Chapter 23 Insights
As Darcy looked around his study, he wondered how everything seemed to have gone askew in his life lately.
He shook his head slightly to clear it. Actually, he knew the answer.
Who would have thought Fitzwilliam Darcy would have been chasing about trying to find a woman he saw once in a bookstore?
And yet, he had. What was more, despite the interruption to his habits, he would continue to do so until he found her again.
After all, despite all the odds against it, Darcy had found his mystery woman at the assembly in Lambton.
He had obtained an introduction and they had danced together.
In fact, it was the first dance Darcy had ever truly enjoyed in his life.
She was lovely, light on her feet and an intelligent conversational partner.
Darcy was ready to ask if he might call on her, and he already knew he wished to court her.
Then, she disappeared again.
He was not sure how it had happened. He was distracted by the sight of that Bennet girl for just a few moments, thinking about whether or not he should warn Sir Barnaby of all the things Lady Catherine had said of her.
He knew he had not looked away from his partner for very long.
The dancers were still leaving the floor when he turned back to escort her away. All the same, Miss Elizabeth was gone.
He had first searched all around the dance floor, thinking she might have just stepped aside to get out of the crowd, and he had missed her saying so in all the noise.
Each dark-haired woman received an attentive glance, yet Miss Elizabeth was not among them.
He strained his ears for the sound of the laugh that had led him to her three times already, but it was not to be heard in the cacophony of music and chatter.
After searching the dance floor, he returned to the refreshment table near which they had been introduced.
He hoped she had returned to the place where she and Lord Sheldon had stood conversing before the dance.
To his dismay, there was no sign of either of them there.
At that point, Darcy began to look for Lord Sheldon in addition to Miss Elizabeth, because the older man probably knew where she came from and where she was staying.
Unfortunately, he seemed nowhere to be found either.
As Darcy continued searching the rooms that made up the assembly hall, he took the opportunity to speak with Sir Barnaby when he noticed the man step away from the Bennet sisters for a few moments.
That was an awkward conversation, mostly because he had the feeling the whole time that Sir Barnaby was silently laughing at him.
Well, Darcy had done his duty by his acquaintance, and what Sir Barnaby did with the information going forward was his own choice.
After much fruitless searching, Darcy finally thought of applying to the master of ceremonies to determine with whom Miss Elizabeth had arrived and where she might be staying in the neighborhood.
It took another long search to find Mr. Graham, who was enjoying a game in one of the card rooms. After waiting impatiently for the players to finish their hand, Darcy finally had the chance to ask about Miss Elizabeth Rose and her sister. The answer surprised him.
"Nay, Mr. Darcy. There is no Miss Rose at the Assembly tonight, whether named Elizabeth or otherwise. I should know, as I greeted all the guests on their arrival," the older man said, a little testy because he had lost his game on the last turn of the cards.
"Truly, Mr. Graham, she was here. I danced with her. Miss Rose was here, along with her older sister. I know they are guests of someone local. Please, help me find her." he had almost begged.
Mr. Graham looked at him suspiciously, "Miss Rose? Hmph! You are having me on. I know how you young men like your jokes. Either that, or you have had a bit too much of the punch. Be off with you. The only Roses hereabouts are the Damasks. Go have your fun with them."
Darcy could get no more from him. After that comment, the older man returned to his place, asking to be dealt into the next game.
Mr. Graham steadfastly ignored all attempts to politely regain his attention and finally Darcy had to admit defeat.
After making one more round of the hall, he headed back to Pemberley where he would spend the night in restless dreams of seeing Miss Elizabeth in the distance and losing sight of her over and over again.
~o~
Darcy woke the day after the Assembly with a pounding headache.
It stuck with him all morning and well into the afternoon, as he alternated between working on his plans for the coming winter and trying to figure out how to find Miss Elizabeth.
The headache was still hammering away at him when Mr. Gerald Damask was announced.
Stifling the urge to groan, Darcy allowed the servant to show Mr. Damask in.
