The Second Mrs Darcy (29 page)

“Let us go where we cannot be overheard. The library will do.”

He ushered her in and closed the door behind them. “Come over to the fire.”

She refused a seat and stood before the blazing logs, stretching her hands out to the warmth, not trusting herself to look at him.

“It all came about by chance,” he began, and told her, swiftly and succinctly, of his journey back from Oxford. “As soon as I saw the likeness you had drawn of Lieutenant Gresham, I recognised him as the man I had seen at the inn with Warren. Not only had I seen him, but I had also overheard some of the conversation that passed between them. So I went to London to tax Warren with what I knew. He tried to bluster his way out of it, even had the damned cheek to suggest I had hatched up this story with you to discredit him, but I pointed out that while his word might prevail against yours, it certainly would not do so against mine.”

“So I owe the restoration of my fortune to you, Lord Rutherford. How can I ever thank you?”

“You owe me no thanks,” he said, his voice low and definite. “I want no thanks; it was a pleasure to thwart Warren's wicked and unjust scheme. One might comprehend, although not forgive, a man's attempts to get his hands on a fortune, but to blacken your
name and threaten you as he did was outrageous.” He paused. “I like to think that I would have acted with similar enthusiasm against him had anyone been the victim, but I have to confess that my determination was sharpened by knowing that you were the one to suffer from his nefarious activities.”

Only a few days ago, the knowledge that she could return to take up the threads of her life in her small London house would have filled Octavia with joy. Now it hardly seemed to matter; she was glad it was all over, but her concern for her future and her fortune had paled into insignificance in comparison to what had happened to her here at Netherfield House.

Rutherford was standing very close to her now, and she turned to find herself in his arms; overcome by a blazing sense of happiness and rightness, she responded without hesitation to his passionate embrace.

“Of course,” he said, when he freed his lips from hers, “Warren may say that I acted from self-interest, desirous of adding your fortune to my own.”

“What, do you think he will dare? I should not venture a second round with you, were I in his shoes.”

“In any case, I intend to settle all your fortune upon you, and upon our children, so you need not suspect I am any kind of a fortune hunter.”

She laughed and drew him closer to her. “I was never in love like this before,” she murmured. “It makes me feel giddy.”

“Never in love?” he said, looking down at her.

“I loved Christopher, but it was not the same. Is that disloyal?”

“No, honest. I love you for your honesty and courage.”

“You did not think so when I acted honestly and courageously over the seat at Axby.”

“You were dabbling in affairs about which you knew nothing, which is quite different.”

“Ah, but my political education has continued apace, and now I know I was right to do as I did.”

“Just you wait, you will have so much of politics when you are Lady Rutherford that you will cry for mercy.”

“Is this a proposal, Lord Rutherford?” she said, laughing. “I find you are not at all romantic.”

“My own love,” he began, and then his voice, husky with emotion, changed, as the door to the library was flung open. “Now what the devil— Sophronia!”

Lady Sophronia stood at the door, her hand still on the handle, her face alight with amusement. “My word, Orsino, I find you in a compromising position. You will have to marry your Viola.”

“That is precisely what I intend to do.”

“Well, I am most heartily glad of it, and I wish you both joy. I always wanted a sister, Octavia,” she went on, going over to her and kissing her warmly, “and you will be the best one I could wish for.”

Octavia took Sophronia's hands in hers, searching for the words to express her pleasure in Sophronia's felicitations.

Lady Sophronia stood back and gave Lord Rutherford a wicked look. “And now you may wish me joy, brother, for I know you will be delighted to hear that Mr. Forsyte has proposed to me, and I have accepted him. We can have a double ceremony, Octavia; we shall accompany one another to church!”

Lord Rutherford's countenance darkened, and Octavia, giving him a swift look, took his hand, pressing it warningly. “Oh, I am so glad! I must tell you how much I like Mr. Forsyte!” she said. “And I can see you are the happiest creature in the world, except for me. Lord Rutherford, you must say something. Do you not share in your sister's delight?”

