Beginning, Next Section
Part 1
"Aunt Gardiner, hear what Jane writes," Elizabeth Bennet said to her aunt one day. She was spending some time with her aunt and uncle and her young cousins in London, but her parents and four sisters lived in Hertfordshire. "Apparently there will be an addition to the neighbourhood, and Mama is in raptures about it, because it concerns a young, unmarried gentleman with four or five thousand a year."
"Oh dear," said Mrs. Gardiner. "Your mother must be thrilled." Mrs. Gardiner was well acquainted with her sister-in-law's personality. The advent of a young, unmarried gentleman of considerable means would be exactly what Mrs. Bennet had been hoping for.
"Yes, I am afraid it will be so! Jane writes that Mama thinks of his marrying one of us, and that she is greatly vexed because our father will not visit this Mr. Bingley to put in a good word for his daughters! Mr. Bingley," she repeated. "I like his name. He sounds like a big friendly dog."
"Tsk tsk," her aunt replied. "Are you not glad to be in London, Lizzy?" She could imagine how Mrs. Bennet would be behaving.
"Actually, I would not have minded to be at Longbourn to witness all of this," Elizabeth mused. "It would be extremely diverting, but I shall have to depend on Jane to keep me informed. I wish this Mr. Bingley had waited a few more weeks before he moved into Netherfield!"
It was always exciting when new people moved into the neighbourhood, and even more so when they were young men. She eagerly awaited more news from her sister, whom she had pressed to write her very often with details. Her mother had written her too, but there was nothing in her letters that she had not already read in Jane's, and her sister's letters were altogether more sensible and more agreeable to read. Although Mrs. Bennet had stopped inquiring after possible suitors for Elizabeth in London, she only fantasised about Mr. Bingley as her future son-in-law, and she complained about Mr. Bennet's refusal to acknowledge this great opportunity. This did not entice Elizabeth to open her letters any sooner than after she had read the rest of her post.
Some time later Elizabeth received a letter from Mr. Bennet himself. She laughed out loud upon reading it while she was having breakfast.
"What is so amusing, Lizzy?" her aunt asked. "Does your father write about this new neighbour too?" All the letters coming from Longbourn, even those addressed to her and Mr. Gardiner, seemed to be dealing with only one topic.
"Yes, he does. He says he wished the man had never come into the neighbourhood, because the whole thing is already driving him insane. My father has visited this Mr. Bingley without telling Mama about it beforehand, and he does not know if he has done right to tell her afterwards, because our new neighbour seems a very pleasant-looking, amiable young man who is still single."
"And worth catching, you mean," Mr. Gardiner said dryly. "Poor man."
"Yes, I fear that will only encourage my mother's attempts to get him interested in Jane, for I think that is her objective. Jane has written me too. There is to be a ball, and they have heard from neighbours that Mr. Bingley is to bring twelve ladies and seven gentlemen with him," Elizabeth said with amusement. "Though twelve ladies are not likely to discourage my mother, if none of them are attached to Mr. Bingley, and even if they were... I wish I could go to this ball to see him for myself, but on the other hand I do not even want to think about witnessing all the women in the neighbourhood thrusting their marriageable daughters at the poor and unsuspecting Mr. Bingley," Elizabeth laughed. "I shall be content to stay here and read all about that ball in their letters."
"I should hate to deprive you of the excitement of meeting new neighbours," Mr. Gardiner said humorously. "I believe you have not met many of ours yet?"
"No, indeed I have not."
"Very well! We shall organise a little gathering ourselves so you will have no cause to envy your sisters. I promise not to behave like my sister!" he said, and they laughed.
"May we stay up for the party?" Elizabeth's young cousins cried, and they were overjoyed when their father said maybe, if they behaved.
Part 2
Jane was full of praise of Mr. Bingley. According to Jane he was just what a young man ought to be, and she went on for half a page describing his person and his manners. Elizabeth smiled to herself upon reading that Jane was very glad that he had only brought his two sisters, his brother-in-law and a friend. She thought Jane liked Mr. Bingley very much indeed, and he had asked her to dance twice, so he must have liked her too, which did not surprise Elizabeth at all, because her sister was very beautiful. She wondered what Mr. Bingley was really like, for Jane liked everyone, no matter how stupid and disagreeable they were. Jane seemed to like everybody in Mr. Bingley's party as well.
Elizabeth wondered which letter she should read next. "For a completely different point of view, I shall read Mama's next." She had no doubts as to its contents and skipped the parts about Jane and Mr. Bingley, because Jane's account was undoubtedly more accurate. Elizabeth was more interested in her mother's reactions to Mr. Bingley's friend, because from what she had gathered from Jane's letter, this friend was also single. She was a bit surprised to read that her mother had taken a severe dislike to Mr. Bingley's friend Mr. Darcy. "But Mama!" she exclaimed. "He is so rich! Surely his fortune must make him all that is desirable?"
Jane had not written anything negative about him, but perhaps she had not overheard this remark Mrs. Bennet had overheard. Apparently he had not been too impressed by the beauty of the local girls, and Mrs. Bennet had taken this as an insult, although she was usually the first to say that Jane was the only beautiful girl in the neighbourhood. Elizabeth thought Mr. Darcy must be extremely unmannered and spoilt. Had he not seen Jane? Or her other sisters? Perhaps this was a sisterly bias, but she did not think any of the Bennet girls were very ugly. It is all very well to entertain such thoughts, but it is certainly very impolite to voice them where they can be overheard. Mr. Darcy must not care about what people think of him at all, then.
Lydia and Kitty had written her too, mainly to boast about the number of dances they had danced and what their dance partners had said. It did not interest Elizabeth very much. She hoped they had not made too much of a spectacle of themselves, but Jane and her mother had not written anything about it. It looked like the Meryton assembly had been very enjoyable, and that their new neighbours were very charming, on the whole, and that friend of Mr. Bingley's need not concern her mother so, because he would not be living at Netherfield, and he would probably be gone when Elizabeth returned to Longbourn.
Darcy did not have such a favourable impression of the inhabitants of Meryton, and the assembly he had attended. There was very little beauty or fashion in the people he had seen at the assembly, nor did anyone possess any other qualities he found interesting. He had therefore determined -- as early as five minutes after his entrance, but in reality long before he arrived there, in fact -- that nobody in Meryton could give him any pleasure whatsoever. The result had been that nobody had wanted to give him any pleasure at all, so discouraging had been the expression on his face. It was sad really. There he was, rich, and handsome, and yet nobody talked to him. He told himself that he did not want anyone to talk to him, but it did not occur to him that only the most obtuse would not understand the look on his face. In short, the fools he suffered were all his own fault.
There had been a man who had told him about the pretty Bennet girls -- and what for? Darcy had asked himself, because he was not of the kind to amuse himself with silly flirtations with girls he did not plan to marry -- but try as he might, he saw only one beauty and Bingley monopolised Miss Bennet from the moment he had laid eyes on her. Bingley! Who usually asked his opinion on females before he approached them.
Miss Bennet's four sisters were reputed to be very pretty too, but the three that were there could not capture his fancy in any way. The third one was not pretty at all, and the two youngest were too young and silly, besides not really being pretty either. Therefore, he concluded, the second one, wherever she was, was probably nothing special either. The eldest Miss Bennet had been a trick of nature.
