Guiding & Protecting, page 19
Lydia laughed. “I never forgot the word. I still find it useful to describe those I find rather lacking in common sense. Mr. Wickham is a bit of a cretin if he believes you would ever be jealous of his intentions to other young ladies. You have always been extremely outspoken against him since he first appeared in our small community, and you warned all of us about his less than gentlemanlike qualities. Even mama is heeding your warning about his attempts to ruin young ladies of all stations. I can assure you, Lizzy, I will be extremely cautious around him and not heed any of his charming complements for I am sure he means none of them. I will also be watchful so he is never alone with you. I fear he means you some harm, and I will do whatever I can to see such a thing never happens.”
Elizabeth was touched by Lydia’s concern, and she noticed all her sisters nodding their heads in agreement.
**********************
Alex and Elizabeth had a long conversation the very same evening.
“You do realize, Miss Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy might be someone most willing to try to answer your many questions. He might even have suggestions for books you might read to find even more answers.”
“It is a possibility.” She had thought about such a possibility before. “We often have long in-depth discussions whenever we meet especially when we are out walking together. I have noticed when such conversation begins Georgiana tends to wander off. I believe she is less than interested in our topics. Maybe I should begin to invited Mary or Kitty to accompany us on our walks as well. Then Georgiana will have someone to keep her company while Mr. Darcy and I carry on our debates over issues which seldom hold her attention.”
Alex chuckled deeply.
“I know you are often listening attentively to our debates. I often wonder why you do not say anything to add to my arguments,” she chided him.
“Miss Elizabeth. I have never believed you needed help. You seem to be able to support your opinions very well without my interference.”
“You might be correct, but once in a while, I would like to know if you agree with me or with Mr. Darcy.”
Her response produced another deep chuckle from her guardian.
“Do you think Lydia is correct?”
“About what?”
“About Mr. Wickham wishing to cause me some harm? What could he hope to gain by harming me? I know he is upset about losing Georgiana’s money, but he had no rights to any of it. He should never have attempted to harm an innocent young lady.”
“I believe Mr. Wickham is of the opinion others should support him in life. He does not seem to believe he needs to work for his livelihood, but only live off the wealth of others. Something must have happened in his younger life to make him believe such a fallacy. Maybe at one time, he was not always as he is now.”
Elizabeth noted a touch of sorrow in Alex’s tone but decided not to inquire into its reason. Instead, she decided to focus on the benefits Mr. Wickham had received, and which he had abused.
“If he truly was given the opportunity to obtain a fine education, then he should have taken advantage of the education. He should not have wasted such a privilege, it is given to too few who do not come from wealthy families.”
“It is a shame one as bright as you were denied such a privilege while one such as he squandered the same privilege. You are a shining example of why young ladies should be allowed to participate in earning a higher education.”
“Thank you, Alex. Such a comment from you pleases me greatly.”
“Part of my duty is to bolster your self-esteem,” Alex chuckled causing Elizabeth to laugh in return.
“Now I know you are teasing me!” Elizabeth had always enjoyed Alex’s sense of humor, and she found it easy to laugh with him even at her own expense.
“I think, young lady, it is time for you to retire. I believe you have an early morning walk arranged with your young gentleman.”
“He is not my young gentleman.”
“There I believe you are wrong. One indication from you of your interest in him would have him falling at your feet and declaring his undying devotion for you.”
“Mr. Darcy is not the type of man to fall at any lady's feet and especially not mine.” She could not understand why Alex would believe a gentleman of Mr. Darcy’s standing in society would ever look upon her as an appropriate match. She had shared her opinion many times with him, but he still seemed to believe Mr. Darcy was forming some type of attraction to her. Why would Mr. Darcy find her acceptable? She knew she was not beautiful like Jane, nor was she as accomplished as Georgiana. Her family had no lofty connections in society, and her dowry was miniscule. Even Caroline Bingley had more to contribute to a match even though she was the daughter of a tradesman. In Elizabeth's mind, the only things she had to out ranked Caroline as a suitable mistress to Pemberley were a father who was a landowner and gentleman and a family line which went back to the first civilized families of England.
“Miss Elizabeth, I do believe you still fail to see the treasure you truly are. I have said this before, and I will continue to repeat it until you accept it; you are a jewel of great value, and the gentleman who wins your heart and hand will be greatly blessed.”
Elizabeth blushed and was only able to whisper, “Thank you, Alex,” before she turned her back to him and stepped toward her tiny dressing room to prepare for bed.
Being the gentleman he was, Alex retreated to allow Elizabeth her privacy. For her part, Elizabeth always wondered where Alex went when he left her. She would have laughed aloud had she ever discovered Alex actually spent many hours in her father’s study among his books.
Chapter Thirteen: A Spy in the Woods
Elizabeth rose before the sun the following morning. She was anticipating her early morning walk with Mr. Darcy and hurried through her ablutions but chose her dress carefully. On her way out of the house, she stopped in the kitchen to collect some cheese and two slices of bread so she might have something to nibble on while enjoying her walk. She was hoping Mr. Darcy might share more about his family and life. She knew a little about him personally. Of his family, she knew only what Georgiana had shared about her uncle and aunts and the loss of her parents. She had also heard much about Georgiana’s other guardian, her cousin who was a colonial in the regulars. Elizabeth often chuckled when she thought about the poor colonel, hoping he would not decide to pay his cousins a visit at Netherfield or Lydia and Kitty would corner him and ply him with their charms.
