Chapter 1

Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam considered himself to be an insightful judge of men as well as their motives. But the current situation in which he found himself was simply too perplexing for him to comprehend, and his cousin had been as elusive as only Darcy knew how to be when he set his mind to it. The colonel and Georgiana were standing in the entryway of the Bennet's home to attend Darcy's engagement dinner on the evening before he was to be married, and the atmosphere was fairly quivering with undercurrents of the suppressed emotions of the main participants. Richard simply couldn't reconcile what he was seeing and sensing with what his previous expectations had been about this marriage.

He and Georgiana had arrived at Netherfield in the late afternoon from London. He was quite confident what he would find when they arrived that evening at the Bennet estate, and the few words that he and Georgiana had exchanged during the journey confirmed that her sentiments were similar. Just three weeks earlier they had each received a letter from Darcy inviting them to his wedding, informing them that Bingley would be pleased to host them, and giving them directions to Bingley's estate in Meryton. There was not a word about his bride-to-be, no mention of her family, and certainly nothing to indicate that he was among the ranks of proud and hopeful bridegrooms. The invitations had been sent from Longbourn, from whence Darcy had departed immediately for Pemberley, and had remained there ever since, arriving at Netherfield shortly before they did on the day before of his wedding.

They were greeted at Netherfield upon their arrival by Caroline Bingley, Charles Bingley's sister, and one look at her face was sufficient for them to determine precisely what her thoughts were concerning the upcoming marriage. Fortunately for them, the weather had been inclement during their journey, which necessitated only the most cursory of greetings before they were obliged to repair to their rooms and prepare for the upcoming dinner. Darcy had preceded them to Longbourn before they had even arrived; consequently, Colonel Fitzwilliam lost a much anticipated opportunity to speak with his cousin concerning the events of the past month.

As eager as the colonel was to question his cousin, he knew that it would be completely unnecessary. He knew what he could expect to find when he and Georgiana entered Longbourn, and his heart sank for his cousin with this certainty. For he knew he would encounter two parents attempting to suppress their triumph at having one of their daughters ensnare such an illustrious husband. There would probably be other siblings too – the sons eager to partake of all the delights that Pemberley had to offer, and the daughters happily conscious of their heightened opportunities for equally prestigious marriages due to their newly forged relationship with Darcy. And the bride - he could picture her as clearly as if she stood in front of him. She would attempt to portray herself as a shy and demure maiden, but the colonel was too wise in the ways of the world to be fooled by whatever charade she would attempt. She would be clinging to Darcy's arm, of course, and probably giggling and tittering at every word he spoke. Darcy had been in Hertfordshire less than two weeks before this engagement was formed, and Richard had no doubt that his cousin had been trapped into a marriage that he would never have formed otherwise. The colonel prided himself on being a gentleman regardless of the circumstances, but he very much feared that his anger and sorrow for a cousin who had been dearer to him than his own brother might tempt him to behave at this Longbourn dinner in a way that all present would regret.

He did indeed behave in a manner that he very much regretted later, but not as a result of what he had anticipated to find, quite the contrary. From the moment he, Bingley and Georgiana had entered Longbourn he was keenly aware that this was definitely not the household of a triumphant family; in fact, the atmosphere was more conducive to a funeral than a wedding. He was greeted by , who welcomed them and explained that Darcy and Miss Catherine were with Mr. Bennet in his library but would join them shortly. There were others to be introduced and once again he was surprised, and then wary. Were these people attempting to portray themselves as other than what they were in order to neutralize his suspicions?

There were four other daughters, and none of them could be described as other than melancholy – several of them with red eyes that could only be attributed to recent tears. Bingley was instantly at the side of the eldest, a girl named Jane who was so lovely that if Catherine resembled her Richard could almost comprehend how Darcy could be lured into a compromising position with her. Jane would probably be considered the most beautiful of the four sisters he was introduced to, but it was the second daughter, Elizabeth, who caught his eye; there was a vitality and joie de vivre emanating from her that despite her present distress intrigued him. He determined in an instant that she was the one who would unravel the mystery about this marriage for him; there was an openness and honesty about her countenance that assured him that even if she did attempt to evade his probing, he would soon get to the bottom of this perplexing matter. The other two daughters, Mary and Lydia, were more obvious in their distress than the two eldest. Even the mother, whom he had considered the most likely to betray at least some indication of the family's satisfaction in contracting such a prestigious alliance, was subdued as she ushered them into the drawing room for some refreshments. One look at Georgiana was sufficient to convince him that she also was astonished by the reception they had received, and her surprise was so acute that, coupled with her habitual shyness, she was able to respond to the polite greetings they received with only the most cursory replies.

