Elizabeth was startled to see Darcy coming towards her, and she desperately wished that she could disappear in the trees near the road, but it was as if her feet were rooted to the ground. In any case, he had already seen her and she could not avoid speaking with him. She wondered what on earth he could possibly say that would adequately explain his broken promises.
“Miss Bennet,” said Darcy, as he approached her. “Forgive me for interrupting your solitude, but I must be allowed to explain myself.”
Elizabeth said nothing, wishing she had the courage to turn away and ignore him.
Darcy was too desperate to say his piece to be offended. “Will you walk with me?” he said, offering her his arm.
Elizabeth hesitated before placing her hand on his arm. They fell into step and proceeded down the path at a slow pace. The silence was tense and after a few moments Darcy turned to Elizabeth and took her hand in his. “Elizabeth, please, you must allow me to explain.”
“Mr. Darcy,” said Elizabeth, “you do not need to explain anything. Your message was perfectly clear when you did not keep your promise.” Elizabeth tried her best to keep her voice from shaking. She did not want Darcy to know how hurt she was.
“Elizabeth,” said Darcy, “I never intended to break my promise. I returned to Hertfordshire as soon as I could.”
“And what, pray tell, kept you for away for a month? I understand that you must be a very busy man, but I fail to see why you would make a promise and then break it.”
“It was not matters of business that kept me away. I wanted to return with Mr. Bingley. I wanted to rectify the mistake I made by separating him from your sister.”
This took Elizabeth by surprise. “Truly?”
“I was wrong to separate him from your sister. I recognized her sorrow when I dined with you in London. By that time, I had firsthand experience in believing I had lost the person I loved more than all others. I knew I could not cause Bingley that same pain.”
Elizabeth was at a loss for words. She could hardly believe that Mr. Darcy was admitting to his mistakes. Perhaps she had misjudged him on that account. “I see,” she finally said.
“Bingley did not return to London until a fortnight after your departure. We were going to leave for Hertfordshire two days after his return, but then I caught a bout of influenza.”
“You were ill?” asked Elizabeth.
“Yes, and believe me, if it were not for the fever I would have returned immediately to Hertfordshire. I cursed the rules of society that forbade me correspondence. ” Darcy took her other hand in his. “If not for Colonel Fitzwilliam I would have ignored my illness completely.”
“Mr. Darcy, surely you are exaggerating.”
“I am not,” said Darcy, “Elizabeth, you must believe me, I wanted to see you again, I am not the sort of man to kiss a woman and then leave her, especially one I love so completely. ”
Elizabeth flushed at his words. “Mr. Darcy, you are embarrassing me.”
“Forgive me, Miss Bennet. I only hope that I have not ruined my second chance with you. I wish to provide you with an opportunity to get to know me better. Please tell me that I am not foolish to believe that we have a chance at a future together.”
“I do not know,” said Elizabeth, biting her lower lip.
“I do not need an answer now, Miss Bennet. I realize that you are disappointed with my failure to honor my word. I only wish for a chance to make it up to you.”
“Mr. Darcy, I cannot give you what you wish for,” said Elizabeth hesitantly.
“I can be patient if time is what you require,” he replied evenly.
“I will consider it,” was all Elizabeth could think of to say.
Darcy brushed a kiss across her hand. “Thank you. I shall see you soon.” With that he turned away, knowing that if he were to have any chance with Elizabeth he would need to respect her limitations.
***
Since the day that Bingley had arrived and agreed to a family dinner, Mrs. Bennet had spent her days seeing to every detail. She had planned the event to perfection, assured that this would be the night that her dearest Jane would become engaged. The menu was the most extravagant that anyone at Longbourn had seen in quite some time. The card tables were taken out and placed in the sitting room.
That entire day, Mrs. Bennet was bustling about seeing that all her plans were executed. As she did, she conveyed to each of her daughters, and to her husband, her excitement for the evening. “Such charming company for my dear Jane,” she said to her favorite daughter, “I daresay that after tonight it will not be long until you two are engaged! Just imagine it, Jane. Five thousand a year! Oh yes! You two will be very happy indeed, and tonight is just the beginning.”
