Chapter 7 Elizabeth
Elizabeth
Elizabeth was pleased that Mr Darcy called the very next day and at the earliest possible time.
After they greeted each other and he acknowledged her aunt, the two forgot to sit.
They smiled and gazed at one another, not noticing that Aunt Maddie resumed her seat until she said firmly: “Mr Darcy, Lizzy, please do sit down.”
Elizabeth felt a bit embarrassed, but that did not prevent her from enjoying his discomposure; he actually gulped as he took a seat across from her and her aunt.
Luckily for Mr Darcy, Aunt Maddie was a very warm and capable hostess, and she managed to make him forget his embarrassment. He asked about the book Elizabeth had been reading before he arrived; it was the latest edition of William Smellie’s The Philosophy of Natural History.
“I have read that book,” Mr Darcy said. “I found it extremely compelling that he wrote with such comprehensive understanding about the history of science as well as both biology and geology.”
“I think he is very intelligent,” Elizabeth said, “and much more likely to be vindicated by future discoveries than is William Paley.”
Darcy’s smile went from small and enigmatic to dimple-flashing and brilliant. He said,“You seem to be a bit of an intellectual rebel.”
“Do you disagree with my assertion, sir?” she asked, one eyebrow lifted.
“I heartily agree with your prediction, Miss Bennet. I am not a political rebel, but I do not at all shy away from being an intellectual rebel!”
They both laughed and then began to converse more about the book.
Elizabeth relished having a conversation partner who found the various topics as interesting as she did; it was a rare thing.
Even her own father, who had introduced her to works by natural philosophers and natural historians, seemed to lose interest when she spoke in detail about comparisons of natural forms and the relationship between geology and biology.
But Mr Darcy agreed with her at times, challenged her at times, enlarged upon her ideas at times—but never, ever seemed disinterested or intimidated by the topic.
Elizabeth had a strange but strong feeling that Mr Darcy was the one person in the world whom she needed in her life.
At some point, the bell rang, and Mr Cooper and Mr Ford were both announced. They seemed to jostle with one another, each attempting to enter the room first, but when they saw Darcy, both froze, still awkwardly positioned just inside the door.
Elizabeth made the introductions. She saw Mr Ford lick his lips, looking far more anxious than she had ever seen him before. Mr Cooper looked quite shocked. He had bowed stiffly, but instead of saying a routine and polite acknowledgment of the introduction, he asked, “Mr Darcy of Pemberley?”
“Yes,” is all Mr Darcy said, but the single word, uttered quite cordially, seemed to solidify their awkward and surprised positions.
Elizabeth said, “Gentlemen, would you like to actually step into the room and perhaps take a seat?”
The two men did so silently. She was very used to Mr Ford’s effusive praise for her dress and coiffure, and she had grown to expect Mr Cooper’s eager questions about how she was feeling that day, but they barely looked at her.
Instead, they eyed Mr Darcy nervously, and she wondered what it was about him that changed their usual manners.
Mr Darcy also seemed uncomfortable. She needed to say something to make everyone feel at ease.
But she flashed on the fact that she had been under orders to attempt to politely and tactfully apprise the men who had just entered the room of the fact that she was not interested in their suits.
Aunt Maddie had urged her to find a way to speak to each would-be suitor in semi-privacy.
In the midst of this frozen tableau, Elizabeth had no idea how to achieve any category of privacy, nor how to broach the topic if she managed to do so.
She attempted to say something—almost anything would do, at this point!
—but before she said a syllable, Mr Darcy spoke: “We have been discussing The Philosophy of Natural History, by William Smellie. Have either of you read it?”
“No,” Mr Ford said.
“Nor I,” was Mr Cooper’s response.
Elizabeth shot Mr Darcy a grateful smile and said, “It is a fascinating book, one I highly recommend.” As she described the breadth of Mr Smellie’s volume, she saw that both Mr Cooper and Mr Ford, although they had turned towards her, seemed just as nervous and silent as before Mr Darcy had brought up the book.
It occurred to her that Mr Darcy’s mere presence might be enough to end their interest in her, and she felt a gush of relief that she might not have to attempt to gracefully extricate herself from their efforts to woo her.