He had had to dance, it could not be avoided, and he chose to dance only with Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley. It was not that they were great favourites with him, but he knew them and that was all that mattered. He did not want to be introduced to another lady, and then having to go through the whole process of making polite conversation with her. Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley would not mind if he said nothing. They would probably find it interesting if he did not. To be truthful, he found them enormously more interesting too if they said nothing either.
Miss Bingley was all too much interested in getting herself a rich husband, and she was pursuing this goal with incredible energy. In fact, Miss Bingley's endless energy never ceased to amaze him, and he could not help studying this phenomenon with considerable -- yet impersonal -- scientific interest. Mrs. Hurst already had a husband, but that did not make her any safer than Miss Bingley, for she was her sister's greatest assistant and often dropped hints that were even less subtle than Miss Bingley's. Darcy wished Mrs. Hurst -- or Louisa, as he was allowed to address her -- would drop those hints to her own husband, because he seemed in great need of them.
Darcy was beginning to wonder why on earth he had come with Bingley, and how quickly he could excuse himself to go back to Pemberley. Perhaps he could write to his steward, and then his steward could summon him back because of problems, but he dismissed the idea. He would have to be unfair to Bingley. He would rather suffer for a few weeks.
Part 3
"Do you think Miss Bennet will still be there?" Bingley asked suddenly as he, Darcy and Hurst were being transported back to Netherfield after dining with the officers in Meryton. He knew Miss Bennet had been invited to dine with his sisters, because he had seen her briefly before he left, but that had been too short to his liking. "It is raining after all."
"Heavens, Bingley. I know her family is not very sophisticated, but at least give them the credit of owning a carriage!" Darcy replied, and Hurst grunted his assent. Bingley was being maudlin over a girl as usual. It exasperated them as always and they felt quite united in their level-headedness because they were above such silly notions, even if Mr. Hurst could not exactly be described as level-headed in his condition.
Bingley was silent while he cursed the Bennet's deuced sophistication. If she had been a farm girl, he would have been sure that she was still there. "But still," he said with irrepressable cheerfulness. "You never know."
"Indeed, Bingley," Darcy smiled indulgently. Miss Bennet was safely in her own bed at home, he thought, but he was very surprised when she still appeared to be there when they got to Netherfield.
"Dearest Jane cannot return home, because she has come on horseback," Caroline Bingley informed them with an ever so slight emphasis on the last word. "And she was quite wet when she arrived."
Bingley looked at Miss Bennet in concern, but she was dry now.
"Your sister kindly lent me some of her clothes," Jane explained.
"And we would not hear of her going home," Louisa demonstrated their generosity.
"Indeed, no!" Bingley cried anxiously. "It is still raining and I insist that you stay here, Miss Bennet."
Elizabeth returned to Longbourn shortly after Jane was well again, and naturally Jane told her all about it. "You heard about my falling ill at Netherfield," said Jane.
"Of course. It was the first thing Mama could speak about when I got down from the carriage. I wonder that nobody went over to stay with you!"
"The carriage was not available."
"They could have walked," said Elizabeth. "I should have walked if I had been there."
"My friends at Netherfield took excellent care of me, though. They were very good."
"I am glad to hear that at least someone cared! Did Mr. Bingley sit by your bedside?" Elizabeth teased.
Jane blushed. "No! Lizzy! How dare you suggest such a thing? His sisters sat with me, but he frequently inquired after my health, and when I was well enough to go down, I sat by him."
"It sounds as if Mama's scheme was successful, then," Elizabeth said sarcastically.
"Successful?" Jane frowned. "I do not understand what you mean."
"No, you would not suspect anything." She lowered her voice. "Who is this er...cousin I was introduced to just after I arrived?" Elizabeth had not really got a very favourable opinion of him.
"He is Mr. Collins and he will inherit Longbourn when our father dies." Jane did not know that Mr. Collins's intention had been to marry her, but that a few words from Mrs. Bennet had ensured that he had now fixed on Elizabeth, and that he had been most pleased when he first laid eyes on her.
Lydia came to ask them if they would accompany her to Meryton, and they agreed, and Mr. Collins also joined them. He talked all the way, desirous of making a good impression on his cousins, but he did not quite succeed. Lydia and Kitty said nothing, and Jane and Elizabeth politely answered whenever he asked a question. Elizabeth found him very pompous and silly and she was heartily sorry that Longbourn would eventually pass into the hands of someone like him. As soon as they reached Meryton, the younger girls gave up the pretence of listening to Mr. Collins, and only looked out for officers.
"Who is that?" Lydia said in excitement. "That man walking with Denny across the street."
"Do not point, Lydia," Elizabeth cringed.
"Kitty, shall we go across? I see something in that shop there."
Before her sisters could protest, Lydia and Kitty were crossing the street and they could not do anything but follow. Mr. Collins also followed, looking a little piqued that the interest in him suddenly subsided.
Mr. Denny greeted them most cordially and introduced his friend, Mr. Wickham. All were pleased to see Mr. Wickham -- with the possible exception of Mr. Collins -- because his appearance was most gentlemanlike and handsome, and his address was very pleasant. He was not reluctant to talk and they stood there for a while until two horses appeared.
Mr. Bingley saw Jane and immediately guided his horse over, leaving Mr. Darcy no choice but to follow him. Jane was so pleased that she forgot to introduce Elizabeth, who studied the gentleman with interest. Mr. Bingley was indeed quite handsome and he appeared to be very cheerful. She liked him.
She had no idea who the other gentleman was, Mr. Bingley also being too caught up in his conversation with Jane to think of introducing him. The other gentleman looked on with an bored face, and Elizabeth did not think she would like him. He stared at her just a little too long, she thought, as if something was wrong with her, and then he glanced at the rest of their party when she stared back. A most interesting thing happened when he beheld Mr. Wickham, and Elizabeth could not help but notice that both of them stiffened and changed colour when their eyes met. Mr. Wickham obviously did not like the man, and since she had got a favourable impression of Mr. Wickham in the very short time that she had been acquainted with him, she was inclined to take his side. Mr. Bingley noticed nothing of it all, and he talked on until he took his leave a minute or so later.
Mr. Denny and Mr. Wickham walked with Lydia and Kitty to Mr. Philips's house, and Elizabeth and Jane followed them. "That was Mr. Bingley," Jane whispered to her.
"I had guessed as much," Elizabeth smiled. "I think I like him. Who was that other gentleman?"
"That was Mr. Darcy."
"Mr. Darcy," Elizabeth repeated. The one who had not thought there were any beauties in Meryton. Yes, of course. His expression confirmed that. He looks very disagreeable. No wonder Mr. Wickham does not seem to like him.
She met Mr. Wickham again at her aunt's, and after some conversation he asked how long Mr. Darcy had been staying at Netherfield.
"I believe he has been staying there a month. I do not know anything about him except that he is very rich."
"Yes, he has a large estate in Derbyshire. I know him very well, for I have been connected with his family since my infancy."
"Have you?" Elizabeth asked in surprise.
"I can imagine your surprise after witnessing our cold manner of greeting each other yesterday. Are you much acquainted with Mr. Darcy?"
"I have only just returned from London, so I have not even met him yet. Is he agreeable?"
"Do I sense some doubt?" Mr. Wickham asked with a smile. "I have no right to influence your opinion of Mr. Darcy, of course. I have known him far too long to be able to be impartial."
"He looked rather disagreeable," Elizabeth confided.
Mr. Wickham smiled again. He was extremely pleased with her answer. "Does he! I do not often hear people say that so bluntly."
