“I did not like Mr Darcy in the beginning and did not understand why Charles was so close a friend to him, but during the last few days I have discovered that he is a pleasant man and a loyal friend and, last but not least, a man in love with you. It is what I saw, and Charles confirmed it.”
Elizabeth nodded again. At least she had made one correct decision after the catastrophe in Kent: she had told nobody, apart from her aunt Gardiner, what had happened there. Jane would never know about Mr Darcy’s role in Mr Bingley’s estrangement. She would forever blame his sisters, which was neither mean nor wrong, because Mr Darcy regretted his interference whilst Caroline and Louisa, no doubt, still hated their family. Yet circumstances had changed, and their father was now the owner of Netherfield.
“Yes, I agree. He is an honest man and far more pleasant and kind than he appeared to be last November, but my dear, now I am free to marry whomever I want—”
“I know!” Jane cried. “However, Mama and Papa would never have forced any of us to marry for money. Remember what happened when Mr Collins wanted to marry one of us!”
“Yes, it is true. But in the past, the precarious condition of our family could have influenced our decision, whilst now, with Netherfield in our possession and a fifteen-thousand-pound dowry each, I can marry any man in England and have no need to worry about Mama or our sisters.”
“Lizzy! Do you think Uncle Thomas will give each of us such a dowry?”
“Yes, Papa already spoke to Mr Bingley—”
“Oh, that devil!” Jane exclaimed with so much affection that even the word devil sounded like a caress. “He did not say a word!”
“Perhaps because he is afraid that now you are an heiress, you will fly away from him!”
And both sisters tittered, so comic was the thought.
Chapter 16
They were once again alone at Netherfield, but how different things were. Their whole life had changed, beginning with the new place to live and ending with the intense emotions that were blooming in happiness and in hope. Only Thomas remained unchanged; his daily schedule revolved around his family and great-nieces. He observed Elizabeth with curiosity as he had that special feeling he was living his youth again—through her.
“You promised to tell me more about the duchess and how we shall live together in London,” she said. “I am a little afraid of being near such a person, uncertain whether I shall know how to behave in a duchess’s company.”
“Nobody does, my dear, except those born within that world,” he replied with a smile.
“You make it sound like a prison,” Elizabeth retorted.
Interested in their future life in London, she also had many questions regarding the past. The story of her uncle and the duchess haunted her imagination.
“For some, it is a prison; for many, merely a way of life, and they tend to defend it from intruders.”
“Were you an intruder?” Elizabeth dared to ask.
Thomas hesitated, a strange expression crossing his face. That story had rested buried in his heart for so long; it was no secret, yet he had had nobody to whom he might confide it.
“You will be astonished to hear that in our story, I was not the only intruder. Henrietta Osbourne also was. I mean the Duchess of Beauford.”
“She was not of noble birth?”
“She belonged to the gentry, a very respectable family. Her father was a baronet but nobody cared about that. They had an estate near Luton; long ago it was lost by the duke in a card game.”
“Oh!”
“Yes, I told you how life leads us down strange paths, sometimes narrow paths through dark woods.”
“Tell me, please!” she begged, like a child waiting for a story.
“This is no bedtime story, my dear!”
“I will cherish it, believe me.”
“I know you will. I have so much confidence in you. Henrietta was very much like you. She lived in the country, rode her horse, and accompanied her grandfather about the estate from the age of five. She liked winter and adored spring, always seeking adventure. I met her when we were children, and from the beginning, we were drawn to one another. When I was ten, my father, your great-grandfather, moved to Luton, only five miles from their estate. Our fathers met that summer, and we were invited to spend a few days at their house. At ten, life consisted of riding together like carefree children; for years, I did not think of her as a girl, but around fifteen, everything changed. We avoided one another for an entire spring, frightened by the new feelings between us, but eventually we understood it was love. We had one extraordinary momentof discovery, and suddenly we were betrothed, not secretly but in our hearts. Nobody around us expected anything but our marriage. Then I left for Oxford. It was more my father’s and grandfather’s dream than mine. They were hat traders. Did you know that?”
Elizabeth shook her head.
“Yes, they both possessed a good education and wished their descendants to have an even better one. That is why almost all the men in the family were encouraged to go to Oxford or Cambridge. It was then that my grandfather bought Longbourn.”
