Chapter 6
Elizabeth was in the sitting room between her room and her aunt’s room after dinner.
They had retired early for it had been an eventful day and the next day was expected to be the same in preparation for their departure to Hertfordshire.
Mr. Bingley had declared during dinner that his sisters and Mr. Hurst were to travel northwards to Mr. Hurst's estate when he journeyed to Hertfordshire instead of staying at Pemberley for a few weeks as Darcy had suggested.
She had caught a sharp edge in Mr. Bingley’s comments which had led her to understand that all was not well between the two friends.
He hardly spoke, contrary to his amiable nature and when he did, it was with hitherto unforeseen authority.
Even Miss Bingley seemed subdued in his presence.
Darcy had earlier told her about his conversation with Bingley regarding Jane but had not mentioned anything about the latter’s reaction.
Elizabeth was sure that with time Mr. Bingley would forgive his friend but for now it seemed that he was resolved to make him suffer.
With the whole party departing within a day or two, Elizabeth was again worried about Miss Darcy anew. She did not want her summer plans to so upended on Elizabeth’s behalf but could not think of a way out of this conundrum. She shared her dilemma with Mrs. Gardiner as she came and sat next to her.
“She is such a sweet girl and seems to revere her brother, it seems most unfair.”
“While it is true, she cannot remain at Netherfield without a hostess, you may easily invite her to stay at Longbourn. I am sure Mr. Darcy would not mind the added incentive of visiting us every day. Mrs. Annesley may easily accompany her and provide enough companionship and familiarity as she gets accustomed to the strangeness of a new place.”
“But I had thought about reducing the staff at Longbourn and sending them to Brighton. We will need to practice some economy till Lydia recovers. Mr. Darcy may have offered his house but maintaining the household will still be expensive, what with the doctor and nurses needed. To have Miss Darcy in such reduced circumstances will not be possible.”
“My dear girl, your uncle told me before he left that Mr. Darcy has pledged himself for all expenses in Brighton. The household, the doctors and nurse for Lydia, whatever is needed will be done at his expense and his housekeeper will be instructed to forward all bills directly to him. Lizzy, you may have been right about his one fault, he is obstinate in getting his way.” Mrs. Gardiner responded as she affectionately patted her niece’s arm.
“I keep underestimating him. He is too much of a gentleman to even consider anything else and whatever I say to him on this matter will only embarrass him. No, there is no use for me to keep rehashing my gratitude. I will try to be a friend to him in deed as he has been to us and will start by inviting his sister to Longbourn.” Elizabeth responded with conviction.
The next morning, at breakfast Elizabeth and Darcy were by themselves. Deciding to take advantage of the solitude, Elizabeth asked his permission to invite Georgiana to Longbourn. The rest of the household was still abed, and the relative privacy offered them an opportunity to discuss the matter.
“Since it will just be me, Jane, and Mary under my aunt’s guardianship, you may be assured of your sister’s sensibilities. Though I do not promise to safeguard her from my impertinent manner.” She joked, referring to the unrestrained behaviour of her mother and younger sisters.
“To be frank I would not mind if she gained some of your courage Miss Bennet. She has become too shy, and some gentle female companionship may just be what she needs.” He replied as he stirred his tea and encouraged her to issue the invitation to his sister.
“I had planned for us to start for Hertfordshire by tomorrow, but we may have to wait for another day as Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst will also need to prepare for their departure and with Georgiana accompanying us the house will have to be closed up.”
“I hope you will not rush on our account. It matters little when we reach Hertfordshire for Lydia lies in Brighton.” Elizabeth responded with a hint of despair creeping in her tone.
“Do you wish to be in Brighton, Miss Bennet?”
“It would hardly make any difference to Lydia. She will receive the best care with my uncle in charge of the situation.”
“But would it make you feel less anxious being near her?”
“To admit the truth, I do not know. What I know is Papa would be uncomfortable having me there. It would remind him that I had vehemently opposed Lydia’s visit to Brighton which he had disregarded.
