Chapter 10
Darcy found his voice first.
“I think there must be some mistake, Miss Bennet,” he said after both he and Miss Elizabeth Bennet had stood there dumbstruck for some seconds. “I came here to meet a prospective companion for my sister, but the lady has not yet arrived. Are you perhaps related to Mrs Bevan?”
A relationship to Mrs Bevan was the only credible explanation Darcy could think of to account for her presence in this office.
Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst had made much of the Bennet family’s low connections in London, and he supposed that an employment agency proprietor like Mrs Bevan might easily be an aunt or cousin.
For a further moment, Elizabeth Bennet continued to stare at him and blink in disbelief before she answered, seeming equally bewildered by their present situation in the small sitting room of the employment bureau.
“No, Mr Darcy. I am not related to Mrs Bevan,” she told him at last. “I met her for the first time very recently.”
“But you cannot be here seeking employment,” Darcy blurted out, profoundly shocked by the very idea. “You are…you are…”
You are what? What was he intending to say? You are a young lady who ought to be at home with her family and not going out into a wider, unknown, and perhaps dangerous world?
Elizabeth Bennet’s expression showed that she was already offended by something, and Darcy did not want to make matters worse. As he hesitated, Elizabeth drew herself up and looked back at him with fire in her fine hazel eyes.
“I am indeed here seeking employment as a companion, Mr Darcy,” she stated.
“Given my family’s situation, it can be no great surprise.
While I need not go out to work yet, I have no unrealistic aspirations for the future.
My father’s estate is entailed, and I have no fortune.
I prefer to begin work now, on my own terms, rather than to be forced into it later. ”
All the memories and feelings Darcy had tried to suppress since leaving Hertfordshire came rushing back to him now as he listened to this short, stark speech. He particularly remembered dancing with Elizabeth Bennet at the Netherfield Ball, attracted by her grace and fascinated by her sharp wit.
Part of Darcy was appalled at the prospect of this young woman so completely and deliberately removing herself from the protected sphere of marriageable young gentlewomen. Another part of him admired her clear thinking and courage. The most dangerous part of him whispered how comely she was.
“I see,” he managed to say, feeling himself lost at sea and wondering what his companion was thinking or feeling.
“I think it would be sensible, Mr Darcy, if we both forget our previous acquaintance and speak only in professional terms, as a potential employer and companion,” Elizabeth Bennet told him. “Or if you wish me to leave now, of course I will do so.”
Did he wish it? Not really, but it was also a struggle to see this particular young woman as Georgiana’s potential companion when he was remembering her in a white silk ballgown, one of his hands on hers, and the other at her waist.
Taking his silence for assent, Miss Bennet took a seat in one of the armchairs and gestured for Darcy to take the sofa nearby. He could not tell whether her apparent composure was real or feigned, but it was an impressive show, nonetheless.
“I understand from Mrs Bevan that this is a temporary role, Mr Darcy,” she began. “Do you know how long a new companion would be required?”
As Darcy explained the situation with Mrs Annesley, he tried hard to focus on how Elizabeth Bennet looked now rather than in her ballgown.
Her outfit today was a neat and unfussy grey walking suit that fitted her figure admirably, and her sparkling eyes seemed as lively as ever in her expressive and determined face.
“So, little teaching would be required, and this is why you are willing to look at candidates with less experience. The temporary companion is really mainly for company,” she observed.
“Company and good sense,” Darcy corrected her. “Georgiana is young for her years, and I wish her only to be exposed to the influences of people with strong principles and good minds. Her companion must help her to see the world and its citizens clearly, and steer her away from its dangers.”
“Sixteen can be a difficult age,” his companion remarked and then frowned slightly, seeming displeased with either his responses or whatever she was seeing in his face and manner.
Realising that he might be staring at her, Darcy tore his eyes away again.
Elizabeth Bennet still interested him far more than could be good for either of them.
Would it really be wise under any circumstances to bring her under his family roof?
If he did not, some other household would soon employ her, and Darcy liked that idea no better.
When he glanced back at her, Elizabeth Bennet’s face seemed actively displeased.
“Mr Darcy,” she asked him bluntly, “did your visit to Hertfordshire really displease you so much that it outweighs whatever interested you in my professional profile before you knew it was mine? It is normal to pay at least a minimal attention to the other person in a conversation.”
“My time in Hertfordshire did not displease me,” Darcy said, feeling his face flushing at Miss Bennet’s misinterpretation of his manners.
