To Conquer Mr. Darcy (26 page)

She smiled, affectionately caressing his chest. “You made yourself quite clear on the subject, William,” she responded.

“That is not quite the same as saying that you are convinced,” he said suspiciously.

Nestling against him, she said, “Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that some issues remain unresolved for me.”

“May I ask what those would be?”

She had to kiss him before finding the courage to answer. “I find that I am quite unhappy with Lydia’s behavior, and, at the same time, I find it to be not particularly different from my own, and this is a source of some dissatisfaction.”

He frowned. “Is this because we anticipated our marriage vows?”

“That, and… well, I did permit a great deal before that, as well.”

“Not as much as I asked.”

“Nonetheless.”

It was only a short step in Darcy’s mind from distress over her behavior to anger at the one who provoked and encouraged that behavior. His anxiety rose, despite his efforts to quell it.
She would hardly be in my arms if she were angry with me,
he thought.
For God’s sake, do not try to read more into her words than is there; she needs support, not conflict.
Carefully, he said, “While there are superficial similarities, I believe that your situation was quite different from Lydia’s.”

“Yes, in that it is my good fortune not to pay a price for my errors.”

He sighed. “Elizabeth, you once thought highly of Wickham. If he had asked you to elope with him then, would you have done it?”

“No, of course not!”

“Why not?”

“Well, it would have been an imprudent match, and if I chose to ignore that, why elope? There would have been no reason not to follow the normal course, and it would have made me suspicious if he did not wish to do so.”

“Would you have let him kiss you?” Darcy hoped fervently that his question would not be answered in the affirmative.

She flushed. “Of course not.”

“But you let me kiss you,” he said, and followed his words with action.

When he released her, she said mischievously, “You were more tempting.”

“A very attractive answer, my love, but I doubt that temptation would be your only consideration.”

“Mmm… it would depend on how tempting it was. Very well, I shall be serious, if you insist. You had made your intentions clear, and I knew that you would not shirk your responsibilities. I accept your point, sir.”

“And when I took you to my bed, we were formally and publicly engaged, which is not to say that it was acceptable on either of our parts, but it is a far cry from running off with a man for no good reason! But I do have one question for you.”

“What is that?”

“How tempting was I?”

She smiled, and traced the line of his jaw with her finger. “Very, very tempting,” she said. “Tempting enough to make me love you when I was determined not to.”

“Thank God for that!” he said, gazing into the eyes that had so bewitched him when he had been equally determined not to care, and kissed the woman who had become the source of all his happiness.

* * *

They set off early the next morning in the Darcy travelling carriage, a luxurious conveyance that would make excellent time on the trip to London. At first, conversation amongst the travelers was somewhat stilted, as the topic on everyone’s mind was not one that was suitable for discussion in front of Georgiana. After a time, however, Elizabeth was able to find an interest in the new countryside through which they were passing. Darcy, who was naturally quite familiar with the route, was happy to point out sights along the way.

They traveled as expeditiously as possible; and after sleeping one night on the road, reached Gracechurch Street the following evening. When they reached the outskirts of London, Elizabeth’s mind turned to upcoming events. Her anxiety grew as they approached Gracechurch Street; she knew that her concern should all be for Lydia at this point, but she could not help but wonder if her father would be at the Gardiners’ house, and if so, how he would react to the news of her marriage. It was certainly not the setting in which she would have chosen to inform him of it, and she dreaded the idea of discussing the circumstances leading to it.

Her fears were realized when they arrived; Mr. Bennet came downstairs to greet them when informed of their coming. He appeared exhausted, and there were new lines around his eyes. Elizabeth felt all the attendant concern one would expect for her father, and worried about how her news would affect him.

Mr. Bennet had not anticipated seeing Mr. Gardiner for a day or two yet, since he had expected him to stop at Longbourn; the arrival of Darcy, Elizabeth, and Georgiana was a complete surprise. Nonetheless, he greeted them all warmly, with an embrace for his daughter, and thanked Darcy for bringing Elizabeth and Mr. Gardiner to the city so promptly.

