by Eden Forster
“Clearly she does not; otherwise she would not have accosted me.”
He took a seat beside Elizabeth and rested his arm on the back of the sofa. “What did my aunt say?”
Her voice, half-serious, half-mocking, she said, “Your aunt informed me that you and Anne were fashioned for each other at birth. From your cradles, she and your mother had planned the union and that now, when the wishes of both sisters would be accomplished by your marriage to Anne, it is not to be prevented by a young woman of inferior birth, of no importance in the world, and wholly unallied to the family.” Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest. “Does that sound like the sentiments of a woman who knows better?”
“I am sorry my aunt subjected you to such foolishness. Surely you know me better than to believe I would consider myself bound by such wishes.”
“Indeed. I told her I had heard it before and that it was nothing to me. I told her that if there were no other objections to my marrying you, then I would not be kept from it by knowing that your mother and she wished you to marry your cousin.”
“Again, I apologize and I will inform my aunt that I have no intention of marrying Anne.”
Elizabeth accepted Darcy’s apology in the spirit it was given and was thereby resolved upon no further discussion of Lady Catherine. Changing the subject, she asked, “Does your plan dictate your leave-taking of Kent on Saturday?”
“I will delay my departure if that is your wish.”
“No, I would not ask you to alter your plans on my behalf.”
“Rather than leave Kent, I would much rather remain here. We might secure Anne’s phaeton and spend our time riding about the park getting better acquainted with each other until you are fully recovered.”
“To do so would give rise to an attachment that we do not yet share. You had much better adhere to your original plans, and I shall do likewise.”
“I am hoping that you will alter your plans and return to London sooner than you had intended.”
Elizabeth said, “As I have an entire six weeks before agreeing to your proposal and really nothing has changed between the two of us, sir, I believe we should behave accordingly.” Seeing the disappointed look on his face, she continued, “Saying that, I shall make a point of recovering from my mishap on the path as soon as can be, at which point I shall hasten my return to town. As you can imagine, I am most eager to reunite with my sister Jane. Perhaps by the time I see her again you will have made Mr. Bingley aware of her being in London.”
Darcy said, “When you are ready to depart, I want you to travel to London in one of my carriages, I shall have one readied and waiting.”
“I assure you that such measures are wholly unwarranted. Again, nothing has changed and we must behave accordingly.”
“You may continue to say that so long as you wish, Miss Elizabeth. I know better. Already things have changed between us. I know you feel it too. Otherwise your stance with my aunt would have been different. Now we are to be parted for who knows how long. To be entirely fair, I would ask that the six weeks commence when we meet in town.”
“Far be it from me to be accused of being unfair, sir.”
Darcy smiled at Elizabeth’s view of herself. He took her hand in his. “Indeed, it is but one of the things I admire most about you. And if you will allow, I must redress my aunt’s unkind remarks that you, of all people, are of no importance in the world. Nothing could be further from the truth for it was not long after I first made your acquaintance that I knew you were destined to be the most important person in the world to me.”
The sound of the Collinses returning to the Parsonage prompted Darcy to let go of Elizabeth’s hand. It was not very long after the Collinses had entered the parlor that Darcy stood to take his leave with the promise of calling on the Collinses the next morning before quitting Kent.
Later, when Charlotte and Elizabeth were alone, Charlotte said, “Eliza, my dear, I do not know when I have ever seen you and Mr. Darcy so cordial to each other. Has something happened that I ought to know about?”
“Dearest Charlotte, I fear your husband will be very displeased when he discovers all that took place in his absence. You see, his noble patroness, Lady Catherine, was here.”
“Oh, no! He will be dreadfully sorry to have missed her.”
“I am afraid her purposes in coming had little to do with Mr. Collins and very much to do with me. No doubt, she wants me away from here as soon as can be.”
“Why would you say such a thing? I think Lady Catherine admires you very much.”
“Her ladyship learned that her favorite nephew, Mr. Darcy, had called on me with the intention of speaking with me privately and she meant to discover his purposes.”
