Cannot very well withhold consent to a genuine royal, can you?' Yes, yes! I enjoyed myself immensely and could only wish with all my being that James were there. Lord, how he disliked Anne's sister!
Well, there you have it. I know you continued to read, Elizabeth, so can only pray you still love me and want these hands to deliver your baby. Lady Catherine eventually consented to Raul's courtship and I departed two days later for London, leaving Raja to his pursuits. Have not heard from him since but suppose I shall need to find a new associate. Col. Fitzwilliam accompanied me, and we two bachelors managed to have a bit of fun ere my departure to Devon. Do not worry, William, Mrs. Smyth would not allow me to ransack Darcy House too profoundly. It remains largely intact.
“Better be or there shall be hell to pay,” Darcy murmured with a smile. Lizzy was dazedly imagining the vision of a pestered and flustered Mrs. Smyth with no small amount of pleasure.
The family here in Honiton greets you both. They have nothing but praise for Elizabeth, to all of which I wholeheartedly concur, and entreat me to send their congratulations on your blessing. I do pray your child is half as adorable as Cousin Nicole's two. They have the roundest brown eyes and are simply sweet enough to eat! Naturally they love me and I am having a marvelous time. However, I will return to Pemberley in late September, or sometime in there. I deem it only polite to visit with Mrs. Smyth again for a spell as I am sure she misses me greatly. I do hope all is well with you both. Enjoy your holiday at the seaside. Oh, I nearly forgot! Mrs. Collins's pregnancy is progressing nicely, not that we spoke of it, naturally, but I could readily discern that all was well. She is a delightful woman. So warm and humorous. She spoke of you, Elizabeth, with tremendous affection. We had no opportunity to speak privately, not that this would have been appropriate, but I wanted you to know her status.
With deepest regard and love to you both,
George, alias Dr. Darcy for you, Elizabeth
Darcy was grinning as he folded the letter. Glancing into his wife's dreamy face, he reached to brush the backs of his fingers over a velvet cheek. “Do not fear, love. I am positive our baby shall be the loveliest on the face of the earth.”
Lizzy laughed, turning to kiss his knuckles. “Yes, surely. However, I was lost in the delicious vision of a harried Mrs. Smyth.” She sighed deeply, an evil twinkle in her eyes.
Darcy assumed a stern face, although his eyes twinkled as well. “How unbecoming of you, Elizabeth Darcy. I am aghast.”
Lizzy merely laughed further while Darcy rose to deposit the letter onto his desk. They sat in his study, the late afternoon August sun blazing through the open windows. No breeze was forthcoming and had not been for days upon days, therefore the room was stifling. Lizzy wore the thinnest dress she could find, refusing a petticoat thicker than the sheer muslin one, which meant that her legs did show slightly, but she was tolerably cool. She observed her husband, dressed to the nines although in a light kerseymere, and wondered for the thousandth time how he could appear so comfortable. Not even a sheen of sweat along his brow. Of course, Darcy was perpetually collected and calm.
“I certainly enjoyed your uncle's version of events over Miss de Bourgh's,” Lizzy said. “Although the emotion in her letter was so touching.”
“Yes,” Darcy replied from his desk chair where he was rifling through a stack of folded parchment envelopes, “and, if you recall, my dearest, she expressed her wish to forgo the long courtship and hasten to the marriage part.”
“She did not!”
“I beg to differ. Ah! Here it is.” He fluttered the pages with a flourish, smirking at his wife, and then clearing his throat as if preparing to address Parliament. “She writes, and I quote, 'In the end Mother did consent to allow Dr. Penaflor the right to court me. Oh William! I cannot express my happiness. I must thank you for encouraging me to follow my heart and to trust. I have no doubts regarding my feelings toward Dr. Penaflor and know he feels as strongly. Love at nearly first sight! I never anticipated this happening to me. Honestly I had relinquished all hope of finding love and cannot repress the trepidation that I shall wake to discover it is all a dream. I appreciate Dr. Penaflor's design to court me properly and comprehend it derives from his esteem; however, I must confess a desire to hasten time. Is this selfish of me, William? My life has altered drastically these past three months, and my joy is nearly complete. Suddenly my wildest wishes are within my grasp, and I am aware that the natural womanly response is to revel in the season of wooing and flirtation. Nonetheless, my greatest urge is to be married to sweet Raul and begin our life together.'”
