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"Yes," she said. "Whilst I was in Hunsford, Mr Darcy was visiting his aunt Catherine – Lady Catherine de Bourgh."

"Mr Darcy," Mrs Bennet said with a sniff. "Oh, yes, a fine one he was. Thought he was above us all just because he had ten thousand a year. Now, that nice Mr Bingley, he may have had less money, but he was not so arrogant."

"I saw Mr Darcy," Elizabeth cut across her, feeling as though it was not a good start to the conversation, that her mother was immediately insulting her intended, and feeling glad that she had not had Mr Darcy come in, for she would be mortified for him to hear this. "And he asked for my hand in marriage."

The entire room fell silent. All eyes were upon her.

"He asked you to marry him?" Mrs Bennet said, and Elizabeth did not miss the shock in her voice.

"Mr Darcy?" Jane said, shocked. But it was a different kind of shock than that which coloured their mother’s tone. Mrs Bennet’s question was disbelieving. Jane’s genuinely surprised. And so that was the one that Lizzy addressed.

"Yes," she said.

"Mr Darcy? But I thought you didn’t like him," Kitty said.

"Yes, I thought you thought he was rude," Lydia joined in.

Elizabeth winced. She had dismissed him rather quickly, it was true, and she still thought he was high-handed, especially where Jane and Bingley were concerned.

But then she hadn’t told any of them about that. And he’d also shown a different side of himself. He had been able to self-reflect while they were in the carriage. He’d acknowledged that he might have been wrong, and she wondered if she had simply viewed him through the lens of his negative remark about the attractiveness of the women at the ball and therefore had dismissed everything he did as rude.

"Well," Lizzy said, "that does not matter now, and I would ask you not to mention it when you see him. We met again at Hunsford, and as I say, he asked me to marry him and I have accepted. We plan to have the banns read and marry next month."

"Next month?" Jane cried. "So soon?"

"Indeed," Mrs Bennet said. "Is there a reason for such haste, young lady?"

"His aunt does not approve of the match, and he thinks it better for us to marry before she can cause trouble," she said, for it was true. For her own part, she knew they needed his help, and so it would be better if they were married quickly.

But even thinking that didn’t make her feel like a very good person, and so she did not say it aloud.

Mrs Bennet sniffed.

"I suppose she thinks you’re not good enough. Why, if I ever meet this Lady Catherine de Bourgh, I will—"

"Congratulations, Lizzy," Jane said. "And where is he now? Did he stay at Hunsford? Did you travel alone?"

"No," Lizzy said, shaking her head. "We came in his carriage, with a maid, of course. And he has gone to Netherfield. But I’ve invited him for dinner tonight. I hope that pleases you, Mama. I thought you ought to see him again properly."

"Dinner? Tonight?" Mrs Bennet said, sitting upright in her chair. "Kitty, ring the bell. I must speak to Hill. What will we serve him? I do not know. You know, since your father died, the money has not been available for meat and such luxuries, so I hope he will accept simple fare."

"I’m sure he will be happy with whatever we serve him, Mama," Elizabeth said as patiently as she could. "But as we are soon to marry, I thought he ought to come and meet you all properly."

"As he should," Mrs Bennet said. Then she paused. "So you will be Mrs Darcy," she said, looking her second eldest daughter up and down, and Lizzy nodded.

It sounded foreign to her own ears, although it were true. After Christmas, she would be Mrs Darcy.

"Well," Mrs Bennet said, and then she smiled. "Ten thousand pounds a year and the first daughter to be married. Goodness me, I would not have predicted it. But then your father always said – well, anyway, we must make sure we make a good impression. I don’t want him changing his mind, do I?" she said, and then hurried off to speak to Hill, and Elizabeth was sure that that was the only congratulation she was going to get.

As her mother hurried off to find poor Hill, Elizabeth rounded on her sisters.

"Now," she said, making sure they could hear in her voice the seriousness of the conversation, "I am asking you to behave tonight. When Mr Darcy comes, do not mention his income. Do not fight at the table. Do not discuss anything I may have said about him or he may have said at the ball at Meryton. Understood?"

Kitty and Lydia giggled, while Mary looked rather irritated at being spoken to thus.

"We will behave ourselves, Elizabeth," Lydia said in a sing-song voice.

"I mean it," she said. "You would do well to remember that I may be the only source of an allowance for any of you. And therefore you do not want me to be cross about how this dinner has gone."