| The Other Bingley, Part VIII |
| The happiness which this reply produced, was such as Darcy had probably never felt before; and he expressed himself on the occasion as sensibly and as warmly as a man violently in love can be supposed to do. This meant, of course, that he resumed the activities in which they had been partaking just moments before, and Elizabeth was not about to object. It was only when Darcy sensed his control completely slipping away that he managed to come up for air and distance himself from Elizabeth lest he push things too far. "You know not how happy you have made me, Elizabeth," he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers. "Why do you love me?" she asked, suddenly serious. "My behaviour to you was at least always bordering on the uncivil, and I never spoke to you without rather wishing to give you pain than not. Worst of all, I based everything on one remark you made before ever meeting me and the false accusations of a flattering liar. I was so blind." Elizabeth turned away from him dejectedly, prompting him to pull her into his arms again. "Elizabeth, dearest Elizabeth, do not speak so. My behaviour to you at the time was unpardonable; I cannot think of it without abhorrence. If I had treated you as I should have, you would have had no cause to give Wickham credence. As for your behavior towards me... do not deceive yourself into thinking that your impertinence was in any way unpleasing, Lizzy," he finished with a suggestive look. She looked up at him and smiled widely. "You called me Lizzy." He took her hand and kissed it. "Do you mind?" She shook her head. "I like it. Very much. But what shall I call you? Fitzwilliam seem so formal." "In all my dreams you have called me William," he confessed with a blush, "as only those closest to me have done." "I love you William," she whispered, tilting her head up towards him. Darcy leaned in and captured her lips again. "I love you Lizzy." * * * * * * After a few minutes longer of stolen time, the newly-betrothed leisurely walked back in the direction of the parsonage. It was decided that their engagement should remain unannounced until Mr. Bennet's permission had been obtained. They parted at the gate with naught but a chaste kiss on her hand and a smouldering look; innocent to them, perhaps, but any witness to the scene could tell that something much more important was going on� and one did. * * * * * * After parting with Elizabeth, Darcy could not bring himself to return to the stuffy confines of Rosings immediately; instead, he decided to wander about the park a bit more to enjoy the fresh air and think of his lady love. As such, he missed seeing the slightly rotund figure of Mr. Collins huffing and puffing his way to the home of his noble patroness to impart the very important news of Mr. Darcy's obvious attentions to Elizabeth. Mr. Collins, for his part, was certain that Lady Catherine would agree with him that this match, to which his cousin had the presumption to aspire, must never take place. This was not, of course, an act driven by wounded pride (for though Elizabeth had rejected him and would be elevating herself tremendously by marrying Mr. Darcy, as a clergyman he could not but forgive her mercenary soul), but an act of pure concern for the welfare of Lady Catherine and all her family. She had to know the horror of what was happening right under her imperious nose and put a stop to it. As one might assume, Lady Catherine was less than pleased with what her spiritual advisor had to impart. Had she been a lesser personage, one might have said that she flew into a violent rage; however, as violent rages were unbecoming of the titled class, it would be more correct to say that she became most vexed and resolved to rectify the unfavorable situation at once (whilst energetically rearranging a few of the cushions in her drawing room). As Darcy was nowhere to be found, she decided to start with the ungrateful little chit at the parsonage. Elizabeth sat rereading Jane's old letters alone in the parlor, Charlotte and Maria having gone into the village for the afternoon. Her attention was suddenly drawn to the window by the sound of a carriage; she barely had a chance to stand and look out before the door was thrown open and her visitor entered. It was Lady Catherine de Bourgh. She entered the room with an air more than usually ungracious, made no other reply to Elizabeth's salutation than a slight inclination of the head, and sat down without saying a word. With no further ceremony, Lady Catherine spoke. "You can be at no loss, Miss Bennet, to understand the reason of my coming hither. Your own heart, your own conscience, must tell you why I come." Elizabeth had an inkling that this impromptu visit had something to do with Lady Catherine's nephew, but she was not about to make things easier for the old crone. "Indeed, you are mistaken, Madam. I have not been at all able to account for the honour of seeing you here if it is not to visit with Mr. and Mrs. Collins." "Miss Bennet," replied her ladyship, in an angry tone, "you ought to know, that I am not to be trifled with. But however insincere you may choose to