“I would be better off dead!”
Miss Lucas clenched her fists at her sides. “We saw a bit of smoke coming from the chimney. Knowing this house should be empty, we hoped to find her here.”
“I had Cook bake another cake!” Mrs. Bennet’s complaints crescendoed into loud sobs.
Before the calm, sensible Miss Lucas was reduced to pulling out her hair or lashing out at her resentful companion, I moved aside, allowing them to see the cause of their worry sitting on top of the bed by the dying fire.
“Lizzy!” Mrs. Bennet scrambled down the cart, and I dashed forward to prevent her from landing face-first in the mud. Once she regained her balance, her hysteria turned to anger. As I was the only one present to whom she had not taken a vow of silence, I received the brunt of her ire.“You!I ought to have known you would be here, though I cannot understand why when you have made it plain to all of Longbourn and Meryton that you hardly find Lizzy tolerable.”
Oh, I would be made to regret those words for the rest of my life!
Crossing her arms over her chest, holding her breath, and dabbing at her eyes, Mrs. Bennet demonstrated the genuine reaction of a truly concerned mother. Despite her relief, however, it was apparent that she would not speak directly to her uncooperative daughter.
Elizabeth hopped over to the doorway, a trail of sheets sliding behind her like a veil under my coat. She wrapped herarms around her mother, who did her best to appear unaffected. Mrs. Bennet huffed as much as she cried while Elizabeth kissed her cheek and reassured her.
Miss Lucas watched the scene with one eye on me. “She has vowed never to speak to Lizzy again for refusing Mr. Collins.”
I nodded. “I am aware of that.”
Any tenderness Mrs. Bennet had allowed herself to display dried up at the reminder. Elizabeth, who must have sensed the change, backed away from her mother. She stood on her uninjured leg, and I offered my arm, which she grasped for support.
Miss Lucas waited for Mrs. Bennet to speak. After a long period of awkward silence, she added, “I had expected Mrs. Bennet to redirect her disappointment away from Lizzy completely when she learned my news, but such has not been the case.”
Elizabeth’s gaze snapped to her friend. “Oh, Charlotte, tell me you did not?—”
Miss Lucas stood taller, her voice firm. “Mr. Collins made me an offer of marriage, and I accepted.”
“But he is ridiculous! How will you be happy? Oh, Charlotte, how could you?”
Mrs. Bennet glared at Miss Lucas, who bore the matron’s scorn without wavering.
“I am not like you, Lizzy. I do not need affection. I only wish for a place of my own. Mr. Collins is not a violent man and will treat me kindly.”
“What do you have in common? What conversation will you have?”
While I was happy to learn Elizabeth possessed higher standards, a rare sense of dread filled my bones. What if I was not as romantic as she wished her suitor to be? Would I meet her expectations?
Mrs. Bennet stood with her hands fisted at her sides, her lips pinched together and her eyes strained. Holding in her words must have taken every bit of strength in her possession, because she looked like she might burst.
Rather than allow her to explode, I addressed her in an attempt at appeasement. “Mrs. Bennet, Miss Elizabeth was caught outside in the storm. She fell in the mud and twisted her ankle just as I chanced by. While I was assisting her, the thunder startled my horse, which ran off. As Miss Elizabeth was injured and we were without a conveyance of any sort, we had no choice but to seek shelter until the storm abated.”
The matron glanced at her daughter, who hopped back to the bed where she could prop up her foot. Just the small amount of time she had been standing had been too much.
Mrs. Bennet’s gaze turned back to me, calculating.
Once again, I prepared myself for the expected demand for an offer, but now I was not unwilling to make the grand gesture. Undoubtedly, this time there was nothing else that could be done. Elizabeth and I had spent the night alone together and had even shared a single bed. While we both knew we had behaved as properly as any parent could wish, it would ruin Elizabeth if it became known.
“Mr. Darcy, might I suggest that, unless you wish to be saddled with my obstinate daughter for a wife, you should stay far away from her?”
I took a step back in disbelief. After all this, Mrs. Bennet—a lady whose sole ambition in life was to see her daughters settled—wouldnotdemand a hasty marriage to a gentleman of wealth and circumstance? She was not unaware of the advantages I could offer her family. She had been the most vocal among the mothers at the Meryton Assembly. However, these attributes counted for nothing once she had deemed me disagreeable.
I could not help but hold her in higher esteem for it. At the same time, her continued resentment shamed me.
Still, right was right, and I would treat Elizabeth fairly.
Miss Lucas was a lady with a practical mind and a cool temper. Surely, she must see how difficult it would be to keep this situation from ruining the reputation of her dearest friend. “Miss Lucas, I cannot in good conscience expose Miss Elizabeth, your friend, to the disdain of a cruel society. What will your neighbors say when they find out? I cannot imagine this can be kept secret. Nor would it be proper for me to ask that you keep such an apparently scandalous scene hidden. I am willing to take the necessary measures to protect Miss Elizabeth’s reputation.” I clasped my hands in front of me and bowed my head slightly. “It would be an honor.”
My ears burned. I wished I could see Elizabeth’s reaction behind me.
