It had been said in a far more friendly tone than Darcy had even dared hope. Miss Bennet, had she done the introduction, would have been kind no matter what, but to get such kindness from Elizabeth was almost overwhelming.
Once Lizzy had introduced her aunt to the arriving party, she requested that Darcy introduce his friends.
“Mrs Gardiner, Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth it is my pleasure to introduce my sister and my cousin to you,” Darcy bowed to them, as they in turn curtsied, but he was directly facing Elizabeth when it was offered. “Mrs Gardiner, Miss Bennet, and Miss Elizabeth, our cousin and Colonel Fitzwilliam’s sister, Lady Tiffany Fitzwilliam and my sister Georgiana Darcy. Georgie and Tiffany, Mrs Gardiner and her nieces Misses Jane and Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn, Netherfield Park and Bennet Fields in Hertfordshire.” As each of the introductions were made the ladies nodded and Mr Darcy bowed to each again.
“It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Darcy and Lady Tiffany, but as much as Ihateto disagree with your brother and cousin,” Lizzy said in a tone that he knew was teasing but sounded serious as she arched her right eyebrow, “I have renamed Netherfield Park so it is now Bennet Park. Your brother is to be forgiven as he was not informed of the change until now.”
“I thank you for correcting me again, Miss Elizabeth. If there is anything else you determine that needs attention, please let me know.” He bowed his head to her specifically teasing her right back.
‘Did Mr Darcy just tease me!?! I thought I would needle him by correcting him, but he took it with good grace. Who isthisman?’ She wondered. “I will bear that in mind, Mr Darcy,” she promised playfully.
“Before I forget, my mother Lady Elaine Fitzwilliam, the Countess of Matlock, requests to be introduced to the Misses Bennet and their aunt, and would like to know if you would be willing to come to tea at Matlock House on Thursday at eleven o’clock?” Lady Tiffany asked.
After looking at her nieces and getting a nod from each, Mrs Gardner graciously accepted the invitation. As he watched, Darcy berated himself. ‘These are the relations in ‘trade’ I sat by and allowed that shrew Caroline Bingley to deride. Even were she without money, she has more class than either of the sisters, both combined even.’ Darcy inwardly groaned at the depths of his mistakes. “You said you were from Lambton, Mrs Gardiner? That is but five miles from Pemberley.” Darcy focused on her, also wanting to help Georgiana by speaking of a common topic with which she too could participate.
“That is correct, Sir; our estate, Dovedale, is close to Lambton. My father was the Reverend Lambert. I used to be Madeline Lambert before I married my Edward. It was my pleasure to meet with your parents on a number of occasions, Mr and Miss Darcy. They were such good people; I was very sorry to hear of first your mother’s and then your father’s passing.” Mrs Gardiner addressed each both with tact and a mother’s gentleness when so painful a topic is breached.
“Thank you, Mrs Gardiner. They were the best of parents and we miss them every day.” Darcy slightly bowed his head to her in appreciation of her kind words about his parents.
“You met my Mama, Mrs Gardiner? I hardly remember her as I was only two when she passed.” Georgiana looked at her with nothing less than anticipation.
“Yes, I did, Miss Darcy, and she was such a good and kind lady to all around her, always willing to help any in need in the area. You and your cousin, Lady Tiffany, look a lot like her. So much so that the two of you could be thought to be twins of hers from about your age. But please, let me ring for tea.” Mrs Gardiner pulled the bell cord and very soon the housekeeper, Mrs Cara Henderson, knocked on the door and entered. At the request for tea and refreshments she bobbed a curtsy and retreated from the room. Soon after the housekeeper returned with maids in tow, carrying the tea service and refreshments that included finger sandwiches, cake, biscuits, and a variety of fresh fruit.
After the tea, Darcy knew that he could not put off the main purpose of his visit that day. He cleared his throat and stood; at first the ladies of the house were about to rise, thinking that he and his party were leaving, until they saw that his two companions had remained seated so they watched him with interest and no small amount of confusion.
“Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, and Mrs Gardiner, I owe all of you a most profound apology,” Darcy began.
‘What is he about?’ Lizzy asked herself, and gave a slight shake of her head to indicate that she did not know what was happening when she saw her aunt’s arched brow in her direction.
“Firstly to Mrs Gardiner. Although I never said anything to disparage you, I was very ungentlemanly when I sat idly by and allowed others to do so without my saying a word. It has, most correctly I may say, been pointed out to me that I have been very hypocritical and my behaviour has been lacking.” As he said the last, he looked directly at Lizzy.
‘Has this proud and arrogant man taken what I said to heart? Let me be fair and hear him out. This personable version of Mr Darcy is so much more pleasant than the one I knew in Meryton, and the one who made that abysmal proposal at Hunsford,’ Lizzy thought to herself.
“I did not participate in the attacks on you, your husband, or your family, but by my silence I gave tacit approval to the person perpetrating these false and unnecessary attacks. I can but beg for your forgiveness and promise that I am doing all in my power to fix my faults.” Darcy offered his sincere apology to Mrs Gardiner.
“It is forgiven, Mr Darcy. I can speak for my husband and my family when I say that you have our unreserved pardon.” Mrs Gardiner nodded once in his direction.