be, you shall not find me so. My character has ever been celebrated for its sincerity and frankness, and in a cause of such moment as this, I shall certainly not depart from it. A report of a most alarming nature reached me half an hour ago. I was told that you, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, have somehow insinuated yourself with my nephew, Mr. Darcy, and have drawn him in with your arts and allurements! Though I would not injure him so much as to suppose the truth of it possible, I instantly resolved on making my sentiments known to you. You must know that any alliance between you and my nephew must be regarded as a highly reprehensible connection. He would be going against the wishes of his family, his friends, and if he knew what he was about, his own better judgment!" Elizabeth's eyes grew wider with each word spoken. At last she could remain silent no longer. "If I had drawn him in, surely I would be the last person to confess it, and such behaviour as this will never induce me to be explicit. You have insulted me in every possible method." "I will not be interrupted!" Lady Catherine thundered. "Hear me in silence. There is another reason that you and my nephew cannot be joined. Mr. Darcy is engaged to my daughter. Now what have you to say?" "Only this; that if he is so, you can have no reason to suppose he will make an offer to me." Lady Catherine hesitated for a moment, and then replied, "The engagement between them is of a peculiar kind. From their infancy, they have been intended for each other. It was the favourite wish of his mother, as well as of her's. While in their cradles, we planned the union: and now, at the moment when the wishes of both sisters would be accomplished in their marriage, to be prevented by a young woman of inferior birth, of no importance in the world, and wholly unallied to the family! Do you pay no regard to the wishes of his friends? To his tacit engagement with Miss De Bourgh? Are you lost to every feeling of propriety and delicacy? Have you not heard me say that from his earliest hours he was destined for his cousin?" "Yes, and I had heard it before. But what is that to me? If there is no other objection to my marrying your nephew, I shall certainly not be kept from it by knowing that his mother and aunt wished him to marry Miss De Bourgh. You both did as much as you could in planning the marriage. Its completion depended on others. If Mr. Darcy is neither by honour nor inclination confined to his cousin, why is not he to make another choice? And if I am that choice, why may not I accept him?" "Because honour, decorum, prudence, nay, interest, forbid it. Yes, Miss Bennet, interest; for do not expect to be noticed by his family or friends, if you wilfully act against the inclinations of all. You will be censured, slighted, and despised, by every one connected with him. Your alliance will be a disgrace; your name will never even be mentioned by any of us." "These are heavy misfortunes," replied Elizabeth, "but the wife of Mr. Darcy must have such extraordinary sources of happiness necessarily attached to her situation, that she could, upon the whole, have no cause to repine." "Obstinate, headstrong girl! I am ashamed of you! Do you not see that my daughter and my nephew are formed for each other? They are descended, on the maternal side, from the same noble line; and, on the father's, from respectable, honourable, and ancient, though untitled, families. Their fortune on both sides is splendid. They are destined for each other by the voice of every member of their respective houses; and what is to divide them? The upstart pretensions of a young woman without family, connections, or fortune. Is this to be endured! But it must not, shall not be. If you were sensible of your own good, you would not wish to quit the sphere in which you have been brought up." "That is quite enough madam!" came a deep voice from the doorway behind Lady Catherine. Elizabeth looked over to see Darcy standing there, happy to note that his icy stare was directed towards his aunt and not herself. "Leave Miss Bennet in peace, Aunt. This is no concern of yours." "Darcy, do not be absurd! How can you defend this insolent creature? She is determined to ruin you and make you the contempt of the world! Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?" "You will not refer to my future wife in such a disrespectful manner!" Darcy bellowed in reply. "If you cannot treat her with the esteem she deserves, I must insist that you leave here at once." Lady Catherine huffed and opened her mouth as if to say more, but decided that his statements did not deserve a response. With only one more hateful look back at Elizabeth, she left the room and the house with her nose high in the air. As soon as she was gone, Elizabeth collapsed onto the nearest sofa and Darcy ran to her side. "Are you well my love? I am sorry, very sorry, that my aunt has caused you such pain. I only wish I had known her intention sooner, but it was only when I encountered Fitzwilliam on the lane that I discovered that she had come here." Colonel Fitzwilliam, having overheard Lady Catherine's outburst before she set