Page 52 of Unwillingly Mrs. Darcy
Darcy noticed Elizabeth stiffen slightly beside him and he wondered if, perhaps, the thought of his leaving troubled her as much as the idea of being separated from her troubled him.
“I should start at the beginning. By now, you all know that Anne and I are engaged. You see, we had intended to wed for some time but had not found the right time to tell our parents. Then Aunt Catherine’s hasty actions caused even more upheaval. Anne had to confess the truth to Darcy here. Which, of course, is one reason Darcy chose not to marry her out from under me.”
“Fortunately for us,” Georgiana interrupted with a grin.
Elizabeth smiled which made Darcy’s heart beat a little faster.
“Anyhow, Aunt Catherine spent some time interrogating Anne regarding her lack of dismay at Darcy’s marriage and in the end, Anne saw herself compelled to tell her the truth. You know this of course, as Lady Catherine graced Pemberley with a visit before moving on to my father. My father swiftly summoned me for an audience. Which I granted. But not before collecting Anne from Rosings. Aunt Catherine had not yet returned from her travels.”
“She did not return since she was here? That was weeks ago,” Georgiana said with surprise.
“She stayed at her London house for a time. Anne wrote to me around the same time as my father and so we decided to travel north together to speak to my father. Anne is at Matlock now. In any case, my father supports the match, and my mother, of course, has always adored Anne. However, neither of them was pleased by how matters unfolded. They both feel dreadful for you being involved in all of this, and I believe my uncle regrets giving you such poor advice.”
“What poor advice was that?” Elizabeth said, and Darcy heard the edge in her tone.
“My uncle is the one who pointed out that, unless I had another bride, I should simply marry my cousin,” Darcy said, glancing at Elizabeth.
“Oh, but I do not think it bad advice at all,” Georgiana exclaimed. “It brought you together after all.”
He was grateful for his sister’s enthusiasm, as, apparently, was Elizabeth, who smiled at her younger sister.
“I daresay it was well intentioned advice,” Elizabeth said, her voice softening. “But I can see how, from his perspective, he might feel he pushed you into something you did not want.”
“Indeed,” Richard confirmed. “He does. That is why he has requested your presence at Matlock—to formally apologise. In addition, he has summoned Aunt Catherine.”
“Goodness gracious!” Darcy exclaimed before he could stop himself, causing the entire table to chuckle. “I should not have said it like that,” he added, feeling slightly abashed.
“You are among friends, Darcy,” Richard said. “Nobody will blame you. In any case, I felt much the same. But my father believes the entire family should come together, discuss what occurred, and resolve matters.”
Darcy turned to Elizabeth. “It seems we are going to Matlock, my dear.”
Richard cleared his throat beside him, drawing Darcy’s attention. He saw the awkwardness written plainly across his cousin’s face.
“The invitation is issued to you, Fitzwilliam. Blooded family members only,” Richard said. “I beg your pardon, Elizabeth, I know it may appear frightfully medieval, but that is the way of the Fitzwilliams.”
Elizabeth gave a small shrug. “To tell the truth, I would rather not have gone to Matlock anyhow,” she said. Though her tone was casual, Darcy doubted this was entirely true. In fact, he felt rather uneasy at the thought of going to Matlock withouther. What could his uncle intend? To convince him to annul the marriage?
“Elizabeth is family, blood or not,” Darcy said but spotted her shifting slightly from the corner of his eye. Then, she placed one hand on his, sending a flash through his body at the surprise.
“It is a good opportunity to mend what has been broken,” she said gently.
“Indeed,” Richard agreed. “And your assistance will be invaluable. Mother and Father are eager for the marriage between myself and Anne, but as you can imagine, Lady Catherine will oppose it. It will take the entire force of the Fitzwilliam family to stand firm against her.”
Darcy nodded, and with a heavy heart, agreed to the task.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur. Richard entertained Georgiana, Kitty, and Elizabeth with tales from his travels. Darcy could not join in the merriment. Now and again, he would add an anecdote of his own, smile when appropriate, or respond to a question, but the impending trip to Matlock weighed heavily on his mind. And there was another matter.
His eyes drifted to the empty chair by the fire where Mary usually sat. They would have to find a solution to this particular problem as well.
“Elizabeth,” Darcy said, stepping into the drawing room where Elizabeth was playing cards with Georgiana and Kitty. “Would you have a moment?”
“Of course,” she replied and stood. Her gown, a pale blue muslin creation, played about her figure in the most pleasingmanner, but Darcy forced himself to look away. This was not the time to admire his wife’s form.
“Would you care to take a turn about the gardens with me?” he asked. Elizabeth nodded. They rang for their coats and pelisses, as the evenings had grown chilly, and then stepped out into the gardens together.
“I wish to speak to you about a few matters,” Darcy began. “First of all, my trip to Matlock. I think it is wrong that you are not included. As my wife, you are a member of the family.”
“I am that to you,” she said. “But I believe your uncle sees me as more of a burden. He never wanted this marriage.”