Darcy glanced at Elizabeth, then at Mr. Gardiner, who made a motion with his eyes. “Mr. Bennet, may I speak with you privately?” he asked.

“Now?” inquired Mr. Bennet, not having failed to notice the interaction.

“Yes, sir,” said Darcy determinedly.

“I believe that I shall join you as well,” said Mr. Gardiner. “Lizzy, will you entertain Miss Darcy in our absence? Our cook can no doubt provide some sort of refreshment for you.”

“Of course,” she said, wondering whether she should ask to participate in the discussion, but it seemed that Darcy and her uncle felt it better that she did not. She watched after them with concern as they withdrew to the study.

“Well, Mr. Darcy,” said Mr. Bennet as he seated himself. “What can I do for you?”

“There are two matters that I need to broach with you, Mr. Bennet,” said Darcy, nervously twisting his signet ring. “The first is regarding the reason I came to London, which is that I know some of Wickham’s connections in London as well as his habits, which I hope will be of assistance in discovering him.”

“Any assistance will be welcome,” Mr. Bennet said.

“Perhaps we could meet in the morning to discuss this further,” Darcy ventured.

Had he been in a better state of mind, Mr. Bennet would have found Darcy’s tentativeness and obvious disquiet entertaining, but his patience and tolerance had suffered a great deal over the past days. “As you wish,” he said briefly.

The easy part over, Darcy braced himself for the storm. He had hoped that his offer to find Wickham would at least warm Mr. Bennet toward him, and his demeanor became more distant and cool as he tried to disguise his anxiety. “The other matter of which I need to inform you will no doubt come as something of a surprise; it is that Elizabeth and I were married Tuesday last in Matlock.”

Mr. Bennet’s face registered shock. He folded his hands quietly in front of him as he stared intently at Darcy. “
What
did you say?”

“Your daughter and I are married,” Darcy said, his voice inflexible and reactionless.

“Without a word to me?” Mr. Bennet said in a conversational tone that was belied by his affect.

“Yes,” Darcy said briefly. “We had intended to travel to Longbourn later this week to acquaint you with the matter, but events have interfered with those plans.”

“Did it occur to you, Mr. Darcy, that I might be less than pleased with this development?” An element of disbelief entered Mr. Bennet’s voice.

“I did not expect you to be pleased, sir.” Darcy began to worry that Mr. Bennet’s reaction was going to be even worse than he had feared.

“And yet you went ahead with it anyway.”

“Yes.”

“May I ask why you decided to completely disregard what you knew to be my wishes and the plans of my family?” Mr. Bennet’s voice was beginning to rise, an almost unheard of occurrence in a man who had always employed humor to defuse difficult situations.

Darcy, feeling that his father-in-law had every reason to be angry, and aware that his reply was likely to make him angrier still, said in what he hoped to be a calm voice, “It was necessary.”

“It was
necessary
?”

Mr. Gardiner, concerned by the escalation of the situation, decided it was time to intervene. “He had my agreement,” he said gently. When Mr. Bennet’s eyes turned to him in furious disbelief, he added, “I did not see any better alternative under the circumstances.”

Mr. Bennet could not believe, would not believe what his brother-in-law was implying. “Under what circumstances?” he asked slowly, as if the words were being dragged out of him. Not his Lizzy…

Darcy’s eyes were carefully focused on a point in midair, as if close attention to some imaginary detail there would cause the question to evaporate into nothingness. Finally Mr. Gardiner said, “Under the circumstances that they needed to marry as soon as possible.”

The silence this produced was profound and long-lasting as Mr. Bennet considered the implications. Elizabeth was already married, she was no longer of his household, but was mistress of Darcy’s; he had not given her away, but rather she had been taken from him. His lively, witty, clever Lizzy was no longer his, and now she belonged to the oft-disagreeable man in front of him, who had seduced her and won her unfairly. He eyed Darcy with a deep fury. “Do you have anything to say in your own defense, Mr. Darcy?”

Darcy refocused his gaze on Mr. Bennet. “Nothing at all, sir,” he said evenly.