Charlotte seemed more pleased than startled by Elizabeth’s frankness. “Has Mr. Darcy made you an offer of marriage?” Without waiting for a reply, she took Elizabeth by the hand and gave it a squeeze. “Oh, Eliza, I always knew Mr. Darcy was in your power. May I be the first to congratulate you on your good fortune?”
“Pray, Charlotte, you are jumping to conclusions. Mr. Darcy and I are not engaged.”
Charlotte’s smile quickly faded. “Forgive me for getting ahead of myself, but having seen how much he admires you, I thought it only natural that he would have made you an offer of marriage. No doubt, her ladyship must have surmised the same; otherwise she would not have confronted you.”
“Charlotte, what I am about to confide in you must remain within the confines of this room. Do I have your promise?”
Charlotte nodded, encouraging Elizabeth to continue. “The truth is that Mr. Darcy did offer me his hand. His expressed sentiments were that he admires and loves me, most ardently.”
“You said the two of you are not engaged.” Charlotte colored. “Pray you did not spurn Mr. Darcy’s offer. Oh, Eliza, what were you thinking? Have you not considered what such an alliance would mean for you and your family?”
“Charlotte, you know that I have never liked Mr. Darcy.”
“I know that the gentleman wounded your vanity with his careless remark at the Meryton assembly, but certainly his subsequent profession of love must render those words utterly meaningless.”
“I might easily forgive him were it merely his insult against me, but it is more than that.”
“Pray it has nothing to do with your favorable opinion of Mr. Wickham. As I have said, he is nothing in comparison to Mr. Darcy.”
“I admit that a part of my dislike of Mr. Darcy had to do with Wickham’s claims. The colonel enlightened me to Mr. Wickham’s true character and now I feel like such a fool for having trusted anything the lieutenant had to say against Mr. Darcy.”
“Then why did you feel compelled to reject Mr. Darcy’s offer of marriage?”
“Oh, Charlotte, I always suspected that Mr. Darcy may have had a hand in separating Jane and Mr. Bingley. Colonel Fitzwilliam, in his attempt to paint Mr. Darcy in a favorable light, told me that Mr. Darcy boasted about his saving his friend from an inconvenient alliance. He told me earlier when the three of us returned to the Parsonage House.”
“Are you saying the colonel deliberately told you that Mr. Darcy separated Jane and Mr. Bingley?”
“In fairness to the colonel, he did not know that Mr. Bingley and Jane were the principal parties. However, once Mr. Darcy and I were alone, I confronted him and he did not deny it.” In an exasperated manner, Elizabeth said, “Now do you understand why I was compelled to reject Mr. Darcy’s offer of marriage? How could I possibly agree to marry the man who has been the means of ruining Jane’s happiness?”
“I know not what to say, except that you and Mr. Darcy seemed so cordial when we arrived. He does not appear to be a man suffering the sting of rejection.”
“That is because he believes he can change my mind. He proposed that I take the time to consider his proposal, six weeks to be exact, at which point he will ask me again.”
“And you agreed to this?”
“Reluctantly, I did
, once I secured his agreement that he would make amends where Jane and Mr. Bingley are concerned.”
“Are you saying that if Mr. Bingley and Jane are reunited, then you will accept Mr. Darcy’s proposal?”
“Oh, Charlotte, you make it sound so simple. Nothing would please me more than to see my sister happily settled with Mr. Bingley, but I shall not base my own future on that prospect. Mr. Darcy has promised to put Jane and Mr. Bingley in each other’s paths. The rest is entirely up to them. So long as Mr. Darcy upholds his part of the scheme, I shall keep an open mind as regards the prospects of entertaining a second proposal.”
“Pray, Eliza, do anything but trifle with Mr. Darcy’s affections. He is a man of great consequence and he is completely in your power. While you say you do not like him, I beg to differ. I believe you like him more than you know. I pray over the next six weeks or so you will come to deeply respect and esteem him. What’s more, I pray that you will be most thankful for the honor he has bestowed in choosing you, and indeed be honored to be his wife.”
