Chapter 47
The Third Hand
“Lizzy, what do you think of Mr Oakley?”
Elizabeth and her best friend Charlotte were escaping the madness of last-minute wedding preparations by taking an extended walking tour of their favourite haunts, while Bennet did his best, aided by the strident voices of both members of the de Bourgh family, to keep the preparations exactly as they had been settled during the previous month.
Jane had calmly walked with them for the first hour before returning to Longbourn to visit her intended.
Elizabeth had wondered where Lady Catherine would be housed, only for the lady to go straight to Netherfield as if she owned the place.
Pressed about the feat, Lady Catherine evaded the question for a while, but finally confessed she had made arrangements months earlier to stay should any need arise.
It seemed Mama Frog was willing to let Baby Frog swim at leisure, but not quite ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
Darcy had asked his friend, Mr Bingley, for permission and even engaged a few extra servants in case of need.
Charlotte and Elizabeth escaped through the simple expedient of refusing to give a single opinion on any subject whatsoever, both claiming they were presently considered guests in Hertfordshire due to their long removal from the county.
The assertion made not the slightest sense to any rational person, but say it often enough and with enough vigour, and it became obviously true—or at least not worth the frustration of arguing with a stone.
Elizabeth smiled. “I spent two hours in his company, and he seems to be all that a young man ought to be.”
“That spoils it. I remember the last time you said that.”
Elizabeth laughed heartily. “It has been a good portion of a year since then, and we have both been through any number of changes and experiences. Perhaps the definition of ‘all a young man ought to be’ has been refined since autumn. Note that it is an assertion of meeting expectations, and expectations may change with circumstance.”
Charlotte giggled fit to rival Kitty before Mrs Jenkinson. “Ah, I have missed you. Lady Catherine is noticeably livelier than I was led to believe, and Mary is a treasure these days, but nobody can equivocate, obfuscate, and rationalise like you.”
They continued along the path.
After a dozen steps, Elizabeth said, “Seriously, Mr Oakley appears exactly as I said. It behoves us to spend more time learning about someone’s character than can be had in a few hours at a single ball.
I can give you a perfectly good example of someone misunderstanding a gentleman for months from a first impression formed in minutes, so we must be cautious in evaluating someone’s character without some acquaintance.
Nevertheless, I truly esteem the man, and stand by my assessment, as does Lady Catherine. ”
“So, why did you throw him at me?”
Elizabeth stopped and faced her friend. “Because I like him so much.”
“Explain!”
Elizabeth tugged them back into motion. “I do like him, probably more than any other man I have ever met at a first meeting. He asked to call on me, though he was as polite and correct as a gentleman could be in letting me know that the call might or might not be the start of a friendship or a courtship. He knew he might raise expectations and wanted to ensure we both agreed about them. I greatly appreciated the frankness. I find the prevarications of polite discourse tiresome, and he is also a proponent of clarity over stubborn adherence to propriety.”
Charlotte sighed. “It seems if you deliberately designed your perfect match, he would be it.”
“I suppose so.”
“Once again, why introduce him to me?”
“Lady Catherine asked the same question. At one level, it is easily explained. He is a man who tries to gather a large group of intelligent friends that he hopes to retain decades hence. I happened to spot one minutes later, so I owed it to both of you to arrange a meeting. Well, that is not quite right. I was not obliged per se, but I saw the correct thing to do, and I find I cannot avoid doing the obviously correct thing once I have identified it.”
“I can see that. You have always been compulsive like that, at least when you were not being a little hellion.”
Elizabeth giggled, glad Charlotte had lightened the conversation. “You are a creature of habit, though. You would not say at one level unless there was at least one more. You avoid redundancy.”
“I did not expect to fool you. You see—”
Charlotte paused, as if waiting for a thought storm, though none came.
