Page 58 of Mr. Darcy's Runaway Bride
“I was looking for you. Are you ready?” he asked.
Elizabeth hesitated. “I believe it might be best if I were to call at Longbourn alone today.”
Darcy’s brow furrowed. “Alone? But we agreed to face your family together.”
“And we shall,” she assured him. “But perhaps not for this first meeting. My mother will be in a state of considerable agitation. My father, too, may find it easier to speak freely without your presence.”
“You fear they will not welcome me,” Darcy said, his voice deliberately even.
“No,” Elizabeth replied quickly. “But our marriage was sudden, and they have had no opportunity to become acquainted with you. It might ease their adjustment if I were to visit alone this once, to prepare the ground, as it were.”
Elizabeth felt a flicker of guilt at her dissembling. The truth was more complex—she feared her mother’s loose tongue, her younger sisters’ wild behaviour, and her father’s cutting remarks. She wished to shield Darcy from the potential mortification of such a first encounter.
“Very well,” he said at last. “If you believe it best.”
“Thank you,” she said, reaching for his hand. “I shall return by midday.”
Darcy raised her hand to his lips, a gesture that had become dear to her. “Take the carriage,” he said. “And remember that whatever reception awaits you, you return to me afterwards.”
“I shall remember.”
***
Half an hour later, Elizabeth approached the familiar drive to Longbourn. Its modest facade appeared smaller than she remembered, the garden less extensive. Had Longbourn changed, or had her perspective been altered by Pemberley’s grandeur?
As the carriage rolled to a stop, the front door opened, and Jane appeared, her face alight with welcome. Elizabeth descended quickly, rushing forward to embrace her sister.
“Lizzy,” Jane said with a beaming smile. “How good to see you arrive in such style.”
“I dare say, I would have walked but Darcy insisted. The skies are rather grey,” she said, glancing up at the gathering clouds.
“He is quite correct. But come inside—everyone is waiting in the drawing room. Mama has been in a flutter since dawn,” Jane said.
The drawing room fell silent as Elizabeth entered. Mrs Bennet sat near the window, her best cap adorning her head, her expression a curious mixture of resentment and calculation. Mr Bennet stood by the fireplace; his face inscrutable save for a slight tightening around the eyes. Mary sat primly at the pianoforte, while Lydia and Kitty occupied the chaise, their heads together in whispered conversation.
“Well, Lizzy,” Mrs Bennet said. “So, you have finally deigned to visit your family. How kind of you to spare us a moment of your valuable time.”
“Mama,” Jane said, but Elizabeth shook her head.
“It is good to see you, too, Mama,” she said, crossing the room to kiss her mother’s cheek. “You look well.”
“No thanks to the worry you have caused me,” Mrs Bennet replied. “My nerves have been in tatters since your disgraceful flight from the church. Such a scandal! Poor Mr Blackfriars was mortified beyond bearing.”
Elizabeth turned towards her father, who had yet to speak. “Papa.”
Mr Bennet inclined his head, the ghost of a smile touching his lips. “Lizzy. You look well. Marriage appears to agree with you.”
“I am well, thank you,” she replied, unsure how to interpret his tone. The ice thawed gradually when her younger sisters approached her, embracing her one by one.
“Where is Mr Darcy?” Mary asked.
“He is at Netherfield, I wanted to make this first visit on my own.”
“Well,” her father said. “He will have to come for dinner tonight then. And you, of course,” he said and laughed which further eased the tension. “He might be frightened on his own if we do not have you also.”
“Papa,” Elizabeth said and chuckled.
“A man like Mr Darcy would not be frightened by anything, I imagine,” her mother called, having missed the jesting tone between father and daughter. “And how is Pemberley?” Mrs Bennet asked, her voice suddenly honeyed. “I understand it is a most impressive estate. Ten thousand a year, at the very least, and two hundred bedchambers!”
