Chapter 8 #3
"I shall not!" Mrs Bennet declared dramatically. "You delight in making us miserable. First, you allow Eleanor to buy elegant gowns for your other daughters, and now you refuse to do the same for Lydia. I cannot imagine a greater injustice."
Mr Bennet sighed heavily.
"Very well. Order the gowns." Mr Bennet had no choice but to give in if he wished to enjoy even a modicum of peace.
"I knew you would come to your senses," Mrs Bennet said at once, all traces of distress vanishing. "Lydia, my dear, we must decide on the colours first."
After the rather pathetic scene had finally come to an end, Lydia announced that she was tired and decided to retire to her room. Before leaving, however, she turned back with a triumphant smile.
"I shall dream of how beautiful I shall look in my new gowns. Thank you, Papa. Good night."
Mr Bennet was beside himself with anger. He had intended to amuse himself at his daughter's expense, only to discover that she had made a fool of him instead.
◆◆◆
Mr Darcy and Georgiana dined together at Darcy House, each absorbed in private thoughts.
Georgiana could not stop thinking about the strange way her brother had behaved in Miss Bennet's presence, nor about how unusually silent he had become after she left.
Yet what troubled her most was the sadness she had seen in him.
She remembered that, while he had been in Hertfordshire, he had written several letters in which he spoke with great admiration of Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
Now that she had finally met the young lady, she understood perfectly.
Miss Elizabeth was pretty, amiable, and delightful.
At first, Georgiana had believed her brother had finally found a woman he truly admired.
Yet after his return from Hertfordshire, he had never mentioned Miss Bennet again.
Seeing them together that afternoon, and observing the spirit with which Miss Bennet answered his questions and openly challenged him, Georgiana became convinced that some misunderstanding must exist between them.
Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, she asked, "Brother, you once told me that you met Miss Bennet while visiting your friend Mr Bingley. Were you friends in Hertfordshire?"
Mr Darcy was reluctant to speak about Elizabeth and answered as briefly as possible.
"No. We were merely acquaintances."
"I see."
Mr Darcy looked at his sister with curiosity.
"And what do you see, Georgie?"
"It seemed to me that you were not friends. That is all." Georgiana hesitated before adding timidly, "It was quite evident that she was not pleased to see you."
The moment the words escaped her lips, Georgiana blushed deeply, wishing she had remained silent.
"Perhaps I am mistaken. She may simply not have had time to talk with us because she was with her little cousins."
"Naturally, she was occupied with her cousins," was all Mr Darcy said.
The conversation ended there, and they finished their dinner in silence.
After Georgiana retired for the evening, Mr Darcy withdrew to the library in the hope that a book might distract him.
He poured himself a glass of brandy and settled into the armchair before the fire.
Yet instead of reading, he sat staring absently into the flames, his thoughts fixed entirely upon Elizabeth.
‘You were angry with me, Elizabeth. Of course, you saw me walking beside a lady of my own rank and concluded that I had already forgotten you. I am sorry if I have caused you pain, but there can never be anything between us. The sooner we both accept that, the better.’
After reflecting for more than an hour, he reached another decision.
He would avoid Lady Claire whenever possible.
That afternoon had made one thing very clear: he could never feel anything more than friendship for her.
Before he could even consider seeking a wife, he first had to forget Elizabeth.
Only then could he begin to look for a woman worthy of becoming the next mistress of Pemberley.
◆◆◆
General Marcus Sinclair sat alone in the modest sitting room of his small house.
He had purchased it several years earlier simply to have a place he could call home.
He lived with very little. His household consisted of only two servants, a husband and wife whose own children had both died in childhood.
Marcus understood their grief better than anyone.
At least they had been granted the blessing of knowing and loving their children while they lived.
He had never even held his beloved daughter in his arms. He did not even have a grave where he might go to weep and tell her how dearly he had loved her throughout all those years.
For as long as he could remember, he had often wondered what she might have looked like. Now, after that afternoon in the park, he knew that whenever he imagined his daughter, she would always bear a resemblance to the delightful Elizabeth Bennet.
It struck him as strange that the encounter had brought him neither pain nor sorrow.
Whenever he allowed himself to think of Ella and their little daughter, he usually sank into melancholy for days.
Yet this time, it was different. Meeting Ella’s niece Elizabeth had awakened in him a quiet desire to be content rather than remain the lonely, joyless man he had been for the past twenty years.
It was almost as though those few precious moments in her company had allowed him to glimpse the daughter he had lost and the life that might have been, had fate not stolen his greatest treasure.
‘Thank you, my dear Miss Elizabeth Bennet, for granting this old man a few moments of happiness. I am certain my little angel—your cousin—would thank you as well.’
As he did every night before retiring, Marcus knelt to pray. Afterwards, as always, he spoke softly to Ella and to the daughter he had never known.
‘I do not know why, but tonight, more than ever before, I feel that you are both close to me, my dearest wife and daughter. Good night.’
◆◆◆
A large and distinguished company attended Lady Campbell's dinner party.
Everyone was eager to meet the newest sensation of the Ton.
They all knew that she was wealthy, independent, still young, and very attractive.
Yet, as she had only recently returned to England and had scarcely appeared in society, few had made her acquaintance.
When word spread that Lady Campbell was hosting a dinner party, invitations became highly coveted.
Everyone hoped to receive one, eager to discover for themselves what the celebrated lady was truly like.
Mr Matthew Andrews de la Garza arrived punctually in the company of his father. Lady Campbell presented them first to her brother-in-law, the Earl of Rockwell, and the Countess. She then turned to the four young ladies standing beside her.
"Mr Andrews, Mr Andrews de la Garza, allow me to present my four beloved nieces."
"My eldest niece, Miss Jane Bennet."