Chapter 9
Darcy had to do everything in his power not to go immediately to Longbourn after he had located Miss Lydia and Wickham, but he heeded Gardiner's advice.
"My brother is already distraught as it is, and he's such an aged man," he had said, "If he discovers your part in all this, he will feel as if he must repay you, and between you and me, he cannot afford to pay you back."
"I do not expect his repayment, though."
Gardiner had shaken his head. "It matters not. He would bankrupt himself in an attempt to make good. Let us conceal it for now—he needn't know. Or rather, he might know, but only after you propose to my niece."
Darcy couldn't hide his intentions from Gardiner after the man interrogated him when they left Pemberley that fateful day.
Did Darcy care about the near scandal? Not really.
He was confident he would find Wickham and bring him to heel—he'd make him marry the girl, even if he had to pay him three thousand pounds to do it—
Darcy and Bingley, having met back up in London after it was all said and done, both decided to wait until after the Wickhams departed the county before visiting Hertfordshire, and instead of stopping at Netherfield first, they opted to go to Longbourn straight away.
Darcy knew Elizabeth would be surprised—
His heart leaped in his chest when he saw that she looked as if she had been crying, and it panged when he realized that she must have believed he would never come back for her. It was all he could do not to kneel down before her, and take her hands into his while declaring his love.
He couldn't do that, though, not in front of her entire family.
There was an older woman, who must have been Mrs. Bennet; a young, arguably quite beautiful blonde sitting beside Elizabeth, who must have been Jane; then two other girls, one with spectacles, and the other kind of pretty, who must have been her younger sisters, sans Miss Lydia, of course.
Mr. Bennet was absent, but Darcy minded not; he would be seeing the man alone in his study, soon enough.
"Mr. Bingley! How delighted we are to see you again! Are you back at Netherfield for a while?" Mrs. Bennet asked, clearing the air of the slowly building tension between the four of them: Bingley and Jane, and Darcy and Elizabeth.
Bingley cleared his throat and answered, "Why, yes, yes, I shall be at Netherfield...indefinitely."
On the last word he looked directly at Jane, making her blush and look down at her hands. Darcy cleared his throat.
"Miss Elizabeth, it is good to see you again," he said slowly. Elizabeth cast her eyes down, blushing, mumbling something polite in return.
Mrs. Bennet then wanted to know all the particulars of their acquaintance in Derbyshire, and somehow Darcy answered her, trying but failing to catch Elizabeth's eye. Then the woman suggested they all take a walk.
"Lizzy! Jane! Take the gentlemen to Oakham Mount. Mr. Bingley, have you ever seen Oakham Mount? You shall enjoy it, I'm sure—"
And that was that. Suddenly Darcy found himself offering his arm to Elizabeth, and she slowly, but surely, took it as they stepped out of doors, heading down a dirt path through a lovely, late summertime garden.
The air was charged between them, the tension palpable.
Darcy couldn't stop staring at her—how beautiful she still looked, especially with flushed, rosy cheeks and her deep red lips, which she kept biting absentmindedly.
Oh, how he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and kiss her—
"Mr. Darcy, I must know," she finally said, breaking the silence between them as she looked up at him. Bingley and Jane were farther ahead, walking along swiftly, leaving them behind in the distance. "Why did you dissuade Mr. Bingley away last autumn?"
Darcy's heart fell in his chest. This is what she wanted to know? How did she even discover such a fact? He opened his mouth, but no words escaped. He clapped it shut again, and they kept walking, the silence enveloping them. Darcy was let down. Was she angry with him? Would she break things off?
It was a misunderstanding—couldn't she forgive him?
The wind whistled in the trees, a few sparse leaves falling away. Autumn would be upon them soon, and Darcy wondered if the autumn of their relationship would be upon them, as well.