Chapter 15

This morning marked the seventh day since the party from Hertfordshire had arrived in Hunsford, and Elizabeth, upon first opening her eyes, was pleased to observe that the day was a fine one. She rose with alacrity, performed her morning ablutions, and joined Mr. and Mrs. Collins, along with Maria Lucas, for breakfast. Afterward, she assisted Charlotte with the slip covers, and when the Collinses decided to walk to the mansion to call on Lady Catherine and her relations, Elizabeth eagerly escaped out of doors for a solitary walk.

Rosings was an extensive estate, and now, with new life growing and forming and sprouting wherever she looked, it was magnificent. The day was glorious, with a heavenly blue sky arching above and a trace of a playful breeze gusting occasionally. Elizabeth strolled along the gravel path that ran beside the glebe as she made her way to the greater part of the grounds. The garden itself was well-maintained and boasted labeled rows of carrots, marrows, peas, and even mangel wurzels; Mr. Collins plainly took pride in caring for it.

As she moved away from the parsonage and further into the manor grounds, the path broadened, sweet chestnuts drawing closer to march along either side. Graceful branches met overhead, the sunlight dappling the path through gently-tossing leaves that tinted the very air slightly verdant. Small, unripe chestnuts nestled among the leaves and the crushed gray rock of the path, lying in wait to roll the foot and startle the unwary. Elizabeth stooped to pick up one of the nuts, still in its green casing, running her thumb over it before tilting her face up to the sun above and enjoying the warmth.

A breeze tugged at one of her curling brown locks, allowing it to escape from its restraints, and she smiled and continued on. At last the chestnuts stepped back, deferentially giving way to elms and willows and then a large pond spread out before her. Elizabeth approached its banks, parting the rushes to peep into the water below. She was charmed by the white flowers of a clump of watercress, but her eye was soon caught by the silvery flash of a fish in the waters that could easily be a roach or a rudd. Further away, a small school of carp flowed lazily past, heading for deeper waters on the other side of the pond.

She lingered by the pond for several minutes, watching the fish, before moving carefully around it to continue her wanderings. The path led her through another copse of trees before abruptly replacing the graceful trunks and lush leaves with a severe stone wall. Elizabeth stood on tiptoe to peek over; inside were formal gardens, strict and neat and orderly, with nary a grass-blade out of place. She wrinkled her nose and turned to follow the path further, delighting in the grassy verge between the gravel and the stone wall: a riotous profusion of color frolicked there, wildflowers in every shade of blue and purple and yellow and white. She strolled on, holding fellowship with the flowers, until the path began to incline.

A few minutes later, she attained the top of the small hill and paused to catch her breath while she looked around her. From her vantage point, she could see many miles to the south, where slowly moving figures of man and beast showed that many of the tenant farmers were working the land on this clear spring day.

“Miss Bennet,” a familiar voice said from behind her, and she spun around in surprise.

“Mr. Darcy!” she exclaimed.

The gentleman was dressed in riding breeches, top boots, and a well cut coat, all of them suitable for country wear, but his usual elegance was dissipated somewhat by the strange look on his countenance.

“Mr. Darcy?” Elizabeth repeated, her brow furrowed in concern. “Is something wrong?”

The man straightened his body and stared into her eyes. “I have been walking for some time in the hopes of meeting you, as my aunt informed me of your daily rambles when the weather is good. Miss Bennet, you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. I do not know if you feel the same way about me – indeed, it is possible you dislike me very much, since I did interfere with your sister’s courtship. I want, above all things, to make you my wife, but if you are not ready for such a step, I would be honored to formally court you. If, of course, you cannot imagine …if you are quite opposed ... oh, I fear I am making quite a mess of this. Miss Bennet, I do apologize. Shall I start over?”

Elizabeth, who had been staring at him with wide eyes and parted lips, found herself chuckling at this last question. “Pray do not, Mr. Darcy, for I am already bewildered, and need a moment to recover my wits. Did I hear you correctly, that you wish to marry me?”

“I do, above all things!” he responded, his dark eyes glittering fervently.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and struggled to center herself. She had always prided herself on her understanding of human nature and now, a little more than a fortnight after discovering that she had been entirely in error regarding George Wickham’s character, she was caught unawares by Mr. Darcy’s incredible admission.

