An Unexpected Legacy Page 6

  As Darcy was preparing for bed that night, he found himself humming a tune he remembered Elizabeth singing at the Phillips’ home. He was very pleased with the reception he had received from Elizabeth and her parting statement. Morris, Darcy’s valet, could not help but notice the uncharacteristic behavior of his employer. He had been working for Darcy for five years and could not remember ever hearing him hum. He wondered what could have happened to have put Mr. Darcy in such a good mood. He had to believe it had to do with that young woman, Miss Bennet, the one from Hertfordshire whom he had seen again when they were at Rosings. He remembered Mr. Darcy’s mood swings when they were at Netherfield Park and he was dealing with the young woman. And he remembered how upset Mr. Darcy was when he returned from a visit to her at Hunsford Cottage, the night before they left Rosings. He had overheard Mr. Darcy and his sister mention Miss Bennet this afternoon when they returned from their shopping trip. He had a feeling Mr. Darcy and his sister must have seen Miss Bennet while they were out, and whatever had happened, it had certainly buoyed Mr. Darcy’s spirits. Could his ever critical master have finally found a woman that met his standards?

  Chapter 7: Tea at Matlock House

  On the day after his meeting with Elizabeth, Darcy received an emergency communiqué from his steward, Mr. Wilson, that a storm with very high winds had moved through Derbyshire on Tuesday night and caused significant damage to some buildings on the property and to some of his tenet’s houses and barns. He requested that Darcy return to Pemberley as soon as possible, as Mr. Wilson felt he needed Darcy’s guidance in dealing with the problems. Darcy had hoped he might be able to visit Elizabeth again on Saturday, but decided he should leave immediately on Saturday morning for Pemberley. Therefore, he called Georgiana into his library and asked her if she wanted to leave with him on Saturday, or if she would prefer to stay a few more weeks with her aunt and uncle, the Earl and Countess of Matlock.

  After thinking about it for a few minutes, Georgiana decided she would rather stay and return later to Pemberley. Lord and Lady Matlock always enjoyed having Georgiana stay with them, so arrangements were easily made, and Georgiana and her companion, Mrs. Annesley, were taken to Matlock House Friday evening. Deciding that he wanted to travel to Pemberley as quickly as possible, Darcy chose to go by horse and leave the coach in London to transport Georgiana and Mrs. Annesley when they chose to return to Pemberley.

  Georgiana, deciding she wanted to help her brother in his pursuit of Miss Elizabeth Bennet, told her aunt a little bit about Elizabeth Bennet and asked her if she could have Elizabeth over for tea the following week. She was surprised when her aunt said, “Elizabeth Bennet? We met an Elizabeth Bennet at a dinner party hosted by Lord and Lady Denby on Tuesday. She was a special friend of Lady Monttard. She came to the dinner and spent most of the evening with the Denby’s granddaughter, Margaret. Did your Miss Bennet happen to mention an acquaintance with Lady Monttard or Miss Margaret?”

  “No, there was never any mention of her friends or acquaintances in town during our discussions, so I have no idea whom she knows. Is it important?”

  “I suppose not, dear. It is clear from your description of her that you admire her and very much enjoy her company. From the way you talk about her, I have a suspicion that maybe William has some interest in her also. Is that correct?”

  Georgiana was in a quandary. She had promised her brother she would not reveal his feelings for Elizabeth to his aunt and uncle, but it was hard for her to lie to them. Finally she said, “I am not sure how to answer that. I think he does, but you know how little he confides in me. But whether he is interested in her or not, I would very much like to have her for a friend. I find her an easy person with whom to talk and she is extremely intelligent and knowledgeable in many subjects. For instance, she knows seven or eight, or maybe even nine, languages. I want to talk to her about how she could learn all those languages.”

  “Eight or nine languages! That is almost hard to believe. She must indeed be an unusual young lady. So by all means, have her over on Tuesday. And I believe, your cousin Richard may be here, so I will mention her visit to him and see if he wants to drop in for a while. Given they met at Rosings, she may enjoy visiting with him also.”

