Chapter XI
“Well,” said Mr. Gardiner, his voice dripping with irony, “this is far more precipitous than I had expected. Tell me, Mr. Darcy, do you have an announcement to make?”
Mrs. Gardiner, Darcy noted, was watching them with obvious delight, though a hint of her husband’s surprise had also infected her.
Darcy, uncertain how to handle this, looked to Miss Bennet, who gave him a soft smile and a nod.
With Miss Bennet’s encouragement, Darcy stood and drew her up beside him, still holding her hand.
“Yes, Mr. Gardiner, it is as you suspect. However, there are weightier circumstances surrounding our engagement.”
“That is curious,” said Mr. Gardiner, not catching the serious note in Darcy’s voice. “It is customary for the man to ask a woman’s father for permission, and in his absence, speak to an available male relation for provisional approval. Do these other matters take precedence?”
“And I have no objection to that, Mr. Gardiner,” replied Darcy. “Yet the current circumstances dictate we accelerate this matter, for there is business afoot that cannot be delayed.”
Mr. Gardiner’s countenance darkened, and he looked at Miss Bennet. Darcy had kept his response vague, as he thought it Miss Bennet’s responsibility to communicate recent events to her relations.
“Uncle, Aunt,” said she, taking up the standard at once. “Jane’s letters.” Miss Bennet turned to retrieve them. “Jane writes to inform me that Lydia has left Brighton to elope with an officer.”
“Eloped?” demanded Mrs. Gardiner. “You had better show us, Lizzy.”
They gathered around the table, Miss Bennet passing the letters to her aunt and uncle, who skimmed them. When they had absorbed as much as the hurried accounts allowed, they turned to practical matters.
“That silly girl,” said Mr. Gardiner, shaking his head with disgust. “Many are the times that I have spoken with my brother and advised him to attend to her behavior, but he always chose the path of least resistance. Now she will be the ruination of us all.”
“Lydia’s situation must be addressed,” said Mrs. Gardiner, looking between them, “but what I am more interested in knowing is what has happened between you two.”
“That is curious, Madeleine,” said Mr. Gardiner, turning to his wife with a raised eyebrow. “In the face of Lydia’s disgrace?”
Then he turned back and eyed Darcy before meeting his niece’s eyes. “In situations such as this, a potential suitor almost always withdraws.”
“I have no intention of doing that,” said Darcy.
“Hmm, yes, I can see that.” Mr. Gardiner nodded. “Before we do anything else, you must inform us of how you are involved, and what this all means.”
“Mr. Darcy arrived just after I had finished reading my letters,” said Miss Elizabeth.
“That much is obvious, Lizzy,” replied Mrs. Gardiner. “But my question still stands.”
“I am more than willing to answer your question,” said Darcy. “Might I assume that Miss Bennet has spoken of my connection to Wickham?”
“Aye, she has,” said Mr. Gardiner. “At one time, I believe that Lizzy’s feelings for Mr. Wickham were rather warm, though she has not spoken of him much in recent months.”
“Not warm, Uncle,” said Miss Bennet, appearing quite embarrassed. “Though I considered Mr. Wickham an amiable man, I had little contact with him after Christmas.”
“Then you took my warning to heart,” said Mrs. Gardiner.
Before Darcy could wonder what she meant, Miss Bennet said: “It was unnecessary. My connection with Mr. Wickham was never warmer than friendship. When I was in Kent, Mr. Darcy explained Mr. Wickham’s offenses to me, and since then I have considered him a man possessing significant character flaws.”
“Which is the reason for your cryptic comments when we saw Mr. Wickham’s miniature at Pemberley,” said Mrs. Gardiner.
“Yes, Aunt,” replied Miss Bennet. Then she turned to Darcy. “If I am not being too presumptuous, I should like to remove that miniature. After all the trouble Mr. Wickham has occasioned, I believe I should rather not encounter his countenance every time I walk through the gallery.”
“Not at all, Miss Bennet,” said Darcy. “As you have pointed out, it will be your home. I have almost disposed of it myself on several occasions—only the knowledge that those miniatures were my father’s prized possessions stayed my hand.”
“But your father was an upright man, Mr. Darcy,” said she, guiding him to her way of thinking. “If he had understood Mr. Wickham’s character, I do not suppose he would have held it so dear, especially with the havoc Mr. Wickham has wrought these past years.”
“Well, this is a surprise to be certain,” said Mrs. Gardiner with a delighted laugh. “You are only newly engaged, and yet Lizzy is already stamping her authority.”
