“And which statement, out of the several you uttered, was false?” she asked. “That I was sitting down instead of dancing? That I was somehow deserving of being slighted by the other men in the room? Or perhaps it was that I was tolerable to look at?”
Darcy felt his ears go red. Hearing her sling his insulting speech back in his face in such a manner was entirely demeaning, but a part of him felt he deserved such treatment, because it was no different to how he had treated her. Another part of him, however, was angry. He was here attempting to apologize to this young woman, and she was not taking what he was offering. It was ridiculous.
The angry light in her eyes halted his own growing anger, however. It gave her an expression of arresting beauty hehad never seen anywhere else. “You are far more than merely tolerable,” he said. “In fact, at this moment you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met.”
The words had slipped out on their own, almost without his permission. Yet, they were true, and he could not regret them.
Instead of soothing her, however, his statement seemed to make her anger grow. “You are making fun of me, Mr. Darcy, and that is far more cruel than your impersonal slight at the assembly,” she said quietly but with a fierce undercurrent of anger and pain. “I beg you to leave me in peace before we both regret this conversation.”
Before he could respond to her nonsensical statement, Miss Elizabeth turned on her heels and stalked away from him. He could only stare after her, wondering what had just happened.
Ten days passed, during which Darcy could not manage to utter more than a few words to the lovely Miss Elizabeth, despite being in company with her three times. Every time he saw her, he attempted to strike up a conversation, but she would never respond with anything other than, “If you would excuse me.” Then she walked away.
If she would not hear him, if she would not engage with him in conversation, he could not apologize. If he could not apologize, he could never truly get to know her.
It was his frustration and disappointment at this that helped him realize how very much he liked Miss Elizabeth. There had been plenty of ladies that Darcy had been content to admire, but very few that he actually wished to know more of. Miss Elizabeth was now one of that select group, but the desire to know her did not automatically make it possible.
He could never understand why his sincere admiration had made her withdraw from him even more, and without knowing that, there was no hope whatsoever of mending the breach. Her behavior, as unpleasant as it was, in no way diminished his admiration, however. The more he watched her, the more he listened to her, the more he heard about her, the greater his admiration grew.
Since Darcy was unable to repair the damage he had done to Miss Elizabeth, he instead set about repairing his relationship with her neighbors, who were now temporarily his neighbors. He talked with them more often and did his best to appear more cheerful so as not to push people away. He didn’t know how successful he was. Getting to know strangers had never been a particular strength of his, but he nevertheless made the attempt.
About a week into November, an unexpected guest was shown into the library at Netherfield. “Mr. Worsley is here to see you, Mr. Darcy,” said Bingley’s butler, as he moved aside to reveal Lord Pendleton.
Darcy stood up to greet the young man. “Pendleton,” he said, “I am surprised to see you. I had heard you were stuck in Eastbourne dealing with a property dispute.”
“You may call me Worsley,” he said as they both sat down in the comfortable chairs by the fire. “I was stuck there, to my great disappointment. I managed to get the issue resolved enough so that they could carry on without me a couple of days ago. I arrived back in Meryton yesterday, for I could not bear to be apart from my Mary any longer.”
Darcy shook his head and said without thinking, “That is a match I would never have guessed at in a million years. Mrs. Allen doesn’t seem like the kind of woman who would attract a man like yourself.”
“A man like myself?” asked Worsley. “And what kind of man would that be?”
Darcy could not mistake the warning tone in the other man’s voice. He practically dared Darcy to insult Mrs. Allen simply so he could have the pleasure of ripping Darcy to shreds. “I must have been mistaken,” said Darcy diplomatically.
“Indeed,” said Worsley, relaxing a bit. “Mrs. Allen is perfect for me, knowledgeable, teachable, and wise with her resources. She manages her money, her time, and her attention with consummate ease, and everyone whose lives she touches are better for it. Let me tell you something my father once told me. ‘Marry a wise woman,’ he said. ‘A wise woman will help you, but a foolish woman, especially one who does not love you, will be nothing more than a millstone around your neck, hindering your every effort.”
“My father said something similar,” said Darcy. “I only wish the sentiment were more widely shared among our peers. If it were, parents might make more of an effort to teach their daughters more than just how to host parties and look beautiful.”
“Just so,” said Worsley. After a pause, he said, “I hear tell you have gotten yourself into a bit of a romantic tangle.” This was said with a bit of a twinkle in the younger man’s eyes.
“I am not certain I would call it that,” said Darcy. “I assume you are speaking of the way I insulted the best lady in the neighborhood before even being introduced to her.”
“Indeed, I am, though I might argue with your assertion that Miss Elizabeth is the best lady in these parts. I did hear you made it even worse when you attempted to apologize,” said Worsley.
Darcy shook his head. “That is the part I don’t understand. I admit I said some things I shouldn’t have said, and I admit that I wasn’t as friendly as I should have been, but I cannot understand why complimenting Miss Elizabeth would make her so angry with me.”
Worsley just looked at Darcy for a few moments. Then he said, “Mary told me everything, you know. I can answer your question, but I wonder what you will do with that information should I choose to help you. I do not wish for my future sister to be hurt any more than she already has been.”
“I am uncertain what you are asking of me,” said Darcy. “Are you demanding to know my intentions towards Miss Elizabeth?”
Worsley shrugged. “In a way, I suppose.”
“I admire her a great deal,” said Darcy. “I feel drawn to her as I have felt toward no other woman. I cannot say I will be promising marriage, but I would at least like the chance to be near her, to talk with her. I have no intention of hurting her, but as I have clearly proved, I am perfectly capable of doing so without intention.”
Worsley sighed. “I suppose your answer is as good as any,” he said. “Personal relationships are so complicated that I have always found the question of ‘What are your intentions?’ to be completely pointless. Very few men deliberately set out to hurt a lady, though I suppose there are plenty of men whose purpose is merely to have fun. I assume you are not the kind of man to deliberately engage a lady’s affections unless you were at least a little serious about her.”
“I am fairly serious about her,” said Darcy. “I believe that, given the chance, I could be very much in love with her. To befrank, the idea scares me a bit, but her wealth and connections are a reasonable match to my own, so I see no reason to resist.”
“Her connections?” asked Worsley. “Are you referring to me?”
