Miss Darcy and Miss de Bourgh both turned white with mortification, and Lady Matlock interjected again.
“Dear Lord, you are insufferable, Catherine, even more so than your clergyman. We must find a way to send you home, too, before you expose the whole family to ridicule in front of the entire town.”
“This is…how dare you? I shall tell my brother, your husband, with what unyielding incivility you treated me in front of strangers! This is not to be borne, nor forgiven!”
“You may find your brother, my husband, at home, in a meeting with his solicitor. I am sure he would be delighted to hear your complaints at this very moment,” Lady Matlock said, while Lady Catherine quitted the room in high dudgeon, the door closing behind her with a decisive sound.
“We are so very sorry,” Miss Darcy whispered to her guests, her voice trembling. Her brother joined her in apologising, but Elizabeth quickly put them at ease.
“Pray, do not distress yourselves. We are honoured and delighted to be in the company of you and Lady Matlock. As for Lady Catherine, I have known her long enough to expect nothing less when her will is crossed.”
“Miss Elizabeth was never afraid of Mama and always stood up for her opinions,” Miss de Bourgh whispered.
“So I heard, Miss Elizabeth,” Lady Matlock said. “My son and my niece Anne have praised you more than once. I was quite curious to meet you, and I am not disappointed so far.”
“Your ladyship is very kind,” Elizabeth replied, glancing at Mr. Darcy, whose stare was fixed upon her.
Thus, despite the scandals created first by the Bingley sisters and then by Lady Catherine, the little tea party ended on a pleasant note. Laughter returned, conversation resumed its agreeable course. As they took their leave, Elizabeth stepped out of the house with a growing tenderness in her heart. Being invited into Mr. Darcy’s home and introduced to his sister and aunt proved that he still held her in high regard and was willing to preserve at least a friendship with her. And since Mr. Bingley would soon reopen Netherfield and a certain event was expected to happen any moment now, Elizabeth could at least be sure she would meet Mr. Darcy again in the future.
Only two days later, Mr. Bingley called again and asked Jane to take a walk with him in a nearby park, together with Elizabeth and the children. The gentleman seized that opportunity and finally acted according to his feelings and desires, proposing to Jane. Hours later, Mr. Gardiner wrote to Mr. Bennet to convey the happiest of news, and Mr. Bingley attended another dinner in Gracechurch Street to celebrate the long-awaited engagement.
Less than a fortnight in London brought Jane and Elizabeth enough joy and happiness to compensate for all the suffering of the last six tormenting months. As Elizabeth said many times, there were to think only of the past as its remembrance gave them pleasure. The rest of it should be forgotten by both Jane and Elizabeth — and hopefully by Mr. Darcy too.
Once the engagement became public, the Bennet sisters, in the company of Mr. Bingley, returned triumphantly to Longbourn. Elizabeth had no opportunity to meet Mr. Darcy again before she left London, so throughout the journey back home, her heart was torn between joy for her sister’s blissful future and concern and uncertainty in regard to her own.
Chapter 10
The news of the engagement between Mr. Bingley and Jane was received with the utmost transports of delight by the entire Bennet family and caught the interest of everybody in Meryton. After Mr. Bingley’s departure the previous November, very few still expected such a course of events. Mrs. Bennet talked of nothing else for days together, declaring it the happiest news imaginable and already planning the splendours of the wedding with a zeal that bordered upon frenzy.
Mr. Bennet, though more measured in his expressions, observed his eldest daughter with quiet satisfaction, while her sisters surrounded her with joy and affection.
Elizabeth was not a little surprised when her father drew her aside one morning and mentioned that he had lately received a letter from Mr. Darcy. “It contained a most particular warning regarding that agreeable young officer Mr. Wickham. Your favourite, I believe. Mr. Darcy appears to have taken considerable trouble upon himself to warn me that the amiable officer is not quite so amiable and that he should not be allowed in the company of young women unchaperoned.”
Elizabeth was surprised. So Mr. Darcy had taken some measures, even if he had not mentioned it to her. Since she had returned home, there had not been a day — not even an hour — when she did not think of him. The time passing proved to her that any opposition was in vain. She missed Mr. Darcy; she longed for his presence and for his good opinion. She longed for everything that he had offered that day at the parsonage and she had violently rejected.
“Lizzy? You are very quiet. Are you thinking of your favourite?”
Mr. Bennet raised his eyebrow.
“Mr. Wickham has long ceased to be my favourite, Papa,” Elizabeth said, averting her eyes. “In fact, I have heard from most reliable sources that he is, in essentials, neither amiable nor honest and loyal.”
“Is that so? Well, I cannot say I am surprised. I never trust a man who smiles all the time and prefers to spend time with the women in the drawing-room than with the men in the library.”
Mr. Bennet poured himself a drink before he continued.
“I was pleasantly surprised by Mr. Darcy’s considerate letter — especially since I know how utterly you disliked him. The man does have poor taste since he called you tolerable and refused to dance with you. But otherwise, he might be a trustworthy fellow.”
Warmth rose to Elizabeth’s cheeks. “My opinion of Mr. Darcy has improved a good deal since that time, Papa,” she replied, endeavouring to speak with composure. “He is not at all the man I once believed him to be, and any errors he might have made in the past, he is willing to make amends for.”
Mr. Bennet raised his eyebrow further, a smile playing about his lips. “Indeed? Then I shall not regret having written to your uncle Gardiner to gather what intelligence he might have about this transformed paragon.”
The conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Lydia, who came bursting into the room with her usual high spirits, begging her father’s permission to join the regiment in Brighton. “Oh, Papa, it would be the greatest fun! Harriet has invited me as her intimate friend! She is the colonel’s wife, and we cannot refuse her! All the officers will be there, and I am sure Colonel Forster would be delighted to have me.”
“Slow down, child. What on earth are you talking about? Brighton? Where did this come from?”
“The regiment will be camped in Brighton for the summer! Mama has already said I can go! A summer by the sea — what could be more wonderful?”
“Only if I am losing my mind would I allow my fifteen-year-old daughter to go alone to a place filled with officers. I hardly trust you to meet the officers in the company of your sisters or mother! You should thank Mrs. Forster and decline the invitation for at least three years. When you turn eighteen, we may talk again.”