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Part Seven

Posted On Sunday, 10 September 2006

Mary snickered. 'I never knew the Prussian was such fun,' she whispered to her sister. Elizabeth was saved the necessity of answering by Mr. Bingley's sudden question, 'What is going on, Darcy? Are you still struggling with your letter?'

'Struggling?' said Miss Bingley. 'What a nasty word! Certainly, Herr Darcy does not need to struggle. He writes very fast, and in such a complicated language! He is an admirable letter-writer, I am sure.'

'I know you mean well, Caroline,' said her brother, 'but you do not pay Herr Darcy a compliment by praising him thus. It is not his aim to write easily, or admirably. Indeed, he searches for the most complicated words and structures imaginable, and he wants his letters to be awe-inspiring rather than admirable, I assure you.'

'Do you, indeed?' asked Mary curiously. 'Do you write awe-inspiring letters to your sister rather than friendly little notes, Herr Darcy?'

'I zink zat if one has reached a certain level of education, zere is no reason vhy one should hide it. I assure you, viz my letters I only vrite in such a vay as to honour boz my sister's and my own up-bringing as vell as our education,' Herr Darcy replied stiffly and turned back to his much-discussed letter.

'Well, I must admit - though Darcy here will probably think me careless - that I rarely care for such things when I write my letters,' said Mr. Bingley, smiling apologetically, 'I just write down what comes to my mind and am done with it.'

'In that case, my dear Charles,' Miss Bingley said, 'your mind must be full of blotches and omissions, for that is what your letters look like. I assure you, I can scarcely make out half of what you write. How you made your way through university with that hand, I do not know. You do not mean to tell me you had someone who wrote your essays, do you?

Here, Mr. Bingley blushed and Herr Darcy coughed furiously.

'Miss Bingley, vhy do you not play somezing for us?' Herr Darcy said hastily. 'You know, ve all love to hear you play.'

'That is an excellent idea, Caroline!' Mr. Bingley added. 'Do please play something for us.'

'Oh, I don't know,' Miss Bingley said in what she seemed to think was a modest tone. 'I would not want to exhibit my poor playing. Perhaps one of the other ladies would like to play something?'

Mrs. Hurst snored loudly instead of answering. Elizabeth excused herself by pointing out that she still could not use her hand. Mary, who abhorred playing, refused by explaining that she preferred to listen to excellent performers, such as Miss Bingley must be, and Miss Bingley therefore had the satisfaction of knowing that she had been polite and still achieved her goal, namely, to show her accomplishments to Herr Darcy.

Elizabeth had to admit that Miss Bingley played very well indeed. She had chosen well, neither a song nor a concerto, but variations on country dances by an Austrian composer. It amused both Mary and Elizabeth to see that Herr Darcy's foot was moving in the rhythm of the music.

'Miss Bingley plays very well, does she not?' Elizabeth asked him. The foot-tapping stopped at once.

'Yes, she does vell. Very lively.' Herr Darcy said.

'I like her playing very much. She plays with so much spirit.'

'Does it not make you vant to dance, Fraeulein Bennet?'

'Oh, Herr Darcy, even if I did want to dance, I could not, because I must not move my arm. I will therefore neither admit nor deny that I want to dance, because then, you will have no reason to tease me at all.'

'So you assume zat it is my vish to tease you, my Fraeulein?'

'Is it not?'

'Not at all.' Herr Darcy remained silent after that, but he had smiled in such a friendly fashion that she was for once not angered at his strange behaviour.

Elizabeth went to bed still wondering about Herr Darcy. She could not make him out. There were times when he was all reserved, when his behaviour bordered on being impolite. At these times, he was as haughty as possible, and Elizabeth had the feeling that he was looking down on all of them. Yet, at other times, he was friendly, almost easy to converse with, and when she had seen him together with his dog, even lively. What could explain these strange changes of behaviour in him? At first, she had thought he might have difficulties with the language, but now she was sure that in spite of his accent, he was in full command of the English language. What then was his problem?

These questions kept her awake for quite some time, even though she had promised herself not to think about the Prussian too much. She wondered why she was thinking so much about him in the first case. It was not a romantic interest of any kind. This she was sure of. When he was in one of his friendly moods (this was what she had decided to call it), she almost felt that he was a kindred spirit, but when he was in one of his superior moods, as she called them, he was an unexplainable, foreign creature to her.

The next morning, therefore, she felt somewgat out of spirits when she woke up. Mary helped her with her hair and dress and they went to see how Jane was doing. Jane told them she felt much better. Indeed, she looked so much better to them that Elizabeth suggested she might wish to join their party after dinner for an hour. Elizabeth then told Mary and Jane that she had not slept well - though she did not mention the reason - and both suggested that she should go out for a walk for an hour or two. The weather was lovely, and so Elizabeth agreed. When she stepped out of the house and went in the general direction of Longbourn, she suddenly found that Wilhelmina, the giant Alsatian, had joined her, and she was happy to have such an agreeable - and taciturn - walking companion. The fresh air surely helped her clear her head and she felt much better when, an hour later, they both turned to return to Netherfiled. Suddenly, they heard footsteps behind them coming nearer and they stopped in their walk.

'Wilhelmina! Da steckst du! Ich habe dich schon ueberall gesucht!' Herr Darcy had obviously been looking for his dog, for he now patted her head and did not notice Elizabeth's presence at first.

'I am sorry, Miss Bennet, for disturbing your valk. I vas looking for my dog. She escaped from my room.'

Elizabeth had to smile. Herr Darcy kept his dog in his room! 'I had no idea of that,' she said, 'if I had known she was being a naughty girl, I should never have allowed her to keep me company. We had a long walk, and just wanted to return to the house.'

'I am glad zat Wilhelmina had company and exercise,' Herr Darcy said, 'she likes taking valks. She is a great valker.'

'I must admit that she is a very good walking companion,' Elizabeth said, 'one does not often meet one so eager to walk through muddy pools or thorny hedgerows. You might have noticed that we both got a little dirty, which is why we decided to return t Netherfield.'

'May I join you, Miss Bennet? Now zat I have found Wilhelmina, I can return, too.'

Elizabeth would have preferred to walk back alone - or with the dog only - but she thought it impolite to tell Herr Darcy that. It was hardly his fault that she was not in a mood to talk much, and one could hope that he was also in one of his silent moods. Herr Darcy seemed to have noticed that neither of his companions was inclined to talk, and therefore also remained silent until they reached the house. Elizabeth was once more left to ponder his strange behaviour. He had not been talkative, but neither was he in one of his haughty moods. Was it possible that he had not two, but three different personalities? How many more sides of him would she discover during their stay at Netherfield? And would she one day find out what connected all those sides? And why, she wondered, did she care about that at all? But although she could still not stop asking herself questions to which she had no answer, the walk had done her some good - at least she felt much refreshed, and less under the weather than before.

After dinner, Elizabeth and Mary rushed upstairs to help Jane dress and do her hair for her visit downstairs. This was not at all easy because Jane was even more excited about her dress than the day before and constantly worried it might be considered too fast by Mr. Bingley. After having almost forced Jane into a thick woolen gown, Elizabeth and Mary arranged a beautiful lace-shawl around her shoulders, pinned up her hair so that only some curls remained to frame her face, and finally were able to escort her downstairs.

Mr. Bingley, being informed about Jane's intention to join them, had already arranged an arm-chair by the fire for her and, conveniently, another one beside that for himself to sit on. Soon, Elizabeth and Mary were forgotten as Jane only had ears and eyes for Mr. Bingley. Her sisters could do little but settle themselves once more on a sofa. Mary was reading a collection of poems by Andreas Gryphius she had found among Herr Darcy's books, Herr Darcy was also reading, the Hursts had, once more, fallen asleep and Elizabeth was trying to turn the pages of her novel. Miss Bingley did not really know what to do, until she noticed that Elizabeth had still not succeeded in turning the pages.

'Miss Elizabeth,' she addressed Elizabeth with more politeness than she had ever shown before, 'I see you are not at all up to reading. Why do we not take up a lovely stroll along the room. Surely it must be better than sitting around doing nothing.'

As Elizabeth had indeed nothing else to do and did not want to discourage Miss Bingley in her friendliness, she agreed, and had to admit strolling around the room was better than doing nothing. When they got up and started walking, Elizabeth noticed Herr Darcy was watching them intently, but she could not come to a conclusion regarding his reasons for doing so. Miss Bingley, it seemed, hat noticed his attention as well.

'Herr Darcy, why do you keep staring at us? Is something not in order?'

'No. Everyzing is perfectly in order.'

'Then why, sir, if I may be so bold as to ask, do you keep staring at me and Miss Elizabeth? I was beginning to think something was wrong from the way you were staring at us.'

'Miss Bingley, I assure you zat everyzing is alright. Do not mind me at all.'

'Miss Elizabeth,' Miss Bingley said, 'do you not think that this is the most shocking behaviour indeed?'

'Well ...' said Elizabeth, who did not want to be impolite towards either of the two, now that the evening seemed to be passing so peacefully.

'Upon my word, it is, Miss Elizabeth!' Miss Bingley answered her own question. 'We must punish Herr Darcy most severely for this, and I know just how to do it!'

'Do you?' asked Elizabeth, hoping that it her question conveyed enough interest in the subject for Miss Bingley not to be disappointed.

'Yes, I do,' said Miss Bingley decidedly. 'I have come to the conclusion that we must tease Herr Darcy in order to punish him for his shocking and impolite staring. It is the only thing we can do.'

