Mr. Darcy's Refuge (42 page)

Mr. Bennet waved a hand at him dismissively. “Just keep her away from that father of yours.”

“Since I stay away from him as much as I can, she would do the same, but there will be occasions when they must meet. I would not allow her to be alone with him, however.”

“Keep her with your mother, then. I like her.”

“I am glad of it, since Jane and I will likely be living with her. It will offer more comforts to Jane than I could afford on my own, especially after my mother drives me into debt by purchasing what she considers suitable clothing for her daughter-in-law’s introduction to the
ton.
She has been looking forward to that for years.”

“I will thank you to spare me any details of lace and ribbons,” Mr. Bennet said dryly.

***

The two acknowledged lovers bade one another a tender farewell that afternoon, while the unacknowledged shared nothing beyond long look. Colonel Fitzwilliam clapped Darcy on the shoulder and told him he would stop in at Darcy House after dropping off the curricle there, as he needed to have a word with him.

“Tonight?” Darcy asked in a long-suffering voice.

“Would you rather it be tomorrow night?” Richard countered. “No, I thought not!”

Nonetheless, Darcy greeted him cordially when he arrived, looking more relaxed than Richard could recall seeing in some time. “So, how is the last night of bachelordom going?”

“Too slowly. Everything that needs doing has been done, and now all I have to do is to wait on the parson’s pleasure tomorrow. And that cannot happen soon enough for me.”

“My sympathies,” said Richard. At Darcy’s suspicious look, he added, “No, I mean it. I quite sympathize with your dilemma, since I am now in the same boat. Miss Bennet – Miss
Jane
Bennet – did me the honor of accepting my hand today.”

Darcy’s brows drew together. “What? I do not understand. I thought you wanted…. Well, I thought you wanted Elizabeth.”

“And so I did, but I have since realized Elizabeth was just the precursor for me, the one who ensnared my attention because of her similarity to the woman I was waiting for. When I met my Jane, I had no doubts.”

“But Bingley is planning to offer for her, and she has been waiting for that!”

“I realize this comes as a shock to you, but do be sensible, Darcy. When I first met Jane, she was pining for Bingley, yes. But he abandoned her without a word, and what woman wants a man who will not stand by her? I told her directly that Bingley planned to offer for her, and she still accepted me.”

“This is quite a shock.” Darcy shook his head as if to clear it. “I thought you had only met her a few times.”

“That was enough. I would have waited longer, had you not told me of Bingley’s intentions toward her. I did not intend to miss my opportunity by moving too slowly.” As he had missed his opportunity with Elizabeth, though that had proved to be a blessing in disguise.

“You know that her portion is small? It will not provide enough for you to live in the style to which you are accustomed.”

“And that is what is different. I wanted Elizabeth, I admit it, but only if she brought me money as well. With Jane, it seems irrelevant. All the money in the world could not compensate for losing her. We will make do somehow. I will be giving up my bachelor quarters and we will live with my mother, which will allow me to put some money aside while still providing Jane with the luxuries she deserves. And before you ask – yes, she does know I have little to offer her financially.”

“That was the least of my concerns. If there is one thing I have learned in the last year, it is that Elizabeth and her sister are not mercenary. However, there is one matter I should mention. It has been my intention to settle some money on the remaining Bennet sisters to augment their portions, but obviously nothing could be done until I marry Elizabeth. Will it offend you if I still do so?”

Richard laughed. “Only you would ask that, Darcy. As a younger son, I cannot afford to be proud about where money comes from. But it would go into her settlement in any case, which would provide us both some peace of mind, I imagine.”

“Well, then, there is nothing for me to say but to wish you happy and that you have better luck than I had when you speak to Mr. Bennet.”

With a grin, Richard replied, “I already did that earlier today, and he gave his consent.”

“He gave his consent, just like that?” Darcy sounded incredulous. “Damn the man!”

“I imagine he did so at least in part to annoy you. He does seem to delight in being perverse.”

“How well I know it! I intend to be civil to him for Elizabeth’s sake, but it will be a long time before I can forgive him for these last few months. But at least I have come to know the Gardiners, who have proved to be among the best people of my acquaintance.”

“I would have never thought to hear you say that about people in trade, Darcy. Elizabeth has been good for you.”

“There is no question of that. I only hope to make myself worthy of
her
.” Darcy frowned. “In the meantime, I had best write to Bingley tonight. I do not expect he will want to travel to Netherfield under these circumstances.”

***

Jane Bennet preserved her usual cheerful demeanor as she climbed into bed beside her sister that night for the very last time, though she was experiencing a startling mix of sentiments. It was hard to truly take in the significance of her last night with Lizzy when every thought was overset with the wonderful surprise of Colonel Fitzwilliam’s offer. That morning she would have considered such a thing to be impossible, and now it was true! But on this important night she must play a different role, that of Lizzy’s sister.

