14. Chapter 14
W hen they had all gathered in the drawing room after dinner, they began discussing poetry. Mary mentioned the book of poetry she had recently borrowed from Elizabeth as well as her two favorite poems in the book.
Elizabeth saw Mr. Darcy notice her copy of Shakespeare’s sonnets sitting on the table. He reached for it and began flipping through the pages.
“What is that, William?” Georgiana asked.
“Shakespeare’s sonnets,” he said.
“Lizzy has been reading them,” Mary volunteered.
“Which one is your favorite, Elizabeth?” Georgiana asked.
“My favorite is 116,” Elizabeth replied.
“Will you read it, William?” Georgiana asked.
Oh no, Elizabeth thought, watching him. She could feel her face getting hot.
When Mr. Darcy found the sonnet, he briefly raised a brow, then began to read.
“Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come.
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom:
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.”
Having reached the end of the sonnet, Mr. Darcy lowered the book. He then looked at Elizabeth. “I agree—”
Elizabeth stopped breathing. He agrees with Shakespeare’s words on love?! Oh my goodness! Does he mean to say—"
“It is one of Shakespeare’s best sonnets,” Mr. Darcy said.
Elizabeth smiled and looked down briefly to hide her feelings of foolishness. Everyone murmured their agreement with Mr. Darcy’s words.
“What do you like about it, Elizabeth, if you do not mind me asking?” Georgiana questioned.
Elizabeth schooled her features and turned to her.
“Well, we all just experienced a very severe tempest. It shook solid structures and even completely removed some. Yet, Shakespeare describes true love as an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken. I think it an eloquent way to say that a real and abiding love will face the storms of life and not give way, no matter the pressure put upon it.”
“It is a clever choice of words,” Jane said.
The discussion turned to other topics, and Elizabeth was relieved.
She had been embarrassed for Mr. Darcy to read the sonnet, words so close to her heart.
Words that revealed so much about her deepest thoughts and feelings.
She had felt exposed, as if he could see everything inside her now.
Elizabeth had developed feelings for him, and she worried that if he looked too closely at her, he would see them.
When Mr. Darcy had first said he agreed with her regarding the sonnet, she had held her breath as she waited to hear his thoughts.
In the end, he only indicated that it was one of Shakespeare’s best sonnets.
What did she think he would say? Some profound words on love and Shakespeare that had a double meaning only she was meant to understand? Goodness, Elizabeth! Be sensible!
After feeling such a colossal fool, Elizabeth avoided looking at him or even in his direction for the rest of the evening.
After everyone had retired, Darcy sat in his bedchamber with the window open, looking out into the night. His mind had returned to the events of earlier that evening when his sister had asked him to read Miss Elizabeth’s favorite sonnet aloud.
When Darcy had found Sonnet 116, he was intrigued.
So, this is her favorite, he had thought.
Darcy knew the sonnet well. Considering the subject matter as well as the fact that the sonnet obviously held special meaning for her, made it seem too personal and too intimate for him to be reading it in front of an audience.
As Darcy read the words on the page, he felt that familiar pull between them.
When he came to the end, he looked up to find her gazing at him with those beautiful eyes and flushed cheeks.
His throat suddenly dry, Darcy had managed to swallow and tell her he agreed that it was one of Shakespeare’s best sonnets.
Her cheeks had seemed to flush an even deeper shade.
It made him wonder if he had been correct and reading that sonnet in front of everyone had indeed been uncomfortable for her.
Miss Bennet must also have sensed the need for a subject change.
She asked if anyone had read any good novels lately.
Everyone seemed eager to speak on that subject, so they did.
Darcy supposed that learning Sonnet 116 was her favorite fit with what he already knew of her.
She had previously spoken of her aunt and uncle’s marriage as a love match.
Miss Elizabeth had described their marriage as ideal.
It was clear she desired such a union for herself.
Darcy smiled. His Aunt Catherine would say she was being na?ve and needed to focus on more material considerations.
Darcy felt she was a grown woman, and she was entitled to have criteria for marriage that she felt would make her happy.
