Chapter Nine
"I am determined to find an ichthyosaur."
Mr Bingley delivered this declaration over breakfast with great solemnity. Although Darcy was fairly sure he had only learned the word the day before.
Mrs Makepeace looked at him sternly but with affection. "You are considerably more likely to find yourself at the bottom of a cliff, Mr Bingley."
"Then I shall endeavour to avoid the cliff and discover the ichthyosaur. I am told Lyme is famous for such things."
"Lyme is famous for fossils. Whether any particular fossil of note has been waiting patiently for your arrival is another matter entirely."
"I do not see why it should not be. I have arrived. The fossils are present. It appears to me that all the necessary elements are in place."
Miss Bennet laughed prettily. "I think Mrs Makepeace is attempting to explain that fossil hunting may require some degree of skill."
"Then I shall rely upon enthusiasm."
"You generally do," muttered Darcy.
"And has it not served me remarkably well?"
"Only because you are fortunate enough to possess enough of it for three people."
The ensuing discussion occupied a considerable portion of the meal and concluded in the formation of a party.
Mrs Makepeace undertook to direct them towards the most promising stretch of beach, Mr Bingley undertook to make several important discoveries and Mrs Bennet warned everyone to wear their most sensible shoes.
Darcy agreed to accompany them only because Georgiana appeared to take some enjoyment in the scheme.
???
His thoughts had not been particularly agreeable company since his conversation with Elizabeth in the High Street and showed little sign of improvement.
He had spent a good deal of time attempting to persuade himself that his remarks to Bingley had been misunderstood and an equal amount acknowledging that such an argument was unlikely to survive serious examination.
Whatever distinctions he might once have drawn between caution and prejudice, or prudence and pride, had become considerably less convincing when repeated in Elizabeth's voice.
By the time they reached the beach, the tide had retreated far enough to expose a broad stretch of shore.
Bands of shale and limestone ran across the sand in dark ridges and shelves, while visitors wandered amongst them with varying degrees of purpose.
Some carried hammers and baskets. Others merely stooped from time to time to examine whatever the sea had recently surrendered.
Mr Bingley surveyed the scene with immediate satisfaction. "There. You see? Fossils everywhere."
"I see only rocks," said Darcy.
Bingley paid no attention and immediately set off in pursuit of scientific distinction. He was arm in arm with Miss Bennet and they smiled warmly at each other as they progressed to a part of the beach where they could talk with relative privacy.
Darcy watched him go with some amusement. There was a peculiar confidence in his friend's conviction that enthusiasm could compensate for expertise. It was not entirely unfounded. Enthusiasm had already secured him Miss Bennet's good opinion, a success which wiser men might have envied.
Elizabeth remained behind with her mother and Georgiana, listening while Mrs Makepeace pointed out the layers of shale most likely to contain fossils.
To Darcy's surprise, she appeared genuinely interested.
Within a few minutes she had abandoned all pretence of merely accompanying the others and was examining the beach with close attention.
It ought not to have surprised him. She was not the kind of woman who did anything by halves.
Whether she was arguing, laughing, reading or walking, she seemed incapable of engaging with the world in a superficial manner.
Every new subject became worthy of investigation.
Every new acquaintance became worthy of understanding.
And every observation he made of her served only to render his earlier conclusions increasingly indefensible.
A little way ahead, Georgiana crouched beside a patch of broken shale while Elizabeth knelt beside her.
"No, look more closely," Elizabeth was saying. "That mark runs in a pattern. This one does not. Mrs Makepeace said the difference is often easier to see when the stone is wet."
Georgiana turned the fragment in her hand. "I believe you are right."
"I should hope so. I have been studying the subject for almost twenty minutes."
The answer produced a laugh which, though still infrequent, had become considerably less rare since their arrival in Lyme.
He had spent years believing that Georgiana's happiness depended chiefly upon protecting her from unhappiness.
Elizabeth, without seeming aware of it, had adopted a wholly different approach.
She expected Georgiana to engage with the world rather than retreat from it.
"Darcy!"