. It was not in Jane’s nature to directly disagree with her mother, and truth be told, her own wishes were similar to her mother’s, although it did not matter to her if Bingley had five thousand a year or five hundred a year, for she would love him all the same.
“Oh I daresay that Lady Lucas will be envious of my having a daughter engaged to such a fine gentleman. Mr. Collins is not nearly as fine, handsome and wealthy as dear Mr. Bingley.”
“Charlotte is perfectly content with her life as Mrs. Collins, Mama,” said Elizabeth.
“Of course she is, Lizzy. Why should she not be? A woman her age was fortunate to be made an offer. However, I doubt that the parsonage is as elegant as Netherfield!”
Elizabeth shook her head disapprovingly, a gesture which her mother ignored.
The only aspect of the evening that put a damper on Mrs. Bennet’s enthusiasm was the fact that Mr. Darcy would be attending. Of course, she had no proper reason to exclude him from her invitation, but she wished that he had not accepted. Mrs. Bennet declared to her husband at breakfast, “My excitement for this evening is only diminished by the news that the most unpleasant man in all of England still plans to dine with us tonight. I do believe that the only thing to make up for his presence would be if Mr. Bingley was to propose to Jane this very night!”
“I highly doubt that will happen tonight, my dear, but if you must, keep your hopes up enough for us all. For I certainly do not wish to base my happiness on whether or not my daughter becomes engaged.”
“Oh, Mr. Bennet,” cried Mrs. Bennet, “Do you not want to have the happiness in knowing that your daughters will be cared for after your death? How will that be possible if Bingley does not marry Jane?”
“I daresay you would find a way, my dear. You can be quite persistent if you have a cause,” he said.
“You delight in teasing me, sir,” she quipped as she walked away to check with Hill on the place settings.
“Indeed I do, madam. It has been my favorite hobby over these past years,” said Mr. Bennet, more to himself than to Elizabeth or Jane, before walking out to closet himself in his library.
The Bennet sisters were quite excited when it was time to prepare for their guests. Mrs. Bennet had dedicated herself to the cause of making Jane look as beautiful as possible. As soon as her hair was done by Hill, Mrs. Bennet spent several minutes perfecting it herself, and then, once this endeavor was complete, focused her attention to fussing with Jane’s dress so that it fell just so and displayed her graceful curves to full advantage.
Elizabeth was well aware that she would be the one left to occupy Mr. Darcy, so she paid special attention to her own appearance. She knew also that Mr. Darcy would expect an answer soon, and it was her intent to have this evening be the deciding factor on whether or not she would be open to a courtship with the complex, and often difficult, Mr. Darcy. She chose a lovely dress that she had worn to Rosings once. In fact, it was the very dress she had been wearing when Darcy had come to observe her playing the pianoforte. Elizabeth smiled slightly as she remembered their exchange. She had told him her courage always increased when challenged. It was still very much the same, and it would certainly be a challenge to spend an entire evening with Darcy.
***
Dar
cy’s heart was pounding with anticipation as he stood beside his friend waiting to enter the Bennet house. He was about to see his beautiful Elizabeth. Well, she was not his per se, but in time, and with good fortune, she would be. He recognized that he had yet to receive an answer from her about his hopes for the future, but he was anticipating her answer within the next few days. He envied Bingley, who had told him days ago of his intent to propose to Miss Jane Bennet. Darcy had no doubt that the evening would end with his friend’s engagement. He wished he were in the enviable position of proposing to the woman he adored, but it was too soon. He would have to wait at least another fortnight, and most likely much longer, before asking Mr. Bennet for permission for his daughter’s hand. Alas, he would just have to develop patience, a virtue he lacked when it came to Elizabeth.
Darcy was truly happy for his friend. Jane Bennet, although she had no fortune of her own, seemed to be a very good match for Bingley. He had erred in separating Bingley from Jane in the first place. Not only had it caused his closest friend anguish, but he also had dashed the hopes of Jane while infuriating Elizabeth.
