Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange (bts books to read .txt) 📗

I had no eyes for Jane. I had eyes only for

Elizabeth. She looked radiant. I felt my nervousness leave

me as she joined me, taking her place next to me as Jane

took her place next to Bingley.

The service was simple but it touched me deeply. As

Elizabeth and I exchanged vows I thought there could

not have been a happier man in all England.

We left the church, and as I looked down at Elizabeth

I knew she was now Mrs Darcy.

‘Mrs Darcy!’ said her mother, echoing my thoughts.

‘How well it sounds. And Mrs Bingley! Oh! If I can but

see my other two daughters so well married I will have

nothing left to wish for.’

We returned to Longbourn for the weddingbreakfast, and then Elizabeth and I set off for a tour of

the Lake District. Jane and Bingley went with us. We

stopped for the night at a small inn and I am making the

most of the opportunity to write my diary, for there will

not be time later. I am looking forward to this evening.

After dinner, our true marriage will begin.

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November

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A M A N D A G R A N G E

Tuesday 11th November

Today we returned to Pemberley, after our honeymoon

by the lakes. Elizabeth looked well and happy. I watched

her as the carriage rolled up the drive, seeing in her face

her delight at her new home.

The carriage pulled up outside the door.We went in.

Mrs Reynolds had assembled the staff, and they welcomed us. Mrs Reynolds, I know, is delighted to see a

mistress at Pemberley again.

We went up to our rooms. I went into her suite with

Elizabeth. It was the only set of rooms she wanted

altered, and it had been decorated just as she wished.

‘Do you like it?’ I asked.

She looked round her appreciatively. ‘It is perfect.’

I went over to her and kissed her.

‘Do you like it?’ she asked, looking round at the room

again.

‘It does not matter if I like it or not.’

‘I think it does,’ she teased me.‘After all, you will be a

frequent visitor.’

I smiled and kissed her again.

It was some hours later when we went downstairs.

‘Are you sure you do not want any of the other rooms

redecorated?’ I asked her, as we entered the dining-parlour.

‘No, I like them just the way they are. They remind

me of my first visit to Pemberley.’ She walked over to the

window and looked out. ‘It is a beautiful prospect.’

I agreed. The wooded hill was lovely, and the river

sparkled as it wound its way through the valley. I love

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every tree and every blade of grass, and it warms me to

know that she loves it, too.

‘What did you think when you first saw it?’ I asked her.

She smiled mischievously.‘That I might have been the

mistress of all this, if I had accepted you!’

‘And did you regret it?’

‘For a minute – until I remembered that I would not

have been allowed to welcome my aunt and uncle here.’

‘I cannot believe I was ever so proud. If not for your

aunt and uncle, we might never have met again.We will

welcome them any time you wish to do so.’

I put my arms round her.

‘We must have them to stay soon. I have promised my

aunt she can ride round the park in a phaeton and a pair

of ponies.’ She turned in the circle of my arms and

stroked my cheek. ‘But we will not invite them just yet.’

Tuesday 18th November

We have been at Pemberley for a week, and Elizabeth

and Georgiana are getting on together as well as I could

have hoped. Georgiana is starting to lose some of her

shyness through her nearness to Elizabeth, and although

she is not as playful as Elizabeth, she has ventured to tease

me on one or two occasions.

I finally feel I can be a brother to Georgiana again, and

not a father and mother. She is growing up now, and

with Elizabeth to guide me, I no longer worry that I do

not understand young ladies. If I am ever in doubt, I have

only to ask Elizabeth.

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A M A N D A G R A N G E

Life is a great deal easier for Georgiana, too, because

she has a confidante as well as a sister in Elizabeth.

Thursday 20th November

Elizabeth received a letter from Lydia this morning, asking for help with some bills. I came upon her by chance

as she was reading it in her bedroom. She looked up

guiltily as I walked in.

‘Secrets?’ I asked.

She looked rueful.

‘It is from Lydia. She is so extravagant that she has

exceeded her income again. She writes to me that it

must be nice to be so rich, and she asks for my help.’

‘You will not give it to her?’ I saw her face.‘You will.’

‘She is my sister, after all,’ she said.

‘Let her ask Jane.’

‘She has already asked Jane,’ said Elizabeth, her playfulness returning. ‘I feel she means to ask us each in turn.’

‘You should say no.Then she will learn to manage.’

‘Not Lydia! She will run up bills until the shopkeepers demand payment, and then she and Wickham will

change lodgings and start all over again. Think of it this

way, I am not helping Lydia, I am helping the shopkeepers she is cheating.’

With this she knew I would agree.

‘I never cease to wonder how it is that you and Jane

turned out so well, when your other sisters turned out

so ill,’ I said, going over to her and kissing her on the

cheek.

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‘Kitty is not so bad,’ said Elizabeth. ‘I was thinking of

having her to stay with us. After our Christmas party

next month, I am going to invite her to stay on. Some

superior company will do much to influence her for the

better.’

‘If you must, you must. I would rather have you to

myself.’

‘She will not be indoors all the time. She will go for

long walks