A Constant Love: A Pride & Prejudice Continuation, page 43
She felt some degree of comfort that he would at least know she had been led out of the ballroom, and would follow, but then determined she should let no such thing happen. If she wished to live on a ship with several hundred men, she could not be expecting him to protect her every moment of the day. If she could not fend off Sir Wilcox, she had no business wishing to take up residence on board a frigate, and she would need to resign herself to long periods of time living without her husband.
“I thank you for the invitation,” Georgiana said, digging into his toes in their thin little pump with all the weight she could put into her own heel, and as she did so, taking his hand and pulling it from her hip. “However, I must go and re-join my fiancé.”
“Why I – ” Georgiana did not wait to hear what he would say; she rushed off, meeting Captain Stanton on the edge of the rotunda; the next set had already begun.
“Are you well?” he asked, his countenance deeply concerned, offering her his arm, which she took up for the comfort the contact brought, careful not to put any weight on him.
“I am fine,” she said, her voice too tremulous to indicate she was fully fine. “You were right in your warning. He wished for us to go off and see the library.”
“You certainly seemed to bring him up with a round turn. Whatever did you do?”
“I stepped on his foot.”
“Did you? I must tell you, Georgiana, that is the first unladylike thing I have ever heard of you doing, and I cannot tell you how glad I am to hear of it.”
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They stayed through supper – they could not be seen to leave before – but Georgiana did not dance any other dances, claiming fatigue whenever she was asked. She entered one of the supper rooms with Captain Stanton, who found some new acquaintances of his that they could sit near, ensuring their supper was mostly taken up with a recounting of his battle against the Polonais, which Georgiana did not mind at all.
Elizabeth and Darcy had remained in the gardens until some frisson in that space seemed to indicate that supper was to begin, and then followed the crowd to one of the buildings. They found themselves interrupted along the way by Lord Anglesey, who appeared seemingly out of nowhere, saying only, “Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, there you are. I should like to introduce you to Sir George Hunter. Let me see where he has got off to.”
Sir George Hunter was located, not far from them, and they were introduced thusly: “Sir George Hunter, please meet Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy, of Pemberley in Derbyshire. Sir George serves on the Royal Navy’s Victualling Board, and given there is rather a lot of wheat required to make our ship’s biscuit, I thought you should meet.”
They exchanged pleasantries, and soon after that, Lord Anglesey had disappeared again, leaving the Darcys to go into supper with Sir George. Elizabeth found her husband quite engrossed in conversation with the gentleman as the first, quite spectacular removes were served, and drifted into an observation of the others around them, most quite showily dressed, and preening rather as peacocks should as they ate their supper, which amused her very much. She was feeling much better, and the supper rooms were not so overcrowded as the ballroom had been, so that she had no concerns for her health. She attempted to eat as much as she could, thinking of the child growing within her, and when she attended back to the conversation between Darcy and Sir George, they were quite on the verge of settling some of Pemberley’s wheat crop on navy victuals, promising to correspond to see the matter settled.
Once they had finished speaking of business, they attempted to find topics of conversation which interested all of them, but had little else to comment on aside from the ball. This, however, provided more than enough fodder to see them through the end of supper, as a rather impossible set of towering great flummeries were brought in, each more intricately decorated than the last. Some of those present gasped as these masterpieces quivered dangerously, upon being set down on the table, but none was so devoted to art that they would not sample as many of them as they could. Elizabeth tried a few, but found herself more revived by the variety of ices that followed, the final thing she needed to soothe any lingering overheating she felt.
Elizabeth and Darcy agreed, upon leaving the supper building, that they had stayed quite long enough, and should attempt to find Captain Stanton and Georgiana, so that they might call for their carriage.
“Do you suppose we should offer him a ride home, in our carriage?” Elizabeth asked, as they made their way through the crowds milling outside, for few seemed in a hurry to return to the ballroom. “I suspect his uncle shall be here for the duration.”
