Jane laughed despite herself and let go of Elizabeth.“Oh, Lizzy, you are wicked sometimes!” She leaned away, looking up at the cupboards and sighing heavily.“I only wish there was a way to make everyone else believe what I already know to be true. You and Mr Darcy did nothing wrong. It was an accidental fall, nothing more.”
An idea suddenly sparked in Elizabeth’s mind. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth, and Jane sat up straighter, giving her a concerned look.“Whatever are you smiling about?”
“Nothing. You have just given me the most brilliant idea, that is all,” Elizabeth said.“Indeed, this could change everything!” For the first time since she and Mr Darcy had fallen to the library floor, she felt hope swell in her chest. If such a plan could only work, she might clear both of their names and keep herself from being sacrificed on the Altar of Convenient Marriages.
“What is it?” Jane asked.“I haven’t said anything remotely brilliant.”
“Just a moment, Jane. Let me organise my thoughts. You have given me the most remarkable idea.” Now that she had a direction in which to focus her energies, her exhaustion seemed to vanish, and Elizabeth paced rapidly back and forth on the still room floor, her footsteps echoing with steady thuds. After a few moments without an answer, Jane excused herself to allow her time to think. Elizabeth barely noticed her departure. If she could convince Mr Darcy and her father that her idea would work, it might very well be the difference between a lifetime of misery as the next Mrs Darcy, and a chance at freedom and future happiness.
Chapter 6
At breakfast the morning after the Netherfield ball, Darcy did his best to act as if nothing at all untoward had happened. True to his expectations, he had not slept well. Yet it was not, perhaps, for the reason most would have assumed. He was sorry that Elizabeth’s reputation might be brought into question for any length of time. But he could not claim he was entirely sorry they were to wed. Elizabeth had captured his attention over the last weeks, and he had felt his heart tugged nearer to affection than he had ever been with another woman in his life. Could this be the beginnings of a true attachment? He could not be sure, but evidently, they were about to find out if they could make a good match as a married couple, or if they were doomed to go through life merely tolerating each other.
As breakfast was coming to a close, Darcy wiped his mouth and cleared his throat. Everyone leaned forward to hear what he was going to say, including Mr and Mrs Hurst, who had, no doubt, been trying to suppress their many questions throughout the meal.“I will go to Longbourn after breakfast is over, to speak with Mr Bennet,” he announced.
Mr Bingley shot him an encouraging smile from the head of the table and held his teacup aloft as if to toast him.“I wish you the best of luck, my old friend. Indeed, would you like someone to come along with you, for moral support and all that rot?” he asked. Bingley seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, Darcy thought sourly. His friend might have had a little more compassion for him.“Do press for a short engagement. I hear long ones are such awful affairs. It would be better to see you and Miss Elizabeth settled at Pemberley before the year is out.”
“I plan to have the banns read as soon as the parson can be informed,” Darcy replied.“Or if Mr Bennet insists, I suppose I may procure a special license.”
“We shall start making preparations in the meantime,” Bingley said, beaming at him.
“You cannot be serious, Mr Darcy,” Caroline Bingley said, looking down her nose at her brother.“I thought you had been overtaken by a sense of misplaced duty last night, and would repent of it in the morning. Surely you are going to Longbourn to talk some sense into Mr Bennet? He must know that none of this is your doing. You ought to be able to buy him off easily, for it is Miss Elizabeth Bennet who ought to be ashamed.”
Bingley sprang to his feet before Darcy could say a word.“Caroline, I told you last night that I did not want to hear another word against Miss Elizabeth Bennet! If you cannot speak kindly about my friend’s fiancée, I will have to ask you to leave Netherfield post haste.” Bingley’s face grew red, the colour climbing into his cheeks at a most alarming rate. While Darcy appreciated the sentiment, it was necessary to make his own intentions clear.
“I do not think that will be necessary,” Darcy interrupted. Miss Bingley turned to him, her face pale with shock. “I have no intention of buying anyone off, as you so callously suggest, Miss Bingley. I am not a man who shirks his responsibilities. The fact you could even suggest a thing shows that you really do not know me at all.” He rose from his chair. Miss Bingley looked stricken, realizing her mistake. But there was nothing she could do to make it right now. Darcy had seen her for what she was. Though he had long known they would not suit each other, he had respected Miss Bingley’s education and accomplishments, had thought that her sense of propriety was all that anyone might wish it to be. No more. In matters of true honour, she seemed to have no principles at all.
“I bid you all good morning,” Darcy said abruptly. He bowed and left the table without looking back.
Bingley followed him out into the foyer, catching up to him before he left the house.“I cannot apologise enough for my sister, Darcy. She is a spoilt child!” he exclaimed.“If you wish it, I will send her back to London immediately.”
