Sudden Awakenings (The Other Paths Collection)

Chapter 19

The next day, Mr. Darcy took her to the nearby village of Kympton, where she spent the morning with the modiste, choosing all manner of new gowns, petticoats, chemises, and other items for her wedding clothes. Elizabeth protested the extravagance of it all, but Mr. Darcy insisted no expense was to be spared and continued to request more items.

When attempting to decide on a material for a new day dress, Elizabeth asked the modiste which one was less costly, but Mr. Darcy interrupted.

“Never mind that. Which do you prefer?” he asked, eager to please.

“I prefer whichever one is less,” she answered, a bit defiantly.

“The cost is nothing to me. You needn’t worry that the funds will be taken from your pin money. This will be in addition to it. So, which do you prefer?” he repeated.

“I do care for needless waste. Either one will do for me. So, tell me,” she addressed the modiste, “which material costs the least?” She found herself growing irritated that she was not being allowed to purchase according to her wishes.

“Er,” the modiste began, unsure whether she should answer her.

“Buy them both!” Mr. Darcy insisted. He ordered the modiste to make up two dresses, one in each fabric .

“Why did you do that?” Elizabeth asked crossly, as they left the shop.

“I wanted you to have whatever your heart desired, without consideration for the cost,” he said.

She folded her arms. “But as I had already expressed, my heart’s desire was for whichever material was less expensive. Why did you insist on buying both?”

“Because it is shameful to be discussing the cost of the material with the shopkeeper in this fashion!” he retorted. “The Darcy family has no need to consider whether this material or that might save a few pennies per yard on a new gown!”

“So you consider it to be embarrassing, for a wife to be financially prudent with the money she has been given? If that is the case, you might have done well to marry my mother, for she has always been given to excessive extravagance without consideration for any sort of economy, and it drove our family nearly to ruin!”

“Keep your voice lower, if you please, madam. We are still in public,” he said, glancing sideways to ensure no passerby were standing too near.

“Oh, no, I would not want to embarrass the great Fitzwilliam Darcy,” she spat. Elizabeth began walking away from him, but Darcy stopped her.

“Let us not argue about such things, please.” He implored, his tone gentler. “Look, there is an inn nearby. Let us stop by for a drink and a bite to eat before returning home.”

S

Elizabeth agreed and allowed him to purchase her a cup of tea and a savory meat pie, while he ordered a coffee and a bowl of potato soup .

“About earlier,” he began. “I apologize for my outburst.”

“It was not your outburst which offended me, but your overbearing manner, and your snobbishness in regards to my efforts to economize.”

“I recognize that, and I ask for your forgiveness. I was not acting out of any unkindness towards you.”

Elizabeth could not disguise her bitterness. “No, only your embarrassment at having such an uncouth wife who would ask for the cheaper fabric over the more costly one.”

A wry laugh escaped from his lips. “I admit, my pride was wounded by the insinuation that such measures would even be needed. But the truth is, I wanted to spoil you a bit, and I felt you were not allowing me to do so, so I behaved petulantly.”

“You wanted to spoil me?” Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “By buying me clothes?”

“Yes,” Darcy admitted. “I regret that I took you away from your family so suddenly, you had no time to prepare a proper trousseau, as is fitting for a new bride. My heart’s desire is for you to have everything you should wish; anything that money can buy and is in my power to give to you. I would have ordered twice as many clothes and gowns if I thought you would have accepted it. The entirety of your wardrobe is a mere trifle to me, in terms of cost.

“At home, you may have had to economize your wardrobe thanks to your mother’s spendthrift ways when you were younger, but you need not worry about putting me in financial ruin. Not unless your extravagance extends to purchasing multiple carriages, houses, or ships!”

His unexpected quip made her laugh, breaking the tension between them.

“I promise I shall limit my purchases to only one new carriage, house, and ship each! ”

“You would be welcome to!” He chuckled. “Whatever your heart desires, I wish for you to have it. And I beg you not to consider it wasteful; rather, it is our duty to patronize the local shops, who depend upon our custom for their livelihood.”

It was a notion Elizabeth had never before considered. She had only ever seen the wastefulness and extravagance of her mother’s spending, and not realized the importance of the local gentry in upholding the village trades.

She thanked Darcy for enlightening her, and for the new items he had ordered.

“It will be my pleasure to see you wear them,” he said with a smile.

S

After finishing their repast, they stepped outside, and were prepared to board their carriage once more, when a passerby recognized Darcy and waved, coming over to greet them.

“Mr. Darcy, how pleasant to see you! This must be your new bride the congregation has been talking about.” The man was young, clean-shaven, with a pleasing countenance.

“Word travels quickly, I see,” Darcy replied. He introduced the man to Elizabeth as Mr. George Wickham, the Kympton rector.

“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wickham,” Elizabeth greeted him. “I hope you will join us at our table sometime. Is there a Mrs. Wickham as well?”

“Not yet, ma’am. The Lord has not yet sought fit to bring her into my life,” he bowed his head.

“Ah, well, you are welcome nonetheless,” she repeated congenially. “Mr. Darcy’s sister is to join us this afternoon, so perhaps you might come tomorrow evening, if you are available. ”

Mr. Wickham’s face brightened even further. “It would be a delight! I have not seen Miss Darcy since last year.”

“I am glad to hear you are acquainted with her. I have yet to meet her, myself,” Elizabeth said.