Mr. Bennet exhaled sharply. Biting out his words, he said, “I should have expected this after what happened in Hertfordshire. Of all the irresponsible, heedless, selfish…”

Mr. Gardiner’s hand clamped down tightly on his arm. He said mildly, “I am glad to say that Lizzy does not seem to be distressed by the circumstances of her marriage, and were I to venture a guess, I believe that she finds it to be something of a relief, although she has been quite concerned about your reaction.”

The thought of Elizabeth’s worry softened her father slightly, forcing him to recall that alienating Darcy would only interfere in his closeness to her. “Lizzy has taken this well, then?” he asked Mr. Gardiner.

“Were it not for the situation with Lydia, I would say that she is very happy,” replied Mr. Gardiner.

Mr. Bennet could have found it in his heart to wish that she would be a little more unhappy about leaving her home and family, but he knew Lizzy’s nature well. “Well, as there is little I can do about this, perhaps the less said, the better,” he said grudgingly.

Darcy inclined his head silently in acknowledgment.

The lines of exhaustion showed more prominently in Mr. Bennet’s face as he quelled his anger. He stood, saying, “I would like to speak with Lizzy now.”

Darcy forestalled him. “I will bring her in, then. My sister is not aware of the circumstances of our wedding, and I prefer that she not be involved in this.”

Mr. Bennet could not resist a final knife thrust. “You would not care to have your sister follow your example, then.”

“Mr. Bennet, if you wish to label me irresponsible, reckless, and selfish I shall not argue with you, but I am not a fool,” snapped Darcy, having reached the end of his tolerance. He regretted his show of temper almost instantly, and as he put his hand to the door, said, “I hope that you understand that I love your daughter very much.”

“Not enough to respect her, apparently.”

“Look at it as you will, then, sir,” Darcy said with finality as he exited.

Mr. Bennet dropped his head into his hands. Looking on with concern, Mr. Gardiner said, “While you are considering what he has done, do not neglect to think of what he has
not
done—he did not make an attempt to hide what happened from either you or me, he did not simply hope that there would be no consequences of the event and proceed with the plans, and he did not attempt to justify himself.”

“Oh, yes,” said Mr. Bennet with a bitter humor. “Compared to the other young man who seduced one of my daughters, his behavior is admirable, but you will have to forgive me if I bear a grudge that it happened at all.”

“I understand completely. However, I do think that he is doing the best he can with a difficult situation, and that he has made every attempt to take responsibility for what he has done. And although I cannot excuse it, the fact of the matter is that the attachment between them is as passionate a one as I have ever seen, and being in such close proximity did put them in a certain amount of peril.”

Another thought occurred to Mr. Bennet, and he looked at Mr. Gardiner with displeasure. “And where were you when this was happening?” he asked sharply.

Mr. Gardiner looked at him with some sympathy. “I was asleep, as is my habit during the night.”

Mr. Bennet closed his eyes, and said tiredly, “My apologies, Edward. I should not have implied that this was your fault in any way. I just cannot believe that Lizzy would behave in this way. Lydia, certainly, or Kitty, but Lizzy? And what can she possibly see in him?”

“He can be very pleasant and charming,” said Mr. Gardiner earnestly, “and he does appear to love Lizzy beyond all measure. Surely you can find something in common with him there.”

After the gentlemen disappeared into the study, Elizabeth and Georgiana retreated to the sitting room, which was somewhat chilly as a fire had not been lit yet. Her agitation could not be masked; she knew that her father was going to be made unhappy, and that it should be through her means, that she, his favorite child, should be distressing him through her behavior, should be filling him with fears and regrets, was a wretched reflection. Georgiana, unaware of Mr. Bennet’s ignorance of recent events, assumed that her sister’s disquiet sprang from concern over Lydia, and attempted to cheer her with conversation, but Elizabeth sat in quiet misery until Darcy appeared again.

His slight smile reassured her to some extent. “Come, my dear, your father wishes to speak with you before we depart,” he said. He followed her into the hall, where he caressed her cheek lightly. “He did not take it quite so badly as he might have; I think that we, or at least you, shall be forgiven, though perhaps not immediately.”

“Perhaps you should wait with Georgiana while I speak to him,” she said worriedly.

