Elizabeth made another brief appearance saying her sister felt worse, and she begged their pardon for she would not leave Jane again. Bingley once again urged Mr. Jones’s being sent for immediately. His sisters, feigning true concern, said a dispatch for a more eminent physician should be sent. Elizabeth declined the offer for the time being, but she agreed to let Mr. Bingley send for Mr. Jones in the morning if Miss Bennet felt not more herself. This news made Bingley quite uneasy. Darcy noted although Bingley’s sisters claimed to care about Miss Bennet’s well-being, they consoled their unhappiness, however, with duets after supper.All these questions into what he accepted as appropriate behavior created more turmoil in Darcy; he could not rely on what he always assumed to be accurate portrayals of a person’s character.
Darcy wondered if either Caroline or Louisa took ill, would they be concerned for each other or would they turn to the pianoforte instead. In his estimation, Elizabeth Bennet proved herself a remarkable woman. She traversed on foot the distance of three miles in poor conditions to give service to her sister. She refused to be intimidated by Miss Bingley’s so-called social mores and his verbal challenges to her. She battled him with an unaccustomed quickness of mind. If Fitzwilliam Darcy chose a “sister” for Georgiana, he would choose the qualities displayed by Elizabeth Bennet over those of Caroline Bingley. As he slid his long limbs under the counterpane that evening, Darcy pictured Elizabeth Bennet standing on the staircase at Pemberley; it was the first peaceful night he had in some time.
Rested at last, finding Bingley up hours before his usual appearance in the breakfast room surprised Darcy. Bingley looked distraught; his concerns for Miss Bennet’s health played havoc on his normal affability. “Bingley, please sit down.You are wearing a path in the flooring,” Darcy teased, trying to distract his friend’s distress over the woman.
“Darcy, what should be done for Miss Bennet’s well-being?”
“Charles,” Darcy switched his tone to one more soothing and intimate to help assuage his friend’s fears,“one may trust Miss Elizabeth to do what is best for her sister. She will, I am sure, send you word shortly on Miss Bennet’s progress.”
Nearly as soon as the words left Darcy’s mouth, a housemaid brought Mr. Bingley a response from Elizabeth. Miss Bennet’s health appeared much improved, but Elizabeth wished a note sent to Mrs. Bennet to visit Jane and to form her own opinion on her eldest daughter’s health. Bingley dispatched the message immediately. As he did so, Darcy’s composure took a turn; he did not need to be reminded of Elizabeth’s connections after finally getting a good night’s sleep. He even worried Mrs. Bennet herself may choose to stay at Netherfield and send Elizabeth home to Longbourn. How intolerable that would be! Although he could not explain it even to himself, Darcy wanted Elizabeth to remain at Netherfield. Last night was a beginning; he did not want the dawn to bring an end—an end to what, exactly? He remained unsure, but being with Elizabeth took on a new importance to him.
Much to Darcy’s amusement and to his horror at the same time, the two youngest Bennet daughters accompanied Mrs. Bennet. After spending the appropriate amount of time with her eldest, Mrs. Bennet and her daughters intruded upon the Bingley household in the morning room.
Darcy stood by the window, pretending to be taking in the prospect. In reality, he wanted to be away from Mrs. Bennet and the reminder she was Elizabeth’s mother, as well as the fact if he developed affection for Elizabeth Bennet, he saddled himself to the family also. Such thoughts began to undermine the feelings he held for Elizabeth from the previous evening. Maybe he should consider her only as a diversion after all.
Mrs. Bennet’s fawning over Bingley and his estate interrupted these thoughts. Darcy briefly wondered how well Miss Bennet would have to be before Mrs. Bennet thought her daughter should return to Longbourn. Clearly, having Miss Bennet ill and at Netherfield pleased Mrs. Bennet excessively. “Oh, Mr. Bingley, my Jane is a great deal too ill to be moved. Mr. Jones says we must not think of moving her.We must trespass a little longer on your kindness, Sir; our Jane is the kindest, sweetest soul God ever placed on this earth; she does not deserve such pain.”
“You may depend upon it, Madam, that Miss Bennet shall receive every possible attention while she remains with us,” Bingley added sheepishly.
