by K C Kahler
“And now we come to the main reason for my walk to Netherfield today. Might I see the Miss Ben—”
“You walked here? Alone?” Mrs Hurst interrupted.
“Not alone. My brothers, Walter and Peter, came with me.”
Mr Bingley was perplexed. “But where are they, Miss Lucas?”
She laughed. “They remained outside as they are not fit to be indoors. Upon my word, they must have walked through every muddy puddle on the way here. They prefer to be outdoors, in any case.”
Miss Bingley tittered. “In that respect, they are much like our Miss Eliza. She insists on going out into the garden to read despite her ankle and the season.”
“I can well believe it. Lizzy would wish to take advantage of every sunny afternoon before the chill sets in. Is she in the garden now?”
“Yes, with her sister. Allow me to escort you to your friends. You must be rewarded for your long walk.” Mr Bingley seemed quite eager to go into the garden himself.
He offered his arm and led Charlotte out into the garden.
They turned a corner around a short hedge to find Jane and Elizabeth sharing a picturesque bench. Lizzy raised her eyes from her book at the sound of their approach.
“Charlotte!” She made as if to rise.
Jane placed a restraining hand on her sister’s shoulder before rising herself to embrace Charlotte. “Dear Charlotte! I am very happy to see you, but I doubt my joy can compare to Lizzy’s elation upon seeing you. She has been mentioning you constantly.”
Charlotte laughed and walked towards Elizabeth’s beckoning hands. “It does seem an eternity since we have spoken. So I did something of which I am sure Lizzy would approve: I walked here just to see her.”
“That is the mark of a true friend!” Elizabeth pulled Charlotte down to sit next to her on the bench. “I am so grateful for your exertion. But did you come alone?”
“Through a bit of bribery, Walter and Peter served as escorts, though their clothing has suffered some mud for their efforts. Lord knows how they are occupying themselves now.”
“They can at least come into the garden if they wish. Shall I find them?” offered Mr Bingley.
“You need not bother. They can find endless amusements with just rocks and sticks, it seems.”
He laughed but persisted. “Perhaps Miss Bennet will join me on a walk as it seems she has lost her seat. If we come across the young Masters Lucas, I shall invite them into the garden.”
Charlotte did not protest further, for she suspected her brothers were merely the excuse Mr Bingley used to invite Jane on a walk. The lady accepted the invitation, as well as the offered arm. Charlotte began to suspect that the true matchmaking genius in the Bennet family was Elizabeth.
The two friends were soon left alone. “I have so much to tell you!” they declared in chorus.
Laughing, Elizabeth urged Charlotte to begin. “I suspect my tale will be much longer.”
“Very well. But first let me ask, how is your ankle? I heard accounts of your injury both from Lydia and Mr Collins.”
“Oh, it is just a sprained ankle. Though the timing, as it turned out, has been rather fortuitous, considering my cousin’s departure schedule. Pray, tell me your impressions of his behaviour over this last week.”
“This is why I came to you today. How did you do it, Lizzy? I am almost certain Mr Collins has reconsidered his intentions towards Jane.”
“What makes you say so? Please give me all your little insights. You have such an eye for reading people.”
“Well, did you ever observe how Mr Collins often referred to Jane as either ‘dear’ or ‘dearest Cousin Jane.’”
“I think he referred to all of us as ‘dear cousin’ at one time or another.”
“I never heard him refer to Mary, Kitty, or Lydia as such. Only you and Jane share that honour, but Jane most often received the appellation. I remember this quite precisely. His use of ‘dearest Cousin Jane’ began, I believe, at the picnic, and he employed the term constantly on Sunday.”
Elizabeth grimaced. “I can just hear his voice saying it. But I assume you raise this subject for a reason other than discomfiting me.”
“Indeed, I do. When I saw him on Thursday, and yesterday as well, he did not once refer to Jane as either dear or dearest. But dear Cousin Elizabeth’s injury was much talked of—he was beside himself with worry over your suffering.” Charlotte added the last merely to get a reaction.
