“Even at my age, I am surprised at the games people play. I am sorry you were treated in such a way, and—I am sure you will forgive me for this—even more sorry my dear girl came across such people. Jane has not been herself since they left. Lizzy tells me that Bingley fellow gave Jane every reason to believe his intentions were serious. Thankfully, although he may have damaged her heart, he was not so dishonourable that he left her otherwise injured. Not that my girls are without means to defend themselves. I made certain of that. If he knows what is good for him, he will stay far away from Meryton. I am afraid if I saw him, I would be unable to stop myself from beating him senseless.” Mr Bennet exhaled a gust of breath and slowly shook his head. He spent a moment rubbing his forehead before continuing.
“Jane should be told. I shall not have her regretting such a man. I worry it will cause her pain initially, but in time, I believe it will help her.”
“I have not had the opportunity to speak to Miss Elizabeth about it, but I wondered whether we should invite Miss Bennet to accompany us after the wedding, whether we go to Derbyshire, town, or elsewhere. Being in a new place, amongst different society, might be beneficial. When we are in town, I shall ensure none of us sees the Bingleys.”
It was difficult to interpret Mr Bennet’s thoughts; he both nodded and scowled. Darcy had given him a great deal of information he had not expected to receive—starting with a request for his permission to marry Elizabeth and ending with proposing to remove his two eldest daughters from his household. Perhaps he needed time to take it all in.
“For today, let us bask in the delight of your and Lizzy’s engagement. There will be time to sort out the rest of it starting tomorrow. What say you?” Mr Bennet said.
Darcy agreed, and in the coming hours, that is what they did. He received word from his valet that everything was arranged at the inn and replied that he would remain at Longbourn for dinner. Miss Mary and Miss Lydia returned from Lucas Lodge and greeted him politely, and news of the engagement with glee. He witnessed his darling Elizabeth whispering urgently to them, and from the way their expressions darkened and gazes flickered to Miss Bennet, he deduced she was telling them about the Bingleys, no doubt so they would not ask after them. Miss Bennet also did not, but he supposed from her it was a matter of politeness; if he volunteered no message from Bingley, she would not make him uneasy by forcing him to stammer an excuse any fool would recognise as fictitious. Darcy was struck by her goodness. Bingley would have been exceedingly fortunate to gain such a lady as his partner in life, and Miss Bingley would do well to have her as a sister. He doubted they were capable of understanding what their actions had lost them.
Mrs Bennet told him he was to consider the Bennets his family henceforth and did everything in her power to make him feel welcome. Together, they spent the next several hours in good cheer. He was told the story of Mr and Mrs Collins’s wedding, and they talked about his and Elizabeth’s, although it was too early to make firm arrangements. As overjoyed as he was, and as much as he wanted to do nothing but stare at his future wife and marvel that everything had turned out so well, he could not help worrying about Miss Bennet and how greatly her spirits were affected. Her heart had been broken by Bingley’s deception, as Darcy’s had been. He was blessed, however. His had been mended in the instant Elizabeth took his hand, and he vowed to do what was necessary to see that Miss Bennet experienced the same happiness he did one day.
CHAPTERFORTY-EIGHT
The next morning, Darcy was at Longbourn before the breakfast hour. He would spend the day with the Bennets, beginning with a stroll with his beloved in the gardens. It was cold, and their breath showed in the air, but other than the occasional icy patch, the ground was free of snow.
While he had suggested they would be wise to stay inside, she had shaken her head and said, “My mother and sisters would insist on sitting with us, and I prefer to have you to myself for now. They will have their share of you later.”
He spent the next few minutes simply relishing the pleasure of being by her side, the weight of her hand on his arm as comforting as a soft, warm bed on a winter’s night.
“You cannot imagine my shock when I saw it was Miss Catherine who had married your cousin. I almost fainted,” he said.
She laughed. “It is a strange pairing, but you likely did not see them together much. Kitty is devoted to William. When she was eight years old, she announced at the dinner table that she would marry him when she was grown up. It seemed like the usual nonsense a child says, but she never changed her mind. I do not know whether her persistence taught William to love her, but he has for over a year. Rather ardently. She encourages him to do better without insisting he does. He is not always confident making decisions on his own, but with her,forher, he will. Kitty’s lack of maturity and common-sense forces him to exert his own, it seems, and I trust he will doubt himself less in time. I believe Kitty is over young to be married, and my father suggested they wait, but they did not wish it, my mother took their part, and so…” She shrugged.
