Chapter 24
Longbourn was uncommonly quiet when Darcy arrived, and he wondered if the absence of Lydia’s chaotic influence had finally restored peace to the house. The elderly butler advised him that Mr Bennet was expecting him, and sombrely escorted him to the study.
The gentleman rose to receive him. “How good of you to call, Mr Darcy,” Mr Bennet said, shaking his hand. “Is Mr Bingley not with you?”
“Unfortunately, my friend is still tending to urgent business matters, and will return directly, but he sends his best regards,” he said, to which Mr Bennet nodded his understanding and gestured to a chair.
The butler withdrew and closed the door without a sound, making Darcy suspect that all wasn’t well.
“You may have noticed the lack of pandemonium at Longbourn,” Mr Bennet said without a trace of his usual levity.
Darcy had also noticed his host’s pallor and uncharacteristic gravity. “Has something gone amiss?”
“Before I left to search for Lydia, I advised my wife to go about her business as usual, and give every appearance of a unified family to the world. When I returned home, I learned that she and my daughters had been cut in the village on Thursday; none of our neighbours would acknowledge them, nor the merchants. Mrs Bennet has taken to her bed with nervous complaints and my daughters are attending her.”
“But how has this come about?”
“As I’ve previously mentioned, Mr Collins was present when we discovered that Lydia had run away, and after an unpleasant quarrel, I evicted him. Despite our attempt to contain the story, I suspect my heir has reported Lydia’s tale far and wide, including his abhorrence of the affair.”
“I despise gossip mongers,” Darcy said, his disgust of the parson rising to new heights.
“As do I, but thanks to my cousin, the Bennets are ruined. I attempted to call on my good friend Sir William yesterday and was denied entry,” he said in a grave voice, sadly shaking his head.
“Unfortunately, I have no one to blame for this affair but myself. I left my daughters’ upbringing to my wife, but I ought to have taken a firmer hand with them, especially my wild child, Lydia.
What’s worse, I was in my library that night and assumed that she was asleep in her chamber. I never even checked on her.”
Darcy feared that their efforts in town had done little to protect Elizabeth and her sisters.
“I ought not to have been so presumptuous to believe that our solution was infallible,” he said, then upon further consideration, he recalled the purpose of his call.
“The situation is indeed dire, but not, I believe, past saving.”
“What can be done? No one will acknowledge us or receive us.”
Darcy agreed with this regrettable truth. “Perhaps, but they will certainly receive me. I doubt anyone would refuse to acknowledge your daughters if they were in my company,” he said. Then added, “Or Mr Bingley’s.”
Mr Bennet humbly bowed his head. “Thank you, Mr Darcy, but you and Mr Bingley have already done more for my family than any man could reasonably ask.”
“I confess, Mr Bennet, that my motivation is quite selfish,” Darcy said. “Everything I have done was for Miss Elizabeth’s benefit.”
Mr Bennet straightened his shoulders. “Lizzy?”
Darcy nodded. “I’ve come today to ask your permission to address her.”
Mr Bennet’s eyes grew wide with astonishment. “You want to marry my Lizzy? I thought you held a poor opinion of her beauty.”
He cringed at this well-deserved reminder. “An unfortunate error for which I have begged and received her pardon.” Well, at least Charles had done so on Darcy’s behalf, but he fully intended to see to the matter himself.
Mr Bennet leaned back in his chair to contemplate the matter. “Well, I have no objections to the match, but I fear a precipitous engagement announcement so soon after Lydia’s escapade will be misinterpreted, especially by our gabble-mongering neighbours.”
Darcy couldn’t disagree. “The community would undoubtedly assume that Elizabeth was being sacrificed to save her sisters.”
“We could have kept the whole thing quiet, if not for my self-righteous cousin,” Mr Bennet said, clenching his hands. “But if you’ll agree to a courtship, a short delay might be more palatable.”
Darcy considered this alternative. To be perfectly honest, Elizabeth knew little of his true character.
Her first impression of him had been as an arrogant, prideful snob.
They had since enjoyed each other’s company, but at the time, he’d been inhabiting another man’s body.
She’d had little opportunity to become better acquainted with him in the past fortnight; certainly not long enough to make such a momentous decision.
“A courtship is an excellent suggestion.”
Mr Bennet rose to shake Darcy’s hand. “If you’ll wait in the library, I’ll send her to you.”
