“I have my moments,” said Mr. Bennet. “I can be cunning if I need to.”
Jane shook her head. “I was wondering why you said nothing to me about my clothes,” she said, with a small smile. “But Papa, surely, we cannot deceive him. Sooner or later, he will discover the truth.”
“Later is better than sooner,” he replied, undaunted.
“And what about poor Mama? She has spent days planning a dinner in his honor.”
“It is unfair, I admit, but it is not as if it will go to waste. We will hold a dinner party and invite the Lucases. Never fear. The dinner will be eaten, and we will do it justice.”
“But the expense—”
“The expense is justifiable.”
Even though Papa seemed to be going to great lengths to ensure Mr. Darcy’s visit would go well, Elizabeth decided this would be her last chance to try to convince him to refuse Mr. Darcy.
“Papa, how can you be certain that sending me to London is the right thing?”
“I cannot. Not yet. But I flatter myself that I am a shrewd observer of human beings, and I will run Mr. Darcy through a gauntlet. Rest assured, Lizzy, that I will not let you go to a stranger’s house if I do not feel satisfied that all is well, and that propriety is preserved. That is why I invited him here. I will only allow you to go if I am satisfied.”
Mr. Bennet made it sound like he was doing her a favor by allowing it. The point was, she did not want to go at all. Just in case he had not understood her fully, Elizabeth tried for the last time to explain her feelings.
“I have told you already, Papa. I will say it again. I do not want any of this.”
Mr. Bennet waved his hand dismissively, in a manner that bore a close resemblance to Mrs. Bennet. “If I do not make you go,” he said. “Your mother will have my head, and I will not have a moment’s peace for the rest of the year. Besides, Mr. Darcy is coming all the way here with the understanding that you will be returning with him and his sister. It would be acutely embarrassing to have to tell him ‘no’ when it was implicitly agreed.”
“So you will send me away even if you do not like Mr. Darcy?” she countered.
“I do not need to like him. I just need to determine that he is an honorable gentleman and that his intentions are good. You do not need to like him, either. You are going to be with his sister all the time. You are making too much of this.”
It was easy for him to say. Papa was not the one who was being whisked away and compelled to stay in someone’s house for three months. Mr. Bennet did everything he could to avoid travelling to London. However, Elizabeth could see it was useless to argue.
The only thing she could hope for at this point is that Mr. Darcy would say something arrogant and unpleasant which would offend her father, and that Mr. Bennet would consequently refuse to give his permission.
Chapter 10
Elizabeth, Jane, and Mr. Bennet were in the library when they heard the Darcy carriage rumbling down the road. It made its way up the drive at Longbourn just as the hour struck eleven.
“How did he manage that?” said Jane, astonished. “Nobody can predict their arrival so accurately, not when the roads are so unreliable.”
“It is a good sign that he is so punctual. It means he is a man of his word,” remarked Mr. Bennet.
“It shows that he is particular,” said Elizabeth, dryly. Still, she was impressed that he had gone to the trouble of arriving punctually.
“I hope you will try to be civil when Mr. Darcy is here, Lizzy,” said Mr. Bennet, firmly. “Jane, I am counting on you to keep the conversation pleasant.”
“Certainly, Papa,” said Jane, placidly.
“Good. Then let us go out and receive them.”
“Should we have all the servants turn out to welcome him, Papa?” said Elizabeth. “As befits his exalted status?”
Mr. Bennet shot her an amused look. “It is too late now. If only you had thought of it earlier.”
A quirk of his lips told her he was joking, and it steadied her. Some of the tightness in the pit of her stomach eased. The fact was, the closer it came to meeting Mr. Darcy again, the more apprehensive she grew about it. Now, with Papa on one side and Jane on the other, she took solace in the belief that Mr. Darcy would surely not come all the way to insult her.
Then the wait was over. A carriage arrived, accompanied by Mr. Darcy on horseback. A footman – hired yesterday by Mrs. Bennet – went over to let down the steps, and Miss Darcy and Mrs. Annesley emerged.
Mr. Darcy’s dark gaze swept around until it settled on Elizabeth. It bore into her, looking to find fault, no doubt. She stared back at him and tilted her chin upwards. She would not allow him to intimidate her.
