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A Father's WorryBy FlorenceChapter OnePosted on 2011-03-10Mr Bennet was sitting at his desk, reading for the third time his daughter's last letter. Elizabeth had been married to Mr Darcy for the past four months now, and seemed to be adjusting well to her new life. If he were to believe her words, Pemberley was a dream, her new sister the sweetest girl that ever lived, and her husband perfection personified. Yet, despite all her claims of happiness, he could not but worry.He knew when she accepted Mr Darcy she thought herself in love with him. In truth, he knew she would never have accepted him otherwise. His Lizzy was nothing if not a woman of the highest integrity, and she could never have married him for mere mercenary reasons. No, whatever his own wife might think, Darcy's ten thousand a year had nothing to do with it. And still, he was not easy.During the whole of their courtship, he had tried to talk with the man, tried to get to know him, tried to understand what Lizzy could see in him. And he had come up empty handed. No matter how much he tried, he still did not understand how his daughter could esteem him so much. Granted, he had saved them from utter ruin by forcing Wickham to marry Lydia. It was something that must speak of some goodness. But no matter how much indebted to him they were, he could not like the man.Part of these feelings was resentment for taking away his favourite daughter. Mr Bennet was honest enough with himself to acknowledge that fact. Truth be told, he would have felt that way for any man marrying his Elizabeth. But there was more to it than just that. Mr Darcy's behaviour throughout the weeks leading to the wedding had been the foundation for Mr Bennet's uneasy feelings. He had observed him very closely, and try as he might, he could not but see a cold and proud man, no matter what Elizabeth said. He had spoken of love when he had asked for Lizzy's hand, but Mr Bennet had never been able to see it. The only thing he could notice was a slight change in his carriage when with Elizabeth. He did seem slightly more relaxed when with her. But apart from that, Mr Bennet could never see any particular regard for his daughter.In fact, he was so uneasy about Darcy's feelings that he started to wonder why the man had even asked for his daughter's hand. Why a man of his consequence would ever ally himself with a family so decidedly beneath him? Slowly, a disturbing idea had made its way through his mind: had Elizabeth, thinking herself in love with the man, allowed him to place her in a compromising position that forced him to marry her? Not intentionally, of course, she was far too principled for that. But he could easily imagine that Darcy, driven by his desire, had lost his control for a moment and convinced her to let him kiss her. She would not have gone farther than a stolen kiss, Mr Bennet was certain of that, but if they had been seen, it might have been enough to prompt an offer of marriage from him. After all, he might not be Mr Bennet's favourite person, but the older man could not deny that Darcy had a very high sense of duty, Lydia's elopement once again coming to mind. He would be the kind of man who would assume his responsibilities, no matter what his feelings were. The more he thought about it, the more Mr Bennet became convinced that it was the only reasonable explanation for the man's behaviour.If he was honest with himself, there was a small part of him that was screaming at himself that he was being irrational, and that all these ideas were only jealousy on his part because he no longer held the first place in his favourite child's heart. But his fears were stronger, and despite the letters he received regularly, where Elizabeth described her new life with enthusiasm, he worried about her. He knew a loveless life would destroy her, and he feared Mr Darcy would not be able to give her what she needed.With a sigh, Mr Bennet looked back at the letter he had in his hand, and read again the last paragraph:We shall be travelling to Town next week. I have to admit I am loathe to leave Pemberley now that spring is on its way and that the park and the woods are coming to life again. I have truly become attached to my new home and I shall dearly miss it. But London has its own charms and I shall be able to see the Gardiners again. And you will be happy to learn, my dear Papa, that Charles and Jane have invited us to Netherfield, since we shall be so near, and we have happily accepted their invitation! We have not yet decided on a date, since Fitzwilliam needs to deal with some business first, but we should arrive no later than the 18th of May, and stay for a month before going back to Town.I shall stop my ramblings now, since I know that you must long to go back to your books! I shall write again as soon as we have settled a date.Your loving