The performance unfolded with laughter and applause, but for Elizabeth, the true drama played out in stolen glances and unspoken words. At the end of the evening, they separated on friendly terms, mostly due to the colonel, the viscount, and the Gardiners. Jane and Miss Darcy both displayed a similar shyness, Elizabeth was too distressed for entertainment, and Mr Darcy was very much his usual self: distant, silent, and observant, his thoughts impossible to guess. In Hertfordshire, Elizabeth had assumed he was proud, arrogant, and impolite, only to discover he had been in love with her all that time. Ardently in love. She would not repeat the mistake of misjudging him again.
They separated with promises of future calls, though Elizabeth wondered whether it would actually happen. Then, on an impulse, she asked before fully considering her words, “Mr Darcy, I was wondering…have you seen Mr Bingley and his sisters lately? I hope they are in good health.”
Jane’s face coloured from surprise, while Mr Darcy seemed shocked by her question. It was Miss Darcy who replied in a light voice, “I saw Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley only yesterday. They are in excellent health. I know Mr Bingley is still out of town, is he not, Brother?”
“Yes,” Mr Darcy concurred. “Bingley is visiting a friend in Oxfordshire.”
“I see…” Elizabeth said.
“Miss Bingley said he should return by the end of this week,” Miss Darcy continued.
“Then he might join me when I call on you,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said, and Jane blushed again.
“We would be honoured to receive a visit from either of you,” Mrs Gardiner said.
“Mrs Gardiner, if you and Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth happen to be planning to walk in Hyde Park, please let me know,” Miss Darcy said quietly. “I would be delighted to take tea with you and perhaps talk more about Lambton and Pemberley.”
“I would like that very much, Miss Darcy. It would be a real pleasure and honour,” Mrs Gardiner responded. Elizabeth was amazed by the turn of events. She had expected she would never see Mr Darcy again, but their paths had crossed by accident, and only a few hours later they were discussing making calls and taking tea in his house with his sister. Could such a thing really happen?
Her life and Mr Darcy’s had intertwined once more, and this time there were no misunderstandings between them, but there was no foundation for a friendly acquaintance either. If the opportunity arose, she would apologise to him for her unfair accusations and admit she had been foolish and naive in regard to Mr Wickham. She owed him and herself as much.
Even as they took their leave of each other, Mr Darcy did not say much. He did not support his sister’s invitation for tea, nor did he suggest he would join his cousin in calling on them. But why should he do such a thing, considering her offensive, dreadful rejection? She had called him the last man in the world she could be prevailed on to marry — no man would forget or forgive such an offence.
It was no wonder that he stood silently behind his cousins and his sister, glancing at Elizabeth; their eyes met for an instant before the carriage door closed.
Chapter 3
The days following their visit to the theatre unfolded in a delicate dance of anticipation and unease for Elizabeth. The Gardiner household resumed its cheerful bustle, yet Elizabeth’s thoughts lingered on the unexpected encounter. Mr Darcy’s intense gaze, Miss Darcy’s shy warmth, and Colonel Fitzwilliam’s exuberant invitation to join them in their box had left an indelible mark. The promise of future calls, though lightly made, hung in the air like a melody unresolved, and Elizabeth found herself wondering whether such a meeting would ever come to pass.
Her heart, still bruised from the revelations of Mr Darcy’s letter, wrestled with new questions. Could she have misjudged him so entirely? His reserved demeanour at the theatre, softened by moments of unguarded attention, suggested a complexity she had not allowed herself to see in Hertfordshire. And yet, the sting of his interference in Jane’s happiness and the rumour of his supposed engagement to Miss de Bourgh clouded her musings. Was he a man of honour or one who played at love while bound by duty elsewhere? The uncertainty gnawed at her, even as she scolded herself for caring.
Mrs Gardiner, ever perceptive, noticed Elizabeth’s distraction. “Lizzy, my dear,” she said, her needle pausing mid-stitch, “you seem miles away. Is it the play we saw that occupies your thoughts or something — someone — else?”
Elizabeth’s cheeks flushed with heat as she threaded her needle with excessive attention. “The play was diverting, Aunt. Beatrice’s wit is a formidable thing, is it not?”
“Indeed,” Mrs Gardiner replied, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “Though I suspect it is not Beatrice’s wit but the gentlemen’s presence that has you so pensive. Mr Darcy, the colonel, and the viscount made quite an impression, I dare say.”
“Yes, I was surprised to see them.”
“Mr Darcy and the colonel were in Kent for some time, were they not?”
“Yes, they stayed at Rosings for about a fortnight.”
“The colonel seemed to be on exceedingly friendly terms with you, yet Mr Darcy was very quiet and restrained. Did something pass between you that you have not shared?”
“That is just their nature, Aunt,” Elizabeth responded, avoiding Mrs Gardiner’s gaze. “That is how they are most of the time, with anyone.”
“Yes, Mr Darcy was much the same way in Hertfordshire,” Jane interjected. “But the colonel is very amiable and friendly. And Miss Darcy is so pretty and sweet. It is no wonder everybody praises her.”
“Yes, Miss Darcy is very different from her brother,” Mrs Gardiner said. “She resembles her mother, and the gentleman is very much like his father. The late Mr Darcy and Lady Anne were both exceptional people, but quite different in appearance and in nature. Just like their children.”
“Do you think Miss Darcy truly wishes us to call?” Jane enquired.
“I do. Why else would she have mentioned it? I would be delighted to talk to her about Pemberley. It is truly the mostbeautiful place I have ever seen — and I have seen plenty of fine estates.”
“She might send an invitation, unless her brother forbids it,” Elizabeth said. “Mr Darcy is a private man. He might not wish for strangers in his house.”
“Rich people can be a little fastidious sometimes. But if any of them choose to call on us, it will be a pleasure. And if they invite us to call on them, we shall accept. If not, we shall survive without them, as we did before,” Mrs Gardiner concluded.