“What happened to ‘not handsome enough to tempt me’?” she blurted, and then blushed vividly. That was not what she had intended to say!

“ Not handsome enough to tempt me? ” Darcy repeated in a befuddled tone. “What does that mean?”

“Well,” the lady said with a self-conscious chuckle, “I thought it meant that I was so plain that I was not worthy to be asked to dance at the Meryton Assembly, the first night we laid eyes on one another. You said that to Mr. Bingley, if you remember…”

She broke off and a rather hysterical giggle escaped her mouth. Mr. Darcy had paled, and his pupils were now dilated in horror. The poor man!

“I … oh, Miss Bennet, I can only apologize, most abjectly. I truly did not remember that most unfortunate remark until you spoke of it. Oh, what a fool I am! I was irritable and tired that evening, and I merely wished to put Bingley off as I am uncomfortable dancing with ladies I do not know. I am so very sorry. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”

“Of course, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth returned, a stirring of guilt in her heart. “I ought not to have mentioned it, but you have taken me by surprise, you know. I truly thought you did not like me.”

She held up a hand to stay any further speech on Darcy’s part and glanced at the imposing facade of Rosings some forty yards away. “Mr. Darcy, would you be willing to walk down this path with me? There is a stone bench at the bottom, and we can speak without being seen or overheard. I daresay I am being somewhat paranoid, but we can be seen from Lady Catherine’s favorite sitting room, and I would not care to be interrupted.”

Darcy cast an uneasy glance behind him and nodded. “Yes, of course, Miss Bennet.”

He held out his arm, she took it, and together they walked down the path. Elizabeth found herself prey to a riotous maelstrom of emotion – she had received an offer of marriage from Mr. Darcy, whom she disliked, though certainly she thought better of him now than she had a few months previously. Darcy, for his part, felt his skin warm as he enjoyed Miss Bennet’s hand gripping his arm with a strength surprising in one so petite. Once they attained the bench, both sat down, Elizabeth at one end, and Darcy at the other. The gentleman gritted his teeth shut, forcing himself to wait for Miss Bennet to speak.

“Mr. Darcy, again, you have thoroughly startled me,” Elizabeth said once she had gathered her thoughts further. “I thought that you found me entirely tiresome. When I saw you in the carriage yesterday, you seemed horrified to find me here in Hunsford!”

“No, no, not at all! The truth is that I had been telling my cousin about my love for you, and he urged me to pursue you, and I had said, moments previously, that you were regrettably in Hertfordshire instead of Kent. I was astonished when I saw you standing next to the parsonage, but I was overjoyed, not distressed.”

“I see,” Elizabeth said with a slight smile. She cogitated for another minute and then raised her eyes to gaze directly into her suitor’s.

“Mr. Darcy, I cannot possibly accept your offer at this time, as I do not feel I know you well enough. To be entirely truthful, I have rather disliked you for many months…”

Here she lifted a staying hand at the sight of the gentleman’s concerned countenance and continued, “but I also realized on the day that Jane married Charles, that I had been an utter fool concerning Mr. Wickham, and now I have discovered that I was in error concerning your personality and character as well.”

Darcy lowered his gaze to his clasped hands. “Would you be willing to enter into a courtship, perhaps?” he asked in a hopeful tone.

Elizabeth turned away for a moment to consider, and then swung her attention back to the gentleman, who was waiting anxiously. “I believe yes, I would be pleased to enter a courtship, but I fear that for now, at least, it must be unofficial.”

“May I ask why?”

“I am concerned about Lady Catherine’s response. Since you have asked me to marry you, I am confident that you are not, in fact, engaged to your cousin, Miss de Bourgh?”

“No, no!” Darcy said hastily. “There was, I believe, some talk between my late mother and Lady Catherine concerning a possible match between Anne and myself, but I realized some years ago that my cousin and I are ill-suited. We are both very quiet people, and I would thrive with a livelier companion in life. I would thrive with you , Miss Bennet. But I do urge you not to concern yourself regarding my aunt. She will, without a doubt, be very angry by our courtship and, I hope and pray, eventual marriage, but she has no power over either of us.”

“That is true, but she does have power over my friend Charlotte, since the Collinses’ happiness is very much affected by their patroness’s approval.”

Darcy blinked, sighed deeply, and confessed, “I had not thought of that, but you are correct.”