They entered the drawing room and the colonel had ample time to study the members of the Bennet family who were present. They were a remarkably handsome family. The mother could not have been more than forty years old, and despite having five children, she was still a very attractive woman. Miss Bennet seemed the daughter to most closely resemble her mother with her fair complexion, blonde hair and light blue eyes. He assumed that Miss Elizabeth Bennet must take after her father in appearance and had dark curly hair and sparkling brown eyes. The other two girls, Mary and Lydia, seemed to possess a combination of the physical attributes of the two eldest - fair skin, pale eyes, and hair that was neither blonde nor the dark shade of Miss Elizabeth's. All four of them were attractive in their own way, and it crossed his mind that if they had entered any of the balls that he had recently attended in London they would have caused quite a stir among the male attendants.

Bingley, friendly and exuberant as always, had been speaking since they entered the room, and this had given the colonel ample opportunity to study the room's inhabitants. There was now a pause in the conversation, and Richard saw that Georgiana would be unable, for the time at least, to contribute anything to the discussion. So, once again when in company with one or both of the reclusive Darcy siblings, he knew that the entire conversational burden would fall to him. He could not, of course, immediately revert to the questions most prevalent in his mind, but cautiously began soliciting from Mrs. Bennet details concerning her family. This was a fortunate choice of topics; she seemed to relax at his enquiries, and her pride in her daughters was obvious. When he began to understand the birth order of the girls, and realized that Darcy's bride was the youngest but one, he was completely taken aback - Good God! - the youngest could not yet be fourteen or fifteen, and the one older than Catherine, Mary, was very young indeed, probably not more than eighteen. He attempted to quickly school his features so that his surprise at Catherine's age was not evident, but he was not quick enough for Miss Elizabeth, whom he could see knew very well what he was about. It had been his experience that one studier of human character could easily recognize another, and he knew intuitively that Miss Elizabeth was just such a one. Bingley at this point began speaking again, and the colonel was free to once again, as he had so many times in the past several weeks, imagine the characteristics of Darcy's bride. She could not be more than sixteen or seventeen at the most, and this made Darcy's choice even more inexplicable to him.

His vision of a pretty young country miss dressed in ruffles, ribbons and lace and clinging possessively to her fiancé's arm vanished the instant the library door opened and Darcy, his soon-to-be father, and Catherine entered the drawing room. While the other girls showed evidence of tears, there was no question that Catherine had been crying recently; her eyes were red and swollen and there were still tears clinging to her eyelashes. And this was no beauty like her older sister Jane; her hair was pulled back in a severe bun and the gown she wore was plain to the point of dowdiness. There were dark circles under her eyes and evidence of recent illness in the drawn paleness of her face. He would later realize that the shock he felt was reflected in his countenance, and when he saw that Darcy's face had assumed his dreaded Darcy Mask, as the colonel had jokingly dubbed it years ago, he realized that he had been unable to disguise his surprise. But Colonel Fitzwilliam was a thorough gentleman and the dictates of proper behavior had been ingrained in him from an early age. He introduced Georgiana to Catherine, welcomed her cordially into the family, and hoped his earlier gaffe could be overlooked. It seemed to be, with two notable exceptions – his cousin Darcy and Miss Elizabeth. The expression on her face was unmistakable, and he firmly resolved to find some time in the evening to repair the damage that had obviously been done. She intrigued him, and he was determined that the evening would not end with her thinking ill of him.

As they seated themselves after the introductions the colonel found himself somewhat removed from the rest of the other occupants and seated close to Miss Elizabeth. He immediately realized that he had been handed the perfect opportunity to satisfy his curiosity and commenced a conversation with her in a low voice that was not audible to the others in the room. Since he knew it was futile for him to attempt to disguise the surprise he had felt when he first encountered Darcy's bride, he opened the conversation with a reference to it.

