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He turned to her. “I am very happy for my friend and your sister.”
This was not the response she had expected to receive nor the words she had expected to hear.
Mr. Darcy said, “Their temperaments are so very much alike. I can think of no two people more suited for each other.”
His indifference astounded her. Jane’s words reverberated in Elizabeth’s mind: “—an equally honorable gentleman whose heart, I suspect, will never ever be touched? At least not by me.”
The colonel’s words echoed through her mind: “My cousin has remained a single man for so long as he has by design.”
“I fear you think I am heartless,” he said in response to Elizabeth’s silence.
“No, sir. I am simply confused. When I first saw you upon entering the library, you looked so downhearted. You said my father was with your father. I thought surely that something was terribly amiss. In fact, I know something is amiss. If not your friend’s elopement with my sister, then what is it? What is the matter?”
He bit his lowered lip as if contemplating what he might say in response to her bevy of questions. He seemed about to make a start, but then he stopped.
She reached out her hand to him. He seized it, giving her some indication that he wanted to tell her what the matter was, but he did not know how to tell her.
At length, he covered her hand with both of his. “Miss Elizabeth, I am afraid I have been harboring a secret that has to do with my father. You see, he is gravely ill. I have known this for months, having learned of the truth quite by accident. Even he did not know I was aware of his secret.
“His situation took a turn for the worse in the early hours of the morning, at which point I was summoned to his side. No one else knows that he is in the final hours of his life other than your father and George Wickham. I left my father some time ago with Wickham while I came in search of Mr. Bennet, who has since gone to my father’s bedside. Soon, I shall have to speak with Georgiana to prepare her for what is to come. Before you arrived, I was summoning my courage — searching for the right words to convey to her that our father—that he is dying.”
Elizabeth retrieved a linen handkerchief from her pocket. She reached up and gently dabbed a lonely teardrop falling from his eye. How it pained her to see him this way. How saddened she was by his revelation, and yet how touching to know that he was confiding in her something so personal and so devastating.
Taking her hand, he brushed a light kiss across her palm.
“There is so much more that I would say to you, Miss Elizabeth, but I fear now is not the time.” He fingered an errant lock of her hair that had fallen across her face. “Thank you for listening to me. Now, I must speak with my sister.”
Elizabeth watched as the gentleman walked away, wishing there was something, anything she might say or do to ease his burden. Having never experienced the pain of losing a parent, she felt utterly helpless.
What am I to do? What am I to say?
She swallowed, fighting back her tears. In such cases as this sorry hardly seems an adequate word. Jane’s words reverberated in her mind once again: “I have no doubt that your courage will rise to whatever occasion that results, just as it always does during those times that matter most.”
As heartbroken as Elizabeth was, she did not intend to let her own concerns overshadow those of the people whom she had come to care for in such a short period. She knew that she might soon be saying goodbye to the Darcys, but she was there now, and they needed her like no one had ever needed her before.
I must do everything in my power to be of comfort to Mr. Darcy and Miss Darcy during this, their greatest time of need.
CHAPTER 22
ARTS AND ALLUREMENTS
Bingley’s sisters were also in possession of an urgent missive, and now that Mr. Darcy was safe from the likes of Jane Bennet, Miss Bingley was free to express the depths of her contempt to whoever would listen.
“How could I possibly have thought it was a good idea for Charles to divert that woman’s attention away from Mr. Darcy?” Miss Bingley complained.
“Caroline, you must not be too severe on yourself. It was a good plan, and it was working up to a point.”
“Indeed, up to the point where he decided to elope with her, effectively ending my hopes for an alliance between Miss Darcy and him.”
“How could you have known that he would fall in love with Jane?”
“Love! I dare say that particular emotion has nothing at all to do with this travesty. Seeing that she stood no chance of garnering Mr. Darcy’s affections because of his feelings for me, she used her feminine arts and allurements to ensnare our unsuspecting brother. She drew him in, and now we must forever consider ourselves tied to the likes of those horrible people who lack everything that is most desired among our society.”
“Caroline, you speak as though it is the end of the world. I assure you there are far worse things that might have happened. She is a gentleman’s daughter, which must surely count for something. What is more, she is very agreeable. I am certain our brother will be quite happy with her.”
Miss Bingley looked at her sister in dismay. “Do you mean to say that you have accepted this—that you will welcome that woman as our sister?”
“I do not see that I have a choice—unless she and Charles changed their minds. That would make for a far worse scandal. No doubt, he would then be obliged to marry her anyway else both of their reputations would be ruined. What would that do for your prospects for an alliance with your Mr. Darcy?”