Bingley's voice interrupted his reflections. His friend approached carrying a stone roughly the size of a dinner plate. "I believe I have found something extraordinary."
Darcy accepted the specimen, examined it briefly and returned it.
"You have found a stone."
"It is not a stone."
"It is entirely a stone."
Bingley looked scandalised. "Upon my word, you possess the least scientific mind of anyone I have ever met."
"Then I must endeavour to bear the disappointment."
Miss Bennet, who had joined them, examined the object for herself. "I fear Mr Darcy may be correct."
Bingley sighed deeply. "I see I stand alone."
"Not entirely," said Elizabeth, approaching the group. "I think it is a very handsome stone."
"Thank you."
"You ought to keep it."
"I intend to."
Darcy met her eyes briefly. The exchange lasted no more than a moment, yet it was the first occasion upon which she had looked at him voluntarily all afternoon.
It was also the first occasion upon which he found himself wondering whether there might still be some small hope of repairing the damage he had done. The thought was dangerous, but he could not persuade himself to abandon it.
By the time Mrs Bennet announced that she had discovered a fossil, the entire party had already gathered around three previous discoveries, none of which had survived Mrs Makepeace's inspection.
"It is not a fossil," said Mrs Makepeace for the third time. "You have found stones."
Darcy watched the exchange with half his attention. The other half had been occupied for the better part of an hour by Elizabeth.
As the rest of the group drifted away together, he stood next to her and cleared his throat awkwardly.
Elizabeth was examining a piece of shale in her hand. She looked up only after several moments. "It seems we have been abandoned," she said in a more disappointed tone than he would have liked.
For a little while they walked in silence. The tide had left pools amongst the rocks which reflected the pale afternoon sky, and gulls wheeled lazily overhead. Elizabeth continued examining every promising fragment she encountered.
At length she said, "I believe I understand the attraction."
"The attraction of fossils?"
"Of looking for them. One begins by expecting nothing and then finds oneself convinced that the next stone may contain something remarkable."
"That seems an excellent recipe for disappointment."
Mr Bingley would say it is exciting."
"Perhaps that is because Mr Bingley would find excitement in a ditch."
Elizabeth laughed. "That is very unfair."
"It is perfectly fair. You forget how long we have known each other."
"And you are very fond of him."
"Yes, I rather am."
Elizabeth nodded and looked into his face which was so open and handsome to appear almost boyish. Yet her mind returned to the conversation she had overheard in the breakfast room and her mouth settled into a grim line.
"I am afraid I have given you very little reason lately to think well of me," he said thoughtfully.
Elizabeth turned the fragment of shale in her hand before answering. It bore a faint impression which had appeared promising at first glance but now seemed less so.
"You may be assured," he said after a moment, "that there is not a sentence of that conversation I have not regretted."
Elizabeth raised her eyes to his. "Regretted because I heard it?"
"No. Had you never heard a word of it, I should still have been wrong. Indeed, that is perhaps the most uncomfortable part of the business. I cannot even console myself with having been misunderstood."
For a little while neither spoke. The sea moved steadily below them, breaking against the rocks in long white lines before withdrawing once more.
A gull cried somewhere overhead. Farther down the beach, Bingley appeared to be arguing with Mrs Makepeace about an object he remained determined to classify as a fossil.
Elizabeth's gaze returned to the stone in her hand. "You seemed very certain of yourself at the time."
"I was."
"And are you less certain now?"
Darcy smiled faintly. "I sincerely hope so. But do not mistake me. I have no particular talent for humility. If I had, we should not be standing here."
That drew a reluctant laugh from her.
"At the time I believed myself prudent. I imagined I was merely acknowledging difficulties which any sensible man would acknowledge.
The longer I have considered it, however, the more I have been forced to admit that prudence was not the only thing speaking.
Pride had a voice in the matter as well and, I fear, a very loud one. "
Elizabeth stopped walking. "You astonish me, Mr Darcy. You appear determined to condemn yourself before I have the opportunity."
A look of amusement crossed his face.
"You mistake me. I am not seeking acquittal. I am merely attempting accuracy."