And let’s ratchet up that drama, shall we?
XOXOX, Elizabeth Ann West
Chapter 5 - The Miracles of Marriage, Book 5 of The Moralities of Marriage
Mrs. Darcy enjoyed tromping through the crisp autumn fields with her husband. Despite the difficulties of all around them, Elizabeth’s heart felt lighter that she and Fitzwilliam still made happy memories on their own terms. Their jaunt took little more than two hours before they arrived at Netherfield Park. Their caravan of carriages stood at a half count, clear evidence the unloading process was nearly completed.
“I suppose we should not expect a grand reception,” Elizabeth laughed and her Fitzwilliam joined her. “I wonder how cross they will all be?” She wrinkled her nose just as their boots hit the graveled drive. Mr. Darcy held his wife’s hand up for a kiss before releasing her so they both could don their gloves for polite society.
Elizabeth wiggled her fingers into the delicate skins, then lifted her skirts in dismay.
“Oh I’m afraid there’s not much I can do about that,” she said, holding out her ankle at an angle to emphasize the hemline marred by mud. Then she laughed anew, recalling a time of more carefree days just a year ago when she regularly trekked the fields around Hertfordshire.
Mr. Darcy cleared his throat as Elizabeth allowed her hemline to fall back over her walking boots. He had genuinely enjoyed the exercise with his wife, and dearly wished to continue their solo walks. “I expect this visit we should go see that Oakham Mount of yours. Kitty’s rendering of it has made me most curious of the prospect,” Mr. Darcy finished his suggestion as they reached the steps of the grand house.
A footman had already scurried ahead so that no sooner had they reached the top than they met the ‘grand reception.’ Various members of Elizabeth’s family and Mr. Darcy’s friend, Charles Bingley, had assembled in the doorway.
“You had us so fooled!” Jane chided her younger sister who merely smirked and did not respond. “I should have known at the first chance to walk a familiar path you would alight from the carriage to do precisely that!” Jane laughed as the two sisters embraced for the first time as married women.
Mrs. Bennet sniffled loudly behind her eldest daughter.
“It was a cruel trick, if you ask me. We were all in such anticipation for your arrival and then the carriage arrived completely empty! I feared the worst.” All eyes looked to Mrs. Bennet, half in solidarity and the other half in disbelief that she truly believed harm had come to the Darcys. But Mrs. Bennet doubled her complaints now that she held a captive audience. “The worst! I implored Mr. Bigley here to send riders right away, but no one listens to me. It is a happy chance that all is well,” Mrs. Bennet gave her opinion most decidedly and looked to her youngest daughters to nod in agreement.
Elizabeth looked at Jane in bewilderment, but her elder sister merely shrugged.
“Mama, surely one of Mr. Darcy’s staff explained that we took a picnic and a walk. And it is so very lovely to see you,” Elizabeth paused as she had not reconciled with her mother since the ghastly night that she was thrown out of Longbourn after Jane’s wedding.
Hesitantly, she walked forward but her mother stood stoutly as Lizzie kissed her cheek. The collective gathering held their breath, and even Jane had wondered if their mother would shun Elizabeth. Instead, Mrs. Bennet sighed and leaned forward to kiss her daughter’s cheek in return.
“It has been so long, but I hope that we can put the time and trials behind us to celebrate with happiness.” Elizabeth Darcy attempted to offer an olive branch, but it was too much.
“Happiness? There is no happiness! Longbourn is lost. Your father lies in bed above, most grievously injured. How could you possibly think that I should be happy?” Mrs. Bennet clutched her handkerchief and turned away in a huff to storm off, with Lydia and Mary following behind her.
Elizabeth was crestfallen. “My apologies—” she began, but Jane shushed her.
“Come, there was no possible outcome to avoid awkwardness, but it is over now. I am certain you would love to refresh yourself upstairs,” Jane said as Charles and Mr. Darcy interrupted their small discussion to explain they would retire to Mr. Bingley’s study.
Both men kissed their wives before leaving the ladies to their own devices, then Kitty rushed forward to squeeze Elizabeth with an embrace.
“Do you want to meet Charlie and Lynnie?” Kitty, having been selected as one of the godmothers, had grown exceptionally fond of her niece and nephew. Where Lydia and Mary found little reason to be in the nursery, Kitty had taken it upon herself to visit her charges, albeit spiritual guidance only, at least once per day.
