The men sat in chairs by the fire that had minutes before been built up for their comfort. Richard sipped the spirit and sighed out an appreciative, “Good man, Bingley. Good man.”
“Well, Richard, are we here just so you can drain my friend’s supply of brandy, or do you actually need to talk?”
“My parents,” Richard said. He chuckled ruefully and said, “Have I said enough? Or should I go on?”
“Pray go on. I gathered that they admire Miss Elizabeth and Miss Bennet. They seemed perfectly accepting of the Bennet family, as well.”
“All that is true. But I cannot wonder if my father still thinks you could do better by wedding someone who is well connected, and I heard my mother say, just today, that you marrying someone with no fortune at all diminishes the entire family.”
“I am positive that your father cares about me marrying a well-connected lady solely to promote his own political advancement. As for your mother’s concerns, my fortune is quite separate from that of your parents. I am certain that anyone who knows me understands that I take into consideration Georgiana and the people who depend on me—servants and tenants, for the most part, but to some extent the nearby townspeople—whenever I make a decision about anything involving money. However, I will not widen that consideration to Matlock and Rosings. I am my own man, and I will marry Elizabeth Bennet unlesssheturns me down.”
“I know. And I am quite glad that this rumour thing happened just when my parents were here, because I truly have seen them changing their minds about what you should or should not be doing. I believe they are ready to support you, tooth and nail.”
“So you made it sound as if they have grave concerns about my choice of bride even though they no longer do?”
“Well, they are confused. They both feel you are so altered, and indeed they are correct. You are—forgive me, because it sounds so unlike you—utterly captivated. As if she has put a spell of enchantment on you.”
Darcy had known that something like this was coming, and he was happy that his cousin had not used the word “infatuated.” He felt certain that an infatuation was widely understood to be short lived, whereas captivation and enchantment could be lifelong, could they not? Even though he did not subscribe to ideas of magic, even in affairs of the heart, he did not mind the analogy of a magical bond between him and Elizabeth, because at least such a bond might be seen as powerful and long-lasting.
Richard waited for Darcy to respond. Darcy was convinced his cousin was waiting for an explosion of fury that would not come. He just smiled.
“Ah,” Richard breathed. “So you agree that your lady has laid a magic spell on you?”
“Having never been in love before, despite the fact that I am seven and twenty, I have to admit that it feels a bit magical, if magic actually existed.”
Richard laughed loud and long. “Well, seeing your eyes as you look at your lady, and hearing that love feels like magic to the most rational person I know, I can be very, very certain that I have never been in love, even if I am two years your elder.”
Still chuckling, Richard continued: “I have liked plenty of ladies very well indeed, but I have no regrets about not having loved any of them because so many men indicate that love is a very troublesome emotion. Actually, it strikes me that you do not seem to feel tortured enough for this to be true love. I have not actually read Byron and Coleridge, but I know you have. Do theyand others not portray love as a feverish sickness, a destructive fire, a portal to grief and despair?”
“If Miss Elizabeth does not marry me, check on me every month or so. I assume I will be mired in grief and despair, thus affirming the poets’ dismal view of the emotion.”
“When my parents and I first scoffed at the idea that any woman would ever turn down a marriage proposal from you, you seemed to believe that a refusal was possible. But now, having seen her behaviour towards you, I am certain she will sayyes, and I know that you are just as certain.”
Darcy could not prevent a smile spreading over his face, and Richard laughed again, shook his head and muttered that his cousin was a stranger. He added, “I am for bed.”
Bed, of course, was the one place in which being in love did feel quite torturous, but Darcy did enjoy roughly half of his dreams, so he had no reluctance to follow his cousin in bidding his hosts good night and hurrying to his own chamber.
CHAPTER 24
24 November 1811
ELIZABETH
The next morning Mr Darcy called on the Nicholls house in High Cross.
Elizabeth had been coming down the stairs when he arrived, and she peeped at him through the balusters. He was dressed even more beautifully than usual. She heard him ask if he could have a private talk with Miss Elizabeth Bennet in order to ask a very important question.
Mrs Nicholls seemed thrilled. She led him to a parlour, and when she returned to the hall, Elizabeth presented herself and was led to the same room.
“Good morning, Elizabeth,” he said with a solemn face.
She returned the greeting and could not help but smile her cheekiest smile.
His own smile appeared. He asked, “Are you still feeling gratitude, Miss Elizabeth?”
She thought quickly. Naturally, she was still grateful to Mr Darcy—and she suspected she always would. Mr Darcy did so many thoughtful and romantic things, so many considerate and kind things, they sort of piled up. By the time she managed to stop being grateful for one thing, he had done ten other amazing things.
Still, she said, “I feel no gratitude to you whatsoever, Mr Darcy.”
