Chapter 47 Mr. Darcy Returns #2
Darcy’s expression was grim. “I was here with my horse.” He gestured toward the meadow where Ares grazed.
“She was weeping and did not see me. I watched as she climbed the tree, and she was distressed the entire time. I know nothing more than you do, but she has made it abundantly clear that she does not wish to speak to either of us.”
Darcy walked to the edge of the mount and looked down. Elizabeth was far below and had nearly reached the bottom. Allen came to stand beside him.
“I imagine she is not in any condition to entertain either of us.”
Darcy muttered. “No, I fear she is not. I had hoped to offer my hand in marriage.”
Allen looked at his rival. “What effrontery is this?”
Darcy continued to watch Elizabeth as she disappeared behind the hedges that bordered her father’s estate.
“As you know, I asked her to marry me the night of the ball, and she refused me. What you do not know is that we have been much in company since early March. Miss Bennet loves me, and I mean to act upon that truth.”
Allen made a sound of derision. “She told me her affections were engaged, but she refused you, knowing that you and she could never live in harmony, for you are too proud and arrogant.”
Darcy looked pained at this pronouncement. “She believes that now, but I can make her happy, and she loves me. She can never be happy with another.”
“She told me she has sufficient heart to love again, and in these past weeks, I have advanced my suit. She looks for me when she enters a room, and her eyes brighten when she sees me. You have lost, Darcy. Admit it, and leave her to make her own way.”
“I will not. I am her way. She has loved me for months, and I will not leave her behind again. When I depart this time, she shall leave with me as my wife. I will not accept a refusal.”
Allen flushed. “You would force yourself upon her?”
“I have no need to force anything. She will come to me of her own will, because she loves me. She has loved me since the first moment she saw me, as I have loved her.”
Allen spoke with contempt. “Your love is of no account, for you left her behind for another to claim. You have returned now only because she has turned her eye to another, and you relish the chase.”
Darcy’s eyes were piercing. “I am sorry for you, Allen, for I have suffered what you are now suffering. But you shall not have her, for she is already mine.”
Darcy regarded his rival in silence, then said. “She must have learned that I had returned, and it unsettled her. She finds herself in love with two men and does not know how to resolve it. But like I already said, she belongs to me.”
Allen remained silent for several minutes, then sighed. “I fear you are right. She has been perfectly contented, bright, and lively all these weeks. It must be your return to Hertfordshire that has affected her. I shall return and take my leave. I will return to London today.”
Allen turned and began his descent from the mount.
Darcy released a breath he had not known he held. With relief, he went to collect his horse. He would return to Netherfield for the present, for Elizabeth required time to recover herself. In the meantime, he would consider how he might reach her.
Elizabeth ran into the house and up the stairs to her room.
Allen made his way to Longbourn at a slower pace, weighed down by his loss.
Had he spoken but a day sooner, they would have been engaged, and Elizabeth would have been beyond Darcy’s reach.
He had not spoken, for she had not been ready.
She had begun to open her heart to him. In many ways, she had already been his, but they had required more time to secure what had begun between them.
Now all was at an end. Darcy had returned and claimed her affection, and all three knew where her heart lay.
When he reached Longbourn, he asked to see Mr. Bennet. He was shown into the study.
“Sir, I had hoped you would be my father-in-law, but Miss Bennet is in love with another, and I must yield to the truth of it.”
Mr. Bennet had risen when he saw the gentleman’s countenance, and now he frowned. “In love with another. How can this be? She has had eyes for only you.”
Allen’s expression was grave. “Darcy has returned, and we all know that she has given her heart to him. I would take my leave of her before I return to London, sir, if she is able to receive me.”
“Able to receive you? Is Elizabeth unwell?”
“No, sir, but she has been weeping over Darcy, I believe. I have never seen her so distressed, and she may refuse to see me.”
Mr. Bennet crossed to the door and rang the bell. When Alice appeared, he said, “Send Elizabeth down to me. Tell her Mr. Allen is here to take his leave, and that we are waiting upon her.”
“Yes, sir.” Alice left, and Bennet motioned to a chair.
“Have a seat, Allen. If Lizzy has been in tears, it may be some minutes before she joins us.”
They sat, and Mr. Bennet offered him brandy, which he accepted.
When Elizabeth entered, she paused in the doorway, her appearance weary, her eyes swollen and rimmed with red.
“Are you well enough to meet with Mr. Allen, Elizabeth? He returns to London and wishes to take his leave of you.”
“Yes, Papa, I am well.”
She curtsied to Mr. Allen. Mr. Bennet moved to the door.
“Allen, I shall remain in the hall so that you may have a moment of privacy to take your leave.” He stepped out and closed the door behind him.
Allen took her hand and bowed over it. “Miss Bennet, it has been my pleasure to be in your company these past three weeks. They have been among the happiest of my life. Darcy spoke with me today upon the mount, and has made me to understand that you have loved him for many months. I had hoped to win your heart away from him, but I see now that it is not so. I wish you to know that when we meet again in London, I shall not hold this against you, for you shall always possess that portion of my heart which I placed in your keeping here.”
Tears fell down her cheeks. She raised his hand to her lips and kissed his bare knuckles.
“Had Mr. Darcy not returned, sir, my heart would have been entirely in your care. I would have married you and been very happy.”
“I know it, for I saw it in your eyes. But it was not to be.”
Then he, in his turn, lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her bare knuckles.
“Au revoir, Miss Bennet. I wish you every happiness.”
He released her hand and departed.
Elizabeth sank into a chair and wept.