Darcy sprang from his bed, resolving to consider fully what his mind was trying to tell him. It struck him that his actionsof the past year werefundamentally differentfrom before. Even regarding his estate, he was a better master. The deals made in clubs and card rooms were now more possible because of what the lady had taught him. His life in society, when he could no longer avoid balls, soirees, and the like, was easier now that she had taught him how to be social… or at least less unsocial. Just the simple suggestion that he dance with ladies without partners enough to make his dancing unremarkable had yielded dividends. Even his consideration of Pemberley’s operations was changed by seeing what she could do without her sight and without complaint. He knew not how many times he had asked himself, ‘What would Elizabeth do?’and then done exactly whatever thought came to mind, but it was substantial.
Darcy spent several hours sitting in his dressing gown in front of the fire, thinking about all he remembered. He spent his hard morning ride on his hideously expensive stallion thinking about it. He spent the rest of the morning, all of luncheon, and all of the next few days thinking about it, until he finally came to the most obvious and natural conclusion. He wanted to smack his head at his own stupidity.
I am a much better man after a few dozen hours in the company of Elizabeth Bennet. How much better might I be after a year—or a lifetime?
He had pondered this for some time when a footman interrupted, bearing a letter from Lady Catherine on a tray. He reluctantly put thoughts of Elizabeth Bennet aside; though now that he knew how much she had haunted his mind this past year, he admitted it would be some time before she left his waking thoughts entirely (if ever).
~~~
Darcy,
I received this letter from Anne, along with the news that she recently married an American and plans to move to a place called Ohio. He is a man of business, apparently quite prosperous and influential in the Americas. I have no idea whether to be inordinately pleased with Elizabeth or extremely vexed. Anne’s letter bursts with happiness, so I imagine I shall celebrate the former. It would never have occurred to me that I could accept the heir of Rosings giving it up for a man—much less an American—with equanimity, but I find myself surprisingly celebrating her happiness. A year ago, I was not at all certain of her survival, and now she thrives. I shall take what I can get.
In a piece of odd impertinence, Anne included a letter she is not only unwilling to enlighten me regarding, but apparently unable, as it was written outside her purview. She knows nothing of the contents. It is from EB. I leave it to you to decide whether to read it.
I would be pleased if you might attend me at Rosings in the next month or two, that we may discuss the inheritance. I have some ideas, but seek your counsel.
Catherine de Bourgh
~~~
Burning with curiosity, Darcy vacillated between savouring the experience of holding a letter from Elizabeth Bennet, and the burning desire to see what it said. The latter impulse won the day handily.
~~~
30 November 1812, Cleveland, Ohio
Mr D,
I hope you will excuse the impropriety and impertinence of this note, as well as its unorthodox delivery. You need have nofear that I expect anything of you, nor that I am attempting to renew our acquaintance; but my conscience demands that I speak, and I hope your sense of justice will demand that I be heard.
This note is private; neither my companion nor my usual secretary, Mr H, is privy to its contents. You probably do not know, but we have been establishing schools here in America for the past year. We have more than 200 students under our tutelage, and I am inordinately proud of every one. I coerced a dozen of my students into writing a paragraph at a time, and I must hope their efforts are at least an improvement over your friend, Mr B.
The purpose of this letter is to offer you an apology. In our last interaction, you and your friend Mr B attempted to act as true gentlemen and offer apologies for acts that occurred in your presence but were neither your fault nor your responsibility. Neither I nor my sister were willing to listen. I suffered an attack of the vilest kind under the same roof where you resided, and my emotions were not capable of acting the lady at the time; but I had no reason to vent them on you. Perhaps Mr B was responsible for not curbing his relations earlier, but you, sir, were quite without fault.
In my best hope, this incident left your mind many months ago, and you will find this letter a simple conclusion to a matter of no particular importance. While that is my hope, it is not my belief. By all I have observed, and all your cousin says, you are far too much the gentleman to be satisfied with how things ended, and perhaps at one time even felt some responsibility. My father probably reproved you vigorously for things that were not your fault; and for that, as well as my own unladylike behaviour, I must apologise.