While Miss Bingley giggled, Elizabeth had the opportunity to study her hostess. At first she had found her haughty and snobbish and she had had the distinct impression that Miss Bingley had been looking down on all of Meryton. Then, in Herr Darcy's company, she had been giggling and flirting like Kitty and Lydia near an officer. The past evenings, she had barely taken notice of Elizabeth and Mary. And now, she was, though somewhat silly, acting rather friendly towards Elizabeth, and seemed to possess some sense of humour, though rather childish. Just like Herr Darcy, Elizabeth simply could not make her out, and she therefore decided to continue the somewhat strange conversation with her, in order to learn more about her hostess.

'It is?' she therefore replied to Miss Bingley's statement.

'Oh, yes, I insist upon it.' Miss Bingley said, still giggling. 'We must tease Herr Darcy. I absolutely insist on it.'

'But how shall we tease him, Miss Bingley?' Elizabeth asked. 'He does not seem to behave ridiculously, at least not at the moment, as far as I can tell.'

'Oh, but I assure you, he has a lot of funny habits,' Miss Bingley said. 'Did you know that he takes his annoying dog with him wherever he goes and insists that it sleep in his bed-chamber?'

'Oh, but Wilhelmina is such a cute girl!' Elizabeth exclaimed, 'it isno wonder that he takes her everywhere.'

'You have met the beast then?' Miss Bingley asked. 'Is it not most annoying? I tell you, if it so chooses, it barks on and on for hours. I assure you whenever this dog sees me it starts barking and growling as if it wanted to kill me. It hates me, I am sure of it. And Herr Darcy keeps it in his bed-chamber all the time, I cannot understand it.'

Elizabeth suppressed a grin and said, 'Well, I do not know about her barking habits, but when I encountered her this morning, she was very friendly towards me and accompanied me in my walk.'

'Oh, I tell you, it is a mad dog, you shall see. It will attack you, too, sooner or later. It is totally out of control.'

'Miss Bingley,' Herr Darcy said, 'I vould appreciate it if you vould stop telling Miss Bennet ghastly tales about my dog. She is only eager to protect her master, maybe there vas a slight misunderstanding betveen ze two of you?'

'There was not,' Miss Bingley said to Elizabeth, 'that dog is mad, but he will not admit it. His aunt gave it to him, he tells me, and he named it after her. Speaking of aunts,' she continued, 'he has another aunt - not the one who breeds Alsatians - whom he most dutifully visits once a year, only in order to be told that he should get married to one of his cousins - I forget which one, or perhaps it is not always the same. Is this not a most curious behaviour, and well worth teasing?'

'Well,' said Elizabeth slowly, because she had still not found anything extremely shocking and ridiculous in Herr Darcy's behaviour. She could understand now why Wilhelmina slept in Herr Darcy's bedroom, and as she herself visited her aunt in London once a year, she could also not find anything shocking in that. If his aunt did indeed talk only about his impending nuptials, this was certainly somewhat strange, but experience with her own Aunt Philips told her that this was a hobby aunts frequently indulged in, caring and friendly though they might otherwise be. (Though caring and friendly were not precisely the words that came first to one's mind if one wanted to describe her Aunt Philips.) 'Since you have known Herr Darcy longer than I have, I will leave it to you to decide whether his behaviour is worth teasing.'

'Oh, it is, I know that,' Miss Bingley giggled. 'Do not misunderstand me, Miss Elizabeth, I do not want to influence you against Herr Darcy in any way, but you must admit that this preference for dogs and aunts is a little peculiar for a man who cannot forgive weaknesses in others, is it not?'

'I am afraid zat you misunderstood me, Miss Bingley,' Herr Darcy suddenly interrupted her. 'I never said zat, I am sure, because it is not true. I can forgive veaknesses in ozzers, because, as you yourself pointed out, I have veaknesses myself - zough I vould not necessarily call having a dog and visiting my aunts a veakness.'

'But Herr Darcy!' Miss Bingley exclaimed, 'you said so yourself. Only last week, you told me that you could not forget or forgive other peoples' weaknesses. Do you not remember? We were sitting here after dinner, Charles, and Louisa, and Mr. Hurst, and you and I, and you told me the very same thing, I do remember it quite clearly.'

Herr Darcy sighed. 'I said vickednesses, Miss Bingley, not veakness. I said I could not forget nor forgive ze vickednesses zat people did. Zat may be a veakness of mine. If someone insults or harms me or my family, I cannot forgive it, and I never forget vhen someone does it.'

'Now that is something that I will certainly not tease you about, Herr Darcy,' Elizabeth said, 'for while it is certainly a weakness of character, I find it hard to laugh about it.'

'But at least this little misunderstanding is cleared up, and Herr Darcy can continue reading,' Miss Bingley said. 'Miss Elizabeth, let us take another turn towards the fire, it feels quite cold here in this corner of the room.'

Elizabeth and Miss Bingley continued their stroll about the room until, about five minutes later, Jane announced that she felt a little cold and would prefer to retire to her chamber again. Elizabeth wanted to accompany her upstairs, but Mr. Bingley said that he would bring Jane to her room, as he had something to discuss with the housekeeper anyway. Jane seconded him, wishing not to discomfort Elizabeth. When Mr. Bingley would accompany her, and a maid could help her get ready, there was no need for Elizabeth to accompany her. The armchairs before the fire now being empty, Elizabeth and Miss Bingley settled themselves there. Elizabeth found that even though she had still not been able to discern whether Miss Bingley was hostile towards her and hiding that fact, genuinely friendly, or genuinely silly, she could be an amiable companion, if she so chose. Miss Bingley entertained both Elizabeth and Louisa, who had awaken from her slumber, with tales about her social life in London, where it seemed everyone was prone to little, funny accidents. Elizabeth felt a little tired, though, from not having slept properly the night before, and excused herself after a while. Mr. Hurst and Herr Darcy had left the room before her, and Mr. Bingley had still not returned from his discussion with the housekeeper, so she could not be accused of breaking up the party, she thought while going upstairs. It was, after all, she pondered, a quarter to eleven, one certainly had the right to feel tired at that time. She would have a quick look to see if Jane was comfortable, and then go to bed, and hopefully be able to sleep better than the night before.

When she reached the landing, she was surprised to see Herr Darcy pacing the corridor in front of Jane's door nervously, as was usually Mr. Bingley's habit. Was it possible that something had happened to Jane? But why had nobody called her? And why did it affect Herr Darcy so much? Or was it just a coincidence that Herr Darcy was pacing right here? She walked towards Jane's door and meant to open it, but she was interrupted by Herr Darcy.

'I vould not open zat door, Fraeulein Bennet,' he said.

'But this is my sister's room!' Elizabeth exclaimed. 'Certainly I have a right to enter my sister's bedroom, especially if she's ill.'

'Trust me, my fraeulein,' Herr Darcy said, 'Zere are some zings zat a young lady like you -'

'Trust me , Herr Darcy,' Elizabeth answered, 'that if there is anything the case with my sister, I want to know it, and I am going to find it our right now, whether you like it or not.'

She opened the door before Herr Darcy could say anything more, or stop her from doing so. Whatever was wrong with Jane, she was determined to face it, and not be influenced by anybody in that decision. She had not been prepared, though, for what she saw in Jane's room.

Part Eight

Posted on Sunday, 17 September 2006

She closed the door immediately again.

'I told you, it is not a sight for a young lady,' Herr Darcy said. 'I should have prevented you from entering zat room.'

Elizabeth did not hear him. She was too astonished at what she had seen to pay attention to him. She most certainly had not expected that! She wondered whether she should interrupt them now, or talk to Jane about what she had witnessed later. 'What am I to do now?' she asked herself, and only too late noticed that she had said it aloud.

'Do not vorry, Miss Bennet,' Herr Darcy said. 'I vill make him marry your sister, I svear I vill.'

'You - what?' said Elizabeth, believing she must have misunderstood him.

'Do not fear for your sister's reputation, or yours, Miss Bennet,' Herr Darcy said, 'I svear, I vill make him marry her.'

'But I do not want him to marry her!' Elizabeth exclaimed. 'At least - at least not under such circumstances!'

'You do not?' Herr Darcy asked incredulously. 'But ze situation is most compromising, Miss Bennet! Zey must marry! Perhaps you do not understand ze implications of zeir situation, but I assure you -'

'I am sorry, Herr Darcy, but you are wrong,' Elizabeth said heatedly, 'I do understand the implications of their situation, and while I agree with you that if they were discovered by society in general in such a state, it would lead to gossip and probably slander, I cannot see how an unobserved kiss in a private room can force the participants to marry!'

'But Miss Bennet, propriety dictates zat -'

'I know exactly what propriety dictates, Herr Darcy, and while I do not fully approve of my sister's behaviour, it is not my wish to punish her with what you deem the logical consequence of her actions. I am fully aware of the fact that were she discovered now by someone prone to gossip, one could argue that there would be need to persuade her and Mr. Bingley to be married quickly - although I would even in that case not wish her to be forced to marry him - but I trust both you and myself not to tell anybody else of the situation we have just seen. I think we can be fairly sure that my sister's reputation is not harmed, and if, one time or other, she and Mr. Bingley want to get married, I am more than willing to welcome him to our family as my brother. Until then, I see no need for further action.'

Elizabeth, while angered at Herr Darcy's assumption that she would need his help in order to force Mr. Bingley to marry Jane, could not help but think that to an onlooker the situation might be highly comical; the two of them were pacing the corridor at high speed, glaring and hissing at each other like two angry cats - or rather, she reconsidered, she was the hissing one, while he was more growling and grunting at her more like a bear.

'Your ignorance of improper matters does you credit, Miss Bennet,' he said now, 'but I am afraid zat you do not really see ze complications zat might arise from a situation like zis. Not only could your sister's reputation be severely harmed - zus making it highly unlikely for her to marry to her advantage - but zere are ozzer consequences you should zink of. I fear I must be bolder zan I should tovards a young lady, but you must know ze truz. Your sister may - may face physical consequences from zat encounter viz Mr. Bingley. Such consequences as are only appropriate vhen one is married.'