“I would not doubt it,” Darcy said. “Georgiana did not set out to make a useful family connection, nor did I expect her to, but it appears she has. And yes, of course we should offer him a ride, and I hope he will take it.”
Elizabeth glanced down at the trampled grass below her feet; she could not help but think how much more palatable marriage to her would have been at first, for Darcy, if her family possessed anyone resembling Lord Anglesey.
“I believe I know what you are thinking,” Darcy said, taking up her hand and squeezing it. “Georgiana will marry for love, as I was most fortunate to do. That is worth far more than any connections.”
“Thank you,” Elizabeth said, reassured by his words. “Now if only we could find her.”
For a few minutes more, Elizabeth despaired that they would ever find the couple within the crowd, but fortunately, they were looking for a tall man in naval uniform, escorting a tall lady in a white dress, and this combination proved quite unique. Darcy saw them first, and raised his hand so that they, who appeared to be similarly scanning the crowd, should see him.
The couples were reunited, Elizabeth’s health inquired after, and answered favourably; the carriage ride offered, and quite gratefully accepted. As there were not many others leaving Carlton House as they did, their carriage came quickly. Once they were inside, Captain Stanton said:
“I must apologise for having caused your invitation here. This is an event I wish I could have borne alone.”
“Nonsense,” Elizabeth said. “I enjoyed my dances, and if the air had been better, I certainly would have attempted a few more. I believe they will have to stand as my last, before the child is born. And even as little as I danced, I am sure this is the sort of event that will grow even more pleasurable in the retelling.”
“Elizabeth is right,” Georgiana said. “I shall always be able to say I danced with the Prince Regent and the Duke of Clarence, and I cannot think of a person in Derbyshire who will not want to hear of our storeys. And there were many pleasant parts to the evening.”
“Still, I should have thought that a ballroom that crowded would not suit a woman in your condition, Mrs. Darcy.”
“I am fine, I only needed a little air, and I expect this will hardly be the last time that happens,” Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth, indeed, looked fully revived. It was Captain Stanton who seemed to have flagged as the evening went on, much as he had at the earl’s dinner, and they all felt relieved that a few days would see him away from London, and able to rest.
Chapter 17
After her episode during the ball, Darcy was as insistent that Elizabeth return to see Dr. Whittling as Elizabeth was that it was not necessary.
“I am fine, Darcy. There is not the slightest evidence of aught being amiss,” she told him. “And we leave for Pemberley on the morrow. That was Dr. Whittling’s main recommendation, to leave town as soon as we could.”
“Just – please see him,” Darcy inhaled sharply, so that Elizabeth could see he was more frustrated than he wished to let on. “Do so for my sake, if not for your own. Your health represents two lives which are impossibly precious to me, and irreplaceable.”
“I understand,” she said, sympathetically, reaching out to touch his hand. “But what shall we do about Georgiana? Without Mrs. Annesley, she cannot take callers, if we are gone. You know Captain Stanton will come to call on her, and this will be their last chance to see each other before we depart – I hate the thought of Mr. Miller having to turn him away.”
“What about Lady Tonbridge?”
“A viscountess might be a touch above what is required for a temporary companion, for Georgiana.”
“True, but I expect that said viscountess would have no objections to spending part of the day in her own home, with Georgiana and her betrothed, particularly if Georgiana brings enough music.”
“That is a rather good idea,” Elizabeth said, resigning herself to another appointment with Dr. Whittling.
Georgiana’s day with Lady Tonbridge, and Captain Stanton’s joining them, was arranged through a set of notes passed back and forth between the town houses of all of the parties involved, and Elizabeth and Darcy deposited their sister at Grosvenor Square with a rather thick sheaf of sheet music under her arm, before driving on to Dr. Whittling’s practise.
The physician listened to Elizabeth’s description of overheating during the ball, as well as her promise that they were to depart for Derbyshire the morning following, and, thankfully, saw no need for as thorough an examination as he had conducted during their first meeting. He took Elizabeth’s pulse, gave her a very vile draught to drink down, and encouraged her to rest as much as possible during the journey to Pemberley, and to remain there until the birth, once she had arrived.
