Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

" W hat a singular event," Charlotte said to her later, as they prepared for dinner and the inevitable expressions of awe and self-congratulation Mr Collins was certain to spew in between bites of what smelled like a delicious ragout. "Their carriage had passed the parsonage only an hour or so earlier, and yet Lady Catherine's nephews hurried here from Rosings. I understand that neither has called here even before Mr Collins secured the position. It is quite interesting, I think."

Elizabeth nodded, refusing to acknowledge the expressive look her friend was giving her. "Perhaps the desire for fresh air was especially overwhelming to the gentlemen, or perhaps they were squabbling and Lady Catherine tossed them out before they came to blows."

"Lizzy!" Biting back a smile, Charlotte glanced round the dining room before stepping closer. "Do be careful. Your prior acquaintance with Mr Darcy is somewhat more familiar than is proper and while Mr Collins has remained quiet on the events that occurred that particular day, prudence is a wiser course than humour when in his or Lady Catherine's company."

Of course, neither was present but Elizabeth understood her friend's need for caution. She lived with a mother and sisters who shared secrets and gossip innocently, while Charlotte dwelt in a house where any business conducted or conversation held was undoubtedly reported to Lady Catherine. Since Sir William's departure from Hunsford, Elizabeth had felt Mr Collins's presence more keenly, as if he now felt free to observe her closely and determine whether she regretted what she had turned down. Mr Darcy's arrival at Rosings, compounded by his almost immediate call at the parsonage, could only worsen his scrutiny.

She leant over the table to re-arrange the soup spoons misplaced earlier by Maria, who was eagerly assisting Hunsford's sole harried servant with table-setting. "I have had wrath and scorn enough for those events. I would not wish for further scrutiny from Lady Catherine."

"Nor would Mr Darcy, yet he came here in all haste and, with his cousin, was all friendliness. Whatever attention he pays you, Lizzy, or you to him, I only caution you for your own sake: do not let it be observed. Lady Catherine is firm in her declarations that her nephew will marry Miss de Bourgh."

Elizabeth lowered her voice to match Charlotte's near-whisper. "She looks decidedly askance at me and cannot think me any threat to her daughter, a lady of noted birth and many, many talents—had she only had the good health to learn and practise them." She smiled, happy to see Charlotte's amused exasperation. "You see, I am a hopeless case, incorrigibly in need of laughter."

"Perhaps you may need it," Charlotte said. "Maria has had a letter from Kitty, in which she shares complaints about Mr Nugent that sound similar to yours."

Elizabeth pretended surprise but she was heartened her younger sister showed discernment.

Charlotte lowered her voice. "You have said nothing to me, but is it true what Kitty says, that your father has declared you must accept your next proposal?"

Everyone in Meryton must know , she thought, making it a most dangerous place for me . "Yes, although perhaps I shall regain my autonomy if Mary or Kitty becomes engaged. Forgive me if I have not put myself forwards to meet your male neighbours and parishioners."

"You have been discerning, for good reason. No woman should be forced to accept an offer, and much as I admit liking the idea of you being situated nearby, there is not a man in the neighbourhood worthy of you. However, Colonel Fitzwilliam is good-humoured and garrulous in manner, if you like that sort of thing." Charlotte could scarcely hide a smirk. "And we could spend every Easter together."

Charlotte's diverting talk of Colonel Fitzwilliam's charms did nothing to quell the storm brewing within Elizabeth. She could only pick at her dinner, her thoughts too heavily engaged in the happy memory of seeing Mr Darcy. That he remained handsome was no surprise, nor were the formal manners she was accustomed to. Yet she could not comprehend his apparent eagerness to see her almost immediately upon his arrival in Kent.

When he had departed Meryton without waiting to see her, she had assumed their connexion over—gladly on his end, despite the kindness he had shown to her for a few hours. Yes, he had pressed Jane as to her welfare, but the brevity of their friendship was clearly overcome by the difference in their stations and the natural course of their lives.

But if he had wished to forget their acquaintance—a wise decision in view of their company—he seemed to have forgone it. What was behind his haste to see her? What excuse did he make to his aunt to leave Rosings so soon after arriving, to visit the parsonage? What, she wondered, had prompted it, and was he now satisfied to see her in good health?

In good health! I was blushing and barely civil, startled as I was by seeing him here and fully aware of Mr Collins, standing behind him, watching and listening to all that occurred. Loathsome mushroom!

Much as she wished to see one man, evading the notice of the other would remain challenging.

In spite of a restless night which found her at her window watching the moon until at last, near one o'clock, her eyelids drooped, Elizabeth was awake early and out in the dew-covered woods before the rest of the parsonage stirred. She was not expecting to encounter anyone, nor expecting anyone to be on a walk with a similar lack of ambition, but she could not hold back a frisson of delight when she saw a familiar figure turning the corner ahead of her. Even with the sun at his back, shining into her eyes and nearly blinding her, she knew it was Mr Darcy.

"Good morning, Miss Bennet."

