Mr and Mrs Darcy 02 Suspense & Sensibility (14 page)

Elizabeth
met Darcy's gaze. He, too, clearly wished they could escape the alcove, but
they remained trapped until Mr. Dash-wood and his mother left. As much as they
regretted overhearing the private conversation between mother and son,
revealing themselves now would only make the situation worse - they would
embarrass Mr. Dashwood and make themselves look ridiculous in the process.
Feeling acutely the awkwardness of their position, they backed farther into the
shadows.

"Do not talk so foolishly. This interest you have in Miss Ben-net
is mere infatuation. I will find you a wife more worthy of you, one who can
bring something to your marriage."

"Miss Bennet has consented to bring herself. That is enough for me."

A long silence followed. Elizabeth forced herself to take slow, shallow
breaths so that the Dashwoods would not become aware of their accidental
audience. She also prayed she would not be seized by the sudden need to sneeze.

"You have made her an offer of marriage?" Fanny finally said,
her voice strangled.

"Yes. And she has accepted me."

"Of course she has. What other gentleman of your consequence could
she hope to snare?"

"I will not hear you speak about my future wife in this manner."

"Harry, you are still young. You don't know what you are about. Marriage
is too important to your future to enter into unadvisedly. Let me guide you."

"My heart has guided me."

"Your heart should have nothing to do with it. You owe it to
yourself and your family to make a materially advantageous alliance. If you
must have Miss Bennet, indulge in a liaison with her after you have married
someone else and produced a proper heir."

Elizabeth stilled a gasp. Harry's was more audible. A look of disdain
crossed Darcy's face.

"Don't be so naive, son. It happens all the time."

"I have heard enough of this."

"In time, you will understand that I am right," Fanny said. "I
only hope it happens before you commit the greatest folly of your life."

Harry made no answer.

"Harry? Are you listening? Harry!"

To
Elizabeth's intense relief, sounds of movement suggested that Mrs. Dashwood
followed her son out of the dining room. Darcy put a finger to his lips and
moved to the alcove entrance.

"They
have gone."

Elizabeth at
last released her breath. "What do you make of that?" she asked as
she reached his side.

"I
think your sister has a difficult road ahead of her, but that Mr. Dashwood will
do all in his power to smooth it." He took her hand, but this time with a
different purpose than when he'd last held it. "I also think," he
said, pulling her behind him as he crossed the dining room with rapid strides, "that
we should make good our exit before Mrs. Dashwood returns to rearrange those
cards."

Somehow,
Harry managed to shake off the exchange with his mother well enough to seem his
usual good-natured self at supper, though Elizabeth perceived the effort his
show required. It probably helped that Fanny was seated across the room,
presiding over a second table. Mother and son had no occasion to exchange words
or even glances until the meal neared conclusion. Just before dessert was served,
Mrs. Dashwood stood up and called for the attention of all assembled.

"I wish
to thank you for joining us to mark my son's twenty-first birthday." She
nodded to a servant, who threw open the dining room doors. Two more footmen
entered, carrying a large rectangular object covered with silk. They brought it
to the front of the room and rested it on a stand that apparently had been
placed there for this purpose.

"Harry,
I can scarcely believe twenty-one years have passed since you let out your
first cry. And I know that in another twenty-one years, I shall wonder how the
time since tonight's celebration passed so quickly." Fanny's chin was
tilted higher than usual, her voice more steely.

Elizabeth sensed the anger suppressed beneath the maternal words, though
Fanny, like Harry, was delivering a stageworthy performance for the benefit of
their guests. Whatever lessons and values Fanny had or had not managed to
impart to her son growing up, both shared the ability to present a convincing
fagade when required.

"Your years of young adulthood will someday be only a memory for
you, too," Fanny continued. "I wanted, therefore, to fix this moment
in time. And so, my darling son, I present my birthday gift to you."

The footman lifted the fabric to reveal a full-length portrait of Harry.
It was an amazing likeness, the artist having perfectly captured not only Harry's
physical characteristics but his essence, as well. The image seemed ready to
spring from the canvas to seize the pleasures of life with all the zeal oi the
original.

"Thank you, Mother." Harry rose and stiffly crossed the room
to kiss the air above his mother's cheek. "You are generosity itself."

The following morning, Elizabeth walked through a quiet house down to
breakfast, where she found Elinor Ferrars alone.

"Is no one else about yet?" she asked.

Elinor smiled. " Tis only ten o'clock. Do you truly imagine we'll
see many of the other guests before one?"

"Yet you are awake."

"I have three children. I haven't slept past dawn in years."

Elizabeth welcomed the chance to converse more with Elinor. She found
Harry's aunt kind and forthright, with a directness that was refreshing after
so many weeks among London's
ton.
They talked at first about the
previous night's festivities, then drifted to other subjects. Elizabeth kept
the news of Kitty and Harry's engagement to herself, as the couple
would not announce it until her
father had sanctioned the match. But she wanted to learn more about the family
Kitty would marry into, and trusted Elinor to provide an honest, if tactfully
delivered, view.

Elinor and
Edward, she came to understand, had married for love and had never known a
moment's regret since. Elizabeth believed the same would prove true for her and
Darcy, and fervently hoped Kitty and Harry would be so blessed.

"What
of your nephew?" Elizabeth asked. "Do you think Mr. Dashwood could
ever be satisfied with an alliance of affection that did not also bring wealth?"

"To be
honest, I'm not sure," Elinor said. "We have not had many opportunities
to spend time with him and form an opinion of his character."

Before
Elizabeth could learn any more, Regina Ferrars entered the breakfast parlor.