“Oh yes, ma’am. I grew up on the Darcy estate. As Mr. Darcy will tell you, he and Miss Darcy are like siblings to me.” Mr. Wickham looked to Mr. Darcy, who regarded him coolly, without speaking further.

Mr. Darcy tipped his hat to Mr. Wickham before extending his hand to Elizabeth to help her into the carriage.

Elizabeth bid Mr. Wickham farewell.

S

“Why did you invite Mr. Wickham to join us?” Darcy calmly asked her, once they were on the road again.

“I was merely being friendly with your rector. Was I wrong to do so?” Elizabeth’s eyes widened.

“No. You have perfect freedom to invite whomever you will to our table. I only wondered at your sudden desire to invite our neighbor over.”

“I suppose I felt I ought to become acquainted with those in our vicinity, and as Mr. Wickham is a member of the church, and a longtime friend of your family–practically family himself, in his words– there could be no harm in including him in our party from time to time.”

Mr. Darcy was silent, so Elizabeth asked him again whether she had committed some error.

“It is true, Mr. Wickham grew up on the estate with us. His father was the estate’s steward up until his untimely death. My father paid for Mr. Wickham’s education and recommended in his will that he be given the preferment of the Kympton living.”

Elizabeth sensed hesitation in Darcy’s voice. “But?” she pressed.

Darcy sighed. “George was a few years behind me at university. While he was there, he got into a few scrapes over some gaming debts, which I helped him to settle. He was not particularly studious, either. He graduated by the skin of his teeth, and received his ordination. When the living became available last year, he requested it be given to him, as per my father’s wishes. I reluctantly did so, partly out of hopes that being a member of the church might straighten him out a bit.”

“Did it?”

“All outward appearances have suggested it. But I confess, I have never felt too easy whenever he is near Georgiana. There is something about his manner towards her which unsettles me.”

“Goodness! I wish I had asked your opinion before inviting the man.”

“It is not your fault. And I daresay my being ill at ease likely stems from being an overprotective brother. I have no reason to suspect he would do anything untoward against Georgiana. After all, they often played together as children. Georgiana positively adores him.”

“Is there a possibility your dislike of him stems from jealousy?” There was a hint of a smile as she said this.

“Perhaps,” he admitted, a little ashamedly. “It is no secret that my father doted on him. I confess, my resentment over their relationship likely clouds my feelings towards him. Still, I cannot help but worry. Georgiana is to inherit a substantial fortune, and George has always possessed a propensity for spending large sums.”

“Should I recant the invitation? I could always invent some excuse. ”

“No, no. Keep the engagement. After all, I have no foundation for my fears other than the love of money in the one and the possession of it in the other. I shall have to grow reaccustomed to George’s presence if we are to spend most of the year at Pemberley.”

“Are there any other neighbors we might invite as well, to make the party less awkward for you?” she asked.

Darcy thought for a moment. “Perhaps we might invite the Wilsons to join us, and Mr. Kirby, Mr. Wickham’s curate.”

“Excellent. I shall send out the invitations and discuss the menu with Mrs. Reynolds.”

S

Georgiana arrived that afternoon, along with her governess and a maid. Georgiana was tall, nearly the same height as Elizabeth, with the same noble features and nose that her brother bore. She was a little shy, but eager to meet Elizabeth.

“I am so pleased to finally have someone I can call my sister!” she exclaimed, turning to face Elizabeth after receiving her brother’s embrace.

Elizabeth laughed. “You may find that sisters are more trouble than you would like. I ought to know– I have four of them myself!”

Georgiana’s blue eyes widened. “Four sisters! How marvelous it must have been, growing up with four sisters. I should have liked that very much. Not that I mind having grown up with a brother!” she added.

“I am certain you would have traded me in for a sister in a heartbeat, had you been given the offer!” he teased .

She leaned closer to Elizabeth. “It would have been nice to have someone with whom to play with dolls and braid hair; Fitzwilliam isn’t any good at those!”

“Yes, I was too preoccupied playing with my toy soldiers,” he retorted.

“Fitzwilliam loved to torment me by making his soldiers stage a massacre against my poor dolls!” she exclaimed.

“Goodness, how violent!” Elizabeth laughed.

Darcy shrugged. “Such is how the mind of a boy ten years his sister’s senior thinks! At least, until I went away to school.”

“Then, when he returned home, all he wanted to do was moon over girls!” Georgiana quipped.

“Enough of that!” He chided playfully.

S

Elizabeth observed that Georgiana’s governess suited her moniker; Mrs. Younge was indeed young, perhaps only a few years older than Elizabeth.

Over dinner, after Mrs. Younge remarked about her late husband, Elizabeth made a polite inquiry about how long she had been married.

“Three years, ma’am,” Mrs. Younge answered. “The fever took him two years ago, in the spring of the year nine.”

“My condolences for your loss,” Elizabeth said.

“Thank you, ma’am. Our time together was altogether too short. Afterwards, I was left to shift for myself. Fortunately, my husband’s schoolmate, Mr. Wickham, recommended me to Mr. Darcy when he heard he was seeking to fill the position of governess to Miss Darcy. ”

“I met Mr. Wickham only this morning!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “I did not know you were acquainted with him as well, Mrs. Younge. Mr. Wickham is to join us for dinner tomorrow evening, along with a few others.”

Georgiana’s face brightened. “Oh, how lovely! I have been longing to see Mr. Wickham again for some time.”

Elizabeth saw Mr. Darcy’s expression change at her mention of this, but she did not remark upon it.