Excerpt (c) Reprinted with Permission. All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 2 Excerpt
After quickly perusing the contents of the
letter, Darcy could draw only one conclusion. “Richard!” Darcy shouted out
loud. Am I expected to give financial support for his debauchery for the
rest of our lives? he asked himself, while thinking he could not wait for
the opportunity to confront his cousin.
Never before had Darcy been opposed to the many
calls on his purse by his cousin Richard as he understood that to be necessary
in order that they might enjoy a similar lifestyle. Neither cost nor intent was
of concern to Darcy. In certain respects, Richard had financial carte blanche. Is
there really any reason for that arrangement to change? he wondered.
Upon Richard’s arrival a couple of days later,
the issue of how he chose to live his life was relegated to the back of Darcy’s
mind. Darcy had reached the point where he would only tolerate his guests at
dinner and during the obligatory after dinner gathering in the drawing room.
The after dinner tradition when gentlemen would “pass the port” before joining
the women was rushed or avoided altogether as Darcy was most anxious to see an
early end to each evening’s entertainment. Mr. Collins’s obsequiousness alone
was enough to offset Mr. Gardiner’s good sense and taste. Mrs. Bennet’s
foolishness and her harsh treatment of Elizabeth were increasingly difficult
for him to abide with equanimity. Mrs. Phillips’s vulgarity, he found
deplorable.
Richard
provided a lifeline of escape for Darcy. The two had always been inseparable
whenever Richard had visited Pemberley before. This visit proved no different
in that respect than any other. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was quite
disconcerted. Now observing her husband with the ingenious eye of a wife,
Elizabeth could discern just how symbiotic the relationship between the two men
was. Lady Ellen often remarked that the two were as thick as thieves. Even
Elizabeth had been critical of the two, as she was forced to recall, during her
argument with Darcy on that fateful day in June. When she had said they were
‘two peas in a pod,’ she later had supposed herself to have been angry and
overly dramatic. Now she was obliged to reconsider the truth of her hastily
spoken words.
In the beginning of her acquaintance with
Richard, he was the one most eager to bestow his attentions upon her while
Darcy endeavoured to hide his regard. Elizabeth was, to a certain extent,
distrustful of the former even then. She recalled Darcy once telling her that
outside of Richard and Georgiana, she was the most significant person in the
world to him, but that was in the earliest days of their friendship. Just
where do I now figure in his esteem? she asked herself. Am I to compete
with Richard as most important, as it now seems?
As she
mulled it over more, it occurred to her that the two men were behaving exactly
as they had the summer before last when the Bingleys had been guests at
Pemberley. And yet, it had scarcely warranted her attention. Suddenly, it had
come to vex her exceedingly. Richard assumed such a proprietary attitude of the
time spent with Darcy that even she, Mrs. Darcy herself, often felt like an
intruder.
It had gone far enough, in Elizabeth’s opinion.
The night before, Elizabeth had waited up hours in their bed, perusing the
pages of a fashion magazine that her aunt Gardiner had brought from town. As
much as she enjoyed spending time with her sister Jane, she had come to cherish
her time alone with her husband. She was eager to share confidences she had
gleaned from her many interactions with her family, as those had become a
delightful diversion betwixt the two of them. A house full of guests afforded
so little time for the two of them simply to converse. She missed that.
She awoke that morning to find the fashion
magazine on the bedside table. She did not recall placing it there. She surmised
she had fallen asleep whilst waiting for her husband to come to her. Darcy’s
side of the bed showed evidence of his having slept there. As Elizabeth was not
a late riser, she wondered where he might be at such an early hour.
Darcy
did not even bother to make an appearance at breakfast. Elizabeth endeavoured
to mask her displeasure in being completely unable to account for his absence
amongst inquiring minds. She was not in the habit of checking up on her
husband. His inattention to his responsibilities as host demanded that she do
so that particular morning. Having summoned his valet, inquiring of Mr. Darcy’s
whereabouts, she avoided, as best she could, appearing too stern.
“Mr. Walters, thank you for your promptness. It
seems my husband has gone missing. Are you aware of what time he left this
morning, and more importantly, when he might return?”
Mr. Walters, being a most loyal employee,
responded cautiously, “Yes, madam, Mr. Darcy informed me that Colonel
Fitzwilliam and he planned an early morning hunting outing. He, however, gave
no indication of when he might return.” He hoped that would be the end of it.
The last thing he wanted was to have Mrs. Darcy make a habit of asking him of
his master’s comings and goings. He knew, more so than anyone, the influence
that Colonel Fitzwilliam had on his master. He never wished to pry in Mr.
Darcy’s affairs, but the late nights spent in his cousin’s company was nothing
new, neither was the drinking. Evidently, that had not changed with his master’s marriage. What if nothing else has
changed? Mr. Walters asked himself.
Elizabeth interrupted his silent deliberation.
“Again, I thank you. I want to be informed immediately upon Mr. Darcy’s return.