“Stop that!” Elizabeth grimaced again before continuing, “If I understand you correctly, as of Thursday, Mr Collins did not consider Jane his dearest cousin any longer.”
“I cannot say what he thinks, only what he wishes to convey. You know he very carefully chooses his words, and sometimes I think he even has his comments composed in his head before he utters them.”
“I did sometimes feel as if he had rehearsed his speeches!” Elizabeth nodded. “So you believe my cousin purposefully ceased referring to Jane as ‘dearest’ or, to a lesser extent, ‘dear.’”
“Yes, that is my feeling.”
“Yesterday, he did not distinguish Jane with any special attentions. He kissed my hand as well as hers.” Elizabeth graced Charlotte with another scowling grimace before continuing. “What else of his behaviour tells you he has abandoned his hopes for Jane?”
“I think his carefully altered manner of address is the most important indication. But, in addition to this, as of Thursday, his conversations were less filled with glowing praises of Jane specifically. Instead, he praised the entire Bennet family or, sometimes, you or Mary. Previously, he often spoke of Jane as if he were already engaged to her, though he never said so directly. I cannot tell you how many times he mentioned that Lady Catherine would ‘approve’ of ‘dear Cousin Jane.’ This all changed as of Thursday.”
“Oh, it does sound promising. If you are convinced, then I shall rely on your assessment,” Elizabeth said with a satisfied smile. “But I must tell you, if Jane received a marriage proposal from Mr Collins now, she would refuse him. So much has happened since the picnic.”
“Can you be referring to her obvious regard for Mr Bingley?”
“Yes, in part. I am gladdened to have you confirm my observations. It is evident to me that Jane is in a way to be very much in love. Lord, how she blushes! It is so unlike her. And I think he returns the sentiment.”
“I agree. But you must tell me all that has happened. How did Mr Bingley come to know that the betrothal rumours were false?”
“I do not know. Now that I think of it, I believe his behaviour may have changed soon after the picnic. He and Mr Darcy…” Elizabeth trailed off, her brow furrowed. After a brief pause, she shook her head. “Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy visited Longbourn on Monday to inquire after Lydia’s cricket injury.”
“I doubt Mr Bingley would act on his preference for Jane while under the impression that she was already spoken for. Perhaps Jane herself discredited the rumour and encouraged Mr Bingley.”
Elizabeth laughed. “You know she is far too demure to do such a thing.”
“Lizzy, please answer my questions forthrightly! Then did Jane discourage Mr Collins somehow without giving offense?”
“No, I suspect that honour goes to—Mr Darcy!” Elizabeth announced the name with dramatic flair. “Mr Darcy!” Charlotte sputtered.
“Indeed! I believe he said something to Mr Collins on our walk with the express purpose of dissuading my cousin’s suit. Whatever he said must have been successful.”
“But how? Why?”
“I know his involvement in my family’s private affairs strains credulity. Yet he is deeply involved. He and I are conspirators, and I have been unable to confide our plot to anyone else, even Jane. It will be such a relief to tell you everything and get your opinion.”
“Please, relieve us both and reveal your tale, then. I can hardly wait to hear how this has all transpired!”
“It started at the picnic. I followed my father into the library.”
* * *
Elizabeth told Charlotte everything—every detail she could remember about her intervention into Mr Collins’s matrimonial plans. The words spilled forth from her in a torrent. Elizabeth needed this anchor in the real world. In revealing all to another person, the experiences Elizabeth had shared over the last se’nnight with Mr Darcy became both more real and less intimate. She ended her tale with Mr Bennet’s restraint of his wife’s manipulations and Jane’s resolution to refuse any proposal from Mr Collins.
“I hardly know what to say, Elizabeth. This is most extraordinary!”
“Please share all your impressions with me. I am eager for another perspective.”
