Elizabeth glanced at him.
"I was very close to my mother," Darcy continued. "I know every conversation of consequence she had during her last years. She never said any such thing to me, and I do not believe she said it to Lady Catherine either." His voice remained even, though something lay beneath it. "The fact that my aunt invokes my mother's memory in support of a claim that was never made is one of the reasons I am so firmly opposed to the idea. Aside from that, Anne herself harbours no such wishes. We correspond often, and she is as disinclined to the match as I am."
Elizabeth was silent for a moment.
Then, carefully, she asked, "Do you generally find family expectations difficult to bear? Or only those that have been invented?"
He looked at her. "Only those that have been invented. A genuine expectation, sincerely held, is another matter entirely."
"I ask," Elizabeth said, "because I know something of family expectation myself." She paused. "I do not know whether you are acquainted with the circumstances of my father's estate."
"I am not," Darcy replied, his tone immediately attentive.
"It is entailed. My father has five daughters and no son, which means that upon his death Longbourn must pass to the nearest male heir." She glanced back towards the house. "Which is Mr. Collins, now that his father is deceased."
Darcy was quiet for a moment.
"I was not aware of that."
"Most people in Meryton are, though they may not yet know Mr. Collins, as we ourselves only met him today." Elizabeth smiled faintly. "Mr. Collins has come to Longbourn with what he considers a very generous solution. He intends to offer for one of us. In his mind, it is a means of making amends for the injustice the entail may occasion."
Darcy stopped walking altogether.
Elizabeth looked at him. There was something in his expression she had not seen before, not quite displeasure and not quite alarm, but somewhere between the two, and directed, she thought, rather specifically at the situation she had just described.
"Forgive me," he said after a moment. "I do not mean to be forward. But I hope very much that you are not the lady upon whom he settles."
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. "Why do you say so, sir?"
"From what my cousin Anne has written of him, and from what little I have observed this afternoon," he said, "your cousinis not a man who would appreciate your wit or intelligence. He would not know what to do with either."
Elizabeth considered this.
"I have no intention of marrying a man I do not love," she said. "Or one I do not respect. Or one who does not love and respect me in return." She gazed ahead for a moment. "Mr. Collins is none of those things."
"No." Darcy said bluntly "He is not."
They resumed walking and continued in silence for a time, passing what remained of the flower beds and the last stubborn vines of the kitchen garden.
"For what it is worth," Darcy said suddenly, "I respect you a great deal, Miss Elizabeth. And I admire you." He said it simply, without ceremony, looking straight ahead. "More than I have found adequate opportunity to say."
Elizabeth felt warmth rise to her cheeks.
She did not answer immediately. She did not know what answer to give.
For several moments she watched the path before them.
"Thank you, sir." She said softly. "And if I have earned your respect, then I am very glad of it. For there are few opinions I value more than yours. And I confess that your devotion to your sister has done much to increase that esteem."
Darcy looked at her with an expression of such warmth that Elizabeth found herself obliged to turn her attention to the path before them. Neither spoke for several moments, but the silence was not uncomfortable.
They were already making their way back towards the house when the door opened and Jane appeared, smiling, to inform them that dinner was served.
TWELVE
9-10thNovember 1811
Longbourn
