“How foolish of me!” Mr Collins cried out. “Why, of course I ought to have invited you in, Mr Darcy! How rude you must think me to keep you standing on the stoop. It is not at all the treatment that Lady Catherine would expect someone in her patronage to extend to her relations. Please forgive me. Will you come in now?”
“No — I thank you,” said Darcy, who could hardly imagine anything he wished less. “I beg your pardon, I shall leave you now.” And with an abruptbow, he turned and hurried away.
How could it be that Lady Catherine’s story had been confirmed in every particular? It seemed impossible. Itmustbe impossible, yet it was so. It contradicted everything he thought he had known about Elizabeth, yet she was gone. Darcy had been certain Lady Catherine’s story would be proved false at once. Instead, everything showed it to be the truth. And if so much were true, what then of her allegations against Elizabeth herself? It was painful even to admit the thought, but had it truly been his wealth and connections she wanted, not himself?
Had she never truly loved him at all?
Chapter 21
It was not until late in the evening that the carriage drew up before Longbourn. The lamps were already lit; the household settled. Elizabeth looked at her home with very mixed emotions. She was weary and tired of long hours in the carriage, but she dreaded the shock and alarm that so strange and abrupt a return must cause.
The coachman descended at once and came to assist her. As he had been at each stop along the way, the man was gentle and courteous, careful of her injured ankle. As he handed her down, he spoke with concern. “I am sorry, miss, that you should have been required to travel so suddenly. I hope the journey has not been too uncomfortable.”
“Much pleasanter than it might have been,” Elizabeth replied. “You have been very attentive.”
He bowed and extended his arm. After so wearying a day, Elizabeth’s ankle was aching, and she gratefully accepted the support. Never beforehad the path from the gate to the front door seemed so long.
Once there, Elizabeth took a deep breath and knocked on the door. After a long moment, Hill answered it.
“Miss Elizabeth!” Hill blurted out, her eyes wide with alarm. “How —”. Remembering herself, she took a deep breath and recovered her professional composure. “I mean to say, welcome home, miss.”
“Thank you, Hill.”
“I will show you where to bring the young lady’s trunk,” Hill went on, turning to the coachman.
He shook his head. “There is none. It will be sent on straightaway.” And with that, he bowed and turned to go. Elizabeth called her thanks after him, only moments before the carriage rattled away.
The poor man would be on the road late indeed if he travelled all the way back to Rosings that night. Elizabeth felt a rush of pity for the man who had been so kind to her, and realised only then that she had been too distraught to learn his name.
But Elizabeth could not spend more than a moment in self-reproach at her thoughtlessness before her mother came rushing into the hall with the rest of the family behind her. “My dear Lizzy, whatcan this mean? How did you come here at this hour? Where are your things? Where is Maria Lucas?”
Elizabeth took a deep breath, feeling every eye on her. “I have come home a little sooner than I expected,” she said, striving for composure.
“A little sooner!” Kitty said. “Why, you were not to return for another fortnight. Has something happened?”
Elizabeth felt, too late, that she had made no preparation for these questions. The suddenness of her departure had left her in such a state of shock that she had not considered how it might be explained.
“Nothing of consequence,” she said. “Lady Catherine was so obliging as to send me in her carriage, as my ankle was not yet strong enough for the journey I had intended to take.”
Kitty looked at her with curiosity. “Lady Catherine sent you home? That is very odd.”
“It was very kind,” Elizabeth replied, and did not enlarge on it.
Mrs Bennet began at once to inquire into every particular, but Jane rose before she could proceed far and came toward Elizabeth.
“You are tired,” she said gently. “Mama, Lizzy cannot answer everything all at once. Come upstairs, and you shall tell us everything when you aremore at ease.”
Mary followed at once. “It would be imprudent to fatigue yourself further with unnecessary conversation. Rest must be your first concern.”
Mrs Bennet hesitated, but allowed herself to be persuaded.
Jane took Elizabeth’s arm, and Mary walked beside them. Together they assisted her upstairs.
Elizabeth’s room had been prepared for her without delay. A fire had been lit, and the curtains drawn close against the night. Jane guided her to a chair and helped her to settle, while Mary placed a cushion beneath her foot with careful attention.
“You must not attempt to stand again this evening,” Jane said. “We shall see that everything is brought to you.”
Elizabeth smiled faintly. “I am very well, I assure you. The journey has fatigued me less than I expected.”
