Chapter VIII #2
“That is enough vitriol from you, Lydia. Whatever we think about the two men in question, Lizzy is the only one of you girls who has ever received a proposal of marriage, let alone two. That she attracted the attention of a man of society such as Mr. Darcy is no mean feat.”
Then he turned back to Elizabeth, his expression softening. “Can I assume Mr. Darcy did not acquit himself any better than my cousin?”
“No, he did not,” replied Elizabeth. “Mr. Darcy’s proposal dwelt on his struggle to overcome his scruples and accepting the inferiority of my connections and fortune.”
Mr. Bennet snorted as Mrs. Bennet’s eyes widened. “Then his way of making love to a woman was as curious as my cousin’s.”
“More than you know, Papa.” Elizabeth grinned, a welcome bit of levity entering her heart after the tense moments at her uncle’s house and then her argument with Lydia.
“Mr. Darcy was so inept that until he uttered his proposal, I had no notion of his interest in me. In that, if in nothing else, at least Mr. Collins was the superior, for he did not scruple to hide his interest.”
“Hmm, yes, I suppose you are correct,” mused Mr. Bennet. “Then I must suppose your intelligence concerning Mr. Wickham comes from the same source at the same time.”
This was ground Elizabeth did not wish to tread at length.
Mr. Darcy giving her a letter was improper—though she was no more disposed to the gentleman now, she did not wish her father to confiscate her letter.
If she even mentioned it, her mother might insist on seeing it, and there were communications contained therein that she would not share with another living soul without Mr. Darcy’s permission.
“After I rejected his proposal,” confirmed Elizabeth. “During that confrontation, I commented on his treatment of Mr. Wickham. Mr. Darcy considered his response and then informed me of Mr. Wickham’s behavior.”
“And you swallowed it whole without question,” accused Lydia.
“No, Lydia,” replied Elizabeth, throwing a quelling look at the girl, matching the look on her father’s face.
“I considered it for a time, asked Charlotte’s opinion, then compared it with what Mr. Wickham told me and how he has behaved.
When I assembled all the facts, I could come to no other conclusion. ”
“Mr. Wickham’s behavior tonight confirmed his worthlessness,” said Mary to support her.
Lydia huffed again, unwilling to remain silent. “His behavior did not differ from any other time in company.”
“Is that so, Lydia?” demanded Elizabeth, unwilling to endure her sister’s silliness any longer. “Then what do you say to Mr. Wickham’s threatening comments about you?”
“That is a lie!” scowled Lydia. “Mr. Wickham has always esteemed me.”
“He spoke of how easily it would be to ruin you,” retorted Elizabeth. “Mary and Jane were both near enough to hear him.”
“Then something must be done about the officer,” said Mr. Bennet with a sigh. “It is time for us all to retire, for nothing good will come of this argument. Girls, go to your rooms. Lizzy, I wish to confirm a few things before you join them.”
Elizabeth assented, and her sisters and mother did as they were bidden, though not without reluctance.
Lydia stormed up the stairs, leaving her sisters behind, and while Elizabeth received looks from her other sisters, no one spoke.
Mrs. Bennet impaled Elizabeth with her eyes as if to promise that the matter of Mr. Darcy’s proposal was not yet closed, but Elizabeth ignored it and followed her father into his study.
“Now, Lizzy,” said Mr. Bennet when they settled into two chairs before the hearth, “it seems your activities of late have been a departure from your usual behavior. Shall you not account for it?”
Though she hesitated, Elizabeth knew she could not demur.
Choosing brevity, she explained her method of warning the neighborhood without delving into specific instances where she had spoken of Mr. Wickham so much as her general strategy.
Then she gave him a full account of the night’s events.
Elizabeth did not say as much, but she knew her father understood she had acted as she did because he had declined to act—or perhaps that was not accurate, as she would have proceeded with her plan regardless.
When she finished speaking, her father sat back in his chair, pondering all he had heard.
“You did, of course, speak of Mr. Wickham,” said Mr. Bennet. “Now that I have the full context, I understand the threat of the man better than I did before. What I find most interesting about this business is the method you employed to act against him. I had not thought you indulged in gossip.”
“I do not,” replied Elizabeth. “Yet it seemed the best tool at my disposal in this instance. I could not stand in Meryton’s square and denounce him, and his manners and engaging smile made him welcome in the community.”
“That is so,” replied her father. “This business of Mr. Wickham threatening you through your sisters is most concerning.”
“It is Lydia who is a problem, Papa. Kitty has seen through Mr. Wickham and has been watching Lydia to ensure she does not get herself into trouble.”
Mr. Bennet snorted at the notion. “Then I must revise my opinion of Kitty, for I thought she was as silly as her younger sister.”
“Papa,” said Elizabeth, her tone a little chiding, “I have come to understand that Kitty is not so foolish as we all supposed. What Kitty lacks is guidance and attention—she is not lacking in sense.”
“Perhaps this is an opportunity to wean her from Lydia’s influence,” mused Mr. Bennet. “Tell me, Lizzy, what has Kitty’s role in all this been?”
In a few short sentences, Elizabeth related what had happened with Kitty these past days, from Kitty’s surprising insight after their meeting at Watford to her promise to keep watch on Lydia.
Mr. Bennet listened with a surprise that equaled Elizabeth’s, though he said little during the telling.
When she finished, Mr. Bennet appeared most amused, and perhaps even a little proud of his second youngest child.
“Well, well, that is most curious,” chuckled Mr. Bennet. “You are correct, Lizzy—this may be an excellent opportunity to help Kitty gain independence.”
Then Mr. Bennet grimaced and added: “That may be difficult until the regiment decamps.”
