“Very well, then. Miss Bennet has departed. She does not live here any more. Is that plain enough for you?”
He stared at her in shock. “What do you mean, she has departed? How could she? We had an agreement that she would stay for three months.”
Oh, heavens! Had she been offended by his coldness? Had he driven her away?
“Did she offer an explanation?”
“She was obliged to leave quite suddenly.”
“Did she say why?”
“I believe she was required urgently at home,” said Georgiana.
“Could it not have waited until she spoke to me?”
Georgiana shrugged. “I suppose it could not.”
Her attempt to appear indifferent did not fool him. He examined his sister closely. She looked pale, and her eyes were puffed up from crying.
“Oh, Georgie. I am sorry,” he said, going over to her and putting his arm around her. “This must be very disappointing for you.”
“Oh, Brother,” she said, bursting into tears. “You cannot begin to imagine how I feel,” she sobbed.
Georgiana was wrong. He could imagine it only too well. He felt it himself. The ground had shifted under his feet, and he felt as if all the joy, everything that was good and beautiful, had been sucked out of the world.
He had wanted Miss Bennet out of his life, but now that she was gone, he did not know how he could continue without her.
Chapter 23
Elizabeth had intended to leave the next morning, but after a night of restless sleep, she reached a decision. She did not want to go to Longbourn, where she would be hounded by Mama, and questioned by Papa, and seen as a disappointment by her sisters for not obtaining introductions to eligible young gentlemen.
When the carriage came to take her to Longbourn, she sent it back, with a brief note thanking Miss Darcy for the carriage and telling her she would be in town for the foreseeable future.
“Should you not be given the opportunity to explain your side of the story?” said Mrs. Gardiner. “Is this not a repetition of what happened before? You are being judged, yet again, withoutanyone making the effort to ascertain what is true and what is not.”
It hurt to have it worded this way. If after all this time, after all the conversations, after all the help she gave Miss Darcy, to be dismissed in such a cavalier fashion.
“I have my pride,” she said. “I will not beg. If neither Miss Darcy nor Mr. Darcy are willing to give me a chance, then so be it.”
“Very well,” said Mr. Gardiner. “If you change your mind, I would be happy to put together a letter, pointing out his folly, and setting the record straight, man to man.”
“Thank you, uncle.”
“No need to thank me. It was my fault I did not see Mr. Wickham for what he was. I have always thought of myself as a shrewd businessman, yet he had me fooled. It was a terrible mistake, and I am mortified. I want to do anything I can to make amends.”
She nodded. “You are not the only one to be deceived by him, Uncle. I will think about it.”
For several days, she clung to hope. She stood by the window, waiting for the sight of a carriage with the Darcy coat of arms. Or at the very least, a footman in the Darcy livery with a message from Miss Darcy inviting her to see them. Surely Mr. Darcy cared enough about her at least to call on her and demand an explanation?
But when a week later, no note had been sent around, and no one had appeared, she fell into despondency. A week was enough time for the Darcys to assess the situation. How could they not even consider the possibility that Elizabeth was not to blame for Mr. Wickham’s scheming?
She waited a few days more, upon the insistence of her aunt and uncle that she needed to be patient, to give it time.When nothing happened, she knew it was time to accept defeat. Clearly, Mr. Darcy wanted nothing more to do with her.
She was crushed. It was all over. Even if Miss Darcy were to forgive her, Mr. Darcy never would. In his mind, what had occurred at the Gardiners’ home confirmed that he was right all along. He might even take it as a confirmation of his original belief that she was a thief.
They were back where they started. This time, there would be no letter of invitation, no apology from Mr. Darcy. Mama would be livid when Elizabeth returned home with nothing to show from her time in London. But Elizabeth could not stay at her uncle’s house indefinitely, looking out of the window, with nothing to do. Sooner or later, she would have to face her family. She may as well go now.
She wrote to let them know she was coming, then, one day later, she was on her way back to Longbourn.
