Sudden Awakenings (The Other Paths Collection)

Chapter 23

Despite Lady Catherine’s assertions that the Derbyshire poor would prefer woolen garments, Elizabeth’s handmade shirts were popular with the locals who came mumping on St. Thomas’ Day.

Elizabeth urged her mother not to provoke Lady Catherine, and to avoid her as much as possible, and in this way, the friction between them was reduced to bearable. The weather was good, allowing them to enjoy the grounds, which assisted in keeping the matrons out of each other's way and providing all the guests with some much-needed space, even in such a large house as Pemberley.

On Christmas Eve, the families exchanged their gifts. In addition to the embroidered handkerchiefs from her sisters and books from her father, Elizabeth was pleased to receive a carved wooden jewelry box from her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner.

“It is meant to be a belated wedding present, and also contains my Christmas present,” Mrs. Bennet told her. Inside the box, Elizabeth found a sachet of lavender and herbs from Longbourn’s gardens.

“Thank you, Mother, this is lovely,” Elizabeth said.

“The Gardiners send their regards, since they are unable to travel at present,” Mrs. Bennet said. Elizabeth nodded. In Aunt Gardiner’s last letter, she mentioned their joyous expectations of an addition to the family, and that she would be entering her confinement soon .

S

Christmas Day arrived, and with it additional guests. A lavish party was planned, following morning service, which included the Wilsons, Mr. Wickham, and Mr. Kirby. Lord and Lady Matlock were also expected, along with their younger son, Colonel Fitzwilliam. His elder brother, the viscount, was visiting his wife’s family, they were told.

Elizabeth could tell having such an overflowing house taxed Darcy’s patience greatly, even more than it did hers, but he maintained his forbearance.

“I see you have a full house, Mrs. Darcy!” Mrs. Wilson came over to her. “How are you bearing up?”

“Tolerably well, all things considered,” Elizabeth answered. “Though it has not been without its trials.”

“I hope when all your guests have gone, you will pay us another visit at Kenshire,” Mrs. Wilson said, with a welcoming air. “My boys continue to pester me, asking when you might play pirates with them again, if it is not too much to ask.”

“It would be my pleasure!” Elizabeth replied cheerfully.

The guests maintained as much decorum as could be expected from such a large party. But aside from a few ill-timed laughs from Kitty and Lydia and a few awkward remarks from Mary and Mr. Collins, they managed to finish dinner without any incidents.

Mrs. Bennet, in awe of dining with an earl, was on her best behavior, perhaps stunned into silence for the most part. Lady Catherine, having her brother to converse with, did not bother trying to goad Mrs. Bennet into any arguments.

After the meal, Mrs. Younge pressed Georgiana to play something for them, which she did, albeit reluctantly .

She played a selection from Handel’s Messiah , which earned her due applause from all their guests and a request for an encore. But Mrs. Bennet spoke out of turn, saying “Oh, that was pretty, Miss Darcy! It reminds me of my own Mary’s playing. Perhaps I may entreat Mary to play for us next?”

Mary, who never missed an opportunity to showcase her abilities, affected false modesty, saying she would not supplant Miss Darcy’s seat, which led Georgiana to say, “I have no objection to yielding to you, Mrs. Collins. Pray, do play something for us.”

Mary sauntered to the piano, all too ready to exhibit. She played a showy piece, but rather poorly when compared to Georgiana. Elizabeth suspected her practice had been much neglected as of late, due to her responsibilities of parish and home. Despite there being no entreaties to follow it with another, Mary played two more pieces before Mr. Darcy intervened.

“I thank you, Mrs. Collins, for sharing your talents with us. I wondered now, if perhaps my lady might treat us to a display of her abilities next,” he said.

Despite Elizabeth’s protests and Mary’s unwillingness to move from her seat, she soon found herself installed at the pianoforte.

“Well, what shall I play for you all?” Elizabeth asked cheerily.

“Something bright, befitting the season,” Mr. Collins suggested.

She chose a selection of Christmas carols, and soon their guests were singing along with her. While she performed, she noted with pleasure the warm expression on Mr. Darcy’s face as he watched her.

Their marriage had begun under less than ideal circumstances, but she had come to esteem him for his kindness, his generosity, and his excellent treatment of all those under his care. Her heart ached, knowing he could never esteem her family as they were. But she wondered about his regard for herself. Did she detect a growing admiration on his part ?

She prayed her family’s behavior during their stay would not destroy any respect he may have gained for them, nor ruin the glimmer of hope that there might be a chance for an amicable marriage between her and Mr. Darcy.

