Fitzwilliam and Darcy bowed to the three ladies and began to take their leave when the latter noticed that Miss Bennet was about to follow them out.
Elizabeth stopped just outside the open front door in full view of the maid in the hallway. “I wanted to thank you, on Charlotte’s behalf, for all the help you have given her. It is a time of great uncertainty for my friend, and the stability you offer is most welcome,” she declared.
“It is the least we could do,” Fitzwilliam stated and thenstepped away from Miss Bennet and Darcy.
“Miss Bennet, please do not hesitate to inform me if you are not comfortable with my presence,” Darcy said softly. “The last thing I want to do is upset you any more than I did some weeks ago.”
“No, Mr Darcy, I do not object to your company. Although I would not have accepted your proposal when you made it, I should never have allowed my temper to rule me. After all the unjust things I flung at you, I am surprised you want to be near me. I should have never…” Elizabeth stopped when Mr Darcy raised his hand.
“Miss Bennet, I am the one who is mortified, not only by the words I used in my proposal, but my behaviour since my arrival in Hertfordshire,” Darcy said so only she could hear. “At least, your older sister has been generous enough to forgive my interference which caused a separation between her and Bingley. Even the subsequent events do not justify my actions. I am very pleased that she and Hadlock have found one another.” He gave a half smile. “I do have one question if I may?”
“Ever since I unleashed my anger at you, I have been chastising myself. It seems we need to forgive one another,” Elizabeth responded. “You may ask what you will, but I may choose not to reply.”
Darcy inclined his head to acknowledge her words. “I do not believe that my question is intrusive. Mrs Collins calls you ‘Eliza’, is that correct?” he enquired.
“Yes, that is so. She and her family have used that version of my name since we met.”
“I could not help but notice that when a certain red-headed shrew, who has been excised from society, used that version of your name, you were not sanguine with it. Why was that?” Darcy queried.
“That is easy to answer,” Elizabeth claimed. “The Lucases are the only ones I allow to use that appellation, and when they use it, it is a term of endearment based in friendship. Miss Bingley used it as an insult. Hence my reaction was very different than it is when that name is used by any of the Lucases. Speaking of that harpy, I always wondered what changed that night we were all at Lucas Lodge. Before then she was merely disdainful of me like she was of all except Jane; but after that night, she seemed to hate the very sight of me.”
“I am afraid that is one more thing for which I must beg your pardon.” Darcy saw the way Miss Bennet arched her eyebrow in question. He loved it when she did that. “It was when you were playing the pianoforte at Lucas Lodge that Miss Bingley importuned me. When she asked me what held my attention, I told her, ‘I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow’. When she tried to intimate that I was referring to her, I had to disabuse her of that notion and inform her that it was you who had captured my attention.”
As much as she did not want to blush, there was nothing Elizabeth could do to stop her cheeks heating up. This was further proof that he found her the handsomest woman he knew. That being correct meant that Mr Darcy did not think her not tolerable enough to tempt him. “It is just as well I never sought that woman’s good opinion, so you have nothing to make amends for in that case. Thank you for explaining why she changed in the way she related to me.”
“Fitzwilliam will not be patient for too much longer,” Darcy opined as he inclined his head towards his cousin. He took Miss Bennet’s hand and bowed over it. It was good news that she had not pulled her hand back as if it had been scalded by boiling oil. He joined his cousin, and the two headed back towards the mansion.
It was not until the two men were out of sight beforeElizabeth made her way back into the parsonage.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
It had taken a few days for the depth of her ruin to pierce the delusions which kept Caroline Bingley from hearing or seeing that which she did not wish to hear or see. The fact that Hurst House would be closed within a sennight and the Hursts were for Surrey had forced Miss Bingley to look at the reality of her situation.
Once she was able to accept that her ruin was irrevocable, which was of course, the fault of those nobody Bennets, Miss Bingley realised that she did need to leave the realm and go somewhere where she was unknown.
She went to see her brother’s solicitor. No matter how much she berated the man, demanded, or cajoled, he would not give her the full amount of her dowry but rather the amount her miserly brother had mentioned. With her money in hand, she purchased a ticket on a ship which was to sail to the West Indies and then to the Canadas. It was the first ship she found sailing in the direction she wanted, and she cared not that the voyage would be very long. Her maid had refused to remain with her, so Caroline travelled alone. She would employ a maid when she reached her destination.
On the day the ship slipped its moorings on the Thames, Caroline Bingley was one of five passengers on board. The Hursts had departed for Winsdale two days previously, so no one was there to farewell Miss Bingley.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Much to Darcy’s delight, Miss Bennet agreed to be conveyed in the Darcy coach on the day they departed Rosings Park. Anna, Miss Lucas, and Mrs Annesley were with them, so they were well chaperoned. Lady Catherine and Mrs Collins were in the Matlock conveyance, along with the Fitzwilliamparents and younger son. The three ladies’ trunks—most of them Mrs Collins’s—were spread between the three carriages.
As much as the former mistress of Rosings Park had not wanted to leave the estate, her brother and sister-in-law convinced her it was for the best. She eventually had agreed with them that she did not want to be present when the new owner took possession. This way, she left on her own terms with her dignity intact. A cart with all Lady Catherine’s trunks, and a few pieces of furniture which belonged to her, had departed at first light that morning. The cart was for Snowhaven, where Lady Catherine would take up residence in the dower house.
For the first hour, Elizabeth furthered her growing friendship with Anna—as she had been asked to call her—until her new friend was rocked to sleep by the motion of the coach. Maria had fallen asleep almost immediately. Mrs Annesley had her nose in a book. The latter lady and Mr Darcy were seated on the rear-facing bench while she, Anna, and Maria occupied the forward-facing seat. “Mr Darcy, I would like to propose something.” Elizabeth saw the way his eyebrows shot up, leading to a wide smile. “Notthatkind of proposal. What I meant to suggest is this; if you agree that is, may we begin again and put all our misunderstandings of the past behind us?”
“There is nothing I would like more than that,” Darcy responded with alacrity.
Elizabeth nodded. “Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn. I am the second daughter of five. And you are?” She gave as much of a curtsy as she could while seated.
“Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley. I believe you have met my only sibling, Georgiana. It is mypleasureto make your acquaintance. I can see that you will be a far more than tolerable person to know, and perhaps, you will give me some consequence.” Darcy bowed from the waist up.
The last thing she had thought was that she would seeany humour from Mr Darcy, never mind the self-deprecating kind. As such, Elizabeth was duly impressed, which once again reinforced her knowledge that she had misjudged him terribly.
“Mr Darcy, I hope you will not be angry, but I wrote some letters to people in Meryton and warned them about Mr Wickham. Before you ask; no, I did not mention the occurrence with Anna or even allude to it tangentially.” Elizabeth told Mr Darcy what she had written, to whom, and the results as had been reported in a letter from Sir William to Charlotte.
“Angry with you? Not even in the smallest measure am I upset with you. If anything, I am ashamed I did not do something myself, instead I just bought up that devil’s debts but allowed him to sow havoc unchecked. After what we suspected he did, he should have been dealt with and not allowed to bedevil the good people in towns across the country.” Darcy shook his head.