As Elizabeth walked through the woods on her way to Oakham Mount, the spot she had chosen to meet Mr. Darcy, she dwelt upon her blossoming feelings for the gentleman. If he were closer to her level of society, she would build up her hopes about him returning her affections, but being the nephew of an earl was more than she would ever hope for. She knew Alex’s thoughts on the subject; he was never hesitant to declare Mr. Darcy had feelings for her, but she relied upon her logic rather than her heart concerning the vast social chasm between them. How could they build such a bridge to reduce their social gap? Would he even want to bridge such a gap?
While she pondered and walked, she nibbled the bit of food she had brought along. At one point, she saw a squirrel carefully watching her, so she broke off a small piece of bread, slowly placed it on the ground, and just as slowly backed away from it. She then watched to see if the squirrel would accept her gift.
Walking among the creatures of the woods and fields, Elizabeth had learned patience while watching them. She had also learned to remain silent, but with Alex as a companion on all of her walks, she quickly learned he could say anything he wished and never moderate his voice.
“How are you to keep yourself nourished if you are always stopping to feed the wild creatures?”
Elizabeth wanted to chuckle at his comment, but knew it would scare the squirrel away, so she just clapped her hand over her mouth and remained silent.
“He is going to trust you, you know. I think he is the same squirrel you have been feeding for the past year. See how he is looking at you. It is as if he is recognizing a friend.”
Elizabeth wanted to ask how he could even know such a thing, but had to reign in her question and remain silent. She knew he talked just to try her patience for it was his normal routine whenever she would feed the animals.
“I know what you want to ask, and I know you are annoyed with me.”
She cocked her head at his comment causing him to chuckle.
“It is a given you are annoyed for it also annoys you that I can speak and you cannot. What you want to know is how I could suggest this is the same squirrel. The answer is simple. I noticed this squirrel has a funny bend in his tail as if something happened to it. If you look carefully halfway up, you will notice the slight bend. Maybe it was broken at some point, maybe he caught it in something, or maybe a dog tried to grab him by the tail between his teeth. Whatever happened, it left behind the telltale signs of some incident.”
Once Alex pointed it out, Elizabeth was surprised to see how easy it was to spot. She too would have a way to identify this particular squirrel in the future. She was then curious how Alex knew it was a male squirrel.
Alex surprised her again, by replying, “I cannot answer how I know, I just know this particular squirrel is male, just like I know the blue jay up in the tree is female.”
It was fortunate the squirrel had already retrieved the piece of bread, for this time, Elizabeth was unable to contain her laughter.
“Sometimes I question just what you really are,” she declared to him. He always said he was her guardian, but she wondered if he was not something much more – something he could not reveal to her for unknown reasons.
Her laughing continued as she walked on. She had no desire to keep Mr. Darcy waiting for her. A rustling in the bushes caused her to turn and stare behind her, but when she saw nothing she decided it must be some other animal come to watch her or maybe it hoped she would leave some food behind for it. Since she did not see anything, however, she decided not to leave any more food lying around for she could never tell what it might attract.
Thinking nothing more about the noise she heard, she rushed forward toward her destination. Because of the time she had spent watching the squirrel, she quickened her pace, and as she finally made the top of the mount, she found herself slightly out of breath.
Elizabeth was pleased to see Mr. Darcy, who had his back to her as he was looking out over the landscape of Hertfordshire.
“Is it not as beautiful as I claimed?” She asked softly, so as not to surprise him, as she approached him.
“Very pretty, but not as beautiful as you,” he replied as soon as he turned toward her. He found her breathtakingly beautiful with the early morning sun bathing her face. In his vision, she seemed to glow.
Giggling softly, thinking he was teasing her, she replied, “Thank you, kind sir, but I doubt I am as beautiful as you claim. You see, I know for a fact my sister Jane is far lovelier than I can ever hope to be.”
“Miss Elizabeth!” Alex declared. “Have I not reprimanded you for such words before.” He clucked his tongue and shook his head in despair. “If I did not know better, I might believe you are seeking more praise and shamelessly flirting with this gentleman.”
Since she could not reply to Alex’s comment, she only shook her head in disbelief of his making such a comment. For her own comfort, she decided to change topics, but had she known Mr. Darcy's thoughts coincided with Alex's, she might have allowed him to speak first.
“Tell me some more about your family, Mr. Darcy. Georgiana mentioned both of your parents have died and you have an uncle who is an earl and his son is a colonel and her other guardian, but what of the rest of your family?”
“Georgiana mentioned only a part of our mother’s family. As she mentioned, my mother’s elder brother is, indeed, the Earl of Ashbourne. He married a lady chosen by his parents. They had never met until after the marriage settlement had been signed. My uncle was fortunate for he and the lady did fall in love during the first years of their marriage. They have two sons – my cousins Harlow, the eldest, and Thomas, who, as Georgiana mentioned, is her other guardian. He, however, is often gone because of his military duties.”