He also knew she was an intelligent woman.
She would not tie herself to a pauper. Miss Elizabeth knew money was an important consideration.
It just was not the most important consideration for her.
She was more concerned with happiness in marriage.
He was sure that if she found affection with a man of similar income to her father, she would be content.
It was not her aim to raise her financial prospects through marriage.
It was yet another thing he found refreshing about her.
Darcy had been struggling with his own criteria for a very long time.
Actually, it was not his criteria, but the criteria decided by society.
Darcy sighed. He knew he had a duty . . .
to his position, to his family . . . but, did he really have a duty to society ?
Not to his way of thinking. He was not beholden to the ton.
He did have family, however, who wished to maintain their status and influence within that sphere.
They would take issue with Darcy going out of bounds in any way.
Up until now, Darcy had not been required to deal with these expectations.
He had not been in a hurry to marry, nor had he found a young lady that he wished to consider marrying .
. . until now. Now, he had met Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and he was taken with her.
It was high time he addressed the expectations placed on him.
Saturday was clear and cool. Ever since the storm, the temperatures had been cooler. Elizabeth had enjoyed the warm weather while it lasted. Now, it felt unmistakably like autumn.
Elizabeth went downstairs. She knew it was a little early, but she decided she would go down anyway.
She told herself that it was not in the hope of spending time with Mr. Darcy.
When she entered the dining room, her eyes found him immediately.
He was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and looking out the window.
He was so handsome! She smiled and her heart gave an extra beat.
Why did it give her so much joy to see him sitting there? She took a deep breath to calm herself.
“Good morning, Mr. Darcy.”
He put down his cup and stood. “Good morning, Miss Elizabeth.”
She walked to the window and looked outside. “I wonder if it will warm up much today."
“It might. Do you have much planned for today?” he asked.
She turned from the window and smiled at him. “Not much. Just riding out to check the progress of the debris removal.”
“May I accompany you?”
Her heart pounded. “Yes, I would like that.”
He smiled, then asked, “Would you like some tea?”
Her breath caught. She certainly was not expecting that question either! “Yes, I would, thank you.”
“How do you take your tea, Miss Elizabeth?”
“With milk and one sugar,” she said, taking a seat across from him.
He set her cup in front of her.
“Thank you."
"You are welcome," he said, resuming his seat.
“I imagine you are eager to get back to your home in London,” Elizabeth said teasingly. “You will not be so surrounded by women there.”
Mr. Darcy smiled. “Not at all, Miss Elizabeth. We have enjoyed our impromptu stay at Longbourn. You and your sisters have been excellent hostesses. Now that we are to leave for London before you and your sisters do, Georgiana will probably wish to stay.”
Elizabeth chuckled. “She may surprise you and be quite ready to go. We will not be here much longer than you in any case.”
“Yes, that is right. You are scheduled to leave on Wednesday.”
“We are,” she confirmed and sipped her tea.
“I hope we will see much of each other in town,” Mr. Darcy said, looking into her eyes.
“Yes, that would be nice,” she said, boldly maintaining their eye contact.
“I look forward to meeting your aunt and uncle, and also getting a glimpse of their ideal marriage.” Mr. Darcy said with a grin.
Elizabeth laughed.
“I recall you said you had given it much study and done a thorough comparison of it with other marriages,” he added.
She smirked at him and said, “So I have.”
Mr. Darcy nodded. “Please tell me the conclusion you have reached as to what the recipe is for an ideal marriage.”
“Well, love, for one thing. A true and steadfast love.”
He grinned. “Yes, the kind that looks on tempests and is never shaken.”
She smirked again. “Indeed. That is the kind I speak of.”
“What else?” he asked.
“Respect. Mutual respect.”
As soon as she said this, Elizabeth felt the need to look away, so she reached for her cup of tea and took a sip. After indicating his agreement with her last comment, Mr. Darcy also sipped from his cup. However, he wasted no time getting them back on topic.
“Number three?”
