“Well,” Harriet broke the silence eventually, “I do not envy you with her as a future relation, Lydia, though it seems the colonel and Mr Darcy know well how to manage her. What a harridan!”
Lydia giggled, and it released the tension in all of the sisters. Suddenly they were all laughing with relief, clutching their sides and leaning on each other.
Footsteps on the stairs heralded Mrs Bennet coming to find them. She seemed oddly subdued as they left Harriet’s room and accompanied her belowstairs.
The parlour was far too full with all of them in it, and the hour was growing late. Mr Gardiner sensibly suggested that they should all go to the hotel and have some dinner, and perhaps meet again in the morning to discuss the next steps to be taken. Everyone agreed, and soon Elizabeth found herself walking back to the hotel on her father’s arm. Jane walked with Mrs Bennet and Mr Gardiner, Mr Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam leading the way, heads bent towards each other as they conversed quietly.
“I must say, your arrival here with Mr Darcy in tow was not an outcome I expected, Lizzy,” Mr Bennet observed. “I’m surprised at his attitude, too. I would have thought him more likely to take Lady Catherine’s side in that argument. Did you hear it all?”
“Every word,” she admitted. “But I was not surprised at all by Mr Darcy’s words. He is not the man we thought him, Papa; he is much less proud, much kinder.”
“Indeed, and what has brought about this remarkable change?” Mr Bennet eyed her with an amused little smile.
“I do not think he is changed in essentials, only that I know him better now. He does not reveal himself easily to strangers.”
Mr Bennet made a noncommittal sound, and they walked on towards the hotel quietly. They were almost arrived when he squeezed her hand where it rested on his arm and said, “I am very glad you are here, Lizzy. I should have listened to you when you told me to keep Lydia from coming to Brighton, of course.Depend on it, I shall be listening much more carefully to your counsel from now on.”
She smiled ruefully. “Hindsight is always perfect, Papa. I think Lydia has been uncommonly lucky, and we have, I hope, escaped a serious scandal by the grace of God - and thanks to Colonel Fitzwilliam’s gallantry.”
“He seems a better sort of man than I could possibly have hoped for a husband for Lydia,” Mr Bennet agreed. “You met him in Kent, did you, Lizzy? What do you think of him?”
“I like him very much,” she said promptly. “As Jane once said of Mr Bingley, he is everything a young man should be.”
“You were not in danger of falling in love with him yourself, then?” Mr Bennet looked at her queerly. She pretended not to notice.
“Oh no, Papa!” Elizabeth let out a gay laugh.
“Well and good,” Mr Bennet muttered. “Well and good.”
They arrived at the hotel, and Mr Darcy announced that he would see about a private dining room and having dinner laid on for them. Mr Bennet, as usual, was more than pleased to see someone else exert themselves, though he did bestir himself to thank Mr Darcy.