“I also assure you that I am attending to all that you say. However, I must note that companions normally treat their employers with at least a minimal level of respect.”
Both of them had spoken a little too sharply, and the weapons of their words hit home in both directions. Darcy saw a chastened blush on Elizabeth Bennet’s cheeks at his riposte and was almost sorry for it.
“You were right in what you said earlier, Miss Bennet,” Darcy told her. “We must begin again as strangers if we are to have a professional conversation. Let us put Hertfordshire to one side today.”
“Yes, I am sorry. I have not kept to my own rule, have I?” she sighed. “Do tell me more about Miss Darcy and what you require from her companion, Mr Darcy. I am also content to answer any of your questions.”
More successfully this time, they focused on the temporary companion role and Elizabeth Bennet’s suitability and accomplishments.
Once they were onto the subject of books, the conversation flowed more easily, and Darcy began to relax.
When he next glanced up at the clock on the mantelpiece, a whole quarter hour had passed.
“I do take your point about some of the books on my list,” Darcy went on. “I would better have cited them as examples of serious reading, rather than requirements. As you say, the sphere and interests of most ladies are necessarily likely to be different to those of gentlemen —”
The opening of the door interrupted Darcy’s words, and they both looked up, Darcy rising to his feet. To his surprise, Georgiana came into the room ahead of Mrs Bevan, her smile shy but eager.
“Am I early, Fitzwilliam?” his sister asked, noticing his expression. “You told me to come inside from the coach at eleven o’clock if you had not returned earlier. It is almost five minutes past eleven now.”
“I did,” Darcy affirmed, having somehow lost track of this fact in the shock of finding himself in the presence of Elizabeth Bennet and then the pleasure of an intelligent conversation.
Georgiana’s deep blue eyes darted to Elizabeth Bennet with interest and then returned to her brother’s face.
She was expecting to be introduced, and Darcy realised that he would have to make a decision on hiring Elizabeth far faster than he would have liked.
He had not planned to introduce Georgiana to anyone unless he had determined to appoint them.
“I hope that you have managed to reach an understanding on requirements and expectations,” prompted Mrs Bevan as the rest of the party remained silent.
“Yes, we have,” answered Darcy, following his instincts despite the plea for caution from his rational mind.
“Everything seems to be in order from my perspective, unless Miss Bennet has further questions. Miss Bennet, I would like you to meet my sister, Miss Georgiana Darcy. Georgiana, this is Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn in Hertfordshire.”
The two young women bowed to one another, and Elizabeth Bennet smiled at Georgiana more openly than she had smiled at Darcy.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Darcy,” she told Georgiana. “I hear that you have some considerable talent on the pianoforte.”
“Playing the pianoforte is my favourite pastime,” Georgiana admitted happily. “Do you play duets?”
“When I must,” Elizabeth laughed, “and I must surprisingly often, given my limited skill. I would never like to disappoint my friends if I can help it.”
“How modest you are, Miss Bennet,” Mrs Bevan added quickly in reaction to this comment, skating over any potential doubt about Elizabeth Bennet’s potential suitability as Georgiana’s companion. “Your uncle tells me that your singing and playing are much appreciated in your family.”
Mrs Bevan need not have stirred herself at this point.
Darcy’s mind was made up now, or at least he was resigned to a decision he felt to be inevitable, especially now watching the easy exchange between Georgiana and Elizabeth.
Not everyone could win his sister’s confidence so quickly and so easily, especially not after their unfortunate experience with the silver-tongued George Wickham and the duplicitous Mrs Younge.
“I should like to offer Miss Bennet the role of companion,” Darcy announced, “beginning as soon as possible, and at the rate offered. If she agrees, I would like to meet her uncle, and you may draw up the contract, Mrs Bevan.”
Elizabeth Bennet’s expression froze for a moment, but then, after looking to the beseeching smile on Georgiana’s face, and nodding her head slowly first to Darcy and then to Mrs Bevan, she assented.
“Yes, I would be pleased to accept the role, Mr Darcy.”
“An excellent decision,” Mrs Bevan crowed, beaming over the top of her silver-rimmed spectacles. “I am sure that Miss Bennet will be the perfect addition to your household, Mr Darcy.”
Pausing to allow the ladies out of the room ahead of him, Darcy watched the movement of Elizabeth Bennet’s neat and energetic figure at Georgiana’s side, and recalled her once more in her white silk ballgown, curtsying to him at the beginning of their dance.
Was appointing her really an excellent decision? Darcy was not so sure.