Chapter 15 #2
Elizabeth looked at her cousin in astonishment.
Surely he could not really mean them to all go to the door and meet her ladyship there.
Despite his obvious desire to prostrate himself before his patroness, it would have been far better manners and likely more comfortable for Lady Catherine too for her to be shown into the drawing room and received there.
But Charlotte, from her better knowledge of Mr Collins, was already guiding her father and sister towards the door after her husband, and Elizabeth therefore followed likewise.
When the door was opened, it revealed a considerable party.
There was an older and officious-looking woman who must be Lady Catherine herself, a woman elegantly dressed but with a pale, strained face, a girl of around Lydia’s age, a tall, strongly built man in the uniform of the regulars — and Mr Darcy!
It took all Elizabeth’s self-control not to betray her surprise at seeing him. Stranger still, she found herself not only surprised to see him, but deeply, unreasonably pleased.
She chided herself for the reaction. Yes, this meeting would likely allow her a chance to discretely thank him for coming to her aid, but why should that leave her heart beating fast and her cheeks feeling heated?
Mr Darcy ought to be nothing more to her than the gentleman she had once misjudged.
She could and must respect his intelligence, his character, and his willingness to act for the public good, but that was all.
It would be the height of folly to feel anything more.
As the introductions were made, the older woman was confirmed to be Lady Catherine, and the woman in poor health to be her daughter, Anne de Bourgh.
Elizabeth had not waited for the introduction of Georgiana Darcy to know she must be Mr Darcy’s sister, for there was a marked resemblance between them.
The military gentleman was Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, one of Lady Catherine’s nephews, but when Mr Darcy was to be introduced, he spoke up.
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet and I have already been introduced, Aunt,” he told Lady Catherine, who looked displeased to be corrected even on so small a point as whether two persons had already met. He turned to Elizabeth herself. “Miss Bennet. It is a very great pleasure to see you again.”
“Likewise,” Elizabeth replied, trying to conceal that she was suddenly and unaccountably breathless. “I shall be glad to resume our conversations, for I found them both instructive and of very great use.”
To Elizabeth’s pleasure, Mr Darcy seemed to understand this allusion and the brief but significant look she gave him to go with it.
He smiled suddenly, and Elizabeth was astonished to find how the look transformed his countenance, making his handsome but stern face look suddenly inviting and somehow yet more attractive.
“I, too,” he said. “I have thought of our conversations many times in the intervening months.”
Elizabeth could not help but be pleased at so great a compliment.
Of course, likely he was doing much the same as herself, and merely signalling that they might discuss the warning and aid he had given at a time of later privacy, but even so, it was pleasant to think that he had found her ideas, her suggestions, even her reproaches worthy of consideration.
Lady Catherine seemed to find it less so. When she happened to glance at Lady Catherine, Elizabeth was surprised to notice she was nearly glowering.
But before Lady Catherine might say anything, Charlotte Lucas at last urged her guests to come through to the drawing room.
To Elizabeth’s astonishment, Mr Darcy placed himself and his sister closest to her, and he seemed eager both to speak to her himself and to encourage Miss Darcy to do likewise.
If Elizabeth was not much mistaken, Miss Darcy was kept from following her brother’s wishes only by very great shyness.
“Do you visit your aunt here in Kent often, Miss Darcy?” Elizabeth asked her, wishing to draw her out.
Miss Darcy shyly shook her head. “No, I do not remember the last time I was here. Though I have seen my aunt in London.”
“Then we shall discover Kent together,” Elizabeth declared. “It is said to be a most beautiful countryside. Do you like walking, Miss Darcy?”
“I cannot claim to be a great walker,” Miss Darcy said regretfully. “Though of course I do like to walk out sometimes, but not very far, or very fast. Perhaps I spend too much time indoors, playing the pianoforte.”
“That cannot be so,” Elizabeth said warmly. “That you spend a great deal of time playing, I can readily believe, for your brother has mentioned how beautifully you play, but I do not believe for a moment that it is too much. If you are very dedicated, that is all to the good.”
“Fitz is too kind to me,” Miss Darcy protested, blushing. “I cannot claim to play beautifully. I still have so very much to learn.”
Mr Darcy placed a hand gently over hers. “You must allow me to be the best judge of my own ears, Georgiana. You do play beautifully.”
“There!” Elizabeth remarked cheerfully. “Your brother is a man of excellent judgement, so I am afraid there is nothing for it, Miss Darcy. You simply must accept the compliment. And I hope I shall have an opportunity of hearing you play before much longer, for I am sure I shall enjoy it as well.”
“I shall,” Miss Darcy agreed shyly, “but only if you will play for me too, Miss Bennet. My brother has told me that you play beautifully as well.”
“Oh, no, no,” Elizabeth protested. “I do not believe I am half as skilled as yourself, for I am sadly lacking in application. I ought to practise far more than I ever do.”
Playfully, Miss Darcy shook her head. “You have just said that I must accept a compliment from my brother, as he is a man of excellent judgement. Does that not mean that you must as well?”
Mr Darcy chuckled. “I believe Georgiana is correct. We shall both look forward to your playing, Miss Bennet.”
“Of what are you speaking?” Lady Catherine demanded suddenly from the other side of the room, where she had been holding court. “You are speaking of music, are you not? I must be a part of the conversation if you are speaking of music. Do you play, Miss Bennet?”
“I do,” Elizabeth replied. “Miss Darcy and I were just establishing that we both play, and that Mr Darcy is a most valuable and generous listener.”
At this, Colonel Fitzwilliam laughed heartily. “I am sure you are too modest, Miss Bennet. If my cousin has enjoyed your playing, you must delight us all. Darcy is never overly pliant in his judgement.”
“Thank you, Colonel. I shall hope not to disappoint you,” Elizabeth said. “But I confess I have always been sadly lacking in discipline, and have never practiced as I ought.”
Lady Catherine snorted disapprovingly. “That is the worst habit a young lady can have, Miss Bennet. You may well believe me. If I had ever learnt to play, I should never have neglected to practise.”
“Of course not, Lady Catherine,” Elizabeth replied solemnly, and kept her smiles to herself.
It was not long before Lady Catherine declared the visit to be over, departing abruptly and issuing what was less an invitation than a command to join them for supper at Rosings Park the next day.
“Such a compliment!” Mr Collins burst out after the door closed behind them. “Such condescension! Who could ever have expected an invitation to come so soon after your arrival! But such are Lady Catherine’s attentions to myself, though I am merely a humble clergyman.”
“Indeed, who could hope for a better patroness!” Sir William agreed.
Elizabeth murmured noncommittal agreement, glad for the chance to think for a moment. The brief visit had yet comprised so many impressions, such absurdity and such confusion, that she did not know how she ought to feel.
Most confounding of all was Mr Darcy. She had long since learned that he was not the forbidding, judgemental man she had once thought him.
From his warning and the trust it showed in herself, Elizabeth had learned to respect him, and when he had responded to her call for aid, Elizabeth had learned that she might trust him as well.
Yet trust and respect did not seem sufficient to describe her feelings.
There was yet something more, something Elizabeth could not define, yet felt obscurely to be dangerous.
Mr Darcy had always thought himself far above her.
There was no reason that should have changed.
Indeed, in wealth and consequence, their lives were worlds apart.
Elizabeth let out a long breath, pushing the confusing feelings away. She was pleased to see him again. She looked forward to their next meeting. For now, she would let that be enough.