Shielding her eyes with a hand, she smiled up at him. "Good morning, Mr Darcy."

He stepped quickly to one side, allowing her to turn herself and escape the blinding rays. "I find you in peril again, although I prefer the sun to the rain as an opponent." Apparently noting her amused expression, he added, "Or an intransigent suitor."

At that she laughed. "Indeed, that was a permutation of perils."

"May I walk with you?" He gestured towards a path shielded by trees.

As they began strolling, he said, "I am pleased to see you again. I apologise I was unable to see for myself at Longbourn that you were well, but there were previous, rather urgent, demands on my time—business here at Rosings, in fact—that I could not put aside."

That Lady Catherine was the cause of his hasty departure from Netherfield was some comfort. She was not a lady whose importuning could be easily ignored.

"Truly," he continued, "were you well? Are you well?"

Shaking off her stupor, Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, I was fortunate not to have a fever, nor to have need for Mr Jones's tonics, but my mother made me keep to my bed for a full day, and thus I missed your call."

"Miss Bennet assured me you were in full health, and when I was in town, I learnt from Bingley's sisters that Mr Collins had wed a young lady who was not from Longbourn. "

Mr Darcy's frown matched her own, although hers was in disgust at his source of information. Then he sighed.

"It was a relief to me that you escaped him, and that the events of the hours we spent with him were not somehow twisted to ensure your acquiescence to his offer."

" Offers . Indeed, much as my father was disgusted by Mr Collins's conduct, it was your testimony, and that of Mr Goulding, that determined he deserved no such consideration. Of course," she added, "we were aided by Lady Lucas's fortuitous arrival at Longbourn and her application to Mr Collins that Lucas Lodge would be more welcoming to his recovery, that truly guaranteed his future with Charlotte."

He grimaced. "Yes, I believe Mrs Collins is...well-situated. A fine house and garden, and the townspeople are a good sort."

Elizabeth nodded, though in fact she knew very little of the neighbours, careful as she had been to avoid notice as an eligible young lady of small fortune and little charm but powerless to refuse a proposal.

As they walked past a tall oak tree, Mr Darcy kicked away a branch. Perhaps it jostled the same memory in him as in her, of the clumsy cleric's branch-bashing last autumn, for he turned the subject to Mr Collins. "How do you find your cousin? Has marriage much changed him?"

She shook her head and laughed lightly. "Indeed it has. His wardrobe is better fitted, though whether that is due to Charlotte's skill with needle and thread or tastier dinners that help him fill out his jackets and trousers, I cannot say. However, he is as dedicated to admiring walls and chimneys at Rosings as he was as a single man in Meryton."

Mr Darcy chuckled. "Well, it is said marriage maketh the man."

"Yes, but whether it maketh him better or worse will always provide debate."

She turned to glimpse his expression, hoping to see him smiling, but instead he appeared lost in thought. Once again, I have taken a joke too far. In a more sober voice, she asked, "And you, sir? I hope you were unscathed by our brief moment of rain-dampened camaraderie. You have not returned to Netherfield, but been busy with your own estate?"

"Always. Pemberley is well run by my steward and servants, but it is my home and I prefer to spend what time I can there, with my sister." He chuckled. "But unscathed? Yes and no. The estate matters I came here to address last autumn also required I tramp in the mud, and the boots previously saturated at Longbourn did not survive."

"Your poor boots! I hope your valet was kinder to you than my mother was to me about my hems and gloves that day. And your greatcoat! It was a kindness you lent it to me, and I hope it was not ruined."

He slowed, his hands behind his back, and she felt him looking at her. "You need not worry for my boots or coat, or even the state of my hat, although that too has seen better days."

His gaze seemed to penetrate her, sweeping over her face as if searching for something. She knew not what and her own gaze fell to his lips and the soft smile he wore. Unsettled, uncertain of what had just passed between them, she took a breath and began to walk again. She could think of little to say and was pleased when he managed to speak.

"I was quite surprised—happily surprised—to learn you were at Hunsford, albeit in the home of the man you so forcefully refused. I hope it is not uncomfortable for you."

"With a mother and sisters fond of gossip, I am accustomed to caution in my conversation. But here, as a guest, I am quieter than usual and more restrained—a true test of my penchant to laugh at the absurd and nonsensical." When Mr Darcy smirked, she knew he had understood, and continued. "Mr Collins is tolerant of my friendship with Charlotte, but his resentment and his need to remind me of what I turned down, is never far from mind." Or tongue.

"Has he threatened you or made you feel unsafe in any way?" His voice was sharp; she could hear the anger in it.

She lifted her hand and touched his arm in reassurance. "No, all is well. I simply take care not to offend him or Lady Catherine, but you know I often fail to contain my impertinence, or my enjoyment of wit at the expense of others' harmony."

He gave no sign that he had heard her. She had expected a chuckle or at least a smile, but his head was lowered. Realising her hand remained on his arm, she pulled it away and began to walk, her hand tingling.