“Very well,” he said at last, before turning back to his book. When I did not stand to take my leave, he put his book face down in his lap and said, “Is there aught else we should speak of?”
“I-well…no, I suppose not, sir.”
“Ah. You think I should be surprised or perhaps even astounded. But you are not the first man I have seen who is in love, and unfortunately, with five daughters, you will not be the last. As to what Elizabeth will say to you, I cannot even speculate. There was a time when she bristled at the mention of your name.”
“It is my hope she has changed her opinion of me.”
“Well you should hope, since my daughter has no capacity to suffer fools.”
“Much like her father,” I said.
At last his countenance shifted from irritability to something closer to tolerance, though not enough to refrain from dishing out another helping of high irony.
“Forgive me,” he said with false gentleness, “but I fail to understand why our business has not yet concluded? Unless you wish me to express awe and gratitude that someone of your wealth and position has condescended?—”
I stood abruptly and gave him an equal measure of plain-speaking. “I would be appalled if you did so.”
“Then what more is expected? Forgive me, you are my first applicant for the role of son-in-law, and I have not read up on the rules that now apply.”
“I would prefer that your daughter and I be given at least a little privacy while we determine if we are suited.”
“If you are asking me not to tell Mrs Bennet, I assure you I had no such plan. I do not easily sacrifice my peace, and though it would perhaps amuse me to see you at the centre of my wife’s cries of joy and expectation, you may proceed as if we have not had this meeting.”
“And might I count on you to look the other way if I take Elizabeth aside for a private conversation?”
“My good man,” he said with a twitch of his moustache, “I have made an art of looking the other way for the whole of my life. Now, go away.”
“Very well,” I said, “and since you are as disinclined to nurse my vanity as you are to indulge the whims of your closest relations, I have no choice but to conclude you look favourably upon the match.”
To this, he laughed and waved me away, and heartened by what some would consider a daunting interview, I was shown tothe door by Mrs Hill. Upon putting on my coat and taking from her my gloves and hat, I said, “My sister entrusted me with a message for Miss Elizabeth. Might you ask if she could see me briefly before I go?”
CHAPTER 39
Elizabeth came down the stairs almost instantly, buttoning her pelisse as she skipped effortlessly from step to step. Her velvet calash was already in place, and as she greeted me, she took her umbrella from the housekeeper and said, “I am just on my way out for my afternoon walk, Mr Darcy. Would you care to join me?”
As we stepped outside where Keller waited with my carriage, she called up to him with palpable warmth, “Good day, Mr Keller! It seems we only ever meet where it is raining.”
My coachman swelled with the pleasure of being singled out for her notice, and after he returned her greeting, I nodded towards the horses, which had been standing longer than he liked, and directed him to walk them to the end of the drive.
Under our umbrellas, Elizabeth and I followed in the ruts of gravel made by my coach as it slowly rolled towards the road.
“I have spoken to your father.”
“I know,” she replied, “and I am determined not to be curious as to what you said to him.”
“I applied for permission to spend more time with you.”
“How very proper of you. Did he abuse you for your troubles?”
“I was merely subjected to the gentle application of his particular gift.”
“Oh dear,” she sighed. “How I wish he would not bequiteso wicked.”
“I chose to take it as a compliment, however, and told him that the simplest interpretation of his rudeness was that he was treating me as though I were already a member of the family.”
Her rueful expression cleared to one of gleeful appreciation. “Bravo, Mr Darcy! I expect he will almost be polite the next time you meet. But—oh Lord. My mother?—”
“She does not yet know. I asked for, and was granted, a reprieve for the sake of our privacy. This, however, brings me to what I also wanted to talk to you about. Our opportunities to meet, so newly sanctioned, are dwindling as we speak. Bingley is returning to London.”