'If you allude to the fact that my sister may have a child, Herr Darcy, I must disappoint you. I may have been brought up in ignorance, but not so much as not to know that one does not get a child from kissing. As far as I am told, there is more to it. And rest assured, I will knock on Jane's door in a minute, to prevent the more which is to it from happening, so you need not fear for that.

And as we have now settled that my sister and Mr. Bingley are only kissing,' Elizabeth continued, 'and you seem to be aware of that fact as much as I am, I wonder how you could suggest that you should force him to marry her. Have you ever considered what would happen to my sister if you did that? You would force her to unite herself with a man she barely knows, and who barely knows her, to leave her parents and sisters, her whole family, and to spend probably the rest of her life in that man's company, to carry his children, to obey him and to depend on him, only because you thought some gossips might harm her reputation? Do you realize that with your wrong idea of your duty, you, and not those gossips, could ruin her future life and happiness? A decision to marry someone is more often than not a decision for life, at least for women. Do you not think that my sister should decide upon a matter of such gravity on her own, that she should choose for herself whom she can respect and trust enough to spend her life with him? If Mr. Bingley had taken advantage of her, you can be assured that by now I would have sent for the magistrate, but this is not the case. My sister decided with her own free will to kiss Mr. Bingley and I will let her decide with her own free will whether she wants to marry him or not.'

'I must apologize again, Miss Bennet, for sounding somevhat rude towards you, but I repeat myself, you do not seem to see ze situation in ze right light. I understand zat you are vorried on account of your sister, but neverzeless, I feel it my duty to tell you zat your view on marriage is pretty naïve,' Herr Darcy said. 'Your romantic views certainly show zat you are not used to society and its customs outside zis somevhat rural circle. Let me assure you zat only very few people can actually afford to marry on ze sole base of affection. People usually decide to marry out of pecuniary or social reasons. I grant you zat a certain respect tovards one's partner makes ze affair more pleasant, but respect and understanding alone are very rarely ze reasons out of vhich one decides to marry. I am sorry for causing you pain, but zis is how ze world is, and you, of all people, should be avare of it. You do not realize it, perhaps, but your sister could do much vorse zan marrying Mr. Bingley. He has a considerable fortune, an acceptable social standing, and on top of zat, he is of a gentle and easy disposition. He vill be kind tovards your sister and zey boz seem to like each ozzer, vhich is much more zan many married people can say of each ozzer. Let me tell you, my fraeulein, zat love may sound a wundervoll zing, a great idea, but, true love, as I have heard it called, is very rare, very rare indeed, and its influence is much overrated. You cannot rely on love alone in zis vorld, my dear fraeulein Elisabeth, as wunderbar as zat might be, for you vill be severely disappointed, and probably even hurt. It is prudence alone zat can guarantee you some degree of happiness, as sad as zat may sound.'

Elizabeth was not sure whether she detected a trace of sadness and disappointment in his voice, but she was much too angered at his treating of her as an inferior to think too much about it. She was determined to show him that he could not simply lecture her on matters about which she in all probability understood just as much as he did.

'Herr Darcy, you may call me naïve, and perhaps I am, and I probably am also romantic in my view of matrimony,' she said, 'but there is no need to treat me like a school-girl. That my views on matrimony are different from yours does not mean that they are better or worse than yours. Let me tell you, even though you seem to think that I am merely a country girl who does not know the ways of the world, I am fully aware of how marriages are usually formed - and let me add that Meryton is not as different from London as you may think it is. Nevertheless, I am resolved to marry for only those reasons which you call rare and imprudent, for I have seen too many people unhappy in their marriages, and am too selfish a creature to wish it for myself. If true love really is as rare as you say, then that just means that I will have to look harder, but let me tell you that I would rather not marry at all then for reasons that appear not right to me. You may scorn my views and call them naïve, but you will not dissuade me from them. I happen to believe in love, and that means that I will search for it until I find it, and not settle for anything else. It may not be to your liking, but then, I cannot see how my happiness in marriage should in any way depend on you, nor, for that matter, should my sister's. I am not forbidding her from marrying Mr. Bingley, if that is what you fear. If she wishes to marry Mr. Bingley out of the reasons you just stated - or perhaps even because they truly love each other, which you do not seem to have taken into consideration - I will congratulate her and it will be honest, for Mr. Bingley is a good and kind man, or so it seems. But if she does not want to marry him, I will not insist on her using this opportunity to secure her future as a wealthy woman just because she could force him to do what is regarded as his duty after one kiss. Let me also add that what I know about him so far is that he is a very loyal and honourable man. If Jane found herself in any way compromised by what we just saw - and I really do not know why you continue to refer to it as a situation, it was, after all, only a kiss - he would see it as his duty to marry her, without you having to force him to do the honourable thing. You may underestimate your friend, Herr Darcy.'

'Miss Bennet,' Herr Darcy replied stiffly, 'you seem determined to make light of ze sit- of vhat ve just saw, but I cannot take it so easily. You may be right to assume zat your sister vould vant to marry out of - as you call it - imprudent reasons, but let me tell you zat sometimes neither ze lady nor ze gentleman in question - if he is an honourable fellow, zat is - have a choice in zose matters, as society dictates it. I vill not take any actions immediately, as it is your vish, but I vill talk to Mr. Bingley, and if I should see zat your sister is in any vay harmed, or going to be harmed, you may be sure zat I vill force ze scoundrel to marry your sister. You may not like it, but propriety dictates zat he should, and I vill not stand by and do nozzing vhen a young lady needs help, zat I can promise you.'

Elizabeth had to laugh in spite of the seriousness of their discussion. 'Mr. Bingley, a scoundrel? You must mistake him with someone else!' She continued more seriously, 'but in regards to your other suggestion, grateful though I am for you offer of protection for my sister, do you not think that my family can handle such matters on our own, and that, moreover, Jane can decide on her own whether she wants to be married to Mr. Bingley or not? I must ask you - though you may deem it impolite - not to interfere in my sister's affairs when she is very much capable of handling them herself.'

'But zat, Miss Bennet,' Herr Darcy said, 'is vhat I doubt - zat she is capable of handling them herself. Do not misunderstand me, my fraeulein, I do not doubt your sister's abilities, but it is not customary for ladies in our times to fight on zeir own, and zey often are glad if zey have a champion fighting for zem. Believe me, I know ze vorld, better zan I could vish, and it is not a friendly place, not at all. Zere is evilness out zere zat especially young ladies should bevare of. My only intention is to protect zose vho cannot protect zemselves. I do not see vhy you should find zat dishonourable.'

Herr Darcy would probably have said more, but in this very moment, Jane's door opened and Mr. Bingley stepped out.

'Darcy! Miss Bennet!' he exclaimed, sounding surprised. 'What are you doing here?'

Before Elizabeth could say anything, Herr Darcy had grabbed Mr. Bingley's collar and thrust him up the wall.

'Vhat did you zink you vere doing, Bingley, entering zat young lady's chamber all alone, spending a considerable time alone viz her in zere and bringing her into a most compromising situation?'

'But, Darcy, I -,' Mr. Bingley protested weakly, but Herr Darcy did not let him continue.

'Do you not realise vhat you have done, Bingley? Are you totally insane? You can be grateful zat Miss Elisabeth is present, ozzervise I should not hesitate to show you right now vhat I zink of people like you, vho zink zat single vomen are easy prey, and zink zey can do vhatever zey like viz zem. But you vill face ze consequences of your action, my dear lad, and I svear you vill not ruin zis young lady's life! If I have to drag you to ze altar, you vill marry Miss Bennet, zat I can promise you!'

'Yes, I will,' Mr. Bingley said weakly.

'Do you not realise zat your behaviour vas abominably rude and inconsiderate - you vhat?' Herr Darcy seemed to be so surprised at Mr. Bingley's meek reaction that he accidentally loosened his grip on his opponent's collar.

'I said, yes, I will,' Mr. Bingley repeated as he tried to re-arrange his neckcloth. 'I will marry Jane.'

'Vell, you had better, because ozzervise I vould make you, I svear zat, Bingley,' Herr Darcy said, only slightly calmer than he had been before. 'Zat behaviour of yours vas intolerable, and I am glad zat you have seen ze vrongness in your vays and decided to amend for all zat you have done to Miss Bennet.'

'What, Darcy, have I done to Miss Bennet, in your opinion?' Mr. Bingley asked, not for the sake of the argument, but, as Elizabeth could see, genuinely confused.

'Do you zink it is acceptable zat a man simply valk into a lady's chamber and - and behave improperly?' Herr Darcy roared. 'I tell you vhat, my boy, it is not! One does not do zings like zat!'

His face was by now so red Elizabeth thought he would burst a vein sooner or later.

'I agree, Darcy, I whole-heartedly agree,' Mr. Bingley said. 'One does not simply walk into a lady's chamber and spend time there all alone with her. If, however, said lady is one's fiancée, certainly you will admit one may be allowed to have some time in privacy with her?'

'Fiancée?' Elizabeth and Herr Darcy stuttered at the same time.

'Yes, I asked dear Jane to marry me, and I am happy to say she accepted me.' Mr. Bingley now grinned sheepishly. 'True, I have not asked her father for permission yet, but dear Jane assures me he will not be against our marriage.'

He saw that Elizabeth and Herr Darcy were still staring incredulously at him. 'What? - you did not think I would enter Jane's chamber all alone without being engaged to her, did you? I may be naïve compared to you, Darcy, but I know what is proper and what is not.'