"I have not yet heard anybody speak favourably of him." Which was true. Everybody loved Mr. Bingley, but scarcely two words had been spoken about his friend, and then only to say that he was very proud.
"I wonder if he will stay long."
"I do not know," said Elizabeth. "But you must not let his presence influence your stay."
"Oh, no! I shall not be driven away," Wickham assured her. "If he wishes to avoid seeing me, he must go." He began to relate the story of his acquaintance with Mr. Darcy, and Elizabeth was inclined to believe it all.
Darcy had been wondering if the unknown young lady with the Bennet girls was the absent sister, having nothing else to do while Bingley spoke to Jane, but then he was seriously disturbed by seeing Wickham and he forgot all about the unknown young lady. The question of what Wickham was doing here and how he should treat him was far more important at the moment. He was even more silent than usual that evening, and the ladies were considerably displeased with him.
"You are very dull, Mr. Darcy," said Mrs. Hurst.
"I agree!" Miss Bingley immediately chimed in. "You have said very little so far."
But I still spoke more than Mr. Hurst! Darcy wanted to point out, but civility forbade him to do so.
"Perhaps it was your visit to Longbourn that gave you such dejected spirits?" Miss Bingley inquired. "We quite understand, do we not, Louisa?"
"Yes," giggled Louisa. "We have been there too."
"We saw Miss Bennet in Meryton and spoke with her there," Bingley explained. "We did not go to Longbourn."
"What a lucky escape!" Mrs. Hurst squealed.
"But Louisa! Think of Meryton and seeing all of last century's fashions in the shops! I should hardly call that better than a visit to Longbourn," said Miss Bingley. "At any rate, we quite forgive you for being in low spirits."
"I did not go into any shops," said Darcy. "I saw Wickham."
"Ohhh!" Miss Bingley gasped. She did not really know why Darcy disliked Wickham, but it sufficed to know that he did. "That odious man. I am not acquainted with him at all, and I am glad for it. Charles, I hope you are not going to invite him to your ball."
"I already have," said Bingley. "I invited all the officers. Darcy said he did not mind."
"Of course not! He is too polite," Miss Bingley cried. "You cannot go to a ball he attends, Mr. Darcy!"
"I appreciate your concern, Miss Bingley. Would you advise me to stay away?" Darcy asked. He knew it was impossible to retract an invitation, and though he was no coward who would shrink from meeting Wickham, it would be amusing to threaten Miss Bingley with his absence.
Stay away? Darcy not attending? That was impossible! Who would she dance with? There were hardly any tolerable men in the neighbourhood, and to dance with an officer who also enjoyed dancing with the younger Miss Bennets would be intolerable. "No!" she cried, evidently distressed. "I do not think that would be wise," she said in a calmer tone. "Perhaps you had better try to avoid him, even if I do understand it if you should prefer to stay away from balls in general and this ball in particular. There are hardly any people to dance with, are there?"
Darcy was not going to give her the satisfaction of hearing that she was the only one worth dancing with. "I daresay you would enjoy yourself without me, Miss Bingley. I know of many officers who would be honoured to stand up with you."
Miss Bingley glared.
"Miss Bennet's sister has returned from London and she will attend the ball," said Bingley. "I met her when I delivered the invitation."
"Ohhh!" Mrs. Hurst cried. "Is she like Jane?"
"Is anyone like Jane?" Bingley grinned.
"She must be like the other ones then," said Mrs. Hurst to her sister. "It would have been too much to expect two Janes in a neighbourhood like this." While they speculated on the other Miss Bennet's looks, Bingley dreamt of dancing with Jane, Darcy wondered how he should avoid Wickham at the ball, and Mr. Hurst slept.
Part 4
The day of the ball arrived, and Elizabeth, to her great disappointment, did not see Wickham in attendance. He had apparently had some business in town. As she was recovering from this news, many people approached her to greet her and ask how her time in London had been. She had no time to notice that certain people present were studying her with interest.
Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley were looking at her jealously. Who was this girl that attracted so much attention from the locals? She had come with Jane, so she must be Jane's sister, but she was not nearly as good-looking as Jane, and really not worth all the fuss.
Mr. Darcy first would have agreed with them, but as he looked longer for lack of anything else to do -- for he did not dance -- he noticed that she was quite pretty and that her person had a certain captivating quality. Especially her eyes, he noticed in his usual detached manner. Somebody next to him began to speak to him and he looked aside with a start. It was Sir William Lucas, a man he could say 'I agree' to at every lull in the conversation and who would never notice that his partner had not been listening. The girl was moving their way, but she was not looking, and suddenly he heard Sir William call out to her.
"Miss Eliza! Have you already met Mr. Darcy? Allow me to introduce him to you. Mr. Darcy -- Miss Elizabeth Bennet."
Darcy bowed, and Elizabeth curtseyed in return. She looked at him quite coolly. He wondered if she had an unfriendly nature.
"Ahh!" Sir William continued with a jovial smile. He saw the perfect opportunity to do a very gallant thing. "Neither of you are dancing, it seems! How very fortunate. Mr. Darcy, this is the opportunity you have been waiting for. Miss Eliza is a very desirable partner."
Elizabeth begged off very politely, and Darcy was not in the least upset with her. He assumed that she had declined because she did not want to cause him any discomfort by having herself forced upon him. Staring after her with interest, he made up his mind to ask her before the evening was over, to show her that he really was not offended by her refusal.
Half an hour later he approached her while she was talking to Miss Lucas. "Umm...yes, thank you," she said in response to his query. He bowed and quickly walked away before she could change her mind.
"What did I do?" Elizabeth asked herself out loud. "I do not like him."
"You do not even know him," Charlotte pointed out.
"Yes, but that does not matter. I cannot like him. Why am I going to dance with this man?"
"You might find him very agreeable."
"Or I might not, and I daresay the chances of that are much greater, with everything I have heard from Mr. Wickham!"
"Eliza! It is not very wise to prefer Wickham over a man ten times his consequence."
Elizabeth said nothing, because Mr. Darcy came towards her to claim her hand. Very well, she would dance with this man, but she was certainly not going to engage in a friendly conversation with him. She would stay silent. But he seemed not very bent on speaking either, and all her neighbours were looking at them curiously. "Are you always so talkative when you dance, Mr. Darcy?" she asked in a challenging tone.
"I do not dance very often," he replied.
"That was not my question."
"I know it was not."
"Then why did you not answer it?"
"Because you are not interested in an answer, I believe," said Mr. Darcy gravely.
"Indeed I was not."
"Well, then I shall give you an answer,"
"Oh, do not exert yourself for my sake, Mr. Darcy. It is quite unnecessary," Elizabeth assured him. "I am sure I am not very interested."
"I generally do not speak, because my partners always talk so much nonsense that they never require much input from my side."
"Indeed!" Elizabeth exclaimed. She found him rather arrogant. "Your input must not be very valuable then if it is never required."
"That is a matter of opinion."
"The matter is quite settled with me," she replied archly.
"It is?" Darcy inquired.
"It is," said Elizabeth, and stayed silent for the rest of the dance.
After the dance Jane introduced her to her new friends Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley. They were very polite, but they were a little proud.
"Did you enjoy your dance with Mr. Darcy?" Miss Bingley asked her. "I find him an amazing dancer. I have danced with him very often and I have yet to meet his equal."
"I did not find him all that amazing," Elizabeth said frankly.
