She chuckled.“I certainly did not realize it.Were you courting me?”
“I do not know that I thought of it in those terms, but I was paying you a great deal of attention.”
Her face expressed her doubt at this assertion, but she refrained from speaking it.“So you are asking to court me now?”
“Yes.”
“How do you imagine this courtship will proceed?”
“Well, I thought we could continue as we are here in Kent, only now you would know that when I join you on your walks, it is because I wish to see you.”
She smiled self-consciously and he continued.“I imagine your friend Mrs.Collins might be of some assistance.She seems a discerning woman.”
“She is.”
He nodded.“Then I thought I might escort you to Town and call on you at your relations there.”
“I am only due to be in London one week before returning to Hertfordshire.Will you call on me at Longbourn?”
She tensed as she awaited his answer.Calling on Longbourn would not be pleasant—her mother would be vulgar and loud, fussing over him when he was present and crowing about him when he was not.She did not truly wish for him to call on her there, but she did want him to be willing to do so if it were necessary.
“If that is where you will be, that is where I will go.”He spoke firmly, with no doubt in his words or their implications, and Elizabeth could not help smiling brightly at him.“Does this please you?”
“It does.Though this is all very strange.Yesterday morning I hadn’t the slightest idea this would be happening.”
“Is the surprise unwelcome?”
She thought for a moment, her head tilted prettily to one side, surprised at herself that she was enjoying Mr.Darcy’s attentions.He was far from being a favorite, but once she had realized he was not the villain she had thought him, she was free to see his good qualities, and she could admit that he did in fact have some.He was proving delightful to flirt with, though she would not acknowledge that she was flirting with him.But he did seem to adore her rather intently, and he wassucha man.He was not the sort to say such things to every woman he came across.He was fastidious; exacting; scrupulous.
And he wantedher.
“No, it is not unwelcome,” she replied, her voice soft.
He released a sigh and took her hand in his.“So I may call on you?I may court you?”
She sat up straighter and looked him in the eyes, her hand squeezing his tightly.She must not be swept up in the moment.She mustthink.“I must ask you something first.”
“Very well.”
“Last autumn, did Mr.Bingley care for Jane?Or was he merely amusing himself while in the country?”
Darcy looked uneasy.“He did care for her, yes.”
“And was it his idea not to return to Hertfordshire?”
“No, it was not.Though he did agree to it.Eventually.”He was nearly squirming he was so uncomfortable, but he could not pace away as he would wish for Elizabeth was still holding his hand.
Elizabeth looked down, her shoulders slumping in her disappointment.“Was it by your design?Did you persuade him?”
Her hand had gone lax in his and he anxiously pulled it to him and covered it with his free hand.“Elizabeth, I wish to be honest with you.Please hear me out, dearest.”
“Very well.”
He told her Miss Bingley had orchestrated the plan, but he had agreed to speak with Bingley.He had watched Jane at the Netherfield ball and she had seemed pleased enough with his friend, but not particularly in love.This was why he had agreed to speak to Bingley.His had been the opinion that swayed his friend, for Bingley did not have much faith in his own powers of observation.He had been led astray before and he trusted Darcy implicitly.Darcy had not liked to do it, but he had concealed Jane’s presence in London from Bingley for fear his friend was not yet over her.
Elizabeth’s heart sank further with each word he uttered.She was fighting tears and trembling slightly, angry and sad and disappointed.She felt a fool for thinking for even a moment that she had been wrong about Mr.Darcy—that he was not nearly as bad as she had thought him and was in fact a lovely man who might very well make a wonderful husband.She let him hold her hand and call her dearest!She had been caught up in the romance of the moment.How silly she was!She was no better than naïve Lydia or Kitty!
She tugged her hand from his and turned away, sniffling into a handkerchief.“Thank you for explaining your role in my sister’s heartbreak, Mr.Darcy.I appreciate your candor.Good morning.”She stood from the bench and turned to go.
