to sire an heir with someone more fitting for the role of Mrs Darcy than I. Do not allow your lust to run away with you but choose wisely and prudently—an accomplished lady with a title, connections, and fortune.
His stomach churned with the mere idea of taking another woman into his arms.
What need did he have for a title, connections, or fortune? None whatsoever! If only he had absconded with Elizabeth when it became clear that thetondid not accept her in their midst. They could have been happy at Pemberley, consorting with the lower gentry of less lofty expectations. How perfectly happy he would have been!
Returning to his chamber bereft and aggrieved, he had much to repine. Their entire sojourn to London had been nothing but a wretched mistake. Why was winning the approbation of the elite so important to him that he would forsake his happiness, and worse, Elizabeth’s?
My great truth is that I love you, even though I do not have the words to express what my abiding heart feels so deeply. I am also angry with you and hope to mend my broken heart ere long.
Do not look for me, for you will never find me.
E D
She would return, if one counted her lifeless body as such.
His own exacting demands had killed Elizabeth. His only consolation was that she had not wanted to die. She was running from him and his blasted acquaintances. But what was this about a divorce? Had the judge importuned her before he arrived in his study?Damn him to hell if he had!
A large, comforting hand was patting him on the shoulder.
“I have never seen you this distraught. You need to rest, Cousin. Come, I shall fetch you a soothing tumbler of brandy.”
