“Do you aim to contract a marriage through motives of wealth and ambition?” When he hesitated, she added, “Your sister implied you are intended for your cousin and will unite your families’ fortunes. You won’t have to trick anyone and you will make everyone in your family happy.”
He shook his head, his eyes drifting back to the bay and the fishermen. “I want what any man wants: to be happy in a marriage of equal affections, and it would be folly to expect that such arranged marriages, however they may answer to the purpose of wealth and ambition, should result otherwise than in wretchedness for both parties.”
It spoke well of him to hold such a view, and to cover her feelings of approval, she said glibly, “I thought you were single because you just were not ready to grant pin money and the expectation of a jointure. Young men often have great habits of expense. But I suppose your desire to marry for love is also a permissible reason for you to still be single.”
“I will not marry where I do not love. But a marriage based solely on personal liking will not succeed either. Romantic notions alone are not enough. Suitableness of character, of fortune, of rank, of affection all matter.”
Darcy seemed to be a person who enjoyed a debate. For someoneinclined to observe silently and judge, he certainly shared his opinions when called on.
“But mutual esteem and real, permanent friendship in marriage matter to you. That sounds like a romantic notion to me.”
Elizabeth left him by the cliff’s edge to ponder the sea while she talked with Georgiana and the others. They were so highly gratified in one another’s company that they did not reach the Bennets’ lodgings until the clock struck three. She did not speak with Darcy again, but under Georgiana’s expectant eyes they shook hands and parted with promises to see each other at the assembly rooms on Monday.
The afternoonof the ball found Elizabeth once again leaving Cliff Street, down Sion Hill, and toward the pier to look for her sisters. Surely by now they found whatever shoe roses or ribbons or hair combs or other trimmings they insisted they had to waste their money on.
Georgiana had said she would go to the assembly rooms but not dance, but Elizabeth did not know if Mrs Younge would chaperone her alone or if her brother would really join them. He did not seem the type to relish a public assembly. Based on what Wickham had said, she had assumed Darcy would be tedious company and insipid. He was serious, but she found him full of opinions and knowledgeable.
He knew himself, and his confidence was an attractive quality. It was a shame he was above being pleased. Perhaps his sureness, his responsible attitude, and that serious manner were why Wickham thought him dull.
She passed the circulating library and was taken aback when the very man she was thinking of stepped onto the pavement next to her.
“Wickham!” she cried in surprise. “I thought you left Ramsgate on business.”
She must have startled him because he looked alarmed at seeing her; but with a moment’s recollection, he bowed and greeted her. He seemed weary, and she noted the faint redness creeping up his neck and under his chin just above his cravat.
Was he ill or only flushed from the heat of the day? When he noticed her staring, she met his eye and asked kindly, “When did you return?”
With a returning smile, he replied, “Only recently. I thought it best to avoid some of my friends and not run into Darcy, but there is an assembly tonight and I would hate to disappoint you and your sisters.”
Elizabeth looked to the door that led to Georgiana’s lodgings. “Were you visiting Miss Darcy?” Darcy would not approve of that. He would pack up his sister in an instant and remove her from Ramsgate as soon as the horses were ready.
“No, do they lodge here? You mistake where I was. I was in the circulating library buying stationery. Calling on Miss Darcy would not be wise. I am not on friendly terms with her brother, and it always gives me pain to meet him.”
“That makes it impossible to keep a relationship with his sister.” She wondered what more there was to his shared history with Darcy. Since Wickham mentioned him, she asked, “Why does he dislike you so?”
Wickham shrugged and joined her in walking toward the High Street to find her sisters. He kept to a slower pace than she had known him to use. Possibly his malaise was due to illness after all. “He holds youthful indiscretions against me, calls me extravagant and imprudent—in essence, nothing, really. Perhaps he resents that his father loved me. The late Mr Darcy was one of the best men that ever breathed, but his son has an unyielding temper and will never forgive some carelessness.” He gave her a heavy look and added, “You would be wise not to confide in him or befriend him, because he tolerates nothing less than perfection.”
She kept her silence, but she wondered if he was truly unyielding or if Wickham misunderstood Darcy’s serious nature. They were very different men, after all.
“Since you came back in time for the assembly, you ought to know Miss Darcy plans to attend.”
“I always enjoy speaking to Miss Darcy, but I doubt she will dance.”
“I mention it because Mr Darcy could be there.”
Wickham gave her a knowing smile. “I thank you for the kind hint, but ifhewishes to avoid seeingme, he must go.”
They talked of other things, the theatre in Margate and the stone lighthouse, before finally encountering Lydia and Kitty, their hands full of purchases.
They both shrieked at the sight of him and ran to his side, lamenting his absence of a whole five days and exclaiming all their delight that he returned for the assembly. Elizabeth was glad their friend was back, but she wished her sisters would not attract so much attention on the pavement.
“You need not carry on,” she said, trying to keep her patience and not appear tiresome before Wickham and every passing pedestrian. “It is not as though there is not another assembly on Thursday, and every Monday and Thursday all season long.”
He looked charmed by their enthusiasm and it rallied his energy. “What young lady does not look forward to a dance? I am eager for it myself.”
“Are you sure to dance at the ball?” Kitty asked him.
“Of course I am,” he replied, smiling at them all. “What single man goes to a ball and refuses to dance?”