“Has he seen much fighting?” Had he been Elizabeth’s cousin, she would have worried about him being injured. She and Georgiana had spoken of him a little, but Elizabeth suspected the young girl was not informed of how often her cousin’s life might have been in jeopardy.
“Some,” Darcy replied. “He served in the Peninsular Wars, but lately he has been assigned to train recruits. I believe he has also undertaken some special services for the war office, but those are not something he is free to speak about.”
“And what of your older cousin? Has he married and started a family?”
He laughed recalling his aunt’s laments about the lack of grandchildren. “No. He claims he has not found any young lady who has touched his heart. Watching the marriages of his parents and mine, both my cousins and I have determined not to marry until we meet someone we can fall deeply in love with. When Harlow was younger, he thought he had found such a young lady, but he quickly discovered she was only after him for his title and fortune. The experience has made him extremely careful and distrusting around most of the young ladies he has met over the years. My aunt, however, has paraded a steady stream of potential candidates before him every season and sometimes out of season during family gatherings.”
“But he has found no one who has touched his heart?” Elizabeth was becoming aware of the fact Mr. Darcy and his cousins where unique because of their desires to marry for love. So many gentlemen, especially from his level of society, married for convenience looking to wealth, prestige, connections, and power as qualifications for a good match. Maybe, she pondered, Alex was correct and Mr. Darcy would not measure her by these factors.
“No. All the mothers, daughters, and fathers of the ton have sought after him for many years, but he has yet to meet the lady to capture his heart. Colonel Fitzwilliam declares his wife is the military, and he has no time to seek another while England is at war. His mother wishes he would give up soldiering and settle down to a safer and more sedate life.”
“I think I can comprehend his mother’s fears. Never knowing if your son will return home from battle would cause any mother to wish her son to remain home within the safety of his family.”
Darcy laughed, “His mother is not the only one who wishes him at home. I believe all of the family feel the same way.”
While they had been speaking, the two had wandered over to a fallen log Elizabeth often used as a seat to stare at the landscape. Once she sat, he followed suit. They both felt comfortable with each other’s company.
“Are there any other members of your mother’s family?”
“Just my aunt, Lady Catherine, and her daughter Anne. Lady Catherine is of the opinion I am unofficially engaged to her daughter because of an arrangement between her and my mother while Anne and I were still in our cradles. According to my father, such a conversation never took place. Instead, father claimed, Lady Catherine, soon after I was born, told my mother it would be a great thing if I were to marry her daughter as soon as we were of a proper age. My mother replied she only wished her son to marry someone he loved. She would only agree to such a match if my cousin and I truly loved each other. In my aunt’s opinion, my mother was agreeing to the match, and she omitted all comments about love.” He frowned as he remembered his aunt’s tirades whenever he refused to follow her orders.
“The lady is not someone who cares about others. She only wants others to do her bidding,” Alex commented.
Elizabeth had to place her hand over her mouth so as not to laugh. She was fortunate Mr. Darcy had not seen her movements, for she did not want him to think she was laughing at him or his situation.
“Humph,” was the comment Darcy heard from his mother. She had always been verbose about her true feelings about the ridiculous belief.
“Lady Catherine was older than my mother, and her father arranged her marriage just as he had his son’s. She and Uncle Lewis De Bourgh, however, never found happiness in their marriage, at least, not with each other. Uncle Lewis did, however, love his daughter Anne. She was the delight of his life, and when she took ill with scarlet fever as a child, he was devastated. The fever affected her heart, and she was never as strong afterwards. My aunt has overprotected my cousin. She never allowed her daughter to learn any accomplishments and never allowed her a life outside of their home Rosings Park. Anne never had the opportunity to be presented to society, was never allowed to make friends, and was never allowed male suitors. Because of Lady Catherine’s belief Anne and I will marry, she has never seen the necessity for Anne to take part in any form of society, not even the local society around their home.”
“How awful to not have friends,” Elizabeth declared. Not wishing to dwell upon a situation, which made Mr. Darcy uncomfortable, she asked, “What of your father’s family?”
Georgiana had never spoken of her father’s family and wondered if she and her brother were the last of the Darcys.
“Father had a younger sister, but she was disowned by her father when she ran off with a young man who had been hired to paint her portrait. My father had been away at university at the time, so he learned of the elopement many months after it occurred. All he was ever able to learn was the couple traveled to Italy and eventually had two children. Nothing else was ever heard from them. Father never discovered if his sister died while in Italy or was still alive. For all he knew, she remained in Italy with her new family.”
“Did he ever try to located her?” She could not imagine allowing any of her sisters to just disappear and not take steps to find out what happened to them.
“Yes. After his father died, my father hired a detective to search for her and her husband. He was the one who discovered she had two children, but he lost track of them soon after the second child was born. It seems the family had packed up in the middle of the night and moved leaving no information about where they were headed. It was suspected the husband had run up debts, which could not be paid, but no information was uncovered to substantiate the claim. It was all only hearsay.”