daughter,Elizabeth DarcyMr Bennet folded the letter and put it back on his desk. She would be here in a month, with her husband. It would be a great opportunity to observe them together, and determine once and for all if he had been right in allowing her to marry Mr Darcy. With another sigh, he poured himself a nice measure of port, took his book, and plunged back into the world of Tom Jones.Chapter TwoElizabeth Darcy sat back in the comfortable seat of the carriage and smiled at her husband and sister. She was sad to leave Pemberley, but the prospect of seeing Jane soon was a great compensation indeed. In fact, Jane living so far away was the only reason these past four months had not been entirely perfect.She did not lie when she wrote to her father about her new life. She loved Pemberley, she loved her sweet, shy new sister, but most of all, she loved her husband. The more she knew him, the more she found to love. He was a fair Master, a devoted brother, and the most attentive of husbands. And then, there were all the little things that only intimacy could uncover: the way he would focus on his book when he was finding it particularly gripping; the way his dimples showed when he smiled (and he was smiling quite often when only in her company, or Georgiana's); and what she found the most endearing, the way he would hold her at night, and wake up the second she was not in his arms anymore. The first time it happened, she had thought it was just coincidence. But it had kept happening, each time she had awoken early and tried to leave their bed without waking him, to go for a walk. Every time, though she was certain he had been deeply asleep the minute before, he had woken up. She had told him about it one morning and he seemed embarrassed for a minute, before avowing that even in the deepest of sleep, he could feel her leaving him, and that the emptiness he felt then was enough to wake him. She had been so touched by his avowal that she had gone back to bed to kiss him, and they had been quite late going down for breakfast that day.Of course, everything had not been perfect, especially during the first few weeks of their marriage. It had taken time to adjust to their new situation, and it had not been without a few arguments. In fact, knowing both of their characters, it was not surprising. But, after Hunsford, they had learned that talking was the best way to avoid misunderstandings, so talk they did. They had slowly built a trust, a bond that went deeper than anything she had ever known, or even thought could exist. They were each in the other's complete confidence, and she knew all of her husband's business. She realised theirs was a very unusual marriage, and she was grateful for it.The carriage bumped on a stone and the movement brought her back to the present with a start. She looked at her husband and saw him watching her with a smile and a teasing spark in his eyes. She tried to hide her own smile, and asked in a serious tone:"And what is it that you find so funny, sir? I do hope you would not dare laugh at your own wife?""Indeed I would not dare, Mrs Darcy! It would be most ungentlemanly of me to do such a thing, surely!"She couldn't help but laugh. This was a side of her husband that was known only to her and Georgiana: he could tease as mercilessly as she."So, what had you so lost to everything going on around you that you were startled by a mere bump on the road?""I was just reflecting on how truly lucky I was to have you in my life." She turned to Georgiana. "Both of you."Georgiana blushed with pleasure at her sister's comment, and Darcy took his wife's hand to kiss it"No, dearest Elizabeth, we're the lucky ones."As they finally approached the city, Darcy let out a sigh of relief. He hated travelling in a carriage, his tall frame not at all suited for such a way of transport. But the weather had not been favourable for riding, and if he was honest with himself, getting cramps in his legs was worth it if it meant staying in close proximity with his wife.He smiled as he observed her. She was in deep slumber, and, in his opinion, absolutely adorable. As he looked at her, he thought back on the declaration he had made at the beginning of their journey. He really did think both Georgiana and he to be lucky to have Elizabeth in their life. Especially since he had been so close to ruining everything. Even after four months of marriage, he still woke up sometimes at night fearing it had all been a dream, and that she was still at Longbourn, hating him. Thankfully, those feelings were rapidly dissipating but at the beginning of their courtship, and in truth, during most of it, those fears had not left him. Her refusal had left him insecure where she was concerned and even after she had accepted his second proposal, there had been a part of him that had still waited for her...
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