Chapter 16 #2
“In two or three days. I am not sure yet. But, Brother, your plans must not depend on mine. You have your own carriage, so you may travel where you please and when you please.”
“True. But Louisa wants us all to travel together.”
“You must consider that I might return to Netherfield in a few days. My plans for Christmas are not fixed yet, but they depend on Miss Bennet. Anyone else is welcome to join me, or not.”
“Young man, I am quite impressed with your determination,” Lord Matlock said. “And I congratulate you for it. Whatever the consequences of your actions might be, you embrace them. This is very gentlemanlike behaviour.”
Darcy agreed with his uncle. In such a short time, Bingley had progressed from a hesitant, obedient, doubtful young man to a gentleman who knew his heart and was ready to fight for it.
It was impressive indeed. If not for Lord Matlock, Bingley might have allowed himself to be convinced by his sisters to leave Jane Bennet.
And he, Darcy, would have likely supported them and pushed Bingley into misery.
In doing so, his relationship with Elizabeth would have turned from bad to worse, and this thought gave him shivers.
He could have destroyed his own felicity and Bingley’s because of his poor judgment of Jane Bennet’s feelings as well as Elizabeth’s.
Lord Matlock was right. He was ill-qualified in the business of the heart.
For that morning, his plan was to clarify Elizabeth’s misunderstanding about his engagement to Anne.
If she was still too unwell to see him, he would reveal the truth to Mr Bennet.
The more he thought about it, the more irritated he was that his aunt was still holding onto that silly notion of their arranged marriage.
However, there was nothing to be done. Lady Catherine de Bourgh was known for never accepting any other opinion but her own.
After breakfast, Darcy wrote a letter to Georgiana and one to his solicitor, while Lord Matlock wrote to his sons.
Around noon, they rode towards Longbourn.
The weather was sunny but cold, and their reception by the Bennets was warm and effusive.
The ladies were all in the drawing room, except for Elizabeth.
“Mr Bennet is in his library, as usual,” Mrs Bennet said with a trace of reproach. “I shall send John to fetch him.”
“Thank you, but there is no need,” Lord Matlock answered. “If you do not mind, we shall go there. We already know the way.”
“Of course, sir! Please do as you please. Treat our home as your home,” Mrs Bennet replied, and the earl bowed to her.
As expected, Mr Bennet was there. As Darcy had hoped, Elizabeth was there too. At their entrance, both stood to greet their guests. Elizabeth seemed a little pale and slightly uneasy, and her eyes met his for only a moment.
“My dear Miss Elizabeth, I am glad to see you looking much better,” the earl said.
“I do feel better,” she agreed. “Mr Jones’s medicine was very helpful. I must thank Mr Darcy for insisting on him being fetched, even with my opposition.”
“There is no need for thanks, Miss Bennet,” Darcy answered. “If I were in your place, I would have been as stubborn as you were in not calling him.”
“So would I,” the earl interjected. “We often have a tendency to show more concern for those we care about than for ourselves.”
Darcy held his breath for an instant. Those we care about was a natural expression given the circumstances, but it revealed quite a lot if it was properly understood. Elizabeth’s quick look at him and sudden blush indicated that she might have caught the meaning too.
“Mr Darcy, Lord Matlock, I cannot go any further with this discussion without apologising for my irrational outburst yesterday. I was inexcusably rude. I twisted your jest and turned it into a quarrel. It was outrageous, and I am very sorry.”
As she spoke, she glanced at Darcy for another moment, and he knew it was the perfect time to intervene. However, Lord Matlock spoke first.
“It was not outrageous, only confusing, Miss Elizabeth. We knew your sense of humour to be impeccable, but we know you felt unwell. But I must ask, where on earth did you hear that nonsense about Darcy’s engagement to Anne?”
Elizabeth turned pale again, obviously disconcerted, and tried to mumble a reply.
“I am sure it was your cousin who told you, and he must have heard it from my sister. Being among friends, I must say I am not sure which of the two is more of a lunatic.”
Elizabeth still looked bewildered and glanced at Darcy a few more times, her expression doubtful.
“Yes, Mr Collins told me, but it was rude of me to mention it.”
“I am glad you did, Miss Bennet,” Darcy finally said. “There is no engagement. It is merely a story repeated by my aunt since my childhood. She believes I should marry Anne and that we would be perfectly suited.”
“Oh…” Elizabeth whispered.
“After my parents died, my aunt made a habit of repeating this story to anyone who wished to listen. Neither I nor Anne wish for such a marriage, and we have said as much to my aunt too many times to count. But it is never enough.”
He smiled at her, but her countenance was still clouded, and she was far from her usual self.
“I understand. Thank you for telling me, sir,” she finally whispered.
“Of course, if I were engaged, I would not have kept it a secret. I strongly believe that an engaged man should show at least that much respect for his betrothed.”
He hoped his meaning was clear to her.
“Indeed, I agree,” she responded. “I should have assumed as much.”
“If there is anything else you wish to clarify, please do not hesitate to ask me, Miss Bennet. I might be proud, arrogant, and annoying, but disguise of any sort is my abhorrence. So you can expect the truth from me if I am allowed to say it, even if it might be unpleasant. Even if I cannot reveal a secret, I shall not lie.”
He spoke in earnest, and the conversation was now being carried exclusively between him and Elizabeth, while the other two watched.
“I shall remember that, Mr Darcy,” she declared, and finally the bright smile returned to her lips, and the sparkles to her eyes.