"You did not?" Mrs. Hurst squealed. She and her sister exchanged surprised and meaningful looks. This country girl was obviously not used to the superior dancing that was to be had in good society.
Miss Bingley smiled. She was always very friendly to ladies who were not competing with her. "He is really at his best when he knows his partner very well."
"I have no intention of experiencing him at his best, because I have no intention of dancing with him ever again," said Elizabeth.
Miss Bingley's smile broadened. "Do you need any advice, Miss Bennet? There are certain gentlemen in London that I do not wish to dance with ever again and I have become quite good at avoiding them."
Mrs. Hurst snickered. "Oh, Caroline! You are so good at it! Is that why you danced with --"
Miss Bingley glared. "Louisa!"
"I should very much like to hear your advice, Miss Bingley," said Elizabeth. Perhaps it should prove to be amusing. Mrs. Hurst did not seem too impressed by her sister's skills.
"You must call me Caroline," said Miss Bingley. "Indeed, acquaintances must call me Caroline. I quite detest being called Miss Bingley." This was all said for the benefit of Mr. Darcy, who passed them on his way to the refreshment table. The vexing man refused to call her anything other than Miss Bingley.
Part 5
"Elizabeth," said Caroline, lowering her voice to a whisper. "You must be quite impertinent to a man you do not wish to dance with ever again. Quite impertinent. You must contradict him at every possible occasion. They do not like that."
"They do not?"
"Oh, no," Caroline shook her head earnestly. "I do not know why, but it is so. And look at them very coldly, and ignore them."
"What if they address me in spite of that?" Elizabeth asked. She had Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy in mind specifically.
"Then they are absolute fools and I fear nothing but the most dreadful incivility will scare them away."
"So that means Mr. Darcy is an absolute fool," Elizabeth stated, in a voice that was just a little too loud not to be overheard by Darcy coming back from the refreshment table.
Caroline gasped and turned bright red when she noticed that Darcy might have overheard. He did not betray anything, but walked on with a stony expression on his face.
Elizabeth looked amused at her distress, but she would have preferred to see Darcy look distressed. "Caroline, is being impertinent not what you advised? Why do you look so distressed?"
"Yes, but you implied that I find him an absolute fool!"
"I am sorry," Elizabeth giggled. "Surely he must know that you have a much higher opinion of him than that?"
Caroline still looked distressed. "Does he? Do you think so?"
"I believe he does," Elizabeth said with a twinkle in her eyes. The man would have be aware of Caroline's idea of him. He had known Caroline much longer than Elizabeth had, and it was very obvious to her. "And if he does not, he truly is an absolute fool. So do not worry! What I said makes no difference to his opinion of you!"
"So that means Mr. Darcy is an absolute fool." Darcy heard the words clearly, but walked on with his usual self control and did not even stare in the ladies' direction. Miss Bennet thought he was an absolute fool. He wondered why. It must have something to do with their conversation during the dance. Miss Bennet was very impertinent, surely, but she was also very interesting. Very interesting, but what right did she have to call him an absolute fool? He was not a fool! He was Fitzwilliam Darcy, of Pemberley. And who was she? Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn. Of where? Longbourn! Some place nobody had ever heard of, unless they were living here, but who was living here? No one! No one of consequence. He swallowed his indignation and approached Bingley, who was in deep conversation with the other Miss Bennet. Before he arrived there he was intercepted by a pompous looking young man.
"Mr. Darcy," the man bowed submissively. "May I introduce my humble self? My name is William Collins and I am a parson in the village of Hunsford, which as you might know is near Rosings Park, under the patronage of your very esteemed aunt Lady Catherine De Bourgh."
Darcy passed during various stages of revulsion during this short speech and he assumed that there was yet more to come, for Mr. Collins seemed to be eager to make his acquaintance. He bowed as formally as he could.
"I am here to heal the breach with my relatives -- an unfortunate history indeed -- and perhaps -- as your esteemed aunt suggested -- to find a bride among my lovely cousins, for I am to inherit their father's estate."
"Indeed," Darcy muttered, his eyes flickering across the room in search of something or someone to come to his rescue.
"Indeed!" Mr. Collins repeated, overjoyed that the great Mr. Darcy was condescending to speak to him. "I believe I have found the perfect candidate among the Miss Bennets."
Darcy returned his eyes to Collins's face with a start. "The Misses Bennet?" he asked. This misfit of a man is related to the Bennets?
"Indeed! I am to inherit Longbourn, and," he lowered his voice. "I believe I may soon be united in matrimony to the lovely Miss Elizabeth."
Miss Elizabeth? Darcy did not know why he felt so strongly about this revelation. He could not explain it, because he did not pity the girl. No, far from it. Someone who called him a fool and then turned out to be engaged to the epitome of foolishness did not deserve his pity.
Part 6
Darcy saw the foolish family in all their glory after the ball, because they -- of all people -- had to be the last to leave and he and the other inhabitants were forced to stay with them while they waited. He wished he was like Mr. Hurst, who disregarded such conventions as usual and had last been seen snoring on a sofa.
Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Collins rattled on, but not to each other, and nobody listened except Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who seemed very embarrassed. Darcy would be too. He looked for signs of affection between her and Mr. Collins, and though he intercepted several amorous glances from the gentleman to the lady, he could not see the lady's face when she returned these looks, so he had to keep guessing.
"What a toad," said Miss Bingley who mysteriously woke up from her languor as soon as the Bennets had left. "If he had been giving me such looks, I should have been very rude to him."
Does this mean I may be rude to you? Darcy wondered. She always gave him looks too.
Mr. Collins wasted no time in proposing to Elizabeth the next day, but she turned him down. He was temporarily disheartened, but not for long. First he searched the house for any of the other Bennet girls, but they had miraculously disappeared and they were nowhere to be found. All the feelings Mr. Collins had allowed to surface had to be bestowed on somebody, and it did not really matter who it was as long as she was a single young female of a respectable family.
Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst came to visit Jane and Elizabeth not long after the memorable event had taken place, and Mr. Collins made himself very agreeable -- in his eyes -- by telling them all about his connection with Mr. Darcy.
Caroline smiled with polite disdain, but said nothing. She hoped somebody would come to take this toad away from them. If having Collins around was not enough, Lydia joined them too. With complete disregard for propriety -- the man was present, after all -- she informed their visitors that Elizabeth had turned Mr. Collins down and that it was really a jolly good joke.
Mr. Collins smiled and revealed several gaps in his mouth. The ladies opposite him gagged. "True, it was most unfortunate that Miss Elizabeth did not feel inclined. I daresay the whole grandeur of having Rosings Park nearby daunted her and her mind will sway in time when she considers this most generous offer. Would it impress you, Miss Bingley? You seem a very sophisticated and accomplished young lady."
Caroline looked alarmed. Was this odious man setting his sights on her now? How dared he! As if she would ever marry a parson! And one so bad looking too! No, she would never do that. "I am engaged!" she blurted out.
"Oh, I beg your pardon," Mr. Collins backed off.
Charlotte Lucas stopped by and when she heard of what had happened, she offered to invite Mr. Collins to dinner. This suggestion was met by loud cheers from Lydia, who sat opposite Mr. Collins at the table and who had quite enough of his table manners and his boring conversation. The rest of the day was spent conjecturing how Miss Bingley and Mr. Collins would have looked as a married couple, and whom she was engaged to. All figured it was Mr. Darcy.
