A Pemberley Medley (A Pride & Prejudice Variation) (16 page)

Mr. Bennet revealed as much of the history of the elopement as was known to him, as well as the efforts which had been made to discover Wickham and Lydia, before asking Darcy for his ideas on how they might be located. After Darcy had detailed the connections whom he planned to contact in an effort to find Wickham, Colonel Fitzwilliam presented the question of import to him. “Mr. Bennet, is it certain that Wickham was aware of your daughter's engagement to Mr. Darcy?”

Mr. Bennet, like Elizabeth, had not particularly considered this connection until it was mentioned, and took a moment to reflect on it. “Lydia certainly knew of it; we had received a letter - a note, really - earlier from her mentioning it.” He decided that it would be impolitic to mention that Lydia had been making sport of it at the time.

“So we must assume that Wickham knows as well,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam. “The question then arises as to his motivation, which I believe that we should address before anyone actually speaks with him.”

“His motivation?” asked Mr. Bennet skeptically, having not considered any possibility beyond that which any scoundrel would see in an available young woman.

“Yes, I would like to know whether he is looking for money or revenge,” the colonel said. “It would affect our negotiating position.”

“His primary motivation is always money,” said Darcy tiredly. “Revenge is usually incidental, although it may have a higher priority this time, as I gather he was rather attached to Elizabeth at one time. He would not take kindly to her choosing me over him.”

Mr. Bennet raised an eyebrow. The idea had not crossed his mind that Wickham's prior relationship with Darcy was involved, and it cast somewhat of a new light on Darcy's interest in the matter.

Colonel Fitzwilliam drummed his fingers. “Darcy, what will the effect of this affair be on your marriage plans?”

Darcy, displeased by the implication of his cousin's words, especially in front of Mr. Bennet, said shortly, “None whatsoever, as I believe you know.”

“You mentioned last night that your wedding would have to be delayed until this situation was resolved.”

“I would think so,” interjected Mr. Bennet. “We have already postponed Jane's wedding.”

“So,” the colonel said thoughtfully, “Wickham essentially has the power to delay your wedding indefinitely if he refuses to negotiate. We have a potential stalemate on our hands.”

At his words, Darcy dropped his head into his hands. This was not a possibility he had considered, but it was well within the range of Wickham's fertile imagination. The despondency he felt at the idea of having to wait raised an absolute sense of fury with Wickham. He pushed the feelings away. “That raises his price from expensive to exorbitant. So be it,” he said, his voice carefully neutral.

Mr. Bennet looked closely at Darcy. It was beginning to come clear to him that Darcy had greater depths than he had initially thought.

“There would seem to be one other possibility,” said Mr. Gardiner slowly.

“And what would that be?” Darcy asked, unable to hide his sense of hopelessness as well as he might have wished.

“You could marry Lizzy immediately. That would obviate the hold he has, I would think,” Mr. Gardiner said.

“Now
that
idea has possibilities!” said Colonel Fitzwilliam, sounding pleased. “Darcy, what think you of it?”

Darcy's face became a closed mask. “It is a possibility, I suppose.”

His apparent disinterest in the idea raised fears in Mr. Bennet as to the true effect of Lydia's behaviour on Darcy's intentions. “You have some objection to the idea, Mr. Darcy?” he said silkily. If Darcy were to do anything to hurt Elizabeth, Mr. Bennet was not going to be answerable for his behaviour.

Colonel Fitzwilliam's laugh rang out, breaking the tension of the moment. “You clearly do not know my cousin, sir. That is the look which says that he is fighting overwhelming temptation. I strongly suspect that he would like nothing better than to marry your daughter immediately.” Darcy gave him a hostile stare, but did not argue the point.

The corners of Mr. Bennet's mouth began to twitch. Perhaps Darcy had some potential for providing amusement after all. “Well,” he said mildly, “perhaps it will not be necessary. We can always reconsider the idea as the need arises.”

“I would disagree,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam. “Unless we act upon it now, I think we should put the idea aside completely. It would not be a good idea to let Wickham see that he has that level of impact on Darcy's behaviour.”

“And would he not know that if we rushed them to the altar now?” asked Mr. Gardiner.

“No, not necessarily. Marriage on the spur of the moment is the sort of thing that would not surprise anyone who knew Darcy well, and Wickham is certainly well acquainted with his impulsive side.” At Colonel Fitzwilliam's words, Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner exchanged glances; 'impulsive' and 'Darcy' were not concepts that either tended to associate together.

Darcy rolled his eyes. “Fitzwilliam, about the port and the pistols at dawn - I take it all back,” he said in a quietly dangerous voice, earning a broad smile from his cousin.

“Well, perhaps I should inquire, then, as to what your objections are to the idea of immediate marriage, Mr. Darcy,” said Mr. Gardiner.

Darcy looked up toward the ceiling. “I do not believe that it is the sort of wedding that Elizabeth has in mind, sir.”

“Is that your only objection?”

Darcy considered the matter. “Yes,” he said briefly.

