CHAPTER 19 Conversation in the Parlour
The gentlemen walked in silence for some time, both still unable to come to terms with Mrs. Bennet’s stern reproofs.
“Can you believe that?” said Bingley as they reached the middle of the lane.
“No,” said Darcy with wide eyes, still feeling dazed, “I would never have expected it of Mrs. Bennet.”
“Nor would I.”
They were silent once more, and Darcy realised that what he had said at the assembly must have been heard by Elizabeth. He always suspected it but now it had been confirmed.
“What shall we do?” asked Bingley.
“You are asking me? What do you think we should do?”
“There is no question about it, I would pursue Miss Bennet. I have already tried it the other way and was miserable. So, until she says she will not have me and can never love me, I shall keep trying. What of you, my friend?”
Darcy sighed. “I have more of an uphill battle than you do but…I shall try as well.”
“As I see it,” said Bingley, “we have no choice.”
Darcy thought about it and answered, “You are right, Bingley. If you love someone, then you continue to love them. No one else will do.”
“Mrs. Bennet has a point, though,” said Bingley. “I should have seen for myself whether or not Jane cared for me. If I had, I would not be in this predicament.”
“It really was my fault,” said Darcy, hanging his head.
“No, Darcy. You were just an obstacle. A test, as it were, of my constancy and devotion. And I failed - miserably.”
“But I was quite forceful in my interference,” insisted Darcy. “In truth, I was a meddling fool.”
Bingley patted him on the back. “There, there, Darcy. No need to add to your misery with such self-flagellation. You have an uphill battle, after all.”
“Indeed.”
It rained over the next several days; thus no calls were made between Rosings and Hunsford. But, almost a week later, the gentlemen presented themselves once more at the parsonage.
They entered the Collins’s small parlour to find that the four ladies were all present. For a while they talked, then Charlotte was called away by a message from one of her parishioners.
She excused herself by saying, “I have promised to look after Mrs. Hawkins’s children while she goes into the village to run some errands. So I am afraid I must leave you now.”
“Do carry on, Charlotte,” said Mrs. Bennet with a bland smile. “We shall stay here and entertain the gentlemen.”
Darcy took a glance at Elizabeth who today was wearing a simple cotton dress with a thick shawl thrown over her shoulders.
“I am glad to see you looking better, Miss Elizabeth,” he began cautiously.
“Yes, I feel better, much better.”
Another uncomfortable silence ensued before Darcy said, “I apologise again for interfering in matters which were none of my concern.”
“And I,” said Bingley, “apologise for being swayed last autumn and…not having enough resolve.”
“You are forgiven,” said Jane quietly, surprising everyone.
Elizabeth relaxed a little, thinking that the crisis had finally passed.
Unfortunately her mother, who seemed to have other ideas, said, “But it must have happened rather quickly.”
Elizabeth almost wished that her mother would revert back to her usual fawning self. She looked worriedly at Darcy and felt a chill running down her spine.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Mrs. Bennet regarded the two gentlemen pointedly before saying, “You made no mention of leaving for good during the Netherfield Ball. And yet you did so the very next day.” She then focused her attention on Darcy and asked, “Did you speak to your friend…that night? And did something happen to…influence your actions?”
Elizabeth was again shocked by her mother’s perspicacity.
She recalled her family’s behaviour at the ball and had no doubt that it had contributed to Darcy's decision to sway Bingley from Jane.
She hated the conflict that was playing out before her, but was nevertheless curious as to how Darcy would answer.
“I have always thought myself responsible for my friend…” he answered obliquely, “and have - at times - helped him in that regard…”
“Yes,” said Bingley, taking up his friend’s defense. “I truly feel that Darcy was only trying to help. You see, he has assisted me…on occasion. That is to say, he has saved me - once or twice - from being preyed upon by…”
He let the sentence hang, apparently unable to go any further.
“Preyed upon by what?” asked Mrs. Bennet.
