Mary Simonsen - A Wife for Mr Darcy

“I agree with Georgiana. I would not want you to change because you have come here,” including wearing your hair down, he thought. He would love to be the one to take her hair out of its braid and to brush it himself, but those things were reserved for a husband. “You may be very sorry you have discovered my closely held secret, Miss Elizabeth, because you will now be forced to listen to my flawed efforts on the pianoforte. Last time I played a tune, David and Goliath ran out of the room.”

With an impatient Mr. Littlejohn within her view, Lizzy said, “I will leave you to arrange for your shoot, Mr. Darcy, and look forward to tonight’s entertainment.”

“Consider yourself warned,” he called after her, and he turned his attention to manly pursuits, so he might not spend the whole day thinking about Elizabeth Bennet.

As Lizzy approached the manor house, she saw a handsome gentleman walking toward her. Assuming that he was Colonel Fitzwilliam, she stopped and waited while he approached and decided that she would never again leave the house without a bonnet.

“Colonel Fitzwilliam at your service,” the man said and made a deep bow. “Please forgive me for not seeking a proper introduction, but I have heard so much about you, Miss Bennet, that I have circumvented convention.”

“I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Colonel Fitzwilliam, as Miss Darcy speaks of you with the deepest affection.”

“I am fortunate in having two wonderful female relations, Miss Anne de Bourgh of Rosings Park in Kent being the other one, and I see too little of both.” Holding out his arm, he asked if he might walk with her back to the house.

“But weren’t you on your way to the stables to join Mr. Darcy? He is arranging for the shoot with Mr. Littlejohn, and I have no wish to detain you.”

“I will be with Darcy all afternoon, and why should I stand by while my cousin discusses the specifics of the shoot if I can enjoy the pleasure of your company?”

“I am afraid Miss Darcy may have exaggerated my attributes.”

“I do not think so, and Miss Darcy was not my only source.”

So Mr. Darcy had spoken about her to his cousin, which meant what? Lizzy could feel something like resentment building up inside her. She wished that Mr. Darcy had stayed in town, so that she might enjoy the rest of her holiday and not have to think about what had happened in London.

“So you are here for the shooting, Colonel.”

“Yes. Finally. In years past, we would come with a party of five or six gentlemen, but Darcy has been off his game throughout the season. His friends finally tired of waiting for him to make the arrangements and went elsewhere, and I am sure there were those in the village and on the farms who were getting quite nervous that he had not been here because the birds are distributed to the families of the servants, his tenants, and the poor of the parish. Even with that, you will not hear a bad word spoken about him. When something important happens in the village or the neighboring farms, he wants to know of it, and if he can help, he will. His sister is of a similar mind. She just smiles more than her brother.”

Lizzy was glad that Mr. Darcy didn’t smile more often because, when he did, it made her go weak at the knees.

“Mr. Darcy would be very flattered if he heard you praising him so highly.”

“On the contrary,” he said. “Darcy is modest about his achievements and the good works he does. The only time he brags is when he talks about cricket. He was a superior batsman at Cambridge, and he likes to speak of the time that Cambridge beat Oxford in three successive matches. Other than that, he is not one to run on about his accomplishments, but then, still waters run deep.”

Upon reaching the house, Lizzy excused herself as she needed to see to her toilette. From the window of her apartment, she could see Colonel Fitzwilliam walking back to the stables. Lizzy had once heard Mr. Bingley describe Mr. Darcy as a big, tall fellow, but the colonel was taller and broader than his cousin and had blond hair and sky blue eyes. It seemed as if the Fitzwilliam family at large was made up entirely of good-looking people, and it would be no hardship to spend an evening in the company of that gentleman.

“What were you saying to Elizabeth?” Darcy asked Colonel Fitzwilliam.

“I introduced myself. I have heard so much about her that I did not wait for a formal introduction.”

“You introduced yourself? Where are your manners?”

“Oh for God’s sake, Darcy! She was not offended. You are in the country, where things may be less formal. Your rigidity is what got you into this predicament in the first place.”

Darcy had to acknowledge the truth of this. If he had not been such a stickler for protocol, he would never have gone back to Miss Montford after having met Elizabeth.

“Well, what do you think?”

“I think it is a fine day for shooting—not a dark cloud in sight. At what time will Mr. Littlejohn have everything ready?”