out for the parsonage, had left immediately to search for Darcy and inform him of Lady Catherine's intentions; Darcy had run the entire way back. Elizabeth's eyes were beginning to well with tears, but she tried to hide her distress by turning her face away. "You are not well. Is there nothing you could take, to give you present relief? A glass of wine; shall I get you one?'' "No, I thank you, I am well. I only need you here to comfort me," she insisted, but immediately hid her face in the folds of his jacket to hide her tears. "Was she terrible to you my dear? I shall never forgive myself for not returning to Rosings at once; I could have spared you this grief." He tenderly kissed the top of her head and soothingly stroked her hair. "She will never accept me," Elizabeth murmured. "She speaks the truth when she says that I will separate you from your family. Am I worth this division?" Darcy forced her to look in his eyes before he spoke. "You and your happiness are all that matter to me. My aunt would not accept any wife of mine, were she the lowliest chambermaid or the queen of England, who was not her daughter. She does not speak for me or the rest of my family; she may choose to shun you, but then I choose to shun her. If necessary I will never speak another word to her." With a whisper, he added, "It is you I need." Elizabeth, trembling with the relief his words provided, sank into his arms and kissed his hands over and over as if to cover him with the love she felt. "I am glad you arrived when you did. I could not have withstood it much longer without becoming violent." Darcy embraced her tightly, glad that her humor was beginning to return. A bit more seriously, she continued, "Thank you for defending me." "To my dying breath." Unable to resist any longer, he pressed his lips against hers once more, tasting the salt of her tears upon her mouth and licking it away. "We cannot stay here," he said between kisses. "Would Mrs. Collins mind if I sent a servant with an order to my valet to ready my things at once? I will not go back there." Elizabeth asked the maid who had been serving herself and Maria to notify Darcy's valet as well as Colonel Fitzwilliam that he would be leaving as soon as his carriage was prepared. "And what of me?" Elizabeth asked when the girl had gone. "I cannot simply go with you." Though he would have loved to share the enclosed space of the passenger box with her, he acknowledged the impropriety of such an arrangement. "It is no hardship for me to ride to London, and you can go to Hertfordshire in my equipage." She drooped slightly with disappointment. "You will not accompany me then?" "I must stop in London first to have the marriage papers drawn up before I go to your father again my love. I shall hold a pistol to my solicitor's head to speed him along and join you the next day, I swear." Her laughter was followed by more kisses, which continued uninterrupted until Charlotte and Maria arrived from the village. Darcy and Elizabeth straightened themselves up as quickly as they could, but Charlotte at least could tell that they had probably not been chatting about the weather and the state of the roads. Elizabeth wasted no time in telling Charlotte what had occurred, though not quite as rich in details as her friend may have desired. She said only that there had been a disagreement with Lady Catherine and that she would be leaving as soon as her trunk was packed. Charlotte asked no questions, only went up with her personal maid to prepare Elizabeth's things. There was no time for Elizabeth and Darcy to be alone again, however, for soon after Charlotte had left, Colonel Fitzwilliam arrived. "I have brought the carriage and our horses Darcy," he exclaimed breathlessly without so much as a greeting. "I ordered our things readied as soon as we parted. I hope Miss Bennet will not mind the company of one of Aunt Catherine's housemaids for the journey." Elizabeth and Darcy smiled gratefully at the colonel, all of his teasing instantly forgiven in light of his foresight and generosity. "We must leave soon if we are to reach town by nightfall." Elizabeth hurried upstairs to help Charlotte, but found the trunk packed and ready to be brought down. Darcy's footmen had it loaded and ready to depart in minutes. "Thank you Charlotte," Elizabeth said warmly, embracing her friend. "I hope I have not caused turmoil in your own house because of my behavior." "At times a little turmoil is good, Lizzy," Charlotte assured her, "for it keeps things from growing too dull. Besides, this may allow me the time to visit my mother sooner than I had anticipated." With a chuckle, Elizabeth stepped into the carriage and waved goodbye until the turn of the road prevented her from seeing Mrs. Collins anymore. Poor Charlotte! It was melancholy to leave her to such society! But she had chosen it with her eyes open; and though evidently regretting that her visitor was to go, she did not seem to ask for compassion. Her home and her housekeeping, her parish and her poultry, and all their dependent concerns, had not yet lost their charms. Darcy and Fitzwilliam rode alongside the carriage, and the maid inside with