“No, certainly not. Can you just imagine what his titled relations will say when they hear about the match? No doubt the earl will put an end to the engagement straight away!”
They tittered loudly. “Oh, yes. Knowing Lord Matlock, he will be outraged over the disgrace his nephew will bring upon their entire family. You mark my words, there is no chance we shall ever see poor little Miss Bennet return as Mrs. Darcy. She will be sent back to the country in shame, and he will be married within a fortnight to his well-dowered cousin or another woman of the ton, who is far more suitable.”
Elizabeth had heard enough, and, shaking, she turned and walked out of the shoppe. Georgiana joined her only moments later, an expression of concern etched upon her face.
“Miss Elizabeth, are you well?” she asked.
Elizabeth swallowed down the hot lump that had lodged in her throat, and looked away.
“Pay them no mind,” she continued as she placed her hand on Elizabeth’s arm. “Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing you and Fitzwilliam together can be left in no doubt of your love for each other. What those two women said inside was horrible, but it was nothing more than gossip, maliciously purported by Caroline Bingley, no less. She has always aspired to catch my brother, and now she is angered that all her scheming has come to nothing. And as for my uncle, I know he will love you. He is not so concerned with birth and connections as he would have the rest of London believe. The most important thing to him, and to my aunt, is that Fitzwilliam is happy, and they will be reassured of that the moment they see the way he looks at you.”
Though Elizabeth was touched by the words her future sister offered, she could not soon forget the rude treatment she received, the unkind remarks and the hurtful gossip she overheard, nor the resulting pain associated with it all. That morning, the happy prospect of ordering new gowns for her trousseau had greatly appealed to Elizabeth, but considering the emotional cost she was required to pay, she no longer felt equal to the task. She was eager to be away from Mrs. Duval’s shoppe as soon as possible and not at all looking forward to having to return.
While Mrs. Bennet, Jane, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia were eager to continue their shopping excursion in another part of London, Elizabeth and Georgiana chose to return to Darcy House. When they entered the foyer, it was nearly teatime, and Georgiana was informed that her brother was entertaining none other than Lord and Lady Matlock in the music room. Elizabeth, at Georgiana’s urging, accompanied her future sister, and when they entered the room, she saw an elegant older lady and two finely dressed gentlemen engaged in easy conversation with Darcy.
Georgiana’s eyes lit up with pleasure. “Aunt Rebecca, Uncle Henry. How wonderful to find you here.” She kissed them both before turning to the other gentleman. He appeared to be no more than several years older than Darcy. “Hello, Cousin. Have you come to meet Miss Elizabeth, or are you here only to tease me mercilessly, just as you always do?”
He laughed and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I am always eager to tease you, dearest, but I confess to being quite curious about the young lady who has finally managed to captivate my infamously imperturbable cousin.”
Smiling wide enough to show his dimples, Darcy hastened to Elizabeth’s side. “Elizabeth, please allow me to present my uncle and aunt, Lord and Lady Matlock, and my cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. Aunt Rebecca, Uncle Henry, Richard, it is my very great pleasure to introduce Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn in Hertfordshire.”
Lady Matlock smiled kindly. Her husband addressed Elizabeth stiffly. “Miss Bennet, allow me to offer my congratulations to you. My nephew has been rather negligent in his duty, I am afraid, and saw fit to inform us of his engagement to you only the other day. If you are truly all he claims, I daresay you will find much happiness in your union.”
Elizabeth understood him. The earl did not yet know her, and despite whatever Darcy had told his family, his uncle would reserve judgment on her. She chose her reply carefully. “Thank you, Your Lordship. Your nephew and I have already shared much happiness. He is one of the most intelligent men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, to say nothing of his kind and generous heart. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have earned the affection and esteem of such an excellent man.” She exchanged a look of affection with Darcy, who moved even closer to her and brushed her hand with his own.
The affectionate action was not lost on Colonel Fitzwilliam, who grinned at having caught his reserved cousin performing such an impropriety in front of his parents. Never before had he seen his cousin so besotted with a woman. Now that he thought of it, he could not remember ever having seen Darcy besotted with a woman. He observed Elizabeth with interest while his mother engaged her in conversation.
Though his cousin’s fiancée had seemed somewhat reserved at first, she was now listening with rapt attention to Lady Matlock as she related some story about her own courtship with the earl. Elizabeth leaned in then and, smiling archly, said something that caused the older woman to laugh. The earl merely harrumphed, but his twitching lips indicated his amusement.
By the end of the visit, it was obvious to Darcy his relations were impressed by Elizabeth’s wit, candor, and keen intelligence. It pleased him beyond measure to see that even the earl did not remain unaffected by her charms. The older gentleman had become more animated as the hour wore on; his eyes turned often upon Elizabeth with interest and, perhaps, even a touch of admiration.
Darcy saw them all to the door with regret. He kissed his aunt and slapped Richard on the shoulder. Before Lord Matlock quitted the house, he took his nephew aside and muttered, however grudgingly, “She’ll do, she’ll do.” A small, satisfied grin played upon the earl’s face as Darcy bid him a good evening.
Dinner that evening passed in much the same manner as breakfast. Mrs. Bennet and her youngest daughters talked of the success of their shopping trip and of the vast number of new gowns they had ordered, while Elizabeth sat in mortification, and Mr. Bennet silently laughed at their silliness. Darcy, as could be expected, could find nothing so humorous in the scenario at his table, especially given how Georgiana and Jane seemed to glance repeatedly at Elizabeth throughout the meal, with expressions of concern. It was not until the very last course was taken away that he discovered, through Mrs. Bennet’s loud ranting, their trip to Mrs. Duval’s shoppe had not gone at all as they had anticipated.
After the meal, while the Bennets retired to the music room, Darcy summoned Georgiana to his study under the pretense of discussing a minor household matter. In actuality, he was anxious to hear her own account of the visit to the modiste. It infuriated him to no end to learn of such an affront to his beloved Elizabeth, and it had, in fact, taken all of Georgiana’s powers of persuasion to convince Darcy not to leave the house at that very moment for Mrs. Duval’s residence in order to personally reprimand her for the outrage that had been perpetrated at the hands of her staff. Instead, he paced in his study for a full quarter of an hour, attempting to regulate his temper before rejoining his guests. By the time Darcy entered the music room, Georgiana was immersed in her playing on the pianoforte, entertaining the Bennets with a lovely piece by Handel.