Page 34 of Till Death Us Do Part
A knock on the door announced the butler bringing in a tea service, and the men spent the next quarter hour having tea and talking sport and politics.
After some time, the Earl said, “Darcy, tell me about this woman of yours.”
“She is not mine, Uncle.”
“She soon will be, like it or not. What do you know?”
“In looks, I could borrow the description of your assailant in the park. Not very tall, light of figure, hair as you described. She seems unremarkable at first but became prettier after I knew her a while. She knew more about literature than any woman I ever met and could argue philosophy or theology like a Cambridge man. She seemed to be flirting with me constantly, or I assume so since she was usually teasing and prodding about something. She would occasionally hew to an opinion not her own. I kind of liked her before this debacle.”
“Maybe you can like her again.”
“If I could trust her, I suppose I could try, but how can I trust someone after they have taken all my power of choice in the world? How can I trust someone after so thoroughly misjudging them the first time?”
Matlock chuckled. “Son, it is not as if you were setting the world on fire with your rush to marriage. She may have done you a favour, driving you to something you would otherwise put off until it is too late. You will not live forever my boy, and it would be better for Pemberley to go to your son than Georgiana’s second son or a distant cousin.”
“Yes, but how do I start? I marry her in a fortnight on the twenty-third and leave for my ship within the hour.”
All three men stared at the ground, and finally, Bingley said, “Perhaps I could intercede on your behalf while you were gone.”
“Yes of course, that would work! She is already going to be put out by you supposedly abandoning her sister and getting married weeks later to another woman.”
“Yes, I can see where that might be a problem. Not exactly the ideal emissary. I would make it worse instead of better?”
“Seems likely.”
They thought for a moment. “How about if you write her while you are away?”
Darcy thought a bit. “On the one hand, I am better at writing than talking, but—”
Both his companions stared, waiting patiently for him to finish.
Finally, he said, “—but, we have the issue oftrust. I will not know if I can trust her until she proves it, or until I can talk to her face to face and tell if she is lying or not. We could both make the most fantastical castles on paper but then come face to face and watch them all crumble and blow away in the wind. It seems pointless.”
Bingley said, “Perhaps you need a sign of some kind.”
Darcy looked at him critically, and at length said, “Explain.”
“You hold an entirely negative view of the lady, aside from the fact that you thought you liked her at one time. I can neither confirm nor deny your opinion, since I could just as well have been the sacrificial lamb. Is there something that could happen before you leave that could entice you to take a chance on writing—on giving her the benefit of the doubt?”
Darcy thought about it for some time. “Well—”
He thought some more, and finally said, “—if her family shows something even vaguely approaching proper decorum on the wedding day, then I may try. If they are abominable—”
Bingley said, “Say no more. I would have a tough time believing either of the eldest two could be anything like their mother but considering how much the youngest two follow her lead, it may just be that the eldest have learned to be more subtle. You may need to wean her off their influence for a few months and try to start over from scratch. “
“How do I do that?”
“No idea, old sport. Perhaps limit her correspondence without actually limiting it?”
Darcy thought. “If I make her pay her own postage, then she can consider how badly she wants to write back and forth. It is less draconian than cutting her off entirely but should limit the quantity.”
Matlock asked, “How can postage bother her? Were you so stingy with her pin money that a few pence will matter?”
Darcy looked only slightly chagrined. “I was not overly generous.”
Matlock thought his nephew was being inordinately stupid but saw little profit in trying to talk sense to him. He resolved that he would visit Mrs Darcy while his nephew was away and try to set things right, but there was no point in telling Darcy. He would object that his uncle was being officious, which was entirely true, but beside the point.
In compromise, he said, “It is not the best idea I ever heard, or even in the top ten, but not the worst either. I honestly do not see how you can do anything except keep her out of trouble until you bring Richard back.”