I have no wish to add to his guilt when frankly I cannot blame him for the current situation.
I had objected based on what I knew of my sister’s nature and Mr. Wickham’s character.
As I did not want to break your confidence, no details were mentioned, and Papa had disregarded my warnings. ”
Darcy refrained from commenting on the inept parenting of Mr. Bennet.
“If at any point you wish to be near your sister, you just need to mention it, and I promise you I will find a way to make it happen.”
“I assure you that I will let you know if I ever feel the necessity to go to Brighton. But as of now all I await is my uncle’s letter once he sees Lydia.
Jane was too distraught, and her letter was based on my father’s guilt-driven account.
Uncle Gardiner would have a better sense of the situation. ”
“I am sure you will find your uncle’s letter waiting for you as you reach Longbourn.” Changing the subject Darcy asked about Jane and if Elizabeth had written to her.
“Yes, I placed it in the entrance hall to be dispatched. She will be relieved to have Aunt Gardiner and me at Longbourn for Mary is too dispassionate to be a companion in grief.”
At this Darcy instructed the nearest footman to arrange for the letter to be dispatched at once by express, declaring that Miss Bennet needed to know that her dearest sister would soon be reunited with her and there would be no cause for them to abandon Longbourn.
Elizabeth was once again impressed by his quick action and commended him on it.
“It was your bond with your elder sister which had made me consider the same kind of bond between you and Georgiana when we were in Kent. Both of you seem to gain courage and confidence from each other though you both have disparate personalities."
Elizabeth was surprised by this response.
Mr. Darcy, it seemed, was bent on mentioning his proposal in the most matter-of-fact tone.
She had thought that he would seek to avoid the subject once they had cleared the air, so to say, but he seemed to have no such compunction.
He mentioned his partiality for her as an established fact but without any expectation of reciprocation.
He just accepted his shortcomings and wished to improve himself.
Taking advantage of their relative privacy, she decided to follow his example and speak her mind.
“You have been most surprising in the last couple of days. The Mr. Darcy I knew in Hertfordshire and even in Kent was reticent and reserved. But the last couple of days have shown me a different side of you. I have been wondering what changed?”
“A bold lady showed me a mirror and I did not like what I saw. The last couple of months have been a learning experience. I will not claim to have changed completely but I have learnt that shutting oneself off from the person whose opinion matters the most is foolish in the extreme. I do not want to make you uncomfortable. If you wish me not to mention Kent or of my admiration for you, I will maintain my silence.”
This elicited a tinkling laughter from Elizabeth, “You seem to consider me a paragon of virtues and my vanity is too well satisfied to ask you to desist. While I was embarrassed about my behaviour in Kent, your matter-of-fact acceptance of it makes it much more bearable.
You, sir, are a conundrum which I am becoming more and more interested in solving. "
“Well in that case, I will give you another opportunity to figure me out. I need to ride out to oversee some estate matters and you are more than welcome to join.”
“Now you have uncovered a most grievous flaw in my personality. I do not ride, sir.” Seeing his incredulous expression, she continued. “While I do know how to ride and can manage a docile mare at a leisurely pace, I am in no way accomplished enough to match you on a ride across the estate.”
“Why do I feel that there is a story to this?” Darcy responded as he signalled a nearby footman and asked him to bring the phaeton around.
“This time we will ride in the phaeton, if you do not object to being driven around by me and maybe I will learn as to how the most audacious woman I know seems to be afraid of riding when her serene older sister is quite adept at it.”
The ride was most rewarding for Elizabeth.
For one thing, it kept her mind off Lydia and firmly on her companion.
Mr. Darcy was most devoted to her comfort and seemed to enjoy driving across the estate.
His major purpose was to oversee the fence at the border of the estate and a bridge which had been completely submerged last year during rains.
This bridge was necessary for the tenants on the eastern side of the estate to go over to the village.
His steward was already present and the tenants most affected had also gathered.