"I must confess that I had not expected to find Darcy's bride so very young," he began.

"Oh, really? I would have imagined that when Mr. Darcy acquainted you with information concerning his engagement, this would have been one of the first things that he mentioned," Elizabeth replied.

"Well, frankly, I have not seen Darcy since receiving the invitation to his wedding, and consequently Georgiana and I were left with the task of imaging not only his bride's characteristics but also the circumstances of this rather unexpected union." He hoped that the frankness he displayed concerning recent events would induce her to be forthcoming concerning details he very much wanted to know, but she simply nodded and seemed to consider the conversation ended. This would not do, and he realized he would need to be more explicit in order to obtain the information he so avidly desired.

"It occurs to me that perhaps, with Hertfordshire being such a distance from London, your family may be unaware of the very great interest that this wedding has created in London. Darcy's hand in marriage has been keenly sought for years by the first families of the realm and curiosity concerning its inception is very great indeed," he said.

"I find that hard to believe, sir. Surely Londoners have more to concern themselves with than the details of a simple wedding in a quiet country town?"

"But surely you must be aware that this is more than 'a simple wedding in a quiet country town'! Darcy is one of the wealthiest men in England and from one of the most respected families. And to consider that he has aligned himself with a country nobody, with no family or connections to recommend her, is simply inexplicable. He could have made any number of very prestigious marriages, and the fact that he has so obviously spurned these opportunities has his family and friends extremely concerned and seriously questioning the motivation behind such an unfortunate alliance."

The colonel realized as soon as these words were out of his mouth that his bluntness constituted a very serious blunder. Elizabeth's face flushed a deep red and all further attempts on his part to draw her into conversation were in vain. She simply ignored him, so he was forced to turn his attention to the other quiet conversations going on around him. Fortunately, they were soon bidden to the dining room for the engagement dinner. This was certainly not the elaborate affair that he had always anticipated would be held by the fortunate family that was soon to welcome Darcy into its midst. He found he was comfortable though, not only with his surroundings but with the members of this family who were united, in a quiet way, in their attempts to put Georgiana and himself at ease. And quiet they were, he could see that everyone at the table was determined to contribute to the sense that this was a happy occasion, but they were all failing miserably. He decided to attempt a response to their kind hospitality and redeem himself in Miss Elizabeth's eyes by doing all he could to make the others feel that both he and Georgiana were welcoming to Darcy's bride and that her inclusion in their family was other than the catastrophe that he feared it undoubtedly was. To further this end he rose to his feet to propose a toast.

"As the best man for my dear friend and cousin Darcy, I would wish you all to join me in a toast to their happiness and long lives together."

Everyone raised their glasses but he knew immediately that something he had said was wrong - very wrong -and there was an expectant pause. No one would meet his eye until finally Bingley looked at him and all but mumbled an apologetic "Thank you, colonel. But I regret to tell you that I have been chosen to be Darcy's best man at the ceremony tomorrow."

The colonel's gaze flew to Darcy's face in astonishment, but Darcy kept his eyes steadfastly on the plate in front of him. That Darcy had overlooked the years of friendship that they had shared to select Bingley for this honour was keenly felt - at first with pain and then with an anger that he very much feared he would be unable to control. A moment's reflection was sufficient to convince him of why Darcy had done this. His first reaction when receiving Darcy's invitation to this wedding had been amazement and he had immediately dispatched a letter to his cousin that was, perhaps, a bit outrageous. In fact, looking back, 'a bit outrageous' was too mild a description for what he had written.

Matlock House

October 12, 18_

Darcy,

Are you completely out of your mind! What in the world has taken place in Hertfordshire to cause such a precipitous event? I assume you were caught out…and how this could have happened after your years of so successfully eluding the determined machinations of young women and their eager mothers is more than I can understand.

You must extricate yourself immediately from this situation! It's been my experience that, repellent as it is, money has frequently been used in similar situations to bribe the offended party and her parents and I cannot help but recommend you to at least attempt it. I strongly advise you to choose this route rather than finding yourself bound to someone you can have neither affection nor respect for.

Hoping to hear from you soon with news that you have been successful in this endeavor!