His eyes flashed for a moment. “Elizabeth, I am your husband, and if you think for a moment that I would allow you to go in there without me, you are quite mistaken.”

She smiled anxiously but with good humor. “You are right, of course; I fear that I am not yet accustomed to being wed. Perhaps I shall be used to it in a fortnight or two.”

“You shall have many years to become accustomed to it, my love.” He took her hand and squeezed it, and did not release it immediately when they went into the study; she found she was in fact quite grateful for his presence at her side. She saw that Mr. Gardiner had been engaging Mr. Bennet in earnest conversation that broke off at their arrival, and she looked at her father with that expression of mingled guilt and mischief that had attended her every transgression since she had been a small child, though unfortunately there could be little comparison made between a marriage just this side of elopement and hiding Kitty’s favorite doll in a tree.

She was relieved when he stood and approached her, taking her hands in his. “Well, Lizzy, I see that it still remains beyond you to manage your romantic life in a traditional manner,” he said.

“I must find some way in which to distinguish myself from Jane,” she said gravely.

“Yes, well, I am beginning to appreciate Jane far more than I have in the past!” said Mr. Bennet. “There is something to be said for tradition, after all. But you have my very best wishes, Lizzy, and I hope you will be very happy.”

She smiled up at Darcy with an unmistakable look of affection. “Of that I have no doubt, sir, and I hope that some day you will be equally happy about it.”

“Well, perhaps, but you will excuse me at the moment if I spend my time appreciating the predictable Mr. Bingley,” he said dryly. “But we can discuss this further at a later date; I know you must be tired after your long journey. Tomorrow I will be meeting again with… your husband to discuss further steps we might undertake to discover Lydia; perhaps I shall see you at some point as well?”

She glanced at Darcy before nodding her assent.

* * *

Elizabeth’s feelings on the journey to the Darcy townhouse were far more complex than she would have anticipated; it was not until the moment when she left her father and uncle behind to go to her husband’s home that she felt the true extent of how her marriage had changed her life—that she had left her old life and her family behind, and that Darcy’s views now must take precedence over her father’s. It would not, under normal circumstances, have been an unusual discovery, but since at Pemberley her marriage had entailed only a change of bedroom, it had not felt true to her until now.

They arrived at Brook Street just as darkness was falling. Though curious to behold the place where she could expect to spend a great deal of time in the future, Elizabeth nonetheless held back slightly as the butler met them at the door.

“Mr. Darcy!” Philips said in surprise. “We had not been expecting you, sir.”

“I apologize for failing to send notice, Philips; we left Pemberley rather unexpectedly,” said Darcy, handing over his hat and coat.

“I will have your rooms prepared immediately, sir. Would you like some refreshment?” Philips glanced toward Elizabeth, wondering about arrangements for this unknown guest.

“Yes, if Cook could put something together, I am sure we would all appreciate it.”

“Right away, sir. And, Mr. Darcy, I should mention that Colonel Fitzwilliam has been staying here; I hope that is not a problem, sir.”

“Not in the least,” said Darcy, wondering what would have brought his cousin to town again so shortly after his last visit, as the gentleman himself appeared in the hallway to check on the commotion.

“Darcy!” Colonel Fitzwilliam exclaimed. “What brings you here?” He kissed Georgiana’s cheek warmly, and then, noticing Elizabeth, started in surprise. “Miss Bennet, this is an unexpected pleasure,” he said, bowing over her hand.

“I fear that I shall have to introduce you again; you do not have her name correctly, Fitzwilliam,” Darcy said significantly.

A puzzled look crossed the colonel’s face as he looked back and forth between Darcy and Elizabeth, then, as light dawned, he glanced down at her hand. “Not Mrs. Darcy,” he drawled, shooting a pointed look at Darcy.

Elizabeth smiled and curtsied. “It is indeed a pleasure, Colonel Fitzwilliam.”

“Well!” he exclaimed with a broad smile. Turning his attention to his cousin, he said, “Darcy, you dog! And without even inviting me to the wedding! Does this mean that the pistols at dawn are off?”