S

When the musical performances had concluded, Lady Catherine felt it necessary to express her opinions.

“Mrs. Darcy plays admirably, though her performance cannot compare with Miss Darcy’s.”

“Your Ladyship is generous,” Elizabeth said, closing the lid to the pianoforte and stepping away from it.

Lady Catherine did not reply directly to Elizabeth. Turning to Mr. Darcy instead, she said, “Mrs. Darcy would not play at all amiss if she practiced more. I have often told Georgiana that no accomplishment can be made without constant practice.”

Mrs. Bennet spoke up. “Mrs. Darcy has never been one so diligent with her music. But Mrs. Collins practices with such regularity, one cannot deny that her talents are equal to Miss Darcy’s.”

“Mrs. Collins plays well enough, one supposes, for the wife of a country parson. And I have often let her come to Rosings, to practice on the pianoforte there. But I will not allow her talents to be equal to Georgiana’s, no matter how much I enjoy her performances,” Lady Catherine said with an air of condescension.

Mary, quite offended at hearing this, said, “No, I do not suppose I could ever surpass Miss Darcy in excellence. She has had the benefit of studying under the masters, whereas I have only my own study and a little progress made under the tutelage of our church organist as a child. But I suspect Miss Darcy and I are alike in our love of music, and hope it shall bring us to a greater appreciation of each other, now that our families are united.”

“Well said, Mrs. Collins!” her husband praised.

Mr. Wickham gallantly added, “I could not find anything wanting in any of the lovely ladies' performances. Here I find before me, three exceedingly talented musicians. Could I listen to all three interminably for days on end, I should never tire of hearing them.”

S

It did not take long for Kitty and Lydia, who adored the idea of a regimental officer, to discover that Colonel Fitzwilliam was presently unattached, nor for Mrs. Bennet to encourage them in his direction.

“His father is an earl, after all! And though he is a second son, and therefore his portion must be less, it cannot be so pitiful as to render him ineligible,” Mrs. Bennet told them.

Lydia was the first to approach him and to make inquiries about his regiment, where he was presently stationed, and whether or not he thought he might be called upon to fight on the Continent.

The colonel answered her with all due politeness, but one as young as she could not hold his interest for long, and he soon excused himself to speak to his cousin, Miss de Bourgh.

Kitty tried her hand next, using her arts of batting her eyes coyly and smiling, as she was wont to do in Hertfordshire. But her efforts to detach him from his cousin’s company were equally unsuccessful.

Failing in her quest, she moved closer to the fire, where Mr. Kirby found her. “A pleasant party we are having this evening,” he said .

“I suppose,” Kitty murmured. “Though we are quite a number, when put together.”

“Are you unused to such large gatherings as this, back at your home?”

“Not at all. We regularly dine with four and twenty families, and our assemblies often consist of such as to make a large gathering, indeed. Is there much in the way of society around these parts, Mr. Kirby?”

“There have been one or two assemblies in Kympton since my arrival this autumn, but I have not attended any of them,” he admitted.

“Do you believe them unfit for a member of the clergy?”

“Not at all. In fact, Mr. Wickham is known to attend them with regularity. But I confess to a certain shyness which has thus far prevented me from attending.”

“Do you not enjoy the society of your neighbors then? Are there none of your acquaintances whom you would wish to see at such gatherings?”

“There are many, I suspect, from my parish, whom I should know and be glad to see. I suppose, my shyness stems, not from lack of familiarity, but from an ineptitude at dancing.”

“If such is the case, then it is easily remedied. Someone or other shall have to teach you to dance!”

“If you would be my instructor, Miss Bennet, I should be happy to learn.” Mr. Kirby smiled. “But I think, now, that our party is breaking up. I see the others are making their way down, and I suspect the carriages have been ordered.”

“It has been a pleasure making your acquaintance, Mr. Kirby.” Kitty remarked, with sincerity. Although at first, she had given the curate no notice, thinking his beard made him look rather Jacobean, his smile rendered him boyishly handsome, and she found a certain appeal in his quiet manners, unlike the boorish toadying her cousin displayed or the excessive charm of the rector, Mr. Wickham. Mr. Kirby suited Kitty’s idea of how a minister ought to look and behave, and she found she rather liked him for it.

“Likewise, Miss Bennet. Shall I have the pleasure of seeing you again at church on Sunday?”

“Undoubtedly,” she smiled sweetly.