Elizabeth nodded enthusiastically and pressed her hand to her heart. “I should love nothing else, however I fear that I am not fit for the company of infants nor anyone else. Allow me to change my gown and I shall join you thereafter?” she asked and Kitty agreed to the plan.
Jane escorted her newly arrived sister up the familiar stairs and directed her away from the same suite Lizzie used when she was still recovering from her injuries.
“We put you and Mr. Darcy in a wing to yourselves. With you so recently married, we thought you might enjoy the privacy,” Jane explained.
“And it keeps us away from Mama,” Elizabeth observed and Jane sadly nodded in agreement.
The two eldest daughters of the Bennet family walked slowly and Jane remained with her sister as she accepted Higgins’ assistance.
“Charles and I wholly support you and Mr. Darcy. And we would not excuse any slight against our guests, but I beg you to please have patience. Mama has lost everything, or so she feels, and… “Jane trailed off, unsure how to explain to Elizabeth that their mother still blamed her troubles on her second daughter in a most irrational way.
Higgins assisted Elizabeth to a bench in front of an enormous bad covered in linens of the finest peach silk. Truthfully, Elizabeth found this room more tastefully decorated than the last room she had slept in before marrying Mr. Darcy. When Higgins removed her mistress’ walking boots, Elizabeth’s swollen, sore feet were revealed and with a bloodied right toe.
“Lizzie!” Jane scolded her sister upon seeing her injury, but Elizabeth shrugged it off.
“It hardly hurts. Perhaps I shall soak them for a few moments?” Elizabeth asked, as her maid dashed off to retrieve some salts and warm water in a basin for her mistress.
“Did Mr. Darcy know that your foot was injured?” Jane asked, still slightly concerned that perhaps her sister’s new husband did not care for her as he should, but Elizabeth shook her head emphatically.
“No, no, the walk was my design. I know better than to take such a distance in new boots, but I needed to see Longbourn.”
Jane nodded in sympathy at the appropriate moments as Elizabeth explained how she wished to see the tragedy alone. When she finished explaining her feelings on the matter, Elizabeth shrugged one last time and look down at her injured feet.
“Perhaps I allowed myself a slight penance. The pain in my toes echoed the pains in my heart. Somehow that made it more bearable.”
“Surely you do not blame yourself as well!” Jane said with an astonished tone that both Elizabeth and her mother could hold the same logic.
“Blame myself? Of course not! But I was not here, Jane. When you take ever so much upon your shoulders…” But Elizabeth didn’t finish her platitudes because she wondered who did blame her.
“Why should I blame myself?” Elizabeth asked as Higgins returned with the supplies needed to soothe her injured feet.
Jane looked down at Higgins and raised an eyebrow but Elizabeth scoffed.
“It’s Betsy Higgins, Jane. I trust this woman with all of my secrets. And so have you. She has never betrayed us.” Elizabeth endorsed her personal maid to hear whatever it was Jane wished to impart, and shyly, Higgins looked up to give her mistress a brief smile before turning back to her duties.
“You should not, that is I do not blame you. But Mama…” Jane trailed off again but Elizabeth was still confused. Finally, Jane clutched her fists and took in a sharp breath so she could push the words out as they would not be pleasant. “Mama erroneously believes that if you had married Mr. Collins, Longbourn would never have burned.”
Elizabeth cried out as the warm water and salt stung her feet and at such a preposterous idea that she would ever have married Mr. Collins.
Jane tried to explain their mother’s ridiculous notion and both of the sisters would have laughed if it wasn’t so very painful to speak out loud. Elizabeth remained quiet until Jane walked over to sit next to her on the bench. She looped an arm around her favorite sister, the very one that she had missed so much over the last few months. Lizzie leaned her head against Jane’s shoulder.
The affection broke Elizabeth’s stalwart resolve and she began to sob as she had not allowed herself to dissemble all through the terrible day. Finding solace in Jane’s company, Elizabeth wondered how everything was always her fault and never their parents’ poor judgement? The newly minted Mrs. Darcy realized that if their father had saved even a small fraction of his income, none of his daughters would have been required to marry a man as odious as Mr. Collins.
Suddenly, Elizabeth did not feel like Mrs. Darcy at all, but Elizabeth Bennet once more, always inadequate in the eyes of her mother.
“Oh, please, do not cry, or I shall start crying, and then I will have to change my gown,” Jane explained and Elizabeth looked at her with astonishment. Jane smiled meekly and pointed at her bosom. They had spent more than enough time at the Gardiner townhome in London to know when their aunt was nursing a babe, her emotions would sometimes cause an embarrassment.
