When Mrs. Bennet huffed her displeasure, assuring him that her outbursts were at an end for the moment, he turned his attention back to Elizabeth. “I do think you are incorrect about one thing, Lizzy—Mr. Darcy is not such a man as to refuse to uphold his responsibilities. Should you marry him and something befall me, I cannot suppose he would allow your family to live in penury.”
Feeling her cheeks heating a little, Elizabeth nodded, though she did not speak.
“Then there isnoengagement,” Lydia spat.
Ignoring his wife’s lament, Bennet turned a hard gaze at his youngest daughter, who, not accustomed to her father’s displeasure, blanched at the sight. When she would not look up at him, Mr. Bennet nodded.
“That is enough vitriol from you, Lydia. Whatever we think about the two men in question, Lizzy is the only one of you girls who has ever received a proposal of marriage, let alone two. That she attracted the attention of a man of society such as Mr. Darcy is no mean feat.”
Then he turned back to Elizabeth, his expression softening. “Can I assume Mr. Darcy did not acquit himself any better than my cousin?”
“No, he did not,” replied Elizabeth. “Mr. Darcy’s proposal dwelt on his struggle to overcome his scruples and accepting the inferiority of my connections and fortune.”
Mr. Bennet snorted as Mrs. Bennet’s eyes widened. “Then his way of making love to a woman was as curious as my cousin’s.”
“More than you know, Papa.” Elizabeth grinned, a welcome bit of levity entering her heart after the tense moments at her uncle’s house and then her argument with Lydia. “Mr. Darcy was so inept that until he uttered his proposal, I had no notion of his interest in me. In that, if in nothing else, at least Mr. Collins was the superior, forhedid not scruple to hide his interest.”
“Hmm, yes, I suppose you are correct,” mused Mr. Bennet. “Then I must suppose your intelligence concerning Mr. Wickham comes from the same source at the same time.”
This was ground Elizabeth did not wish to tread at length. Mr. Darcy giving her a letterwasimproper—though she was no more disposed to the gentleman now, she did not wish her father to confiscate her letter. If she even mentioned it, her mother might insist on seeing it, and there were communications contained therein that she would not share with another living soul without Mr. Darcy’s permission.
“After I rejected his proposal,” confirmed Elizabeth. “During that confrontation, I commented on his treatment of Mr. Wickham. Mr. Darcy considered his response and then informed me of Mr. Wickham’s behavior.”
“And you swallowed it whole without question,” accused Lydia.
“No, Lydia,” replied Elizabeth, throwing a quelling look at the girl, matching the look on her father’s face. “I considered it for a time, asked Charlotte’s opinion, then compared it with what Mr. Wickham told me and how he has behaved. When I assembled all the facts, I could come to no other conclusion.”
“Mr. Wickham’s behavior tonight confirmed his worthlessness,” said Mary to support her.
Lydia huffed again, unwilling to remain silent. “His behavior did not differ from any other time in company.”
“Is that so, Lydia?” demanded Elizabeth, unwilling to endure her sister’s silliness any longer. “Then what do you say to Mr. Wickham’s threatening comments aboutyou?”
“That is a lie!” scowled Lydia. “Mr. Wickham has always esteemed me.”
“He spoke of how easily it would be to ruin you,” retorted Elizabeth. “Mary and Jane were both near enough to hear him.”
“Then something must be done about the officer,” said Mr. Bennet with a sigh. “It is time for us all to retire, for nothing good will come of this argument. Girls, go to your rooms. Lizzy, I wish to confirm a few things before you join them.”
Elizabeth assented, and her sisters and mother did as they were bidden, though not without reluctance. Lydia stormed up the stairs, leaving her sisters behind, and while Elizabeth received looks from her other sisters, no one spoke. Mrs. Bennet impaled Elizabeth with her eyes as if to promise that the matter of Mr. Darcy’s proposal was not yet closed, but Elizabeth ignored it and followed her father into his study.
“Now, Lizzy,” said Mr. Bennet when they settled into two chairs before the hearth, “it seems your activities of late have been a departure from your usual behavior. Shall you not account for it?”
Though she hesitated, Elizabeth knew she could not demur. Choosing brevity, she explained her method of warning the neighborhood without delving into specific instances where she had spoken of Mr. Wickham so much as her general strategy. Then she gave him a full account of the night’s events. Elizabeth did not say as much, but she knew her father understood she had acted as she did because he had declined to act—or perhaps that was not accurate, as she would have proceeded with her plan regardless. When she finished speaking, her father sat back in his chair, pondering all he had heard.
“You did, of course, speak of Mr. Wickham,” said Mr. Bennet. “Now that I have the full context, I understand the threat of the man better than I did before. What I find most interesting about this business is the method you employed to act against him. I had not thought you indulged in gossip.”
“I do not,” replied Elizabeth. “Yet it seemed the best tool at my disposal in this instance. I could not stand in Meryton’s square and denounce him, and his manners and engaging smile made him welcome in the community.”
“That is so,” replied her father. “This business of Mr. Wickham threatening you through your sisters is most concerning.”
“It is Lydia who is a problem, Papa. Kitty has seen through Mr. Wickham and has been watching Lydia to ensure she does not get herself into trouble.”
Mr. Bennet snorted at the notion. “Then I must revise my opinion of Kitty, for I thought she was as silly as her younger sister.”
“Papa,” said Elizabeth, her tone a little chiding, “I have come to understand that Kitty is not so foolish as we all supposed. What Kitty lacks is guidance and attention—she is not lacking in sense.”
“Perhaps this is an opportunity to wean her from Lydia’s influence,” mused Mr. Bennet. “Tell me, Lizzy, what has Kitty’s role in all this been?”