S

After the guests had departed, Mrs. Bennet queried her daughter. “Who was that man you were speaking to for so long, Kitty?”

“That was Mr. Kirby, the curate.”

“Only a curate? I thought I advised you to direct your interests towards Lord Matlock’s son.”

“I did try, Mamma, only he did not appear interested in conversing with me,” she insisted. She would not admit she cared little for the colonel, who was more than ten years her senior.

“Well, you must try harder! Perhaps you might suggest to your sister that she invite Colonel Fitzwilliam to come stay at Pemberley for a few days while he is in this part of the country.”

“Perhaps,” she mused.

S

“I have been thinking,” Darcy said to Elizabeth the next day, while they were taking a stroll through the gardens.“How would you like to have your two youngest sisters remain with us a while longer after your mother and father leave?”

“You wish for Kitty and Lydia to stay with us?” Elizabeth’s eyes shot towards him in surprise .

Though the weather had been reasonably pleasant for December, there was a chill in the air, precipitating another northeasterly blast. Darcy’s breath fogged in front of him as he spoke.

“I beg your leave for speaking frankly, but at home, they appear to be without much governance, and under the influence of a mother who encourages them to seek out marriage for all the wrong reasons.” Seeing her bristle, he continued. “Under our care, we might hope to reform them, before they find themselves attached in an unequal union of lifelong unhappiness, purely out of financial consideration.”

“May I ask what spurs you towards this particular act of generosity?” Her words were tempered, but the anger in her voice was thinly veiled.

“Last night at our party, I observed Mrs. Bennet in close conversation with them, precipitating what I could only term as their attempts to flirt with my poor cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam.”

“Did you witness their interactions with him directly?”

“I did. I happened to be standing near, in conversation with Lady Catherine, and the impropriety of it was not lost on us.”

“Because my sisters are so far beneath your cousin?” Her voice rose.

“Not at all. It is because of their youth that I fear for them. The colonel is an excellent man of good character, but he is more than a decade their senior, and experienced in the ways of the world, with a heart tainted by battle. I could not see either of your sisters, as young and naive as they are, in a happy relationship with him. Not to mention, I suspect his heart already lies with another.”

“If that is the case, then surely there can be no harm done. He is too much of a gentleman to do anything but rebuff their advances.” Elizabeth quickened her pace, forcing Darcy to walk faster to keep up with her. The dry leaves and grass crunched noisily beneath their feet, and the wind whistled past their ears .

“As he has done,” Darcy continued. “He neatly sidestepped their flirtation, but it did not go unnoticed, and I fear the remarks made about their forwardness outside our family circle, if this is the kind of behavior that may be expected from them towards gentlemen with whom they are so little acquainted.”

Seeing Elizabeth’s hardened expression, he spoke gently. “Do not mistake me, Mrs. Darcy. If I thought there was any chance of an equal union between one of them and my cousin, and his heart not otherwise engaged, I would have no objection to the match, were he to pursue it. But it is not seemly for them to throw themselves at him, nor any other man. They must be taught restraint, and to seek out the companionship of young men of similar age and disposition to their own. To that end, we might facilitate their upbringing, and bring them out into society at the proper time.”

“Kitty and Lydia are already out in society,” she stated, fixing her gaze ahead of her.

“ Out being a relative term,” Darcy said. “They have been permitted to dine in company and attend assemblies, but I do not think either of them are ready to settle down; they are both so very young. Consider my own sister, the same age as Lydia. She is permitted to dine with the family when we have company, but I would by no means allow her to attend a public assembly or to mingle with society at other’s homes. Not for a year or more, at least.”

Elizabeth’s mouth wrinkled. “You are quite hard on your sister. Do you not think she deserves her share of amusement?”

“Amusement, yes. But these may come in other forms, until she is ready.”

“If we were to do as you suggest, and invite my sisters to stay with us, do you not think your own sister would feel jealous, being excluded from participating in such gatherings, were we to dine out or attend the assembly, while my sisters are with us? ”

Darcy coughed slightly. “My point is that your sisters ought to be removed from such events, for a time, while we undertake their reform. They would find plenty of amusement in Georgiana’s company, and I daresay would feel no loss of society while they are here. And Mrs. Younge could supply their education, which I fear may be lacking.”

“Now you think my sisters are uneducated and in need of tutelage!” Elizabeth snapped. “I have heard enough, Mr. Darcy. I shall return to the house.” With that, she broke from him and made free to walk as quickly as she could from the gardens.