Over the next few days, the house on Cavendish Square fell into silence.
Darcy, seeing how distraught his sister was, decided to spend a night in one of the guest bedchambers. Then the next. Then the next. Some illogical part of him expected Miss Bennet to come back. Every time a carriage stopped in front of the square, his heart leapt, hoping it was her. Every time there was a knock on the front door, he listened for her footsteps.
Without the sound of Miss Bennet’s voice and laughter filling the empty spaces, it turned into a ghost house. Georgiana moped around, pale and lifeless. Poor Mrs. Annesley tried her best to revive Georgiana’s spirits, offering to take her to exhibits and to the modiste, but Georgiana declined all activity. Miss Annesley was no match for Elizabeth, obviously, but it was asif Georgiana’s melancholy after Ramsgate had returned twofold. Darcy was at a loss. He suggested taking her riding in Hyde Park, but Georgian said she was not good company and turned him down. All his attempts to distract her were met with the same result.
Not that he fared any better than his sister. He could not bring himself to do any of his usual activities. He buried himself in the library for hours. He re-read the copy ofRomeo and Juliethe left for Miss Bennet and felt the full effect of a young love tragically blighted. He took his breakfast in the library because he could not bear to go to the breakfast room. He had his grooms exercise his horse because he could not go to Hyde Park. There was nothing out there to hold his interest. The edges of the world had turned gray.
How could one person have had such an effect on all of them?
He waited for a letter. He did not expect she would write to him, but he hoped to receive word from her father, even if it was to accuse him of reneging on his promise. He expected, at the very least, a letter to Georgiana with an update. But there was nothing. How could a person as garrulous as Miss Bennet be so silent?
“Are you sure Miss Bennet gave no explanation for her sudden departure?” he asked his sister. “No hint or clue about what could have called her away so suddenly?”
“Please do not ask me again, Brother. I have nothing new to tell you. I am certain Miss Bennet had her reasons. If she had wanted to inform you, she would have.”
All the while, he wondered if he was to blame for everything. Had his talk with her in the library reawakened the animosity between them? Could his words to her have caused such a response? Or maybe his subsequent attempts to raise a wall to keep her out? Had his coldness angered her so much that she no longer wanted to be around his poor sister?
So be it. Perhaps it was better this way. Was this not what he had wanted?
After a week with no word from Miss Bennet, he finally returned to his own home. He did not think he was being much help to his sister, moping around and burying himself in the library much of the day.
At some point, Bingley called on Darcy. He was in a buoyant mood, and talked for some time about a property his man had found, which Bingley planned to lease.
“I meant to tell you its name, but I have forgotten it now,” he said. “I will have to go and visit it, of course, but the owner is eager to have someone come in October, which is a good time of the year. I love Autumn, do you not, Darcy? Will you ride over with me to see it, Darcy?”
“Not next week,” Darcy replied. “I need to be in Town.” He had no intention of going anywhere. He needed to be here, in case Miss Bennet came back.
“Well, then, we can go the week after.”
“Perhaps it is best if you visit it alone. I do not know when I will have the time. You do not need me to approve it, you know.”
Bingley brightened. “You are right! That is exactly what I will do. It sounds like too much of a good opportunity for me to let it go, and it is no more than a few hours’ ride to London, which should please Caroline.”
Bingley’s enthusiasm was beginning to give Darcy a headache, and he was glad when his friend left, which was not until after he had described the contents of the house in detail to him.
“Oh, and I just remembered the name,” he said. “It is called Netherfield.”
Darcy was not left alone for long. Colonel Fitzwilliam called on him soon after Bingley’s departure.
“Where have you been, Darcy? Did you go to Derbyshire? I have not seen you at the club for at least a week now.”
“I have been occupied,” Darcy replied, vaguely, “with this and that.”
“Seriously, Darcy, you could at least try to provide an adequate excuse.”
“I have been under the weather these last days, and I prefer to keep my own company.”
“Understandable. It happens to all of us. How is everything else? How is Georgiana faring with Miss Bennet?”
Darcy considered pretending nothing had happened, but if his cousin called on Georgiana, he would quickly discover that Miss Bennet had left some time ago.
“Not well. Miss Bennet has left. She has returned to Longbourn.”
“Ah, there is a story behind that, I would imagine. Are you planning to tell me about it. Remember, I am Georgiana’s guardian. You must tell me if it is something that might impact her. Were you expecting it? You said nothing to me last time I saw you.”
“It was unexpected.” Darcy considered how much he should tell his cousin. “I was rather harsh with her, and she did not take it well.”
The colonel examined Darcy. “You did not cast her outagain, did you, Darcy? Are you still harboring suspicions about her?”
