Darcy seemed puzzled and finally looked at her.
“Indeed, I did not consider it carefully enough. Would you suggest anything else, Miss Bennet?”
“I truly do not know…The library is far from the ballroom and it is unlikely someone will come… The party should gather for supper soon and someone might wonder about us though… I truly do not know,” she repeated.
“It is also very cold in here. Please take my coat,” Darcy said, much to Elizabeth’s surprise. “I shall try to open the door.”
He did something which Elizabeth could not see and she heard him whispering a curse.
Wickham laughed. “Come now, Darcy, it is impossible for you to repair it! Be realistic! Let us knock down the door or yell outside or something…”
He immediately did as he suggested, leaning out of the open window and yelling, “Hello! Anyone, please? We are locked in the library!”
In the meantime, Darcy opened the drawers, looking for a knife. Soon enough, both men abandoned their attempts. Elizabeth, covered in Darcy’s coat, stared at them.
“So what should we do?” she asked.
“Well, nothing but wait. If Darcy could master his temper, we would not be in this situation. But he only ever considers his own wishes,” Wickham said with resentment.
“It is easy to put all the blame on others, and pretend innocence on all charges,” Elizabeth replied, much to both men’s astonishment. “We all must face the consequences of our actions. For the time being, we should find a way to open the door.”
“I am surprised by your harshness against me, Miss Bennet! I wonder why such unexpected resentment.”
His ungentlemanlike reply made Elizabeth blush. Not because of the obvious offence, but for holding that man in the highest esteem until an hour ago.
“I was equally surprised, Mr Wickham, to hear your argument with Mr Darcy, and to learn about facts that contradicted my previous knowledge. I can only blame myself for unwisely trusting stories without proof.”
Wickham’s face changed. “You are very quick in making accusations, Miss Bennet! But you must admit, if you had made your presence known, this embarrassing situation would have been avoided.”
“True; thank you for pointing out my flaws to me, Mr Wickham. I am more than ready to share the blame with you, both for this incident and for our previous encounters. One may only fool those who are easily fooled.”
“How strange, Miss Bennet. Only recently I felt we were the best of friends and now, all of a sudden, you seem to favour Darcy! Whom you said only an hour ago was the most disagreeable of men and the last man in the world with whom you wished to dance.”
Such impertinence stunned Elizabeth. Having her words repeated to Darcy—when they seemed to have been unfair—made her miserable, but this new proof of Wickham’s unworthiness made her even more ashamed. What sort of gentleman would behave in such a way? Several minutes of facing the truth were enough to ruin her previous judgments and to leave her with remorse.
She breathed deeply and said, “Realising my silly mistake in trusting your words does not mean I favour anyone else! As much as Mr Darcy and I dislike each other, I cannot accept an injustice done to him from a man I trusted and considered a family friend. And the mere mention of a young lady, the daughter of your godfather, in such an uncivil tone as you used, is unforgettable and unforgivable. Mr Wickham, let us not speak any longer. Being trapped together in the same room is too much of a nightmare already!”
“Well, I might well say the same, Miss Bennet. Perhaps I should try to escape through the window after all, if that would end our mutual misery.”
Chapter 2
Darcy watched the exchange with astonishment and disbelief. Almost from the beginning of their acquaintance, he had come to admire Elizabeth Bennet. First, he was attracted to her pretty eyes and her handsome figure. Then, he was charmed by her wit, her love for books, her easy, unaffected manners and soon found himself thinking of her day and night. He had to admit being more enchanted by her than by any other woman; if not for the inferiority of her connections and the complete lack of manners of her family, he would certainly be in great danger.
He was well aware that, as much as he admired Miss Elizabeth Bennet and the many qualities she might have possessed, she could not be suitable as the future Mrs Darcy. The notion of the Bennets invading Pemberley or being introduced among his acquaintances, made him cringe. And Elizabeth’s own lack of experience in dealing with the extended responsibilities attached to the Darcy family made her unsuitable.
Therefore, he felt compelled to protect her shattered hopes and dreams and keep a distance from her.
Her sharp mind, however, certainly allowed her to guess his admiration for her. He could see she was receiving his attention with pleasure and even returned it. Or so he had believed until that night when her argument with Wickhamrevealed that she had disliked him, even despised him, all those weeks.
Such a complete misjudgement of her feelings disturbed him greatly. If he had not heard her saying that she and he disliked each other with such strong conviction, he would have assumed it was another of Wickham’s vicious schemes to upset him.
As had happened since their childhood, Wickham had immediately noticed his preference for Elizabeth. Wickham had a real skill for guessing people’s weaknesses and exploiting them to his benefit. And Elizabeth Bennet was Darcy’s weakness indeed.
The day he met Wickham in Meryton, he was torn between keeping his silence to protect his name or exposing the man’s character and preventing him from taking advantage of others. He had hoped Wickham would not appear at the ball—but Wickham’s impertinence had no limits. And then, he noticed his closeness to Elizabeth, their shared amicable conversations, their two dances together—and Elizabeth’s subtle reproaches towards him during their own dance.
Over the following hours, he had struggled to find a way to warn Elizabeth, but then the fates had intervened and she had discovered the truth in the most distressing way. Her anger against Wickham was justified but it raised new concerns for Darcy: Wickham’s grudge and possible revenge against her. The man had no scruples and he would do anything to protect his advantages.
With the knife he had found in a drawer, Darcy tried to open the door.