Elizabeth was surprised to see that he was comfortable bringing her to what would most definitely be considered a man’s domain.
Here she was finally able to get a glimpse of the man she had known in Hertfordshire and Kent.
He stood tall and proud with a sober expression and a serious mien.
He listened to all that was told and quietly instructed his steward to build a permanent bridge at Pemberley’s cost. When it was pointed out by his steward that the neighbour who was to also benefit from this structure did not seem interested in discussing the prospect at all, Elizabeth noticed a slight tightening near his eyes which she had often noticed in Meryton and attributed to extreme irritation.
To her surprise he turned and addressed her.
“Miss Bennet, what would you suggest? I cannot leave the situation as it is. It would be disastrous to my people, but I do not want to give in to what seems like thievery by my neighbours. They know that I can ill afford to let the situation be and wish to take advantage.”
“Pemberley is the primary estate in the area. I am sure your neighbour is dependent on your goodwill on some other matter also?” Elizabeth asked as she considered the matter. In response Darcy just raised an eyebrow towards his steward.
“Miss Bennet is right sir; neighbouring estates do rely on each other. Pemberley is far more prosperous than Whispering Woods and time and again their tenants and farm labourers have tried to move to us but in good will we have not poached. We also provide help during harvest.”
“Well, there is your solution, Stevens. If they will not pay for the bridge in money, they may well pay in labour. Let them know that our goodwill may not withstand this obstinacy.” Then looking towards Elizabeth, he continued.
“Miss Bennet, I thank you for such a neat solution. Stevens, I hope the work will start at the earliest and if there is any issue send me an express at once.”
With all matters settled he helped Elizabeth back into the Phaeton.
“So, Miss Bennet, what do you think of Pemberley? Now that you have seen the farms and tenants.”
“I would say Pemberley is a magnificent estate, but a lot of its greatness is because of its master. You seem to be a very generous landlord sir.”
“I continue to do what my ancestors have always done.” Darcy responded embarrassed, then changing the subject inquired about Elizabeth’s lack of riding skills.
“Knowing your love for the outdoors, I am surprised. I would have expected you to be racing on horseback instead your gentle sister seems to be the rider in the family.”
“You are bent on exposing all my wild ways. Well, I learnt riding with Jane when we were both young and Jane being the proper lady even in her childhood, would ride with appropriate caution, but I was too enchanted by the freedom afforded on horseback to hold back, especially as Papa allowed me to ride astride.” Seeing Darcy’s amused expression, she continued.
“When I was some ten years old my cat got stuck in a tree and I climbed up to rescue it but later realised that I was too high to come down. Nellie was nearby and appeared below the tree at my call. I took the cat and jumped thinking the horse would break my fall instead she was spooked, and, in the confusion, I landed on the ground and Nellie trampled my legs in the confusion.”
“You can hardly blame the poor horse for the mischief of a child.” Darcy exclaimed. “I would have understood if you were thrown but you were the one throwing yourself.”
“I assure you sir I was ready to ride the moment Mr. Jones declared my foot had mended and even apologised quite prettily to dear Nellie. But Papa was adamant, I was too wild and ungoverned to be left on horseback and hence ended my journey of riding. It may have been for the best. With nothing better to do I started spending time in my father’s library and his influence saved me from becoming a complete hoyden. ”
“You could hardly ever have been called a hoyden, impertinent, of course, maybe irreverent and a little too outspoken but not a hoyden.” Darcy said in a deadpan voice earning a slight slap on his arm.
The rest of the journey passed in companionable silence with Elizabeth contemplating this new insight in Darcy’s character.
His inclusion of her opinion in estate matters spoke of his respect for her intellect.
Her father had always considered her the quickest of his children but had still ignored her when she had protested Lydia’s visit to Brighton.
Her concerns were considered youthful squeamishness.
But Mr. Darcy had not just listened but asked for her advice.
His taking her with him for the discussion spoke a lot and Elizabeth was not insensible to the distinction.