She asked Mr Darcy to summarise Mr Smellie’s critique of centring on humans, as many natural philosophies did. He smiled at everyone, and he spoke well, with not the smallest amount of superiority. But the other men still seemed overawed.
Finally Aunt Maddie contributed to the discussion, and as she turned her eyes towards her aunt, Elizabeth was shocked to see that the woman looked to be entertained by all the awkwardness. Still, her words were agreeable enough: “I gather that Mr Smellie wrote in English, not Latin?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said. “Thus making his ideas more accessible than those of many other natural historians.”
Mr Darcy chimed in, saying, “Another reason Mr Smellie is comprehensible is that he writes very clearly and uses little jargon.”
Mr Cooper and Mr Ford still looked almost stupefied. When the quarter-hour minimum was achieved, both men got up, made their excuses and exchanged farewells with Mr Darcy, Elizabeth, and her aunt.
Elizabeth was sitting in a window seat, and as the high window was open for ventilation, she heard one of the men mutter, as they walked to their carriages, “Well, I cannot compete with Darcy!”
It was briefly so silent in the drawing room, Elizabeth knew that Mr Darcy had certainly heard it as well.
Elizabeth waited and watched, and when both men had gotten into their separate conveyances and left the drive, she turned to her aunt. “I feel guilty. I know that this is not what you suggested that I do, and I very much fear I was being rude, but on the other hand, I think it worked….”
She stopped speaking, because her aunt was laughing. And Elizabeth could not help but join in the laughter. Soon Mr Darcy was laughing, as well.
“Were you deliberately scaring off unwanted suitors?” Mr Darcy asked when their laughter finally subsided.
“Well, not at first,” Elizabeth said. “But I was supposed to find the time to say to each of those two men, as privately as possible, that while I greatly esteemed their characters, I found that my heart was not engaged, and it would be unfair of me to hold out hope for a closer attachment. I knew it was going to be difficult or even impossible to arrange even a minute of semi-privacy, and I was definitely not looking forward to enacting the plan….”
“And then you realised that you could just talk about natural history, and they would race to get away from you?”
“Try to remember, sir, that it was you who brought up the topic. Were you attempting to frighten off the competition?” Elizabeth asked with a grin.
She suddenly realised that her use of the word competition assumed an interest that Mr Darcy had not stated, and she blushed.
But he said, “I do not think I was, but perhaps some part of me had this hope. My aunt warned me last night that there were many men attempting to secure you, and that I should make my own intentions clear.” He blushed, and Elizabeth saw his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed, but he straightened his shoulders and continued, “As my aunt is very wise, I wish to say that I would like to know you better, Miss Bennet, and I am hoping that, when we do know one another well enough to know that we suit, you might be ready to hear a proposal.”
Elizabeth felt heat in her cheeks, although she was not certain the blush was from embarrassment or pleasure.
Of all the men who had called on her, even those who had called multiple times, none of them had so clearly stated their interest. (Of course, the colonel had clearly stated his lack of interest in marrying.)
She shot a glance towards Aunt Maddie, who smiled a little and gave a slight nod. But Elizabeth had questions that had arisen when she had witnessed Mr Cooper’s and Mr Ford’s attitude about Mr Darcy.
“Mr Darcy, I thank you for your forthrightness. I would like to answer you just as directly, but I have some important questions for you.”
“Please ask me anything.”
“What is Pemberley?”
Mr Darcy looked a bit more confident with that question, and he smiled at her as he said, “It is the name of my estate in Derbyshire.”
“In the Peak District.”
“Exactly.”
“Why did Mr Cooper and Mr Ford look…frightened of you?”
“Frightened?” Mr Darcy’s eyebrows shot up at the notion, and he shook his head. “I am certain they were not frightened. I suppose that they were surprised to see me calling on a young woman.”
“Surprised? Because I am so far beneath you? You are the nephew of an earl, and your clothes speak of a certain amount of wealth, thus we would be seen as travelling in very different circles; is that what you mean?”
Mr Darcy blanched and said, “Excuse me, but that was not close to what I was thinking when I hypothesised that the gentlemen were surprised to see me here.” His pale face took on colour again as he looked down in embarrassment.
“I have never….” He stopped, then seemed to gather his determination to start over: “I have been mercilessly teased over many years because I have never shown interest in any woman.”