Chapter 7
“Miss Bennet, do take a seat,” Mr. Davis said, pulling Elizabeth out of her stupor. “Mr. Darcy was just expressing his concern that Mrs. Hardwicke does not have any male family members supporting her in this time of need.”
“I was not concerned, but rather surprised,” Darcy interrupted the solicitor. “Miss Bennet, I am sure, is capable of handling any situation.”
“I thank you, Sir,” Elizabeth replied, still shaken by the unexpected coincidence. “My father was supposed to come but met with an unfortunate accident. He has broken his leg and is confined to his bed.”
“I am sorry to hear that. I wish Mr. Bennet a speedy recovery,” Darcy replied, then turning towards the solicitor, continued, “Mr. Davis, I am well acquainted with Miss Bennet, and her family and have no doubt of her abilities. That said, Mrs. Hardwicke is also very much my family and my being the heir does not preclude me from acting in her best interests.”
Elizabeth could not help blushing at Mr. Darcy’s praise.
The moment she had understood that Mr. Darcy was the heir, she had been worried that he would not be very accommodating to her aunt.
It was a sobering thought to realise that she was the one being unreasonably stubborn in her opinions even when she knew better.
Mr. Darcy’s letter had explained his character and she had accepted her misjudgement, but when confronted with the man, she was quick to assign him the worst of motives without just cause.
Resolving to be fairer in future, she addressed the gentleman, “I understand that the discussion of the will was delayed for my arrival.”
“Yes, Miss Bennet, most of the property is under entail and I have made a note of the details here,” Mr. Davis withdrew a ledger and opened it to study his notes before looking up to address Darcy and Elizabeth again.
“The manor house and all the lands including the money in the estate account will be inherited by Mr. Darcy here. Mrs. Hardwicke and her daughter have the right to stay in the main house for one year before they will be required to move to the dower house. The estate is liable to pay a sum of five hundred pounds a year to Mrs. Hardwicke until her death or remarriage. A total of five hundred pounds is to be put aside each year for all children under the age of majority. Since Miss Hardwicke is the only child, the money will be hers and should be paid out till she turns one and twenty,” Mr. Davis reshuffled some papers and pulled out another file.
“This is Mr. Hardwicke’s will, which states his wife as his sole heir to all his personal belongings except for the three thousand pounds that he had set aside for his daughter’s dowry. Mrs. Hardwicke will also have guardianship of her daughter.”
Mr. Davis then looked up and spoke to Mr. Darcy, “Sir, I understand that you had planned to stay in the neighbourhood till you have settled everything on the estate to your satisfaction, but as per the entail, Mrs. Hardwicke cannot be asked to move from the main house till next year. It is only then that we may separate the personal belongings of Mr. Hardwicke from the estate.”
“Mr. Davis, you misunderstand me completely. What I meant was to settle the day to day workings on the estate. I would like to meet the tenants and the steward and see how things are run. I have no intention of displacing an aggrieved widow from her home,” Darcy responded sternly, much to the chagrin of the solicitor.
“Mr. Davis, Mr. Darcy, now that I know the details of the entail, I would like to take your leave. My aunt must be anxiously awaiting my arrival. If she has any further questions, we will send you a note,” Elizabeth stood up to leave.
“Miss Bennet, if you do not mind, I would like to accompany you. I am still to pay my respects to Mrs. Hardwicke and would not like to delay it any further,” Darcy got up and joined Elizabeth.
“Of course. I was planning to walk back if you do not mind.”
Darcy fell in step with Elizabeth. “By all means, madam.”
They came out of the solicitor’s office with a copy of the will and the entail documents, and walked for some time in silence before Mr. Darcy spoke.
“Miss Bennet, I know you do not have any faith in my honour, but I would like to assure you that I have no ill intentions towards your aunt. I was not even aware of the entail till I received the express regarding Hardwicke’s death. ”
“Mr. Darcy, I assure you that I have realised my mistake in judging your character. I would like to apologise for listening to Mr. Wickham and assigning blame without just cause. In my defence I will only say that you do not make it easy for people to like you,” Elizabeth responded with a smile.
“I am neither Bingley nor Colonel Fitzwilliam. I do not perform for others. I have always found it difficult to talk to new acquaintances,” Darcy answered softly.
“So is Colonel Fitzwilliam also here?” Elizabeth asked, changing the subject. She had understood the rebuke in Darcy’s voice and decided she must do better than assigning him all the blame just for his reticent nature.
“He did arrive with me, but was immediately called back to the army barracks. He left this morning. I am sure he will be sorry to miss you.”
“As am I. Do I understand correctly that you plan to stay in the neighbourhood for some time?” Elizabeth asked.
“Would you prefer that I did not? If my presence makes you uneasy, I will immediately remove myself,” Darcy asked, much to Elizabeth’s chagrin.
“Sir, you once told me that I have a penchant for willfully misunderstanding. Now it seems you have acquired the same malaise,” Elizabeth said with a tentative smile.
“Mr. Darcy, I am happy that the heir to Willowmere is someone with sense and honour and I have no doubt that you will do what is right.”
“I thank you for your kind words, Miss Bennet. So let me understand this correctly. Mrs. Hardwicke is Mr. Bennet’s sister.”
“Yes, half-sister. How was Mr. Hardwicke related to you, sir?”
Thus the conversation continued between the two as they reached the manor house.
Elizabeth was surprised that Darcy was unfailingly polite to her.
Even the most genial of men would find it difficult to maintain his equanimity in front of a lady who had refused him with such rudeness.
She realised there was much about him she had never understood.
As they reached the main house, Elizabeth let the housekeeper know of the guest and went up to get her aunt.
“Oh! He is finally here. I have heard that he can be difficult to please,” Mrs. Hardwicke anxiously commented as she heard about Darcy’s arrival.
“I am acquainted with Mr. Darcy, Aunt, and I assure you that in spite of his reticent manner, he is an honourable man.”
“Well then, if you are convinced of the goodness of his heart, I will take your word for it,” Mrs. Hardwicke replied as she accompanied her niece downstairs.
The scene in the front parlour brought a genuine smile to Elizabeth. The staid Mr. Darcy was sitting on the floor with Margaret. The young girl had scattered the pieces of her puzzle and he was trying to help her assemble it.
“There, Miss Hardwicke, the trick is to find two compatible pieces, join them and set them aside, and move to others,” he said with such concentration that a laugh bubbled up from within Elizabeth before she could check it.