“Now do not take that too much to heart,” Elizabeth cautioned. “Charlotte is one of my dearest friends, and she is far too selfless to stand in the way of my happiness in marriage. However, I believe that it would be unfair for us to enter a courtship openly at this time, as Lady Catherine would … well, I do not wish to insult your aunt, sir. She is a very determined lady.”

“Indeed she is,” Darcy said with a sigh. “You are entirely correct, Miss Bennet. It would be ill-advised to set the cat among the pigeons by announcing a formal courtship.”

“That does not mean we cannot get to know one another, Mr. Darcy,” the lady replied, her smile lighting up her face. “We will, I am certain, have opportunities to meet at Rosings, and I always walk when the weather is fine.”

Darcy leaned forward impulsively to take Elizabeth’s gloved hand and he pressed a hasty kiss on it. “Thank you, Miss Bennet. I look forward to knowing you better, and I am grateful for your willingness to give me a chance given my previously abhorrent behavior.”

“I fear that my own behavior has been equally abominable, for I championed Mr. Wickham who is, I know now, a completely wretched man,” Elizabeth confessed, her smile fading.

“You are not to be blamed for that,” Darcy said warmly. “The man is handsome, outwardly charming, and has the demeanor and speech of a gentleman, whereas my own manners are stiff, and I often give offense without intending to do so.”

Elizabeth hesitated, her brow crinkled, and then said, “I have a question, sir, but it is rather an intrusive one.”

“I welcome any and all questions from you.”

“Why did you not warn me, or anyone in Meryton and her environs, of Wickham’s wicked character? He is in prison now, you know, for indebtedness and theft and … I fear he behaved very improperly with at least two local maidens. He was the wolf, and we were the sheep, and while I know we were idiotic to trust his outward appearance, you could have warned us.”

Her tone, near the end of the speech, was rather reproachful, and Darcy sucked in a pained breath and leaned back, struggling to gather his thoughts.

“I ought to have told someone in Hertfordshire, I agree,” he finally said, his own gaze now fixed on a distant copse of weeping willow trees, whose branches, fuzzy with new leaves, drooped near the ground. “The truth is that less than a year ago, my sister Georgiana went to Ramsgate on holiday along with her former companion, a Mrs. Younge. I was greatly at fault in hiring the woman, as we later discovered that she knew Wickham and was in league with him. Wickham followed Georgiana to Ramsgate, and my sister, who did not know of the man’s deceitful character, and retained fond memories of Wickham’s kindness to her as a child, was convinced by the pair to believe herself in love with Wickham and to consent to an elopement.”

Elizabeth found herself nearly breathless in horror. She shuddered at the memory of Wickham’s harsh words about Miss Darcy, when he had nearly brought the girl to ruin! What a despicable man!

“What happened?” she whispered fearfully.

He turned to her now and said, “By the grace of God alone, I made an unexpected visit to Ramsgate and found Wickham with Georgiana, with Mrs. Younge nowhere to be seen. He had not … well, there was no physical harm done, thankfully, but of course I was enraged and threw Mrs. Younge and Wickham out. I suppose I ought to have taken firmer steps with Wickham, but Georgiana was devastated and her reputation…”

He gulped hard and Elizabeth said immediately, “I understand completely. A woman’s reputation is a fragile thing, and if Wickham had spoken openly of what had come to pass, it would have been disastrous.”

“Precisely,” Darcy agreed huskily. “I was afraid of challenging him because he does have a ready tongue. All the same, I should have said something to your father or Sir William Lucas. It was more of my despicable pride, I suppose; I was more intent on protecting my own family than considering the dangers of allowing a snake like Wickham to slither freely.”

Elizabeth took a deep breath and said, “You do owe it to your sister to care for her, and Miss Darcy is very shy. She would have been devastated if any whisper of her shame circulated in society. I do not blame you.”

“Thank you,” Darcy said, “though I do blame myself. I am thankful that the man is now locked up where he cannot cause more harm.”

“I am as well,” Elizabeth agreed and pulled out the watch dangling around her neck on a silver chain. She stood up and said, “I need to start walking back, or Charlotte will be worried.”

Darcy stood as well and said hesitantly, “May I accompany you to the parsonage?”

She smiled at him, rather shyly, and said, “Yes, that would be very pleasant.”