“Oh, we do hope you plan to stay at Netherfield, Mr. Bingley; it is such a fine estate.”
“I do like it here; I hope to stay a long time, but those who know me well will attest to my changeable nature.” He gestured about the room.
“Mr. Bingley,” Elizabeth began, “that is exactly what I should have supposed of you.”
“Indecision, as they say, brings lamenting for lost days.” Bingley enjoyed their banter. Darcy admired his friend’s ability to be at ease in such conversations, and at this moment, he envied the attention Bingley received from Elizabeth. But Mrs. Bennet’s reprimand of her daughter interrupted those thoughts. “Lizzie, do not forget your place, child.”
Bingley enjoyed the exchange, though, and replied directly to Elizabeth, ignoring Mrs. Bennet’s warning to her daughter. “So, Miss Elizabeth, you amuse yourself with a study of your fellow man—of his character? If I am correct, you begin to comprehend me, do you?”
With those sparkling eyes, of which Darcy found of late so compelling, she retorted, “I prefer to study intricate characters for they are the most amusing; in that they have all the advantage.”
Despite his pledge to not get involved in any conversation involving Mrs. Bennet, Darcy could not help but to speak to Elizabeth, specifically, and engage her response. “If you prefer more intricate characters, Miss Elizabeth, the country can in general supply but few subjects for such a study. In a country neighborhood you move in a very confined and unvarying society.”
He found Elizabeth’s enthusiasm enchanting as she replied, “Luckily, Mr. Darcy, people themselves alter so much, that there is something new to be observed in them forever.”
For a brief moment, Darcy and Elizabeth held each other’s eyes, and both sported a hint of a smile. Unfortunately, Mrs. Bennet’s voice shattered the flash of understanding between them.“I believe you are mistaken, Sir, country society is not lacking in anything of consequence.”
Her affront to a man of Darcy’s standing silenced the Bingley party. He started to respond, but a note of the mortification Elizabeth suffered at her mother’s hand caused him to stifle his disfavor. The gentleman himself turned silently away, cursing himself for having paid any attention to Elizabeth Bennet and to her poor connections.
Elizabeth, however, softened the disdain he currently felt for her by coming to his defense while trying to smooth the indignity. “Mama, you mistake Mr. Darcy’s intention,” Elizabeth blushed for her mother’s intrusion into the conversation. “He only meant that there was not such a variety of people to be met within the country as in the town, which you must acknowledge to be true.”
Darcy turned slightly back toward Elizabeth during this speech. He watched as she resettled her shoulders and brought her chin up in an act of defiance. He discovered he developed a fondness for this temerity, and he rued the day he thought her not handsome enough to tempt him.
“Of course, Lizzie,” Mrs. Bennet continued, wrapped in her own self-importance,“but we live in a large country neighborhood here in Hertfordshire; I know we dine regularly with four-and-twenty families.”
Bingley wanted to respond to Mrs. Bennet’s insipidity, but Elizabeth’s obvious embarrassment concerned him; therefore, he kept his countenance. Caroline Bingley could not channel her disdain elsewhere; a roll of her eyes and a shift of her seat away from the offending woman became obvious. She caught Darcy’s eye and offered him an expressive smile, which said, “See what your appreciation of very fine eyes will earn you. Mrs. Bennet will be a regular guest at Pemberley if you pursue your interest in Elizabeth Bennet.”
The party found Mrs. Bennet impossible! Yet again, Darcy felt his back stiffen; she displayed such deplorable manners. Mi
ss Bingley’s distasteful taunt held little consequence; how Elizabeth felt mattered most at this time. No one seemed willing to breach the silence until Elizabeth herself plunged forward in hopes of changing her mother’s conversational intent. “Mama, have you spoken to Charlotte?”
“She was by to see you yesterday, dear. Oh, the poor girl! There is an old maid in the making, for sure. Not that I think Charlotte so very plain, but she is our particular friend. Of course, my Jane is considered to be the most handsome woman in the county. One does not often see anybody better looking.”
