“Thank you for admitting it,” Elizabeth said, now quite serious. “As a rational creature – and you recall that we agreed women could be rational during our dance – it becomes rather tiresome to be regarded as not worth educating. Worse, to be regarded as chattel!”
“Well, young ladies are taught languages,” he said, defensively.
“Knowing French is hardly commensurate with having the right to own property.” She spoke rapidly and gravely. “Given the choice, I would happily trade my right to learn languages and play the pianoforte for the right to be treated as a human being equal to a man, with a man’s rights and his abilities. I would like to attend Oxford. I would like to…” she stopped and took a deepbreath. “I apologise, Mr. Darcy. You must think me the worst kind of bluestocking.”
“Not at all, Miss Elizabeth,” he said at once. “I cannot but think you right. I did not give the subject of the female plight in England a great deal of thought before readingA Vindication of the Rights of Woman, but I did think about it afterwards.”
“And what did you conclude?”
“That our society treats women wrongly. But I also had to acknowledge that I lacked the power to change it.”
“You can change one thing,” Elizabeth said at once.
“Which is?”
“You can change how you treat the women in your life. You are not married, I think?”
“I am not.”
“When you do marry, I hope that you will treat your wife as a partner, not as property.”
“I am certain that I will,” he said, solemnly. “I would never wish to injure the dignity of my wife, and certainly never her person.”
“You are a good man, I think. And heavens, this conversation has become quite unusual, has it not?” She sat up and shook her head. “My mother would be quite shocked, were she to know of our discussion.”
“And would your father be equally shocked? I have not met him, but Bingley has, and spoke of him warmly.”
“He tends to hide when there are people in the house.”
“But I imagine there are always people in the house, given that there are five daughters!”
“And thus he is always hiding,” Elizabeth chuckled. “He sits with his books and is happy to be away from the noise.”
“Ah, he is a booklover?”
“Indeed, and a book collector as well.”
“I should like to look at his collection.” Mr. Darcy’s interest was unfeigned; his voice rose in anticipation.
“He would doubtless enjoy showing it to you. Come, let us beard the lion in his den – or, in this case, my father in his study.”
Mr. Bennet accepted the introduction to Mr. Darcy gracefully, and Elizabeth left the two of them to exclaim over Mr. Bennet’s carefully curated collection.
When Elizabeth return to the parlour, she found her mother sitting beside Miss Darcy, and evidently engaged in earnest conversation. Curious as to the substance of their talk, she took the seat on the other side of Miss Darcy, in time to hear her say, “Oh, I would enjoy that very much indeed! But my brother must be consulted.”
“Of course, Miss Darcy. Though I think there will be no difficulty there; he must see that it is good for you to have friends here in Hertfordshire, and so there can be no objection to you spending the day with us tomorrow.”
When Mr. Darcy returned, some twenty minutes later, he could scarce resist Mrs. Bennet’s kind invitation, accompanied as it was by his sister’s pleading eyes; and so it was arranged that Miss Darcy would come the following afternoon and spend the entire day at Longbourn.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Longbourn
Longbourn was abuzz with plans for Miss Darcy’s visit. Something in the girl had touched the hearts of all the female members of the Bennet family, and Mr. Bennet was forced to take refuge in his study earlier than usual as a result.
“I saw her take two of the jam tarts, so we must have those again,” Mary said, her tone very serious.
“And she told me she dislikes ham, so no ham sandwiches,” Kitty added.
