Mr Darcy's Legacy, page 6
“I know you do not care about Caroline’s and Louisa’s opinion,” said Georgiana while she played, “but now that you are going to be his wife, I think that all old animosities must stop.”
“Georgiana is right!” Darcy said. “They need to tame their gossip regarding us and find new subjects.”
Mr Acton was nodding as he approved those ideas, “I do not understand how people have gossip as their principal activity; as soon as someone leaves a room they begin to talk about that poor individual and then when he comes back they smile as if nothing happened. It is a side of human nature I do not comprehend. They like and dislike someone out of motives I do not accept. I wanted so much to live in London or in other places with society, but I can say that I am mostly disappointed.”
It was rather a strong declaration for a young man who just entered society but it was so honest and so full of wisdom that everybody looked at him in admiration. Only then he realised what he had said and coloured violently.
“I am sorry!” he continued, “it is not for me to judge!”
“Well, my friend” Darcy said, “do not feel a bit sorry; we all admire your position and I assure you it is also ours. But the society around us does not appreciate respect and truthfulness and we have to oblige them by playing the game using our rules. They respect wealth and titles and power, so let them see we are rich and powerful.”
It was indeed an appropriate school for the young Acton, his luck being having Darcy as a teacher and not his cousins. Indeed he was grateful for being accepted into such a good company and hoped they might keep him around; he was ready to attend in any possible way.
“Are you ready to be my secretary?” Darcy asked.
Mr Acton’s eyes were like two bright stars in a black sky, “Yes, sir!” he said.
“Then, from tomorrow morning, Parker will arrange for you to have a desk, all for yourself and you will begin by answering all the messages I receive from friends or acquaintances. We will work for an hour together and then the work will be done by you, all alone! Of course, you will receive a monthly salary!”
“Sir, I do not need one, thank you! I have a nice income; what I do not have are the manners for this world!”
But Elizabeth was smiling with indulgence as she knew the value of money.
“Mr Acton, if you permit me!” she said. “Never refuse a salary!”
On these kind words, Mr Acton and Georgiana left for the Hursts’.
***
The door was barely closed behind the two young people when Darcy took Elizabeth in his arms. It was what he had dreamt of since the morning, a moment of peace and love, just hugging like friends.
“Come, my love,” he whispered in her ear.
She let him lead her but to her surprise, they went to her rooms. The panel was opened and the two figures were facing one another. Darcy stood between them watching them by turn, then he looked at Elizabeth, who was sitting on the sofa and asked:
“What is your impression of this story?”
Elizabeth hesitated briefly.
“Come, tell me what you are thinking, do not hesitate!”
“They loved each other; it is the only answer. It is obvious, the way she arranged the paintings and her letter about marrying only for love. Most probably, they wanted to marry but were not allowed to.”
“Yes!” Darcy said, “I arrived at the same idea. But it is so difficult to imagine my mother in other circumstances than those in which I knew her. My mother in love with another man. It is simply preposterous for me and I am sure for Georgiana, too.”
“She was a woman”.
“She was my mother!” Darcy almost cried and sat at the far end of the sofa.
He was troubled, confused and Elizabeth realised that he had tried in the afternoon to look calm just for Georgiana’s benefit. Her heart was full of worries and sorrow regarding this unusual situation, but it was for her to show how she could help. In all that turmoil she had one positive thought: he no longer had to pretend calmness, as he did all afternoon; with her he could be exactly as his inner state dictated without fear or shame, and that was the value of their relationship. They were lovers and friends and companions!
“She was probably very young; you have to accept she had a life before becoming wife and mother. Exactly how you told me that you had such a life!” Elizabeth said.
“You did not forget,” Darcy smiled into her eyes, a real smile that interrupted his pain. He made a gesture towards her obviously wanting to take her into his arms, but instead, Elizabeth just gave him her hand. He looked to her hand for such a long time that Elizabeth was not sure he saw her fingers, but then he began kissing them one by one.
“What shall I do my love?”
It was a complicated problem; his mother left the decision in his hands. He could hide the portrait, or throw it away forever, and never open that discussion again and never know the use of that key.
“Is this what you really want?” Elizabeth asked him. “Ignoring your mother’s secret forever?”
“I know her secret!” he said, “I am absolutely sure she loved the Duke. We both are, it was so simple to understand from the paintings and her letter. Even from the Duke’s attitude towards me. It is so clear that he loved her too. He wanted to help me, her son, he was worried for me.”
Darcy was silent for a moment playing with her fingers then he looked at her:
“How far can a child go into his parents’ secrets?”
“As far as his parents allow him. Your mother left a door slightly opened asking you to decide if you want it further opened or forever shut. But, you see, my dear, I am a woman…”
Darcy looked at her and laughed, a real teasing laugh meaning so many things between them.
“I will rip that smile from your face, my Lord, in just two weeks! I intend to be a woman, a real woman, that will make you regret all the mockeries I have endured these last days!”
She was laughing too, emphasizing mockeries in a light tone.
“You envisage some specific punishments, madam?”