She had looked to Bingley as she spoke but it was Elizabeth who said, “Mr. Darcy thought that Jane was a fortune hunter.”
Darcy looked surprised, and hastened to say, “No, not at all. I mean, not precisely. I just mean that your sister is a dutiful person…”
“Yes? And?”
“And your mother did announce to her friends that evening that Bingley would throw you and your younger sisters into the path of other rich men once he was married to Miss Bennet.”
Jane gasped. “Did you really say that, Mamma?”
“Well, I…”
Elizabeth looked down at her hands as Jane continued, “Did Mamma actually say that, Lizzy?”
Elizabeth sighed and answered, “Yes, during dinner. And Mr. Darcy overheard everything.” She looked reprovingly at her mother and added, “I did warn you to keep your voice down, Mamma.”
Mrs. Bennet closed her eyes for a moment as everyone awaited her response. “I just never thought it mattered…what I said.”
“Apparently it does,” said Elizabeth, unable to hide her annoyance. And then something occurred to her and she turned to Darcy. “But you cannot judge a lady solely by her relations. For they should not signify if the couple in question were truly attached…”
“Yes, and I apologise,” said Darcy. “But in my defense, I also studied Miss Bennet that evening and noticed that she showed no particular sign of fondness for my friend.”
“But how was I supposed to behave, Mr. Darcy?” asked Jane abruptly. “I am a lady and cannot wear my heart on my sleeve. Did you expect me to pursue him? Look longingly at him? Throw myself at him as his sister threw herself at you?”
Bingley suddenly choked on his tea, whereupon Jane added, “I apologise, Mr. Bingley.”
“It is perfectly alright, Miss Bennet,” he said quietly, trying to clear his throat.
Darcy, on the other hand, said, “No, that is not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?” asked Elizabeth.
“I simply thought that, being a dutiful daughter, your sister would have done your mother's bidding.”
He looked at Jane quizzically and so did everyone else.
Elizabeth never thought of it before, but her sister was dutiful and probably would have married even Mr. Collins, if her parents had demanded it of her. They probably would not even have had to demand it as Jane would have willingly sacrificed herself for them.
“So would you have done it, Jane?” Elizabeth asked, looking curiously at her sister.
“Would I have done what?”
“Would you have married a man you did not love, if the gentleman were pleasant and wealthy and, particularly, if Mamma had asked it of you?”
Jane looked steadily at the floor and about a minute went by before she finally answered, “Yes, I suppose I would have.”
Bingley stared at her, but Jane’s eyes remained focused on the floor.
Darcy broke the silence by saying, “I do not think dutifulness is a character flaw, Miss Bennet. Not at all.”
“You are too kind, Mr. Darcy,” murmured Jane. Elizabeth did not know if she was being sarcastic or not.
“There is nothing wrong with being respectful towards your parents’ wishes,” continued Darcy, still addressing Jane. “But in this case, it matters not, because I was wrong about your feelings in the first place. And I apologise…again.”
“All is well, Mr. Darcy,” said Jane with a sad smile. “Perhaps my feelings were too little displayed. And I suppose you were only thinking about your friend.”
“Yes, well,” said Darcy with a glance at Bingley, “I do not think he needs looking after anymore. And in future, I shall be sure to leave him alone.”
“I am here, you know,” said Bingley. “You do not have to speak as if I were not in the room.”
“My apologies,” said Darcy, as another silence fell.
At length Jane said, “But, Mr. Darcy, there is a question I would like to ask you.”
“Ask me anything, Miss Bennet.”
“Did the behaviour of my family - my mother and younger sisters - that night…play a role in your decision to warn Mr. Bingley against me?”
Darcy stared at her for a moment before quietly answering, “Yes…I suppose it did.”
It was then that Mrs. Bennet cried, “Are you turning against me now, Jane? Your own mother?”
“No, of course not,” said Jane. “I just wish…”
“Yes? What is it that you wish?”
Elizabeth recalled that night, and how Kitty and Lydia were running around drunkenly, a slew of officers in pursuit of them. They could not have mortified her more if they tried.