Charlotte sat in silence for a few moments while Elizabeth waited for the dispassionate analysis she had come to expect from her friend. Charlotte would never judge her for what were, by any social standards, inappropriate and perilous actions—issuing angry ultimatums to her father, secret rendezvous with a gentleman in secluded woods, misleading her entire family.
“First, I am very pleased you reconciled with your father after such a heated quarrel. Second, I am happy Jane now knows her own mind and will not let other concerns influence her decisions regarding her future. Third, I agree that Mr Darcy must have said something to deter Mr Collins from Jane on that fateful walk. It would explain our observations of your cousin’s altered behaviour. Mr Darcy is a very clever man.”
“Oh yes, I am convinced he is the cleverest man I have ever known.” Elizabeth thought this was an obvious point.
“Why did he offer to help you, to become a part of a surreptitious alliance?”
“I told you—he seeks entertainment, distraction. There is no theatre in Meryton, you know,” she quipped.
Charlotte regarded her for a moment. “Will you tell me of Mr Darcy’s behaviour since the walk—since your injury?”
“Well, I did not venture out of my room on Wednesday, so I did not see him. But Jane saw him briefly after dinner. He loaned her some books for me. Oh! Mr Hurst revealed at dinner that night that Mr Darcy had been inebriated the previous evening!” Elizabeth proceeded to tell Charlotte her suspicion that Mr Darcy suffered some misfortune during the summer.
“I cannot speculate on what happened to Mr Darcy before he came to Hertfordshire,” Charlotte said thoughtfully. “On the night he was in his cups, Mr Darcy witnessed your reconciliation with your father. Is it safe to assume he understood the implications of your father’s unusual actions?”
“Yes, for as I said, he is very clever. I have not been able to discuss any of this with him of course, since I can hardly escape for a secret meeting.” Elizabeth indicated her ankle.
“What happened after that? When did you next see Mr Darcy?”
Elizabeth was less eager to share the last few days with anyone, namely the trips up and down the stairs. But they were hardly a secret. She decided to treat her stairway transportation only as a necessary consequence of her injury, and she chose her words carefully when recounting recent events.
Charlotte listened in silence and then smirked. “Has he carried you up and down the stairs every time?”
Elizabeth had expected some teasing about this. She knew it would pass quickly. Charlotte was far too interested in obtaining details to spend much time on ridicule. All the same, Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “No, today I made the trip downstairs by myself for the first time. I would have done so sooner had not Jane been constantly conspiring with Mr Darcy. I surprised everyone by joining them for the midday meal. Then Jane and I came into the garden, and here you found me.”
Charlotte was not quite ready to let it go. “How exasperating it must have been to lack control over your own movements. I can only imagine how you sulked!”
“At least my ankle is healing and I shall soon be my own person again. But all in all, I would say I handled it rather well. I only snapped at Jane twice, I think.”
“And did you ever snap at Mr Darcy?”
“Yes, once.” Elizabeth admitted.
“How did he react?” Charlotte asked, barely containing her mirth.
“He had no time to react—Jane was already scolding me for my ingratitude.”
Charlotte laughed, and Elizabeth waited in ill humour. “Are you quite finished now? Why are you so interested in every nuance of Mr Darcy’s behaviour?”
Charlotte sobered. “I have a suspicion. In fact, I’ve had a suspicion for some time, and am only trying to confirm or deny it. But Mr Darcy is a difficult man to read. He is very reserved.”
“I must agree. Sometimes he is so haughty and aloof, like today at luncheon, and other times, he is quite an engaging conversationalist. I find myself puzzled by his moods. So, what is this suspicion of yours? It is not like you to be so cryptic, Charlotte.”
“I think Mr Darcy admires you.”
The friends locked gazes for a long moment. “He said he admired my dedication to my sister’s happiness.”
“No, you know what I mean. I think he admires you as a man admires a woman. Perhaps he is even in lov—”
Elizabeth protested before the sentence was finished. “No! We all know he does not find me handsome.”
