Darcy nodded glumly. “I suppose so. Though as a military man, please notify me of any strategies that occur to you. In the meantime, I am sure I do not need to tell you not to breathe a word of this to anyone, especially not your mother.”
Fitzwilliam
nodded and smiled cheekily: “Of course, you can rely on my discretion – and my fear. I hope I am safely on the battlefield when you tell my mother— and Aunt Catherine.”
“Coward,” Darcy muttered.
After Fitzwilliam left, Darcy finished up his work and then sat down to a late breakfast with Georgiana. He had wanted to explain his marriage to Georgiana since arriving in London, but the opportunity had not previously presented itself. So he took the opportunity to divulge the entire story of their travels in France, while leaving out some of the more intimate moments. When he described the wedding, Georgiana clapped her hands in delight and informed her brother in no uncertain terms that she had been hoping to acquire Elizabeth as a sister. While she did regret having missed the ceremony, her enthusiasm at the news prevented her from holding it against him too much – and she assured Darcy of her secrecy on the matter.
Darcy was pleased with how easy it had been to explain the wedding to two of the people closest to him and felt his cares lighten now that he had unburdened himself. Georgiana and Fitzwilliam clearly understood that Elizabeth would make him happy. However, he knew that others in his family would not be so understanding and would place other considerations ahead of his happiness. Still, his sister’s and cousin’s reactions buoyed him, and he thought eagerly of the day when it would all be out in the open and he and Elizabeth could live as husband and wife. Sometimes it felt as if that day would never come.
That afternoon Darcy visited the Gardiners’ house to see Elizabeth. She and her aunt would be leaving for Longbourn the next day and she was already anticipating missing him. As he sat with Elizabeth and her aunt making polite conversation, Elizabeth could sense his intense gaze on her even when she was concentrating on her needlework – and every time she looked up, his eyes locked with hers. Her aunt was hardly oblivious where his attention was directed, but she said nothing.
After a prolonged conversation about the weather and a discussion of the ball at Matlock House, Mrs. Gardiner observed that her husband had not had any luck in locating Lydia and Wickham.
“My Bow Street Runners have not turned up anything promising either,” Darcy said with regret. “I wish I had better news in that regard. However they have not yet spoken to all of the acquaintances of Wickham’s who are on my list. Hopefully somebody will give us a clue.”
“Perhaps they are already married,” Aunt Gardiner said hopefully.
Darcy pressed his lips together in a white line. “Perhaps.” Elizabeth could tell he was not optimistic about that prospect.
“Poor Lydia,” her aunt sighed.
“We are undoubtedly feeling it more than she,” opined Elizabeth. “She probably thinks of it as a great lark.”
Eventually, Darcy and Elizabeth slipped out to enjoy a short walk in the park. He told her that Georgiana and Colonel Fitzwilliam now knew their secret although he did not reveal the circumstances under which he had divulged their secret to his cousin.
Darcy gazed around the leafy green park, shimmering in the late afternoon heat. Since they were alone, Darcy removed Elizabeth’s glove and his own and held her hand, tracing the back of it with his thumb – making Elizabeth long for more.
“I will miss you, even though I know the time will be short,” he told her.
“I will miss you as well,” she said. “When will you arrive at Longbourn?”
“In three days. I will be bringing Bingley with me,” Darcy explained. “He showed up on my doorstep the other day— torn between his sisters’ expectations and wanting to be with Jane. I suggested that we both travel to Netherfield.”
“Jane will be so pleased to see him. Does he know about us?” Elizabeth asked.
“I allowed that I had some interest in you, but did not explain all the circumstances,” he responded. “I was afraid Bingley might be somewhat shocked at how precipitous we were. He has dawdled quite a bit over this courtship business by comparison.” Elizabeth smiled at this jest.
“As I recall I was the one who suggested marrying immediately.”
“But I was not strong enough to object to the haste.” As he clutched both her hands to his chest, his eyes were fixed on her lips. “I wanted it too much….” Although Darcy knew they had good reasons for keeping their secret, at that moment he was hard pressed to name a single one. “How soon can we tell your father, do you think?”
“I do not know. I will have to see how he is – how everyone is at Longbourn. I shall have to judge my father’s mood.”
Grasping her shoulders, he stared intently into her beautiful brown eyes. “He will think I compromised you?”
“Perhaps. He believes I dislike you. I want to demonstrate how my opinion has changed before we shock him with the news of the marriage. Otherwise he will believe I married you for your fortune or to avoid disgrace.” He wished he could kiss away her distress, but they were in public.
He caressed the back of her hand with light strokes and she shivered in response. “Well, you will have three days to assess the circumstances. When I arrive on Thursday, we may develop a plan.”
“I cannot wait until this is all over and we can just be husband and wife.”
“Nor can I,” Darcy suppressed another urge to throw caution to the wind and kiss her until she could not breathe. Reluctantly, they turned and went back to the Gardiners’ house.
Elizabeth and her aunt had good weather for their trip to Longbourn and arrived in excellent time. The whole Bennet family came outside to greet them – Elizabeth immediately noticed that her father appeared to have aged years in a few weeks. There were wrinkles around his eyes and a weariness in his movements that she had not noticed before. Giving her a hug and a kiss, he seemed genuinely pleased – and relieved – that she had returned.
Jane was delighted to greet her, but expressed concern about Elizabeth’s wan complexion and her weight loss. The Gardiners had passed along the news of her illness from the letters they had received from Darcy. Elizabeth spent some time reassuring her family that she felt well and was making a good recovery; however, preoccupied as they were with Lydia’s plight, no one asked much about her travels – and she was not eager to volunteer many details. When her sisters did mention it, she implied that her journey had been difficult and she wished to avoid talking about it, which appeared to satisfy them for the present. Elizabeth desperately wanted to confess everything to Jane, but knew she had an obligation to tell her father first.