Chapter Twenty-Seven
Elizabeth was not at all surprised when Mr. Darcy arrived at the Parsonage a little before she and Jane planned to depart for Rosings the following morning. That he was accompanied by Colonel Fitzwilliam was rather less expected.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” she said with an arch little smile. “We are much honoured by your escort.”
Darcy bowed over Jane’s hand almost perfunctorily before turning to Elizabeth and taking her hand to kiss.
“After what happened to you on your last walk to Rosings,” he said quietly, for her ears alone, “it would have been unconscionable of me to allow you to make that walk without my escort. Never again, Elizabeth, will I put you at risk.”
She looked up into his eyes and smiled, allowing him to retain possession of her hand, tuck it into the crook of his elbow. “You did not put me at risk — Will.”
“We may have to agree to disagree on that point.”
“As on many others, no doubt,” her tone was pert, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at him. “But then, you seem to rather enjoy it when I disagree with you.”
He smiled rather sheepishly at that, pressed his gloved fingers lightly atop hers. “You are at your most fetching when you are passionate in defence of a point.”
Delighted to have discovered something else about him, Elizabeth tightened her hold on his arm and moved a little closer. “I believe that I shall be sure to disagree with you regularly, Will, to ensure that your regard of me remains constant!”
“You need have no fear of it diminishing even if we in the future agree on every single topic, I assure you,” he said fervently.
Walking in their wake at a slightly more sedate pace, Jane and Colonel Fitzwilliam both carefully averted their eyes. Colonel Fitzwilliam, though, could not resist asking the question.
“They seem to have, ah, settled any differences that may have previously existed between them?” he made it a question.
“I believe that a very honest conversation yesterday cleared the air, rather,” Jane said with a small smile.
“You and Miss Elizabeth are very close, are you not?”
“As close as two sisters may be,” Jane’s smile was loving. “She is the best of sisters.”
“She says the same thing of you, Miss Bennet. Long before I laid eyes on you, Miss Elizabeth had regaled me with tales of your sweetness, your good nature. I half expected to see a halo atop your head and angel wings sprouting from your shoulders.”
Her smile vanished. “Pray, do not call me an angel, sir. I am far from that.”
“That was what Bingley called you,” Fitzwilliam realised, “his angel…”
“He set me on a pedestal, and I think I might be afraid of heights,” Jane whispered. Blue eyes lifted, looking into his beseechingly. “I do not want to be admired only for how I look, sir. I want to be admired as Mr. Darcy admires Elizabeth; for everything I am.”
For a few steps further they were silent, as Fitzwilliam gathered his thoughts. And then he smiled, broadly, and said “Do you realise, the first time I saw you, you were smacking Darcy across the face with every scrap of your strength?”
Jane’s lips parted with shock. “So I was!” she gasped.
“I was quite sure that you were, in fact, a Valkyrie.”
Blushing, she began to giggle, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. “Oh dear!”
“Should I never discover your name, I planned to regale my regiment with fantastic tales of having witnessed Freyja, the Viking goddess of battle, in action.”
She had to stuff almost her whole hand in her mouth to stifle the peals of laughter that were trying to escape; it could not be more inappropriate.
Shoulders shaking, she looked up at him from eyes bright with amusement, and Fitzwilliam realised to his despair that he, too, was quite lost to one of the remarkable Bennet sisters.
Jane had, thankfully, collected herself by the time they arrived at Rosings. Darcy and Fitzwilliam escorted the two sisters into a small sitting-room Elizabeth had not seen before; much more simply furnished than the grand, ornate rooms Lady Catherine had favoured.
Anne was seated by the window, conversing quietly with Mr. Gardiner. She turned her head and smiled as they entered.
“My dear Miss Elizabeth. What a treasure your uncle is.”
“We are blessed to have both my uncle and my aunt in the family,” Elizabeth agreed, moving forward, her hand falling from Darcy’s arm. “Miss de Bourgh…”
“I do not wish for your condolences any more than you do for mine,” Anne interrupted her.
Elizabeth’s brows crinkled, and Anne smiled at her. “I am sure that I do sound just like my mother, yes. Another reason why I have no intention of marrying and inflicting myself as a mother on some unfortunate child.”
Jane, still fighting down laughter from her conversation with the colonel, let out a most unladylike snort. Anne smirked at her.
“You must be the famous Miss Bennet. I quite see why you are lauded as the beauty of Hertfordshire - ah, but I see that you do not care for that description, any more than I care for being known as Lady Catherine’s sickly daughter.”
Sensing a kindred spirit, Jane smiled and moved forward, extending her hands. “Despite the circumstances, Miss de Bourgh, I am delighted to meet you.”
Accepting the friendly handclasp, Anne offered a genuine smile. “And I, you. Please, will you call me Anne?”
Turning her attention to the gentlemen in the room, Anne waved her hands. “Will you all leave us, please? I wish to confer with Jane and Elizabeth in private.”
