The chivalry touched her somewhat. It was sweet and endearing—and confusing.
Reflections
Once they had passed the small muddy obstacle, such as it was, Darcy said, “I must make a confession.”
“If you must.”
“I discussed my plight with my cousin. I know you have every reason to believe him a gossip, and perhaps not all that clever; but he can be silent as the grave when called for, and he has a keen strategic sense when he puts his mind to it. He will not break your confidence. We grew up together; he is closer to a brother than a cousin, while I am closer to him than his own flesh and blood. I should not have, but I needed someone intelligent to help me think through the matter.”
Anger stirred, and it took some effort to calm herself and think rationally. The answer, when it came, seemed so obvious she wanted to berate herself.
“I discussed at least the principal points of our evening with Mary, so I can hardly complain about your need for a confidant. Tell me, if you are of a mind, what did your cousin think?”
“Before or after he stopped laughing at me?”
Elizabeth appreciated the attempt at humour; he was as terrible a liar as she was, but she appreciated the attempt.
“You choose.”
“He says you are a mirror.”
Perplexed, she asked, “How so?”
“He says you are a mirror because you show people their true selves. He spoke to you and came away with the understanding that he could well be a hurtful gossip, because he is so gregarious, finds conversation so essential, and does not always think through what he says.”
“I could excuse the gossip, but I deplore thestupidityof failing to put the pieces together and work out that I almost certainly knew the woman he was talking about. Something tells me you are not finished, though.”
Elizabeth smiled and squeezed his arm, which was actually rather… nice.
“I am about a third of the way through, or 33.333% if you prefer. Fitzwilliam had another example I will come to presently, but let me first discuss the second third. At the Netherfield ball, I met your cousin, the most obnoxious mixture of servility and self-importance I ever had the displeasure of meeting. The man I met here a few weeks ago could hardly be recognised. I assert that your brother is thetrueMr Collins, and the man I met at the ball was the man before being exposed to the Elizabeth Bennet Mirror. Dare you contradict me?”
Elizabeth stared. “You give me credit that is not due. My cousin was transformed by his acquaintance withhis wife—not me.”
“I see, I see!I must have been misinformed. I understood he favouredyoufirst and may even have acted on it.”
Elizabeth grew embarrassed, so the gentleman relented.
“Peace, Miss Elizabeth. I was trying to tease, something I have no skill at. Is it possible that yourawkward conversationplayed a significant part in his stunning transformation?”
“We will never know. Ididintervene, and he quickly reverted to his true nature. Whether I had anything to do with it, I cannot say.”
“But you cannot say you didnothave the effect.”
“I suppose not. Negative theses can rarely be proven[xviii]. Shall we move on to the last third? I cannot imagine you saved the easiest for last.”
“Not by half. When Fitzwilliam warmed to his subject, he told me you reflected that I was immersed in the fullest belief of my arrogance, my conceit, and my selfish disdain of the feelings of others.”
“I wish you would not say things like that! I did no such thing.”
He dragged them to a stop, and stepped before her, granting her a clear view of his face, which her bonnet had made difficult, and stared at her.
“Miss Mathematician, here is your chance to disprove him using the Scientific Method[xix]. Find asingle instanceof behaviour, thatyou witnessed yourself, which disproves his theory. I know you received good reports from my aunt’s tenants, but I could perfectly well be amiable to them out of duty, or more likely, because it is to my advantage to keep them happy. I can be amiable with my peers, but that could be just because it is the easiest thing to do.”
She reluctantly agreed.
“So, Miss Scientist, present me someevidence—not feelings, not speculation,evidence—that disproves my cousin.”
Elizabeth stared at him in consternation while every interaction raced through her mind; at last, she had to admit defeat. “I cannot offer you such evidence, save perhaps the Meryton assembly, but I stillbelieveyour cousin overstates the case.”
