“For returning to Netherfield and supporting your brother,” replied Mr. Darcy. “For helping Georgiana settle and restoring harmony.”
Louisa could not suppress the laughter that sprang to her lips. “That last is perhaps inaccurate, not with my sister still in residence.”
“If you will pardon me, I suspect she has seen the futility of further rancor.”
“Perhaps you are correct,” replied Louisa, regarding her sister who was in conversation with Charles and Jane. “That will not end her ill humor, I suspect, but I doubt she will continue to make open displays of disdain.”
“I cannot but suppose you are correct.”
As laughter rose between Georgiana and Elizabeth, Mary looking on with greater involvement than she could ever remember from the girl, Louisa turned to Mr. Darcy and studied him. There was, she noted, a more open quality in his features than she had ever seen before, a consequence, no doubt, of Elizabeth’s influence. The love of a good woman could work miracles in a man’s demeanor, and Elizabeth’s influence was marked, yet Mr. Darcy was not even courting her yet.
“Though I thank you for the sentiment,” said Louisa, “I do not suppose that I have done much.”
“I must respectfully disagree,” said Mr. Darcy. “Your actions have served as a catalyst for everything that has happened.”
The gentleman winked at her, a surprise since she had never thought him capable of such levity. “Mayhap I should take you to task for matchmaking, but I dare say it has all turned out well.”
“Matchmaking, Mr. Darcy?” demanded she, though she could not suppress her grin. “Nothing I did extended to matchmaking—rather, I allowed nature to take its course by providing the means by which it could.”
Mr. Darcy’s eyes glittered, but he did not press the matter. “However it happened, I thank you, nonetheless.”
A feeling of such satisfaction welled up within her that Louisa had to look away lest it become obvious to the gentleman besideher. Though events had proceeded in a manner she could not have foreseen, Louisa was not displeased with the outcome. Caroline was displeased, but she would come around. Perhaps she would even be better for the experience.
IT WAS THE UNDERSTANDINGthat everyone around her had moved forward, leaving Caroline behind that hit her more than anything. Charles and Jane were happy, well on their way to an understanding, and, much though she wished otherwise, she could see how Mr. Darcy esteemed Miss Elizabeth, and how much she appeared to return the sentiment. Georgiana approved of her brother’s choice, and even Louisa and Hurst appeared comfortable and content. It left Caroline feeling isolated and not a little lost.
Three years wasted with nothing to show for it—that was the truth of Caroline’s pretensions. Though she tried, she could not quite summon the corrosive hatred she had thought she would feel if Mr. Darcy rejected her for another woman. Even his preference for Miss Elizabeth, who Caroline still saw as inferior, could not provoke her disdain.
Never had she felt so isolated, though surrounded by her family, the Darcys, and the loud and uncouth Bennets. Caroline forced herself to look at them critically, and though she grimaced, she could not deny that she had been wrong about the Bennets. They were not and could never be called fashionable, though Caroline knew Jane’s manners would excite no comment in London. Mrs. Bennet was loud and could be difficult to endure, but for the first time, Caroline could see there was no harm in her.
The question was where that left her. Louisa had spoken the truth—therehadbeen other men who had expressed interest in her. None of them possessed Mr. Darcy’s prominence, butperhaps it was best to follow her sister’s advice and seek fulfillment rather than grasping for the highest she could obtain.
The presence of another at her side made her turn and regard Louisa, who had stepped beside her. Though Caroline thought, even at this late date, to abuse her sister for her betrayal, she could not quite do it. Louisa, she suspected, had seen far more clearly than Caroline had ever expected.
“You need not remain angry forever.”
Louisa patted her arm and moved away before Caroline could answer. It was perhaps for the best. She did not know where she would go from here, but for the first time in many months, Caroline knew it would not involve expectations of Mr. Darcy. It surprised her, but she found she did not regret it so much as she might have supposed.
Chapter XIV
Winter was such a trial to Elizabeth’s patience that she always greeted the change in the weather with a mix of relief and anticipation. Spring meant freedom, the ability to roam as she wanted, to escape the house for a time and think.
One such day in early spring, Elizabeth left the house for a morning constitutional, enjoying the chirping of birds and the sun on her face as she walked. Longbourn’s paths were a welcome old friend, a pleasing sight after months of deprivation provoked by inclement weather. It was such a fine day that she might have removed her bonnet had she any reasonable expectation of not meeting anyone while she was out.
As much as she enjoyed the exercise and solitude, it was the ability to think that had always brought her such peace, and that day was no different. So many things had changed that she hardly recognized her life anymore. Had Elizabeth remained alone, she might have stayed out much longer than her wont. The interruption that day, however, had become more welcome than she had ever thought possible.
When she spotted him by the side of the path ahead, Elizabeth wondered if she should feel some annoyance—but her heart betrayed her, jumping in her breast, rendering such a response impossible. Had Mr. Darcy appeared self-satisfied or superior, that might also have set her off. Instead, the gentleman only appeared pleased—happy to be in her company, eager to steal a few more moments together, unwilling to waste even a moment.
“I am gratified, Miss Elizabeth,” said the gentleman, pushing away from the tree he had been leaning against.
Elizabeth feigned incomprehension. “And why is that, Mr. Darcy?”
“That I correctly deduced the path you would choose this morning.” Mr. Darcy grinned, giving him an almost boyish charm. “As there are several, the chances are not at all great.”
He stepped forward and caught her hand in his, kissing it before tucking it into the crook of his arm. “I hope, Miss Elizabeth, that my presence is not an imposition on your solitude.”
“Not at all, Mr. Darcy,” replied Elizabeth, though she knew in other circumstances she would have been most put out.
“Then shall we walk together?”