Chapter Four
Every day that went by since her arrival in town gave Elizabeth cause to rethink her decision not to accept Mr. Darcy’s hand when she had the chance. If she had, Jane and Mr. Bingley surely would have been thrown in each other’s paths again. Perhaps she should have hastened her return to town. Those final days in Hunsford had been awkward at best. Lady Catherine did not invite the Hunsford party to Rosings to have tea even once, which suited Elizabeth perfectly well. However, Miss Lucas and Mr. Collins undoubtedly felt the slight.
When the time did come to depart Kent, no one was more excited than Elizabeth. Secrecy and anticipation had been her closest companions since her arrival at Gracechurch Street. The days passed most pleasantly away; the mornings in bustle and shopping, and there was even an evening at one of the theaters. The Gardiners’ circumstances did not allow them to travel in the same circles as did someone of Mr. Darcy’s station and, therefore, Elizabeth did not expect to see him around and about in town. However, she had expected to see him at the Gardiners’ home by now.
Time was running out for Elizabeth, Jane, and Miss Lucas would be leaving Cheapside and returning to Hertfordshire soon. She wondered if her being in Cheapside was the reason Mr. Darcy had not called on her. Perhaps he had decided that her London connections were indeed the sort that he had endeavored to avoid all his life and thus he had decided to wait to call on her at Longbourn. That had better not be the case, she supposed, for it would hardly recommend his suit. How might he ever earn her good opinion and ultimately win her heart if calling on her relatives in Cheapside was deemed beneath him?
Wanting to take her mind off her disappointed spirits, on behalf of her sister, of course, Elizabeth decided to take a walk in the park. She was of a mind to go upstairs to prevail upon Jane to join her when the sight of Mr. Darcy’s carriage driving up to the Gardiners’ door caused her to halt. Quickly, she moved away from the window, smoothed her dress, and prepared for the unexpected, although long awaited, visitor.
Mr. Darcy appeared with Mr. Bingley and a young woman whom Elizabeth supposed could only be his sister, Miss Georgiana Darcy. The young lady was tall and her appearance womanly and graceful. When the formidable introduction took place, Elizabeth could see that her new acquaintance was not proud as Elizabeth had come to expect, she was only exceedingly shy. The mere sight of Mr. Bingley standing there, as handsome and good-humored as ever, was enough to do away with any lingering anger Elizabeth had against him. The same could be said of a good measure of her grievance against Mr. Darcy, who seemed to Elizabeth as if he were genuinely pleased to be a guest in her aunt and uncle’s home.
Elizabeth invited the visitors to have a seat. A moment or two later brought the gentlemen once again to their feet. In walked Jane, Miss Maria Lucas, and Elizabeth’s aunt, Mrs. Gardiner. Immediately, Elizabeth’s attention was drawn to her sister’s reaction to once again being in Mr. Bingley’s company and, likewise, his reaction to being in hers, but she was obliged to introduce all the guests to her aunt. Tearing her eyes from Jane, she commenced doing so.
Elizabeth was further surprised when Mr. Darcy and her aunt fell readily into the conversation when the latter remarked upon her formal connections in Lambton, a small village in the North near Pemberley, Mr. Darcy’s home. Mrs. Gardiner, an elegant, intelligent woman, must have surmised that Mr. Darcy had another purpose in being in Cheapside other than courting her good opinion. Thus, she suggested the young people might enjoy taking the air.
Jane, Maria, and Elizabeth headed upstairs to get their wraps. When the sisters were alone, Elizabeth said, “Oh, Jane, are you not excited to see Mr. Bingley?”
“Indeed, I am excited. I am rather surprised too. After my last visit with his sister, Miss Bingley, I lost all hope of ever seeing him again.” Jane’s eyes beamed. “And now he’s here. Although I must say that I believe I owe the honor of my joy to Mr. Darcy. No doubt he is here to see you.”
“Jane, why ever would you say such a thing?”
“Oh, Lizzy, the gentleman never once took his eyes off you. Is there something I ought to know regarding what transpired between the two of you in Kent?”
“Oh, Jane there is indeed so much to tell. However, this is not the time.”
“If not now, then when?”
She placed her hand on Jane’s. “Soon, I promise. Now, let us not keep our guests waiting.”