her; she was a young woman, very pretty, who had not been long in Lady Catherine's employ. All her belongings had joined Elizabeth's, implying that she was fully aware that there would be nothing at Rosings for her if she returned but a good thrashing. From the way she surreptitiously glanced from her book to Colonel Fitzwilliam throughout the journey, however, Elizabeth had an uncomfortable feeling that her reasons for leaving had little to do with Lady Catherine's personality or compassion for Elizabeth's plight. They did not bother to stop at Bromley to change horses, which slowed them a little, but they still reached the crossroads where the carriage would separate from the riders in good time. They pulled off the road at Darcy's order, and he dismounted to bid Elizabeth farewell. "The maid is to go to Netherfield for now, along with my trunks; I have directed the coachman thither after leaving you at Longbourn. I will be there as soon as may be, tomorrow I hope." He kissed her hand tenderly, the most he could do on an open road, nodded to the coachman, and sat on his horse in the same place until the carriage was but a tiny dot on the horizon. * * * * * * It was already dark when Elizabeth arrived at Longbourn, but her family was still sitting in the drawing room when the carriage pulled up. She stepped out calmly, not wanting to alarm anyone with her surprise appearance. Jane saw her first from the window and ran to the door to meet her. "Lizzy! What are you doing here? Is something the matter? Whose carriage is that?" "Jane, please, calm yourself. Nothing is the matter. I will explain later, upstairs." Once her bags were removed and placed in the entryway, Elizabeth nodded to the coachman to continue on to Netherfield. Amidst the hubbub of her family rushing in around her, she managed to give a vague excuse of a change of plans and begged to retire with a promise of more details the next morning. Jane followed her up, eager to learn what had taken place. Elizabeth told her everything, from Mr. Darcy's proposal to her arrival at home. Jane was shocked at Lady Catherine's cruelty and moved by his and Colonel Fitzwilliam's generosity. Mostly, though, she was glad that Elizabeth and Darcy had settled things between them. "Nothing could give either Bingley or myself more delight. This news will bring nothing but joy at Netherfield." Elizabeth laughed at the thought of Miss Bingley feeling any joy over it at all. "Perhaps not for everyone Jane," she teased, "but I believe that your excellent Mr. Bingley and his excellent sister Mrs. Westling will be content." Much sisterly conversation ensued, until Jane could no longer stifle a yawn and bid Elizabeth goodnight. There was one last thing Elizabeth needed to do before she could sleep: speak to her father. Mr. Bennet was aware of Elizabeth's changed opinion of Darcy, but did not know to what extent she had begun to favor him. She knew it would be better to inform him of the engagement herself before Darcy arrived. As she expected, he was still in his library, enjoying a late glass of port and a book. He answered her knock as if he had been expecting her, which was not a surprise; she was certain that he wanted an explanation for her sudden change in plans and knew her well enough to realize that she would provide him with one as soon as may be. "Well Lizzy," he began after she sat down, "that was quite an entrance you made this evening. I daresay you quite outdid your mother when she is having one of her fits of nerves! What prompted such rash behavior?" he teased. Elizabeth carefully told him about her interactions with Mr. Darcy and made him understand that her feelings for him were much warmer than he had previously believed. By the time she announced that she had accepted Darcy's offer of marriage, Mr. Bennet was only mildly surprised by it. He asked her only once if she was sure that this was what she truly wanted, and was convinced by her earnest declaration of love and dreamy look in her eyes that she was indeed sincere. Much to her relief, he assured her that she had his consent and blessing, but could not promise that he wouldn't tease her future husband just a little when he arrived the next day, a condition to which she heartily agreed. "But my dear Lizzy, this still does not explain your sudden arrival at Longbourn today. Surely you did not run home simply to obtain my consent?" "No indeed Papa. In truth, I was forced to leave because of Lady Catherine." She explained the confrontation between herself and Darcy's aunt in as mild of terms as she could, but her father could tell that the argument had upset her deeply. Darcy's defense of his betrothed made him like the man that much more, and the elegant way he had contrived for her to leave without damaging her honor showed a respect for Elizabeth that made Mr. Bennet feel safer about the match. When Elizabeth was done with her tale, he shooed her off to bed, declaring that he did not want to be responsible for dark circles under her eyes that might chase her fianc� away. With a light and happy heart, Elizabeth retired that night, dreaming of Darcy's arrival on the morrow. Next section... |