“There may yet be time to flee,” added Mr. Gardiner.
Darcy enjoyed the jest as much as any of them, and he played up the humor by tucking Miss Bennet’s hand into the crook of his arm. “Not for any price, Mr. Gardiner. Now that I have her acceptance, I shall not relinquish it.
“But we should return to the matter at hand. Wickham is no mystery to me—my acquaintance with him stems from my earliest memories. Mr. Bennet may search one end of London to the other, and he will not find Wickham because he does not know where to look. I am the best positioned to find him, and I can call upon resources to which you and Mr. Bennet do not have access.”
Mr. Gardiner sobered at once. “This may not be what you wish to hear at present, but I do not think you should propose for the sake of offering your assistance. Other ways of supporting us do not involve a hasty engagement.”
Darcy chuckled, eyeing Miss Bennet, whose fingers tightened on his arm. “It is not hasty at all, Mr. Gardiner—at least not on my part. It has been many months now that I have wanted your niece for a wife.”
“Lizzy did not make it easy for you, did she?” asked Mrs. Gardiner.
“No, she did not.”
Not taking his eyes from Miss Bennet, Darcy nodded and turned back to her relations. “I think an explanation is warranted—a brief explanation, for we should be on our way. My interest in your niece stems from almost the first moment of our acquaintance.”
“Mr. Darcy,” said Miss Bennet, “do you mean to share everything?”
Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner did not miss the strained note in her voice, but they did not comment. Instead, they exchanged a glance, then waited for the explanation.
“Yes, I think it is necessary,” replied Darcy. “It will be easier for them to accept if they know all.”
ELIZABETH WAS NOT CONCERNED about her relations’ judgment.
Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner would see the humor in all that had passed between them—to own the truth, Elizabeth could see it herself, though at the time, of course, she had possessed no such insight.
To relate it all to her aunt and uncle, however, was mortifying.
Yet it seemed Mr. Darcy was determined, so she gave her reluctant assent.
What followed was as humiliating as Elizabeth expected, yet strangely cathartic.
Mr. Darcy began with the proposal at Hunsford, which soon devolved into an explanation of their dealings in Hertfordshire and even their actions since.
It was not detailed—they did not have time to permit that.
Though the gentleman remained calm as he related the tale, Elizabeth thought she detected more than a hint of embarrassment when the Gardiners asked questions, delving into certain points he might not have wished to consider at length.
“If I did not know Lizzy Bennet,” said Aunt Gardiner when the tale drew to a close, “I might not have believed it.”
“Nothing seemed unjustified in the moment, Aunt,” replied Elizabeth, trying to maintain a shred of dignity.
“No, I dare say there was not,” agreed her aunt. “Yet I cannot but suppose you made it as difficult as you could, and all without knowing.”
“What I cannot fathom,” said her uncle, “is that you approached Elizabeth at all with a proposal of marriage, Mr. Darcy.” Uncle Gardiner laughed with delight.
“Elizabeth is far more adept at showing more than she ought, especially when she gets her back up. Should that not have warned you against any suggestion of marriage?”
“Would you believe I convinced myself that she would accept me?” said Mr. Darcy, the pain of the moment giving way to the humor of the present.
Elizabeth gave him a look and Mr. Darcy did not hesitate to explain.
“I have much to offer, and I convinced myself there was no reason any rational woman would reject me. Furthermore, I considered our exchanges nothing more than lively debates.”
“Yet you came across the one woman who would not hesitate to reject your offer if she found it insufficient.” Mrs. Gardiner accompanied this statement with an arched brow at Elizabeth, who did not hesitate to take up the argument.
“Not at all, Aunt. Why, I suspect there are many such ladies.”
Mr. Gardiner chuckled, regarding her with equal parts fondness and disbelief. “If there are, I should like to know where you found them.”
“They are correct, Miss Bennet,” said Mr. Darcy.
“There are daughters of duchesses and even earls who would turn their noses up should I turn my attention to them. Below a certain rank, however, I suspect very few would reject me. This is not my pride speaking, but my position in society is the envy of many.”
“Such as Miss Bingley,” said Mrs. Gardiner.
“Miss Bingley is one such,” drawled Mr. Darcy, “but of her, it would be best to remain silent.”
“Then this was not an impulsive act on your part,” said Aunt Gardiner.
“My proposal today was not,” agreed Mr. Darcy. “The proposal at Hunsford was, to a certain extent, but I have had the months since then to consider my behavior.”
“Had you considered returning to Hertfordshire?” asked Mr. Gardiner.