Collins returned an engaged man from his dinner at the Lucases and Elizabeth was shocked, disappointed, shocked, amazed and again shocked at her friend. That someone could ever accept Mr. Collins's proposal was hard to understand, but that this someone should be her friend was completely incomprehensible.
Collins himself was very pleased, and he was sure that Lady Catherine De Bourgh would be extremely pleased with his choice as well. He wasted no time in going to Netherfield to acquaint Lady Catherine's nephew with all the particulars. "Your aunt, Lady Catherine De Bourgh --"
Yes, I know her name, thought Darcy impatiently.
"-- has always encouraged me to find a suitable wife and I believe I have found one."
Darcy said nothing and waited for the inevitable mention of Elizabeth Bennet's name.
"It is my pleasure to announce to you that I am engaged to --"
"Oh, no!" Miss Bingley cried in distress. Poor Elizabeth!
Darcy cocked an eyebrow. He never knew Miss Bingley had any feelings for Mr. Collins.
Mr. Collins misinterpreted her likewise. "My dearest Miss Bingley, I would, of course, have preferred you if you had not already been engaged to Lady Catherine's favourite nephew." He was of the persuasion that it could never do any harm to flatter people excessively, and he did not doubt that Darcy was indeed Her Ladyship's favourite nephew, and that Miss Bingley was engaged to him.
That is Colonel Fitzwilliam, thought Darcy, because sometimes even he tended to be somewhat insecure of his worth, and it was mere politeness to say that his cousin was his aunt's favourite. But this meant Miss Bingley was no longer after him -- something that should be toasted to. Darcy smiled in relief and Mrs. Hurst in amusement, and then they both looked alarmed when they realised that they had been kept in the dark.
"No!" Caroline screamed. "I am not engaged!"
"Ahh..." Mr. Collins nodded sagely. "It is a secret! I shall keep it!"
Part 7
Mr. Collins turned back to Darcy. "It will please Lady Catherine, for the young lady is very elegant, and Lady Catherine appreciates elegance more than most people, with her exquisite taste. She has the taste of a true lady of aristocratic birth."
Darcy nodded. He wished Mr. Collins would remove himself this instant. Shuffling in the direction of the door, he managed to get Mr. Collins started in that direction as well.
"What a coincidence that Miss Bingley shall be marrying into Lady Catherine's family. It is a small world," Mr. Collins said enthusiastically. "One meets the same people everywhere."
"Yes, it is very hard to escape from some people," said Darcy dryly.
Mr. Collins did not know what to make of that reply and he bowed and took his leave of Darcy very elaborately, with neither of them being corrected in their mistaken assumptions. Darcy still believed Collins was engaged to Elizabeth and Miss Bingley was engaged to his cousin, and Collins still believed Miss Bingley was engaged to Darcy.
Darcy returned to the others with a sigh. He flung his long limbs into a chair and let out a heartfelt groan.
"I am sorry about my engagement, Mr. Darcy," said Caroline remorsefully. She thought that Darcy thought that she had said she was engaged to him. "I should have asked your permission first."
"There was no need for that, really," Darcy said with an alarmed look. He did not want to become a confidant for everybody who was about to get engaged. Once he had been confided in one time, the news of his sound advice would spread and there would be no end to the queues of couples and he might as well get himself a tent and call himself a fortune teller.
"So you are not angry with me?"
"No, I hope you will be very happy. Bingley, did you not say you were going to town tomorrow?"
"Yes, at eight."
"I think I want to follow you," said Darcy. There was nothing here to interest him, if even Miss Elizabeth Bennet had joined the ranks of the foolish people.
"So do I!" said Caroline not surprisingly, for she generally agreed with everything Darcy said, but this time she genuinely wanted to leave Hertfordshire. She could not bear to be pursued by a Mr. Collins again, or by some other country fellow who thought he was quite something but who would be laughed at squarely if he ever showed his coarse face in the distinguished circles of town. "But not at eight if you please, Mr. Darcy. I always need a little time to fix my hair, you see. Can we not follow him later?"
"At nine?" Darcy suggested.
Caroline looked horrified. Nine or eight was the same. "How about noon? We must pack!"
"As long as we go."
"I quite agree. The society is rather dull. Besides," Caroline moved closer to Darcy and lowered her voice. "Do you not think it is wisest to remove Charles from the company of Miss Bennet? Suppose he wishes to marry her!"
Darcy looked at her reflectively. "That is a very good point, Miss Bingley."
Caroline glowed. "Do you agree with me that it would not at all do?"
"I agree with you. We cannot stay here any longer."
Part 8
Darcy had only spent a little time in London before he returned to Derbyshire, where at least he was safe from Miss Bingley's constant attentions, despite her apparent engagement to his cousin, though he seldom received a letter from Bingley or Georgiana that did not contain a postscript full of Caroline's sincerest wishes.
He had always been perfectly content to dine alone once in a while, but since his father's death a year ago there had been too many of those solitary dinners. He was not of a disposition to enjoy dining out every night and he limited his engagements to three a week.
The alternative was to have friends or relatives to stay with him and his aunt Lady Matlock was always sending him uncles, aunts and cousins. He had just said goodbye to his cousin Emilia, who was his father's niece. She and her husband and their six children had livened up Pemberley for four weeks.
His Uncle Matlock was his next visitor. He generally came for one-day visits only and he had brought his wife and youngest daughter Evelina with him. "How are you, Darcy?" asked the Earl. "Are you still amusing yourself here on your own?"
"I manage."
"Have you not seen any pretty girls lately?" his aunt asked. She had read in her son's letter that Darcy apparently liked a girl somewhere, but that he had not written much about it.
"Where? Here?" Darcy laughed.
"You went to London and to Hertfordshire, I heard," said Lady Matlock. "With nothing to do but to look out for pretty girls. How can you not have seen any? My boys see them everywhere, even Richard with his military duties."
"How did things go with his German Baroness and Miss Bingley?" Darcy asked who was curious how Colonel Fitzwilliam had replaced one with the other, or if he perhaps kept a fiancée and a mistress.
"Which German Baroness? And who is Miss Bingley?" his uncle asked, and Evelina began to cough.
"Is something wrong, Evelina?" Lady Matlock asked.
"Which German Baroness?" Lord Matlock repeated. "Richard has been courting a German Baroness?"
Darcy caught Evelina's gestures. Apparently his uncle and aunt knew nothing about the widowed Sieglinde or Brunhilde or whatever her name was. And nothing about Miss Bingley. All he knew himself was that his cousin had been on friendly terms with the German lady, but that he did not expect to marry her. "A friend of his that I was curious about."
"She was thirty-nine!" Evelina said with a disgusted grimace. "Anyway, she went back to Germany so you need not fret, Papa."
"How come you know all about it?"
"He is my brother! He wrote she was teaching him German and he taught me some, but I do not really know what it means, Liebling, ich liebe dich."
"Darcy, you hear him out about that German Baroness," Lady Matlock, who did know what it meant, said decidedly. "When you go to Rosings with him. Tell him to behave himself now that he is a Colonel. That rank is no license to associate himself with continental women who are only out to have some fun and taint his reputation."
"Yes, Aunt," Darcy said meekly. He was to go in a week from now, and he was glad to have a change of scenery, even if would mean to be in the company of Lady Catherine De Bourgh every day. And being there with his cousin would be fun, even if Colonel Fitzwilliam was a most scandalous rogue according to his sister.
