Chapter 27
The time between Mr. Darcy’s arrival in the neighborhood and the assembly in Meryton was a delightful time for Elizabeth, the most pleasant time she had ever experienced.
Every day, unless it rained, she went for a walk on her own. In his grief, her father had forgotten that he had said she needed footmen to accompany her wherever she went, and the issue had never been brought up again.
Since these solitary rambles had been taking place daily for months, this was not in the least unusual. The part that was unusual was that Mr. Darcy just happened to be there each time, offering to walk with her.
It wasn’t coincidence. Every day before she turned home, she told him where she would be walking the next time she was out. Since she always walked at the same time of day, it was simplicity itself for him to meet her there.
She felt a little guilty about it, since it bordered on clandestine meetings, but she chased away her guilt by reminding herself that they were always out in the open. It wasn’t wrong to happen to meet someone while out walking, and it wasn’t wrong for that person to offer to join the walk.
Every meeting, every greeting, every smile, every glance caused Elizabeth to fall more in love with the man than before.
Now that she was aware of her own feelings, it was very easy indeed to give in to them and let them grow.
Many times, she thought he might return her feelings, but he never spoke of them, nor did he hint that there might be any thoughts of a potential understanding between them.
She shouldn’t be surprised at his lack of expressed intention. After all, she had rejected him so very viciously. A man with as much self-respect as he carried would not possibly bring himself to try again with the same woman.
Even so, as each day passed, she found herself hoping that he would speak, that he would defy convention and his own character and renew his proposal. If he did, she would certainly accept without a second thought.
The approach of the assembly in Meryton was something she had pinned her hopes on. At least then, she would be able to dance with him. Perhaps, he would even ask for a second dance.
The day before the assembly, he finally fulfilled her hopes.
“Miss Elizabeth,” he said breaking a warm silence that had lasted for a minute or more. “Do I presume too much by asking for your hand for the first dance at the assembly?”
She could not prevent the grin that spread immediately over her face, not even if her life had depended upon it. “I would enjoy that very much,” she said. “Of course it is no presumption. We have danced together many times, after all.”
“That is true,” he agreed, “but I have never asked a lady to save the first dance for me before the ball even began.”
“Then I am flattered and very pleased to receive such a distinction,” she said.
He stopped walking and turned toward her, something he had never done in all their walks. “Truly?” he asked. “Are you truly pleased? Or is this simply your innate kindness showing itself, accepting out of pity but pretending to be pleased?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “I am not capable of such kindness, if that is indeed kindness,” she said.
“If I did not wish to accept your offer but felt obligated nonetheless, my acceptance would be short and terse. Truly, I am grateful for your attention, and I am glad you have been joining me on my walks.”
A true, full smile bloomed on Mr. Darcy’s face. It was something she had never seen. There had been glimpses of a smile and warmth in his eyes, but they were nothing like this. The sight transformed him from handsome to beautiful.
Elizabeth was stunned. Her brain stopped working, and she could think of nothing other than absorbing and enjoying the delightful sight before her.
She did not know how long the two of them stood there looking at each other, but eventually, Mr. Darcy cleared his throat. “Shall we continue our walk?” he asked as he held out his arm. She took it, and they continued walking.
Now, however, everything was so very different. She had never been so very aware of how strong his arm felt beneath her hand. Nor had she paid any attention to the smell of his cologne and shaving soap. In this moment, these sensations and others like them were all she could think of.
Fortunately for Elizabeth’s sanity and peace of mind, the end of their walk together was near. They parted soon afterward with Elizabeth saying, “I am afraid I will not be walking out tomorrow so that I might preserve my strength for the assembly. I look forward to our dance.”
“As do I,” he said. He bowed and departed, and Elizabeth turned toward home.
~~~~~
Thomas Bennet disliked assemblies enormously. They were noisy, crowded, and chaotic, far different from a small gathering of friends at the home of one of his neighbors. The only thing that could possibly induce him to attend was his wife, Esther.
