Darcy participated minimally, his attention divided between polite responses and private turmoil.
Lady Catherine’s accusations had indeed been outrageous, but they had also struck some vulnerable place within him that he could not quite ignore.
Not because he believed Elizabeth had conspired with the fortune hunters. Such suspicions were absurd, contradicted by everything he had observed about her character and behaviour. But because they highlighted a fundamental truth: he barely knew his wife. The most part of their marriage thus far had been spent navigating awkward social situations or maintaining distance. He knew she was intelligent, spirited and quick-witted. He knew she valued independence and disliked condescension.
But her deeper thoughts? Her fears and hopes and the reasoning that guided her choices when? Those remained largely mysterious to him.
And now, apparently, she was keeping secrets of sufficient significance to send her to the village alone. Making solitary excursions without explanation or later mention. Withdrawing from him even as he attempted to bridge the distance between them.
The first cottage they arrived at was a substantial structure that housed one of the estate’s more prosperous tenant families, selected as a meeting location for its convenient placement and adequate space to accommodate multiple families seeking audience. Lord Matlock began organising his papers with practised efficiency. Meanwhile, Lady Catherine offered unsolicited commentary on proper tenant management that her brother ignored with long practice, and Richard and Arthur gathered their own materials in preparation for the business ahead.
Darcy assisted with the various preparations, but his mind lingered on the conversation he and his wife needed to have upon his return. On his growing conviction that whatever she concealed, it would be best resolved once shared.
They disembarked from the vehicle into the cottage yard where several families had already gathered, waiting respectfully for Lord Matlock’s arrival. He recognised that Elizabeth was not merely distant or evasive due to a difficult mood.
She had her own fears, which lay unknown to him. And he wanted that trust, the partnership they had discussed with such hope and determination. To know what troubled her so he might help rather than observe her distress from a perplexed and increasingly frustrated distance.
He wanted her. Not merely as the wife circumstances had thrust upon him, but as the woman who had captured his attention from their first conversation.
The woman whose intelligence delighted him, whose courage impressed him, whose presence made him consider perspectives he would never have reached alone.
He liked the idea of sharing the small intimacies of daily existence, such as the way her mouth pursed when considering complex questions and the smile that transformed her entire countenance when something pleased her.
Darcy stood motionless in the cottage yard as conversations swirled around him unheeded, realisation washing over him with the force of revelation.
He loved her.
Chapter Twenty-two
Elizabeth
“We agreed to remain another week at least,” Mrs Bennet announced over breakfast, her triumph evident. “Lord Matlock has been most insistent, and it would be churlish to refuse such generous hospitality.”
Mr Bennet lowered his newspaper with the expression of a man who had fought this battle and lost. “We already extended our stay by several days.” He sighed. “Very well. Another week, Mrs Bennet. Only because Lord Matlock invited us to. But that is it. Not a day longer. I have already been absent from Longbourn far beyond what is reasonable.”
Mrs Bennet beamed at the assembled company. “Think of all we might accomplish in that time. Why, Kitty has been invited to accompany Lady Matlock to Snowhill tomorrow for shopping, and Colonel Fitzwilliam has promised to show her the estate’s folly. Such opportunities ought not be missed through hasty departure.”
It was true that Kitty had been spending considerable time with Colonel Fitzwilliam these past days, always properly chaperoned by their mother. His manner towards Kitty had shifted from polite courtesy to what appeared to be true interest, and Kitty had bloomed under such attention, her usual giddiness tempered by increasing strokes of maturity. It was clear now what Mary had meant when she’d commented about Kitty’s potential attachment.
Even Lady Matlock had taken notice, inviting Kitty on frequent shopping expeditions to the nearby village. Elizabeth had observed them departing the previous day, Kitty listening with fascination as the Countess talked at length about various features of the local landscape.
For Elizabeth, the Bennets’ decision to extend their stay at Matlock meant more time before the family’s departure would force certain conversations with her husband.
She had to tell Fitzwilliam about Annabelle.
The thought arrived unwelcome as always, guilt settling familiar and cold in her stomach. No letters had arrived from Ireland since that first missive that had set this entire chain of events into motion. Perhaps Annabelle had thought better of continuing correspondence. Or maybe that single supportive response had been sufficient to ease her old friend’s isolation.
Or it could be that another letter was delayed by the vagaries of the postal service and would arrive the next day with new requests or revelations, forcing the confession Elizabeth had been avoiding with increasing desperation and mounting self-recrimination.
“Elizabeth?”
She startled at Fitzwilliam’s voice beside her. “Yes?”
“I asked if you might like to accompany me fishing this afternoon.” His expression held tentative hope that made her heart ache with complicated emotion. Pleasure at his invitation mixed with guilt about her continued deception. “The river runs through a pleasant stretch near the estate’s southern boundary.The weather promises to hold fair, and I thought perhaps you might enjoy the excursion.”
“I should like that very much.” And she would. These past days with Fitzwilliam had been unexpectedly delightful. They had regular walks along the grounds and quiet conversations in the library about books they had both read.
Each interaction deepened their connection and she enjoyed the time spent together.