  So it was that on Saturday Elizabeth received an invitation to go to tea at Matlock House on Tuesday. With the invitation was a short note from Georgiana telling her Lord and Lady Matlock were her aunt and uncle, and it had been she who had asked her aunt to invite Elizabeth so she would have a chance to talk to Elizabeth again. Elizabeth, on hearing the names Lord and Lady Matlock, remembered she had met them at the dinner given by Lord and Lady Denby. She thought to herself what a coincidence it was that she had met Georgiana’s aunt and uncle, but had not realized their relationship.

  The invitation informed Elizabeth that the Darcy carriage, with a housemaid to escort her, would pick her up on Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock, if that was convenient for her. She sent a reply confirming her acceptance of the invitation. However, when a carriage appeared in front of the Gardiner’s house just before 2 o’clock, to Elizabeth’s surprise, it was the Monttard carriage and not the Darcy carriage. Lady Monttard exited from the carriage and came to the door. When she was admitted and Elizabeth expressed her surprise at seeing her, Lady Monttard said, “Lady Matlock called on me this weekend to confirm that you were the Elizabeth Bennet who was at the Earl of Denby’s dinner on Tuesday. When she told me where you lived, I assured her you were, and then she said she had invited you to tea on Tuesday and wondered if I might not like to come also. I immediately agreed and offered to pick you up on the way. Thus here I am to escort you to your tea at Matlock House.”

  When Lady Monttard and Elizabeth entered Matlock House and were greeted by Lady Matlock, Elizabeth immediately recognized her as one of the ladies she had met at the Denby’s dinner on Tuesday. “Lady Matlock, it is good to see you again. I had no idea you were related to the Darcys. I am sorry we did not have an oppotunity to speak at the dinner given by the Earl and Countess of Denby.”

  Lady Matlock was impressed by Elizabeth’s composure and remembered having remarked to her husband when they were at Denby House that she thought Elizabeth was an extremely attractive young lady and comported herself very well. She said to Elizabeth, “Yes, I was surprised when Georgiana requested that her friend Miss Elizabeth Bennet be asked to tea. I am sure that Elizabeth Bennet is not a very common name, so I thought what a coincidence it was that I had already met you. And I too was sorry we had not been able to speak at the dinner. I am happy to have the opportunity to speak to you this afternoon.”

  When they entered the sitting room in which the tea was to be served, Georgiana arose from her seat and moved quickly over to Elizabeth and took her hands. “It is so good to see you again, Miss Elizabeth. There is so much more I wanted to talk to you about, but we did not have time last Thursday. I hope you will sit by me here and we will have some time for private conversation.”

  Once tea and refreshments were served, Lady Matlock said to Elizabeth, “I understand you met my nephew, Mr. Darcy, when he was visiting Netherfield Park before Christmas and again at Easter when he and my son Col. Fitzwilliam were visiting Rosings. Did you have much chance to speak with him?”

  “Yes, I did. We met on several occasions and had some brief, but usually interesting, discussions. I even had the opportunity to dance with him once.”

  “And what did you think of him?”

  Seeing Elizabeth’s hesitation in answering, she continued, “You can be frank, Miss Elizabeth. We know that he has a difficult time relating to people. I am interested in knowing if he is improving.”

  “He is very well spoken and, of course, quite handsome. But I am afraid the initial impression he gave to the assembly where we first met was not good. He mingled with none of the local gentry, spending all of his time with those of his party. All of us, of course, were aware of his high status, but it was felt he greatly disliked having to mingle with us and many
wondered why he was at the assembly at all. Needless to say, this gave many people a bad impression of him, and I must admit I was one of those who for some time thought he was a very proud and somewhat disagreeable man. However, I eventually learned he was actually very uncomfortable in groups of people whom he did not know, and that his apparent indifference was actually an attempt to hide the discomfort he felt when in company of people he did not know. As I came to know him better, I came to better understand his character and my opinion of him improved. I believe that we are now on relatively friendly terms.”

