“Truly? I always did distrust his appearance of goodness, but still, I am shocked.” MrsPhilips tittered.
Elizabeth felt a bewildering mix of vindication for her choice to cut short her trip, sadness that MrWickham had proved to be a scoundrel, relief that her plans had been successful so far, and even greater resolve to ensure her father reined in her younger sisters.
“How substantial are these debts?” asked MrPhilips.
“More than he could ever hope to repay, and I have not finished my inquiries. I would like your assistance in preparing a writ.” Sir William paced in agitation.
“Let us leave the women to more feminine pursuits and adjourn to my office.”
Elizabeth could see that her aunt could not wait to be on her way, spreading the intelligence, and as this suited Elizabeth’s purposes nicely, she took her leave of the company. A walk would do her good.
Stepping into the Meryton circulating library, Elizabeth inhaled deeply. She let the comforting silence and the smell of paper and books surround her. She had inherited her father’s love of reading and understood well her father’s need for its quiet as an escape from the tumult of Longbourn.
She selected a book titledTheir Share of Conversationby Stephanie Vale. The first line read:It is a truth universally acknowledged that a bad dream can ruin one’s whole day—Elizabeth snickered.Or more than a day!
Chapter 10: Their Share of Conversation
by Stephanie Vale
Hunsford, Kent
Wednesday, the 8thof April, 1812
Elizabeth had never seen MrDarcy look so shocked, even disturbed. His tone was icy. “May I seek an explanation for your incivility?”
“My incivility? You accuse me of incivility? You have insulted everyone I hold dear. If I were uncivil, certainly your incivility was sufficient provocation.”
He laughed mirthlessly and slapped his riding gloves against the table. “And what did I say that was not true? Your family is appalling. Your mother is shrill and grasping. Your younger sisters are featherbrained and noisy. And your father is indolent and seems entirely unwilling to take his wife and daughters in hand.”
“I note that you have voiced no criticism of my elder sister. Jane is a perfect lady.”
“I will concede that Miss Bennet is quite genteel. But she showed no sign of great affection for Bingley. It was my duty to protect my friend.”
“Protect him from what, sir?” Elizabeth glared, resisting an unladylike impulse to slap her unwelcome caller.
“Under the avaricious influence of your mother, I feared that Miss Bennet would seek to entrap Bingley for reasons unrelated to affection.”
“You believe that Jane—and my mother—are capable of such dishonourable conduct?”
“Miss Bennet, I do not choose to speculate. I only foresaw what might happen and acted to protect Bingley from pain and disappointment—”
Elizabeth cried out and sat bolt upright in bed.What an awful dream.She rubbed her eyes. It seemed so real. In her dream, while sitting alone in Charlotte’s parlour, she had received an unexpected and unpleasant visit from MrDarcy. That hollow laugh still echoed in her mind.
What was in that tea?Elizabeth had returned from her walk with a slight headache, and the cook had prepared willow bark tea, which Charlotte brought to her with orders to rest. Noting the time on her watch and relieved she had a few more hours until dinner at Rosings, she lay her head back down on the pillow, turning it over to the cool side, and slipped into a more peaceful slumber.
When Charlotte woke her, Elizabeth’s headache had not improved, but she felt instinctively that shemust not remain alone at the parsonage this evening. She washed her face and donned a plain muslin gown that she had never especially liked but which she hoped would render her inconspicuous, especially to Lady Catherine and her nephews.
Earlier in the day, Elizabeth had encountered Colonel Fitzwilliam in the park. She had always enjoyed her conversations with him. But that morning, he had shared a distressing tale. “Darcy takes such prodigious care of his friends,” the colonel had said, “that he congratulates himself on having lately saved a friend from the inconveniences of a most imprudent marriage. Without his mentioning names or any particulars, I suspect Bingley, believing him the kind of young man to get into a scrape of that sort, and knowing he had spent the whole of last summer with Darcy.”
Elizabeth struggled to maintain her usual tone whilst her blood turned to ice. “Did MrDarcy give you his reasons for this interference?”
“I understood that there were some very strong objections against the lady.”
Strong objections againstJane? Against the kindest, sweetest person in the world? Impossible. Nay, not just impossible. Abominable.
The colonel’s admission of MrDarcy’s role in Jane’s misery only made her head ache more. But she could not stop thinking about it, and she could hardly face either of the gentlemen with equanimity. Further, Lady Catherine’s attentions, never easy to endure, could only oppress her spirits further.
I truly feel unwell. Why must I go to Rosings? Why may I not just stay at the parsonage?Still, she could not, must not stay behind. Although just a feeling, it was the strongest conviction she had ever known. Yet she could not put words to it. So down the stairs she went to join Charlotte and her family for the short walk across the lane to the Great House.