It was not to Darcy to judge the wisdom of the match, and he wished the couple well. Besides, he would much rather focus his attention on the lovely lady by his side. He had more to tell her about his interview with the Bingleys. Wanting to put the matter behind him as soon as possible, he also intended to speak to Miss Bennet that day. Then, he prayed, they could all begin to look ahead rather than continuing to think of the past and the unhappiness it had brought into their lives.
“Last autumn, I spent a great deal of time observing you, your sisters, and Mr Collins. From what I saw, he treated all of you in a similar manner. It was vexing, and I cannot possibly describe what I felt when I heard you would be his wife,” he said.
She laughed. There was something in the sound that suggested she was recalling a particular memory. Darcy did not ask, preferring to relish her good humour, which was one of the many reasons he adored her. As selfish as it sounded, he needed her to help him find the joy in life. He often failed to recognise it.
“I would have been a dreadful parson’s wife. I would not do well in such a role, no matter which gentleman was my husband. Being married to William would have made it worse. We might be friends as well as cousins, almost brother and sister, but we would never suit as husband and wife. Once I met you, I could not possibly have married him or any other man, even had I previously been so inclined.”
That deserved a kiss, and he happily gave it to her.
“Mrs Collins also found the notion amusing. She said you would murder him within a week,” he said once they continued walking.
Elizabeth laughed so heartily that her head dropped back until she was looking at the deep cerulean sky. “So I should have. He relies—relied, I hope—on my advice too much. You often caught us in the middle of a conversation in which I was trying to help him sort out what to do. Even though it was abouthislife, it seemed impossible for him to know what would bring him contentment and what would lead him down a terrible path.”
“Is that what you were doing? To me, it seemed like the sort of tête-à-tête lovers would share. When I saw you in private conversation together, I was convinced you and he were destined for the altar.”
“Whereas I often wanted to shake him. In truth, I was always longing to talk to you. It began the moment we first spoke at the assembly.”
She offered him a tender smile, which he gladly repaid with a kiss.
“William is better with Kitty because she needs him to be the guide, as I said. I pray marriage and William’s new duties will cause them both to become more responsible, independent adults. But come, you have more to tell me about Mr and Miss Bingley. Let us have done with it.”
With this prompting, Darcy told her everything, including what they had said about Miss Bennet.
“Oh, poor Jane. I am very sorry for you, of course, but also for my sister. She has been so overcome with melancholia, questioning what she did to make him turn against her. Jane is cautious, but he said and did so much that any reasonable lady would assume he meant to propose. Even the night of the ball! You might recall, he was by her side as often as possible—that is, he was until just before supper. He was supposed to dance with her, but he did not, and he spent the rest of the evening avoiding her, as did Miss Bingley. Jane was more worried than angry.Iwas furious, especially once we learnt you had all left without saying goodbye. Then we received Miss Bingley’s letter.”
“Mrs Collins told me about it. I assure you, I never gave Miss Bingley reason to hope I might form an attachment to her.”
Only after she nodded to accept his assurances did he go on. “I now know they and their older sister schemed to make me propose to Miss Bingley. Who is to say I would not have eventually decided I could be content with her? Last autumn, I began to think I would like to settle down, and it is not as if I knew another lady I wanted to marry. But then I met you, and the thought of Miss Bingley or anyone else as my wife became abhorrent to me. You filled my heart, but it was more than that. I knew you would be the perfect person to complete my life, to stand by my side. One of the reasons I considered matrimony was Georgiana. My aunt and uncle insist she would do well to have an older sister, and I agree with them. Georgiana will enter society in two or three years, and I can think of no better lady to assist her during these next years than you.”
“That is very kind of you, and I do have some slight experience with the role. I look forward to making Miss Darcy’s acquaintance, and I promise you—and her—I shall do everything possible to be a good sister.”
“I know you will. I could never love a lady who would not be kind to Georgiana or who would encourage her to accept the first gentleman who came along just to have her settled and away from our family.” He produced a dark, humourless laugh. “Upon occasion, I thought Bingley might make a good husband for her when she was older. He is only three-and-twenty, and by the time he was my present age, she would be nineteen and might be prepared to take such a step. When I discovered it was his and his sisters’ wish that he marry her, I was livid, especially because I believe they have been plotting this since the day he and I met. Georgiana was only twelve years old at the time! It is a disgusting thought to know they looked at a child and planned her marriage to him when he was so much older than her. To think of such a man as my sister’s husband, of her being the wife of someone who only valued her for her fortune and connexions?” He growled and kicked a rock and prayed Georgiana never knew how the Bingleys had planned to use her. It was difficult enough for her to cope with knowing George Wickham, whom she had known all her life, saw her in such a way.