“I hardly know the man, although I know Portal thinks well of him.” He gave Sophronia a shrewd glance. “You are all aglow, Sophronia. Do you really care for Mr. Forsyte? It is not that you simply wish for a different life, with a home of your own? I should not like to think of you marrying simply for the sake of an establishment.”

“Don't you dare suggest such a thing to me!” she said, with considerable indignation.

Octavia was laughing up at him. “You are a fool if you can't see that your sister is head over ears in love with her Mr. Forsyte, and he is the same; they have been a case from the moment they met.”

“I wish you joy in return, then, Sophronia, with great satisfaction, since Octavia is sure of your mutual affections; she must be right. Tell Forsyte to come and speak to me— No, do not bristle. I know that you are of age and do not need my permission, but there will be settlements to discuss, someone must take care of your interests; you have too many stars in your eyes to think of practical matters.”

Lady Sophronia had left the library door open, and now, in a whirl of skirts, her eyes sparkling, Lady Susan appeared in the room. “Dear me,” she said looking from one to the other of them. “What is going on in here? Octavia, Sholto, you do not need to tell me your news; it is written all over you. I saw it coming weeks ago, did not I, Sophronia? And you are to marry your banker, and I am so very happy for you.”

Octavia, her awareness of others' feelings heightened by her own joy, looked intently at Lady Susan.

“Something has happened to you,” she said. And then, in a flash of insight, “That letter, it contained good news, did it not?”

Lady Susan laughed. “You have sharp eyes. Yes, I have had some very good news from America. My husband, the wretch who turned out to have a wife living, has finally obtained a divorce. No, do not look so shocked. He and his former wife have been estranged for many years; indeed he had quite lost touch with her. But now everything has been put in order; he is a free man, and he has written begging me to return to America. What an amusing idea, to be married twice to the same man.”

Cries of astonishment, congratulations, and a good deal of kissing and hugging were watched with a sardonic eye by Lord Rutherford and also by Mr. Forsyte, who had come looking for Sophronia.

“Pray come in,” said Lord Rutherford, as he stood at the door. “Join the throng.”

“I should have asked your permission to pay my address to your sister, I dare say,” Mr. Forsyte said to Lord Rutherford, his eyes fixed on Sophronia. “But with or without your blessing, we shall be married.”

“I wish you happy,” said Lord Rutherford. “You may well be. It is
not the marriage I ever envisaged for Sophronia, but she knows her own mind.”

“And heart,” said Octavia reprovingly.

“Yes,” he said, putting an arm around her waist and pressing her close to him. “No, you do as you please, Forsyte; I shan't stand in your way. And, Susan, do you really want to go back to America?”

“Oh, indeed I do. My husband is no plaster saint, but I am strangely fond of him, and we shall have an interesting life together, I am sure. I shall stay only long enough to see my good friends here to the altar, and then I shall sail away to the new world once more.”

“Now,” said Rutherford, “if everything is arranged among you, perhaps I might have my library to myself.”

“To yourself, Sholto?” said Lady Sophronia, quizzing him. “You want us to take Octavia away?”

“I do not want any such thing, as you very well know.”

They left, laughing and talking, and shut the door behind them. A log flared up with a sudden crackle of sparks, and Octavia, for an instant overcome with a ridiculous shyness, told Lord Rutherford that he should tend to the fire before Netherfield, like Chauntry, went up in flames.

“I should not mind,” he said, taking her hand and sinking dramatically on to one knee as he pressed her hand to his lips, a gesture that set her tingling from head to toe. “You could carry out all these volumes, and I could make my proposal to a woman with a smut on her nose. Now, dear heart, my own love, will you do me the very great honour of accepting my hand in marriage?”

Octavia Darcy's friends and relatives keep telling her that a single woman is always in want of a husband, especially an impoverished widow whose late husband's estate has all gone to a pinchpenny male relative. But to Octavia, an orphan whose half siblings have always bullied her and whose husband was kind, but not the love of her life, the idea of giving herself up to the control of another is anathema. When she unexpectedly inherits a fortune, she is overjoyed and looks forward to a new life of independence. Escaping from the efforts of her half brothers and sisters to marry her off, Octavia goes to Yorkshire to find out more about the family she never knew, and while she is there she meets and crosses swords with landowner and politician Sholto Rutherford. And her encounters with him, unbeknownst to her, are destined to continue.