Mr. Bennet drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair, watching Darcy closely. He had no particular desire to marry Elizabeth off quickly; he was dreading her eventual departure from Longbourn quite enough as it was, and he certainly was not in a hurry to bring Darcy into the family. To his mind, Darcy had been nothing but trouble since he first appeared at the Meryton assembly. Still, he had given his consent - not that there had been another alternative - and the marriage had to take place sooner or later. “Well, Mr. Darcy,” he said abruptly, “I certainly appreciate your sensitivity to Lizzy's wishes. However, I must point out that I have
three
daughters who are affected by this matter, and if marrying Lizzy off immediately improves the chances for Jane's wedding to take place and Lydia's situation to be resolved, I am afraid that Lizzy will have to accept the situation.”

Steepling his fingers, Darcy looked at Mr. Bennet for a moment. “I will not overrule Elizabeth's wishes in this regard,” he said in an uncompromising voice.

“
I
will,” said Mr. Bennet, matching tone for tone. “And I will remind you that until such a time as she actually marries you, mine is the voice she must heed. But perhaps we should speak with Lizzy; she may well be perfectly amenable to the plan if we explain the reasoning.”

“
I
will speak with Elizabeth,” Darcy said firmly. He could imagine her reaction to hearing that they had been determining plans for her; at least he could present it to her as a choice from his point of view. If her father chose to insist after that, Elizabeth could hardly blame him for that.

“As you wish,” said Mr. Bennet, who was now convinced that Darcy would be providing him excellent entertainment for years to come.

Darcy discovered Elizabeth in the breakfast room where she was taking advantage of the excellent light to complete some fine work on her embroidery. She was also endeavoring to practice patience; she was feeling her exclusion from the discussion among the gentlemen more than she liked. She knew better than to expect to be included, but as her father's favourite in a household of women, she was more accustomed than most young women to having the opportunity of expressing her opinions. At Pemberley, Darcy had included her and Mrs. Gardiner in his planning. Elizabeth was finding her lonely relegation to marginality displeasing, and suspicions that she had best accustom herself to this position did not improve her disposition. That she missed Darcy did not help matters in the least.

Darcy's entrance lightened her mood considerably. She smiled at him, and he firmly if improperly closed the door behind him before taking her into his arms. He sought out her lips with all the pent-up need of the past two days, feeling himself restored by the taste and the feel of her as she returned his kisses. Holding her close, he allowed himself to revel in the feeling of loving her and being loved, and briefly let his cares fall away in her arms.

Elizabeth's only desire at that moment was to remain in his arms forever, but she knew that her uncle's standards for behaviour in his house were such that he would not tolerate the closed door for even a few minutes. “William, someone is bound to come in,” she said breathlessly.

“No, we will be left alone; I am supposed to be convincing you of something.” He trailed kisses along her jaw before returning to her mouth.

“And what is it that you are to convince me of?” she asked, her desire to resist him fading rapidly in face of the onslaught of sensation he was provoking within her.

“At the moment, I only want to convince you to kiss me again,” said Darcy feelingly, wanting to preserve the sensation of Elizabeth's arms around him, especially given that he suspected that she might soon not be feeling quite so warmly toward him.

With a playful smile, she pulled his head down to hers again for a delightfully deep kiss. “You see, I am not so difficult to convince, at least when the question is the correct one,” she teased.

He returned her attentions with equal fervor. “Unfortunately, you may not be as fond of the next question, my love.”

Hearing the serious undertone in his voice, Elizabeth pulled back slightly, concerned as to what could make Darcy so apprehensive about her reaction. Trying to quell a sense of anxiety, she said, “Perhaps you had best ask this terrible question, then, William.”

“They want us to marry immediately,” he said.

Elizabeth had not known what to expect, but, anticipating that it would relate to Lydia; was taken completely by surprise. “I beg your pardon?” she asked incredulously, pulling away from him.

“Tomorrow, if possible,” he said tentatively, seeing how stiff she had become. He could see that he had gone about this in the wrong way, and her look concerned him. Unhappily aware that she was displeased by the same prospect that he found eminently satisfying, he said, “I am explaining this badly; please let me try again.” He briefly recounted the concerns regarding Wickham's response to their engagement and the potential for his using it against them, and why this solution had been suggested. “I told them that I would not support it unless you agreed to it,” he said worriedly.

Elizabeth, able to hear the cold light of reason in the plan, softened slightly, but her heart continued to rebel at the sensation of having her choices taken away from her. Although there was a certain temptation to the idea, she did not yet feel ready to put her girlhood behind her so abruptly, to accept that she would never again return to Longbourn as her home, never again talk with Jane late into the night. She would be happy to know that she need no longer be separated from Darcy, but to think of herself so abruptly thrust into his household, under his management - she was not ready for it. She had anticipated the next month to accustom herself to the idea of moving from her father's care to her husband's, not to mention the change it would demand in her relationship with Darcy. She could see, too, that Darcy was more anxious for her answer than the situation seemed to warrant, given his words; he was indeed not skilled at disguise, and she could tell that he knew more than he had told her.