  Just as she was finishing her statement, Col. Fitzwilliam entered the room, saw Elizabeth, and walked over to her and bowed. “Miss Elizabeth, how good it is to see you again. I hope all is well with you and your family.”

  “It is indeed,” said Elizabeth as she bowed her head to him. “And it is good to see you again. I am glad to see you here in England and not off on the continent fighting in the wars.”

  “Yes, I must admit it will be nice to have several months on home soil for a change. My general decided that I and my battalion deserved a rest. I have been temporarily reassigned to the War Office to help with planning, particularly related to logistics.”

  “I am glad to hear that. I am sure that makes your family happy.”

  Col. Fitzwilliam continued, “I saw Darcy last Friday, before he left for Pemberley on Saturday, and he mentioned he had seen you at your uncle’s bookstore. He also mentioned something about you translating books in several different languages. He seemed quite impressed about that. How did you manage to keep that accomplishment a secret from Darcy all those weeks?”

  “It is not a secret; it is just that there is very little reason to talk about it. Even some of my good friends in Hertfordshire have no idea of my capabilities in this area.”

  Richard chuckled. “You mean when Miss Bingley was mentioning all of the accomplishments that a truly accomplished lady should have, you did not feel you should share that with her?”

  She gave him a big smile. “As I told Georgiana and Mr. Darcy, I suspect she would have considered me over accomplished in that area—far beyond what a truly accomplished woman should have.”

  Because Lady Matlock had met Miss Bingley and was aware of all her pretensions, she also gave a small chuckle at that, and then turned to Lady Monttard, who did not know Miss Bingley. “Forgive us, Lady Marie; you would have to know Miss Bingley to appreciate what we are smiling about.”

  “And while we are speaking about that, Darcy and I were wondering why the man whose book collection you are cataloguing would have books in so many different languages. It is hard to believe he could read that many languages.” And then he laughed and continued, “Of course, now that I know about you, maybe it is not as hard to believe.”

  Elizabeth informed them that it was really quite an interesting story. Although neither she nor her uncle knew the man or why he had collected these books, they could see that all the books had a theme and they could conjecture why he had collected them. They were all books about the travels of early European explorers, going back even before Marco Polo, and were, of course, written in the language of the country which was the homeland of the explorer to which it related. Several of the books were hundreds of years old and many of them were hand copied and hand bound. She and her uncle conjectured that the man and possibly one or more of his ancestors were possibly persons who did extensive traveling to other countries and developed a real interest in collecting books of that genre. Apparently this interest was not passed on to any of his heirs, because when they contacted her uncle about buying the collection, they made no mention of these particular books. Mrs. Gardiner is particularly excited about this find, because she feels that many of these books may be very valuable, particularly to persons in the lands of the languages in which they are written.

  After relating this, she then laughed and said, “And my aunt has informed me that if I should never find a suitable man to marry, I should not worry because I will always have a place with her at the bookstore because of my language skills and the interest she and my uncle have in books of all languages.”

  “Am I to understand that you would enjoy working in a bookstore?” asked Lady Matlock.

  “If you are asking would I enjoy being an employee, I would probably have to answer ‘no.’ But I do love to read and learn and do what I can to be of value to my uncle and aunt who are always good enough to provide me a place to stay in town and to escort me to the many attractions found here, such as the museums, parks, theater, and shops.”

  Col. Fitzwilliam clapped his hands together, laughed, and looking at his mother said, “Well said, Miss Elizabeth. It was clear you saw the hidden censure in my mother’s question and handled it quite nicely. Do you not think so, mother?”

  Smiling, Lady Matlock responded, “Yes, as a matter of fact, she did.”

  They then discussed what Col. Fitzwilliam was doing, Georgiana’s plans for returning to Pemberley, and the trip the Gardiners and Elizabeth planned to take to the Lakes and Derbyshire. Lady Matlock added her assurance to that of Col. Fitzwilliam and Georgiana that Elizabeth and the Gardiners would greatly enjoy a visit to Pemberley. They all agreed it was one of the most beautiful estates in all of England, and that Darcy did a masterful job of managing and maintaining it.