Given such a request, there was little they could do but acquiesce and depart, though Darcy shot Elizabeth a concerned look before the door closed. She smiled reassuringly at him in return before turning back to give Anne her full attention.
“Firstly,” Anne said once they had seated themselves, and she had poured tea for Jane and Elizabeth from the tray set in front of her, “I would like to offer you my apologies, Elizabeth, for my mother’s appalling behaviour towards you.”
“You owe me no apology, Miss de Bourgh… Anne. We cannot hold ourselves responsible for the actions of our relatives, certainly not those who are far beyond our control.”
“I do hope so, else I will be paying for my mother’s sins for a long time yet to come. But then, you only said that we cannot hold ourselves responsible; no doubt others who are less generous than you will still hold her actions against me.”
“The truth of that will be known only by you and God, come Judgement Day,” Jane said gently.
Anne smiled at her. “Well, I will be glad to let Him be my judge. Speaking of God, though, Elizabeth, I need to ask you something.”
“About Charlotte?” Elizabeth said astutely.
“Indeed. Charlotte — I will not call her Mrs. Collins — has been nothing but kind to me since the first day of her arrival, despite my mother demeaning and belittling her constantly. Indeed, I believe she has been the first friend I have ever had. Should she wish to remain at the Parsonage, I shall be glad to permit her to do so for as long as she wishes, at no cost. I can easily provide a new house for the vicar I will request my cousins help me to select and appoint.”
“That is a very generous offer, Anne,” Elizabeth said sincerely.
“But?” Anne heard the hesitation in her tone.
“I think we both believe that Charlotte was not entirely happy in her marriage. Nor is there a great deal for her to return to with her family, in Hertfordshire, though I would be delighted to have my friend return to us.”
“I thought you would say that. Consequently, I intend to ask her to come to live with me here at Rosings, as my companion. Since she is widowed, she would be considered a quite unexceptionable chaperone. Do you think that she would accept, or would I cause offence by asking?” Anne leaned forward, her expression a little anxious, and Elizabeth realised just how much regard Anne held Charlotte in.
“Anne,” she reached out, touched Anne’s hand. “I honestly believe that she would be both honoured and delighted by such a request.”
Anne’s smile bloomed, wide and joyous. “We will both be in mourning for quite some time, obviously, but I hope that as soon as it is possible, you will both come to visit us, and stay for as long as you wish? Your younger sisters, too. I should like to meet them all.”
“You may come to regret that offer,” Elizabeth chuckled.
“Lizzy! Anne, that is a truly kind and generous invitation, and we will be delighted to accept as soon as we can. May we correspond, in the meantime?” Jane requested.
“I shall be quite downcast if I do not hear from both of you regularly,” Anne stood to embrace them both. “Charlotte and I shall be very quiet here; we shall depend on you to keep us entertained with your letters!”
Anne requested that they not speak of her request to Charlotte yet, only to advise her that she should remain in the Parsonage as long as she wished. Anne would visit once the funerals had passed.
Sir William and Lady Lucas arrived on the morning of the funerals; Sir William would attend with Mr. Bennet and the other gentlemen, and they would remain with Charlotte for a few days before returning home with Maria.
Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner left directly following Mr. Collins’ funeral with Jane and Elizabeth. They would stop for a night at the Gardiners’ home on Gracechurch Street before Mr. Bennet took his daughters home to Longbourn at last.
Elizabeth had no opportunity to farewell Mr. Darcy without her father present.
Cautious of raising Mr. Bennet’s suspicions, she cast Darcy a pleading look when he bent to kiss her hand.
He correctly interpreted the glance and reverted to his usual formality, though with a warmer attitude than Mr. Bennet was wont to expect.
Peering thoughtfully from Darcy to Elizabeth, Mr. Bennet let out a small harrumph. Hie eyes twinkled a little as he bade farewell to Darcy.
“Perhaps we shall see you at Netherfield again this autumn, sir?”
“Perhaps,” Darcy said blandly, wondering if Elizabeth’s father had somehow seen through him, or if Mr. Gardiner had been talking.
He could hardly ask; though he could at least hope that time and the opportunity to consider might bring Mr. Bennet to be pleased with the idea of Darcy courting Elizabeth.
“I shall be rather displeased if any of my daughters have their hearts broken again, though,” Mr. Bennet said sternly.
“I shall sincerely hope that they do not, sir,” Darcy glanced sideways, to where Colonel Fitzwilliam was staring at Jane with a foolishly lovesick expression on his face.
She, in return, was blushing shyly and casting small smiles his way.
“I pray that you will take good care of all of your daughters in the mean time.”
“I believe that I have quite learned my lesson about letting any of them out of my sight,” Mr. Bennet replied dryly.
“Never fear, Mr. Darcy. Three months’ mourning will be quite enough time for them to drive me all to the point of wanting to banish at least some of them from the house permanently, though it is likely that those who depart will be those I would wish to keep! ”
He definitely knows, or at least strongly suspects. Darcy said no more, only bowed in polite farewell before turning to bid Mr. Gardiner a friendly adieu.