“I suppose this may be as good a time as any to say there is reason to suspect I am with child,” Elizabeth said quietly and Jane squealed with delight. The two sisters’ tears were forgotten and they talked excitedly about why Elizabeth suspected such. They lost themselves in tales of Scotland and Mr. Wickham’s death, so that an hour passed with little thought. They didn’t forget about poor Kitty, though, and sent Higgins to explain Mrs. Darcy’s difficulty with her new boots. The twins would be brought to the suite and Higgins was to also inquire if Miss Kitty wished to join her sisters. But when she finally found her mistress’ sister happily sketching in her studio, Kitty politely sent her regrets.
Now that all of the Bennet sisters were together, Catherine Bennet wanted to capture it the only way she knew how; with ink and paint. There would be many long carriage rides to move to Pemberley where she could learn of the latest family gossip. But the late afternoon light was dwindling and she never liked the sketches she did by candlelight once the dawn returned.
The Miracles of Marriage
a Pride and Prejudice variation novel
Release Date: July 25, 2019
Pages: 306
Book 5 in the Moralities of Marriage Series. Chapters posting now on Elizabeth’s site.
After the murder of George Wickham in the streets of London and the fire at Longbourn, Mr. Darcy and his lovely bride, Elizabeth Bennet, must cut their wedding trip to Scotland short. With the financial stakes of all families hanging in the balance of London’s politics, the Darcys will have to work together to see to everyone’s needs. But with so much tragedy and scandal, can Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam rely on each other, or has the trust between our dear couple worn to edges beyond repair?
Chapter 6 - The Miracles of Marriage, Book 5 of The Moralities of Marriage
Entering the study of his closest friend Charles Bingley, Fitzwilliam Darcy unexpectedly felt a small stab of melancholy. Until he had crossed the threshold where they might speak of the sensitive matters surrounding the move of the Bennet family, Darcy had not appreciated this visit would likely be his last to Netherfield Park. Almost a year ago to the day, he had left London with his only aim being to conceal the loss of his sister, Georgiana. The emotions of the all-consuming events in the past year sharpened his focus on the subject at hand.
Darcy was distracted enough by his thoughts of nostalgia that he missed Charles’ first question as to his health. He had simply stood there, unmoving, and Charles let it go to see about pouring them both a drink.
Charles handed Mr. Darcy a glass of brandy after he had not answered his query, and then suggested they sit over by the fire, away from the door and desk. Fitzwilliam nodded and for once followed Mr. Bingley’s lead.
“I know you will wish to go over the facts and figures, but first I must implore you to speak with me about a happier subject. How was Scotland?” The ever affable Charles Bingley began a conversation to raise both of their spirits. Although Mrs. Bennet had been rather rude earlier, the truth was there was very little happiness to reflect upon in regards to Longbourn and its loss.
Unfortunately, the disaster of the last few days at his Scottish estate were far from happy to Darcy’s mind. He choked on his first sip of brandy, and Charles frowned.
“Do not tell me you had a terrible time on your wedding trip?” Charles attempted to interpret his enigmatic friend’s odd reaction. But Fitzwilliam shook his head.
He set the offending glass of brandy on the table before him, and took a steadying breath. “Like most matters of the heart and home, it was a complicated endeavor. I failed to secure a true romantic excursion for Elizabeth because on the very eve of us leaving, I had received a letter from Georgiana. I became aware of Wickham’s death long before my wife, and I have to confess she did not thank me first sparing her the distressing news so that she might celebrate being a new bride.”
Mr. Bingley winced and blew out a low whistling sound. He was well enough acquainted with the second Bennet daughter to know she would not appreciate being left out of any important decision. He had always planned for his sister by marriage to be included in the matters he would now discuss with Darcy. But it was Mrs. Bingley who had suggested they divide and conquer the Darcys so that their generosity was appreciated long before it could be scorned by Mrs. Bennet or either of her youngest daughters.
Charles sighed. “Perhaps your wife will find reasons to be enamored with your efforts once more with Jane and Kitty in residence.” Charles attempted to look on the bright side, but Mr. Darcy shrugged.
“You do not have to be delicate with me, old friend. I could have guessed that Mrs. Bennet, though it is to a lesser degree that I know the younger sisters, would not take the plan of moving them all to Pemberley well. I suppose our wives are visiting with their father,” Mr. Darcy guessed, and Mr. Bingley grimaced. “No?” Mr. Darcy was perplexed. Having been through the incredibly painful process of his own father dying of illness, he had imagined that Elizabeth would run straight to his sickbed.
