Chapter 6 #2
“Now I remember! I was lost to your meaning until I recollected that evening at Netherfield, when I was writing to Georgiana. I believe it was the same evening I expressed my admiration for women willing to improve their minds through extensive reading. Am I wrong?”
“I am not sure whether it was the same evening, but it was certainly that week of my stay at Netherfield. You also mentioned that your sister was about as tall as me.”
“True.” He smiled, and his entire countenance warmed.
“May I ask,” she whispered, “how is Miss Darcy, considering the turmoil she had to endure?”
“She is reasonably well. As you may have guessed, nobody knows about the events at Ramsgate except for my cousin…and you. So at least she has not been forced to bear embarrassment or pity.”
“She must be a remarkable young woman,” Elizabeth said.
“She is. I am proud to be her brother.”
“I am sure she feels the same about you, Mr. Darcy.”
The conversation had become more intimate, and Elizabeth was suddenly aware of her closeness to Mr. Darcy. His stare, his little smile that twisted his lips, his scent of musk combined with the smell of fresh greenery, made her slightly dizzy.
“I should return home now, before I give my cousin another reason to express his disapproval,” she said, attempting to joke.
“Of course. May I escort you?”
“If you wish…”
They began to walk together, and after a little while, he asked, “Have you decided when you will leave Kent?”
“In a week or so. I shall write to my uncle to send his carriage. Maria will travel with me to London, then her father will come to fetch her. I shall stay a few more days at my uncle and aunt’s house. With Jane…”
“I see…”
“And you, sir?”
“We are still trying to convince my aunt to allow Anne to come with us to London. Dr Rease and Dr Blake support us in this, but my aunt is annoyingly stubborn, and Anne does not dare oppose her directly, even though she is the heiress of the entire de Bourgh fortune and is of age, so all decisions should be hers.”
“Lady Catherine is not easy to oppose,” Elizabeth said. “She is rather frightening at times.”
Mr. Darcy smiled. “Not to you, from what I observed. But then again, Anne does not possess your strength and determination. I believe few women do.”
Elizabeth did not know how to respond to that compliment.
“There was a time,” Mr. Darcy continued, “when I was tempted to plot with Anne and the colonel to make use of my aunt’s designs, if only to shield Anne from her mother’s dictatorial ways. But I abandoned the notion. It would have been dishonest and unworthy of us both.”
“Perhaps now, with the help of Dr Blake and Dr Rease, you will convince your aunt to make the right decision. Lady Catherine might dismiss Dr Rease’s suggestions, as he is a complete stranger to her, but she seems to trust Dr Blake, so she should at least listen to him.”
“In fact, Dr Rease is not entirely a stranger,” Mr. Darcy said, surprising her.
“Thomas Rease spent the majority of his childhood with Dr Blake, here in Kent. He is well acquainted with Anne and with all of us. He has always been clever and often declared his wish to study to be a doctor like his uncle, but he used to be a little…superficial. Lady Catherine often said he was not worthy of being in the company of Anne or any of us.”
“Truly? I was sure he was a stranger to you all. At least that is what I was led to believe.”
“He only returned a few days ago, after more than five years, following his discharge from the army due to an injury. I trusted he might become a good doctor, but we did not expect him to show such determination and bravery to join the army and engage in battle. He stunned us all and forced us — including Lady Catherine — to admit our error. Especially since he received recognition from his general and was introduced at St James’s Palace, news that appeared in the newspaper several weeks ago. ”
“Mr. Collins said Lady Catherine praised Dr Rease.”
“Mr. Collins’s reports should be treated cautiously,” Mr. Darcy said with a smile that Elizabeth returned.
The parsonage was in sight already, and Elizabeth realised with regret that they would have to separate soon. Boldly, she ventured yet another confession.
“Since I have this opportunity, I have something else to tell you, Mr. Darcy. The night after our…encounter at the parsonage, I took one of my ill-advised night walks. I saw you through your window as you wrote your letter to me. And that same night, I witnessed Miss de Bourgh faint.”
He was stunned into silence for a moment, amazement written plainly upon his face. “Thank you for telling me,” he said at last, his voice subdued. “It must have been a horrible spectacle.”
“Not at all,” Elizabeth replied with heartfelt remorse. “The horrible spectacle was my own stubbornness in accusing you of every wrong, particularly regarding that dreadful Mr. Wickham. For that, I have no excuse and deserve no forgiveness.”
A faint, rueful smile touched Mr. Darcy’s lips. “You already have my forgiveness, Miss Bennet — if it matters to you. No further apologies are needed on your part, since I owe you so many more.”
A few moments of silence followed — what else could be said at that particular time? With the awkwardness between them dissolved into something gentler, almost companionable, they continued to walk together towards the parsonage’s back gate.
Their steps fell into a quiet rhythm, the path seeming less solitary than before. And though much still remained unspoken between them, Elizabeth felt a lightness of spirit that promised better days ahead.