He noticed thatPapahad becomeFatherover the previous months, but there seemed little profit in comment. She was a grown woman and would address him as she chose.
“They were the quintessential wild boys, always daring each other to bigger feats of derring-do. It came to a head one day when Evan threw down the gauntlet about swimming across a particularly nasty stretch of the river. Cecil drew the short straw and tried first.”
“And—”
“He nearly drowned. Some rapids carried him a mile downstream, waterlogged, with a broken arm and scarcely alive. He caught a fever and took to his bed for a fortnight of near-death entertainment. He eventually survived, but it was a very near thing.”
“And this applies to my Mr Darcy how?”
Bennet wondered if ‘my’was a slip of the tongue or a deliberate provocation but decided to ignore it for the moment. “Cecil eventually recovered, and Evan carried around a look of almost desperate contrition for some time.”
He pressed the tobacco into the bowl. “Your Mr Darcy reminds me vaguely of Evan. I could hardly recognise the man. He was here for just over a week. He was unfailingly polite to everyone. He stayed at Netherfield but dined with one family or another every night. He paid back every debt of civility with compound interest. He was quite the favourite. He was even polite to your mother for an entire evening, deflecting every matrimonial question like a skilled fencer.”
Elizabeth sat back, stunned. She had expected the man to do… something… though she had no notion what exactly. Coming to Meryton and repairing his reputation had not been among the possibilities she considered, and she could not decide whether to be impressed by his efforts or annoyed by his presumption.
Shakily, she asked, “Did he offer any explanation for this change?”
Bennet finished filling his pipe, so he delayed an answer by walking to the fire for a brand. He meant to be deliberately provocative; Elizabeth waited patiently.
Bennet returned with the pipe in full bloom. “Several people asked him that exact question, and he simply said he looked in the mirror one day and realised he had not acted as a gentleman should. He returned to make amends.”
Despite herself, Elizabeth flushed and stared at her foot.
“Tell me, daughter. I find the temporal proximity of these events too convenient to be coincidence. He was in your company for some time in Kent, and the next thing I know, he is here being amiable. I suspect the man is preparing the ground for an invasion of some sort.”
Elizabeth chuckled at the crude analogy. “Well—”
Bennet waited. “Let us say that Mr Darcy and I understand each other better than we did, and leave it at that.”
Bennet drew a few puffs from the pipe. “He called on me for a few games of chess. I must say he thrashed me within an inch of my life. He is almost as good as you.”
“I am only so good because the precision and ceremony of the game calm me. My skill is more a testament to my defects than an accomplishment.”
“Be that as it may, he will be a formidable opponent next time you engage him.”
“What makes you so sure there will be a next time?”
Bennet drew a few more puffs. “As I said, daughter, you have leave to chastise me for my actions all your life, but I should at least like to be acknowledged as not entirely bereft of understanding. I can tellsomethingoccurred between the two of you. Now, you are a woman grown, so I will not pry or demand an explanation, but pray, do not pretend I am stupid.”
“So, what did the man say that has you so convinced of your belief?”
Bennet puffed again. “Have no fear that he said anything to sully your reputation, raise gossip, or create expectations. He was very careful about what he said in company. He was even more careful to apportion his time evenly between all the families, showing neither preference nor avoidance. By the time he left, he had convinced everyone to accept whatever explanations they deigned to dream up. Most assumed a relative took him to task, and he allowed that thought to flower unopposed.”
“I see.”
“I asked him about that one day, hoping to distract him during a game. I asked why he had missed whatever it was he saw in the mirror before. Have you any idea what he said?”
“I assume you will tell me… eventually.”
“He said some mirrors are better than others,” he replied with a chuckle.
“I see.”
“I asked him to elaborate, and he said he had recently discovered a much more effective mirror.”
“Did he mention anything else about this mirror?” She frowned.
“Not a thing… except—”
