How long am I to sit passive and silent and wonder what Darcy’s feelings are?
Her kidnappers could have killed her. She had been an active participant in getting her and Darcy to safety, and now she had to return to letting men manage every matter of business concerning her welfare and happiness. She could control not a thing for herself. Elizabeth shook her head as she wandered to the other side of the hall to pretend to look at a painting. It was infuriating to be submissive and patient until Darcy came to her. And what if he never did? He might always assume she still favoured Wickham.
Grosvenor Street was near to Charles Street. Down one short street to Berkeley Square and then onto Charles Street. Number eight, Kirby had said; a five-minute walk. Elizabeth clenched her hands. They had to speak to one another—shehad to be heard—and Darcy was right there.
“I am afraid I have a terrible headache,” Elizabeth said loudly as Mrs Hurst was about to lead everyone into the dining room. “I am sorry to disappoint you all, but I must go home at once and lie down.”
Mrs Gardiner and Mr Gardiner exchanged a look that seemed to communicate an entire conversation. Her aunt said, “Then I am sorry to say, Mrs Hurst, that we all must leave.”
“Must you?” Bingley cried. “I am so sorry Miss Elizabeth is ill, but the rest of you are welcome to stay.”
“It would be senseless to hire a carriage for me to take Lizzy home,” her aunt replied, “and then hire another for Mr Gardiner and Jane when supper is over.”
As Jane came to put an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders, Bingley looked devastated.
“I would be glad to offer my chaise for the Gardiners and Miss Bennet to return home later this evening,” he said to her aunt. “I know if the Hursts kept their own horses, they would be very eager to offer theirs.”
Bingley looked to Mrs Hurst, but his sister did not echo this nicety. “And,” he said forcefully, “I am sure she would hire a carriage now for Miss Elizabeth, and I will send my servant to see her safely home.” Bingley pulled the bell to set all the matters into motion. If he had waited for his sister to do it, he would have had to wait a long while given the indignant look on Mrs Hurst’s face.
“Would you rather us all leave and come another time, ma’am?” Mrs Gardiner asked.
Mrs Hurst recovered, although she exchanged a quick irritated look with Miss Bingley. Elizabeth turned away to hide a smile; Bingley’s sisters would have to learn to cope with their brother’s choice.
“Are you in a lot of pain, Lizzy?” Jane asked. “I want to take you home and stay with you. I can dine with my friends another time.”
She certainly could not admit that it was all a lie in order to call on a single man a few blocks away and that Jane’s coming would ruin a scheme that was so far going perfectly. “You must stay,” Elizabeth whispered, “to hold your ground with his sisters, and to show Bingley how much you like him.”
Holding her temple and wincing, Elizabeth then apologised to her aunt for all the trouble she caused, and when she insisted that Jane needed her support more and she was only going togo home to bed, Mrs Gardiner finally agreed to put her into the hired carriage with the servant.
“Take care of yourself, my dear,” her aunt said, raising the hood of her cloak. “Straight to bed with you.”
Bingley’s footman opened the door to the hackney, but Elizabeth paused once the door to the Hursts’ home shut. “Before we go to Cheapside, we must first stop in Charles Street.”
The driver nodded, but Bingley’s servant looked distressed. “Are you certain, ma’am?” he asked. “Mr Bingley expects me to see you safely home.”
“And you will.” Bingley’s servant sighed and climbed onto the back.
She called the house number to the driver and wondered if she could persuade Bingley’s servant not to mention this detour. She would not be subjected to society’s rules about who could call on whom or who could speak first. She felt nervous, but this matter with Darcy had to be settled, and if he was avoiding her, she would demand to know why.
Had Darcy felt anxious before he came to the parsonage last week? Maybe not since he had been so sure of his acceptance. At least he had the right to show up and speak to her. Men were the ones who were allowed to take action, after all.
They were there in a moment. Charles Street was quiet, but there was a party at Berkeley Square and many carriages were passing. Perhaps it was best to use another name, like they had in Dartford, when she called on him. If anyone recognised her calling at a man’s house alone in the evening, not even Miss Bingley’s determination would save her reputation.
Bingley’s footman came to the carriage door. “Are you calling on Mr Darcy?” He sounded incredulous.
“Please say that Mrs Gardiner is calling for Mr Darcy.” Bingley’s man shook his head, and Elizabeth tried to keep her patience. “It is nothing like what you fear. This will not take long,and then you can return me home. No one in Grosvenor Street needs to know.”
He huffed and went to the door. Darcy’s footman looked surprised to have an unexpected caller at half past six and was even more astonished that Mrs Gardiner did not have a card to leave.
From the carriage she heard the words, “not at home,” and then Bingley’s man turned from the door.
Elizabeth grumbled at yet another man and another rule that kept her from what she wanted. She drew her cloak’s hood tightly around her head, awkwardly climbed down with no one to help her, and pushed her way past them both and into a finely appointed entrance hall.
“Madam!” Darcy’s man cried. Bingley’s footman was actually covering his face with his hand.
What a scandal; a woman had asserted herself. “Please tell Mr Darcy that Mrs Gardiner is here and that she requires a moment of his time.”
Darcy’s servant looked like he was deciding how to throw out what looked like a respectable woman when the door to the room to her right was wrenched open and Darcy came into the hall. His face snapped to hers, and the connexion between them seemed to intensify. Elizabeth knew he felt it, too.