Mr. Bingley was definitely nervous, leaving Darcy with a feeling of apprehension about the evening. Darcy’s assurances that Jane’s affection remained and had only increased over the past few days had no affect on Bingley’s state of mind. It was not that Bingley believed he would be rejected, but until he placed an engagement ring on her finger, the slightest chance that she might refuse him would not vanish.
Hill answered the door and showed them into the sitting room. Bingley, after greeting the family, immediately went to converse with Jane. Darcy following Bingley’s example, greeted the family and then took the seat nearest Elizabeth.
This strategic seat selection went completely unnoticed by Mrs. Bennet, as she had returned to the kitchen to oversee last minute preparations. Mr. Bennet, however, had the perfect vantage point, and he eyed Mr. Darcy with sudden suspicion. Even from across the room, he noticed his second eldest daughter’s blush as she and Darcy began to converse. It was then that Mr. Bennet silently decided that he would watch Darcy very carefully throughout the evening in hopes of ascertaining his intentions.
Elizabeth monopolized Darcy’s attention. God, she was beautiful. Her shining chestnut hair was styled in a semi-elaborate style, with a few curls caressing her cheeks. Not for the first time he wished to caress her cheek as her stray curls always did. Her scent of lavender wafted past him, and the faint rosiness of her cheeks was becoming. She had only murmured a greeting and was neatly avoiding looking at him. He had grown used to this occurrence, and knew that in a few moments they would be politely chatting. Even if the conversation was somewhat forced, eventually they would settle into their usual ease. Darcy hoped that with time Elizabeth would be pleased to see him, but again, he would have to attempt patience. For now it was enough that she was tolerating his presence and not ignoring him completely.
As Darcy predicted, after a few moments of tension, Elizabeth finally looked at him and asked after his health. He answered that he was perfectly well, and asked if she had enjoyed her day.
“Mama was scurrying about preparing for tonight. We were all kept busy today. I hope our efforts were not in vain.”
Darcy wished he could tell her that he could care less about what was served and what activities were planned, that he was content just to be in her presence but this was not the time for such words. “I am sure they will not be, Miss Bennet,” he said softly.
When dinner was served Darcy was delighted to discover that he had been placed on Elizabeth’s left side. Had he known Mrs. Bennet better, he might have realized that Elizabeth, being her least favorite daughter, deserved to sit next to the most unpleasant man in attendance. Yet, he did not. So he saw this as a happy accident.
Indeed, Mrs. Bennet had placed Darcy next to Elizabeth, for the simple reason that Darcy had already greatly offended her Lizzy. Certainly, he could not possibly afflict any more damage to her daughter, but he could easily offend the rest of the family. In fact, she took it a step further and separated him from his friend as far as the table would allow, in order to give Bingley more time with Jane, away from Darcy. Mrs. Bennet knew very well that such a disagreeable man would slight any woman, and she did not want her favorite, to lose out on an amazing conquest just because Darcy saw fit to criticize her to his friend. Had she known that he had already done so and was now in fact the reason for Bingley’s return to Hertfordshire, her worries would have vanished.
Elizabeth, too, had noticed her mother’s seating maneuver. She did not particularly mind being placed beside Darcy; however, she was slightly uncomfortable by his nearness. If he wanted to, he could take her hand under the table, just as he had at her aunt and uncle’s house, and no one would be the wiser. After what had passed between Darcy and herself, she could not completely put it past him. She prayed he would obey the rules of propriety and not say anything that would make her mother or father suspicious of his attachment.
As it was, the dinner proceeded without incident. The conversation was lively and pleasant to all, even Darcy, who was surprised to find that he liked Mr. Bennet’s dry sense of humor. While he spoke mostly with Elizabeth, again, something that did not go unnoticed by Mr. Bennet, he found that he was on his way to enjoying himself, despite Mrs. Bennet’s ridiculous antics.
After dinner, Mrs. Bennet requested that they all retire to the card tables. Darcy considered it another happy coincidence that he was seated at the same table as Elizabeth, but this time, the seating arrangement was to include both Jane and Bingley.