Shortly afterward, the young people were headed outside for a walk. Miss Darcy and Miss Lucas walked in front, followed by Jane and Mr. Bingley, and then Darcy and Elizabeth.
The latter two had allowed the others to outpace them, which afforded them a chance to speak on the matter closest to Elizabeth’s heart.
She said, “Thank you for bringing Mr. Bingley to see Jane.”
“I said I would do my part in putting the two of them in each other’s paths,” Darcy replied.
“Indeed, you did. However, and mind you this is not a complaint, Mr. Bingley seemed wholly surprised to see Jane.”
“That is because he was surprised.”
“But how can that be? Did you not tell him that my sister was here?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“I thought you intended to be honest with Mr. Bingley.”
“How have I been dishonest with him?”
“By omitting to tell him about your role in keeping Jane and him apart,” Elizabeth replied.
“It would seem we’ve both failed to be entirely forthcoming.”
“How so, sir?”
“Did you tell Miss Bennet that she would soon be seeing Bingley?”
“No. I did not want to give my sister false hope.”
“Pray allow that I had the same good intentions in mind for my friend.”
“Despite how it all came about, I thank you for keeping your word. Surely you can now see for yourself what a difference there is in Jane today as opposed to…” Elizabeth paused for a moment. “It occurs to me that you can have no way of knowing the actual extent of Jane’s despair. Thus, you will have to trust me when I say her spirits are much revived.”
Wanting to discuss matters closest to his own heart, Mr. Darcy inquired, “And how are you today, Miss Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth replied that she was doing well, which pleased Mr. Darcy. He’d missed her exceedingly since he last saw her in Kent. Their parting had been brief and had comprised his cousin and him calling on the Collinses and saying their goodbyes as a show of courtesy. The next several hours had been filled with inquiring looks and silent questions from Colonel Fitzwilliam. Darcy ignored his cousin as best he could. The last thing he intended to do was tell him what he was about because if Fitzwilliam knew then it would not be long before everyone knew.
Darcy had been disappointed that his agreement with Elizabeth did not allow them to correspond. He had wanted to call on her sooner, but he had fallen ill. He had no wish to expose others to his malady, even if it was merely a trifling cold.
Elizabeth said, “It was very kind of you to bring your sister with you today, sir.”
“Yes, I have looked forward to introducing the two of you to each other for months.”
“Dare I confess that I have looked forward to making your sister’s acquaintance as well,” said Elizabeth, recalling Miss Bingley’s praise of the young woman’s accomplishments. “She is indeed a delightful young lady, even if a bit shy. I had not expected to find her so.”
“She is somewhat reserved, but I should like to think that the two of you will form a strong attachment.”
“As sisters, no doubt,” said Elizabeth, her brow arched.
Darcy smiled sheepishly. “Perchance I should fail to persuade you to accept my hand, my wishes for my sister would not change. Your good opinion is something I would greatly desire for Georgiana. You already have hers.”
Elizabeth would be departing for Hertfordshire early the next morning. Thus, Darcy and she parted with the understanding that when next they met, it would be at Longbourn. As soon as the proper arrangements were made to open the manor house at Netherfield Park, both he and Bingley would come. Elizabeth was therefore surprised when she received an invitation to dine at the Earl of Matlock’s home that evening. She did not know the earl at all, except that he was Mr. Darcy’s uncle and the colonel’s father. She wondered why he had said nothing to her about the dinner party. She wondered if Mr. Darcy’s relations had heard of all that took place in Kent. If his uncle was anything at all like his aunt, Elizabeth surmised, the evening might prove quite unpleasant. Not that such a prospect was likely to discourage her from accepting the invitation, for her courage always rose with any attempt to intimidate her. She prayed such would not be the case, but, if so, she would be prepared. The invitation was extended to Jane as well, which gave Elizabeth the added comfort of knowing that whatever the evening promised, she would not be alone.
Chapter Five
Except for Mr. Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Jane, Elizabeth did not know any of the people assembled in the ornate drawing room at Matlock House. All that changed soon enough when Lady Catherine de Bourgh made her grand entrance.