Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Where are you going?” Mr Bennet gazed at her over the top of his spectacles and Elizabeth froze at her father’s question.
“For a walk. I wish to call upon old Mrs Haywood. Her gout has worsened, and I have packed her some food.” Elizabeth held out the large basket for him to see.
“We have scarcely seen you this week.” Mr Bennet looked at her intently. “I know you are fond of walking, but you have hardly been at home.”
“I wish to enjoy the good weather while it is here.”
“But it rained all of yesterday and you went out nevertheless.”
This rare display of paternal concern took Elizabeth by surprise.
She did not want to tell her father the truth.
To be confined at Longbourn with her mother’s endless speculation that Elizabeth might eventually secure Mr Darcy had become unbearable.
In the days following their excursion to Birkstead Castle, Mrs Bennet had told anyone who would listen about her dreams of a double wedding for her two eldest daughters.
Jane bore it with her usual equanimity, but Elizabeth was unable to remain unaffected.
Mr Bingley had called at Longbourn several times since their trip a week ago, but Mr Darcy had not.
This absence made her mother behave more erratically and made her demands upon Elizabeth’s peace more difficult to bear.
“Can you blame me for desiring a little solitude?” she replied.
“Not at all.” Mr Bennet held her gaze. “But neither do I want you running about in the cold. After Jane’s illness brought about by your mother’s manoeuvring, I do not wish to see another daughter ill.
And I am glad to have caught you—I wanted to tell you that I have received word from Artur and he is due to arrive in London next week. I am sure he will visit us soon after.”
“What wonderful news! It will be lovely to see Mr Vanderbeck and learn of his latest adventures.” She gave him an impish grin. “And I shall tell Hill to procure more salts for Mama in anticipation.”
The route to Mrs Haywood’s cottage was not far and Elizabeth dispensed the food into the good woman’s grateful hands. The hour was still early, and despite the swirls of grey in the clouds overhead, she decided to walk back another way, one that would take her on a short meander into the woods.
The sky was soon blocked by the trees’ canopy.
Shafts of wintry light cut through the gaps in the branches, and she was enveloped by the woodland.
The quiet stillness was precisely what Elizabeth needed.
She found an old tree stump and sat upon it, closing her eyes and appreciating the silence.
But her mind’s eye would not allow her to find her peace.
Unbidden, the image of Mr Darcy returned, and her heart began to race.
He had looked so unhappy at the mention of Mr Wickham, and his vulnerability had touched her deeply.
And when he had kissed her hand! It was as though a fire had been lit inside of her; one that could not be extinguished.
Even now, as she thought of him, she felt consumed by heat.
She placed both her hands on the tree and raised her face upwards, exposing her neck.
What would it be like for him to caress her there, to feel his rough masculine stubble against her soft skin?
She shivered at the thought, before casting Mr Darcy from her mind.
You are a fool to think of him like this.
It was not uncommon for a gentleman to kiss a woman’s hand.
It was only her imagination that longed for more.
Her mind much occupied, she again noted the time. A drop of rain splashed upon her watch. Quickly, she gathered up her belongings, and hurried for home, leaving the woods behind her. Soon Longbourn came into view.
“Miss Elizabeth!” She heard her name and turned to see Mr Lucas coming down the lane on a stout white cob. The stirrups groaned under his weight as he swung himself down to the ground. Her heart sank as he strode towards her, reins in hand. “How fortuitous! I came to call upon you.”
By now the rain had turned from light to mizzling and Elizabeth took refuge under the branches of a large oak tree. “Would it trouble you if we continued our conversation in the house? I am worried that we will soon be caught out by the weather.”
He continued as though she had not spoken. “I shall not detain you long my dear Lizzy.”
She bristled. “You are too familiar in your address, sir.”
He dropped the reins, taking hold of her hand and squeezing it tightly. “But what does it matter? We have known each other since infancy. You never minded when I called you Lizzy before.”
She pulled her hand from his clasp. “That was when we were children.”
“But when we are married, I may call you whatever I choose, and the name Lizzy pleases me very well.”
“What makes you think we shall be married?”
“What are you talking about? Our whole lives we have spent together. Did you not always dream of marrying me? Why, you even agreed to meet me alone only last month.”
“I am sorry to have done it, if it gave you false hope. My intention was to tell you that I do not wish to be your wife.”
He looked dumbfounded. “Whyever not?”
Thinking of her friendship with Charlotte, Elizabeth was moderate in her speech. “We are not well-suited. Our interests and tastes are not compatible. In such circumstances, it is customary to express gratitude, and I am thankful for your consideration, but I must respectfully express my refusal.”
He spluttered. “But you are the only woman in Meryton worthy of me! We must be married.”
“But you do not love me.”
“What does that have to do with anything? I am a splendid match.”
“And you will make another, more obliging woman, very happy.”
Red spots formed in Mr Lucas’s cheeks, and he stamped his foot. “But Mama says I am to marry you.”
“Then I am sorry to have disappointed her. But it is for the best, and I am thinking of your happiness as well as my own. You must make that clear, for I always desire to be on civil terms with your family.”
“Have you taken leave of your senses, Lizzy? You must accept my proposal.”
Elizabeth drew up her courage. “I have not given you permission to call me by that name. And my answer must be no.”
Mr Lucas gave the ground another petulant stamp, his mouth curled into a sneer. “I suppose you are waiting for a better offer. Mama says that your head has been turned by Mr Darcy. He will not marry you, you know. Your family is far too vulgar.”
“And yet they are not vulgar enough to discourage you!” Elizabeth retorted. “Have a care, Mr Lucas, with the accusations you make, for you are misinformed indeed.”
He snorted. “Misinformed! You have all but thrown yourself in his way. And here I am, offering you my hand despite what everyone else says about you.”
“How noble!” she replied bitterly. “But I must ask myself why you wish to marry me. By your own admission it is not for love, and besides, you consider me to be a mercenary opportunist.” She took a step towards him, willing herself not to cry.
“I wonder if it is the lure of claiming a celebrated and wealthy gentleman as your wife’s godfather that prompts you to ask for my hand? ”
The mention of Mr Vanderbeck had an extraordinary effect on Mr Lucas.
This timely reminder of why indeed he was suffering to lower himself to propose marriage was enough to silence him.
He verily swallowed his tongue and spluttered once again.
“I shall apply to your father. He will see the sense of my offer.”
Clearly there was no more to be said that could persuade Mr Lucas of her unwavering disavowal of his advances. “Good day, Mr Lucas. When next we meet, I shall behave as though this awful encounter never happened. To preserve your own reputation as a chivalrous gentleman, I suggest you do the same.”
Elizabeth picked up her basket and turned on her heel, not caring that it was now raining heavily. She did not look back at Mr Lucas and marched across the sodden field. Her breathing unsteady, she hurried up the steps of Longbourn and knocked rapidly on the door.
Mr Harris, their elderly butler answered it. “Miss Elizabeth, how glad I am to see you returned. The house is in an uproar.”
“What is wrong?”
“It is Mr Bingley. He has just asked for Miss Bennet’s hand in marriage.”