by Leenie Brown
Darcy bit the insides of his cheeks to keep from laughing at the glare the young lady leveled at Bingley.
“Miss Bennet,” Bingley called across three people as the lady approached her sister. “My friend wishes an introduction to your sister.”
No, subtly was not Bingley’s forte, and Darcy winced as Miss Bennet’s sister’s cheeks grew crimson, which probably matched his own as they were feeling exceedingly warm.
Miss Bennet curtseyed to Darcy and with a smile introduced him to her sister Elizabeth. Bingley claimed Miss Bennet for the next dance and swiftly led her away. Darcy stood for a moment not knowing what to say. Could his friend not even afford a moment to ease him into conversation? He fumbled a bit with some pleasantries before getting to the point. “Do you dance, Miss Elizabeth?”
“I do when asked, Mr. Darcy.” She quirked an eyebrow and waited.
“Yes, that did not come out as I meant.” Darcy gave a small self-depreciating laugh. “I believe what I meant to ask was, do you wish to dance, Miss Elizabeth?”
The half smile that she wore twitched, and Darcy was sure that she was going to laugh, but she managed to suppress the urge. Her eyes, however, danced in merriment. “Indeed I do wish to dance. Did you have a particular partner in mind for me?”
He knew it was not proper, but he rolled his eyes and sighed as he did on many occasions when teased mercilessly by Bingley or one of his relations. He shook his head, which strangely no longer pounded, at his own foolishness. “I had rather hoped to be your partner for this dance if that is acceptable to you?”
The small half smile spread into a full smile of genuine pleasure encompassing not just her mouth but also her eyes. “I believe that would be tolerable, sir.” She rose and placed her hand on his proffered arm.
He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. “And I believe it would be lovely.”
5
A Battle of Wills and Words
Elizabeth smiled at Darcy as he entered the sitting room, and then turned back to the conversation that was flowing around her. It was challenging to stay focused this evening. Her emotions were threatening to undo her composure. It was not that she was frightened exactly. No, it was more—overwhelmed. Meeting Darcy’s family and knowing that they were not particularly favourable to his engagement to her made her scrutinize her every move. It was important to her to make a good impression on these people who would soon be her family, but her thoughts kept wandering.
“Miss Elizabeth, tell me about the proposal.” Miss Amelia Fitzwilliam, Darcy’s young cousin, drew Elizabeth’s attention back to the conversation.
Which one? She thought. The hum of voices stilled. Every eye turned in her direction. Even Darcy stopped his progression of crossing the room to sit next to her. She leaned toward Jane. “Did I say that out loud?”
Jane nodded, and Elizabeth felt the blood drain from her cheeks and then return full force.
A very amused looking Colonel Fitzwilliam answered, “Yes, you did say that out loud, and I for one would love to hear about all of them.” He chuckled. “It seems that you have an eager audience waiting to hear your tale.” He motioned to the others in the room, and several heads bobbed their agreement.
“I fear it is a rather dull tale,” replied Elizabeth hoping to put an end to the situation.
“Oh, but you must tell us something to assuage our curiosity,” stated the colonel as he placed the chair from the writing desk directly in front of Elizabeth and seated himself. “I assure you I will not stop until I hear the full story. Is that not so, Darcy?”
Elizabeth looked at Darcy as he took his seat next to her and saw the grimace that let her know the colonel’s words were all too true. Quickly, she sought a solution that would allow her to answer the staring eyes and still keep her promise to not speak about what had happened at Hunsford. Hoping she had found a solution, she asked, “Would you prefer to hear about your cousin’s proposal or Mr. Collins’?” She held her breath hoping the distraction of Mr. Collins would work.
Colonel Fitzwilliam nearly choked on his tea. “Mr. Collins? Aunt Catherine’s parson?”
“Yes, Colonel, the very same.”
“Well, I would most certainly like to hear about that.”
“This Mr. Collins, tell me who is he?” asked a suddenly interested Lord Matlock.
“Mr. Collins is both our cousin and our father’s heir,” stated Jane.