Elizabeth threw a cushion in his face, but his laugh did not stop. He approached her and took her into his arms, completely hiding her upon his chest.
“Come, Elizabeth, tell me what to do!”
The proud and arrogant man that she met a year ago was asking her to decide such a delicate matter. It was a change she could hardly understand but which brought her intense happiness. She closed her eyes and let all the winds of love invade her. Darcy was right, being away from his arms for two weeks seemed a long time. If he made a gesture that night she would instantly agree to be his, right there under his mother’s and the Duke’s eyes.
But Darcy just embraced her and lightly caressed her. He was a man ready to be married but that night he was also the young boy he used to be when he came in the afternoon into his mother’s parlour to find her writing.
“Speak my love,” he whispered near her ear, making it so difficult for Elizabeth to answer. So she stood up to see his face and finally said:
“If your mother wanted her love story to be forgotten forever, she would have buried it without any further word. But she wanted you to know about it!”
Darcy was looking at her with such confidence that she continued:
“Do not let her love be forgotten forever! That is what I think. I agree it is difficult for you and her gesture is quite selfish, but you are an adult and you must carry out her last wish. Ultimately, she wanted you to know her secret..”
Chapter 8
Elizabeth was so tired but also so relieved that she fell into a night of sleep with no dreams that left her fully rested in the morning. She dressed, helped by Jane, the young maid who seemed she would choose to be her lady’s maid; she liked her excellent spirit and more than anything a splendid hand for arranging her hair, a quality that Elizabeth appreciated the most; she could dress by herself but never succeed in creating a presentable bun.
The knock at the door was impatient, as was the voice.
“Good morning,” Darcy said, “Hurry up, we are waiting for you! Lady Edwina is here!”
“Darcy, I am almost dressed, I will be down in five minutes!” she responded, hoping he would force the entrance and come in to kiss her; but Darcy was nervous, as she could tell by his countenance.
She smiled at the maid, admiring the curls and the exquisite little bun enhanced with two golden ribbons; it was simple and yet it made her look sophisticated. In front of her mirror, Elizabeth was worried, as the people from Darcy’s circle tended to treat her with disdain - an aspect of her new life she did not like at all. But, more and more, she left behind the young girl from Longbourn, becoming the young woman who in a short time would become the mistress of Pemberley. That was the thought she must have each time she entered a room in London or elsewhere.
But that morning she did not have to remember her future status as Pemberley’s mistress because in the dining room she was greeted by a handsome, impressive lady who was totally prepared to like her. Elizabeth looked in amazement across the table as she could not imagine that the red-haired woman full of spirit and goodwill was the same age as her parents. She bowed with respect, but Lady Edwina hugged her in a spontaneous gesture of acceptance. Then she took Elizabeth’s chin in her right palm and glanced at her with much attention and a smile:
“My dear boy,” she said, “I like your future wife at first sight!”
Elizabeth wanted to sit near Georgiana, but then she saw Parker inviting her to sit at the other end of the table in the mistress’s chair, facing Darcy. Very confident in her new bun and the pearl coloured dress that she was just wearing for the first time, she sat.
“I am sorry I am late,” she said, smiling.
But Georgiana chased away her words with a broad move of her hand, pointing towards Lady Edwina:
“Do not be, my dear, Aunt Edwina arrived when all of us were still sleeping.”
“Where is Mr Acton?” Elizabeth asked.
“Well, that industrious young man,” Lady Edwina said, “was up and ready to work when I arrived. I had an early breakfast with him and forced him to tell me all the details from Darcy’s adventure!”
“Aunt Edwina knows all the secrets of this house…”
“And many others, dear Georgie,” Lady Edwina laughed with a loud and merry sound.
“As a matter of fact, Aunt Edwina knows secrets of this house we do not know!” Darcy said, looking at her with a rather mischievous expression on his face.
“He is naughty as he has always been,” Lady Edwina smiled not at all offended and then she continued looking at Elizabeth, “take care, my dear, he can be a rather spoiled boy!”
In no more than a half an hour, Elizabeth was totally conquered by this friend, aunt, and godmother with the vitality of a young woman.
By the time breakfast was over the informal atmosphere around the table, began to change into a sort of agitation, visible particularly in Darcy. With a rather brusque gesture he helped Lady Edwina out of her chair inviting the party to the parlour. Once seated on the sofas around the elegant low table they had to face the real motive of their meeting, the two letters and the key, all three displayed as an invitation. Edwina read the papers one by one, first the codicil, nodding in a clear sign of approval and then the letter Anne Darcy wrote to her son. As she took off her pince-nez they could see the tears she was not trying to hide.
Lost in her thoughts she took the key from the table and began playing with it in her fingers, gaining some time to order her feeling and ideas, but nobody was in a hurry. Darcy and Georgiana wanted to know their mother’s secret but still had the impression they were entering forbidden territory. They requested Lady Edwina to be present not only because she probably knew the entire old story but also because they needed a figure to replace their mother and assure them it was not an impiety they were committing. More than ever the sister and brother seemed two children caught in the middle of a scrape.