Part 9
Darcy went to London where he would first stay with his sister for a few days. Georgiana was very pleased to see him, though she was a little afraid that he would urge her to come to Rosings as well. He wanted to ask her about Miss Bingley's engagement, but he did not want his little sister to think he was interested in ordinary gossip, so he did not.
Colonel Fitzwilliam came to collect Darcy the morning they were to depart for Rosings. He greeted his cousins affectionately, and especially Georgiana. After eating breakfast with them, he and Darcy undertook the journey to Kent. Georgiana -- who had been there the month before and who was in no particular hurry to go again -- waved them off.
"Well," said Darcy as soon as he considered the time to be right to ask such a question without seeming too impertinently curious about the Colonel's affairs. "How are matters with the ladies? That Baroness?"
Colonel Fitzwilliam chuckled mysteriously. "Some matters I do not disclose, Darcy. Not even to you. Not until you tell me about that beautiful young lady that captured your fancy."
Darcy started and blushed. "There is no lady." There could not be any lady, since the only interesting one he had met in the past few years would now be married to that odious Mr. Collins.
His cousin looked puzzled. "Then how do you explain that enraged missive from our dearest Aunt Catherine, questioning me about some gossip concerning your engagement?"
"My engagement?" Darcy frowned. "I am not engaged."
"That is what I replied, for if you had indeed been engaged to Miss Bingley, she would have rubbed my nose in it when I encountered her at an assembly a few days ago, and yet I thought I saw you change colour when I mentioned a beautiful young lady. Is there another one?"
"No."
"No?"
"No. What did Lady Catherine write? Where had she heard such nonsense? I would never propose to Miss Bingley!" Darcy said indignantly.
"Why not? I would, if I had a suit of armour. Lady Catherine had heard it from her parson who had seen you while you were in Hertfordshire with the Bingleys. Apparently Miss Bingley told him. I had to send our aunt a soothing reply by express before she could drive off to Derbyshire in a fury."
"I do not know what Miss Bingley has been telling people, but she is apparently not always truthful. She has been spreading different stories, then. She claimed to all of us that she was not engaged --very convincingly -- whereas Mr. Collins had said she was engaged to Lady Catherine's nephew, so I concluded that it must be you, since it was not me," said Darcy.
"Me?" the Colonel grinned and his quick mind thought of ways to use this information in a way that would give him maximum amusement. He decided to let his cousin believe it for a while. "You have found us out." He had no idea why Miss Bingley had lied to Mr. Collins, but people ought to be punished for their lies, and if Miss Bingley thought she could involve him in such schemes as a passive victim, she was sorely mistaken.
"My best wishes," Darcy said politely, but not very sincerely.
"Thank you, and good luck to you too with your project."
Again Darcy changed colour almost imperceptibly. "There shall not be any project." Miss Elizabeth Bennet would be married to Mr. Collins by now, so it would be of little use to pursue her.
"Is she taken?" the Colonel said sympathetically. "That is bad luck indeed."
"She is," Darcy said curtly.
Colonel Fitzwilliam sighed. "That is the trouble with those ladies. They are never interested in men who are interested in them. But cheer up, cousin. We are going to Rosings to have fun!"
"I do not think so," Darcy said gloomily. After all, Mr. Collins was Lady Catherine's parson and he probably lived right next to Rosings Park. "By the way, your mother told me to tell you to behave yourself now that you are a Colonel."
Colonel Fitzwilliam grimaced and rolled his eyes. "Tell her I am the perfect gentlemen, Darcy. She will not believe you, but try it anyway. If she still persists after that, tell her that I am trying to be the perfect gentleman. If even that does not satisfy my mother, you may tell her that I am a dreadful rascal, but that I take great pains to conceal it from everyone so she need not worry about any scandals. My mother should be more worried about you! Falling for married women, indeed!"
"She was not married yet, then!" Darcy defended himself. "My conduct was above reproach."
"And mine is not," said Fitzwilliam, thinking of writing his so-called fiancée a letter. "You are quite right, but one should not care too much about that as long as I am good at my duties and an agreeable companion. What I do in my private hours need not concern anyone unless it harms other people."
The two men were silent until their carriage passed through the gates of Rosings into the park. "Eh, Darcy," said the Colonel. "Look at that funny little man there bowing his back into shambles. I think he mistakes us for royalty."
Darcy looked out of the window and sat back almost immediately. "It is the parson," he said in a tone of intense disgust.
Colonel Fitzwilliam craned his neck to look at the man more closely, and he wondered why his cousin had spoken in such a tone.
Part 10
"I say, was that a fine figure of a man, or what?" Colonel Fitzwilliam asked. "I should not accept him into my regiment. Are you acquainted with him?"
Darcy pressed his lips together. "I met Mr. Collins in Hertfordshire, where he was staying with his cousins."
"And you do not like him," the Colonel concluded.
"No."
"That is odd. He was obviously waiting for your arrival."
"Did you not take the main road?" Lady Catherine inquired as soon as her nephews had alighted from the carriage and they had been shown inside by a pair of footmen.
They bowed. "We did take the main road, Madam," said Darcy.
"But you must have left Town very late," his aunt concluded. "I had expected you here at least an hour ago. Or did you stop along the way?" Luckily her Ladyship did not require an answer, for she talked on immediately. "It must be your fault, Fitzwilliam, for I have not known Darcy as anything but punctual."
"Indeed, Madam," the Colonel murmured. The cousins exchanged looks. It would not do to mention that the Colonel had taken a little too many fluids at breakfast and that they had indeed had to stop along the way, albeit briefly.
"I did not know you were going to join Darcy, but it is a pleasant surprise and I daresay Anne will be pleased to see you too. Anne?" she called imperatively.
Anne nodded. "I am very pleased."
"How is Pemberley, Darcy?" Lady Catherine demanded.
Colonel Fitzwilliam knew she would not have any attention for him until she had interrogated his cousin about the running of his estate, so he turned to Anne and Mrs. Jenkinson. "I hope you are in good health." Anne nodded shyly. "I am glad to hear that," he said, racking his brains for something else to say. He painstakingly got a conversation with Mrs. Jenkinson going.
"I am glad Mr. Collins was mistaken about your engagement," said Lady Catherine to Darcy. "I knew it could not be so, with your evident attachment to Anne. It had to be a gross falsehood, and though I would not injure you by asking you directly, I did send an express to Fitzwilliam, and -- to do him credit -- he replied most rapidly, saying that it was indeed a most scandalous rumour."
Darcy said nothing.
"I have," Lady Catherine continued. "Apprised Mr. Collins of it, and he immediately agreed that it was an invention of that young woman, betraying her true character and inferior birth. Mr. Collins deeply regretted being taken in by her, but he promised it would not happen again. I suggest, Darcy, that you stay away from this young woman in future, lest she gets it into her ambitious mind that she has any chance of being acquainted with you."
Darcy did not think it very wise to mention that the young lady was both his friend's sister and his cousin's fiancée. Fitzwilliam would not thank him for setting the dogs loose on him.
"Mr. Collins recently got married himself and perhaps he was too concerned with that to be able to separate fact from fiction. Mrs. Collins is a very genteel sort of young lady."
"Is Mr. Collins a rather heavy young man?" Colonel Fitzwilliam interrupted. "If so, he was lying in wait at the lodges."
Lady Catherine looked put out by this interruption. "I daresay he was paying his respects. He is that sort of man. I cannot imagine him lying in wait, Fitzwilliam. He has guests himself. Miss Lucas and Miss Bennet are staying with him and Mrs. Collins. One is her sister and the other her friend from Hertfordshire."