Your concerned cousin,

Richard

He had anxiously awaited a return letter from his cousin, but there had been only an ominous silence which had caused him to finally accept the fact that Darcy had no intention of ending the engagement.

He had not reflected on how insulting his letter had been until this moment when he was faced with the fact that he was not to have the honour of being the best man at his cousin's nuptials. There was more to the matter than this, though, and the colonel had a sense of foreboding that this insult was a symptom of a more permanent alteration in his relationship with his cousin. He had always taken a quiet pride in the fact that, over the years, he had become the one person that Darcy had trusted enough to confide in. He had carefully nurtured this tendency and had given his support when needed, and, less frequently, his criticism and advice when necessary. It infuriated him that he had been shut out from Darcy's confidence in a matter as momentous as his marriage, and he saw the selection of Bingley as the one to stand up at his cousin's wedding a foreshadowing of future slights and future attempts to keep him at an emotional distance. He struggled to conceal his chagrin from the others at the table, but unfortunately his gaze fell upon Georgiana, seated directly across from him. A quick glance at her face made him even more resentful; she gave him such a sympathetic look that he knew she was fully aware of the insult he had received at the hands of her brother.

Georgiana was indeed incensed by the fact that her brother had chosen his friend Bingley rather than Colonel Fitzwilliam for this honour and this only added to her discomfort at this dinner party. She had such conflicting emotions concerning the impending marriage and she, like the colonel, was completely unprepared for what she had found in the Bennet's home when meeting Darcy's future bride and her family. She had been convinced that this was a forced marriage; she was quite naïve but she had witnessed and heard enough in the years since her brother's majority to know that if this were the case, it would certainly not be the first time that her brother had been the victim of such schemes. She looked at her brother sitting across the table from her and was overcome by memories of his consistent kindness and generosity to her over the years. As she gazed at him she felt her anger over his insult to Colonel Fitzwilliam and her lingering resentment over the events that had taken place several months ago at Ramsgate give way to her habitual feelings of love and respect for a dear brother who, until the previous summer, had been her role model and an object of her sincere devotion.

Hoping to improve her health, Darcy had arranged for her to be taken from school in the early summer and had hired a companion, Mrs. Younge, to escort her to Ramsgate. Georgiana had been plagued by a persistent cough since contracting a cold at school in the winter months and the Darcy family doctor had examined her and recommended sea air and sea bathing. She had been there only several days when she encountered George Wickham who was also there for the healthy benefits of the sea air. Wickham was the son of Pemberley's former estate manager and he had always been particularly kind to her. His attentions were welcomed and she was in his company almost every day. His presence in a town where she had no other acquaintances was a happy event for her and as their intimacy increased so did her regard for him. Never having had much experience with men other than her brother and cousins, she was delighted to renew a relationship with someone whose easy and familiar manners rendered her free from the painful shyness that characterized almost all her other relationships.

When Wickham confessed his affection for her she unashamedly admitted her own for him, and, with Mrs. Younge's approval and encouragement, began to envision an idyllic life in the future with him as her husband. Wickham's fervor was infectious, and he proposed that they elope to Gretna Green together. He confessed that he doubted her affection for him equaled his for her, and, if she refused his request, he would be convinced of it. The assertion of her lover's insecurities regarding her affections was too much for Georgiana's tender heart and she readily agreed to accompany him to Scotland and to be his wife.

When her brother arrived unexpectedly two days before the intended elopement she was totally unprepared for his explosive reaction to her news. He immediately sent an express to her other guardian, Colonel Fitzwilliam, who arrived within hours and whose reaction to the intended elopement was even more volatile than her brother's. Upon the colonel's arrival the gentlemen left immediately to find and confront Wickham and Georgiana was left to imagine what her lover would say and do when faced with her outraged guardians. She hoped he would be able to convince them of their mutual devotion to each other and believed that the worst thing that could happen would be that they would have to postpone their nuptials until a proper church wedding could be arranged. So confident was she in this scenario that she was completely shocked by what occurred when the gentlemen returned. Colonel Fitzwilliam's right hand was bruised and bloodied and there was a liberal amount of spattered blood over the front of his officer's uniform. She was horrified, and even more so when she questioned him and he explained himself.