Will you see to that?”
“Yes, madam, is there anything else that you
wish of me?”
“No, that is all for now. You may go.”
~ ~ ~
Elizabeth stood poised just outside the closed door of Darcy’s private study. She did not wish to come across as too demanding or too chastising of her husband. He was master of Pemberley, she was mistress, and therein was a hierarchy that must be revered, even amongst close family members.
Elizabeth entered the room, intent upon
discussing a matter of considerable importance to her. She was not surprised to
see Richard was there. Where else would he be? she asked herself. When
it became clear that all her more subtle attempts to send him on his way had
failed, she asked Richard, in no uncertain terms, to excuse them. Richard
looked at her oddly. He then looked to Darcy as if he meant to have Darcy insist
that there was no need for privacy.
Darcy suddenly became deeply engrossed in some
paperwork before him. Elizabeth was on her own. Richard was on his own. Darcy
was not unaware of the escalating tension between his two favourite people—he
simply had no interest in intervening, believing as he did that they would be
able to reach an amiable accord. Thinking to himself, Surely, Richard can see that
he owes my wife the utmost deference. Surely, Elizabeth can see that Richard is
a prick. Perhaps not...
“Mrs. Darcy, I will be happy to see you in but
a few moments. First, I must speak with Richard. I will meet you in your
sitting room.”
Elizabeth could not believe it! Her husband
dismissed her, not Richard. She would not allow either of the two men to
know the true extent of her outrage.
“Very well, Mr. Darcy,” she stated calmly,
turned, and left the room, not bothering to close the door for even the calmest
demeanour would not have prevented its being slammed shut.
Darcy walked over to close the door and then returned
to his large mahogany desk. “Richard, why on earth do you persist in vexing my
wife?”
“Come now, Darcy, you must admit she handles it
rather poorly, which only enhances her charms.”
“Nevertheless, stop it! You are not endearing
yourself to her at all, you know. I think she dislikes you very much.”
“I imagine I should be afraid,” he said
sarcastically.
“Just give it a rest!” Darcy barked
impatiently, as he stood to leave the room.
When Darcy joined Elizabeth in her sitting
room, there was no mistaking her mien; she was upset. The boyishly innocent
smile that graced his countenance did nothing to dissuade her.
She began immediately. “Pray tell me why my
husband is never to be found during the day in the absence of Richard’s
company.”
“Is that all you wished to discuss with me?”
Darcy asked, clearly not taking the matter as seriously as she.
“When is he ever planning to leave?”
“I have no idea. Richard arranges his schedule
for his own convenience.”
“Perhaps you might plant the idea in his head,
that it is time to be on his way.”
“Why would I do that, Elizabeth?”
“Because—I wish it!”
“Elizabeth, I am here now. What is it that you
wish to discuss? If it is my company that you wish for, let us remedy that
immediately with no more talk of Richard.”
Not at all pleased with his manner of
sidestepping her request, she jested, “Are you absolutely certain that Richard
will not miss your company too much? I have no wish to come between you two.”
“You need not worry about that, my love,” he
said, as he pulled her from her seat into his arms and kissed her adoringly
along her neckline.
“This is not what I had in mind.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I miss you. I feel utterly alone when we are
apart.”
“We have a house full of guests. How can you
possibly feel alone?”
“I want you by my side. Why am I expected to
entertain so many on my own, while you remain cloistered with Richard?”
“You know that I detest performing to
strangers,” he said, while continuing his seductive tease.
“Strangers, Mr. Darcy? Is not my family, your
family? How are they thus considered strangers?”
Bringing to mind Mr. Collins, Mrs. Phillips and
Mrs. Bennet, he thought to himself, They are, by far, the strangest people
whom I have ever met. He said, “Please, Elizabeth.”
“This is not open to debate. I expect you to
spend as much time with my brothers as you do with your cousin. They should be
made to feel as welcome as he.”
“And of what benefit is that to me?”
“You sir, will benefit from the knowledge that
you are satisfying your wife, at the same time as you are fulfilling your
responsibilities as host to everyone.”
“I can envision a number of other ways to
satisfy my wife, none of which involve having to suffer spending time with
those I would rather wish to avoid.”
“It takes two to satisfy, dear husband.”
“Shall we test that assertion, dear wife?”
“I would rather not. At the moment, I prefer to
have you test your social skills, starting with Mr. Collins, whom I know to be
looking forward to spending more time in gentlemanly pursuits—perhaps a horseback
tour about the estate.”
Whilst stoking mounting involuntary tremors of
desire, and further frustrating her purpose in summoning him, Darcy continued
to test his wife’s claim that it took two to satisfy, and she persisted in
having her own way. Finally, after
managing the situation to secure Darcy’s promise to do a better job in spending
time with others besides Richard, they were free to spend some quality time
with one another. As it turned out, both Darcys were absent from all their
guests for the next hour or so.
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