Anne had despaired of ever having another child. After her son, she simply did not conceive. It certainly was not for lack of trying, the love between the two Darcys having multiplied over the years and being frequently expressed in the physical realm. Anne's pregnancy and delivery of Georgiana was complicated from inception to parturition, leaving Anne near death for days and weakened thereafter, but Georgiana was stout and perfect. Darcy immediately fell deeply and wholly in love with his sister. It was this love which would save him on many occasions over the ensuing years, when sorrow and the weight of responsibility threatened to break him. As close as Darcy was to his cousins Richard and Anne, it was his sister who had his heart utterly wrapped around her tiny fingers.

Darcy was a person who required few confidantes, and therefore, he did not exert tremendous effort into cultivating relationships. Those whom he loved, he loved with an entirety that was formidable. Those whom he deemed superfluous would be generally ignored. Hence the minimal energy expended to associate with his disseminated cousins. For this reason, the personal circle of Darcy family members was relatively minute, despite the number reality to the contrary. Lizzy rather doubted she would ever meet the majority of her husband's family, but she was excited about meeting George Darcy. He was a favorite, and the stories she had heard of the adventurous, eccentric doctor piqued her curiosity.

Georgiana was ecstatic. She regaled them all evening with tale upon tale of her favored Darcy uncle. Even Mary expressed a fascination to meet this grand individual. Of course, Mary was in an unusually high humor. Mr. Daniels had wasted no time after speaking with Darcy, formally requesting to call upon Miss Mary Bennet for tea the following day. It perhaps was not the most fortuitous of days, with George Darcy and friend arriving as well at a time unknown, but neither Lizzy nor Darcy would have dreamed of inducing her to decline.

With the excitement of blossoming romance, family visitations, and a dinner party event with Darcy's shipping partners, Lizzy and Darcy had no chance to talk privately until before bed. As typical, he entered her dressing room to assume the task of brushing her hair. Initially, no words were spoken as the two lovers purely delighted in serene companionship. Darcy could never verbalize why it was that he so adored brushing his wife's hair. It was intimate, enlivening, and comforting. Primarily, he simply gloried in her beauty as reflected in the mirror with her luxuriant, silky locks falling about her slender frame and through his hands.

Lizzy smiled and stood, leaning over the vanity bench to kiss her husband. “Shall we sit on the patio for a spell, my love?”

The stars were bright, the air fresh in the warm summer evening, and the fragrance of multiple blooms floated to where they reclined on the patio chaise. Darcy related his conversation with Lady Catherine.

“Do you believe she will cooperate?”

Darcy sighed. “I honestly do not know and am not sure if I care, as horrid as that is to confess. She was silent and inscrutable when I left, so I could not hazard a guess as to her state of mind. If it were not for Anne, I am not certain I would even try.” Darcy paused, then resumed with a mournful tone, “Forgive me, Elizabeth. That is an unbecoming sentiment. She is my aunt, my flesh and blood, yet I am still so angry at her for all she has said that I find it an immense struggle to generate leniency.”

“I understand, darling. I too have quite mixed feelings on the subject of your aunt. Would you think less of me if I confessed to a desire to never set eyes on the woman again?”

Darcy laughed lowly. “No, as I tend to harbor the identical emotions. I will say this, if she does show up and offers an apology, even a lame one, it will speak volumes as to her repentance.”

Lizzy snuggled tighter against his body, Darcy's arms firmly around her with one hand gently stroking her belly. “How is your shoulder?”

“Tolerable. The bath helped tremendously. I probably incited the staff to severe irritation, but the water was so hot I could barely enter it. Nevertheless, when Wentworth clapped me on the shoulder tonight I nearly slugged him in reflexive defense!”

Lizzy stifled a laugh. “That would have made for a lively evening to be sure. Shame you behaved yourself.” She turned to better see his face, kissing his smiling lips. “Come, my beloved, infirm husband. A massage was promised and then we shall see what else I can do to improve your overall state of well-being.”

Chapter Fourteen

Visitations

“Ooh! This one would look wonderful on you, Mary!” Georgiana appeared from the inside of her closet holding a beautiful, deep purple gown with embroidered vines of wisteria cascading from the bodice to the hem.

Kitty clapped her hands in delight but Mary frowned. “I am not so sure, Georgiana. The color is lovely but the flowers are simply not me. Far too ostentatious.”

“You must make an impression that he will not forget, Mary,” Kitty explained wearily for the hundredth time, while Georgiana rolled her eyes.