Darcy paled. Miss Lucas was indeed Elizabeth Bennet's friend. So it was true. The Colonel pricked up his ears upon hearing Misses mentioned. Two unmarried young ladies in the neighbourhood would be interesting. "We must go over, Darcy. Perhaps you know the ladies from Hertfordshire."
"He does," said Lady Catherine, unknowingly playing into the Colonel's hands. "They said so."
"Then you must certainly pay your respects to them, and because you dislike going alone, I shall go with you."
"Miss Bennet and Miss Lucas are very pretty sort of girls," Lady Catherine said condescendingly. "I have entertained them here a few times. Miss Elizabeth Bennet can be quite insolent, but one cannot expect any true breeding in young ladies of her station. Nevertheless, I give you leave to visit them."
Darcy changed colours again and he nearly choked. Colonel Fitzwilliam watched him curiously. Surely by now Darcy should no longer be surprised by his aunt's patronising manners?
The rest of the day Darcy could not think of anything but Elizabeth Bennet. He had not known how much he had pushed her from his mind. The thought that she was still free -- and nearby -- was almost unbearable. He kept imagining what he would say to her when they would call on the parsonage.
The Colonel had no clue of what was going on in Darcy's mind, but he did not really notice, because he was composing a letter in his own mind, and he could not wait until he was free to write it down.
Consequently, the two cousins were almost as stupid as Anne and when the ladies retired after dinner, they sat in perfect silence in the dining room, without even noticing it. Lady Catherine had to send a footman to shake them out of their reverie when she was tired of speaking to the walls.
In the seclusion of his bedchamber, Colonel Fitzwilliam pulled out his writing material and sat down to write. Before he could do so much as write down the date, he was disturbed by a knock on his door. "Come in," he called.
It was Darcy. "Pardon my interruption," Darcy said when he saw his cousin was writing. "I shall not be long. I just wanted to know what time we are leaving at tomorrow morning."
"Whenever you are ready, I suppose," the Colonel shrugged. "Please, Darcy. I am writing a letter to my fiancée."
Darcy sat himself down on a chair and showed no inclination to leave. "How did you propose to her?" he asked tentatively. He had no idea how one went about such a thing, and why he was suddenly interested in it.
Fitzwilliam frowned. He had never proposed to anyone. How could he talk himself out of this? "It depends on the woman," he said, dipping his pen into the ink and writing down the date. "One cannot give every woman the same standard speech."
"How did you know you wanted to propose to her? What did you feel?"
Colonel Fitzwilliam had no idea Darcy was struggling with his own feelings. He thought his cousin suspected him of not being engaged. "Darcy, do you think you could cross-examine me tomorrow? I really want to finish this letter tonight. If you ever come to the point of proposing, you will know what I felt. I am sorry, but that is the best I can do." He observed his cousin anxiously and hoped he would accept it. "If you wish to talk to me about this tomorrow, I am completely at your disposal, but I am occupied right now."
"I shall leave you to your love letter then," Darcy got up in resignation, casting an eye on the blank sheet of paper. "I see you feel so much that you do not know what to write," he said sarcastically.
Part 11
Colonel Fitzwilliam was left wondering about Darcy's parting shot. God! I am madly in love with the lady. Is it so obvious? He sighed and took his pen in hand again. Darcy was terribly unsettling with his questions. He regarded the blank sheet with exasperation and decided to use many adjectives to fill the page, for he did indeed not know what to write.
PS. Colonel Fitzwilliam, darling. Just in case you had not figured it out. * wink *Rosings Park, __ April 18__
Dearest Caroline,
You know that your devoted servant is not the type of man to express himself with elegance on the delicate subject of our attachment, and therefore I ask you to forgive me for writing you such a plain-worded epistle. I had much rather used those high-flown, superlative expressions of admiration that do sufficient justice to your excellency and give you your rightful place among the legendary goddesses. I could go on for hours to praise your numerous qualities and delights, but I deeply regret that my paper does not allow me the space for it, when I have such other pressing matters to write about. You had not forgotten me, I hope? Think of April the twenty-fifth at ten o'clock, the most wonderful day of your life! I took the liberty of choosing a date, knowing it was your fondest wish also, so I ask you most humbly to forgive me my forwardness in this instance. I beg you most devotedly to remain constant while we are separated. I have the utmost faith in your constancy, dearest Caroline, because I know you never lie, and a word once spoken by you is never retracted. When you say you are engaged, you are truly engaged. Do not breathe a word of this to anyone, I beseech you. The triumph will be so much sweeter when our hands have been united for ever. Our hearts and spirits do not need uniting for they are already One. Until the happy occasion that we are reunited in person, I remain,
Your humble, obedient, devoted and eager servant,
Fitzwilliam.
PS. Post Scriptum enclosed elsewhere in this letter. Possibly above the date.
He sealed the letter and wondered if it was not terribly scandalous of him to post this. It probably was, but it would also be tremendous fun. It was a pity that he would not be there to see her expressions change while she read the letter. That would be the best part of it all. Perhaps it would even accomplish something.
The next morning Rosings was honoured by a visit from Mr. Collins, who had come to pay his respects. Colonel Fitzwilliam was in an excellent mood, having just sent off his letter, and Darcy was in a rather nervous and silent mood, knowing that he was going to visit the Parsonage today, and not having slept very well because of it.
Mr. Collins was overjoyed at seeing two nephews of Lady Catherine's present, for if being able to boast perhaps of having entertained one in his humble abode was wonderful, being able to boast perhaps of having entertained two was heaven on earth, pure bliss, magnifique. He deeply regretted that Sir William had already left, for Sir William would dearly have loved to meet the gentlemen, and not to mention because of Mr. Collins's own pleasure and pride in showing Sir William what important visitors he could have.
"Perhaps, gentlemen, you would be so kind -- I do not wish to seem to be too presumptuous -- as to honour my humble abode with a visit -- you need not even enter if it inconveniences you -- one of these days during your stay, I should be much obliged, and honoured, by such great condescension. I am certain that my humble abode is unworthy of you, but --"
"They shall join you forthwith, Mr. Collins," Lady Catherine dictated. "I have no use for them till dinner, for I am needed in the village. They shall not be missed."
Mr. Collins burst forth in gratitude and bows, and the cousins rolled their eyes. "To the girls, to the girls, to the girls," Fitzwilliam sang cheerfully in a soft voice and Darcy glared at him for being so irritatingly accurate.
"Do not act like a common soldier."
"I apologise, but 'to Mr. Collins's humble abode' does not make for good singing," the Colonel whispered. "I do hope they are a little more talkative than Anne."
They followed Mr. Collins to the Parsonage, listening to his incessant conversation along the way. Neither remembered anything of what he said, however. It was mostly the same as what they had heard from their aunt the day before.
The Colonel led the way into the room, and he was pleased to note that the young ladies were pleasant to look at, even if one of them looked to be just as talkative as Anne. He began speaking to the others, one of which, he realised with pity, was married to Mr. Collins.
Darcy -- for all his resolves -- did not manage to exchange more than a few words with Mrs. Collins. He could not even bring himself to look straight at Elizabeth. He was certain that he would blush so furiously as to betray it all. After sitting in silence for a while he brought himself to speak. "Your family are in good health, I hope?" Elizabeth looked at him strangely. Of course she would. What fool would ask such a question halfway the visit?
"They are, thank you," she replied. She looked at him again. "My eldest sister has been in town these three months. Have you never happened to see her there?"