“He is sedated most of the evening hours. Jane will take Elizabeth in the morning, I am sure, for a visit. I’m afraid his pain is compounded by the circumstances of the injury, and without the laudanum, he further injures himself.” Bingley gave Darcy the most salient points of Mr. Bennet’s condition, and both men took a fortifying drink. They paused their conversation to feel the weight of responsibility losing Mr. Bennet would mean.
Finally, Mr. Darcy finished his drink with an exaggerated gulp, and set the glass down. He stood from the uncomfortable chair left behind for the leasing tenants of Netherfield. “I believe I’ll take those facts and figures now. Is there any hope of rebuilding Longbourn?” Mr. Darcy began to walk towards the chaotic piles of letters upon the desk. He chuckled to himself at the sloppy and heavily-blotted penmanship of Charles Bingley on many of the pieces of parchment.
Mr. Bingley continued to sip his drink more slowly, but did rise to join his friend. “I am the least qualified to give you the particulars. It would be best if you sat down with Mr. Phillips.”
“The brother-in-law?” Mr. Darcy refreshed himself as to the connection and Bingley nodded.
Mr. Phillips’ status suddenly made Mr. Darcy realize that Bingley’s own relations were missing. He hadn’t liked the idea, but he was quite resigned to the knowledge that Bingley’s unmarried sister, Caroline, would find a way to weasel herself an invitation to Pemberley as well.
“Where are the Hursts? And — ” Mr. Darcy cleared his throat so that he would not be forced to precisely name Caroline, but Charles caught his drift.
“That is the other subject we should speak about quickly before we are interrupted. I must stress that we have no evidence Caroline is responsible…” Bingley trailed off as Mr. Darcy looked at him without being able to guess the topic. So Mr. Bingley was forced to continue.
Before he did, he refilled his beverage and helped himself to a good portion of it before continuing. “You know Hurst has connections to moneylending.”
Involuntarily, Mr. Darcy made an expression of disgust. A necessary evil for some men, the very nature of private loans was a profession scarcely above robbery in Darcy’s mind.
“It would appear that at some point over the summer, Caroline went to Hurst asking for Wickham to be handled. She held this irrational idea in her head that should she be successful in removing George Wickham from this existence, you would jilt Elizabeth Bennet and instead seek her hand in marriage.” Charles closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as his friend reacted most strongly to such a preposterous idea.
“Has the woman gone mad?” Mr. Darcy exclaimed but Mr. Bingley shrugged.
“To be quite frank, we are unsure. But—” Charles took another drink as he allowed Mr. Darcy to process such an alarming development. “We did all decide that Caroline was too much of a danger to herself and others, and when the news of Wickham’s death reached her, she believed herself responsible. I don’t believe that my sister is a murderess,” Mr. Bingley hesitated and his friend continued the line of thinking.
“But the very fact that she considers herself capable…” Mr. Darcy stood, stunned at such a revelation while Mr. Bingley nodded slowly.
Suddenly worried for the safety of his wife, Mr. Darcy asked the question that he needed answered most.
“Where is Caroline now?”
“Under lock and key at our great aunt’s estate in Scarborough. Thankfully, with her age, not many will ask in society where she has flitted off to.”
Mr. Darcy placed a hand upon the man’s shoulder in solidarity. Charles’ head fell as he allowed himself a small expression of remorse over the difficult situation with his sister, and Mr. Darcy gently patted Bingley’s upper arm in sympathy.
“I have had to learn firsthand that we cannot control the women our sisters choose to become. The moment of realization can be utterly brutal. Do you mind if I share this with Elizabeth?” Mr. Darcy asked, in part to live up to the expectations of his wife, and then the other part to preserve her safety. If Caroline Bingley had indeed gone mad, and viewed Elizabeth as her greatest rival, Fitzwilliam Darcy did not trust that she would not seek an even more insane plot to become his wife.
Charles sniffed and recaptured his countenance. He reached out a hand to shake Darcy’s as a thank you for the man’s support.
“It is unnecessary. Jane is telling her as we speak, another topic she and I both resolved was necessary for the protection of all. And other than Kitty knowing that she is to report any mention or sight of my sister Caroline, the rest of the Bennetts are being kept in ignorance.” Mr. Darcy nodded as Charles explained. “Kitty believes that Caroline is angry she was not selected to be a godparent and has assumed the danger lies against the twins.”