He paced while he waited, wondering how best to present this idea to her.
Some minutes later, Elizabeth entered wearing a sombre expression, and dipped a curtsy, but kept her focus on the floor.
“Mr Darcy, I beg you to overlook the liberty I took in writing to Mr Bingley, but Mr Wickham told me of your prior connection in Derbyshire, and I hoped you might have some knowledge of his whereabouts,” she said, then finally met his gaze.
“I can’t thank you enough for your kindness.
Lydia’s enrolment in a reputable seminary and Wickham’s transfer to the army benefit them far more than they deserve. ”
Alarmed by her anguish, he cradled her soft hand in his, hoping to comfort her. “You need not thank me, Miss Elizabeth. I only did what I thought to be right and just. Unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate your cousin’s involvement in the matter.”
Her eyes flared with fury. “Mr Collins is a malicious gossip, unworthy of the office he holds. I gather my father has told you what he has done.”
He nodded gravely. “I wouldn’t have thought it of him – a man of the cloth.”
She stepped back, clenching her fists at her sides.
“Nor I,” she said, her lip curling in disgust. “His stinging rebuke was made even more insulting when he announced his regrets for ever having considered me as his future wife. I knew he was planning to address me, because he’d been overly attentive since he arrived.
But after we discovered that Lydia had run away, he vowed that he would never stoop so low as to align himself with a fallen woman. ”
“Only a vile, repulsive man would insult his own family. I assure you that he shall hear from me on the matter,” he said, already planning that letter, but then recalled the reason for this meeting. “I’ve come here today to humbly ask you to enter into a courtship with me.”
Confusion crossed her brow. “Courtship?”
Apparently, Mr Bennet hadn’t advised her of his intent. “In all honesty, I originally planned to address you, but your father wouldn’t permit a betrothal so soon after Lydia’s disgrace.”
“But our acquaintance is of such short duration, and besides, my family is ruined. Why would you attach your good name to mine?” she inquired.
“Do you have any objections to me?”
When she hesitated. He guessed the reason.
Charles had apologised on his behalf, but he had yet to make proper amends.
“Once again, I humbly beg your pardon for insulting you at the first assembly. I was insufferably rude, arrogant, and prideful that night. I have since come to think of you as one of the most handsome women of my acquaintance.”
She shook her head. “You need not repeat your apologies, Mr Darcy. I have already forgiven you for that slight.”
He took this as an encouraging sign. “Then, will you consider a courtship? We may use the time to become better acquainted.”
She averted her eyes. “I’ve heard some…reports…that you are already betrothed to Miss de Bourgh.”
He supressed a groan, cursing the despicable parson.
“You may call it a rumour, as it most certainly is one. Your gossip-prone cousin would have been sure to repeat it, since my aunt especially desires the match, but I assure you, there’s no truth to it.
I’m not engaged to my cousin, nor to anyone else, for that matter. ”
She nodded her understanding. “Well then, I agree to a courtship,” she said, without much conviction.
Although he hadn’t anticipated her reserve, he suspected that recent events weighed heavily on her mind. “Believe me, Miss Elizabeth, I will endeavour to be worthy of you.”
“Has Mr Bingley returned to Netherfield?” she inquired.
He explained Charles’s ongoing business matters, but then remembered the letter in his pocket, which he had yet to deliver. “I have a missive intended for your elder sister,” he said, withdrawing the note.
She inspected the letter. “Is this from Miss Bingley?”
“It’s rather from her brother, hence the subterfuge.”
Tucking it into her pocket, she vowed to deliver it privately. “Will you stay for supper?”
“I would be delighted.” Although he hadn’t accomplished his goal, he was confident that he was well on the way to securing Elizabeth’s hand.
***
Dear Miss Bennet,
I beg your pardon for my extended absence from the neighbourhood. My business matters have taken longer than I expected to resolve, and I must remain in town until everything is settled.
I hope to do myself the honour of calling on you and throwing myself on your tender mercies for my delayed return.
Your humble servant,
CB
***
Charles grumbled as he entered his chamber at Hurst House on Saturday evening, annoyed by his continued confinement in London.
He had hoped to finally settle the last remaining issue regarding his father’s estate, but word from Lancashire still hadn’t been received, so he had to wait for that notice.
Hopefully, the matter would be put to rest on Monday so he could return to Netherfield.