“Mama!” came Elizabeth’s protest.The woman’s audacity again amazed Darcy; he rarely experienced such boorishness. To think Elizabeth must live with this brought pity to his mind.
“When Jane was but fifteen, there was a gentleman at my brother Gardiner’s in town so much in love with her that my sister-in-law was sure he would make her an offer before we came away. But, however, he did not. Perhaps he thought her too young. However, he wrote some verses on her, and very pretty they were,” Mrs. Bennet lamented.
Darcy suspected the man withdrew with the knowledge of having Mrs. Bennet as part of his family rather than thinking Miss Bennet as too young. He turned to observe Elizabeth growing impatient with her mother; she actually interrupted this denigration of her friend and the overt promotion of her beloved sister by saying, “And so ended his affection.There has been many a one, I fancy, overcome in the same way. I wonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away love!”
Darcy enjoyed how the quickness of her mind and how her wit allowed Elizabeth to take control of an embarrassing situation. He could not resist another response; he quipped,“I have been used to consider poetry as the food of love, Miss Elizabeth.”
“Of a fine, stout, healthy love it may. Everything nourishes what is strong already. But if it be only a slight, thin sort of inclination, I am convinced that one good sonnet will starve it entirely away.”
A broad smile of contentment spread over Darcy’s face; he cared not that everyone’s attention was now directed at him and Elizabeth. The connection between them resurfaced. After a few moments, he saw Elizabeth shudder as if she feared her mother would be exposing herself again. Instead, Mrs. Bennet took the more appropriate route of thanking Mr. Bingley for his diligence in caring for Jane and for his acceptance of Lizzy in the household as well. Bingley accepted her “thanks” with unaffected civility and even forced Caroline to respond in the same manner. Darcy stood to the side engrossed in the folly of the scene.The Bennet family circus seemed to be coming to a close; yet, before their departure, he witnessed another social faux pas, brought on this time by the youngest sister.
“Mr. Bingley, we do hope you will keep your promise of having a ball at Netherfield,” Lydia Bennet abruptly reminded him.
“A ball at Netherfield would be the most pleasant of evenings,” Kitty Bennet added to her sister’s outrageous demand.
“And invite the militia,” Lydia said dreamily.“They make excellent company.”
“I am perfectly ready, I assure you, to keep my engagement; and when your sister is recovered, you shall, if you please, name the very day of the ball. But you would not wish to be dancing while she is ill,” Bingley offered a diplomatic answer.
When Mrs. Bennet and her daughters finally left, Elizabeth returned to Jane’s care. Instantly, the Bingley sisters took up their usual censure of the Bennet family, often calling upon Darcy to join them in their mirthful display; he could not engage in their suit even with all of Miss Bingley’s quips on fine eyes. He was a man in turmoil, but Darcy would not befoul Elizabeth Bennet with disparaging remarks. Nothing, including his contempt for her relations, would allow him to do so.
CHAPTER 4
“You take delight in vexing me.”
Leaving the others to their own entertainment, Darcy left the room, closing the door solidly behind him. He turned to ascend the stairs leading to his chambers; he found his ears still ringing with the witty remarks slung at Elizabeth Bennet. Standing perfectly still, closing his eyes, and breathing deeply, he hoped to rid himself of what he witnessed. Literally, sucking in air one last time, Darcy opened his eyes to find himself face-to-face with the image, which haunted his every private moment. Recovering quickly, he said, “Miss Elizabeth, I did not expect to see you here.” He made the appropriate bow as an acknowledgment of her presence.
Returning a small curtsy, she replied only with his name and moved to go past him. It dawned on him Elizabeth carried a tray with an ewer of water and a large bowl. A bit taken aback, he stammered, “Miss Elizabeth, should not one of the maids be doing that?”
“It is true, such should be, but my sister needed fresh water to drink, and I must also bathe her feverish brow. I wished not to bother Mr. Bingley’s staff; they have so much to do already. I fear my family a terrible imposition on his household.”
“Nonsense,” he began, and then he realized it might seem like a reprimand, so Darcy softened both his tone and his words. “Mr. Bingley would expect nothing else from his staff. It is the neighborly thing to do.Allow me to call someone to help you.”