At the mention of the babes, Mr. Darcy broke into a wide smile, which lifted the mood of his friend.
“Forgive me! I have failed in my duty to congratulate you!”
Mr. Bingley blushed and then smiled. “The day of their birth was ghastly, I will not lie to you. But seeing the two of them and how Jane dotes upon them, I tell you, the business of having children is one that pays great dividends.”
Mr. Darcy offered to refresh Charles’s drink and did not add that there was reason to suspect he too might become a father in the next year. If Elizabeth told Jane, the news would reach Bingley. And if she did not, the Bingleys would learn later when it was certain and Mr. Darcy would not risk his wife’s ire.
The two men continued in each other’s company for another quarter hour before Mr. Darcy announced that he would like to change and refresh himself from his journey. With dinner to be served within the hour, it was only polite for both of them to see to their valets.
When they had reached the foyer, Charles was explaining where Darcy could find his trunks, and possibly his wife, in the east wing of the home when the butler, Higgins, approached them.
“I’m terribly sorry, sir, but this has just arrived.”
Higgins handed the express to Mr. Darcy who immediately opened the letter.
As Darcy read, his face drained of color and Mr. Bingley became immediately concerned.
“What’s wrong? Is it Georgiana?” Charles began to guess and Mr. Darcy’s shock soon turned to anger. He closed his eyes and took a breath before answering.
“My home in London has been attacked,” Mr. Darcy said in a flat tone of disbelief.
The Miracles of Marriage
a Pride and Prejudice variation novel
Release Date: July 25, 2019
Pages: 306
Book 5 in the Moralities of Marriage Series. Chapters posting now on Elizabeth’s site.
After the murder of George Wickham in the streets of London and the fire at Longbourn, Mr. Darcy and his lovely bride, Elizabeth Bennet, must cut their wedding trip to Scotland short. With the financial stakes of all families hanging in the balance of London’s politics, the Darcys will have to work together to see to everyone’s needs. But with so much tragedy and scandal, can Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam rely on each other, or has the trust between our dear couple worn to edges beyond repair?
+ 23 additional Pride & Prejudice variations are available at these fine retailers . . .
Keep Reading Chapters Below!
Chapter 1 The Miracles of Marriage
Since the murder of George Wickham hit The Times in August 1812, the street outside Darcy House in London buzzed for weeks with abnormal activity. Without the family in residence, the front path before the door contained a motley mix of men from sailors to coppersmiths, alternating in yells and jeers for most of the day. They stayed on the street side of the iron gate, blocking the walk and oftentimes congesting traffic….
Chapter 2 The Miracles of Marriage
The Darcy carriage traveled efficiently from the happy frolicking days of the couple’s Scottish wedding trip to the daunting mantle of family responsibility waiting for them in the south. Elizabeth Darcy sat on the bench across from her husband and insisted her maid, Higgins, join them for much of the journey.
Chapter 3 The Miracles of Marriage
Charles Bingley’s lease on Netherfield Park would end in October after an emergency extension was agreed to by the parties. Jane Bingley stared at the long list of tasks left in her charge. Even with the extension, it would be a difficult feat to accomplish. The list ranged from a final inventory of the furnishings to help her uncle close out the property to convincing Kitty that some of her larger works of art should remain behind in the attic.
Chapter 4 The Miracles of Marriage
Within an hour of leaving the last inn, the surrounding countryside inspired a wave of nostalgia to overtake Elizabeth Darcy. A result from their temporary truce, she enjoyed her husband’s comfort while the carriage returned her to Hertfordshire for the first time as a married woman. Thinking of home, she errantly worried that the carriage might not go past Longbourn if the driver chose the longer route to Netherfield Park through Meryton.
Chapter 5&6 The Miracles of Marriage
Mrs. Darcy enjoyed tromping through the crisp autumn fields with her husband. Despite the difficulties of all around them, Elizabeth’s heart felt lighter that she and Fitzwilliam still made happy memories on their own terms.
Chapter 7-11 The Miracles of Marriage
Lady Catherine de Bourgh found her niece Georgiana Wickham lacking in good sense, good company, and any respect for her mother’s sister.
A Jane-of-all-trades, mistress to none! Elizabeth Ann West is the author of 8 novels and 11 novellas, 18 of which are story variations of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.