“Will you allow me, or do I ask too much, to introduce my sister to your acquaintance during your stay in London? Her companion is away, and she is staying with me for a few days.”
He seemed to want her approval, but was it out of guilt for condemning her relations and separating her sister from his friend? Was she merely a means by which he would practise his newfound manners, or did he truly want to continue his acquaintance with her? No matter her fonder feelings toward him, Mr Darcy could justly hate her for the way she had treated him.
When he continued to look at her with a hopeful expression, she said, “I would be pleased to meet Miss Darcy.”
His countenance brightened to a smile, and she felt her breath hitch. They sat for some time without saying a word, his warm gaze never breaking, when Elizabeth jumped to her feet. It was necessary to think of something to say and distract herself from her high flutter of spirits. “My uncle has let me borrow a book about excursions in the north, and you must tell me whether its descriptions of Derbyshire are accurate.”
She went through the adjoining door to her uncle’s study and stared blankly at the bookshelves as she took a few calming breaths. Elizabeth heard a noise at the door, and when she turned, she saw Mr Darcy moving toward her with his usual deliberation.
“Did you find your uncle’s book? What is the title?”
“It isTheBritish Tourists Pocket Companion, but I cannot find it.”
He now stood directly in front of her, and when he moved nearer, she thought, for only a moment, that he was going to wrap an arm around her. Instead, he reached to the shelf at waist level and pulled off a book. “Is this it?”
Her heart beat faster, and all the while she wondered whether Mr Darcy’s voice had always sounded so deep and steady. Of course he was not about to pull her into an embrace! He would never act so inappropriately, and certainly not toward a woman who had refused to marry him. She had no right to feel disappointed. “Yes, thank you.”
Elizabeth looked into his eyes and watched as his attention shifted from the book, back to her face, and then, for the briefest of moments, down to her lips.
“Miss Bennet, my behaviour needed to be amended, and your reproofs have made a strong impression on me. I am grateful for them. Is it—is it at least possible that—”
They both heard the girlish voices calling out for Mr Darcy, and he stepped away and was back in the drawing room before Elizabeth could do more than clutch the book to her chest and wonder what Mr Darcy had hoped was possible. She composed her own feelings and rejoined the others, determined to make herself agreeable to Mr Darcy.
When she recollected the evening of his proposal in Hunsford parsonage, the difference—the change—in his manner was so great that it struck her mind forcibly. She no longer hated him—that had vanished after receiving his letter—and she could respect his admirable qualities andenjoy his company.Even more, she could not imagine pulling away if Mr Darcy had been about to embrace her rather than reach for a book. However, the extent of her own warmer feelings toward the man whose proposal she had refused could not be exactly defined.
After Mr Darcy left, promising to return with his sister tomorrow, Mrs Gardiner sent the children away and sat next to her.
“Mr Darcy was perfectly well-behaved and polite. Your uncle said that he had a stately air, but it is not unbecoming. But how could you tell us that Mr Darcy was so disagreeable?”
* * *
That evening Darcywas at home with his cousin and his sister, consoling Georgiana who was anxious about meeting Elizabeth.
“I do want to meet your friend Miss Bennet,” she insisted. “You have mentioned her in several of your letters these past months.” His cousin raised an eyebrow to Darcy and grinned at this piece of private information. “But you know how I struggle with strangers.”
Georgiana averted her tear-filled eyes. “What could Miss Bennet have to say to a foolish girl who considered eloping? She might say something kind and I shall be too shy to even respond, and she will then think me rude.”
“Miss Bennet is a gracious lady who will be pleased to make your acquaintance because you are Darcy’s sister and because she is a sociable woman,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said to reassure her. “She has an ability to mix with everyone and put them at ease.”
Darcy embraced his distressed sister and then looked into her face. He was struck at her resemblance to their mother and knew he was a poor substitute to a parentless girl. Not wishing to appear unhappy, he forced a smile. “Georgiana, would I ask you to meet someone who I thought could upset you? Have I been such a cruel guardian to you that I would force onto you the company of a malicious harpy?”
Georgiana gave a small laugh and shook her head. “Would you tell me more of her so I will be better prepared for tomorrow?”
“Eli—Miss Bennet has a rare beauty, and her appearance is centred about dark, very fine eyes.” Darcy kept silent on his thoughts on her lips and her figure. “She is capable of incredible powers of expression. She can be in one instant composed and then show amusement and joy. She is by nature generous and affectionate with easy, playful manners. I have no doubt that she will listen to you kindly, put you at ease, and make you laugh.”
Darcy remembered the warm way Elizabeth had looked at him in her uncle’s book room. He wondered whether he had any reason to hope. “One cannot help but admire her.”
ChapterThree
Elizabeth looked out the window and saw a gentleman and lady in a curricle stop in front of the house. She recognised Mr Darcy and was amazed at her own discomposure. She retreated from the window, fearful of being seen, and she saw a look of amusement in her aunt’s countenance that made everything worse.
Mr Darcy and his sister entered, and Elizabeth saw that her new acquaintance was at least as embarrassed as herself. From immediate observation, she was convinced that Miss Darcy was exceedingly shy; Elizabeth and her aunt found it difficult to obtain a word from her. Miss Darcy appeared gentle and unassuming, not unlike Jane who was with Maria Lucas escorting the Gardiner children out of doors.
Elizabeth strove to make herself agreeable and to compose her own feelings. She noticed that Mr Darcy sought to put his sister at ease and Miss Darcy, despite following the conversation longingly, did not participate. Elizabeth decided to draw her out in an unconventional manner—by teasing Mr Darcy. “I have heard from our mutual acquaintances that you play exquisitely.”
“Thank you.”
“It is unfortunate that your brother is decided against music and chooses not to enjoy it,” she spoke archly while glancing at the man in question.
