Chapter Twenty-Two #2
On the second Monday in January, the sky showed clear and blue and an unexpected thaw melted the thin layer of snow from the ground.
The fields were wet and muddy, but the paths were clear and dry enough to walk, and this Lizzy proposed to do.
Her plans were delayed by two unexpected but not unwelcome visitors, in the form of Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam.
The two, it transpired, had asked Bingley to allow them the use of Netherfield, which petition had been granted.
She had not thought ever to see them again, believing that with the assistance of Mr. Mendel, her own poor help was no longer required in the affair of the code machine, and their presence, be it for matters personal or of national interest, filled her with unaccustomed joy.
Mr. Darcy regarded her with warm but serious eyes and spoke only polite words of greeting; the colonel exuded pleasure at being once more in her company and spoke enough for both him and his cousin.
Now he explained he was delighted to be back in Meryton, regretted his short visit and hasty departure at his last sojourn in the neighbourhood, hoped for a longer stay this time, and was eager to meet the local society. Mr. Darcy smiled and nodded.
After the visit with Papa, which was the purported purpose of the morning call, and another length of time spent taking tea with Mama and the Bennet sisters, Colonel Fitzwilliam commented with his usual exuberance on the fine weather for this time of year and announced that he would be most happy for a walk under the blue sky.
“We shan’t see too many of these before the ground is covered anew in snow and walking becomes a chore.
Would any of these charming ladies care to accompany me?
” He shone his brightest smile, and Elizabeth could almost hear her mother’s thoughts.
“I am certain all of my daughters would be pleased to do so, Colonel.” A colonel is a far better catch than a lieutenant, and one in the regulars at that! And he is the son of an earl! What a grand thing for my girls. “Mary, Kitty, are you not longing for a walk?”
But Mary was writing a letter to an acquaintance she had met in London through her aunt and uncle, and Kitty claimed that she had no other time to repair the lace on the dress that Lydia had stolen from her, to which Lydia replied in petulant tones that Mama had given her the dress and it was her choice to remove the lace.
“If I were to be mistress of my own house,” she raised her too-wise eyes in her too-young face, “I should not have to share my clothing with my sisters at all.”
“Thank you, Colonel, Mr. Darcy, but I am needed in the stillroom,” Jane’s ever-present smile was even sadder today. Perhaps Lizzy’s visitors underscored the abandonment she had suffered.
“Then Miss Elizabeth,” Colonel Fitzwilliam beamed, “the duty must fall to you and you alone. I shall not take a refusal, for I must have a walk, and there is no one but you to show me and my cousin where best to wander.”
“Go, then Lizzy,” her mother waved a distracted hand. “Best be off with you. You shall only be in the way if you remain at home. You shan’t need a chaperon. The good colonel’s character stands strong.”
Elizabeth was very pleased to accede to Mama’s wishes. She excused herself for a moment to find her boots and cape and bonnet and met the two men outside. The colonel’s good humour remained, but his tone grew more serious as the subject changed to where it must land: the code machine.
“Your uncle’s friend Mr. Mendel is a genius,” Mr. Darcy stated as soon as they were far enough from the house not to be overheard.
“A genius of the highest order. He took my poor sketches and created from them a machine that seems, to my eyes, to be an exact replica of the one in your own house. He had examined the damaged areas and rebuilt them to what he believes were their original purposes, and the device works! It is remarkable to see. How he created this machine so quickly, I will never know. I do not imagine he slept more than two hours a night since he began the task.”
“I have seen it,” the colonel added, “and my cousin is correct. It is astounding.”
Lizzy felt her heart beat within her breast. “Pray tell me, was I correct in my thoughts of how it functions? You are ready to tell me, and I am most anxious to hear it.”
“We can do better than tell you, Miss Elizabeth, for we have brought the model to Netherfield!” The colonel’s face almost split in two from the width of his smile.
“At Netherfield? What did Mr. Bingley say? Has he returned with you? He must have seen you carry the machine inside!”
Mr. Darcy stopped walking and turned to regard her.