She had pointed out that it was best for the respectability of his daughters that he attend, even if all he did was hover along the sidelines, watching over them.
And that was precisely what he was doing in that very moment. He was watching Elizabeth dance with Mr. Darcy.
Thomas was quite surprised to see Mr. Darcy here at the assembly, especially since his uncle was nowhere to be found.
Thomas would have assumed that the young man would avoid such chaos and noise.
However, what surprised him even more was seeing the look he was giving Elizabeth and the look she returned to him.
There had been nothing like that between them in London. When could they possibly have become so close?
As he was pondering this very question, Esther approached. She had been socializing with the various ladies of the neighborhood, ladies she had come to know over the last few months but who were now welcoming her as the new mistress of Longbourn.
“Thomas, I have encountered the most startling rumors about Elizabeth,” she said. “I thought you would wish to know immediately.”
Thomas turned his gaze from his wife back to the dance floor. “Does it have to do with Mr. Darcy?” he asked.
Her gaze followed his, and she said, “Yes, it does.”
Thomas pulled in a breath of courage. When he had originally hired Mrs. Jamison and Esther, he had assumed his days of worrying about his daughters ruining their reputations were over. Perhaps he had been wrong to leave them all under the supervision of only Mrs. Jamison.
“What is this news?” he asked.
“Nearly everyone I’ve spoken to has seen Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy walking out together at some point in the last fortnight.
When I put all the stories together, it seems they have met every single time Elizabeth has been out for a walk.
Most don’t realize how often it has happened, but her lack of a chaperone has been well noted.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked when they could expect an announcement of an engagement. ”
Thomas massaged his temples in an attempt to prevent a headache from coming on. Elizabeth was supposed to be one of the two daughters he had with real sense. Why would she do such a thing?
His critical thoughts almost immediately turned inward.
He should have been more strict about having a footman or two accompany her, even when she insisted she required some amount of solitude.
In the aftermath of Fanny’s death, he had not really considered much in the way of practicalities.
He had recently been reminded of his initial resolution, but he assumed since all was well enough there was no need to change anything.
It was his old habits of laziness rearing their head again. For a moment, he despised himself.
He saw Esther watching him sympathetically. She did not blame him for this. She was merely sympathetic with his concern.
He shook off his self-flagellation and spoke. “If an engagement is that widely expected, there will be repercussions should it not happen soon,” he said. “I suppose I will need to have a conversation with young Darcy.”
“I do not think he will take much convincing,” said Esther. “After all, he proposed to Elizabeth before. There is no reason to think he would not do so again given enough assurance that she will not reject him again.”
“He…what?” Thomas said a little too loudly. “How do you come to know this when I do not?”
“I…I don’t recall,” said Esther in a soft contrite voice. “Perhaps I thought it was her private business and that I should not disturb you with it. After all, there was nothing you could do about it. So, I think I believed that, since you didn’t need to act on it, I didn’t need to bother with it.”
After a pause while Thomas gathered his thoughts to respond, Esther said softly, “I told you that you place too much faith in me, did I not?”
Thomas saw her contrition and her sorrow that she had caused him pain, and the sight was too much for him. He wanted to enfold her in his arms and comfort her, but that was not possible in such a crowded place. Instead, he simply took her hand.
“No one is perfect,” he said. “If I recall, at the time, I was placing much of the responsibility for my daughters on you and Mrs. Jamison. It makes sense that, if Elizabeth truly rejected him, there was no reason for me to know.”
“Thank you, Thomas,” she said.
“Now, let us return to the present,” said Thomas. “If you are certain he is willing to propose, do you think she will accept this time? Given the way she is looking at him, I should think so.”
“I genuinely don’t know,” said Esther. “I thought she was in love with him last spring, but she turned him down due to some misinformation. Assuming that mistake has been cleared, I think it might be very likely.”
“In that case, I think it is time I had a talk with the young man.”
~~~~~
When the first dance was over, Thomas searched for Mr. Darcy, who had disappeared into the crowd with Elizabeth. Eventually, the young man was found when the second dance began.