Page 5 of Leave Her Wild
“I fear I do not,” Darcy shared, “but I could also ask around if you have a need of my services.”
“I thank you for the offer, but I shall begin with my own man first. I would not wish to trouble yours.”
“It would be no trouble,” Darcy insisted.
Bingley ignored Darcy’s words regarding assistance. Instead, his friend said, “Miss Bennet spoke eloquently of it to me, and her description gave me to believe it might satisfy Caroline. You know how my sisters wish me to establish an estate so we may move more freely in society. Assuredly, it will not be easy. As you well know, I will be the first of the Bingleys to place my feet upon the sacred realm of the landed gentry. I will be watched carefully to determine if I ruin the land and abuse the unspoken rules of society, but claiming an estate of my ownt was the dying wish on my father’s lips, and I promisednot to destroy the legacy he began, but, rather, expand it for my children and my children’s children.”
Chapter Three
Darcy had said no more. He astutely realized his friend had become his rival in this business with Miss Bennet. It was more than evident that Bingley was quite taken with the lady, and Darcy was also well aware his friend could be more sociable than was he.
He also knew Bingley was the type to fall in love with one woman this week and a completely different woman the next. As he sat up late into the night watching the dying embers in his bedroom grate, he decided he should woo Miss Bennet while he might still be able to win her acceptance.
“If I can claim the lady’s agreement within the next couple of weeks, we could be married by the end of October. Such would provide me some fourteen months to bring her to child—to produce a nine-month baby. If the child is a boy, all will be well. If not, a female child would prove the lady capable of producing an heir, which Lord Matlock is confident would go a long way in saving Pemberley in an argument before the court.”
A plan in place, Darcy undressed so he might sleep. He would call upon Miss Bennet in the morning hours and begin his courtship. He had asked Sheffield to order flowers to be delivered to the lady at Mr. Gardiner’s home. Darcy had written what he hoped was a prosaic note. He was not accustomed to writing to a lady, and, in the end, Sheffield had suggested a line from an Earl of Essex’s letter to Queen Elizabeth. “It will speak of your honest regard, but offer only the promise of future affection,” Sheffield assured.
Therefore, Darcy wrote a note where he modified Essex’s words to offer Miss Bennet his admiration, but not yet unmatchable steadfastness.
You may deny me the liberty to speak of my hopes of constancy; yet, I know the sweetness of your nature shall not permit such a great bitterness. It is not in your power to make me admire you less.
He had never thought to write such a note to anyone, but assuredly not to a stranger. “All an iffy proposition,” he mumbled as he blew out the candle on the side table. As he closed his eyes, he said the words into the night, “I apologize, Father. I would say this was not how you saw my life. Neither did I. Yet, in addition to promising you that I would know happiness, I promised you I would allow nothing to happen to Pemberley. It appears I must choose which is most important, and I have done so, for, above all else, Pemberley must stand as a pledge to future generations of Darcys. As to Miss Bennet, she is tolerable, but not enough to tempt me into marriage if not for the codicil Bertram Darcy legally means to press.”
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The following morning, Darcy dressed in a tightly-cut morning coat of dark brownand wore light brown pantaloons to call on Miss Bennet in Milk Street. Being unaccustomed to making calls upon young ladies, especially at a house in Cheapside, Darcy was surprised to view another half dozen callers on this day. Moreover, he had spent more time speaking to Mrs. Gardiner than he had to Miss Bennet.
“The roses are quite lovely,” Miss Bennet told him during one of their brief exchanges of conversation, though she kept her eyes downcast. Whoever had first taught women to pretend meekness should be horsewhipped to within an inch of his life.
“I chose the yellow roses,” he explained. “Yellow roses were a favorite of my late mother. I hoped they would be yours also. We grow several rare species at Pemberley.”
Miss Bennet smiled sweetly on him. “I dearly love all flowers. We have a sizable garden at Longbourn, although I admit my sister Elizabeth is the one among us who is the most successful in coaxing a seed to take root and grow.”
Miss Bennet’s response was not the reaction for which Darcy had hoped, but he asked, “Did you recognize the liberties I took with the quote?”
She blushed briefly. “I must admit, I did not.” She paused before adding, “We did not have a governess at home, though Elizabeth and I attended school in Bath for two years before our father insisted we remain at home. You see, Mr. Bennet depends heavily on Elizabeth to assist him with the estate books. My mother says Elizabeth is cut from the same cloth as our father, though such is not completely true.”
“Are you saying Miss Elizabeth would have recognized the quote?” he asked in perplexity.
Miss Bennet blushed prettily. “I assuredly did not explain myself well. You must pardon my scattered thoughts. I am completely unaccustomed to all this attention.”
Despite her modesty, Darcy imagined the woman drew “attention” wherever she traveled.
She continued, “My father is a great reader. It is rare for him to be without a book in his hand. My sister Elizabeth follows Mr. Bennet’s lead. They can recite whole Shakespeare plays from memory.”
As could Darcy, but he did not say so. Instead, he explained, “The inscription was not from Shakespeare, but rather from a letter written by the Earl of Essex to Queen Elizabeth.”
“Then I am assured . . .” she began, but Mr. Withers interrupted them, and her response was lost. After that, the lady was quite unreceptive to Darcy’s painful attempts at conversation. He was, generally, more polished when speaking one-on-one to his partner than attempting to have an advantage over Miss Bennet’s other suitors. Therefore, when he departed the Gardiner house, Darcy was not confident the lady would accept him even if he proposed.
As he had never wooed a young lady, therefore, Darcy sought his cousin Lindale’s advice, meaning Darcy continued to send Miss Bennet flowers each day, though he had chosen to send her a mix of whatever was the freshest on that particular day. He called upon her daily, took her driving in one of the parks each afternoon, and attended a variety of entertainments so he might converse with her or dance with her or be seated beside her at the theatre or a evening of music.
To his frustration, she continued to appear nervous when he extended his hand to lead her on the dance floor and with other everyday situations. Though Darcy thought she would accept him, for he had learned bits and pieces of her family’s situation, having multiple daughters and the Bennet estate being entailed upon another line of the family tree, he questioned himself more than her. She would do what was necessary to be placed in a position to protect her family. He would be settling for an “agreement,” and not “affection.” Could he tolerate her uninspiring comments on all the subjects upon which he offered to start a conversation? Could he regularly visit her bed for reasons beyond her comely countenance and appealing figure, as each would eventually die away? He had never considered a mistress; yet, in the future, would he require something beyond his wife’s commonplace observations and obedience to keep him from going a bit crazy himself?
He was, however, pleased with how well Miss Bennet handled Mrs. Gardiner’s children. The lady showed her younger cousins her affection while gently disciplining them when they misbehaved. Darcy would not tolerate his future children being abused for the crime of simply being a curious child exploring life.
One afternoon, a little over a week into their acquaintance, while out driving in the park, the lady uncustomarily presented Darcy with a warm smile. “Is that not your acquaintance Mr. Bingley approaching on horseback?”
“I believe it is,” he said, suddenly wondering why the lady rarely presented him with such a smile. He maneuvered his carriage to the side so others could continue along the driving trail and waited for Bingley to stop beside them.