“Were you not informed when they were contemplating their departure? Caroline had been quite vocal in her disapproval of the estate, and I believe at last Charles had more of her complaints than he could bear. He decided in a moment to remove to town. The house is empty, save for the housekeeper and a small staff, and is quite at our disposal.”
“There was no notice at all of their decision. But what of Jane?” She almost sobbed this last question. The elation she felt at the news of the machine dissolved in an instant upon hearing once more of Mr. Bingley’s desertion.
“Your sister? Did he not take his leave as he ought to have done? Surely he had better manners than that!”
Lizzy furrowed her brow. “I do not understand you, sir. Take his leave? As with a common acquaintance? Her heart is quite broken, I am certain of it, although she will not complain of it. I have never seen her spirits so low as they have been these past weeks.”
Now it was Mr. Darcy’s turn to look confused.
“Her heart is broken? But how can that be? For I detected no more attachment to him than to any other gentleman with whom I observed her. Neither at the dances, nor at the card parties or dinners... I could observe no particular attachment at all. Even today, she seemed quite as I have always known her, and yet you tell me her spirits are low.”
Blood rushed from her face, and she felt her head grow light. “Sir, I must ask if you had any hand in this removal from Netherfield.”
The gentleman blinked, and turned red, then ran a finger beneath his cravat.
“I had no notion... No, Miss Elizabeth, please do not misunderstand me, for I meant no ill. I have a habit, it seems, of misspeaking at the worst possible times. Charles asked me, before I departed Netherfield, if I believed Miss Bennet to love him. Charles is a man who falls in and out of love quickly, but he admitted that never before had he met a lady such as your sister. He is, however, sadly accustomed to being sought after for his wealth, and did not wish to attach himself to such a one.”
Elizabeth clenched her jaw as he spoke, and from the corner of her eye noticed the colonel shuffle his polished boots and plunge his hands into his pockets as they spoke. She returned her regard to Mr. Darcy, who coughed and cleared his throat, then continued.
“I told him—and this I swear, Miss Elizabeth—that whilst I did not notice any clear signs of particular affection, I did not believe Miss Bennet to be a fortune hunter. Upon him repeating his question, however, I was obliged to offer my truest thoughts. Your sister’s regard is always placid and calm, and her smile always charming and obliging.
There has been nothing in her manner to suggest violent love.
But believe me, Elizabeth, I did not advise my friend to remove himself from the neighbourhood.
I told him, instead, not to trust the words of an observer, but to reflect upon his own heart. This is the truth.”
Grief and anger warred within her, although to whom her wrath was directed she knew not.
She wished to be angry with Mr. Darcy, for he was there before her, he was the bearer of the bad news, and he was the one who had spoken the dire words that surely sent Mr. Bingley away.
But she had learned to moderate her anger towards him and consider not only his words but the impetus behind them.
If his friend had asked the question, it was because he was uncertain in his own mind of Jane’s attachment, and Charlotte’s admonition to display more affection than is felt returned to her in a rush.
She considered her beloved sister’s calm beauty and uniformly pleasant temperament.
To one who had known Jane all her life, the most subtle alterations in her demeanour were evident, but to a stranger, she might seem as passionless as a statue.
Even now, at a time when Lizzy observed the great distress gnawing at her sister’s heart, even a close friend might observe nothing amiss.
Better she should blame Miss Bingley for this removal!
Mr. Bingley himself was too happy a man not to expect equal delight from everybody else, and if the seed of doubt had taken root within him, it had surely been planted by somebody else.
The lady had never been kind in her words or gestures towards the local society and towards the Bennets in particular, and Lizzy felt that if the lady suspected an attachment between Jane and her brother, she would do what she could to separate them.
Surely Mr. Bingley would not hear his sister over his own heart, would he?
And yet, if only Mr. Darcy had not spoken so bluntly...
“Miss Elizabeth?” Colonel Fitzwilliam interrupted her thoughts with his concern.
“I am well, merely lost in contemplation.” She breathed out a sigh and sought to return to an even temper.
“Jane is more than she appears, Mr. Darcy, and feels deeply even when the surface is serene.” She fell silent and allowed the men to lead her onwards as they walked, giving them time to think on her assertion.