“But in art as well,” said Elizabeth.
“Exactly. Almost everything you see here, the statues, paintings, and antiquities, she acquired and then arranged in this rather unconventional order. She mixed styles and periods because the objects spoke to her.”
They continued their tour, Darcy frequently pausing to explain what they saw, taking great pleasure in Elizabeth’s evident enjoyment.
“And then the miniatures are extraordinary,” she remarked, and indeed, at the conclusion of the tour, they stopped once more to admire them.
“But Mrs Cooper also possesses some remarkable pieces,” said Darcy. “I admired them when I visited you.”
“It is my husband’s doing,” she replied. “Unfortunately, I am too occupied to devote much attention to art myself.”
The four returned to the ground floor, where refreshments awaited them, and continued discussing the gallery and the beautiful objects that adorned it.
“Would you care for a walk?” asked the colonel, and the ladies immediately agreed.
Once outside, as they made their way towards the greenhouse, Mrs Cooper and the colonel immediately drew ahead of them. Their wish to be alone was so evident that Darcy turned to Elizabeth with a smile, and she lowered her parasol just enough to answer it with one of her own, slightly mischievous.
“Does it seem to you as well that they wish to be alone?” asked Elizabeth.
“Yes,” Darcy replied shortly, and strangely neither of them felt they had been deliberately left together. Rather, it seemed that the colonel and Mrs Cooper simply enjoyed being alone together.
No word was spoken, yet a small revelation lingered between them that Mrs Cooper and the colonel might suit one another very well. The thought seemed to put them both at ease, perhaps because it drew their attention away from themselves.
“This seems a good moment to tell you that I regret much of what I said in Kent,” said Darcy at last.
“Because my situation is different now?” asked Elizabeth, a little on her guard, even rather sharply, though not enough to disturb the ease that had settled between them.
“By no means. My regret arises from certain reflections upon my own character, not from the events of your life.”
“I feel much the same. I regret howI wasin Kent.”
It was a curious declaration, not a very illuminating one, for it did not reveal whether she regretted her words, her tone, or the substance of what she had said. Still less did it clarify her present feelings. Might she even regret the refusal?
“Iwasmany things in Kent, too,” said Darcy, adopting her own expression. “Not all of them are to be regretted. I do not wish to excuse myself. I only hope you may understand that not all my words sprang from…”
“Pride,” said Elizabeth with a smile, and he acknowledged it with a deep bow.
“Yes. You accused me of arrogance, conceit, and selfish disdain of the feelings of others…”
“You remember everything,” she murmured, surprised and a little embarrassed by words which, amidst the peace surrounding them, sounded even harsher than before.
“Arrogance is one of my faults, and much of what I said about your family may be attributed to it… But with Bingley,the situation was different. I advised him not to pursue the connection with your sister out of friendship and concern. I admit that I was superficial in my judgement of Miss Bennet, but my friend had come close to a disastrous mistake more than once in the past.”
“A disastrous mistake?” asked Elizabeth with amusement, and Darcy nodded, smiling. Difficult as the conversation was, the atmosphere between them remained unchanged.
“To marry an unsuitable person, whatever the reason, is a disastrous mistake, at least in my view.”
Elizabeth inclined her head in turn. It was entirely true, and she thought much the same.
“I misjudged your sister’s character, and I regret it. At the time, however, it seemed to me that a web was being woven around Bingley, meant to ensnare him, so that he might become an unwitting victim rather than a beloved husband.”
Much as Elizabeth wished to contradict him, she found herself without an argument. It had indeed appeared a web, only the spider had not been Jane, and had the marriage taken place, that web would have led them both to happiness.
“My mother,” she said, knowing he spoke the truth, but he made no attempt to agree.
“Then there was Wickham…”
“There is no need to say more. I have seen his superficiality before your terrible revelations, when I understood he was vile, not only shallow.”