“I must confess to you, my dears” Lady Edwina began slightly hesitantly, “that I did not agree with your dear mother when she decided to reveal her secret. First, it was not entirely her secret, as FitzRoy was also involved.”
And as all three were looking at her with a question on their faces she smiled and said, “I call the Duke, FitzRoy, as we have been friends since we were children.”
She was silent for a moment with memories from a long-gone time.
“But it is a secret that could ruin even now her and his reputation,” she continued to speak.
They wanted to protest but Lady Edwina stopped them with a vigorous hand movement:
“Let me finish, please! Just months before her death, Anne decided that she wanted you, Darcy, to know the truth; nothing was said about Georgiana as she was a little girl at the time. I think Anne hardly could imagine her little girl as the splendid young woman Georgie is now.
“I understand, Aunt Edwina!” Georgiana said, “but my brother decided that I am mature enough to be part of this secret and in the present, the decision was only his.”
“I know dear, and I admire your brother for the role he has had in your education and, now, for the trust he has in you.”
They kept silent for a long moment, not exactly knowing how to go on. They did not want to rush but at the same time, all of them were alert and curious.
“Do you know where this key is from?” Darcy asked finally.
“Yes, I know; your mother told me that the time would come when I would have to show you the secret cabinet. But I do not know what you will find inside”.
“I must tell you, Edwina,” Darcy said, “that we understand the secret!”
Elizabeth was astonished by their relationship, Lady Edwina seemed so close to them, and Darcy, calling her Edwina was a sign of intimacy accepted only in the family. It was so lovely to see them together and she was convinced Lady Edwina had an essential role in comforting them when their dear mother died.
“Is it FitzRoy, I mean the Duke, who told you? Mr Acton related to me your encounter with the Duke.”
“No,” Darcy was still hesitating, yet he continued, “but meeting the Duke offered me a clue about an old story; I think it is better to go into my mother’s apartment.”
“Yes!” Edwina agreed, “after all, the secret cabinet is right in your mother’s bedroom.”
They left the room, Darcy leading Lady Edwina while Elizabeth and Georgiana closely followed hand in hand, hearing every word that was said; Darcy was explaining to Edwina that Elizabeth was staying in his mother’s rooms. Although Elizabeth liked the apartment she wished, at that moment, she were staying in another part of the house. She imagined her dresses in Anne’s cabinet and all her personal belongings scattered around the parlour and bedrooms and it seemed to her that she was committing a disrespectful act. However, Lady Edwina turned to her with a broad smile in total accord with her staying in those rooms.
Lady Edwina who was the first to enter Anne’s parlour, considered herself to be a strong woman, but the sight of the dear décor that looked unchanged made her stop; she turned to Darcy who took her into his arms, a touching scene.
“It is unchanged!” Lady Edwina said. As often as she had visited Darcy and Georgiana in the past, she had never had the occasion to see that apartment again. By old Mr Darcy’s order, the rooms were locked at Anne’s death and the interdiction remained until Georgiana decided to open the apartment for Elizabeth.
“You opened the rooms for me?” Elizabeth whispered to Georgiana in disbelief.
“Yes! I thought it was time to unlock them to life; if mama had ever returned from haven to her apartment, I am sure that she would have been sad to see her rooms with no flowers and the curtains obscuring the daylight or the night sky. Mama adored reading in the bow window; it was her preferred place.”
The shock of seeing the two portraits facing one another was a day old. Lady Edwina placed herself between the portraits, but she was looking at Darcy and Georgiana, and the beautiful girl who was promised to her godson.
Lady Edwina was not shocked, as she knew the secret too well. She let the past conquer her as she spoke in a mild and tender voice:
“It was the greatest love I had ever seen.”
“Do you know the ballroom in the Duke’s palace?” she asked but she was not waiting for an answer, already plunging into the history, her eyes seeing other times. “FitzRoy’s ancestor Louis FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Blandford, was an illegitimate son of James I by his mistress Mary, Duchess of Grafton. FitzRoy means “son of the king”. It is said that he rebuilt that palace especially for Mary with an impressive stair in greenish marble that descends directly into the ball hall. The king liked to see his mistress descending the stairs like a queen. Anne was in her second season in London, she was, maybe 18 years old. Was she beautiful? I really do not know, not really in the epoque expectations, but she was resplendent. She exhaled an energy other girls and young women did not have at that time.
“Their meeting was one of those happenings destiny knows how to match. It was the night of the Grand Seasons’ Ball, the young ladies were presented up to the stairs and they descended in a sort of magnificent display of their dresses and jewellery, while the young gentlemen were downstairs waiting for them. We were approaching 1800, and the fashionable outfit had a raised waistline, without the hoops and the enormous white wings, we were finally free to feel comfortable at balls and in carriages and on the streets. Anne had a magnificent pink dress with a very long tail that followed the shape of the stairs like a living snake. As I told you it was destiny, in another hour or just five minutes later or sooner nothing would have happened, but Fitz was at the bottom of the stairs and Anne was absolutely a dream. When she put her shoe on the floor, they were in love. Forever.”
