“Good morning Mr Darcy.” She seemed almost shy, which bode well for him.
“Where would you like to walk today?”
Elizabeth looked out through the open door, “It is a beautiful and clear day, shall we venture a little further today?”
“I agree, I have already gone out for a ride this morning and can attest to the day’s beauty.”
She smiled, “Lead the way then.”
The conversation was a little stilted at first; Darcy did not know how to start and Elizabeth deferred to him to broach the subject he most wanted to discuss.
“Miss Bennet,” he finally said, “Colonel Fitzwilliam told me exactly what he said to you about my involvement in separating Mr Bingley from your sister.”
Although she tried to school it, her expression betrayed a quick but furious anger; but it passed before taking root. He realised the effort she was making to hear him out was something he could not take for granted.
“I am afraid he misrepresented me.”
“How so, Mr Darcy? You thought my sister was beneath your friend, a fortune hunter. You did not keep your own counsel in the matter but instead you used your powers of persuasion on him.”
“It is not true. I never thought your sister was beneath my friend and I certainly never thought that your sister was a fortune hunter.”
“How then did the Colonel arrive at this assumption?”
Darcy refused to feel trapped. He knew his words to Richard about his involvement had been less than complimentary to the lady, while at this juncture he needed to be truthful, for Elizabeth was no simpleton.
“I cannot be responsible for what Richard deduced but I can tell you with all honesty, before God that I never thought so meanly of you or your sister.”
Elizabeth did not fail to notice that he had left the rest of the family out of his assessment.
“We are going around circles Mr Darcy, for though you are defending yourself I am still ignorant of what you said to cause a man, a man ostensibly in love, to turn and run from the lady as if his tailcoat was on fire.”
“Very well, let me start by saying that if in the explanation I am under the necessity to make, I relate feelings which may be offensive to you, I can only say that I am deeply sorry.” He looked at her and waited for a response, when none came he continued, “I had not been long in Hertfordshire before I saw… as did others, that Bingley preferred your sister to any other young woman. But it was not until the dance at Netherfield that I had any apprehension of his feelingsbeing evidence of a serious attachment. I had often seen him fall in love before.”
At this Elizabeth frowned. Had she been hasty in assigning all the goodness to Mr Bingley, simply because he was, unlike his friend, amiable and willing to dance?
Darcy continued, unaware of the turmoil his words were causing Elizabeth, “when I had the honour of dancing with you at the ball Sir William Lucas interrupted us, if you recall, and unwittingly informed us that Bingley’s attentions to your sister had given rise to a general expectation of their marriage. From that moment on I observed my friend closely and came to a conclusion that I had never before. I witnessed the particular partiality that he showed towards your sister. He truly looked like a man in love, not simply infatuated by another angel, as he often calls the ladies whom he admires.”
Here he paused since he was about to relate what he thought of her sister. In that he needed all caution not to cause offence and antagonise his lady love; “I also had the opportunity to observe your sister and arrived at this conclusion; that though she received his attentions with pleasure, her heart seemed unattached.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes and appeared as if she was struggling to keep her temper under good regulation.
“When I shared with him my belief that his love was unrequited he followed my suggestion that Netherfield should be abandoned and so we all returned to town.”
“I am very sorry to say Mr Darcy that your presumption in knowing my sister’s deep feelings and desires astonish me.”
“I must accept your superior knowledge of your sister’s character Miss Bennet. If what you are telling me is in fact the truth of your sister’s feelings then I made a terrible error of judgment. But in my defence I came to believe by observing your sister’s countenance and serenity, that however amiable her temper might be, that her heart was not likely to be easily touched.”
“Can you say with all honesty that you were not desirous of believing her indifferent?”
Darcy sighed deeply, “I will not lie to you Miss Bennet, regardless of how it may injure me in your eyes, I will admit that I did desire to find her indifferent. But I will venture to say that my investigations and decisions are not usually influenced by my hopes and fears.”
“So were your actions solely based on the desire to save your friend from a marriage of unequal feelings between the partners?”
Again Darcy sighed; her questions were designed to strip him of all subterfuge. He would either have to lie to her or simply bare his soul. Could he risk all by telling her exactly how he perceived her family to be? Or was that absolutely out of the question? His cousin’s words only that morning to not disparage her family and ruin his chances once and for all, came back loud and clear to his mind.
“Miss Bennet you know that I abhor all forms of deceitfulness. I would do you a disservice by trying to placate you with honeyed words, while thinking things that would insult you. Therefore I must risk your ire; I only ask you to forgive me since my intention is not to scorn your family but simply relate to you how they might be perceived in society at large.”
“Do your worst Mr Darcy.” Elizabeth said, feeling resigned, for she feared she would now hear a truly awful estimation of her family.