“Damn you, Fitzwilliam. You know what I am talking about.”

The colonel pointed to the path leading from the stables. “Let us walk,” and after they had put some distance between themselves and all the grooms hurrying about the yard, he continued. “I think she is lovely and engaging, and I formed that opinion only by walking with her as far as the house. Now that I have met her, I think we must revise our plan and not wait upon Antony. As soon as we return to London, you must visit Miss Montford and tell her that there will be no courtship. I am sure she will be relieved, and you must be strong enough for both of you and stand up to her father.”

“I have already decided to do just that. I must have been temporarily insane to think Antony could be of any use to me, and besides, this is something I must do myself.”

“When did you have this epiphany? You said nothing while we were in route to Pemberley.”

“When I saw Elizabeth. All the things that had been running through my mind helter-skelter came into alignment. This whole marriage business is not about Letitia. It is about Sir John and me. It is not for my personal qualities or rank that he wants me to marry his daughter, although I am sure my name and fortune were part of the equation. He is determined to have me renounce the heresy of my politics. He wants to be able to crow that Sir John Montford was able to show an ardent Whig supporter the error of his ways. Poor Letitia. She has been a pawn in a rather unpleasant game of chess. Torn between father and husband, she would have been perfectly miserable.

“Richard, what is today? Monday? Well, the Gardiners and Elizabeth are leaving on Wednesday, and I shall be right behind them on the road to London. I am going to call on Miss Montford, and I will reassure her that all the blame will fall on me. And I will apologize profusely for misjudging… everything. In trying to do the right thing, I came very close to ruining her life. She would never have been happy with me, nor I with her.”

“Bravo! All I can say is go to it, and the quicker the better.”

“But what do I do in the meantime?”

Fitzwilliam started to kick the gravel, trying to think of how best to proceed. “Egad, what a mess! I suspect Miss Elizabeth knows that you have been courting someone in London, so if you flirt with her, you will appear to be a total cad. On the other hand, you cannot ignore her as she is a guest in your home. Even if we should spend the whole of the day in shooting or riding, we must eat supper together, and then there are the evening’s entertainments.

“I would suggest that you act as you usually do when you are in an uncomfortable situation: be reticent, unavailable, and closemouthed. Keep any conversation civil, but distant, and spend as much time as you can with the uncle,” which was all well and good, but they had neglected to tell Georgiana of their plans.

Shortly after Lizzy returned to her room, Ellie came in followed by two footmen carrying a copper tub, and after setting out everything necessary for the bath, she ordered the young men to carry a screen over to the window. Lizzy was still getting used to the idea of someone other than her sister or mother washing her hair and scrubbing her back, but Ellie executed the task without making her feel uncomfortable. If all of this pampering kept up, she would soon need the servants to spoon feed her her meals.

“What dress should I wear this evening, Ellie?”

“Well, I like the yellow one very much, and Miss Darcy has a rope of pearls that will go with it quite nicely. And with your pretty curls, you might think about wearing it down.”

Lizzy was pretty sure that was Mr. Darcy’s preference as well, and for that reason, she thought it unwise. Why should she do anything to attract his attention? In two days’ time, she would leave Pemberley, and he would return to London—again. And in the near future he might possibly come to visit Mr. Bingley at Netherfield, and then go back to London—again. And the highs and lows she was experiencing as a result of his coming and going were beginning to wear on her.

“I know Colonel Fitzwilliam is partial to ladies who have their hair down,” Ellie said, interrupting her thoughts, “and I wouldn’t mind if someone as handsome as the colonel paid me a bit of attention over supper or cards.”

And then Lizzy thought, why not? If the colonel liked women with their hair down, she would leave it down. What would be the harm in having that gentleman pay her a “bit of attention,” as Ellie put it? Anything beyond a friendship was not possible as he was destined to marry a woman of wealth and rank. But so was Mr. Darcy, and it did not stop him from flirting.

“All right then. I shall wear the yellow dress with Miss Darcy’s pearls.”

“And your hair, Miss?”

“I shall wear it down.”

“I wish you had said something earlier about playing cards,” Georgiana said to her brother. “I have already planned out the whole evening. Isn’t it the responsibility of the mistress of Pemberley to make all the social arrangements, that is, until you marry?”

That last bit made Darcy smile. His sister had a subtle way of moving him in the direction she wanted him to go.