23. Chapter 23
E lizabeth lay across the bed in her dressing gown.
After finishing her bath, she instructed the maid to inform her aunt that she was unwell and would not be coming down for dinner.
The bath had restored her somewhat, but silent tears continued to fall.
She had allowed herself to believe Mr. Darcy cared for her, that he wished to pursue her.
Her sisters had believed it so. Her aunt had even believed it.
How could they all have been so mistaken?
Elizabeth could not reconcile this Mr. Darcy with the man she thought she was coming to know.
The man she knew would not lead a woman to think he was interested in her when he was not.
Maybe the man she knew was only a figment of her imagination.
No, she must not be so harsh in her thoughts of him.
Before she had ever entertained any hopes towards him, he was her friend.
Mr. Darcy was a good man. Perhaps he had just been too unguarded in his attentions to her, and things became misconstrued from there.
She had not taken care as she should have.
Did she not tell herself that she would assume nothing before he addressed her explicitly?
Clearly, her heart had not been listening.
Elizabeth heard a knock at the door. She sat up quickly and wiped her eyes.
“Come in.”
The door opened. Her aunt and sisters entered the room, closing the door behind them. Her aunt took one look at her, then went to Elizabeth with a worried expression.
“Elizabeth!” Aunt Madeleine said, sitting down next to her on the bed. “What is the matter?”
“Are you ill, Lizzy?” Jane asked. She and Mary stood on the other side of the bed, looking at Elizabeth with concern.
“No, I am well,” Elizabeth replied.
“You have been crying,” Aunt Madeleine said. “I knew something was bothering you. I also noticed there was something off about the way you parted with the Darcys this afternoon. What happened?”
Elizabeth sighed and looked down at her fingers as they stroked the smooth fabric of her dressing gown.
“It may help to talk about it,” Aunt Madeleine said gently.
“Would you prefer Mary and I leave?” Jane asked.
“No, that is not necessary. You may as well know now, and this way I will not have to repeat it.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “We were all mistaken. Mr. Darcy is not interested in me romantically.”
“He said this to you?” Aunt Madeleine asked, a slight frown on her face.
“No, I overheard . . . a conversation . . .”
“A conversation? Who was Mr. Darcy speaking with?”
“On our way to the bookshop, we met Mr. and Miss Bingley. Miss Bingley fawned all over the Darcys and pretended I was not there. I did not care to remain in her presence for one moment longer, so I asked Georgiana if she wanted to go in. Georgiana confirmed she did and gave Miss Bingley the cut direct for her treatment of me.”
“Good for Miss Darcy!” Aunt Madeleine said.
Elizabeth gave a small smile, then continued.
“Once we stepped inside the shop, we could still hear them speaking through an open window. Mr. Darcy greeted his friend in return, but he did not greet Miss Bingley. This did not, however, keep her from speaking to him. Miss Bingley told Mr. Darcy that I was not suitable to keep company with his sister. She insisted that Jane and I were trying to ensnare him and Mr. Bingley. She also spoke to her brother as if he were a child, telling him she could see his interest in Jane and did not approve. At that point, Mr. Bingley said, ‘Enough, Caroline! Neither Darcy nor I are pursuing the Bennet ladies. You are making an issue of nothing!’”
“And what did Mr. Darcy say?” her aunt asked.
Elizabeth looked at her. “He said nothing.”
Aunt Madeleine sighed and looked at her for a moment. “Was that the end of it?”
“No, Miss Bingley spewed more nonsense about Jane and me. She would not stop, and Mr. Bingley could not rein her in, so Mr. Darcy brought an end to it by telling Mr. Bingley they would just speak later. The Bingleys went away directly, then Georgiana and I walked out of the bookshop. Mr. Darcy apologized for Miss Bingley’s behavior and passed along Mr. Bingley’s apologies as well.
Immediately after that, Mary came over and informed me that you all were ready to depart. ”
Aunt Madeleine sighed again and shook her head. “I am so very sorry you were subjected to such vile behavior. Miss Bingley is a hateful young woman.”
“Mr. Bingley is an amiable gentleman, but I must say his words about he and Mr. Darcy not pursuing either of us were not a very gentlemanly thing to say when he knew Lizzy was just inside the bookshop,” Jane said.
“I agree,” Mary said, with pinched brows.
“Elizabeth, I can definitely see why you took from that conversation what you did,” Aunt Madeleine said.
