She had believed him proud, reserved, and perhaps incapable of that warmth of feeling which renders a man truly engaging. She had believed him unjust in his judgements, ungenerous in his opinions, and indifferent to the sentiments of others.
There had been, she saw now, a certain satisfaction in her earlier judgement.
And yet… She paused. Whatever she had once thought of Mr. Darcy, she could no longer think it without qualification.
Elizabeth drew a slow breath. It was a humbling reflection.
He had said – though not in the manner of a formal declaration – enough that she could not mistake his meaning.
He loved her.
She put her fingers to her lips.
That she should have inspired such a sentiment – without design, without calculation – astonished her still. And yet, what lingered more strongly was not the declaration itself, but the manner of it.
She seated herself at her dressing table and looked into the glass, though she scarcely saw her own reflection.
He had asked if it was all right.
She could not help but smile at the recollection. There was something endearing in a man so used to authority to becomehesitant all of a sudden. It touched her more than any confident avowal might have done.
Then, he had drawn her to him. He embraced her. She had not understood, at the time, how much she needed to be held.
By him.
The memory returned with quiet force.
Elizabeth lowered her gaze. The warmth of it lingered still.
Chapter 24
Consequences and Confessions
The return was heard before it was announced. Lydia ran to the window; Kitty followed; Mrs. Bennet, though she declared she would remain composed, was already halfway to the door.
“They are come! Mr. Bennet is with them, oh! I feared he might be drawn into a fight…”
Mr. Bennet entered with a composure that might have suggested he had simply taken an ordinary morning walk, had not his reception immediately contradicted it.
“My dear Mr. Bennet!” cried his wife. “What has happened? You have been gone an age. Are you unhurt?”
“I am, I assure you,” he replied. “Though I find myself quite hungry after this exertion. You greet me as if I had returned from a campaign.”
“Youhavereturned from one,” Lydia declared. “And we must know everything.”
Mr. Bennet cast a glance toward Darcy and Bingley.
“The matter is settled,” he said. “Mr. Wickham will not trouble this neighbourhood again.”
“How so?” Mrs. Bennet demanded.
“He will be dealt with by his commanding officer for conduct unbecoming a gentleman. He will receive ten lashes,” Mr. Bennet replied.
A collective exclamation followed.
Bingley seemed like he wanted to say something, but Mr. Bennet continued.
“And he will either remain strictly within the camp or be sent to join a regiment abroad. The colonel was at first inclined to shield him. Still, he was made to understand that the concerns of this neighbourhood would not be easily disregarded and that they might be represented even higher still if necessary. He was soon convinced.”