Darcy looked pleased. “Yes; I have decided to wait until you challenge me instead—then I can choose rapiers and spoil your pretty looks for you, cousin. Now, may I sit down in my own house, or are you planning an inquisition before you let us past the door?”

Shaking his head in disbelief, Colonel Fitzwilliam allowed them pass. Darcy, spotting a stunned-looking Philips still hovering, took a moment to introduce him to Elizabeth properly before leading her to the large sitting room.

Once they were all settled, Darcy asked, “So, what are you doing here, Fitzwilliam?”

“Apart from drinking your port? Well, you know that I went back up to Newcastle, and no sooner had I arrived than his lordship sent me straight back here to indulge the Major General again, and then we repeated the whole cycle one more time, after which I told his Lordship that I thought it would be far more efficient for me to remain in London while he sent me instructions by post, rather than keeping the instructions in Newcastle and sending me back and forth by post. So, since you were away, and planning to shoot me at dawn as well, I imposed upon Edward—my elder brother, Mrs. Darcy—and stayed with him for two days, after which I thought it unlikely that I would survive long enough for you to shoot me, so I decamped and threw myself on the mercy of Philips, who took pity upon me and took me in. He has not allowed me to drink
too
much of your port, though, more’s the pity.”

“Fitzwilliam, you are welcome to every last drop of my port, and the rest of the wine cellar as well,” Darcy said meaningfully, with a glance at Elizabeth.

The colonel inclined his head. “Always happy to be of service. But I suspect that you have a more interesting saga to tell, Darcy. Have you come from Hertfordshire?

Darcy laughed. “I fear it is far more complex than that. We spent some weeks in Hertfordshire, where, after a certain amount of persuasion, I managed to convince this lovely lady to accept the offer of my hand,” he said, pausing to take Elizabeth’s hand and kiss it lightly. She looked at him with the tender smile that always made his heart beat faster, and their eyes locked for a moment.

“You will have to become accustomed to this, Richard,” interposed Georgiana. “I am afraid that they do it quite constantly.”

Elizabeth colored lightly. Darcy kissed her hand again, then held it in his own, staring at Colonel Fitzwilliam as if daring him to object. The latter merely raised an amused eyebrow. “That must have been a very short engagement, then, cousin.”

“Well, I confess that we had originally intended it to be somewhat longer, but, as it happened, Elizabeth was by great coincidence about to travel with some of her family to Derbyshire, and we convinced them to stay at Pemberley. And, of course, once I had Elizabeth at Pemberley, I was not about to let her leave again, so we imposed upon your old friend the bishop to remove the remaining obstacles to immediate matrimony. Your parents attended the wedding.”

Elizabeth was relieved that Colonel Fitzwilliam did not seem to find this tale in any way remarkable, and noted for future consideration what it might mean that, while the entire world saw Darcy as always behaving in a studied and careful manner, his relations all seemed to think it perfectly natural for him to be madly impulsive.

“And no one saw fit to so much as mention it to me?” Colonel Fitzwilliam said in mock indignation. “I
will
have to challenge you, Darcy. Not to mention coming up with some suitable punishment for my parents.”

“It was only two days ago, Colonel Fitzwilliam,” Elizabeth said amusedly.

“Two days? What in heaven’s name are you doing here, then?” He sounded mildly scandalized.

“Excuse me, please,” Georgiana said abruptly, and exited the room.

Colonel Fitzwilliam looked after her in concern. “Did I say something I should not have?”

Darcy looked at Elizabeth as if for permission. In response to her nod, he said, “I believe that she wished to avoid hearing the answer to your question, which touches on the unpleasant subject of George Wickham.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam’s face looked grim. “What has that blackguard done now? If he has so much as spoken a word to Georgiana, I swear that I will… pardon me, Mrs. Darcy, I am afraid that my temper has been known to get the best of me on this subject.”

“I understand completely,” said Elizabeth dryly.

“He has not attempted anything with Georgiana; I fear he is trying his hand at a new route to tormenting me,” Darcy said, tightening his hand around Elizabeth’s. “He somehow managed to convince Elizabeth’s youngest sister to elope with him—he does seem to repeat the same patterns again and again—and they have been traced as far as London, but apparently have gone no further, hence our arrival today.”