Darcy thought for a moment.“I doubt we shall speak very often, even if she is to stay. Do not think you need to banish her for my sake. It is not I who will find myself uncomfortable in this part of the world.” If he were telling the truth, he suspected Miss Bingley would ask to leave of her own accord. Maybe then Bingley could get to know the elder Miss Bennet without impediments.“Though perhaps it would be for the best. I fear your sister feels herself rather too free to interfere with your choice of a partner in life. I am ashamed, now, to think how much I was the same. If Miss Bennet is your choice, I do not doubt that your suit will prosper. You are a good man, Bingley. Any woman would be proud and honoured to have your favour.”
At such a compliment, Bingley could do nothing but chuckle and proclaim himself obliged and undeserving. Looking rather embarrassed, he clapped a hand on Darcy’s shoulder.“You had better go before you are missed and they set the hounds on you. It would not do to be late for your appointment with your future father-in-law,” he remarked.
“No, that it would not.” Despite the gravity of the situation, Darcy found himself chuckling as he headed out the door. Had anyone told him only a few days ago with what light spirits he would go towards making the arrangements for a match he had not freely chosen, he would not have believed them. But for all the practical concerns against Elizabeth Bennet, at least as a member of a rather unruly family, he could not view the prospect of having her as his wife with any dislike.
It was a great relief to be out of doors in the fresh air. Birds flew overhead in ragged arrowheads, making their way south to the Continent for the winter. The air was mild with the sun shining through fluffy clouds, and his spirits rose as he felt the sun shining on his face at intervals as he walked across the field and farm toward the Longbourn estate.
Though practicality would have had him ride, Darcy found he badly needed a little time to think. He was glad the weather would allow him a good, long walk to Longbourn before his meeting with Mr Bennet. Thoughts swirled in his mind, even after all the time he had had through the night to think matters through. It was like being stuck on a spinner’s wheel, constantly going round and round but never arriving anywhere. Something was amiss, but he was not sure what. It was maddening not being able to put his finger on exactly what was wrong.
Miss Bingley’s comments at breakfast had done nothing to calm him. The nerve of the woman, suggesting that he would try to bribe Mr Bennet into letting him out of the engagement! Miss Bingley had damaged herself in his good opinion with her behaviour that morning, and he had not the slightest intention of changing his mind.
Suddenly, his thoughts jumped to his sister, Georgiana. He would have to write to her that afternoon to inform her of what had happened, or at least the details that were most relevant. It would not do to upset her delicate sensibilities or damage her innocence. However, she would have to be told as soon as possible. And, he supposed, he would have to send for her quickly if she were to be there in time for a wedding. Selfishly, he was glad that she would need to come. It would be a great relief to draw comfort from her calming presence. Besides, Georgiana had been too long in solitude, locked away in Pemberley like a cloistered nun.
At that thought, sadness overcame him. His incident with Elizabeth had been accidental. Georgiana’s incident of last summer had not. On the contrary, she had been vilely deceived, and by a man who ought to have been a trusted family friend.
Darcy pushed the disturbing thoughts away and vowed to focus on the task ahead. He would have to affirm his willingness to marry Elizabeth. Nothing else could save his reputation from becoming a little smudged, and hers from suffering fatal damage. Innocent as he knew himself to be, Darcy could not bear to think of leaving her unprotected. It was too obvious what would follow — public disgrace and the utter impossibility of marrying creditably. The shame might even comprehend her sisters, destroying the family’s happiness at a stroke. And all this for an accident that was more his fault than hers. He had fallen on top of her, after all.
Still, Darcy dreaded meeting the complaisance and half-hidden triumph with which Mr Bennet would surely greet him. Surely he could never have imagined giving his daughter away to a man with ten thousand a year. What was an unfortunate accident to Darcy would surely be manna from heaven to Mr Bennet. And to meet such a look, such poorly suppressed smiles with tolerable politeness, while forced into an offer highly injurious to his pride — it was almost more than he could bear. It would have been more than he could bear, if not for what Elizabeth would suffer otherwise.
When he had reached the halfway point, bypassing Meryton, Darcy turned his thoughts towards what he might say when faced with his future father-in-law, as Bingley had named him. Courtesy surely required him to admit his own part in the affair, but he did not intend to let the older man have everything his own way.
When he arrived at the house, the housekeeper quickly ushered him into Mr Bennet’s library. The younger girls followed them down the corridor at a distance, and he could hear them whispering and giggling to themselves as they went. It was rather unnerving, but he did his best to keep his composure.
“Come in,” Mr Bennet said, his tone difficult to decipher. The room was in stark contrast to the Netherfield and Pemberley libraries. All around them were spread piles of books, taken down from shelves and never replaced. There were various species of plants in pots standing in window sills and sitting on shelves where the books ought to be. Even more curious were the many velvet-covered boards, covered with the pinned specimens of innumerable unfortunate insects that had happened into Mr Bennet’s clutches.
Darcy bowed, a little undone by the scene before him. He took a steadying breath, then stepped forward to meet his future father-in-law.“Thank you for seeing me this morning, Mr Bennet,” he said.