“Thank you for your graciousness, Mrs Gardiner.” He turned to look directly at Miss Jane Bennet. “Miss Bennet, there is so much I need to ask your forgiveness for I hardly know where to begin, but I feel the beginning is the best point.” Jane was about to tell him that it was not needed, but he stayed her words by immediately continuing, acknowledging again Elizabeth’s correctitude as she had described her sister as the gentlest of souls. “Firstly, before I say the rest of what I feel I need to, Miss Bennet, I must tell you all that I, my sister, and the Fitzwilliam family have all broken with Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst.
“Miss Bennet, what Miss Bingley put in the letter she sent you when we left, what was at that time still named Netherfield Park, was a complete fabrication. My sister has never had a romantic attachment to Mr Bingley, nor he one for her. Aside from that, my sister is not yet sixteen. She will not be out for another two years at least, and I will not accept a request from any suitor until the end of her coming out season. If Miss Bingley was a man, I would have called her out for what she did, and for the use of my sister’s name as part of her lie.
“Furthermore, your sister very properly and correctly pointed out that I, who am so adept at hiding my feelings, am the last person in the world that should try to judge the feelings of others. I am an extremely reserved man, and if I had opened my eyes, I would have seen that same trait in you, Miss Bennet. I would have realised there was no way I could know your true feelings, especially when we had barely conversed twenty words, and those mostly in greetings alone. To my interference, I must admit another motive that I did not have the courage to admit to Miss Elizabeth in my letter. My desire to have an excuse to separate you and my friend was because I had fallen in love with Miss Elizabeth, and I felt I needed to be as far from her as possible.
“As your sister clearly pointed out to me, on one hand I said that I abhor deception, and on the other I perpetrated a deception when I decided not to tell Bingley that you were in London after his sister told me of your call to the Hurst’s townhouse. For my deception and interference, I will be forever ashamed and I beg your forgiveness.
“When your sister so aptly highlighted my faults, ungentlemanly behaviour, and hypocrisy she also pointed out that no matter what I or his sisters said, the ultimate decision to abandon you was made by Mr Bingley and therefore the responsibility lay with him. Your sister said that she felt that he is a man of weak character and is irresolute. I am afraid that Miss Elizabeth had the right of it. I, who cast aspersions on your character, missed and ignored the faults that were obvious to anyone who cared to see them in my good friend, Charles Bingley. The Colonel agreed with her on this, as did all of my Fitzwilliam family. I am sad that my friend does not deserve you, not because of your connections, property, and fortune, but for the woman that you are. I now know that I was wrong in every way about you, and I humbly apologise and can only hope that you will be able to forgive me and my actions one day.” Darcy bowed as he tendered his apology to Miss Bennet.
‘If I was not sitting here and seeing the sincerity in his mien or hearing the words that are being said by him, I would not believe it. Could I have had this great of an effect on the man?’ Lizzy asked herself silently, also watching Jane in case she needed support when hearing the words so well in tune with her own when she had pointed out the other side of his actions and assumptions.
“As the ultimate responsibility for the decisions that he made rest squarely on Mr Bingley’s shoulders, I do forgive you Mr Darcy. Completely and unreservedly. You did not intend to, but in the end, you have done me a service. As Lizzy stated to me, if I had accepted Mr Bingley and married him, and then afterward discovered these issues with his character, I would have been most unhappy and trapped in a marriage that I would not have wanted. I could never accept him now knowing what I do about the lack of consistency and resolution that he displayed. No matter what you or anyone else said to him, none of you physically restrained him. He could have, if he had really wanted to, come to me to discover the truth for himself. I could not respect, esteem, or build a life with one that allows others to make his decisions for him.” Jane smiled sweetly at him as she thanked him for his assistance.
To Darcy she was unwittingly twisting the knife deeper in his gut as he now got to see first-hand what kindness she embodied. It was also good to know that in some way she appreciated his interference as she only deserved the best of men. He could not off hand name a single man worthy of Jane Bennet. Bingley was right about one thing. She was an angel.
‘I expected that he would be angry with me, not listen to my reproofs and take them to heart!’ Lizzy watched in confusion. He was destroying all of her preconceived notions about the man that she had once hated; it was so unexpected that respect now took the fore, though would soon be overshadowed by surprise.
“The biggest and longest apology I must make is to you, Miss Elizabeth, but first I must thank you.” He turned to face her. “I was given good principles and raised in a house by wonderful loving parents who set the best example about how to be a master and landlord. I was left to follow the principles in pride and conceit, and I was thus from seven until the age of seven and twenty. I believe that I learnt from my aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, to think meanly of anyone not in our family circle or what we considered below us socially. I would still be that way if it were not for you taking me to task, Miss Elizabeth. It was a great shock when first my cousin Richard and then the rest of his family told me that my behaviour was much more like that of Lady Catherine’s than my parents.
“While my beloved mother was alive, my aunt and uncle de Bourgh would spend two months at Pemberley and we would be at Rosings Park around Easter for about a month. I did not realise until recently that as much as I dislike my aunt’s machinations and treatment of people that I had, in fact, started to emulate some of her attitudes and behaviour. Let me begin with the hypocritical way I accused your family of bad behaviour while ignoring that in my own family and friends. Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones, and I had long broken every window in my glass house before I was woken up by you, Miss Elizabeth.