"We had an inkling that the bounder would attempt to sneak out the back way when we made our appearance, and so when Darcy entered the front of the inn, I was positioned at the rear. As we had expected, he had obviously anticipated our arrival and was racing down the back stairs when I confronted him. He then proceeded to deny everything and asserted that he had been the unwilling object of your persistent advances for the past several weeks. He claimed he had never intended an elopement but had simply gone along with your plans in order to avoid a confrontation with you. At that point, I'm afraid, I totally lost my temper, and he has a broken nose, black eye, and split lip to attest to how much credence I gave his explanation".

Georgiana was stunned by the violence done to Wickham and was convinced that the explanation given by Richard of her lover's words was a complete fabrication. She told him as much, and adamantly asserted that both her brother and cousin were in league against both of them. Darcy, who had been silent until this time, erupted in anger.

"You are a fool, Georgiana; can't you see that all he wanted from you is your dowry? Have you so little experience of the world that you could actually believe this scoundrel to be in love with you? I assure you, no one who was genuinely in love with you would propose an elopement. He was most definitely not in love with you, and I would advise you in the future to simply accept the fact that any man showing such a fervent interest in you is simply envisioning your dowry."

Georgiana had never in her life been spoken to in such a manner and her resentment was such that she spoke with an anger that equaled his.

"Are you saying that no man could love me for myself, but only for my dowry? I will never forgive you for that, William, for thinking it as well as speaking it, and I will never forgive you for the events of this afternoon!"

With that she turned her back on him and adamantly refused any further attempts on the part of her brother or cousin to converse about the matter. They left Ramsgate soon afterward and she was silent until the carriage approached the outskirts of London. She then requested that Colonel Fitzwilliam escort her to his family home and announced that she had no intention of residing in the same house with her brother. The next day a servant was dispatched to Darcy House to collect her clothing, and Georgiana had remained with her Aunt and Uncle Matlock until the day Richard had arrived to escort her to Darcy's engagement dinner.

Georgiana was ashamed to realize that her first reaction to the news of her brother's surprising engagement was one of satisfaction that the one person who had so violently opposed her union on the grounds that it could not be an alliance of genuine affection had himself become the victim of the very thing that he had sought to prevent for his sister. But as she sat across the table from him at his engagement dinner, she felt all her former anger fade away, replaced by a feeling of tenderness for him and concern for the future of this marriage that, however little she understood about its inception, was obviously not a union that either party desired.

Darcy was aware of her eyes upon him and knew from her expression that her past resentment had been replaced by feelings of empathy and pity. He was not used to being the recipient of such emotions, quite the contrary, and so he was at a complete loss as how to respond to them. He was also painfully aware of the blow that his cousin had received when Bingley announced that he had been chosen as Darcy's best man. He knew what Richard was about this evening; he could immediately see that the colonel was in his 'intelligence gathering mode', a phrase his family had adopted to refer to Richard's penchant for allowing the focus of his military operations to spill over into his private life. Darcy was determined to deny him any success in this endeavor, at least as far as he himself was concerned. Colonel Fitzwilliam was a determined man though, and once he set his sights on attaining certain information he could be relentlessly persistent. Such persistence was an admirable quality in a man whose profession frequently required him to attain information that an informant had no intention of revealing, and the colonel was famous in the higher ranks of the army for being remarkably proficient at it. It was a trait, however, that Darcy was determined that the colonel would not exercise on him. He absolutely refused to let this happen until he himself was reconciled to his new circumstances, and hoped, rather than expected, that Richard would realize this and grant him the time that he needed before there were any confidences between them. He had never intended to grant the status of best man to Bingley, but the steadfast support he had received at Netherfield from his friend during recent difficult times impelled him to make the offer before he fully understood the implications of how the decision would affect his cousin. Darcy also found himself deeply concerned about Catherine. After an absence of several weeks he had arrived at Longbourn that afternoon to discuss the terms of the marriage settlement with his future wife and her father. The settlement that he and his lawyer had prepared was quite liberal in the amount of money which would be available to her as mistress of his estate, and, if anything should happen to him, in the future. He also intended to spend this time with Catherine allaying any fears she might have concerning her introduction to his relatives. He found it difficult to conceal his own apprehension concerning the reception she would receive from his sister and cousin and when she perceived it she began to cry. Both he and Mr. Bennet attempted to reassure her but she was so upset she hardly heard them. When they became aware of the arrival of the guests she made an obvious effort to stem her tears and assure Darcy that she would be well. The relief he felt was palpable; he had spent the last three weeks at Pemberley wrestling with his own doubts concerning their union, and his emotions were still too raw to begin the process all over again with her. Her initial hesitance to accept his marriage proposal only intensified his deep-seated fear that they might be embarking on a venture that they would regret all of their lives. There were no other options open to either of them though, and they both knew it.

