“How shocking!” said Elizabeth, feigning astonishment. “Miss Bingley gives no appearance of bruised pride, Mr. Darcy. Considering her interest in you, I might have thought such opposition would provoke her to greater heights of folly.”
Mr. Darcy’s wry grin told Elizabeth he had caught her humor. “And you would be correct, though I suspect Miss Bingley would convince herself that my disagreement was not actually a disagreement. Regardless, I always advise Bingley in private.”
“Does she not protest when he acts contrary to her wishes?”
A shrug was Mr. Darcy’s response. “Perhaps she does. But it does not happen often, so I suspect she consoles herself by getting her way most of the time.”
“That is a most interesting facet of Miss Bingley and her relationship with her brother.”
Another thought occurred to Elizabeth, one unwelcome. As she thought Mr. Darcy well qualified to speak on the subject, she decided to ask.
“Pardon me, Mr. Darcy, but this talk is concerning. Should Mr. Bingley take his interest in Jane to its natural conclusion, do you suppose he will stand up to his sister and support Jane?”
To his credit, Mr. Darcy pondered the question before answering. “Since he will already defy her by coming to that point, I believe he will gain confidence in doing it. As I said, he does not like conflict and allows her to have her way, but he will not allow her to disrespect his wife.”
“Thank you, Mr. Darcy. That is good to hear.”
The conversation had an unexpected effect. It was the most civil conversation she had ever had with the gentleman, and it improved her opinion of him. Elizabeth could not but suppose they would be at odds again, but in that moment, she felt something almost resembling respect for him.
Chapter IV
Upon returning to Netherfield, the party gathered in the sitting-room, the conversation concerning the visit to Longbourn. To Darcy, the situation was surreal. Staying at his house in London, he had no thought of returning to Hertfordshire, and still less that Mrs. Hurst, of all people, would have returned of her own accord. Yet here he was, fresh from a visit to Longbourn, wondering how it had all happened.
“Well, Brother?” asked Mrs. Hurst when they had all settled. “What do you think of Miss Bennet now?”
Bingley, in a departure from his usual eagerness to speak, hesitated. “I think, Louisa, that Miss Bennet is much as she ever was.” Then he paused and added: “There is more to her than I ever gave her credit.”
“Miss Elizabeth asserted the truth of her sister’s feelings,” said Darcy. “She claimed that Miss Bennet will not accept a man’s attentions if she does not esteem him.”
“Of that, I had no doubt,” asserted Bingley.
“Yet you stayed in London for a month.”
Bingley eyed him and shrugged. “Your conviction that she was indifferent seemed rational.”
“It seems you misread her, Mr. Darcy,” said Mrs. Hurst. “Miss Bennet was never indifferent—she is only reticent.”
“I have no more wish to argue the point,” replied Darcy.
Mrs. Hurst offered a regal nod and turned back to her brother. “I knew at once that she wished for your return. That is why I alerted you to the true situation.”
Bingley regarded his sister with a hint of suspicion hovering about him. “As I recall, you argued she was unsuitable.”
“If you think on it,” replied Mrs. Hurst, “you will recall that I said little. Caroline spoke on the subject; I kept my own counsel.”
“Silence implies agreement, Louisa,” challenged Bingley.
“Or it implies an unwillingness to set Caroline off.”
“That is the truth,” rumbled Hurst. “Caroline’s voice is piercing when she is displeased.”
“The question is what you mean to do now,” said Mrs. Hurst, nodding to her husband.
“I shall proceed as I should have in the autumn,” replied Bingley. “Miss Bennet is a woman worthy of every effort to please her.”
“That is good to hear, Brother,” replied Mrs. Hurst. “Jane is a sweet creature—she will be the making of you.”
A queer look came over Bingley’s face, and he muttered: “Miss Bennet is an angel, but she does not lack spirit when she wishes it.”