“The thing is, Mamma,” she said slowly, “it might be better if you were to curb Kitty and Lydia’s behaviour…on occasion. For it might actually lessen their marital prospects - and indeed all your daughters’ marital prospects - if they continue to behave the way they do.”
Mrs. Bennet looked stunned for some time before eventually saying, “But my mother always taught me to be…lively.”
“That may be,” said Elizabeth, “but there is a difference between being lively and being unappealingly loud. One, a gentleman may appreciate. But the other…” She suddenly turned to Darcy and asked, “What do you think, Mr. Darcy?”
“I…yes. I agree with Miss Elizabeth.”
Mrs. Bennet, now feeling that she was being picked on, turned to Darcy once more and said, “And what about the living your father promised to Mr. Wickham, which you denied him?”
Surprised by the sudden turn in conversation, Darcy said, “What does that have to do with anything?”
Elizabeth pinched the bridge of her nose and wondered how it had come to this. Such a pleasant morning it had started out to be. And now…this. Nevertheless, she did wish to know the answer to her mother’s question and so looked once more at Darcy.
“And did you believe him, Miss Elizabeth?” that gentleman responded, addressing her instead of her mother.
“I had nothing else to go by,” she said weakly.
Darcy, on the other hand, shook his head in apparent disappointment. And Elizabeth began to feel as if she’d made a terrible mistake.
“I thought you were more discriminating than that,” Darcy said wearily.
Elizabeth, propelled to defend herself, replied, “As I said, I had nothing else to go by. You appeared - at least in those days - to despise everything and everyone around you…”
“While he, on the other hand, flattered you?” asked Darcy bitterly.
Elizabeth shrugged and he continued, “Wickham probably impressed you with his charming manners and particular attention. And that was all it took for you to believe every one of his syrupy lies.” He cleared his throat, then added in an imitation of Wickham, “You are so perceptive, Miss Bennet. Darcy is arrogant and proud and everything undesirable in a man. And he has treated me in the most deplorable manner.”
“Do not mock me, Mr. Darcy!” she cried.
“I am not mocking you,” said Darcy, with a single shake of the head. “I just…Did you truly believe that I could do such a thing? Behave so dishonourably?”
I had nothing else to go by, she thought again but did not say.
Eventually Darcy stood up and said, “I hope you enjoy your memories of him, Miss Elizabeth, and the wonderful illusion he presented.”
Finally roused to speak, she responded, “So, now what? Are you leaving?”
“What would you have me do? Defend myself? Do I not deserve the same trust as you so willingly gave to him?”
“I just wish to know the truth,” said Elizabeth in a small voice.
“Unfortunately, I am in no mood to share it just now.”
Nobody spoke for a few moments. And Elizabeth began to feel that there was more to Mr. Wickham than the charming soldier who had fallen on hard times.
Had she made a terrible mistake in trusting him so implicitly, and on so short an acquaintance?
But she needed time to think things through.
She was feeling feverish again and could not seem to sort out her thoughts.
Wickham. Darcy. One open and engaging. The other reserved but… honorable.
Bingley abruptly spoke, as if reading her thoughts. “My friend is an honorable man, and - despite his officious interference and reserved manner - he has always behaved as a gentleman ought. And a truer friend there never was.”
He turned to Jane and gave her a small smile which she returned with a tentative one of her own.
Darcy, on the other hand, stood up and said, “I bid you good day, Mrs. Bennet, Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth.”
“But you cannot just leave like this,” cried Mrs. Bennet, “especially now that we are getting to the truth of the matter!”
“But I am just so weary,” said Darcy to no one in particular, “of always being imposed upon by that…smarmy cad.”
He took a step back and Bingley went to join him. The two gentlemen walked towards the door.
“But will you call again?” asked Mrs. Bennet.
“I suppose so,” said Darcy, without turning around.
“Yes, we shall call,” said Bingley.
The two gentlemen left.