Elizabeth was the first to recover from the - most pleasant - surprise. 'Congratulations, Mr. Bingley. I can of course only speak for myself, but I welcome you to our family, and I dare say my parents and sisters will be just as delighted as I am.'

Mr. Bingley still grinned sheepishly. 'It may seem a bit rash,' he said, 'and I know we have only known each other for such a short time, but I assure you Jane will make me very happy, and I will try to make her just as happy. I hope you do not disapprove of the fact that we are engaged after such a short time, but Jane and I are very, very happy.'

'If Jane is happy, of what should I disapprove?' Elizabeth smiled.

'You do believe me that I did not force her into anything, do you not, Miss Elizabeth?' Mr. Bingley asked anxiously.

'I would never think such a thing of you, Mr. Bingley,' Elizabeth replied, 'I know that if Jane has accepted you, it is because she wants to marry you. I can only repeat, Mr. Bingley, I wish you both joy and happiness.'

It was only now that Herr Darcy seemed to awake from the stupor he had fallen into when Mr. Bingley announced his engagement. 'Congratulations, Bingley,' he said and shook Mr. Bingley's hand, 'and I hope you vill excuse my manhandling you. My behaviour vas intolerable, and I cannot say vhat came over me. I apologise.'

'Well, seeing you only wanted to protect my fiancée, how could I be angry with you? Seriously, Darcy, you are forgiven, though I must admit I was somewhat frightened by your behaviour.'

Elizabeth then excused herself, because she wanted to congratulate her sister, and Mr. Bingley muttered something about brandy and the library and asked Herr Darcy whether he would join him. Before Elizabeth entered Jane's room, however, a short look passed between her and Herr Darcy, and she understood that, like herself, he would not tell anybody about the unpleasant discussion they had just had, especially not those people whom they had discussed.

Jane was just as happy as Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth sincerely wished her happiness and joy. It was true, the two had only known each other for such a short time, but Elizabeth still hoped that they would get what they had hoped for, and make each other very happy. Jane, of all people, deserved happiness in marriage, and Jane was of the opinion that Mr. Bingley would make her very happy. They decided to tell Mary about the engagement the next morning and then send a letter to Longbourn to inform their mother, who should advise their father as she saw fit. The next half hour was spent with Jane chatting dreamily about the future happiness she was anticipating, and her joy in discovering that Mr. Bingley - or Charles, as he had asked her to call him - felt exactly the same as she did.

While listening to her sister, Elizabeth pondered how today's development affected her views on marriage. Here were two people who both gained from the match they made - Jane the security of wealth and a home, Mr. Bingley the social standing a landowner's (even a poor landowner's) daughter could offer to a tradesman's grand-son - and yet, all they had in mind was mutual affection and, as it now became clear, love. Did this show that not all prudent matches had to be unhappy ones, or was her sister the exception to that rule? She could not, she would not, accept Herr Darcy's views. He was cynical, far too cynical to be taken seriously. What did he mean, that love was overrated? She was determined to marry for love, for love alone, and she would not allow any so-called prudence to ruin her happiness. But was Herr Darcy right? Was it really so very difficult to find someone she could more than respect, more than esteem? Should she be happy enough to find a kind and gentle partner? And why did Herr Darcy's opinion affect her so much anyway? She had never wavered in her opinions, why should he of all people make her suddenly feel insecure about what she believed to be right? All she knew was that she was angered at Herr Darcy's patronizing way of treating her, and his assumption that he was to sort out the lives of all the people around him. It made her quite furious to think that he thought her and her family (for Mr. Bingley now was a part of her family) unable to solve their problems on their own. Why could he not accept a refusal of his offer of help? Why did he have to continue arguing about things she did not want to argue, and about affairs that were no concern of his? Did he really think that life in Netherfield revolved around him?

These questions still asked themselves when she finally left Jane, who had fallen asleep over praising Mr. Bingley's many virtues, and they gave her another restless night. Only in the early hours of the morning could she finally find some sleep. She was, therefore, still tired when Mary woke her up to help her dress and do her hair in the next morning, and she was sure she looked like it as well, because Mary noticed at once.

'What is the matter with you, Lizzy?' she asked. 'You look pale, and tired. Did you not sleep well?'

'I had the most worrying dream,' Elizabeth replied. 'I was in a big castle in Derbyshire, all alone. I could not leave the castle because my husband had locked me in and I was the only one in there, apart from three giant Alsatians, who were waiting for me to die so they could eat me. What do you think this means?'

Part Nine

Posted on Sunday, 10 December 2006

Elizabeth did not tell Mary all that had happened the previous evening (she happened to leave out the encounter and discussion between herself and Herr Darcy), but of course she told her about Jane's engagement to Mr. Bingley. Mary could not feign any surprise, as she had seen this coming for quite some time (or at least hoped it would happen), but nevertheless she was quite delighted for Jane.

Jane was as overjoyed as she had been when Elizabeth had left her the previous evening. Had she been distracted during the period of Mr. Bingley's courtship, it was nothing to what she was now that she was engaged. Mary and Elizabeth had to constantly remind her to put her stockings on, button her dress or brush her hair, or she would probably have gone down to breakfast in her nightgown. At breakfast, Elizabeth noticed - without much surprise - that Mr. Bingley was in a similar state. She had expected Miss Bingley to be somewhat angry that her brother had decided to marry a girl without any connections or fortune, but she was wrong. It seemed that Miss Bingley, as soon as she had heard the news, had decided to be delighted, and delighted she therefore was. She seemed to think of the saying that a wedding is always followed by another one, for she was alternately advising her dear Miss Bennet on her trousseau and asking Herr Darcy's opinion about what she had just said. Mr. and Mrs. Hurst, it seemed, were too much occupied with their scrambled eggs and toast to pay the newly engaged couple too much notice.

Herr Darcy's attention was not focused on the happy lovers either. Had Elizabeth been less angry with him and looked in his direction, she might have noticed that he was trying to meet her eyes, but she did not. Herr Darcy was the only one who noticed at all that Elizabeth was paler than usual and that there were shadows under her eyes. He assumed that she had not slept well, and he was right in this assumption, but as to the cause, he could not have been more wrong.

It is quite useless to describe Mr. Bennet's excitement at his daughter's engagement. He was beside himself with joy, and no sooner had he regained command of speech than he crafted a letter full of happy effusions to his sister Mrs. Philips, and ordered his daughter Catherine to write to Maria Lucas instantly. Mrs. Bennet's happiness was not as obvious as her husband's, but perhaps more honest; she showed real warmth and sympathy as she shook the hand of her new son (for Mr. Bingley had of course insisted on accompanying his fiancée and her sisters to Longbourn to ask her father's approval, even though both Jane and Elizabeth had assured him it was not necessary at all.)

Indeed, Jane would have been happy had her fiancé been spared the shrieks of mirth, but as Elizabeth argued later, it was perhaps best that he get used to his new family's behaviour. Elizabeth herself would have liked nothing better than to retire to her room for a couple of hours, for she felt still exhausted from not having slept properly over the last few days, but it was not to be. Not only had Mr. Bennet at once invited Mr. Bingley to spend the rest of the day at Longbourn, but Miss Bingley also came over shortly after Mr. Bingley and the elder Miss Bennets had arrived, for she wished to discuss further details of the bride's trousseau. Mr. Bennet, overjoyed at this opportunity to entertain as many guests as possible, sent the coach that had conveyed Miss Bingley back to Netherfield with an invitation for Mr. and Mrs. Hurst and Herr Darcy, asking them to join the party for dinner.

'That means we will be thirteen for dinner, I suppose,' Mrs. Bennet said to her husband, who had, quite unexpectedly, joined her and Elizabeth in the library, where they were arranging for the dusting of the books whilst discussing Jane's engagement. 'Not a lucky number at all. I wonder, should I send for Lucas Lodge and ask Miss Lucas to join us?'

'Thirteen?' said Mr. Bennet and started counting on his fingers. 'You must have counted wrong. We are seven, and then Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, Mr. Hurst and Mr. Hare-Darcy. That makes twelve.'

'You are forgetting Mr. Collins, my dear,' said Mrs. Bennet.

'Mr. Who?' asked her husband and looked at her incredulously. 'Another friend of Mr. Bingley's? I dare say they are always welcome, but I do not think I met him before.'

It was one of those rare occasions when Elizabeth's sentiments were similar to her father's. She had never heard of Mr. Collins either and was as astonished as her father was that the gentleman (for she supposed him to be one) was expected to dinner. As she found out, however, her father was, supposed to know who Mr. Collins was, because Mrs. Bennet had reminded him of Mr. Collins' arrival before.

'Your cousin, Mr. Collins, my dear,' she said exasperatedly. 'The one who will inherit Longbourn after your death. The one who wrote to you a few days ago to announce his visit. The one whose letter you refused to open.'

'Oh! The vulture!' exclaimed Mr. Bennet. 'I do not want to meet him! I hate the man, I quite detest him. When does he come?'

'He told us to expect him this afternoon,' said Mrs. Bennet just as they heard a commotion outside and hurried steps in the hall. 'I suppose that will be him.'

'Oh, well,' said Mr. Bennet off-handedly, 'I suppose in that case you had better write to the Lucases and ask for Charlotte. She is plain enough not to distract Mr. Bingley or Mr. Hare-Darcy (for you know, I am half convinced that Mr. Hare-Darcy has developed quite a tendre for Mary), and she can tell her parents all about my new son-in-law later, which I suppose will greatly upset Lady Lucas.'

Mrs. Bennet had been right. Mr. Collins' carriage had been seen by Mr. and Miss Bingley, Jane and Mary, who had been out in the garden. None of them being aware that additional visitors were expected, they had quickly gone back to the house to inform their mother of the new-comer. On being informed by Mrs. Hill that Mr. Bennet's cousin was supposed to arrive any minute, they had left the house again to wait for Mr. Collins on the outside whilst Mrs. Hill went to find the master and the mistress.