“You said he apologised for that comment—that he was only frustrated with Mr Bingley’s entreaties to dance.”
Elizabeth sighed. “Lay your case before me then. Though I am sure you will not convince me of something so ludicrous.”
“You know he stares at you quite a bit. It was particularly obvious at the picnic.”
“I told you, he must find me more entertaining than anyone else in Hertfordshire. He is a spectator to the follies of my family. I noticed his staring too, but I assure you, I certainly did not feel admiration or even approval in his gaze.”
“I always found his gaze inscrutable. But I now think it must have been fascination.”
Elizabeth laughed nervously. “Call it fascination if you like. It does not change the fact that he looks down on all of us, including me. We are amusing in our foibles and struggles.”
“If it is only entertainment he seeks, why do his eyes not more often find Lydia or your mother? I daresay there are any number of others who are far more amusing to watch.”
“How can I possibly guess why he chooses me as his object? I hope you base your outrageous suspicion on more than just his staring and eavesdropping.”
“I do. He has gone to much trouble and acted out of character to help you. Aside from his uncharacteristic exertions to speak with Mr Collins, he has knowingly placed himself at risk for marriage rumours—not only by allowing himself to be the object of Lydia and your mother’s aspirations, but also by meeting with you secretly. You said he has been the target of entrapment schemes before. He must trust you completely to meet with you, or perhaps he would not mind being discovered in this case.”
“Charlotte, you make me laugh. He knows I am not looking for a husband. He heard me state to my father quite vehemently that I would only marry for love.”
“Even before he heard you make that statement, I am sure he knew you were not out to catch a husband. Perhaps this is part of his enthrallment.”
“This is preposterous.” Elizabeth, disturbed by the conversation, wished to speak on some other subject.
But Charlotte would not oblige her. “This week, my father received a reply to a letter he had sent a friend in London. He informs us that Mr Darcy became master of a great estate when he was just two and twenty. Since that time, he has been one of the most sought after—and most reluctant—bachelors of the ton. And no wonder: he comes from a storied family with good connexions, yet both his parents are deceased, so he is sole master of a great fortune, and he is handsome! Imagine, Lizzy, how different you must be from what he is accustomed to in London. Just compare your behaviour to all those rapacious ladies flattering him constantly.”
“Like Miss Bingley,” Elizabeth murmured, her mind dwelling on what Charlotte had revealed. She knew Mr Darcy was guardian to his sister, but she had not con
sidered how that situation came about. To be guardian of a young girl and master of the family estate at such a young age must have been a great responsibility.
“Precisely,” said Charlotte.
Elizabeth shook her head. “Your so-called evidence is very thin indeed, and there is a flaw in your logic. Mr Darcy has long been successful at avoiding matrimony. I see nothing to indicate he has changed his mind. So he must not be violently in love with me, as you suggest.”
“One can be in love without intending to wed. Whether or not he acts on his inclination is entirely up to him, as I know you will do nothing to encourage him.”
“Now you sound like my mother. I do not understand your insistence that all Mr Darcy’s actions be attributed to some unlikely love for me. You, who pride yourself on not being a romantic.”
“And I do not understand your insistence that they be attributed to some ignoble desire for amusement.”
“Because he said as much!”
“But he gave you other reasons—reasons you seem bent on ignoring.” Charlotte paused. “It seems a lot of trouble to take on for a mere fleeting distraction.”
“The rich can afford to be eccentric and do as they please.”
“You are so convinced of your own opinion that you will not listen to anything else. John always said that when you made up your mind, you were like a dog with a bone.”
Elizabeth was happy to seize onto this new subject. “He would know.”
“You cannot seriously still believe you were in the right about his choice. It has been over two years!”
“He gave up a great opportunity. What I would not give for the chance to attend Cambridge—and he just threw it away.”
“John is not you. You know he was never studious. He always wanted to experience things for himself rather than read about them. He did horribly at Cambridge when he was there.”
“But he could have done better. He does not lack intellect, only discipline.”