“Mr. Bingley made a bold statement, and Mr. Darcy did not contradict him. However, by your own account, Miss Bingley had created an ugly scene. Though Mr. Darcy would not acknowledge her, she insisted on having her say to the point where that gentleman took his leave of Mr. Bingley rather than deal with his shrew of a sister. Perhaps he did not correct Mr. Bingley because he did not want to prolong an intolerable situation. Or, perhaps it is another reason altogether that he will explain to his friend when they speak later. I could be wrong, but I believe there is room for benefit of the doubt here until we know something more conclusively from the man himself.”
“Surely that is reasonable, Lizzy. Do you not think?” Jane asked.
Elizabeth met Jane’s eyes briefly. “Yes, I suppose it is.”
“Also, Mr. Darcy does not strike me as the sort of man who would raise a young lady’s expectations for nothing.
In fact, he is known to be quite reserved," Aunt Madeleine pointed out.
"At the ball, Lady Stanholdt told me of an interesting exchange she had with some other ladies. These ladies were amazed to see Mr. Darcy stand up with you for the first set and the supper set. Apparently, he never bestows the honor of those sets on anyone.”
Elizabeth’s breath caught. She looked at her aunt as she attempted to process what her aunt had said.
Those last words were indeed a revelation!
Could her aunt be correct? Was this all a terrible misunderstanding?
Aunt Madeleine smiled at her, and Elizabeth returned her smile with a tentative one of her own.
She felt a small bud of hope blooming inside her.
They were startled by a knock at the door.
“Come in,” Elizabeth called.
They were all surprised to see Uncle Edward enter the room.
“So, this is where the party is!” he said good-naturedly. “How are you feeling, Lizzy?”
“I am feeling better, thank you.”
“Good. I am glad to hear it,” he replied, smiling. After pausing a moment, he continued, “I received a letter from Mr. Darcy.”
“You did?” Elizabeth asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Indeed. He informed me of your chance meeting with the Bingleys and Miss Bingley’s treatment of you.
Mr. Darcy expressed his regret that you were subjected to such atrocious behavior.
He also expressed another concern—that you may have gotten the wrong impression of him due to words that were exchanged between Mr. Bingley and his sister. ”
Elizabeth could not breathe. She just stared at her uncle, unblinking.
Uncle Edward watched her curiously, then continued. “He went on to say how much your good opinion meant to him, then he requested a private audience with you so that he might clear up any misunderstanding.”
It suddenly felt too warm in the room. “I see,” she said.
Uncle Edward grinned. “Are you willing to meet with him, Lizzy?”
She gave a nod. “Yes, I am, Uncle.”
“Very well. Shall I tell him eleven o’clock tomorrow?”
“Yes, that will be fine.”
“Then I shall go and see to it. I imagine he is eager for a response,” Uncle Edward teased and waggled his brows.
As soon as her uncle left the room, her sisters both exclaimed, “Lizzy!”
Elizabeth smiled uncertainly.
“How do you feel, knowing what Mr. Darcy wrote to your uncle?” Aunt Madeleine asked, smiling.
“If I am honest, I do not really know how I feel. I am trying to keep my mind from running away with thoughts of what it could mean because . . . considering everything, it would be foolish to do so.”
“No one can blame you for wanting to protect your heart, Lizzy,” Jane said.
Mary reached for Elizabeth’s hand and squeezed it.
“Tomorrow everything will be made clear,” Aunt Madeleine said.
“We may have been mistaken in Mr. Darcy’s regard for you, but it is also possible that we have not been mistaken at all.
It could just be that you were the victim of unfortunate circumstances .
. . beginning with Miss Bingley’s horrible treatment of you. ”
“Miss Bingley is so hateful!” Mary exclaimed. “We are barely acquainted with her. I do not understand why she treats us with such contempt.”
“Oh, I can answer that for you,” Aunt Madeleine said. “She is jealous.”
“Jealous?” Mary asked. “Of what?”
“She is jealous that you outrank her,” Aunt Madeleine explained.
“Miss Bingley considers herself superior to you because she has a fortune and has gone to the best finishing school money can buy. However, none of that changes the fact that you are gentlewomen and she is not. She is the daughter of a tradesman, a fact she cannot change despite all her pretensions.”
Aunt Madeleine continued. “Now, here is something else to consider, since she holds you girls in no esteem whatsoever, it would naturally follow that she is completely against her brother’s admiration of Jane and would actively fight against it.
She probably has hopes that he will make a match with a young lady of some standing in society, and Jane would be a threat to accomplishing that. ”
“You are correct, Aunt. I heard her say as much,” Elizabeth said, glancing at Jane.