She tried to put her own joy out of her mind in her concern for her sister. “Lizzy?”

“Yes?”

“Are you worried about tomorrow?”

“I have not had time to worry, to tell you the truth. It has been so difficult to reach this point that I feel more as if my troubles are over. Apart from leaving you, I have no regrets. Is that wrong of me?”

“Of course not! Tomorrow should be the happiest day of your life.”

Elizabeth laughed. “I hope not, since I plan to have a great many days that are even happier in the future! And I hope we will see each other very often. Will you come to visit at Pemberley? The Gardiners are to come at Christmastime, but it would make me happy if you stayed longer.”

“Well…” Yesterday Jane would have been delighted with this invitation, but now she hoped to be married by then.

“Naturally, if you would prefer not to…” Elizabeth’s cheery voice sounded forced.

“Of course I want to see you! It is just…” Jane, unpracticed at deception, felt wretchedly guilty at her inability to explain herself, especially on this night of all nights. What would Lizzy think? She screwed up her courage and said, “There is something I must tell you, something that happened today, and I hope you will not be troubled about it since I am very happy about it, so please try to be happy for me.”

“Dearest Jane, you are babbling! What is the matter?”

Jane took a deep breath, then said quickly, “Colonel Fitzwilliam made me an offer today and I accepted him. I know you must think it very strange since he offered for you not so long ago, but I hold him in the very highest regard, and he had a reason for speaking so quickly and…”

“This is wonderful news!” Elizabeth hugged her tightly. “Quite unexpected, I admit, but how could you think I would not be happy for you? I am pleased for both of you – for your sake, for having found a man as amiable as you are, and for his sake, for choosing to follow his heart rather than his pocketbook. I so hated the thought of his marrying without affection! And I am
very
glad to hear that he no longer thinks of me. I never truly believed that he cared deeply for me, and you are so much better of a match for him. Oh, Jane!”

“You do not think less of me for it?”

“How could I think such a thing! But are you sure he is the one you want? I did not want to say anything before, but Mr. Bingley is intending to return to Netherfield, and I know he wants to see you. If you are accepting the colonel because you think you cannot have Mr. Bingley, you should not give up your chance of happiness with him.”

“I know it must seem odd that I would transfer my affections so readily. If I had not met Colonel Fitzwilliam, I would likely still be pining for Mr. Bingley, but the reason I stopped thinking of him is not that the colonel took his place, but rather that he made me see what Mr. Bingley had been lacking all along. Do you remember the first time the colonel came to Longbourn? He was amiable, even when our father was being so unkind, but he did not back down. He did not hesitate to speak of his sympathy for the French, and he did not apologize for it. Mr. Bingley’s amiability is such that he cannot bear to argue with anyone. The colonel is both amiable and knows his own mind, and that is far superior. He is not wealthy, but I know that I can depend on him, no matter what may befall us.”

“I cannot argue with you on that point. Mr. Bingley is a good man, but he has not the colonel’s strength of mind. He will make you very happy. And I am also delighted for a very selfish reason – because you will be marrying a man who is already a close friend of my almost-husband! Is it odd that I am perfectly calm about marrying him tomorrow, but that calling him my husband still seems like an impossibility?”

Jane giggled. “I feel just the same way!”

Chapter 21

Mr. Bennet came downstairs on the day of the wedding for the first time since his heart seizure. If he did not seem in particularly high spirits, at least Elizabeth could discern no sign of either illness or displeasure.

The wedding party was a tight fit in the sitting room, even with most of the furniture moved aside, but somehow they managed to find room for all the principals as well as Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner and their four children. Jenny had refused to be left behind in the nursery, although she was still somewhat confused as to why this marriage was taking place when, as far as she was concerned, Darcy and Elizabeth had always been married. Still, her mother had always told her that the ways of the gentry were passing strange, so perhaps they all repeated their weddings at regular intervals. It made little difference to her, especially with the promise of cream cakes afterwards.

It was a touching ceremony in which no one could doubt the affection the bride and groom felt for each other, and both Mrs. Gardiner and Jane had tears in their eyes. After the vows were all said, the cream cakes devoured, and the bridal couple departed for Darcy House with many good wishes and warm embraces, Mr. Gardiner turned to his brother-in-law Bennet and said affectionately, “You old fraud.”

“Me? Whatever do you mean?”

Mr. Gardiner chuckled. “That heart seizure was real, I grant you, but convincing those poor children that you had changed your mind about their marriage solely because you were nigh on your death bed and needed to protect your family? Would it have been so hard simply to admit you were wrong?”

“That boy is too certain of himself as it is,” grumbled Mr. Bennet. “It’ll do him good to be kept guessing.”