Mr. Bennet screwed up his face and shut his eyes, concentrating. “I know this, Mr. Darcy. Give me a minute.”
But too late, as Miss Lydia unexpectedly leapt to her feet and exclaimed loudly, “Gulliver’s Travels! Lizzy read it aloud to us this past winter!”
Mr. Darcy was dismayed at such hoydenish behaviour. What young lady leapt to her feet in the parlour, all but screaming in excitement? Her manners were not corrected, however; instead, Lydia was congratulated most heartily by her proud – and clearly surprised – father.
Mr. Darcy was then invited to stay for dinner, as Mrs. Bennet had proposed the night prior; he accepted eagerly. Then he boldly added, “It is a most pleasant day, Mrs. Bennet; might Miss Bennet and I not stroll in your garden?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The matron agreed in an instant, proposing that Kitty and Lydia take the air as well in order to serve as chaperones. The four of them were soon in Longbourn’s lovely garden, the air redolent with the fragrance of spring flowers. The two young girls settled themselves on a stone bench, giggling together over Lord-knew-what, but allowing Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet some measure of privacy as they walked further on.
“My family has enjoyed your company, Mr. Darcy,” Miss Bennet said.
“I am generally thought to be a dour man,” he said. “I am unaccustomed to being sociable with people I do not know well, but I felt quite at ease with your family.” He did not mention the squabbling over the shawl.
She then stopped walking and turned to face him. “Mr. Darcy, why are you here?”
His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Is it not obvious, Miss Bennet?”
“It is not, no. It is clear enough that your relatives disapprove of me, and while I certainly understand why you would not wish to marry Miss de Bourgh, I would expect your eye to fall upon a high society lady with a dowry and connections. I hope it is clear to you that I have neither.”
“I cannot stop thinking about you,” he blurted out.
Her eyebrows rose, but she did not reply.
“I am besotted with you, Miss Elizabeth,” he went on, unable to stop himself. “I think of you constantly, every hour, day and night. I have come to Meryton to learn if you might be persuaded to have feelings for me as well.”
She looked down at her feet, silently.
Mr. Darcy’s heart plummeted. “But if you cannot be so persuaded,” he whispered. “I will leave you in peace.”
Then she looked up, and her sparkling eyes met his. “I have thought of you often, Mr. Darcy. I have told myself, again and again, that you would never stoop so low as to be interested in a poor Miss Bennet from Meryton, but that knowledge, certain as it was, could not stop my hopes.”
“Your hopes!” he exclaimed, delightedly. In a fervour of joy, he grasped her hands. “Miss Bennet!”
“Mr. Darcy, my sisters are watching us; I must ask that you contain your feelings!”
“I will speak with your father at once!”
“Mr. Darcy!” Her tone was severe now. “Listen to me, please. We are both caught up in this – this madness! – but in truth, we scarcely know one another. My father married my mother under the influence of just such a madness, and he has lived to regret his hasty choice. You and I must wait, we must learn to know one another quite well before the relationship can move forward.”
“I feel that I know you better than I have ever known anyone,” he protested.
“But you do not, of course, and I must be certain that you and I can live together in peace. Your mother will not welcome me; what will that mean to me? I am not your social equal; will that matter to you at some point? It cannot have escaped your notice that my family’s manners are lacking; will this cause you to avoid them, and perhaps you will then order me to do the same?”
He could not reply.
She continued. “Surely you understand that whatever my own feelings might be just now, I cannot commit myself to a relationship in which I might be found wanting or might be forced to abandon my family.”
“No one knowing you could find you wanting,” he protested. “And under no circumstances would I require you to become estranged from your family.”
“These are welcome reassurances,” she said. “And please believe me when I say that I am strongly tempted to throw my caution to the winds! But I am a woman, Mr. Darcy, and once I marry you, my fortunes will forever be tied to yours. I must be absolutely certain of your character.”
Mr. Darcy bowed his head. “Very well, Miss Bennet. I will wait as long as I must. But I may call on you, may I not?”
“Of course, Mr. Darcy. I would be very unhappy not to see you often.” She whispered that last word, and then added, in that same whisper, “Veryoften.” Then she laughed out loud. “And believe me when I tell you that my mother will do everything in her power to throw us together.”
“I would once have been shocked by such behaviour,” he admitted. “But after seeing what my Aunt Catherine was willing to do to have me marry her daughter, I now think nothing could shock me.”