Although they lived in the same general neighborhood, Darcy had not had many interactions with Gerald Damask in the past. They knew one another by sight, having been introduced when Darcy's father was still alive, and the two older men had done some business together.
However, the Damasks attended the church in Lambton, while Darcy followed his father's habit of attending Sunday service in Kympton, so there had been almost no social interaction between them.
Darcy had no doubt what the subject of this interview would be.
The moment Mr. Damask's name had been given to him; he realized what must be coming.
He also suddenly realized he was in a completely unknown and, probably, indefensible position.
While he had discussed the Bennets in the past with Richard, that was just talk among family.
Normally, Darcy kept his conversations with non-family members to business or politics, depending on the audience.
He did not gossip. Yet, somehow, on the previous evening he had behaved entirely out of character in more than just his search for his lovely mystery lady.
The stress of being in such an unusual setting had loosened his tongue and now he must pay the price.
Not knowing Mr. Damask very well, he had no idea what to expect from the coming interview – a lecture, an argument or even a challenge to duel.
Mr. Damask entered with a grave face, but with a twinkle in his eyes that gave Darcy the feeling that he was being silently laughed at, just as his interview with Sir Barnaby had.
Combined with the headache, the sensation made him rather grumpy, but he still greeted his guest with a courteous bow, along with the offer of a seat and a drink.
Mr. Damask accepted the seat but declined the drink.
As they settled into the chairs before the fire, Darcy asked, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call, Mr. Damask?"
Again, he had the sensation of being the butt of some joke, despite the serious nature of the subject, as Mr. Damask said calmly, "It will probably not surprise you that both Mr. Walter Tavistock and Sir Barnaby Linton mentioned warnings you had given them against the young ladies, my great-nieces, who are currently visiting in my home.
The allegations you made were serious enough that I felt I must discuss your words with you in person. "
Darcy tried to keep his face impassive but could not help a slight grimace in the silence that followed Mr. Damask's statement. Yes, his loose tongue of the previous evening was definitely coming back to haunt him. As he wondered how best to defend himself, Mr. Damask spoke again.
"Mr. Tavistock and Sir Barnaby both felt your comments to them were not spoken in a spirit of malice.
If I believed otherwise, this would be a much different conversation.
However, I must ask how you think it is acceptable to spread slanderous gossip about young women you do not know and to whom you have never even been introduced? "
Darcy knew his usual response would be a silent refusal to even be drawn into the conversation.
He had pulled himself out of difficult situations that way before, and he would have done so now if he had been approached with threats or bluster.
But…Mr. Damask had asked a reasonable question in a reasonable manner, and he deserved a reasonable response.
Indeed, he could almost see his own father sitting there asking the same thing and his father would not have accepted huffy silence as an answer.
"I do assure you, sir, that I intended no malice by my comments last evening," he began, then fell silent, not certain how to proceed.
Mr. Damask said quietly, "Despite your intent, what you chose to say could have been quite harmful to the young ladies. Reputations have been ruined by far less. Under what authority do you condemn them as ill-mannered fortune-hunters?"
Darcy cleared his throat. "As you are probably aware, sir, Lady Catherine de Bourgh is my aunt, and she is also godmother to one of the Bennet sisters.
Just a few weeks ago I visited with her, and she specifically warned me against the young ladies in your care.
It seemed natural to me to pass that same warning along to the two men of my acquaintance who appeared to have an interest in the elder Miss Bennet. "
Mr. Damask nodded. "I am aware of your connection to Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and both men mentioned her as the source of your warning.
However, I am also aware of Lady Catherine's reputation as a meddlesome woman who is not pleased with anyone or anything.
Surely you are aware of her reputation as well?
Did you take any steps to verify the truth of her warning before you passed it along? "
Again, Darcy had not quite managed to hide his grimace. "I did not, sir. I assumed that her longstanding connection to the Bennet family makes her a reliable source of information."