“The heir to your father’s estate?” Lord Matlock tilted his head and peered a bit closer at Elizabeth.
“Yes, my lord, Longbourn is entailed and since my father has no sons, the estate will one day belong to Mr. Collins,” explained Elizabeth. “It seems that upon installing my cousin as her parson, your sister, Lady Catherine suggested he find a wife and instructed him that choosing one of his cousins would be an excellent idea.” Elizabeth smiled wryly. “He immediately wished to pursue Jane, but since Jane’s heart seemed to be engaged elsewhere, he naturally decided that the second daughter would be just as good a choice.”
“Well, that sounds like a logical thing to do,” said Lord Matlock. He glared at the snort of laughter from his son. “I do not see why you are finding this to be such a humorous story, Richard.”
“Father, have you met Aunt Catherine’s parson?”
“No, I have not.”
“Suffice it to say, he holds Aunt Catherine in high esteem. Nothing she says or does is ever wrong in his eyes.”
Lord Matlock eyebrows lifted in understanding. “Oh, I see.”
“I do not wish to speak ill of my cousin,” continued Elizabeth, “but I will not hide the truth. I cannot say that he possesses the most—” she searched for the best word. “He is not a possessor of great wit. In fact, he is quite insipid and, as Colonel Fitzwilliam has stated, overly impressed with his patroness.”
“But, it would have been an advantageous match, would it not? Due to the entail, I mean,” queried Lord Matlock.
“I agree, it would have been an advantageous match from a property point of view, but I can assure you that there are not two more unequally matched individuals in this world.”
“Oh ho! Now that is the truth!” chimed in Colonel Fitzwilliam.
“So, he proposed marriage, and you refused him?” asked Miss Amelia.
“Yes. However, he did not take my first reply as an answer, and so I had to repeat it a few times before I convinced him that I did not wish to marry him. My mother,” said Elizabeth with a quick glance in her mother’s direction, “was not best pleased that I passed up such an advantageous arrangement.”
“I dare say; I was not best pleased,” huffed Mrs. Bennett. “Such a…”
“Headstrong, obstinate girl, right, Mama?” Elizabeth smiled at her mother.
“Yes, that you are, my child, that you are,” Mrs. Bennett murmured.
“Mr. Collins did not think that his patroness would approve of his marrying a headstrong, obstinate woman, and withdrew his suit. Three days later, he proposed to my friend Charlotte Lucas and was accepted.
Colonel Fitzwilliam guffawed. “Forgive me, I should not laugh so. But, I cannot imagine you following my aunt’s edicts, and it has struck a chord.”
“No, I cannot imagine myself following her edicts either,” stated Elizabeth softly.
Lord Matlock noted the twinkle in her eye and the small smile that passed between her and Darcy. He knew that there was more to this story. “And, Darcy’s proposal?” he queried.
“Oh, that is less entertaining. Mr. Darcy accompanied Mr. Bingley to Hertfordshire and during a walk one day, we came to an understanding,” Elizabeth coloured and spoke a bit too quickly rousing the colonel’s curiosity, once again.
“Just, like that, eh, Darcy?” Colonel Fitzwilliam crossed his arms and gave his cousin a penetrating stare. “Something tells me there may be more of a story there than that. How did you come to know Miss Elizabeth, Cousin?”
“As she said, I met her when I accompanied Mr. Bingley to Hertfordshire.�
�� Darcy glared at his cousin.
Lord Matlock sat back and waited. He had seen these looks before and had a good idea how this scene was going to play out with Darcy digging in his feet and Richard badgering the story out of the poor fellow. He knew he should probably step in and end it before it started, but his curiosity had been tweaked.
“Was that last fall, Darcy, when you met Miss Elizabeth? While at Rosings, Miss Elizabeth said you did not make a favourable impression.” Elizabeth winced, and her mother gave a small huff. It was enough to encourage Colonel Fitzwilliam. “So, how did you, my taciturn cousin, come to an understanding with the lovely Miss Elizabeth?”
“As Elizabeth said, on a walk. I am not always taciturn,” Darcy said flatly.