  Georgiana was somewhat upset that she could not find an opportunity to speak with Elizabeth privately, so at one point, while Lady Dumont and Lady Helen were discussing an upcoming ball, she leaned over to Elizabeth and whispered, “Do you suppose I could visit you at your aunt and uncle’s sometime so we could have some time to ourselves? I had hoped to have an opportunity to speak with you alone this afternoon, but that clearly is not going to happen. I would like to visit you before you leave town next week?”

  “Of course,” Elizabeth whispered back. “When I leave, I will ask your aunt if you can visit. Then we will set a time, assuming she approves.”

  Col. Fitzwilliam was watching the interaction between Georgiana and Elizabeth with great interest. He was amazed at how comfortable Georgiana seemed to be with Elizabeth. She had lost much of her joie de vivre since the disastrous incident with Wickham last summer, when he had convinced her to elope, but Darcy had foiled Wickham’s plot. Col. Fitzwilliam, who had joint guardianship of Georgiana, was very pleased to see that Elizabeth was having such a good effect on her. The more he saw of Elizabeth, the more impressed he was with her and thought that if his cousin were not so enamored of her, he might seriously think about courting her himself, even if she did not have much of a dowry. He might be willing to sacrifice much to have such a fascinating woman by his side. He could see why Darcy had become so attached to her and admitted to himself she would be a wonderful influence on Darcy’s life. He thought it was too bad that Darcy saw her first.

  When it was finally time for Elizabeth and Lady Monttard to depart, Elizabeth followed up on her promise to Georgiana and spoke to Lady Matlock about the possibility of Georgiana visiting her at her aunt and uncle’s home on Gracechurch Street. It was clear Lady Matlock had some reservations about her niece traveling to that part of town, however, with Elizabeth’s assurance it was quite a pleasant area where her aunt and uncle lived and that Georgiana and Mrs. Annesley would be in no danger, she gave her approval and it was determined Georgiana would visit on Sunday, after church.

  After their guests had gone and Georgiana had retired to her room, Lady Matlock looked at her son and said, “Would you tell me what the relationship between Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy is? And even more important, given the way I saw you look at her, what is your relationship with her?”

  “I do not think Miss Elizabeth and Darcy really have a ‘relationship’ right now, but I believe that Darcy wishes they did. And I can see why he does. As you come to know her better, you will find that she is very different than most of the young ladies of the ton: she is very intelligent, witty, very much not a fortune hunter, and obviously extremely good to look a
t. I was just thinking to myself that had she more of a dowry, I would probably pursue her myself. She is a unique young lady.”

  Meanwhile that unique young lady was riding in the carriage with Lady Monttard, when Lady Monttard asked her, “You have never been formally out among the ton or presented to the Queen, have you?

  Elizabeth laughed, “No, my family and I are not members of the ton, and the only balls I have been to here in town have been given by friends of my aunt and uncle. And I must admit; I have never particularly wanted to belong to the ton.”

  “Miss Elizabeth, I do not think my husband or I have told you about our connection to the royal family. I am actually the daughter of a Count who was of the royal lineage in France. My mother was German and a cousin of the father of Queen Charlotte, Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. I met Queen Charlotte when we were young, and she was visiting the French royal court. We became friendly and corresponded for some time until she became Queen of England. When my husband’s father and my husband decided the political climate in France was becoming dangerous, over a period of many months they moved most of our wealth to England and purchased an estate. In late 1785, before the revolution in France, my husband’s father moved us all to the estate in England. He also closed many of his warehouses in France and moved his ships to ports in other countries. When I arrived in England, the Queen learned of it, invited me to tea, and we resumed our friendship. I am a rather regular visitor to the royal palace and am considered one of the Queen’s circles of close friends. The last time I saw the Queen, I mentioned you and how much you look like my daughter. The Queen, who had known my daughter, expressed an interest in meeting you. Therefore I have been asked, which really means I have been ordered, to present you to the Queen at one of my future visits with her. I hate to put you in this position, but I do not believe we can refuse. That was the true reason I wanted to see you today and have this opportunity to speak to you alone.”