Chapter 1.19 #3
“The day before the ball…after that night when…well, Darcy went to talk to Markham. I do not know whether you are aware of it, but the Markhams were visiting a family only ten miles from Netherfield. Darcy went to speak to him secretly. The talk did not go well, and Darcy had no other option but to call him out. I think they will fight tomorrow morning at dawn on a field near London. Only the colonel was informed as he will be Darcy’s second. ”
“You are out of your senses,” Mrs Gardiner repeated. “You, Mr Darcy, and the colonel—three gentlemen without sense or reason!”
“This is madness,” Mr Gardiner agreed. “Duels are not legal; you know that! Mr Darcy is jeopardising his life, now, before his wedding!”
“The colonel assured me Mr Darcy is superior to Markham in every respect, and he can defeat him any time with any weapon.” Mr Bennet sounded like a child attempting to justify misbehaviour.
“Oh, the colonel assured you; then we can sleep in peace.” Mrs Gardiner’s mocking tone was such as neither of the gentlemen had heard before. “Is Lizzy aware of this? I dare say not.”
“No, Lizzy knows nothing, and you must swear your secrecy, and Madeline, do not look at me with such reproach. I do know how dangerous the situation is. Darcy confessed everything to me precisely because I am Lizzy’s father, and he felt responsible for her because they are now officially engaged.
If anything should happen to him, he asked my consent to have an arrangement settled on Elizabeth in case he…
in case the duel should not end as we hope. ”
He took a deep breath before continuing, obviously affected.
“Of course I tried to change his mind…at first…but I could not heartily say I disagreed with him. He attempted to speak reasonably with the Markhams. He gave me his word that, if Markham admitted his fault and said that it all had been a drunken man’s wild behaviour, Darcy would put everything aside, but Markham insisted he wanted Elizabeth, would finally have her, and would gladly fight Darcy for her.
Brother, if you could have heard him that night—he seemed out of his senses.
Kept telling me he wanted to marry Lizzy.
Can you imagine? Lizzy will never be safe if Darcy does not teach him a hard lesson.
And what if Darcy hurts Markham? Maybe he will—I pray God he will—but what then?
The earl could hold that against Darcy. What would he do—expose his name and his reputation to censure?
How would that help Lizzy?” he concluded, exhausted.
“Let us not think so far ahead,” Mr Gardiner intervened. “The situation is difficult, indeed, but let us find a way to handle it for everyone’s benefit.”
“I see no way out,” said Mr Bennet. “If I inform Mr Darcy this evening, the news might affect him so that he would not be in a proper state of mind for the duel. If we wait until he sends me notice after the duel, it might be too late for Lady Cassandra. What should I do? I managed to get the doctor’s direction from Miss Darcy.
I thought I could fetch the doctor, but how can I convince him to come to Hertfordshire and attend her ladyship without involving Mr Darcy? ”
A few long moments of silence followed; Longbourn was before them when Mr Gardiner spoke again, trying to meet his wife’s eyes in the darkness.
“I shall go to London personally; I shall leave as soon as I change my attire. I will be there in a couple of hours. I will first talk to Lady Cassandra’s companion; I was introduced to her at the private ball.
I am certain she will want to come to Netherfield immediately.
She will help me fetch the doctor. I will send them here as soon as possible; in the meantime, I will seek out Mr Darcy, and hopefully, we shall all return tomorrow night. ”
Mrs Gardiner and Mr Bennet listened without a word; the carriage stopped in front of Longbourn, and they all exited. “I shall help you prepare yourself,” his wife said briefly.
Mr Bennet sighed. “Thank you, brother. I shall always be grateful to you.”
∞∞∞
In Cassandra’s room there was silence—profound, frightening silence.
Janey and Georgiana refused to leave the room at all, so the former had fallen asleep in a chair and the latter was resting near the bed, her head close to Cassandra’s, holding her hand.
Elizabeth sat in an armchair on the other side of the bed.
She had abandoned any struggle or pretence of composure—any mask she had tried to wear during the day.
She allowed the tears to flow as painful, vivid recollections brought her back to the day when she had first seen Cassandra at the theatre.
How much their relationship had changed in such a short time!
That day at Netherfield—the first day of her engagement—they finally had talked openly and clarified everything between them.
Cassandra’s compliments and praise were dear to Elizabeth as she was certain they were honestly expressed.
Cassandra was not a woman to practice disguise of any sort.
Very much like William, Elizabeth thought, tearfully.
Looking at Cassandra’s form beneath the sheets, Elizabeth could scarcely bear the pain she felt.
She had enjoyed her growing friendship with Cassandra and known for some time that she truly cared for her, but only then in that dark, silent room did Elizabeth truly feel she had come to consider Cassandra more than a friend.
She could not grieve for her own sisters more than she grieved for Cassandra at that moment as she wondered how long she would be with them.
What happened to that lively, fearless woman?
What unbearable burden had thrown her to the ground?
What cruel secret had drained her of life, spirit, and wit and left her tormented these last weeks?
How was it possible that a woman who had ridden wildly through a dreadful storm at Pemberley to save her and Georgiana could simply fall from her horse?
The more Elizabeth pondered it, the more certain she was that the explanation for Cassandra’s transformation was the colonel.
Something happened between them when the he appeared in the neighbourhood—maybe even sooner as Cassandra’s low spirits had been apparent since she first come to Hertfordshire. But what was it?
As she began to think with more clarity, Elizabeth realised that Cassandra’s behaviour was not unfamiliar to her. She had seen such turmoil before in her sister Jane after Mr Bingley left unexpectedly last winter.
Could that have happened to Cassandra, too?
Not very likely—she and the colonel seemed perfectly suited to each other, and there was no apparent reason for them to be apart if their desire was to be together.
But what if it were not mutual affection but the unshared inclination of only one of them?
Was it possible that Cassandra had tender feelings toward the colonel that were unrequited?
Could that be the reason for her desperation?
But no—the colonel did not seem to reject her at all—quite the contrary!
Of course, Elizabeth could not be entirely certain of her perceptions regarding either friend, since every time she had been in their company, Elizabeth’s thoughts and attention were directed solely at Darcy.
Yet, she could be fairly certain the colonel did not behave like a gentleman rejecting a lady.
“Elizabeth, come quickly! Cassandra has moved! She squeezed my hand, and she is saying something!”
Georgiana’s cries so startled Elizabeth that for a moment she could not move; an instant later, she leaned as closely as she could toward Cassandra’s face to understand the words she struggled to whisper.
Elizabeth’s eyes met Georgiana’s and they shared both the relief of seeing Cassandra’s first moves and the surprise of hearing her repeating, more than once, a single word: “David.”