Colonel Fitzwilliam turned his attention to Elizabeth hoping to draw Darcy out. “You did tell me that he did not make a favourable impression the first time he visited Hertfordshire, did you not, Miss Elizabeth?”
“That is true, Colonel, but he does improve upon acquaintance.”
“I am sure he does, but exactly how did he improve?” Colonel Fitzwilliam watched Darcy and saw all the signs that Darcy was about to gallantly come to the aid of his beloved. Darcy had a strong protective side that was easy for his cousin to exploit. Richard was sure his cousin would not allow an interrogation of Elizabeth
“As with anyone, Colonel, the longer you have their acquaintance, the more you understand about their temperament, and then, they will either improve or fall in your estimation. Would you not agree, Colonel? Have you never met someone and upon getting to know them, had your opinion change from your initial appraisal?” Elizabeth’s eyes flashed and her chin raised just a bit. Darcy relaxed into his chair and smiled.
Lord Matlock noticed with interest the shift in Darcy’s demeanor and the defiant look in Elizabeth’s eye. Perhaps he had been too hasty in his estimation of the young lady. She certainly seemed of greater wit than most ladies of his acquaintance.
Although the colonel could not help being impressed by Elizabeth’s attempt to switch from the person being questioned to the interrogator, he was not about to concede. “And when exactly did you get to know him better, Miss Elizabeth?”
“Where you not in company with us in Kent?”
“Yes, but I do remember a fair amount of, shall we call it, verbal jousting?”
“A sharing of opinions, I would call it.”
“A heated sharing of opinions.”
Elizabeth said nothing but defiantly held his gaze. “I enjoy matching wits, Colonel.” She said cooly.
“It is a favourite pastime of Elizabeth’s,” Jane interjected.
“Did they get to joust in Hertfordshire, Miss Bennett?” Colonel Fitzwilliam turned his attention to Jane, and Elizabeth shifted to the edge of her seat. Richard watched her out of the corner of his eye. He saw the look of protector about to pounce, and he smiled to himself clearly enjoying engaging the enemy in this battle of wills and words.
“Oh, yes,” said Jane. “One evening, I was invited to dine at Netherfield and fell ill while I was there. Elizabeth came and stayed to care for me for several days. She did get to do some jousting as you call it with not just Mr. Darcy, but also Miss Bingley. You see, it is something she does with many people. She likes to challenge their opinions, and she likes to have her opinions challenged.” Jane smiled sweetly at her sister.
“But does she change her opinion readily? Or would you say it takes some work?”
“That depends on the subject,” said Elizabeth before her sister could reply. Elizabeth stood and took a small step in front of her sister, her shoulders square and her visage unwavering. She knew that Jane would be easily overwhelmed by his style of questioning. She would not let anyone put Jane in that kind of situation, nor would she allow the colonel to travel down the road of so if it is not easy to change her opinion, what would Mr. Darcy have to do to improve upon acquaintance?
“Touché, Miss Elizabeth,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam.
Lord Matlock studied his nephew. There seemed to be a momentary flash of trepidation in Darcy’s eyes.
At the same moment, Mr. Gardiner murmured, “Oh, dear. Madeline?” He softly called to his wife and nodded his head toward Elizabeth.
Mrs. Gardiner was seated behind where Elizabeth stood, and her eyes grew wide with concern as she mouthed, “The look?” to her husband. He nodded.
“The look?” Lord Matlock questioned in a soft voice.
“Yes, my lord, it seems your son has crossed the line. Up to this point, there was the possibility of retreat from either side. That option has now fled the field and the war will not be over without some casualties, I am afraid. You see Lizzy has a protective instinct. If you are fortunate enough to earn her trust and acceptance, she will protect you with her dying breath. Jane holds one of those spots and there are few people, aside from your nephew, that she will protect more fiercely. Watch and see. She will wound her opponent if she does not defeat him. And, it may look at some point that she is conceding defeat, but do not be fooled, not many have actually won.”
“A formidable opponent in such an unassuming package then?” Lord Matlock was intrigued.