“No,” she pleaded. “I would not want to embarrass myself or my family further in Mr. Bingley’s estimation. Please, Sir, allow me to do this without his knowledge.”
“Very well, then,” he relented.“Would you allow my help? The pitcher is heavy, and the stairs are both narrow and steep.”
He watched intently as Elizabeth dropped her eyes in assent. He stepped forward and took the water pitcher from the tray. Elizabeth paused briefly, not expecting such gallantry. They ascended the steps side by side. Darcy found he could not remove his eyes from her face encased in the auburn curls.At her sister’s room, Elizabeth entered first to place the tray and bowl; Darcy waited at the door’s threshold. Seconds later, she returned to retrieve the water pitcher from his hands.“Mr. Darcy, your kindness was most generous.”
Her eyes did not meet his as much as Darcy prayed they would. “It is my pleasure to be of service to you, Miss Elizabeth.” As she took the pitcher, her fingers touched his in the exchange; the sensation recoiled through his body, Darcy momentarily stumbling back from the shock. Automatically, he forced himself to bow while Elizabeth left him.
He hurried to his room—his mind racing—the brief warmth of her skin against his spreading throughout his body. He must find a way to clear his mind of thoughts of Elizabeth Bennet; he needed a distraction. He retrieved his sister’s last letter from the desk in his bedchamber. Elizabeth’s touch aroused him; he needed to read Georgiana’s letter to refocus and calm his nerves. Of everyone, only Georgiana had that effect on him.
10 November
My dearest Fitzwilliam,
Your letters give me such great pleasure.The accounts of your activities in Hertfordshire are quite amusing. I do not mean to laugh at you my darling brother; I would never think of doing such an unattractive thing; yet, I do find it amusing how your affection for Mr. Bingley placed you in a position to be an observer of sundry activities; I delight at your retellings.
Sir William Lucas may be pompous, but I am sure he possesses a compassionate heart. His joy at giving pleasure to his neighbors showed through even your narration. Not all can be exposed to fine society; I admire Sir William for raising himself to the recognition he has been afforded at St. James. However, I was a bit surprised at your censure of Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst at the assembly. It must be poor behavior, indeed, for you to take such notice. I was happy you, at least, acted with decorum and gave credit to your dear friend. Bingley is much favored by having you as his commendable model.Your recollection of Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s musical interlude at least brought you some pleasure that particular evening. From your description, Miss Bennet must possess true talent; I am sure such qualities make her all the more attractive to gentlemen. Being accomplished in music is a virtue to which many women strive.
Mrs.Annesley says my needlework needs a purpose. She has, of late,
tried to convince me to help the poor in Derbyshire by creating pieces to be given to the children by the local vicar. He, when we attended church there last, preached about the need of the rich to help the poor.The lesson included the rewarding of such actions ten times over. I know my reward is having you as my brother; I am blessed those ten times. Last week in our lessons, I was introduced to the phrase “noblesse oblige,” which you understand to be translated into the “likewise obligation.” I took it to be as a mantra of what I should do. Although I am, admittedly, a bit shy about seeing my needlework given away to others, I hope I have your blessing in this endeavor. Dearest Brother, please give Mr. Bingley and his family my deepest regards and respect.
Your loving sister,
Georgiana
Darcy closed the letter and replaced it in the desk drawer; the missive brought him a sense of repose. He never felt as he did the past few weeks; he was a man of position—of control. It seemed of late he possessed no control; a pair of fine eyes and a wry smile sent him into turmoil. He wished for someone in whom he could confide and from whom he could seek advice. For now, he resolved he would answer his sister this very evening. If she found his narrative of the assembly and the dinner at Sir William’s amusing, the change in the dynamics at Netherfield should bring her “great joy” indeed. Darcy wished he could find the simple pleasure in life Georgiana did. Of course, she was but a child. Such antics would not seem so amusing if his sister knew the extent of his involvement into Hertfordshire society. She might even pity her brother’s position at the hands of a saucy maiden. Darcy wished Georgiana was older and could be his confidant; his “troubles” with Miss Elizabeth Bennet, however, were exactly that—his troubles. No one could resolve them but him.
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