“His impression should be of me, not the dress I am wearing,” Mary firmly declared. “I do not wish to be courted by a man who is only interested in me for my clothing.”

“Well, of course not,” Georgiana soothed, “yet there is no shame in presenting an appealing vision. It shows that you care for yourself and desire to please him. Men expect such efforts.”

“The expert, are we, Miss Darcy?” Mary said with a soft laugh. “Lizzy never fussed over herself and Mr. Darcy fell in love. This is what I desire. To have a man want me for whom I am.” Mary spoke quietly and with embarrassment.

The Mary Bennet sitting sedately on the edge of Georgiana's bed was an altered creature from the antisocial young girl who pounded out morbid tunes and declared how she hated balls. No longer did she look at the world with eyes clouded by misinterpretation and somber disgust. Her character overall had not drastically changed; rather, it was her revelation of the broader world beyond Meryton and Longbourn. The events of the past months and her friendship with the shyly proper but intelligent Georgiana had radically opened her eyes. No longer did she liberally sweep anything remotely frivolous out the door as wholly worthless and unorthodox.

Above all, Mary was amazed at her changed attitude toward the opposite sex. She had grown up with a family of mostly females consisting of a mother who seemingly thought of nothing but marrying her daughters off to the first eligible man who came along, two younger sisters who acted the fool around anything in trousers, and two older sisters who had snapped up the richest men available. Mary was the odd woman who did not swoon over the ridiculous frippery that comprised the standard male population. Mr. Collins had briefly intrigued her in that he was sober and not a dandy. She had thought Lizzy an imbecile for refusing his proposal, totally baffled at the decision until Mr. Darcy's proposal was accepted. Mary was now wholly ashamed for her conclusion, but at the time, it appeared evident to her that Lizzy had succumbed to his wealth, somehow ensnaring the pompous man with her hidden charms and prostituting herself at the altar of riches and prestige. Mary had been horribly disappointed in Lizzy, as she had been the one of all her sisters that she deemed the most sensible and least likely to yield, but there appeared to be no other logical deduction. Not one to study poetry or waste precious time reading romantic novels or gossip with twittery girls about flirtations, Mary simply had no concept of love.

During the two months of her sisters’ engagements, Mary had primarily avoided them all in disgust. When she did note the affectionate glance or oblique touch between one of the pairs of couples, she either did not grasp it or chalked it up to men's bestial lusts, those sins of the flesh warned against in scripture and other doctrinal writings. In the following months, she observed the steady affection between Jane and Mr. Bingley, grudgingly deciding that their marriage was not solely about money after all. Her misplaced and low opinion of Lizzy had not altered until this sojourn in London. Mary witnessed a rare emotion between her older sister and husband. She frankly had not comprehended it for a time, been confused at the blatant and occasionally mortifying affection displayed by the two, shocked at the depth of Lizzy's despair when he was absent, but predominately flabbergasted at the metamorphosis in Mr. Darcy. Not unlike Caroline Bingley, although without the accompanying jealousy, Mary gradually came to identify it for what it was: love in the purest form.

It would be inaccurate to state that Mary had a crush on her brother-in-law, but she did recognize his gentleness, intelligence, devotion to Lizzy and Georgiana, maturity, grace, elegance, humor, and many other admirable qualities. She began to wonder if there were other men like him and if even a particle of the love Lizzy and Mr. Darcy shared could be available for her. Her eyes were further opened by Colonel Fitzwilliam and the married men of her recent acquaintance who possessed similar fine qualities. It finally occurred to her, as if a startling epiphany, that men could carry on a conversation with a woman, might even be pleasant to have about, and were not creatures of a divergent species.

Now there was Mr. Joshua Daniels. Mary was mystified by the encounter with him. That Mr. Daniels had immediately been attracted to her was a given fact and Mary was egotistically gratified, although the emotion rather embarrassed her. Her newfound adoption of wearing moderately stylish clothing, limited conversing with the male population, and enjoyment of social activities was pleasurable but still mildly uncomfortable. The few glances and nods her direction while at the opera and dinner parties were flattering, but she also remained confused as to how to interpret the attention. Moreover, no man had ever noticed her in the way Mr. Daniels had nor asked to specifically visit her, and Mary was not sure how she felt about it. Mr. Daniels comported himself with propriety and grace, and impressed her as clever and capable. Still, the idea of actually being courted filled her with anxiety.