Lizzy assumed a haughty pout in the face of Darcy's smug grin. “Very well, Mr. Darcy. I shall admit my error; however, I detect only the yearning to be bonded in matrimony and no allusion to 'fun' as you so called it.”
“The fun is implied, love.”
Lizzy laughed and shook her head, turning to another letter waiting on the table. “Shall I read Papa's letter aloud?”
“It is addressed to you, Elizabeth. You can share with me later if you wish as I must currently attend to this boring albeit necessary business packet from Mr. Daniels.”
Thereafter, in quiet harmony they concentrated on their individual undertakings while ever with an unconscious awareness of the other's presence.
My dearest Lizzy,
My beloved daughter, why do you insist on exponentially whitening my hair even further? When you were two years of age, you toddled outside and narrowly avoided falling into the duck pond, saved by Mr. Hill, who happened to be walking by. From that day onward, my precocious second daughter, I awaited the day when some brave man would assume caretaking duties, allotting me the opportunity to breathe freely. Overall I judge Mr. Darcy has adequately fulfilled the role, but armed bandits? Heavens, child!
Naturally I maintained my equilibrium, trusting in your assurance that you and the babe are well. Your mother, however, dissolved into nervous prostration, taking to her bed in a near swoon. Kitty attended to her with a diligence that surprised me. I confess to retreating to my study, having divined ages ago that my presence is in no way placating. Suffer no guilt, my dear girl, as you know your mother fairly wallows in her misery. Dear Jane was secretly relieved, as your trauma diverted her mother's flustering over their relocation.
Luckily, fortune smiled on us all as joyous news was forthcoming. I will proceed in the hope that the latest Bennet blessing is revealed by me. Three days after receiving your missive, your mother yet abed, I was visited by Mr. Joshua Daniels. As you likely have already postulated, he rode to Hertfordshire to obtain permission to wed our Mary. Naturally I deemed it my right and duty as father of the intended to toy with him a bit, make him sweat, as they say. I daresay he reacted with far greater amusement than either Mr. Bingley or Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bingley was simply too befuddled to even ask my permission for Jane's hand, an oversight I reluctantly judged merciful in light of the general mayhem of that day. Mr. Darcy, of course, captured me utterly unaware. My usually rapid mental faculties were dulled by surprise and the ungodly hour of the day. If I did not know the truth of the situation, I would hazard to guess he planned it that way! Besides, he was so disarmingly charming and pathetic that I could not muster the heart to trifle with his frayed emotions. Well, not too much anyway.
Mr. Daniels, on the other hand, was an expectation. Via correspondence from your Uncle Gardiner, I knew the courtship was progressing at a stately pace so rightly figured it was merely a matter of time. I did not anticipate his arrival on that particular day, but was prepared for the eventuality. In the end, of course, I gave my blessing as I fully intended to do all along. He is a delightful young man and I have no doubts will care for our Mary. By the way, thank your husband for his personal endorsement of and information about the young solicitor. Having not had the luxury of acquainting ourselves with him to any great degree, your mother and I are eased by Mr. Darcy's recommendation. Of course, Edward and Violet have become quite familiar and praise him glowingly. Mary is prosaic in her commentary, but there is an underlying emotion that belies her conservative pose. All in all, we are delighted with her choice.
I do not know when they plan to wed, nor where. I chose not to question Mr. Daniels on the particulars as I had no desire to have the boy faint in my study! London would be my guess, although Mary is very fond of our vicar and the Meryton Chapel. I have not yet heard from Mary as all this transpired just yesterday. So, it