Mr. Collins turned out to be a very impressive sight. He was neither small nor slender and possessed an astonishing amount of unruly blond curls framing his beaming pink face. From his clothing, it became obvious that he was a member of the clergy. He thanked both Mr. and Mrs. Bennet most profoundly for their utmost hospitality and expressed his deepest joy at meeting so many of his beautiful cousins at once. Upon being greeted by him as Miss Elizabeth, Miss Bingley started to giggle and protest that she had neither the said lady's wit nor her fine eyes, but unfortunately, she was not heard by Mr. Collins, who was introducing himself to Mr. Bingley and congratulating the gentleman on his excellent choice of one of his many fair cousins. It was only with much effort that Mrs. Bennet could convince him to retire to his room and refresh himself after his stressful journey. No sooner had Mr. Collins left for his room than the noise of another carriage could be heard; it was the carriage from Netherfield conveying the Hursts and Herr Darcy.

Finally, everybody settled down for dinner. Mr. Bingley and Jane still had only eyes for each other, Miss Bingley's mind was still full of trousseaus and Elizabeth could feel a headache coming on. Herr Darcy seemed to be in one of his gloomy moods, it appeared to her; he did not talk much and smiled even less. Mr. Bennet was, at the same time, trying to make the Bingleys and their guests feel as welcome as possible and ignoring his cousin. Mr. Collins, however, did not pay attention to his host's impolite behaviour, but treated every member of the assembled party to the same expressions of unimaginable gratitude and pleasure. As Mary noticed, he still seemed to labour under the misapprehension that Miss Bingley was his cousin Elizabeth; also, he had congratulated Mr. Hurst on his felicity in having one of his cousins as his wife.

'My dear Miss Bennet,' Miss Bingley asked, 'dare one be so bold and inquire where you are going to buy your wedding dress?'

'In London, I presume,' Jane answered very civilly, and did not betray that she had been asked the same question at least twice this day.

'Oh, you shop in London, do you?' Miss Bingley exclaimed.

'Yes,' said Jane and smiled bravely, 'my mother's brother and his wife live in London, and they have often invited me there; I hope that with their help, I shall be able to purchase all the necessary items.'

'How charming!' Miss Bingley said. 'Did you hear that, Herr Darcy? Miss Bennet has relatives in London!'

'I did indeed hear zat, Miss Bingley. Miss Bennet's information vas not too complex for me, I assure you.'

'I, personally, have never been to London,' Mr. Collins ventured to say. 'I live in Kent and in the rare case I need something that cannot be obtained in the neighbourhood, I seek it in Canterbury. Although, of course, my dear and most noble patroness - whose estate is, I may add, directly bordering on my own modest accommodations - has often had the condescension to offer to have the one or other good brought to my most humble parsonage when she herself was sending for something in London.

'I do confess, my dear cousin,' he addressed Miss Bingley, 'that I have grown up in the country, and therefore am not at all used to the noise and the commotion that such a large urban settlement as our great nation's capital must necessarily create. I fear it might cause some anxiety with me, although I would of course not have you think me a coward, for I am a member of the clergy, dear cousin.'

Such a long speech could hardly be not noticed; Lydia almost snorted into her bowl of soup and Elizabeth saw that Herr Darcy was wildly grimacing as if he was suppressing as violent a fit of laughter as she was. She came to the conclusion, however, that it was more likely that he had stomach cramps, and was in half a mind to ask Mrs. Hill to have some fennel tea sent up to the dining-room; it would serve him right, she thought. Indeed, the only ones who seemed not to have paid any attention to Mr. Collins' soliloquy were Mr. Bennet, who still turned a deaf ear to everything his cousin said, and Miss Bingley, whose mind was still occupied, it seemed, by ivory lace, frilled muslins and what bonnet she would wear with her wedding dress, should the happy day on which she could wear it finally arrive.

'You must introduce me to your aunt and uncle when we are in London, Jane,' Miss Bingley said, 'I absolutely insist on it.

'Oh,' she continued, 'how I miss London! Not that I do not like Hertfordshire exceedingly, but I do miss London. Oh, I have so many dear friends there, Jane! Your sister, Herr Darcy, for one, I am looking forward, so very much, to meeting her again.'

'Zen you vill be most unhappily disappointed, I am afraid, Miss Bingley, for Johanna is at ze moment staying viz my fazer's sister in Cornvall.'

'Oh! Dear Lady Doncaster! How long has it been since I last saw her! Pray, tell me, is she well?'

'I assure you, Miss Bingley, zat my aunt, Mrs. Dawson, is very vell indeed.'

'You may not have heard, Miss Lucas,' Mr. Bennet said, 'that my daughter, Miss Jane, has recently become engaged. I believe that you are to congratulate your friend for her admirable choice. You may not know it, but Mr. Bingley, whom I must say I very much esteem, has asked her to be his wife and she has of course readily consented, for who would not accept such an offer?'

Miss Lucas assured him that she had heard about the engagement, and offered her congratulations to Mr. Bennet.

'It is,' he mused, 'indeed an offer that could make any young lady hereabouts very proud, for I do not think many will receive such a very good offer.'

Elizabeth blushed for her father, and could see that the happy couple was trying to avoid everyone's gaze. Lydia, however, snorted loudly.

'Even if we do not make such a good match as Jane does, you know that there are plenty of officers in Meryton. One of them may even offer for you, Charlotte, you know.'

Elizabeth wished that she could have disappeared through the floor. She had rarely felt more thankful towards her mother as she now asked Mr. Collins whether he had had an agreeable journey hither.

'Very much so, Mrs. Bennet, thank you very much; it is a very easy distance indeed. I do not believe any of my fair cousins would find it at all troublesome. It is a very pleasant road and does not offer any difficulties. One does not really notice one is travelling at all - although that of course may be also because I was so fortunate as to be able to borrow my dear noble patroness's barouche-landau for the first part of the journey, which is, I must say, a mightily fine carriage - as of course befits her ladyship - offering a lot of comfort especially to humble personages like me who are not used to the elegant style of life as much as her ladyship and her daughter are. Not that I would have asked for it myself, but my patroness herself most graciously offered me the use of it, which I must say shows her true nobility and superiority. I would not have you think that I was one to forget my position and overstep the boundaries of rank to actually ask my patroness to lend me her carriage, my fair cousin Elizabeth, you must not think me so impolite or so affected.'

He smiled at Miss Bingley and would probably have patted her hand had not Miss Bingley brought her fork to her mouth that very moment. Elizabeth was watching the spectacle with hidden mirth; she was not able to eat anything that needed to be cut first, her right hand still being in bandages, and had therefore not taken any of the roast beef that was being offered. Her astonishment was great indeed when she looked down at her plate again and noticed that it was no longer empty, but that there was roast beef cut into little pieces and some chopped-up potato on it. She knew not whom to thank; her mother was too far away from her to have been able to have switched the plates, and Kitty, on her left side, had been busy building a model of the soldier's camp with her roast beef and potatoes in order to illustrate the location of a certain tent to Lydia. There was no other possibility but that it had been Mr. Darcy, on her right side, but would he do such a thing? After their heated argument only the day before, she did not think it very likely that he would have any consideration for her needs; it had to have been, she concluded, one of the servants attending the meal.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that both Mr. Collins and Miss Bingley were eating instead of talking, Jane, Mary and Elizabeth could hear that Lydia was relating tales about a recent visit to the officers' camp to her father and her sister.

'And that was when I told Lt. Saunderson that either he give me that ribbon back at once or I would scream as loud as I could and what would he do then? And what do you think he did?'

'Oh, do tell, Liddy,' Mr. Bennet said, 'for I swear I do not have the faintest idea, and I am sure everybody would love to hear it. Would you not, Mr. Bingley?'

'Yes, please, Lydia! You must know I am wild to learn anything about Lt. Saunderson, especially after what he said to Hatty Goulding last week.'

And it was at this point, Elizabeth reflected later, that she had thought things could not get worse, but she was wrong. Not only were Kitty and Lydia not being hindered from gossiping, but also the rest of the conversation was taking a more and more chaotic turn, and Elizabeth could feel her headache intensifying.

'Miss Bennet,' Miss Bingley said, 'do you know where you shall be married? Will you be married from Longbourn, or from your uncle's house in London?'

'No! You never told me, Kitty! What did he say to Hatty Goulding? Was it very - you know?'

'Am I right in assuming, my fair cousin Elizabeth,' Mr. Collins said, wiping his forehead with his napkin, 'that you have never visited the beautiful county of Kent?'

'Oh! it was very much - you know. I could never repeat it here, and anyway, Hatty asked me not to tell anyone else, because she feared that her parents would hear about it.'

'I must confess, Miss Bingley, that I have not yet given it a thought, but I do think I shall be married from Longbourn.'

'I can assure you, Mr. Collins,' Mrs. Bennet said, 'that none of my daughters has ever been to Kent. I can, however, say nothing about Miss Bingley's previous travels.'

'Excellent roast-beef, that is,' Mr. Hurst said through a mouthful of meat, 'damn fine way to do it, I must say. Even the French cook at Pemberley could not make it any better, I am sure.'

'Well, I do hope I shall be able to welcome you all most cordially to my humble abode one day. I shall say no more about it here, but I do flatter myself that you may be well aware of my intentions, Mrs. Bennet. And if I may be so bold and say that I specially look forward to receive my fair cousin Elizabeth in my small and modest parsonage -'

'You are absolutely right,' Mrs. Hurst agreed with her husband. 'The roast beef is simply splendid, Mrs. Bennet.'