Richard had locked eyes with Elizabeth and had held her gaze waiting for her to look away. Instead, her eyes bore into him unwaveringly, so he continued his inquisition. “Shall we say the subject is the character of a man like Darcy? How easily is your opinion swayed in such a case, Miss Elizabeth?”
Jane saw Elizabeth’s hands clench in tight fists and her stance shifted slightly while her eyes continued their piercing stare. Jane put a hand on her sister’s arm, hoping to break her focus.
Mrs. Gardiner, who had been watching her niece in concern, decided that now might be a good time to intervene. “Lizzy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, may I suggest a change in topic of conversation before someone well and truly loses her temper and says something regretful?”
Lord Matlock watched in fascination. He was beginning to think that she and his nephew were better matched than he had thought. Both had quick wits. Both were excessively protective, and apparently, both possessed tempers that when unleashed would be impressive.
“All will be well.” Lizzy spoke to her aunt without shifting her eyes from the colonel. She gave Jane’s hand a reassuring pat. She really was trying to keep her frayed nerves under regulation, but she was not ready to back down. Taking a deep breath, she addressed her opponent. “It depends on the man, does it not? Some men are easily read like a child’s primer while others are more complex like a dissertation on philosophy. It could be minutes, days, weeks, months, or years before some opinions may be altered. Would you say your cousin is simple or complex, Colonel? And just how simple or complex would you say he is?” She smiled a cool, calculating smile and continued to stare levelly at the colonel.
Darcy was at full alert now. He was intimately acquainted with the looks on both faces. Elizabeth had leveled that look at him several months ago in Hunsford, and Richard often wore his current expression when badgering Darcy into revealing whatever Darcy did not wish to tell. “Elizabeth.” Darcy’s voice was calm and soft. “Perhaps your aunt is right. Perhaps we should change the subject.”
Darcy’s uncle gave him an inquisitive look. He was trying to assess how Darcy had learned to recognize “the look” in so short an acquaintance.
“I am not the one who initiated the conversation, so it is up to the colonel to change the subject. I am not opposed to such an action.” Elizabeth’s smile softened as she looked at Darcy, but her eyes still flashed.
“It is a very easy thing to do to end this conversation, cousin,” the colonel said. “Miss Elizabeth can tell me the whole story of how you went from creating a poor impression to being so happily engaged. How hard could that be?”
“Harder than you might think, Richard,” Darcy replied with a slight growl in his voice. “So, I am to believe that you are determined to not let this drop?”
“Darcy, you know me well.”
Darcy sighed and looking at Elizabeth gave a slight nod of his head. She turned and spoke softly to her sister.
“Jane, would you and Aunt Gardiner please take Mama for a stroll? You are both familiar with this story and can impart the details in a way that will not unduly stress Mama’s nerves. I can answer any questions she may have later.”
Jane immediately gathered her mother and aunt and escorted them from the room.
Elizabeth saw her uncle Gardiner begin to rise to follow the ladies. “No, please, Uncle. I would like you to stay. I may need you as my witness when I face Mother later.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam began to wonder at the somber tone that Elizabeth had suddenly taken. What had happened? Perhaps he had pushed too far this time.
Lord Matlock was wondering the same thing as he watched the young lady before him take control of the room. Was she conceding, or was it merely a tactic?
“You are sure about this?” Elizabeth asked Darcy. “What about…” Elizabeth gave a quick look towards Georgiana.
“It seems we have no other option.” He glared at his cousin. Then, glancing at his sister and back at Elizabeth said, “I trust you.”
“Thank you, but you concede to your cousin far too easily.” Elizabeth smiled at him and then turned to the room. “These are the terms for this conversation,” she began. “We will speak of this once and only once. No part of this story is to leave this room as gossip within the family or at large. Some information may be withheld to protect those who may be harmed if someone fails to keep this story to him or herself. If you cannot agree to these terms, I would ask you to leave.” She paused and looked every person in the eye. Coming to rest on Colonel Fitzwilliam last, she held his gaze longer. No one moved. “By remaining, you are, in effect, signing your name to this agreement.”