As you are probably aware, your cousin has recently exchanged her surname for that of Mrs R, and her previousreasonable contentment with my company for true happiness with a man who loves and esteems her as much as she returns the sentiment. By the time you read this, the happy event will have taken place, and we will be well on our way to her new home in a western territory, ready to take up our permanent place in American society. I doubt I will see you again, and that has been the impetus for writing this untoward letter. I could no longer bear the thought that you might be somewhere in the world believing I think ill of you or your friend, Mr B.
With much time to think (it has been a year, after all, and it took a month to write this letter with a dozen scribes), I have reflected on the entirety of our acquaintance. From the very first moments of our association, I almost constantly intruded upon your privacy with a complete want of regard for manners, propriety, or your feelings. I know I dragged you through many conversations you would rather have avoided; yet you never complained, nor in any way, in word or deed, showed how much it must have disturbed or annoyed you. In retrospect, I believe you were being the consummate gentleman, and simply treated one of your inferiors with far more kindness and civility than I warranted; for that as well, I thank you. I imagine it must have been unbearably tedious.
On the very last day of my stay at N, two incidents of similar nature but vastly different magnitudes occurred. The first was a remark I accidentally overheard in the breakfast room about the B sisters’ chances of marrying well. It annoyed me considerably at the time, but further reflection has convinced me you did nothing especially wrong. In fact, all you did was repeat nearly verbatim something I told you myself not five minutes after I accosted you at that first assembly; your comments were completely unremarkable, being simple statements of fact. Considering the consequence of your social circles, there is little chance of my sisters marrying men ofconsequence, as we both well know. I find myself unable to censure you for that statement in retrospect. It was perhaps not the kindest thing said at the table, as that distinction belongs to Mr B; but it was not overly critical, and I should not be so missish.
The second incident was terrible indeed in every way. It was not only the most hurtful words I have ever heard anyone utter, let alone direct at me; but it was also physically painful. I seriously damaged my leg tripping over a table. The bruise was quite painful, and I even got a fairly large splinter driven into my thigh. I did not walk properly for weeks, and carried a slight limp for months. However, due to my stubborn nature, it took me some time to admit that you did nothing wrong except exist in the same room where a nasty piece of snake meat and her sister were doing their best to destroy the reputations of the entire female sex. While I was unwilling to admit it at the time, your actions in the immediate aftermath and the next morning were entirely the actions of a gentleman, and I cannot find a fault. You tried your best to right a wrong that was not even your offence, and my sister and I did not even give you a chance to show your true colours. I have been encouraging my sister J to renew her acquaintance with you and Mr B for some time, but have no indication that she has done so or ever intends to.
And so, Mr D, I most humbly offer my apologies. I realise I repeat myself, but it is difficult to recall what I said previously and what I did not, so I hope you will excuse my rambling. As I said, I hope rather than believe that this entire incident has faded from your memory, which would not accord with the true gentleman you are. I do not offer you absolution, as you committed no offence. I simply offer an end to the matter, and hope that in the unlikely event we should ever meet again, we may begin anew as indifferent acquaintances.
Forgive me for taking up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.
EB
Count No Evil(Incremental)
After one month of treating Colonel Fitzwilliam, Charlotte Lucas was reasonably satisfied with his recovery from his physical injuries, but less so with the injuries to his soul. The man vacillated between any number of moods; he woke Charlotte and at least one of the servants with nightmares nearly every night, and he possessed a number ofpersonas. He could be the amiable, charming, well-spoken man one moment, and a taciturn, morose, wild-tempered man the next.
During that month, Charlotte wrote to the matron at the hospital in London and received advice on how to drag the man out of the black pit of despair in which he was locked. Charlotte considered all the counsel she had received and remained in nearly daily contact with Mr Darcy. She eventually determined that the general’s hope that the colonel would recover in one month was wildly optimistic. The man vacillated between the personalities of Mr Wickham and Mr Darcy on an hourly basis.
After two months of treating Colonel Fitzwilliam, Charlotte Lucas was well on her way to trying every tactic that had ever been suggested by anybody, and was not at all satisfied with the results. In fact, the phrasenot at all satisfiedunderstated the case vastly. She was extremely frustrated, yet she soldiered on.
