Brevity

Brevity

Just as Mr Collins was winding down, I heard the musicians tuning up for the first dance, and once again wondered who Mr Darcy had lined up for the onerous task, and when he would appear.

I was beginning to look at the entire exchange with wonder. I began the evening with an enormous prejudice against Mr Darcy, but it seemed he was the kindest man I knew.

That newfound knowledge was tremendously disconcerting because it overturned every cherished idea I had about him, and about myself. I fancied myself quite clever in taking such offence, but in truth, he had rendered a great service to both Mr Collins and me, merely because I made an indirect request. My father, a blood relative, did nothing but ridicule the man that, whatever his faults, was respectable and would eventually be master of Longbourn. We all might be dependent on him one day, but not a single Bennet, with the possible exception of Mary, had treated Mr Collins with even basic respect, let alone kindness.

Up until that very moment, I do not think I knew myself, and I was not particularly happy with my newfound understanding. I vowed to myself, right there and then, that I would thank Mr Darcy most profusely for teaching me a lesson that would be much to my benefit.

Mr Darcy however was not quite finished.

“Would you object to a bit more advice that may not be to your taste, but could be to your benefit?”

Mr Collins seemed deep in thought, but to his credit he gave his full attention.

“My advice is to talk less and listen more. Please do not take it too hard. We all have our faults. Miss Elizabeth can tell you that I mostly stand around like a bad-tempered statue—perhaps a gargoyle—or even say truly offensive things when I am uncomfortable. Either that, or I say too little for fear of saying something inappropriate or something that will be taken out of context.

“You have the opposite problem and say too much. Either one of us could well take lessons from Miss Elizabeth and it would be greatly to our benefit.”

To say I was surprised would be the understatement of the year, but I felt the compliment keenly and replied with perhaps the biggest smile to date. The man was definitely safe from my fan.

Mr Collins looked torn between taking the word of someone so highly placed at face value, and mortification at the criticism, but finally, he surprised both of us by saying simply, “You may be correct.”

I wondered what was going on in his head and was taken aback when he looked thoughtful for quite some time, before looking at Mr Darcy and asking, “How is it done?”

I surprised myself by giving my cousin another smile, which was getting to be a most disagreeable habit; but I was just astounded and could use that as my excuse.

Mr Darcy gave the man what I would call his father’s smile , that his children would be privileged to see, and replied.

“Nothing worthwhile is easy. You will have to find your own way, but here are a few guidelines. Listen more and talk less—a lot more and a lot less. Make sure you listen and understand every word of your conversations. If it helps, try counting words and ensure you account for less than half.”

Quite surprisingly, Mr Collins replied, “I can see that, sir. It is sensible advice. I may have to give it some thought, and naturally I will discuss the idea with my patroness, the noble Lady Catherine, and see what she has to say on the matter.”

Much to his credit, Mr Darcy did not cringe at the suggestion, but merely soldiered on.

“One more thing. Assume your conversation partner is at least as smart as you are and be willing to admit when they are smarter. For example, I freely admit that Miss Elizabeth is quite a bit cleverer than I am and find no shame in the admission. I intend to ask her advice on any number of issues in future.”

At that statement I gasped and stared at him in shock, and he just unleashed that devilish smile at me, thus rendering me perhaps not as clever as he asserted. He of course just kept ploughing forward.

“Try not to repeat yourself. Always assume that your conversational partner has understood what you said unless they ask for clarification, and if you are talking to someone with a superior mind, you may even assume they understand things that have not been said explicitly . Assume they can read between the lines to the underlying meaning. Give them the respect of appreciating their intelligence.”

At that point, both Mr Collins and I were hanging on every word, and he blithely continued.

“Would you like a demonstration of the power of this idea? I can show you how you can have an entire conversation… an important conversation… with crucial questions and answers… with just two words . Would you care to see that?”

Mr Collins looked blankly at Mr Darcy, as I am certain I was doing as well, and then in the first sign of true intelligence I think I had ever seen in him, my cousin Collins sported a huge grin and with a grand gesture showing he was regaining his equilibrium, he said, “Show me!”

I was hardly any less eager to see this demonstration myself, and I could also tell from the sound of the musicians that the first dance was just about to begin, and I had yet to see my mysterious dance partner. Of course, now that Mr Collins had been turned on his head it was a bit of a moot point, but I was curious.

Mr Darcy turned around to face me directly, which had the effect of finally removing my hand from his arm, although it happened in a smooth and elegant way since I was watching him intently. I was burning with curiosity to see what the two words were .

Mr Darcy held out his left hand to me, palm up, and gave me a rather adorable grin.

“Miss Elizabeth.”