Elizabeth, who saw all of these recommendations are reasonable, but no more or less logical than anything Jane or Sarah would have told her – excepting the draught, which very nearly made her lose her stomach – thought the visit not worth the number of guineas she knew her husband would put down for it. Still, she reminded herself of his expertise, thanked him convincingly, and reassured her husband in the waiting room that all was still well, both for her and the child, and was quite surprised by the force of his embrace, at this statement.
She held him as closely as he held her, and reminded herself to be more sympathetic, towards him, for he could not feel the progression of the child nearly so well as she could, and certainly she had given both of them more than enough cause for worry, in taking so long to become pregnant. They exited Dr. Whittling’s practise, and regained the carriage, where Darcy said:
“This took far less time than I would have thought. Lady Tonbridge will not be expecting us for at least an hour more. It is not enough time for Richmond, but what say you to a turn in Hyde Park?”
Elizabeth felt a bit guilty about preying on Lady Tonbridge’s hospitality, but then, based on that lady’s last note to Curzon Street, which had prompted Georgiana to pack up so much of her music, felt fairly certain she was preying more upon her own sister than anyone else, and that her sister would not mind their absence at all so long as her fiancé was present.
“A little turn would be quite nice,” Elizabeth said. “It shall remind me of how much more I prefer Pemberley’s grounds, once we are home.”
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In Grosvenor Square, Georgiana found she was quite happy to be returned to Lady Tonbridge’s company, although the lady had a bit more of a propensity for gossip than she had remembered. It was all good-natured, fortunately, and consisted mostly of Lady Tonbridge’s reading the best items from the papers to Georgiana while they waited for Captain Stanton to call.
“Oh, look at this one. It is quite delightful – paints you in a most wonderful light,” Lady Tonbridge said. “We had a glimpse of the elusive Miss G. Darcy, in attendance with Mr. and Mrs. F. Darcy, and on the arm of her betrothed, the heroic Capt. Sir M. Stanton. Miss Darcy wore white, danced with the P.R. and D. of C., and although she had no chance to exhibit on the pianoforte as she did most spectacularly at Lord A.’s dinner, we are convinced she is a conquest equal, at least, to the Polonais.”
Georgiana coloured terribly, and could think of no response, but it seemed none was required of her, for Lady Tonbridge continued: “A dance with the Prince Regent and the Duke of Clarence – very nicely done for yourself, Miss Darcy. I must admit I quite miss the Regent’s balls. There is nothing quite like them, but he and I – well, that was a long time ago.”
Georgiana coloured again, at the thought of what Lady Tonbridge had indicated – of course the Prince Regent had a great many mistresses, but she had never thought her friend to be someone who would be among them. And yet Lady Tonbridge’s comment, and her countenance as she said it, had seemed to indicate precisely that, and Georgiana could see the possibility, now that she thought on it. She had seen the painting of Lady Tonbridge, from a decade or so previously, in the hallway of the lady’s house, where her friend was notably younger and of trimmer figure than she appeared now – as a titled dowager looking thus, it would not have been surprising for her to have caught the Prince’s attention for at least some period of time.
There was no way for Georgiana to gracefully indicate her realisation, or her understanding of what Lady Tonbridge had just related to her. And thus, while she would have been happy enough to hear Lady Tonbridge’s butler announce Captain Sir Matthew Stanton come to call at any time, presently, she was positively relieved for the distraction.
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Elizabeth and Darcy were left off by their carriage, and found the park to be quite well-populated, although it was not yet the fashionable hour. Elizabeth walked along absently, happy enough to be out in the open and on her husband’s arm, and expecting that there should be few, if any, acquaintances they had still in town that they would encounter here.
She was startled, therefore, to hear: “Mrs. Darcy, Mr. Darcy, how very good it is to see you!” and to find these words spoken by none other than Lady Stewart, who was approaching her on one of the paths, and gave her a most deep and appropriate curtsey.