She smiled. “Well, it would be ideal to have some things in common.”
“Indeed.”
“What would you add to the list?” Elizabeth asked.
He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. “Trust.”
She held his gaze. “Absolutely.”
They heard Mr. Bingley speaking with Mary as the two approached the dining room.
“I guess we shall have to add more to our list later,” Mr. Darcy said with a small smile.
As she watched him greet Mary and Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth thought, our list?
They were just finishing breakfast when Mr. Hill came and whispered something to Miss Bennet.
“Mr. Darcy, do you have a cousin by the name of Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam?” Miss Bennet asked.
“Yes,” Darcy said, looking alert.
Miss Bennet looked back at the butler and said, “Please invite him to join us, Mr. Hill.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Darcy stood. A few moments later, his cousin entered the dining room.
“Fitz!” Darcy said.
“Richard!” Georgiana exclaimed with equal surprise.
Darcy walked towards him, hand outstretched. They shook hands and slapped each other on the back.
“It is good to see you, cousin,” Fitz said. “Hello, Georgie.” He hugged Georgiana, who had walked up beside them.
“It is good to see you as well. What brings you here?” Darcy asked.
“We were all worried after hearing of the storm that tore through here. I was willing to wait another day to give time for you to get a message to us, but Mother insisted I come to make sure you both were well.”
“Sorry, Fitz, there has been so much going on. It never crossed my mind to send word that we were all well. We expect to be able to travel on Monday, and I was simply planning to contact Aunt Sophia when I got back in town, as I always do. I did not think about the fact that news of the storm would have reached you.”
“I understand, Darcy,” Fitz said. “I imagine you all have had quite a bit to contend with here.”
“We certainly have!” Georgiana said.
“Fitz, allow me to introduce you,” Darcy said. “This is Miss Jane Bennet, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and Miss Mary Bennet. Ladies, my cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam.”
He bowed, and the ladies curtsied.
“It is a pleasure, ladies,” Fitz said.
“We are pleased to meet you, sir,” Miss Bennet said. “Have you eaten breakfast?”
“I have, thank you,” Fitz replied. He then turned to greet Bingley and Mrs. Annesley.
“How were the roads?” Bingley asked.
“Still quite a bit of debris on the London Road. Not so much in this village, though,” Fitzwilliam replied.
“Are you planning to return today?” Darcy asked.
“I had thought to send my batman to find an inn,” Fitz replied.
“Oh no, indeed, Colonel. We are happy to host you here at Longbourn,” Miss Bennet said with a quick glance at Miss Elizabeth, who nodded in agreement.
“I would not wish to inconvenience you . . . "
“I assure you it is no inconvenience, Colonel Fitzwilliam,” Miss Elizabeth insisted.
“Then I thank you for your hospitality,” Fitz replied with a polite smile.
“Lizzy, will you take everyone to the drawing room while I speak with Mrs. Hill?” Miss Bennet asked.
“Certainly,” Miss Elizabeth replied. She then linked arms with Miss Mary and led the way from the dining room.
Darcy noticed Miss Elizabeth let go of her sister’s arm and step aside, while Miss Mary kept walking towards the drawing room. Georgiana, Mrs. Annesley, and Bingley followed her.
“Colonel Fitzwilliam,” Miss Elizabeth said.
Fitz and Darcy both came to stand before her.
“Yes, Miss Elizabeth?”
“Would you like to send an express to your mother?” she asked.
“I would, thank you.”
She gave him a nod and smiled, then turned to Darcy. “Mr. Darcy, do you mind showing your cousin to the escritoire in the parlor?” she asked, grinning at him.
He grinned back. “No, I do not mind.”
“Thank you,” she said, still grinning at Darcy. She gave Fitz another smile, then walked into the drawing room.
Darcy turned his head, watching her until she disappeared into the drawing room. He then turned back and noticed his cousin looking at him with raised brows and an amused expression on his face.
Fitz chuckled. “What is going on here?”
Darcy smiled at his cousin and said quietly, “We will speak in the parlor.”
Then he led the way.