“I am very sorry to hear it, Mrs. Darcy,” he said, his voice concerned. “Do I take it, then, that he knows of your marriage?”

“Not that we are married, but we believe that Lydia was aware of our engagement, so we must assume he knew as well,” Elizabeth replied. “I cannot imagine otherwise why he would choose her; she has no dowry to speak of, and my family can offer him little.”

“I have a few ideas of how to discover him,” Darcy said. “Tomorrow I will meet with Mr. Bennet, who is also in London, to discuss how to resolve the situation.”

“Indeed. Perhaps I should join you, Darcy. I might have a bit to add myself,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam.

Darcy frowned. “Although I appreciate your willingness to help, I fail to see what you might know that I do not.”

“Wickham is very skilled at playing on your emotions, Darcy. He knows that
I
would just as soon run him through as not,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam. “That puts me at a certain advantage in dealing with him.”

“It is my responsibility. Had I not felt it to be beneath my dignity to expose his behavior to the world, this could never have happened.” Darcy’s voice expressed his anger at himself.

Elizabeth said gently, “I could say the same—that it is my fault for failing to reveal what I knew about him. The truth, though, is that it is the fault of only one person, and that is Mr. Wickham. I would not refuse anyone’s help in this situation.”

“Wise as well as beautiful; you have done well for yourself, Darcy. Listen to your wife.”

“There speaks the perpetual bachelor!”

Colonel Fitzwilliam decided against pointing out that he had assisted his cousin in courting the most promising marital prospect he himself had seen in some time. “Had I your opportunities, old man, you would sing a different tune.”

Darcy eyed him suspiciously, but was interrupted in whatever he might have chosen to say by the appearance of Philips, who requested a brief conference with the master. On his return a few moments later, he found Elizabeth conversing happily with Colonel Fitzwilliam. Discovering to his chagrin that he did not at all care for seeing Elizabeth smile at any other man, even his own cousin, he approached her and spoke quietly in her ear. “It seems we have a household crisis of unprecedented magnitude, my love. Apparently even my admirable staff cannot ready within a matter of an hour rooms that have been out of use for many years, and thus the rooms due to you as the lady of the house will not be ready until tomorrow. They offer you instead the finest guest room.”

Her eyes sparkled up at him with amusement. “I assume that you accepted on my behalf, sir,” she said mockingly, unaware of how her playfulness was affecting him.

“Indeed not, madam. I proposed an entirely different solution,” he said suggestively.

Elizabeth glanced at Colonel Fitzwilliam, who was watching this interplay with interest, although he could not hear Darcy’s words. “Perhaps we could discuss this later, sir,” she said composedly.

“I think not, my lovely wife,” he replied, helping her to her feet before scooping her up in his arms. “Good night, Fitzwilliam,” he said, satisfaction evident in his voice.

“Good night, Darcy, Mrs. Darcy. I hope you sleep well.” Colonel Fitzwilliam smiled broadly, raising his glass to them.

Elizabeth, in deepest embarrassment, buried her face in Darcy’s shoulder. Once they were out of the room, she gazed up at him reproachfully. “And to think that I once believed that you valued propriety!”

He paused to kiss her, disregarding the servant in the hallway. “It is all a matter of priorities, my love.” He pushed open the door to an upstairs room. “Right now my priority is to acquaint you with my bed.” He placed her on that piece of furniture, exploring her mouth with an unhurried attentiveness to detail that roused Elizabeth into a state where she no longer felt the least interest in opposing his intentions. He stroked the soft skin of her neck, leaving trails of sensation wherever he touched, and then, sliding her gown off her shoulder, he slipped his hand under the neckline to caress her breast. She arched her back to encourage the pleasure he was giving her, and the intense shock of desire that rushed through her when he began to explore her nipple made her gasp under his lips. As he pulled away just far enough to look at her, she could see the flush of passion on his unsmiling face. “Do you still want to return downstairs, Elizabeth?” he asked, continuing to stimulate her with his skillful fingers.