Mr. Bennet looked towards Darcy. “I wonder if I might speak privately to you, Mr. Darcy. It is a matter of some delicacy.”
Darcy started. He could not imagine what Mr. Bennet had to say to him.
With a bow, Darcy indicated the leather armchair. “Of course.”
Bingley cleared his throat. “Yes, well, I shall leave you to it, then, shall I?”
Mr. Bennet inclined his head with an amused quirk of his brow and took the offered seat, waiting for Mr. Bingley to leave before speaking. Bingley left slowly, obviously hoping he would be called back.
Meanwhile, Darcy was consumed with impatience, wondering what mysterious errand had brought Mr. Bennet to Netherfield. Did it have something to do with Elizabeth? Had she complained that he had insulted her? If that was the case, too bad. He would not apologize.Hewas the one who was wronged.
“No doubt you have guessed my purpose in calling on you. I have come to offer an apology on behalf of my wife. Lizzy has informed me of the substance of your conversation. I can only suppose that you feel wronged.”
Darcy was taken aback. It felt uncanny for Mr. Bennet to echo what he was thinking, and it threw him off balance. The sense of righteous indignation that had fueled him since yesterday dissipated suddenly into thin air, making him feel hollow.
It was handsome of Mr. Bennet to apologize, but Darcy could not simply accept the apology and behave as if nothing had happened. Yet he could not voice his accusations, either. What did one say in such a situation?
I no longer trust Elizabeth. It breaks my heart, but she has lost my good opinion, and I do not see how she could ever recover it. I feel as though my life is in ruins.
He could not say anything like that.
“I believed Mrs. Bennet to be in imminent danger. I believed it to be an emergency. I was concerned about her health. I even sent for you. Then I discovered it was little more than a hoax.”
Darcy had wanted to sound angry and disappointed, but his sense of betrayal must have been stronger than either of those, because the words sounded aggrieved.
The amusement vanished from Mr. Bennet’s expression. He sighed heavily.
“I know. It was unforgivable. I understand your indignation only too well, Mr. Darcy. I felt it myself.”
Mr. Bennet steepled his hands and studied Darcy gravely. Darcy fidgeted, feeling as if Mr. Bennet could see right through him. An unexpected notion came to him. If he—by some unlikely chance—were to marry Elizabeth, this gentleman would be his father.
“It was not my wife’s intent to deceive you,” said Mr. Bennet. “You were not supposed to know about it. Mrs. Bennet simply wanted to fool Mr. Collins—a gentleman who, I am sure you will agree, is very easily fooled. Her intent was to return to full health as soon as he came back from his errand. It was simply an accident of fate that you came to learn that she was indisposed. I am sure when you were in Oxford you engaged in one or two pranks of your own. Think of this as a prank that went awry.”
Darcy found it difficult to perceive the whole situation as nothing more than a prank. There had been too much said and done for him to regard it so trivially.
Mr. Bennet must have understood again what was on his mind, because he made a dismissive gesture.
“Anyway, enough said. When you have given it some more consideration, you may look at it differently. That was not my main purpose in speaking to you.” Mr. Bennet paused. “You will have to tell me how much I owe you. I would like to repay what you spent dispatching the carriage for my return.”
“From what I gathered, sir, it was my own folly that incurred the expense and the inconvenience—for you—of an early return. Miss Elizabeth did her best to talk me out of it, but I did not pay her heed. If anything, please allow me to offer my coach so you can return to the side of your friend.”
“I thank you, sir, for your generous offer.” Mr. Bennet fell silent. “Unfortunately, an express arrived this morning to inform me that my friend has passed away.”
The full folly of his own actions struck Darcy forcibly. By not listening to Elizabeth, he had deprived Mr. Bennet of the chance to spend his last hours with a dying friend.
“I am truly sorry to hear it.” He was overwhelmed by dejection. He had caused so much harm even when he intended to do good. “If you are planning to attend the funeral, sir, my carriage is at your disposal. It does not make up for the precious hours you lost, but at least you may travel to the funeral in comfort.”
It was inadequate. Darcy was dismayed at the inconvenience he had incurred by forcing Mr. Bennet to travel back again.
Mr. Bennet rose to his feet. “Thank you. I may well take you up on your offer. Meanwhile, I also had another purpose in calling. I was hoping you will accept an invitation to shoot tomorrow.”
Darcy could not very well refuse under the circumstances. Besides, his departure had once again been thwarted. He could not travel to London and send the carriage back before the funeral. He would have to wait.
In any case, he was beginning to see his own behavior in a different light. Mr. Bennet had given him another way of looking at the whole sorry situation. And his own involvement in it had made everything worse. He had been so determined to form a good impression, he had disregarded Elizabeth’s objections. If he had listened to Elizabeth, he would have waited before sending the carriage for Mr. Bennet.
He did not feel any more charitable towards Mrs. Bennet, nor did he approve of her plan to marry Miss Lydia to the reprehensible Collins. But he could not blame Elizabeth for what was mostly a series of unfortunate events.
“I would be happy to do so, Mr. Bennet.”
