“Then you have no more use for a sheep shelter! What a relief. Think of how grateful Mr. Adams will be. Wouldn’t you thank a man who did half as much foryourbrave soldiers?”
The story had made Darcy smile. He could not imagine Caroline Bingley going within twenty feet of a beggar, much less try to coax a farmer into doing anything other thangetting out of the way.
There were other stories, too. Some of them were about Elizabeth. These were not as glowing as Jane’s. The eldest Miss Bennet was flawless, at least as far as the locals were concerned. By contrast, Elizabeth was said to be impatient, stubborn, quick-tempered and sharp tongued. She frequently scolded heryounger sisters in public and had once been heard to admonish her own mother in church!
Darcy imagined her standing up to his aunt - for he had no frame of reference for Mrs. Bennet herself. It was an entertaining fantasy, but he stopped it with a curdling feeling in his stomach.
He did not know Miss Elizabeth Bennet. He had spent less than twenty minutes in her company. Half ofthathad been when he was face down in the mud. He had no right to imagine her in his life!
The man rubbed his forehead irritably and took a deep breath. The notes he had been reading suddenly annoyed him. He shoved them away, and watched the pages flutter weakly to the floor.
Elizabeth Bennet was not an angel.
She was certainly not Lady Catherine’s day of reckoning.
But shewasa good person, and she needed his help.
Darcy remembered the effusions he had poured into his last letter and groaned loudly.
He had been reeling from seeing her again. For a long time, he had thought that his angel was imaginary. A vision, sent by God to guide him onto the right path.
Seeing her at the assembly rooms had shaken him to the core. His careful self-control was gone in an instant. All he could do was stare. He expected her to take wing, or to vanish. Perhaps she would fade into her flower-pot like a mythical dryad, or flicker and drift like smoke from a candle flame.
Elizabeth Bennet had done none of those things. She had gone cherry-red, bumped her elbow on the wall when she looked around for an exit, and ran away with inelegant, thudding steps.This evidence of her earthliness was very reassuring. Darcy followed her at once. His words tangled on his tongue when she finally met his eyes.
What could he possibly say? ‘I thought you were an angel’?
Oh, but he had written it down. What a fool! His heart had raced on the journey home, and his pen flew across the page in a dizzying scribble. Slippery words had poured from him: every foolish thought in his deluded head. He had not even thought of the intrigue he would create by asking the housekeeper to address it.
He ordered the servants to deliver it in the morning, fell into bed, and sank into dreamless sleep.
Morning had brought clarity. Cringing, logical clarity. Miss Bennet’s reply had been careful, polite, and heartbreaking. And so, Darcy’s investigation had begun.
He found out about Elizabeth and was pleased by her. However, she was not the only person he wanted to understand. Darcy found out everything he could about Jane, too.
One morning, he waited until everyone was caught up in the Sunday service and then slipped quietly into the church. The Bennet family were sitting near to the front. Five young ladies, their mother in a froth of tasteful grey lace, and a bored-looking man who had to be their father. All the ladies looked stoically ahead, apart from the one with golden curls spilling out from her bonnet.
Jane was sitting beside a man in a severe black coat. He kept inching closer to her, ignoring her obvious attempts to draw away. His long-fingered hands sought out hers, time and again. When the congregation bowed their heads in prayer the mandid not; he took the chance to watch her, beaming indulgently, smirking when her cheeks grew red and her hands trembled.
This, then, was Mr. Collins. Darcy recognised him from Rosings. He had attended a few services with his aunt, where this man had bowed and flattered her. There, Collins was ridiculous. He had no power, and knew it. His every gesture was to ingratiate himself.
Here, he had power. It was clear that it had gone to his head - or, perhaps, he was born a bully. Jane Bennet did not like him; Mr. Collins did not care. Indeed, her signs of obvious discomfort only made his smile grow.
This was a man who liked to dominate. Now, finally, he had his chance.
All of this - and her motherencouragedit! When they left the church, Jane tried to walk beside her sister. Mrs. Bennet’s complaint echoed from the rafters; Mr. Collins swept in to seize his intended’s arm. Jane shuddered, closed her eyes for a moment, but obeyed.
Darcy was not surprised that Elizabeth was so desperate to prevent the match. Any sane person would be sickened by seeing a beloved sister treated so ill. How could her parents allow it?
By Monday afternoon, Darcy knew why. The marriage was a grim necessity. His servants had discovered details of the Bennet finances, and Darcy saw how desperate their plight was. Indeed, he had found out information that was so private that he felt uncomfortable knowing it.
He knew, for example, that Mr. Bennet was not in good health, and that the doctor attended him twice a month. It was also said that two of his daughters were sickly: Miss Mary, who wasstricken with migraines, and Miss Catherine, who had a frequent cough which some whisperers called consumptive.
Elizabeth had not mentioned any of this in her letter, but Darcy now understood the desperation in her plea. She was not just concerned for Jane, but for all of her family. The weight of responsibility had fallen onto shoulders that could not bear it. Jane was like to be crushed, and Elizabeth would never forgive herself for letting it happen.
Yes, she must have been desperate indeed to reach out to a stranger. Her vague idea of introducing Jane to eligible bachelors had some merit, although Darcy suspected that Mrs. Bennet would not allow it. What mother would let her daughter pass up a sure match, for the distant hope of a better one?
No. Mrs. Bennet’s sights were set on Mr. Collins, and Jane had to obey.
