Chapter Twenty #3
Mr Bennet sighed. "That young man appears incapable of understanding discouragement."
Mrs Bennet looked back towards the sea. "I do not think he has been very discouraged."
"No. That is rather the problem."
He picked up a small stone and tossed it towards the waves.
"When I left Longbourn I had one daughter who appeared perfectly content without a suitor and another who believed herself immune to all romantic folly.
I arrive in Lyme and discover that Mr Bingley has practically attached himself to our family and Mr Darcy appears determined to conduct a siege. "
"A siege?"
"That is certainly how it looks from where I am standing."
Mrs Bennet laughed. "Poor Mr Darcy."
"I assure you I feel no particular pity for Mr Darcy."
"No?"
"No. He is a very wealthy man, a very determined man, and by all appearances a man who is not especially accustomed to hearing the word no."
The laughter faded a little. "You are genuinely worried."
"I am."
Mrs Bennet turned towards him.
Mr Bennet took a moment before continuing.
"The difficulty is that I do not dislike him.
Indeed, I should find the whole matter considerably easier if I did.
He appears sensible. He is attentive to his sister.
Everybody whose judgement I trust seems inclined to think well of him.
Even you think well of him, which surprises me rather. "
Mrs Bennet smiled. "I do."
"Exactly. Yet he proposed to Lizzy, was refused, and remains here pursuing the matter with an applicatio n which would be admirable in almost any other circumstance."
"He loves her."
"Perhaps."
Mrs Bennet raised an eyebrow.
"That sounded remarkably half-hearted, Thomas."
Mr Bennet sighed.
"Very well. I believe he does. What troubles me is something else entirely."
He watched the sea for a moment. "A man may mean perfectly well and still exert a great deal of pressure without ever intending to.
Wealth has a way of persuading the world to accommodate you.
People agree. Obstacles move aside. Difficulties become temporary.
I suspect Mr Darcy has spent much of his life discovering that persistence generally produces the desired result. "
Mrs Bennet considered this. "You think he does not know when to stop."
"I think he may not recognise the difference between perseverance and pressure."
The waves rolled in and retreated again.
Mrs Bennet sat quietly for some moments. "She is not Jane."
"No."
"Nor is she sixteen."
"No."
"She is Lizzy."
Despite himself, Mr Bennet smiled. "That is the strongest argument in her favour."
"I think so too."
They sat together for a while.
Then Mrs Bennet said quietly, "Do you know what I have learned here?"
Mr Bennet immediately looked suspicious. "What?"
"That I cannot arrange happiness for anyone."
He stared at her.
Mrs Bennet laughed at once. "Oh do stop looking at me like that.
I am serious," she said after a moment. "I spent years believing that if I worried enough, planned enough and pushed enough, I could somehow guarantee happiness for everyone.
Then I discovered I could not even guarantee it for myself. "
She looked out towards the horizon. "If Mr Bingley truly cares for Jane, he will find his way to Hertfordshire."
Mr Bennet nodded slowly. "And if he does not?"
"Then keeping Jane in Lyme another month will not alter the outcome."
"And Darcy?"
Mrs Bennet's mouth curved slightly. "If Mr Darcy truly wishes to marry Elizabeth, I do not imagine a journey to Hertfordshire will discourage him."
Mr Bennet groaned. "My dear, that is not a comforting thought."
"It comforts me."
"It does quite the reverse for me."
"Then perhaps you are the one who requires the sea air."
That drew a reluctant laugh from him.
When it faded, Mrs Bennet was still looking out towards the water. "You know," she said after a while, "I think I should like to go home."
Mr Bennet turned towards her. "You would?"
"Yes."
"No arguments?"
"No."
"No elaborate schemes involving extended visits and conveniently placed gentlemen?"
Mrs Bennet smiled. "I am reformed."
"I do not believe that for a moment."
"Neither do I. But I should still like to go home."
For a little while neither spoke.
Then Mr Bennet said quietly, "You have been happier here."
Mrs Bennet was silent for a long moment. Then she said simply, "Yes."
The answer was simple enough to hurt. He stared out at the sea. "I was not always kind."
"No." There was no anger in it. Only truth.
After a moment she touched his sleeve very lightly. "You were not always cruel either."
The tide crept steadily towards them and for a long time neither moved.
Then at last Mr Bennet rose and offered her his arm. "Come along, Mrs Bennet."
She slipped her hand through it. "Are we going home, then?"
"Yes, my dear and I will do my very best to be a better man."
"And leave the young people to their fate?"
"I fear we may have no choice."
Mrs Bennet smiled. "No," she said. "I rather think we do not."
Together they turned back towards the the guesthouse.