'And shall you have the banns read, Miss Bennet?'

'And what did Hatty say when he said - you know - to her? Was she much put out?'

'I have really not given it any thought, Miss Bingley.'

'And the wine, my dear,' Mr. Hurst said, taking a large gulp out of his glass, 'do not forget the wine. Truly marvellous, Mrs. Bennet, I must congratulate you.'

'I do think it very romantic to have the banns read, do you not, Herr Darcy? Is it not the most romantic thing you can imagine?'

'Oh, she did not say anything at all, I assure you, she was much too shocked. It was not only what he said, but also -' and here Kitty lowered her voice to a very audible whisper - 'what he did.'

'No!' Lydia screamed. 'He did not!'

Part Ten

Afterwards, Elizabeth could not say how she had survived the evening. After dinner, things became decidedly worse. When the ladies assembled in the drawing-room, Elizabeth was drawn aside by Miss Bingley, who looked slightly confused and said to her in a hushed tone, ‘Miss Bennet, I feel that I must tell you that your cousin - that Mr Collins - is behaving decidedly odd. Not that it frightens me, but I thought I should let you know nevertheless. He seems to mistake me for you, or the other way round, I cannot say. I wish you would do something about it. It was quite funny at the beginning, but now it tires me, I must tell you. Would you be able to clear up this misunderstanding?'

Elizabeth tried to turn to her mother for help, but this lady was unavailable due to the fact that she was conversing with Mrs Hurst and Charlotte about various issues of roast beef and pork; Mrs Hurst had expressed her desire to discuss these issues in great detail. Jane sat in an armchair next to the fire and seemed oblivious to all that was going on around her and Mary was trying to berate Kitty and Lydia for their childish behaviour at the dinner table. The only thing Elizabeth could do was promise Miss Bingley that she would do whatever she could to convince Mr Collins of his misapprehension and secretly hope that the misunderstanding would solve itself.

The first of the gentlemen to return to the ladies was Mr Bingley, who, without further ado, settled himself next to his fiancée and began to tell her sweet nothings. Elizabeth begged Miss Bingley to excuse her for a moment and slipped out onto the terrace to inhale the cold air and enjoy the silence out there. Shutting the door to the stuffy drawing-room behind her, she closed her stinging eyes, which felt sore and teary from the smoke of the fire and the candles inside, and stood still for a moment. It was such a relief to hear nothing but the storm howling in one's ears, not to have one's eyes water anymore, to feel that awful headache finally disappear as the wind blew around one's head, and to think of nothing to say and to do but to stand there and breathe in the soothing cold air. Slowly, the piercing shrills of her sisters disappeared from her head, the clutter of cutlery grew fainter and fainter, and the faces of all her family's guests became a distant blur which she chose to ignore. Finally, when the cold became too much and her fingers started to feel numb, she moved. Eyes still closed, she walked slowly around the house, trying to ignore the noises from inside and instead concentrating on the sound of the wind.

‘Was zum Henker -'

‘Herr Darcy! I am sorry! I did not notice you!'

‘It is nozing, I assure you. I had just stepped out of ze library and had not seen zat you vere valking here.'

‘No, no, it is my fault. I had closed my eyes for a while. I must apologize for running into you.'

‘Zere vas no harm done, my dear fraeulein, none at all. But you seem to be cold - you are shivering, and your arms feel like ice. Perhaps ve should better step inside again?'

It was only then that Elizabeth realized that Herr Darcy was still embracing her. The firm grip with which he had prevented her from falling down when she had stumbled into him had turned into something more tender, one of his arms now laying around her shoulders, the other one encircling her waist. He did not seem to want to let her go at all, she thought, rather, it looked as if he was enjoying their closeness. She was at a loss at what to say. The nerve of the man was unbelievable! Were they not right now engaged in a situation that was eerily similar to the one they had caught Jane and Mr Bingley in just the day before? Had not Herr Darcy then chided Mr Bingley severely for his actions and demanded that he marry Jane instantly? If Mr Bingley were to see them now, Elizabeth wondered, would he force Herr Darcy to marry her? No, the very idea of it was unbearable! She would much rather join a convent. She struggled to free herself from his grip, but he did not seem to notice. Just when Elizabeth thought she might have to use force to make him let her go, a shrill shriek pierced the night air.

‘Oh! This is dark! Miss Bennet? Herr Darcy? Are you here? I cannot see you, it is so dark!'

Upon hearing Miss Bingley's voice, Herr Darcy, much startled, let go of Elizabeth instantly. Without a word, he walked past her and towards the sound of Miss Bingley, leaving Elizabeth alone in the dark, trying to come up with an explanation for what had just happened. Obviously, Herr Darcy did not want anybody to know that he had been outside with her; he had not come up with an apology for his behaviour either. What he was aiming at, Elizabeth could only wonder; it was hard to tell when he was not talking to her and it was too dark to read his facial expressions. Why had he not let go of her? But in one thing he had definitely been right, it was cold outside and she was shivering, and as her headache was now almost gone, and Herr Darcy and Miss Bingley had disappeared, she went inside as well, bracing herself for another encounter with her family and their guests.

She was greeted at the terrace door by Miss Bingley, who it seemed had been waiting for her. ‘Miss Bennet!' she exclaimed. ‘I thought you might be outside, too. Herr Darcy was, you know. He was in the library with your father and the other gentlemen, and then they started smoking, and he had to cough, poor dear, and stepped outside for a moment. He says he did not know you were outside, too, or he would have escorted you back into the room. I dare say we are a snug company this evening, are we not? I was just wondering whether or not perhaps you or one of your sisters might want to entertain us with something on the piano. Seeing that your father and the other gentlemen are still in the library, we really must take matters into our own hands to amuse ourselves, for Herr Darcy, poor lamb, is still a little sick from the smoke - you see, he is all flushed, and does he not look most miserable, staring out of that window, when there is really nothing to see at all? I dare say a little song by you or me would cheer him up immensely, do you not think so?
‘For my brother, you know,' she added as an afterthought to this impressing soliloquy, which all seemed to have been uttered in one breath, ‘really does not mind what we do at all, he is so very much besotted with your sister. Just look at the two of them! I dare say, are they not extraordinarily sweet together?'

Elizabeth could not do much but nod, and she feared that it was indeed her lot this evening to entertain Miss Bingley. Her mother - helped by Charlotte - had more than enough to do with Mrs Hurst, who was now begging her to disclose her recipe for Yorkshire pudding, Kitty and Lydia were better left to their own, for she doubted Miss Bingley could be interested in any of the officers in Meryton and Mary had once more taken up a book, this time a work by a Prussian philosopher. Herr Darcy, Elizabeth now noticed, indeed looked somehow flushed and seemed to avoid all of their gazes by looking out of the window. It appeared to her as if he was angry, but about what, she could not tell. Had she angered him because she had stupidly run into him, or was it her family that unnerved him? She did not know, and she forced herself not to think about it, for she was sure that thinking about Herr Darcy's arrogance - who was he to be annoyed by her family anyway? - would only lead to a return of her headache and this she did not want. She therefore agreed when Miss Bingley proposed they try out some duets on the pianoforte together. Miss Bingley was rather talented on that instrument and she had a very pleasing voice. Elizabeth was astonished at how well their song and Miss Bingley's playing fit together and had to admit to herself that she had sometimes wished for such a musical companion, for none of her sisters could muster much interest in the instrument, even though their father had insisted that they all learn how to play it. Especially Mary, who was, according to their music master, by far the most talented of them all, and according to their father, the plainest of the five sisters, had often been obliged to play at gatherings in order to show off her accomplishments to eligible gentlemen, but the music gave her far less pleasure than it gave Elizabeth, who was not half as talented.

Meanwhile, Mr Bennet, Mr Collins and Mr Hurst were still sitting in the library, emptying a bottle of Mr Bennet's overly-sweet port.

‘Mr Bennet,' Mr Collins started, ‘I must be completely honest with you. It would not do for me to withhold any truth from you, especially seeing as I am a clergyman and, as such, sworn to complete honesty. You may think, Mr Bennet, that the sole reason of my visit to you and your lovely family was to extend the hand of friendship to you, but I assure you I had other reasons, too. I am now almost five-and-twenty years of age, which is, I think, rather a fine age; and, in addition to that, I am in possession of a steady income that will allow me to support a family, and, even more, I have the utmost fortune to be under the patronage of a most noble and most descending lady. I have therefore come to the conclusion that my situation in life is most benevolent towards a marriage, and it is with such intentions that I have come to Hertfordshire. I should add that my most gracious patroness herself advised me to marry, stating the same reasons that I have just given, and thus I am most ready to enter into that felicitous state of matrimony. I see it also as my duty, Mr Bennet, to make amends as much as I possibly can to my fair cousins, who are so unfairly suffering from this entail, and so, I have decided that it will be most beneficial towards both me and my family - that is to say, you and your fair daughters - if I choose my wife among your beautiful offspring.'

Mr Bennet was speechless for a whole minute before he regained his composure. Two offers of marriage for a daughter in one day! He wondered what Sir William Lucas would say to this; but thoughts of Sir William had to wait. The most important thing now was to assure his future son-in-law that his attentions were most welcome, and to encourage him to propose as soon as possible.

‘Mr Collins,' he finally said, croakily, ‘my daughters and I are very much honoured. You may propose to any of my daughters whenever you wish.
‘Jane, though,' he added, ‘is of course already engaged, so I am afraid ... And Mary, I fear I must tell you, may be courted by Mr Hare-Darcy; I am not sure whether you would have any success with her. My daughter Elizabeth, however, is as of yet not attached to anybody and I am sure would be very pleased -'

‘I feel it my duty to tell you,' Mr Collins interrupted him, ‘that it is indeed your daughter Elizabeth who caught my eye the minute I saw her and that I do hope that I may, in time, be rewarded with her hand - only with your paternal consent, of course, for, being a clergyman, I know what is due and would never ignore a father's opinion in such an important matter as this, and never make myself in any way recommendable to a young female without having consulted her guardian before.'

