Page 17 of See, Hear, Speak No Evil, Mr. Darcy
How often he sat alone in this room! Bennet recognized the situation he had cultivated. Comprehending that hiscompany was not wanted beyond his bookroom, he understood what it was to be lonely.
Chapter 7
Lord and Lady Matlock Must Decide
“Rebecca? You asked to see me? I dare not do other than as you bid, my dear countess,” the Earl of Matlock said, standing under the lintel to the drawing room. “Ladies.” Bowing his head, Matlock’s lips twitched when his wife’s guests tittered behind their hands.
“I am glad to know you have returned, Reginald. I would discuss one of my charities with you before your dinner at the club. I know you must leave in an hour, so shall I come to the study in thirty minutes?” Lady Matlock’s genuine pleasure at her husband’s appearance was not thought odd by any in the countess’ drawing room. All knew they were a love match. They had never hidden the fact these three decades.
“I await your pleasure, my dear.” Lord Matlock stepped away from the door.
His wife used this ruse when she expected a tedious afternoon tea. And she always came up with the perfect excuses to end them that would not offend. Matlock anticipated enjoying the balance of the afternoon alone with his beloved.
Lord Matlock would be the first to say he had not planned to fall for the daughter of a minor country gentleman. He hadbeen invited to an estate on holiday during his last years at Cambridge and had gone with his friend to an assembly. He heard her laugh, and it was as if a spell had bewitched him.
That same week, Reginald Fitzwilliam, then Viscount Dalton, wrote to his parents to inform them that he had found the woman who would be his viscountess. Their betrothal began once he finished Cambridge. The summer before they were married, his mother had taken her soon-to-be daughter under her wing. His betrothed had been included in every decision and encouraged to speak her mind more often than do heirs when learning how to manage an estate. All fathers presumed they knew best, and he himself was guilty of this with his own sons and had been proven the fool in measures equal to that he had done to his own father. But his mother? She had helped Rebecca understand all that was involved in being “Lady Matlock,” encouraging her to find her own causes and enjoyments.
Rebecca had given them two sons. Their first son had gone through a period of listlessness, an unfortunate byproduct of having money and no purpose, until he met Pauline. In their first encounter, she told him he was no gentleman and was never to approach her again. Lord and Lady Matlock immediately approved of her, as it had been the perfect challenge for Sebastian Fitzwilliam, Viscount Dalton, and the heir to Matlock.
Within a week of her reprimand, Sebastian worked to change his now wife's opinion. He had begun to take the leading role for all meetings regarding the estates under the purview of the viscount title and attend other meetings regarding other Matlock estates. Sebastian and Pauline were married within six months and had two children. Matlock hoped there would be a dozen more.
Their second son, Richard, had chosen the army for his profession. So charismatic a man would have done well following his uncle’s footsteps into the church. While allfound his son’s conversation enjoyable and engaging, it was improbable that he, too, would have gained the rank of an archbishop. Richard, known to most as Colonel Fitzwilliam, had an expectation of justice the church would not have served. Matlock and his wife hoped Richard would use his bequest to purchase an estate and attain the life of a gentleman when he married.
Matlock was attending to correspondence when his wife joined him in the study. “Thank you, Reginald. I do not know if I could have gone another minute in Lady Thorston’s company. I wanted to shove a cake in her mouth so she would cease ranting about that son she…what is it?”
“I received an express from Darcy.”
“William? Why would he send an express? He saw us two days ago before he left for…what shire was it?”
“Hertfordshire. I am certain I know which part will best intrigue you, but there is business he charges me with I must address first.”
“You cannot tease me so. There are two important pieces of news, so share them with all immediacy.”
“We are for Rosings.”
“Whyever for? You seek ways to avoid visiting your sister, husband.”
“Darcy has said he will no longer listen to my sister’s claims that he is to wed Anne. He will cut ties if he hears of it again. His letter informing her of this is included with mine. He wished for me to be aware of his intentions and asked that I hand Catherine his letter, so she knows I am.”
“So, there is a lady he admires in Hertfordshire,” Lady Matlock mused, pressing a delicate and manicured finger to her lower lip.
“How do you surmise such from my telling you his intent to inform Catherine he will not marry Anne?”
“There has to be a reason he does this now. It is only logical to presume a woman has gained his interest. We must go to Netherfield so I might meet her. Perhaps she will have a sister you can marry Richard toin absentia. I begin to think it is the only way we will ever see him at the altar, given that he avoids the topic even more than does William.”
“While I do like your plan, my love, we cannot just yet. Darcy included a note for Anne. It informs her she can come to him for anything.”
Squeezing his hand, his wife said, “That is no surprise. He loves Anne as a cousin. And your sister is likely to rage for days, perhaps weeks, over his supposed failure to meet her expectations. Wishes she alone held.”
“He asks us to bring Anne to Town. He reiterates his concern that Anne is not receiving proper care. It is not the first time Darcy has mentioned it, and Richard said the same before he left for the Continent. Even prior to, and after every visit to Rosings Park with Darcy.”
“There was always so much to do,” Rebecca said to reassure him that they had not ignored their duties.
“So it ever felt. And, you are correct in that Darcy has met a young woman. At an assembly,” the earl said, casting a significant stare at his wife.
When Rebecca held out her hand, Matlock did not ignore her implied request to read it herself. “Quite the auspicious beginning. He claims that Miss Elizabeth Bennet shows loyalty to family, serving as a guiding hand for her younger sisters. They danced twice? The rags would be announcing him all but wed. Hmm, heisconcerned about Anne. Expressing regret for not putting an end to your sister’s demands? If he put this much of his concern to paper, I cannot help but wonder at his feelings, Reggie.”
After Lady Matlock refolded the letter, she tapped it against the palm of one hand.