"Lord,
but I'm starving! I never danced so much in my life as I did last night. Is the
chocolate still hot?"

She headed
straight to the buffet, where she piled a plate high with ham, cheese, eggs,
plum cake, and one roll for each variety of jam offered. "What a splendid
party! Didn't Harry look handsome? Mama says she hopes our children inherit his
profile."

Elizabeth
choked on her toast. "Your children?" she asked when she recovered
herself.

Elinor
appeared equally surprised. "I was unaware that you and Harry had an
understanding."

"Oh, we
don't. Not yet, anyway. But Mama thinks he should keep all his lovely money in
the family, and says it shouldn't be hard for a girl with a figure like mine to
catch his eye."

No doubt
because there was so much of her figure to behold.

"And
last night, I heard my aunt Dashwood tell Mama that she'd rather see Harry wed
me than some penniless girl. So it's only a matter of time."

Not if
Elizabeth had anything to do with it. With his whole
family conspiring
to oppose a marriage to Kitty, she would offer Harry a bit of reinforcement
until they were able to depart for Longbourn.

Regina's mouth was soon too full of plum cake to provide any additional
news. Elizabeth excused herself and headed back to her chamber to see whether
Darcy had yet risen. On the way she passed Elinor and Edward's room. The door
stood slightly ajar, and Fanny's voice carried from within.

"If you would only speak to him. Please, Edward. You're my brother,
and his father is no longer here to guide him."

"Fanny, I simply cannot comprehend your objection. She comes from a
respectable family, and her elder sisters' marriages offer good connections.
With Harry's income, he doesn't need a bride with a large dowry"

"Hmph. You would think that a man of Mr. Darcy's fortune would
settle something on his wife's sisters to improve their marriageability."

"As you and John took care of his sisters?"

Silence.

Elizabeth reached her chamber, only to find it vacant. Darcy had apparently
risen and embarked on some other occupation before breakfast. She returned to
the hallway just as Fanny emerged from Edward's room. Harry's mother
acknowledged her with minimal civility, then turned on her heel and retreated
down the stairs. Having no desire to follow her, Elizabeth instead wandered
into the long gallery
Harry Dashwood stood inside. He had been
studying the portrait of his father, but her entrance diverted his attention.

"Forgive me," she said. "I did not intend to disturb you."

"Nonsense, Mrs. Darcy. Your company is always a pleasure." He
gestured toward the painting. "I was just contemplating what my father
would think of my engagement to Miss Bennet."

"And what did you conclude
⁷
"

He shrugged. "He would have wanted to see me happy, but I
suspect he
might have shared my mother's... reservations." He gazed at her directly. "It
could not have escaped your notice that my mother would prefer I marry a woman
of large fortune."

"I confess it has not."

"I apologize."

"Why? You are not responsible for your mother's opinions."

"No, but I am now responsible for Miss Bennet's happiness. I think
it best to remove Kitty from my mother's proximity at present, to spare her any
further unpleasantness. I also wish to secure your father's permission and
announce the engagement as soon as possible. To that end, I plan to leave for
Longbourn immediately - this very day. Can the three of you be ready by this
afternoon? If not, I will go on ahead."

"We can depart within the hour if necessary. But how will you
explain the abrupt departure to your other guests?"

"I will tell them the truth - that i must attend to an important
matter requiring immediate action."

"And what will you tell your mother?"

"Nothing whatever. I am done with her. At least for this visit."
He issued a disgusted sigh. "She has harped on me about family duty and
reputation as long as I can remember, but you have only to look around this
room to see people who did far more to compromise the Dashwoods' standing than
what she accuses me of. Sir Stephen might have been a knight, but his youngest
son was a pirate. And Sir Francis here - " He gesticulated forcefully. "If
the Dashwood family honor can survive
his
infamous conduct, it certainly
won't be tarnished by my marriage to a gentle, well-bred young lady."

Mr. Dashwood's manservant entered. "Your trunks are packed and
await only your order to load them, sir. Will you also be taking the portrait?"

"The one from my mother?"

"Yes, sir."

"Absolutely not."

"Yes,
sir. What would you like done with it?"

"My
mother can do whatever she likes with it. I don't need it
with me as a reminder of her manip -
" He cut himself short as
his gaze fell once more upon the portrait of Sir Francis.

"Come
to think on it, pack this one instead." He laughed
bitterly. "Sir Francis and I
can keep our disgraceful selves
company."

Nine

"I am convinced that there is a vast deal of
inconsistency in almost every human character."

-
-John
Dashwood to Elinor,

Sense and Sensibility,
Chapter 41

Mr.
Dashwood easily won the approval of both Kitty's parents. A half hour's
observation of Harry's earnest devotion to Kitty, paired with the testimonials
of his most sensible daughter and son-in-law, proved sufficient recommendation
for Mr. Bennet to grant his consent to the marriage without reservation. Mrs.
Bennet's admiration was secured still more quickly, with the mere utterance of
the words "six thousand a year." The couple fixed upon a date three
months hence and returned to London with the Darcys.

While Elizabeth and Georgiana made the rounds of warehouses with Kitty
to order the bride's trousseau, Darcy returned to his own affairs. The
soon-to-be-vacant living at Kympton still needed filling, and a rare opportunity
had arisen to discuss land enclosure - a practice Darcy contemplated
implementing at Pemberley - with the country's foremost expert. The Earl of
Chatfield had invited a small group of friends to meet Arthur Young, former
secretary of the Board of Agriculture. Hoping to encourage Mr. Dashwood's
newfound interest in
estate management, Darcy had secured an invitation for Harry, as well.