Mr Bennet, not fully understanding Mr Collins' speech, assured his cousin that he was heartily invited to propose to his cousin Elizabeth at any time he choose, and to inform his cousin Elizabeth that both her father and Mr Collins' patroness approved of the match.

‘I must say, Mr Collins,' Mr Bennet said as they finally left the library, ‘you seem to be really fortunate in your patroness, are you not? Not many, I should think, could boast of such a happy situation and such an agreeable arrangement.'

‘Indeed, I am,' Mr Collins said immediately, ‘my noble patroness, the very honourable Lady von Burg, is the most charming and -'

‘Lady von Burg!' Miss Bingley suddenly exclaimed, stopping her playing instantly, ‘is that not the name of your aunt, Herr Darcy?'

‘Lady von Burg,' Mary said suddenly, looking up from her book, ‘what an unusual name. A combination of a German surname and a British title - I wonder what is the story behind that?'

‘My aunt Katharina -,' Herr Darcy said, but he was rudely interrupted by Mr Collins.

‘The husband of my esteemed patroness,' the clergyman explained, ‘the deceased Sir Ludwig von Burg, was a great admirer of German literature and culture. Shortly before he married my most noble patroness, who was born as a Fraeulein von Wilhelm in Prussia, he applied to the King, His Majesty George III, and begged to be allowed to change his name into a more German-sounding one, in order to express his love of all things German. The King, His Majesty George III, most graciously granted Sir Ludwig his wish, understanding Sir Ludwig's sincere admiration and adoration of the Teutonic nation -'
‘And being, of course, German himself,' Herr Darcy muttered. Mary snickered, but Mr Collins did not hear it. Finally, though, the full impact of what Miss Bingley had said before dawned on him.

‘I beg your pardon, dear sir,' he said, his lower lip quivering, ‘did I understand my cousin correctly? Are you indeed - could you be - am I right to assume that you are indeed the nephew of my most honourable patroness? Can you really be Lady von Burg's nephew, Herr Friedrich Wilhelm Darcy of Pemberley?'

Herr Darcy bowed stiffly to acknowledge this.

‘You must accept my sincerest apologies, sir,' Mr Collins continued, ‘for not recognizing you earlier; it is inexcusable. I should have paid more attention to your name. I apologize again, sir, most humbly, for not paying you the respect that is due to you, sir, considering your elevated position in society and your relation with my esteemed patroness, Lady von Burg.'

Elizabeth quietly moved away from this scene, inwardly cringing with shame at her cousin‘s behaviour. She felt almost sorry for Herr Darcy, who was now showered with effusions of apologies and gratitude by Mr Collins; on the other hand, she thought, he might be quite pleased with the attention he was receiving, especially seeing that his admirer seemed to acknowledge the position that Herr Darcy claimed as rightfully his.

‘What is the matter, Lizzy?' Charlotte asked, leaving Mrs Hurst and Mrs Bennet on their own, 'you look mightily annoyed.'

‘Tell me, Charlotte,' Elizabeth whispered, 'why is it that my family - even those that I did not know to be family - always succeeds in embarrassing me?' She pointed at Mr Collins, who now bowed to Herr Darcy so deeply that his forehead almost touched his knees.

‘Oh, Lizzy, you should not be so rude about Mr Collins,' Charlotte whispered back, 'I am sure he means well.'

‘Yes, he means to marry one of us, of that I am sure,' Elizabeth whispered, 'and I fear it is me.'

‘Well, I will only say that you could choose worse,' Charlotte said.

‘Charlotte! Look at him! He is horrible!' Elizabeth hissed.

‘I admit that he is somewhat awkward in conversation, and perhaps a bit over-enthusiastic, but still, I maintain that you could choose worse.'

‘What do you mean by that?'

‘Well, he is not that bad. He is honest, he is kind, he is decent - he has a good income and he does not look that bad either. A woman could do worse than marry him, Lizzy.'

‘Et tu, Brute!' Lizzy mumbled darkly, walking away from Charlotte. Was everybody set on annoying her this evening? Or was she simply in a foul mood? She cast dark looks at the rest of the company - what had they in store for her this evening?

Suddenly, Mrs Hurst jumped up from the sofa and looked around her anxiously.

‘Where is he? Where has he gone?' she shouted, looking at Mr Bennet.

‘Where is who?' Mr Bennet asked.

‘My husband - where has he gone?'

Mr Bennet seemed not to understand her. ‘Your husband, madam?' he asked.

‘You are married?' Mr Collins asked incredulously, obviously not remembering that he had congratulated Mr Hurst on his marital felicity earlier this evening.

‘I believe, my dear,' Mrs Bennet, who had also stood up, said, placing a hand upon her husband's arm, ‘that Mrs Hurst inquires about the whereabouts of Mr Hurst, her husband.'

‘Oh! Him!' Mr Bennet said, suddenly remembering, ‘the portly fellow. Yes, he was with us in the library. Has he not come back?'

‘No, he has not,' Mrs Hurst insisted. ‘Did you leave him in the library alone?'

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open and Mr Hurst entered. He was staggering slightly, carrying a bottle of sherry and an empty glass. ‘Congratulations, Mr Bennet!' he shouted, ‘Congratulations on all your daughters' engagements!'

Part Eleven

‘Yes, thank you, thank you very much,' Mr. Bennet muttered distractedly, trying to figure out how many of his daughters were presently engaged and in whose names he could therefore accept congratulations. Mrs Hurst rushed to her husband. ‘My dear, have you had port again? You know it does not agree with your stomach and makes you say funny things.'

‘All of them engaged,' Mr. Hurst rambled on, ‘every single one of them. To all of us. Even Darcy managed to snatch one. Blurry cheek of him too. Kissed her as if it were broad daylight. No - kissed her as if in broad - no, wait, kissed her in - anyway, blurry cheek of him. Blurry cheek.'

‘Yes, dear, blurry cheek,' muttered Mrs Hurst, patting her husband's arm. ‘Do sit down, dear, and have a cup of coffee and you will feel better very soon.' She led him to a sofa and went to get him a cup of coffee. ‘Oh dear, oh dear,' Elizabeth heard her mutter, ‘not again. Not again. Somebody should have kept a watch on him; made sure he did not have any port. Where was Herr Darcy, I wonder?'

‘Kissing her in the sunlight - not the sunlight - kissing her in the light - out there, kissing her,' Mr. Hurst roared.

‘Yes, dear,' Mrs Hurst muttered embarrassedly, ‘I am sure he was.' She stole a glance at the assembled society in order to see how they reacted to her husband's behaviour. Mr. Bennet, it seemed, had not even noticed that something was amiss; he was standing at one of the windows, in deep conversation with Mr. Collins. Elizabeth could just make out the words ‘entailment', ‘marriage settlements' and ‘humble parsonage' and she was quite sure that she knew what their conversation was about. Caroline Bingley had blushed furiously at her brother's behaviour and moved over to join Mrs Bennet's and Charlotte's conversation, because these ladies, in their politeness, acted as if nothing had happened. Mary, who had not listened to the beginning of Mr. Hurst's outbreak, now looked around herself confusedly in order to determine what had happened; unfortunately, this gaze was caught by Lydia and Kitty, who moved over to her instantly so that they could inform her - with many giggles - what had happened. Elizabeth, still sitting at the piano, tried to find out where Herr Darcy was, for she could not see him, when suddenly someone tapped her on her shoulder. It was - who else - the gentlemen himself, an expression of urgency and importance on his face.

‘Ve need to talk,' he hissed. ‘At once.'

Elizabeth, slightly surprised by his request, gestured at the empty stool next to her, asking him to sit down.

‘Not here,' Herr Darcy whispered. ‘Alone. In ze library.' He grabbed her hand and almost dragged her with him.

‘Herr Darcy, I really do not think that this is at all necessary -' Elizabeth protested. Herr Darcy opened the library doors and closed them again almost immediately. ‘It seems to be my fate to constantly find zem behind closed doors,' he muttered.

‘Herr Darcy, I really cannot -' Elizabeth protested again, but Herr Darcy dragged her on. ‘Ze hall,' he muttered. Closing the parlour doors behind them, he gestured at two chairs standing decoratively below an ornate mirror.

‘Herr Darcy, I must ask for an explanation,' Elizabeth said while sitting down.

‘I must insist that you marry me at once,' Herr Darcy said without further ado. Elizabeth was speechless.

‘What?' she finally managed to say.

‘Ve must marry,' Herr Darcy repeated, obviously not in the least bit noticing his would-be bride's incredulity.

‘What?' Elizabeth said again.

‘You are compromised,' Herr Darcy said, ‘Herr Hurst saw us. On ze terrace. He zinks zat ve kissed.'

‘But we did not kiss!' Elizabeth exclaimed. ‘It was dark outside! Mr. Hurst could not have seen anything even if we had kissed! And he is - forgive my frank language - completely drunk.'

‘But if ze vord spreads, zen you and your sisters vill be completely ruined.' His expression was grave. ‘And it vill all be my fault. You cannot know how I blame myself. I should have been more careful. My behaviour vas inexcusable. However, you vill find me a man of honour. I am villing to make all ze amends I can possibly make in order to spare you and your sisters ze shame and ze disgrace. Zerefore, I must insist zat you accept my proposal of marriage.'

‘Herr Darcy, you - I - no.'

‘Vhat?'