“You see, Charlotte,” Elizabeth said pensively, “you are in a particular place in life. You know exactly what you want, and your task is to find the closest approximation to your desires, so long as the gentleman also finds you meet his expectations. After that, the next steps are obvious, and you can move on to the next phase of your life. If Mr Oakley finds himself in want of a wife, you are likely to be happy to fulfil the office. I suspect you do not need to know any more about him than you do now. If he popped out of that tree and asked for your hand, I suspect you would accept.”
Charlotte considered this. “Before you sent me to Lady Catherine, I most certainly would have. Now… well, now I know I can be a little more particular. I think I would have accepted just about anyone but a gambler or a rake before.”
“You would deny him?”
“Of course not! In such a case, I would almost certainly accept him, but ask for a moderate courtship. However, since we have already passed the tree and I looked behind it, I believe I am safe for the day.”
“I like that phrase, safe for the day,” Elizabeth laughed. “The day might not last forever. Of course, I have not the slightest idea if he has any interest in either of us as more than a friend. I am happy to give him that, as I suspect you are. Beyond that, time will tell.”
“That was the second hand, but it still lacks… completeness. Let us have the third hand, if you please.”
Elizabeth sighed resignedly. “I am… well—”
She growled in frustration when her mind went blank at the most inopportune moment and resolved the difficulty by walking to the nearest tree and kicking it vigorously with her bootheel—a trick that only worked in certain company.
Regaining her equilibrium, she continued, “Unless you are impervious to gossip, you probably know there is something between Mr Darcy and me.”
“I gathered that. Are you willing to define something with more precision?”
“With you, I am willing, but unable. I may be in love. I may be embarrassed to have declined two proposals within months. I may be biding my time. I may be confused. I may just be waiting for the right moment to abandon the idea entirely… I may be—”
Elizabeth stared at the ground, her face sombre. This part of her friend’s nature never showed itself to anybody save Charlotte, Jane, or Mary. Without intervention, tears of frustration might follow. Long experience had taught Charlotte that such tears might be good or bad. There was no telling.
“Might be what? You know what you meant to say, so say it and let me help you reason it out.”
Tears started to her eyes, but Elizabeth replied, “I might be… broken… unable to move to the next step. I have come to think highly of Mr Darcy, but I do not… I cannot—”
Charlotte wrapped her arms around Elizabeth and whispered, “You are the most unbroken person I know. If you are confused, it is natural. Is there any chance it might be resolved?”
“We are to meet in October. There is a reasonable chance he may have found someone else by then, and if he has, I will wish him well. If not… well, there is a… possibility.”
She released a long breath, stepped back, and wiped her tears with her sleeve. “In a few months, I shall know. Until then—”
“Until then, Mr Oakley would be a distraction,” Charlotte replied. “May I expound a theory in a very pretentious way, as if I possessed some wisdom?”
“I would like that.”
“You are honest about your feelings with just about everyone but yourself. My experience tells me you will eventually do the right thing—after you try everything else.”
Elizabeth laughed at the old jest, which in previous years had been more fact than hyperbole.
“You are a person who cannot cheat… not even a little. It is your nature—a quality in your mind unlike that of most people—with its advantages and disadvantages. You and I both know you cannot lie at all. You could not give Mr Oakley any encouragement, because so long as your feelings remain divided over another gentleman, it would be a lie. You may or may not succeed with Mr Darcy, but since you are no longer desperate to marry, you have time. You are not willing to leave Mr Oakley in suspense.”
“I suppose so. You make me sound more thoughtful and honourable than I am.”
“No, I make you sound just as you are. I assume you could not quite discourage him, but let him know, subtly, that you gave him no encouragement.”
“That is precisely what I did.”
Charlotte stopped and stared at the ground, embarrassed. “Would you object if I encouraged him, Lizzy?”
Elizabeth laughed gaily. “Of course not. Why do you think I introduced you in the first place?”
Charlotte sputtered, unable to tell whether Lizzy teased or spoke in earnest, and both friends started laughing. Neither resolved the ambiguity.