Page 53 of Losing Lizzy
He admitted, “I do not. As long as I am never asked to be in her company again, I am satisfied.” Although he knew his measures necessary, it still bothered Darcy to lose so many family members with one swipe of his hand. “I am certain Fitzwilliam and Anne have been made aware of her ladyship’s plans.”
“When will the Fitzwilliams settle in at Rosings?”
“He will oversee the payment of the quarter day taxes, but my cousin assumes it will be November before he and Georgiana move into the estate. Anne remains with them at Darcy House, and Fitzwilliam reports she is adapting quite nicely to London’s social life.”
Elizabeth glanced across the room to where Mr. Sheffield and Miss Bennet had their heads together, discussing a book of poetry the gentleman had purchased for Miss Bennet in thevillage when they had all walked into Meryton earlier in the day. Ironically, he and Elizabeth, as the assumed married couple, were to be serving as chaperones for the pair. “Will he propose?” she asked. “I would not wish for Jane to know heartbreak again.”
“I plan to speak to him tomorrow regarding the London bookstore. I have had confirmation from my man of business, who says I should have the deed in my hands by early tomorrow. He has also located a Town home in Picadilly that could prove a viable home for Sheffield and your sister, a house that would allow them to entertain and raise a family. I thought the house might be a wedding present from Mr. Bennet, that is, if your father is willing to assist us in another pretense.”
She kissed his cheek. “You are very attractive when you are forceful, sir.” They looked deeply into each other’s eyes, finding satisfaction. “Shall you turn against me if I can bear you no more children?” she asked tentatively. “Shall Lizzy and I be enough to keep you happy?”
“I love you, Elizabeth,” he proclaimed. “Even if we had no children, I would still choose you. I could never be content with another.”
* * *
“You wished to speak to me, sir?”
Darcy sat in the corner of Mr. Bennet’s study, pretending to be addressing his daily correspondence to those in London.
“Yes,” Mr. Bennet said casually. Darcy had found Bennet a cooperative co-conspirator, making a few changes and involving Elizabeth’s uncle, Mr. Gardiner. “Please join me.”
Sheffield shot a questioning glance to Darcy, but he did as Mr. Bennet suggested.
Once all were settled, Bennet began without preamble. “I have taken notice of your attentions to Miss Bennet. Do you mean to speak to my daughter of a future before you depart Longbourn this week?”
Darcy smiled. He had rarely viewed Sheffield flustered, but today was the exception. “I—I would hope to do so, but all I have to offer your daughter is a few rooms over my shop inBrighton. I believe she deserves more than a simple man. Miss Bennet is everything a man could look for in a wife, and I am not of her social class.”
Bennet frowned. “Miss Bennet deserves to be happy, and I think you could provide her that happiness. And as to the other matter, are you not a gentleman’s son? I was led to believe you began your career in Darcy’s service as his tutor—that you held a gentleman’s education.”
“I do, sir,” Sheffield was quick to say. “Marrying your eldest daughter would be my fondest wish, but I will never own an estate for Miss Bennet to manage.”
“Yet, you are capable of purchasing a home, are you not?” Bennet charged.
Sheffield tugged nervously on his sleeve. “Yes, but—”
Bennet interrupted. “I thought you were a wealthy man. Is that not what you told me when we sat in this very office four years prior?”
Darcy cleared his voice. He had permitted Mr. Bennet his fun with Sheffield; now, it was time for him to lead them all to the same conclusion. “I believe Mr. Sheffield’s expenses were more than he expected when he made his bargain with you then. Not that he has ever complained about the role he played in rescuing Elizabeth when I could not.”
“Knowing Elizabeth and the child have been the most spectacular moments in my life,” Sheffield said with emotion.
“Would you not wish to have those moments again?” Bennet demanded. “With your own children? My Jane is six and twenty, certainly still young enough to bear you children of your own. Would that not be your wish, sir?”
Mr. Sheffield blushed thoroughly, but he said, “I can think of nothing grander, sir.”
Bennet nodded his head in Darcy’s direction. “Then, you and I, Darcy, should discover a means to assist Sheffield and Jane to a better understanding.” He turned to ask Sheffield, “Do you wish to remain in Brighton?”
Sheffield shrugged. “I possess few choices. One of myreasons for not proposing to your daughter is I would not wish to expose Miss Bennet to the gossip that likely awaits my return to the town. Elizabeth and I left abruptly. The magistrate knew we searched for the child, and Elizabeth’s ‘supposed’ husband had returned and was not a Dartmore, but a Darcy. Moreover, how do I marry Miss Bennet when she is Elizabeth’s sister, and, in Brighton, everyone thought Elizabeth was my niece? We have told too many lies there to take them back. Miss Bennet should not be exposed to the gossip. In fact, it is likely to affect my business there.”
Darcy abandoned his pretense and moved his chair closer. “Elizabeth told me how you had thought to purchase Brooke’s before you took up her cause.”
“I do not regret my decision, sir. Having Elizabeth and Lizzy with me proved what I have always known: I want a family of my own.”
“Then, perhaps, this will provide you the means to know your happiness. It is a gift from Elizabeth and me—a symbol of our gratitude.” He placed papers before his former servant, a man who had always been his friend.
Sheffield’s eyes scanned the papers. “This appears to be the deed to Fowler’s on Park Lane.” The man’s hands shook as he turned the pages, attempting to take it all in.
“It is not Brooke’s,” Darcy said with a smile of satisfaction.