After her time in Yorkshire, Octavia returns to London and shares a house with the dashing Lady Susan. Although she is now secure in her new life as a wealthy heiress, Octavia is quickly caught up in the romantic problems of her young niece and the confusing, but pleasant, meetings with Lord Rutherford. But when the shadow of her loathsome relative, and her late husband's heir, George Warren, falls over her, she is threatened with the loss of both inheritance and reputation. Octavia seeks relief from Warren's intrigue by spending Christmas as a guest of the Rutherfords at Netherfield House (the same house that Bingley rented in
Pride and Prejudice
), which brings not only festivities and theatricals but also unexpected solutions and happiness for more than one member of the party.

1. Elizabeth Aston creates a number of unusual character names in
The Second Mrs. Darcy
, such as Octavia, Dance, and Forsyte. Make a list of these names, and discuss with your group why you think she chose them and how they relate to the story.

2. On page 70, Sophronia Rutherford says to her brother, “I have no more desire to attend all day long to household trivia than you have. Simply being born a woman does not mean that I am naturally domestic, all women are not that way inclined, however convenient it is for the male sex to believe it is the case.” Were you surprised by this comment? Did Sholto assume his sister should tend to the household because of the time period, his own beliefs about women, or another reason?

3. During the hey-day of the British Empire, many English expatriates made their lives and fortunes in India. The result left these expats with a fascinating blend of East and West culture and lifestyle all their own. How does Octavia compare her life in Calcutta with her life in London?

4. Compare Octavia's Melbury stepfamily and relations with the Darcy side of the family, as introduced in this and other Aston novels. What characters in
The Second Mrs
.
Darcy
remind you of characters from previous novels in the series, or in
Pride and Prejudice
itself, and why?

5. Octavia's marriage to Christopher Darcy, though brief, was amiable. She found pleasure in her husband's company and came to care for him enough to truly mourn his death. Why, then, is Octavia so set against another marriage?

6. What is Sholto's first impression of Octavia? How and why does his opinion of her change with each encounter? When does his heart first seem to warm to her?

7. Why do you think Sholto didn't tell anyone he'd witnessed George Warren scheming with Lieutenant Gresham? When did you begin to suspect what he was up to?

8. As part of their family Christmas tradition, the Rutherfords direct their guests in a performance of Shakespeare's
Twelfth Night
. Do you think this is an apt choice, given the various situations of the characters involved both in the play and in the novel? Why or why not? What other plays might also be appropriate?

9. Why, in the end, is Sholto Rutherford still not completely happy about his sister's engagement to Mr. Forsyte?

10. There are certain elements of Jane Austen's novels that writers have respectfully put to their own use throughout the years. If you have read
Pride and Prejudice
or any Austen books, what elements of
The Second Mrs. Darcy
are familiar to you?

11. Have you read any of the first three novels in this Darcy series (
Mr.
Darcy's Daughters, The Exploits & Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy
, and
The True Darcy Spirit
)? If so, did you find it helpful to know those chapters of the story before reading
The Second Mrs. Darcy
?

12. What other Jane Austen novels would you like to see Elizabeth Aston tackle? If you were to write a spin-off, which novel or series would you choose and why?

1. Throw an Indian-style book club gathering, complete with ripe mangoes, Darjeeling tea, and the
nimbu pani
drink that Octavia's servants bring her lawyer guest, Mr. Gurney. You can find a great recipe for
nimbu pani
, along with other Indian delicacies, at
www.Indian-foodforever.com
and
www.cuisinecuisine.com
.

2. William Shakespeare's works are performed with regularity throughout the United States. Find a local performance of
Twelfth
Night
, or rent Trevor Nunn's 1996 film rendition to watch the folly of lovers who ignore, or hesitate to reveal, their hearts.

3. Spend some time browsing the author's website,
www.elizabeth-
aston.com
. Check out the reviews listed there, or search the Internet for other reviews. Share your findings at your next book club meeting, and discuss whether or not you agree with the critics and why.