Darcy was puzzled. Did she think London was very small? It was not like Meryton where one could not avoid people. He had thought she would be more aware of the relative size of towns and its consequences and he struggled to give her an appropriate answer without thinking too long. "I have never been so fortunate as to meet Miss Bennet," he answered.
Again she looked at him strangely, as if she had known he would say that, and then she continued her conversation with Colonel Fitzwilliam. Darcy found the whole visit very uncomfortable. Being near her and not being able to utter anything that made sense. His cousin was such an agreeable conversationalist that it discouraged him from even trying to join in. He was sure Elizabeth would think him odd, and perhaps he would say the wrong things, too. Fitzwilliam seemed to sense his discomfort, and Darcy was glad that his cousin ended the visit.
Part 12
"Well, Darcy, you did not really look at ease there," Colonel Fitzwilliam remarked with a quizzical look. "I know that Mr. Collins is the most pompous fool, but the ladies were nice. Miss Bennet is a well-spoken young lady indeed. It was a pleasure to converse with her."
Darcy looked alarmed that Fitzwilliam was showing interest in Elizabeth Bennet. "You are engaged, Fitzwilliam!"
"Oh yes, Darcy. My engagement is something you should not mention to anyone at the parsonage. Mr. Collins is Aunt Catherine's ear extension, and you heard her rage yesterday. Please, I should like to finish my visit here without being sent off, if only for your sake."
Darcy felt he was being used, but he said nothing.
"You disapprove of it, I see," the Colonel said with a sideways glance. "I assure you, I have no intentions towards the young ladies." He saw Darcy relax a little. "They are all yours," he teased.
When the Colonel asked him to walk over with him the next morning, Darcy agreed. This visit was not much different from the first in that he scarcely opened his mouth. He only listened to the animated conversation of the others and admired Miss Bennet's lively mind more and more. Whenever he was called upon to speak, he was unable to remember his opinion on anything and he gave very curt replies, but he felt that it would not take long before he would venture something longer.
Elizabeth was very indifferent to Mr. Darcy's presence. The only thing that bothered her slightly was that he always seemed to be staring at her. It was quite unnerving to see his eyes upon her whenever she happened to glance in his direction. The Colonel frequently looked at her too, but his stares were nowhere near as unnerving as Mr. Darcy's.
"Darcy almost chose not to come yesterday and today," said the Colonel. "Because he set himself the task of reading a book of several hundred pages."
"Really?" Elizabeth exclaimed. "No novel, I should think!" she laughed.
Darcy smiled politely in return. He never knew what to say when Fitzwilliam made fun of him in public. "Oh, no," he replied. "Novels are not to my taste. Are you fond of novels, Miss Bennet?"
"Not so excessively fond that I read no other books, but I do confess to reading them once in a while," she said defiantly, expecting him to say something denigrating about novels, but he did not.
"You have a broad taste then?" the Colonel inquired with interest.
"I believe I do."
"What did you read last?"
Elizabeth named the title.
"I do not know it. Would you recommend it?"
"Perhaps it would not appeal to a gentleman," she smiled. "You see, it was a romance. Oh! Mr. Darcy, I should have thought you would immediately get up and walk away! You do not seem the type to stand being in one room with a reader of romances."
Darcy looked as if he was about to say something, but he checked himself.
"If that were the case Darcy would never be able to spend any time with my family," Colonel Fitzwilliam replied.
"Instead he spends time with the Bingleys, who do not strike me as readers of anything," Elizabeth smiled.
"They read letters, I hope," said Fitzwilliam chuckling at a private joke. "Even my sisters read letters."
"You are very severe on your sisters, Colonel," said Charlotte.
"I have three elder sisters and three younger, Madam. It is very difficult not to be severe."
"And only one brother?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes, but with three sisters between us you can guess that he was never of much use as a companion. But I was only teasing. My sisters have a very good taste in books. It is in fact the other way around: they are severe on me."
After talking agreeably on the subject of books for another while, the Colonel and Darcy left. They -- but mainly the Colonel -- apologised in advance for not being able to call on them in the following days, because Lady Catherine had planned other things for her nephews.
Elizabeth eagerly opened the letter she had received from Jane. She was especially curious if Jane had managed to see Mr. Bingley in town. The chances of that happening must be considerably greater now that Darcy was out of the way. Jane had not wanted to believe it, but Elizabeth was convinced that Darcy had been behind the departure of their whole party from Netherfield, and all because he had been afraid that Bingley might grow too attached to Jane. No doubt he had been aided by the sisters -- Elizabeth had seen straightaway what they thought of the other members of her family. They would not wish to connect themselves with the Bennets, and if Darcy had had no scruples in treating the son of his father's steward so wrongly, why should he care about Jane?
She began reading the letter.
Dearest Lizzy,I have just returned to the Gardiners' home, and I am totally worn out. You will never guess what happened. My aunt had to be in that part of town where the Bingleys live, so I took the opportunity of calling on Caroline, not having had the pleasure of seeing her yet. (I suppose they must not often venture into Cheapside, or perhaps they had been very busy.) You may tease me when I say I dearly hoped that Mr. Bingley was in, Lizzy. I know you will.
I rang the bell and asked for Miss Bingley, and then I had to wait such a long time that I started to think that the footman had forgotten all about me when finally Mrs. Hurst herself appeared. She did not greet me at all, so I was beginning to feel that it had perhaps not been such a very good idea to call on Caroline unannounced. But she looked very concerned and agitated and she said to me "dear Jane, I do not know what to do! Caroline has been used very ill by a base villain. I do not know if she would want me to invite you in, but you must come in, because I do not know what to do!" It seems Caroline received a letter that upset her greatly.
When I saw her Caroline was screaming very loudly without stopping and we were not able to talk to her at all. After half an hour she became so hoarse that she could not scream anymore and she started to breathe wheezily. (You must imagine her like Mama in a fit of nerves, but then very much worse.) Before Mrs. Hurst could summon a doctor, Caroline started to cry. I forgot to mention that she also kept pounding on pillows and saying bad things that I should not write down. (Several common words for villain, if you really wish to know.) In her one hand she had a crumpled letter that she refused to let Mrs. Hurst read. After about two hours during which Mrs. Hurst and I sat by her quite helplessly, now and then handing her a drink or discussing what we should do, we managed to put her to bed.
Do you know, Lizzy, I fear Caroline has really lost her mind, because she had a very wild, confused look in her eyes, and every time we thought she had calmed down, she began to hit the pillows again. It was very disconcerting. Perhaps I shall call on her tomorrow to see if she is any better. Mrs. Hurst was quite beside herself with worry and she said some things I did not quite understand about it being alright to invite me now because I was a great help. Well, Lizzy, I shall leave you now and you will hear the rest of it later on.
Your affectionate sister,
Jane
Elizabeth read the letter again and again. It was very interesting news indeed. She wondered who the villain was that had used Caroline so ill, and what he had written to make her lose her mind. Oh dear! Mr. Darcy is not in luck with his two fiancées! One is sickly and one is mad! Perhaps he wrote her to say he was marrying Anne? No, he would not marry Anne. Perhaps he broke off the engagement by letter. I no longer want to be engaged to you, Caroline. Yes, that must be it. Nothing else would upset Caroline so. What a villain! What an enormous villain! Does he not even have the courage to do so in person?
Mr. Darcy tumbled a few places, all the way down to the bottom of her scale of esteem.