As he approached the table, Bingley glanced meaningfully at Darcy, who nodded and said, “I believe Mr. Bennet is quite at leisure.”
Mr. Bingley took the encouragement and immediately went to speak with Mr. Bennet.
Elizabeth noticed this with much excitement, and she deemed it appropriate to say, “Oh Jane, I think you are in danger of becoming engaged.”
Jane looked towards her father and color illuminated her cheeks. “Oh Lizzy,” she breathed. “Can it be?”
They did not have long to wait, for as the sisters kept their eyes fixed on their father and Bingley, Mr. Bennet peered at Jane a number of times and their suspicions were immediately confirmed. Within a few moments, the conversation ended with the two men shaking hands.
Mr. Bennet thought it prudent not to alert his wife, as it seemed that no one had noticed his private conversation other than Lizzy and Jane. He felt that it would be best to save the news for the end of the evening, as it was clear that Mr. Bingley was very nervous, despite his reassurance that he believed his daughter would accept his proposal.
The tension at the card table was so thick that Bingley, Darcy, and the elder Miss Bennets could hardly focus on the game. For Jane’s part, her heart was racing in anticipation. Ever since Mr. Bingley had left so suddenly, she feared that he would never return. Of course, everyone had kindly assured her that this was not true, but after Miss Bingley’s letter, she had to face the shame of disappointed hopes. It seemed unbelievable that she now anticipated a proposal, but it was this exact expectation that caused her to lose concentration time and time again.
Elizabeth was enlivened with proposal wishes for her sister. At last, Darcy’s horrendous mistake would be remedied and her sister, as well as Bingley would finally be happy again. That Darcy caused this to happen further softened her opinion of him, and while she had not quite forgiven him for separating them in the first place, she was well on her way to doing so.
Darcy, meanwhile, was pleased for his friend and was reassured that Bingley would soon be engaged. His mistake of separating them in the first place had now been remedied. However, he was very much distracted by how lovely Elizabeth looked when she smiled. No doubt, she was beaming because she had come to the same conclusion, though he did allowed his mind to imagine, if only for the briefest moment, that Elizabeth’s smile was for him. Darcy could also not help to notice how Elizabeth’s happiness mad
e his heart soar as well. His eyes lingered on Elizabeth’s enchanting face. His observance was broken when Bingley alerted Darcy that it was his turn. As Darcy fumbled over his cards, he knew that he would not be winning tonight’s game.
Bingley was terribly nervous. It was true that he had obtained Mr. Bennet’s blessing, but what if Jane did not accept him? Oh, he would never be able to overcome the sorrow if she denied him. Bingley looked at Jane. She was smiling serenely and feigning attention to the game at hand. He allowed the image to grant him some reassurance. Still, he would be glad when the game was over so he could propose to her straight away to soothe his nerves and ensure their happiness.
***
An hour later, the game thankfully ended. Mr. Bingley immediately asked Mr. and Mrs. Bennet for their permission to speak to Jane alone. Mrs. Bennet offered them the back sitting room and began distracting herself with the preparation of tea.
Darcy glanced at Elizabeth and was surprised to find her looking at him with a sly grin on her face. “Mr. Darcy, I noticed you were quite inattentive during cards.”
Darcy smiled in return. “I believe the same could be said for everyone at our table, Bingley and Jane especially.”
“This is true. It was by sheer dumb luck that I managed to win, for I too, was distracted with happiness.”
Darcy wished her satisfaction came from spending time with him, but he knew better. “I could claim the same preoccupation, Miss Bennet. However, even if I had not been distracted, I would have lost. I have never been good at cards. I am abominably unlucky.”
“I see,” said Elizabeth. Then with a small smirk, she imitated Miss Bingley. “Mr. Darcy hates cards. He is a great reader and takes pleasure in nothing else.”
“On the contrary, Miss Bennet, I take pleasure in a great deal of things. But, I will not deny that I am an excellent reader.”
“Quite immodest of you, sir,” observed Elizabeth teasingly.
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