1. What first gave you the idea to create a series of novels about the
trials and tribulations of the extended Darcy family members?

I was musing about the world that the children of, for example, Emma and Mr. Knightley would grow up in—Emma's daughter would be the age Emma is in the book just as the young Queen Victoria came to the throne. Which made me think back to the first draft of
Pride and Prejudice
, written in about 1797, and I realized that any Darcy children would be growing up towards the end of the Regency period, just after Jane Austen died. That set me to wondering how different the life of the Darcy daughters, with fortunes and the grandeur of Pemberley behind them, would be from that of their mother, Lizzy Bennet, and her sisters.

Only the privilege and money might create their own problems …

2. Writing historical fiction seems like a vast enterprise. What kind
of research did you do to prepare yourself for creating this series?

Part of the research comes from the reading I've done over the years and my studies at university. I like to draw on the writing of the period—letters, journals, novels and nonfiction, to get the flavour of the times and the language right. I also did a lot of research on the situation of women at this time and attitudes to sexuality and marriage.
Apart from that, social and political history provides the facts and framework for the stories.

3. There are several intersections of military and political history
with the events of
The Second Mrs. Darcy
. Was this a conscious effort
to ground readers in the historical time period?

It's important for historical novels, even light-hearted ones, to be based on the wider world that the characters move in. And I felt that Octavia, destined to be a political hostess, would take a keen interest in everything that was going on.

4. Octavia does an awful lot of travelling in this novel—from Calcutta,
India, to London, Yorkshire, and Hertfordshire, England.
Have you ever visited India? If so, what was your most memorable
experience?

I lived in India as a child and went to school in Calcutta—as well as living in London, Yorkshire, and Hertfordshire; I like to place my books in places I know. My most memorable experience in India? A snake in the bathroom, perhaps, or the scorpion in my slipper—but on a grander scale, the drama of the monsoon.

5. There are several Jane Austen–inspired novels and films. Do you
have any favorites
you'd
like to share with your readers?

Like many lovers of the novels of Jane Austen, I never feel that the actors and actresses match the picture I have of the characters! From way back, the old film of
Pride and Prejudice
had a terrific Darcy in Laurence Olivier. I think
Clueless
really caught the feeling of Emma, and I loved the dances in the BBC version of
Pride and Prejudice
.

6. Jane Austen is often celebrated as one of the original “women's
fiction” writers. Which Austen novel is your favorite, and why?

I hate to hear Jane Austen described as a women's fiction writer. You can read her for the romance and escapism, but to do that is to be short-changed. She is one of the very greatest of the English novelists, and that's because the humanity, the wit, and the insight into the workings of the head and heart are so powerful in her novels.

7.
The Second Mrs. Darcy
, like your other Darcy novels, concerns
characters and events that never grace the pages of
Austen's
original,
thus creating a spin-off that is really quite a departure. Were there
cues in
Pride and Prejudice
that inspired or helped direct you? Can
you tell us a little about your process for writing
The Second Mrs.
Darcy?

I took one of the basic situations of
Pride and Prejudice
—five sisters of marriageable age wanting to meet and marry the right men—as the starting point for
Mr. Darcy's Daughters
, the first of the novels. And I chose to write about characters who share some of the virtues and faults of the Bennet girls, which meant that I had to create heroes who were worthy of them, as Mr. Darcy is of Elizabeth.

I began
The Second Mrs. Darcy
with the premise and question: “What if an impoverished young woman inherited a huge fortune?” Then the unsympathetic family sprang up to add to her woes; but of course she had to have friends and well-wishers as well!

8. All four of your Darcy novels have been warmly received by fans
of Jane Austen and by new readers alike. To what do you attribute
your success?

That's a tough question. I think it's because I don't try to rewrite or do a pastiche of Jane Austen, which would leave readers dissatisfied, but instead create new characters within the world that Jane Austen knew and lived in. And, like Jane Austen, I love to amuse and entertain while writing about things that matter as much now as they did two centuries ago.