She came into the hall like a tempest, eager to discover the cause of Elizabeth’s sudden departure, but stopped short at the sight of her husband and Mr Darcy. The surprise left her momentarily speechless.
Darcy bowed to her with marked respect, while Elizabeth spoke quickly, anxious to prevent confusion.
“We met Mr Darcy, Mama,” Elizabeth murmured.
“And he accompanied us for a conversation but he will not stay for dinner,” continued Mr Bennet as they decided in the carriage.
As her mother still seemed unable to reply, Elizabeth turned to her father and made a slight gesture towards the library. Dinner could wait, for once.
The strangeness of the situation overwhelmed Mrs Bennet. Her daughter, alone with a man so newly married, was a circumstance she could scarcely comprehend. Mr Bennet, fortunately, appeared far better prepared and seemed to knowmuch more than she did. Yet no reproach formed on her lips—only a sigh that showed she was overwhelmed.
Darcy looked about him and, for a moment, regretted the disdain he had once felt for the Bennet family. The library was the comfortable retreat of a man who loved books, and it was easy to see how Elizabeth’s mind had been formed there, under her father’s influence. Mr Bennet was far from the careless figure he had once imagined.
“Congratulations on your wedding,” Mrs Bennet said, still entirely unaware of the truth.
Elizabeth coloured and glanced at Darcy, but Mr Bennet intervened with ease. He laid a gentle hand upon his wife’s and said,
“My dear, I do not think Mr Darcy has come so far merely to receive our congratulations.”
The tone was kind, touched with a hint of irony—precisely the balance Darcy admired.
“Most true, sir,” Darcy said, steadying himself. “I cannot pretend this is an ordinary visit. I shall be brief and direct. In the spring, I proposed to Miss Bennet.”
Mrs Bennet’s astonishment was so great that she was obliged to sit.
“How is that possible?” she finally cried.
“Did you know?” she asked her husband.
“That is not important now, my dear. Let us hear Mr Darcy.”
Mr Bennet was equally astonished, though only by the proposal, for he had already imagined that one of the two gentlemen present at Rosings, and often mentioned in Elizabeth’s letters, had been the cause of her distress. And, knowing his daughter as he did, he concluded that that gentleman must be Darcy.
“I refused him,” Elizabeth said. “In a manner far from polite.”
She met Darcy’s eyes, and the silent exchange between them spoke more than words. The memory of his kisses still lingered, and Mr Bennet, observing them, understood enough. It was sufficient for him to resolve that he would assist them, whatever the difficulty.
“That is not what you were taught to do, missy,” Mrs Bennet said, still unsettled.
“Do not blame her. We both made mistakes,” Darcy continued. “Mine was the greater. Instead of attempting to gain Miss Bennet’s affection, I acted in haste. I proposed—and I married Anne de Bourgh, my cousin, Lady Catherine’s daughter.”
“Some two weeks ago—we know, sir,” Mrs Bennet said. “That is why I congratulated you.”
“Just so. But my cousin had other intentions. She agreed to the marriage only to escape her mother’s control. She meant to begin a new life abroad, and the only way to avoid pursuit was…to have a husband.”
“Are you saying that—?”
“Yes, madam. She left me immediately after the ceremony, and I gave her my word that she should be free.”
A deep silence settled over the library. A short story that reduced to a few words months of turmoil, pain, hesitation, or, on the contrary, careful plans. But what meaning could the details still hold? All that mattered was the future—for which they had to be prepared.
“My dear Lord!” Mrs Bennet finally exclaimed, sinking back into her chair. “What a story!”
“It is indeed a story,” said Mr Bennet calmly, “and not one to be repeated unless Mr Darcy and Lizzy permit it. Even if we shall be obliged to keep it secret for a long time. No one mustknow that Mr Darcy was in our house this evening or anything that we discussed. Is that understood, Mrs Bennet?”
She nodded.
“I am aware that this must appear highly irregular,” Darcy went on, “as I am still married. But I have come to tell you that I love your daughter, and that, as soon as the divorce is obtained, we intend to marry.”