‘No. I will not marry you. I appreciate your concern for my reputation, but I am willing to take the risks of anyone believing what Mr. Hurst thinks he saw, which did, as I need not point out to you, not even happen. Not even his wife listened to Mr. Hurst. Therefore, I refuse your gracious offer.'

‘You refuse? But - but vhy?'

‘Herr Darcy, I believe we have had this conversation before. It may be against your ideas of marriage, but I am determined to settle for nothing but mutual affection in the choice of my partner. And - please do not interrupt me - by mutual affection I mean that my future husband and I must agree that we shall be happy together because we like and respect each other, not because one of us considers it his duty as a gentleman or lady of honour to marry the other. I must tell you that I had rather not be married at all and live in disgrace than be married solely out of an idea of duty and honour. The very thought is repulsive.'

‘But Fraeulein Elisabeth - you do not understand. It is not only - that is to say, I -'

But what it was not, Elizabeth was not to learn, at least not on this evening, for in this very moment - interrupting Herr Darcy's speech - someone knocked on the front door. Elizabeth was quite startled; who could possibly knock on their door that late? As none of the servants was near, she opened the door herself. She was not at all prepared for whom she should see. Outside stood a tall blond gentleman in a military uniform she did not recognise even though she considered herself somewhat of an expert in that matter, having had to listen to her youngest sisters talking about various uniforms for years. He looked positively exhausted and clasped the doorpost for support.

‘Guten Abend, gnaediges Fraeulein,'* he gasped. ‘I moost speek to Herr Darcy at once. Verr ist he?'

‘Wilhelm!' Herr Darcy exclaimed. ‘Vhat are you doing here?'

‘Darcy, you moost help me!' the stranger gasped. ‘Zey haff come.'

‘Vho, Wilhelm?' Herr Darcy enquired. ‘Vho has come?'

‘You moost help me,' the stranger insisted. ‘Zey haff come, and zey vant you.'

‘Vho, Wilhelm, vho?' Herr Darcy asked again.

‘Tante Wilhelmina and Heidi, of course, and Friedrich,' the stranger said, ‘and zey haff brought Kriemhild, Brunhilde, Siegfried, Sieglinde, Gunther, Chlodwig and Oedipus -'

‘Vho?'

‘Oh, yes, you do not know zem. Kriemhild's and Siegfried's latest offspring. But do not interrupt me - zey haff come for you, Darcy!'

‘But vhy?'

‘It vas mozzer, of course. She and Tante Wilhelmina. Zey vant you to -,' the stranger now seemed to notice for the first time that Elizabeth was still there, trying to follow their conversation. ‘But vill you not introduce me to ze ladee, Darcy?'

‘Vhich lady? Oh! You must forgive me. My manners - I am sorry,' blushing furiously, Herr Darcy continued, ‘Miss Bennet, allow me to introduce my cousin, Oberst Wilhelm von Wilhelm.'

‘At your service, madame,' the Oberst said and bowed.

‘Wilhelm, may I introduce to you Fraeulein Elisabeth Bennet.'

‘Oh! Fraeulein Elisabeth, heh? Das Maedel, das -**‘

‘Not now, Wilhelm! Vhere are zey?'

‘Vho?'

‘Your family. Zey haff come all ze vay from Wilhelmsburg. Vhere are zey now?'

The Oberst now seemed to be slightly embarrassed. ‘Vell, zey vanted to see you as soon as possible -'

‘Zey are here?'

‘Zey told ze servants at Nezzerfield zat zey vere expected.'

‘Oh,' Herr Darcy said, taken slightly aback. He seemed at a loss at what to do or say. ‘Right.'

‘You will want to greet your visitors,' Elizabeth said, glad to have a reason not to continue their previous discussion. ‘Do you want me to give your excuses?'

‘Well,' thought Elizabeth, ‘that is certainly one way to put an end to these marriage proposals. He has not even realised that we were not finished, which is just as well, for I really am in no mood to argue any more about it. He seemed quite determined though. I wonder why - surely it cannot -?' Elizabeth's thoughts were interrupted by the departure of the rest of the guests, excepting Charlotte, who had been invited to stay the night.
‘Well, what do you make of that?' Elizabeth asked after she had told Charlotte all that had happened that evening between her and Herr Darcy. She was glad that Charlotte was spending the night, because it gave her the opportunity to discuss the evening's events with her; she did not want to discuss them with either Jane or Mary because she knew Jane would not be able to pay her much attention anyway and Mary would mutter that Elizabeth was talking about Herr Darcy far too often.

‘That Herr Darcy wanted to marry you and that you refused him,' Charlotte answered. ‘What else am I supposed to make of that?'

‘But his motives, Charlotte!' Elizabeth insisted. ‘What can his motives possibly be?'

‘Well, perhaps he likes you and he is just too shy to tell you,' Charlotte said. ‘Did you ever think about that?'

‘Charlotte! Do not be silly! I am sure that that is not the reason for his actions, whatever it may be.'

‘Whatever his reasons may be, you seem to think about him and his reasons quite a lot, do you not think so?'

‘Charlotte, the man just proposed to me! I may be entitled to ask myself why, may I not?‘

‘He is not the only one who wishes to propose to you, Elizabeth. Maybe you should just acquaint yourself with the fact that you are sought after.'

‘You cannot count Mr. Collins! He wishes to propose to Miss Bingley, not me. He only thinks he is in love with Elizabeth Bennet.'

‘I will repeat what I said earlier and say that you could do worse than him though. He is not clever, I grant you, and he talks about Lady von Burg far too much, but at least he is unaffected and honest, and, as far as I can tell, also kind. He is not as rich as Herr Darcy, true, but -'

Elizabeth realised that Charlotte was not one with whom she could discuss Herr Darcy's behaviour either, and they soon went to bed.

Elizabeth slept very well and woke quite early. She felt much better than on the previous days, and she was resolved to simply forget the question of why Herr Darcy had proposed to her and what he meant by it. She knew that she did not want to marry him and therefore she had no reason to worry about his reasons, or spend her time contemplating his intentions. It would come to no good in any case and the only thing she would get from it was a headache; and she was glad to have finally got rid of the last one.

She managed to dress on her own, in spite of her throbbing hand and was just about to see whether Mary was already up and could help her with her hair (because Sarah would be busy helping Cook with the breakfast) when her door burst open. Mary rushed in, a piece of paper clutched in her hand.

‘Lizzy! It has come! At last!'

‘Good morning, Mary.'

‘It has come!'

‘What has come?' Elizabeth asked perplexed. She did not know she was expecting a letter.

‘My book! I just got the note from the bookshop.'

‘Congratulations! Could you perhaps help me with my hair?'

‘I must go and get it at once. Mr. Williams wrote it was delivered yesterday evening and he sent the note to me first thing this morning, and I can come and collect it any time.'

‘What book is it then? Has Mrs Radcliffe written a continuation to Udolpho?'

‘Udolpho! Who on earth would get up early for a novel, I ask you? Could you imagine people waiting eagerly, maybe even queuing, early in the morning, just to get their hands on some adventure-story, just to see some adolescent hero fight against supreme evil, accept his destiny, find out the secrets of his past, encounter fairies and magical creatures and other such nonsense?' Reluctantly, Mary picked up a couple of hairpins and started pinning up Elizabeth's hair.

‘What is it then?'

‘It is Kritik der Urteilskraft.***' She tried to arrange Elizabeth's fringe around her face, but the unruly curls defied her attempts.

‘Is it?'

‘By Kant, Lizzy!' By now, Mary was almost jumping up and down with excitement. Twice, she had to re-knot the headband she had tried to sling around Elizabeth's unruly curls.

‘As in Immanuel?'

‘Yes! He wrote three Kritiken. This is the last in the series. And it has finally been delivered!'

‘Well, good for you then.'

‘Do you not see, Lizzy? You need to come with me to Meryton. I must go and collect it.' She secured the headband at the nape of the neck, put in the final pin and signalled to Elizabeth that she was ready.

‘I have not even had breakfast.'

‘Cook will make you a toast to eat on our way.'

‘Such a beautiful morning, is it not?' Mr. Collins beamed at his cousins and realised that some of them were missing. As much as he tried, he could not count more than four of them. And what was worst - his lady love was not there!

‘Miss Bennet, Miss Charlotte, Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia,' he recited. ‘All beautiful like the morning. But where is Miss Elizabeth?'

‘She went to the bookshop with Mary,' Kitty said. ‘Apparently, some boring book has come from London.'

‘They went to Meryton without me?' Lydia shrieked. ‘How could they?'

‘Are you expecting a book as well, Cousin Lydia?'

‘La! A book! How droll!' Lydia said, then resumed ignoring her cousin. ‘I dare say Lizzy only wants to find out whether there are new officers in town,' she mumbled.

Elizabeth and Mary, meanwhile, had reached Meryton. Mary headed straight for the bookshop, ignoring even the Vicar on his way to visit the poor, but found the entrance to the bookshop blocked.

‘Mr. Denny,' Elizabeth remarked, greeting the obstacle in Mary's way, who was one of Lydia's favourite officers - at least, he had been last week. ‘You are up quite early.'

‘I have been showing my friend around, who has just joined the regiment,' Mr. Denny explained, indicating the gentleman accompanying him. He was tall and erect, with a pleasing countenance and a winning smile; and he bowed slightly at Elizabeth and Mary.

‘Miss Bennet, Miss Mary,' Mr. Denny said, ‘allow me to present to you Mr. Richard Wagner.'

* what he means is, of course, 'Good evening, ma'am'

** this translates to: 'Miss Elizabeth, eh? The girl that -'

*** It's the Critique of Judgement by Immanuel Kant, of course.

Continued In Next Section