When the dinner drew to an end the conversation afterward during the tea and coffee which was served in the drawing room was as strained as it had been previously. The colonel tried once again to engage Miss Elizabeth in conversation, and was once again rebuffed. Georgiana shyly spoke to Catherine about the shawl that was draped over her shoulders and received a confirmation that it was indeed the handiwork of one of Pemberley's tenants. The four guests finally took their leave with a feeling of relief when the evening drew to a close.

Each of the four had his or her own thoughts to contend with and the ride to Netherfield was undertaken in silence. Bingley was uncharacteristically quiet; he had seen the look on the colonel's face when he was appraised of his best man status and was fearful of inciting his anger; the colonel was thinking of the same thing and also reflecting on his attraction to Miss Elizabeth and the hope that the next morning he could undo the damage his hasty words had caused; Georgiana was exhausted from attempting to maintain any semblance of normalcy the entire evening when faced with such overwhelming tension from all the dinner attendants; and Darcy was simply relieved that the evening was over and longed to be alone with his own thoughts. They each retired immediately upon arriving at the estate, much to the dismay of Miss Bingley who had waited up for them in hopes of hearing the details of their evening and thereby being given a chance to once again belittle the inhabitants of Longbourn and whatever arrangements had been made for the engagement dinner.

At around two in the morning Darcy gave up any hope he had entertained for a restful sleep the night before his wedding. He replenished the fire in his room's fireplace, which had been banked for the evening, sat in an armchair in front of it and attempted to once again, as he had during those painful weeks at Pemberley, reconcile himself to this marriage. He was no stranger to unions that were formed between parties who knew little or nothing about the person they were to marry. In his own immediate family he knew of two such instances – his Aunt and Uncle Matlock and his other aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The Matlock marriage he knew to be a happy one; he had never heard a cross word spoken between them and the deep affection they had for each other was patently obvious. Lady Catherine's marriage was a different matter altogether and there could be no doubt about the unsatisfactory nature of that union. She frequently escaped from Rosings to spend extended periods of time at Pemberley with her sister, Darcy's mother, and the volume of her voice as she catalogued her complaints about her husband could be heard even beyond a closed door and several intervening rooms.

Darcy felt he knew Catherine but little although he had no complaints about the few things he was able to determine concerning her character. It was supremely ironic that she came from a family that he would never even have considered uniting himself with several months ago, and yet it was the members of this family that gave him the most hope that his future wife would embody at least some of her family's characteristics. From the very beginning of his association with the entire Bennet family he had felt himself to be viewed by them as simply a man and his income of ten thousand a year, his house in town and Pemberley were never factors in their assessment of either his worth or his qualifications to marry their sister and daughter. It was a source of considerable satisfaction to him that he had succeeded, without any conscious effort on his part, in gaining the trust and affection of each member of this family.

Catherine, though, was essentially an unknown factor and he had spent very little time in her company. Regardless, he would strive for a Matlock marriage, and not a de Bourgh marriage. He had a sinking feeling that marriage, as it was commonly perceived, would not be an accurate description of their union for several years. She would be treated by him with the respect due his wife, but he envisioned a relationship similar to the one he had with Georgiana. Not only her young age made this plausible, but also her complete lack of experience in the larger world that was so familiar to him. She had never been more than five miles from Longbourn and undoubtedly had no clue as to the manners and behavior that would be expected of the mistress of Pemberley. His ruminations at this point became so depressing that it was with a sense of relief that Darcy became aware of the gradual lightening of the room that indicated the dawn of the day of his wedding.