“Lady Stewart – it is good to see you, as well,” Elizabeth said, most perturbed by this turn of events, but returning the curtsey.
“I understand you were at the Regent’s ball last night,” Lady Stewart said, turning, so that she could walk alongside Elizabeth, along with an unidentified servant, who followed behind her. “What an event! You must give me all the details you may.”
Elizabeth recognised Lady Stewart’s approaching of her for what it was – a desire to know more about an event to which that lady had not been invited – and yet could not help but be amused by how her stature had apparently changed in Lady Stewart’s eyes. Neither could she help this realisation’s influencing her response.
“Well, it was a rather nice evening. My sister, Miss Darcy, danced a set each with the Prince Regent and the Duke of Clarence, although it is unfortunate her fiancé was not yet well enough to dance.”
“Oh yes, Captain Sir Matthew – what a fine connection for your family. And I must say, so very nice to see the nephew of an earl achieve such a thing as the Polonais, instead of some no-name mushroom.”
“Yes, well, we all very much esteem his victory,” Elizabeth said.
“And who all did you dance with, Mrs. Darcy?”
“Only my husband and the Duke of Clarence, as it turned out,” Elizabeth said. “I am in the family way, you understand, so while it was nice so have a last few dances, it was a bit of an inconvenience that we are still recovering from – it was quite warm and stuffy in the rotunda. We went to see my accoucheur this morning, to ensure all was still well, and Mr. Darcy suggested a turn in the park for some air, before we return home.”
“Oh, in the family way, yes, of course, how dreadfully inconvenient, and yet, so necessary. Well, all my blessings, to you and your first-born. I hope we shall see you back in town, after the birth?”
“Yes, I suppose so,” Elizabeth said. “I believe we shall take our time, in returning from Derbyshire.”
“Of course,” Lady Stewart said. “Well do call on us, when you are returned.”
With that, Lady Stewart walked away from them, and Elizabeth could not help but say: “Has the baby made me mad, or did that just truly happen?”
“It very much did happen,” Darcy said.
“So am I forgiven for your not marrying Lady Stewart’s sister?”
“I doubt it, but you have perhaps proven to be a connexion which she is unwilling to give up, now, particularly given our sister’s prominence in the gossip pages.”
“It is strange; I had rather thought she had already given up the connexion.”
“That is the flexibility of the ton, Elizabeth. Connexions may always be reforged when they are proven to be convenient, unless the cut direct has been given.”
“I will admit to somewhat wishing to give her thus, when she approached me so enthusiastically,” Elizabeth said.
“You are too good-hearted to do so,” Darcy said. “Although you must believe referring to the Regent’s ball as inconvenient was as deep a cut as you might have conjured, if you had intended it fully.”
“I do not know that such injury was my intent, yet I cannot claim any regrets at such a thing,” Elizabeth said.
“Nor should you,” Darcy replied. “In fact, I rather enjoyed seeing her reaction.”
“I – I must admit I did, as well,” Elizabeth said, with a sideways glance at her husband confirming he was as amused as she was, by the situation.
Her chuckles were borne into out-and-out laughter, and they walked on, very much the picture of a young couple in love, even if they did not achieve the same prominence in the next day’s gossip pages as their younger sister had, of late.
Chapter 18
In the end, Elizabeth did have her large summer house party, and it grew larger than the one she had originally imagined, for it centred on Georgiana and Captain Stanton’s wedding.
The first to arrive was the groom himself, direct from London with only one overnight at a coaching inn, and looking so poorly when he arrived that Elizabeth immediately sent for Dr. Alderman. Captain Stanton protested weakly that he had no need of it, that none of his wounds was any worse; he simply had slept very ill at the inn, and the earl’s post-chaise had suffered from a broken spring that the inn could not repair, so that he had been jarred about more than would have been usual during much of the course of the journey.