“Kitty has seen through Mr. Wickham,” replied Elizabeth. “If we handle it correctly, she may learn a hint of caution for all the officers.”
“You may have the right of it,” said Mr. Bennet.
With that, Elizabeth excused herself to retire, leaving her father in his study in a contemplative mood. What he would decide in the morning, Elizabeth did not know, but she hoped he would not remain passive.
The other question she could not answer was what Mr. Wickham would do.
Now that he had been so thoroughly exposed, she expected he would flee when the opportunity arose.
Elizabeth could not help but suppose that would be the best for everyone involved—Mr. Wickham would no longer be present to bedevil the town, and while he would leave debts in his wake, the damage would not become worse.
Deserting in wartime, even from the militia, was a serious offense, such that Mr. Wickham would have difficulty should he flee. It might even push him to leave England. If he did, Elizabeth would not be sorry to see him go.
When she entered her room, she found Jane waiting for her—Elizabeth laughed, knowing she should have expected it. Though Jane was her dearest sister, Elizabeth wished for nothing more than to go to bed. But Elizabeth had revealed too much—Jane was here to demand an accounting.
“Come, Lizzy,” said Jane, pulling her sister into the room. “I shall help you prepare for bed, and you shall explain certain matters to me that you kept hidden.”
“I suppose pleading fatigue will avail me nothing,” jested Elizabeth, allowing Jane to tug at her arm.
“If you thought that would appease me, I would question your sagacity,” replied Jane. “Now, Lizzy, I want to know what happened in Kent, not the reduced version you told our family.”
Elizabeth sighed and allowed Jane to unbutton her dress. “How explicit do you want me to be, Jane?”
Silence settled over them as Jane considered Elizabeth’s question. “Can I assume what you learned was more than just Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham? Perhaps you also heard something about Mr. Bingley?”
“Perceptive as always,” said Elizabeth, smiling at her sister. “Yes, Jane, Mr. Darcy spoke of Mr. Bingley after I accused him of acting to prevent his friend from returning.”
“I am not fragile, Lizzy,” replied Jane. “Though I still think of Mr. Bingley as the most excellent man I have ever known, I am not pining after him.”
Elizabeth was uncertain of the truth of Jane’s assertion, but she did not demur any longer.
As she was preparing for bed, and then when they had settled together on the counterpane, she explained the scene in the parsonage, and even related what she had told Mr. Darcy the following morning about telling Mr. Bingley the truth.
Jane listened with care, but asked no questions.
When she had told all, Jane leaned against the headboard and sighed.
Jane’s first question did not surprise Elizabeth at all.
“Do you suppose that Mr. Darcy will do as you suggested?”
“I am certain I cannot say,” replied Elizabeth. “Since my judgment of him has not been at all accurate, I am not confident that I can predict what he will do.
“What I will say,” continued Elizabeth, playing with a corner of the blanket, “is that Mr. Darcy’s information about Mr. Wickham has all proven true.”
Jane nudged her gently. “The matter of his debts has not yet been proven, Lizzy.”
“No, but I have every confidence it will be. When I accused him, Mr. Wickham’s reaction spoke volumes. I half expect he will have fled overnight, for he will not wish to risk debtors’ prison.”
“And Mr. Darcy?” asked Jane.
Elizabeth sighed. “I must suppose that to a certain extent I have misjudged him. When he was here in Hertfordshire in the autumn, Mr. Darcy’s behavior was not the best—of that I am confident.
Yet this business with Mr. Wickham has informed me that Mr. Darcy is not so reprehensible as I had supposed. ”
“Is your opinion improved enough to reconsider his proposal?” asked Jane, showing a sly smile.
Her laugh was freeing. “An improved opinion of the gentleman is not tantamount to repenting of my refusal. There is no way that I could accept him, even knowing he is blameless in his dealings with Mr. Wickham.”
“What if he renews his addresses?”
Elizabeth shook her head, still amused that they were having this conversation at all. “It is difficult to imagine Mr. Darcy being in a position to renew his addresses, Jane.”
“Unless he informs Mr. Bingley of his error. Then he might return to Netherfield with Mr. Bingley.”
“That is possible, I suppose,” conceded Elizabeth.
“However, I still think it is rather unlikely. What man, when refused, will risk a repeat of the first? Though Mr. Darcy is a better man than I thought, he still possesses an excess of pride. Surely that will prevent him from any further attempt to gain my favor.”
Jane smiled and rose from the bed, leaning to kiss Elizabeth’s forehead. “Perhaps it is, Lizzy. Mr. Darcy may yet surprise you, but I shall not offer any prediction. For now, I believe it is time for me to retire.”
After the door closed behind her sister, Elizabeth extinguished the candle, but remained sitting in the dark for some time after.
It was not Mr. Wickham or the situation they might find in Meryton the following morning that kept her attention, but thoughts of Mr. Darcy and Jane’s comment about the gentleman.
Since he had shocked her so thoroughly, Elizabeth could not say she had judged his actions with any accuracy.
So it was possible that he would confound her again and return to Hertfordshire.
The question, then, was what she should do if he did return.
Mrs. Bennet, she knew, would push the match with the fervor of a matchmaking mother, heedless of how it would appear to a gentleman who had proven his adherence to propriety.
Would Mrs. Bennet’s behavior deter him? Elizabeth was forced to conclude that since Mr. Darcy had pushed all concerns about her family to the side, it was possible he would ignore it.
That would not make it any easier for Elizabeth to endure, for her mother had the power to embarrass her, and she did so often.
In the end, Elizabeth lay down, determined to give over any further consideration of Mr. Darcy’s return.
If he appeared, she would respond to his overtures as honestly as she could.
Concerning herself about it enough to make herself unhappy was foolish, and she decided to have nothing to do with that.