Elizabeth said nothing.
"I have also been foolish," Mrs Bennet continued, more quietly. "Not about marriage itself. That is not a foolish matter. But about how I have spoken of it. How I have pursued it. I have made a great deal of noise."
Elizabeth had no idea how to respond.
"I was trying not to be afraid for my girls and myself," Mrs Bennet added.
They walked on in silence.
At length, Mrs Bennet said, "Mr Darcy looks at you as though he is trying very hard not to."
Elizabeth stopped. "Mama!"
"I am observing," Mrs Bennet said. "I may be less vocal but I am not blind, child."
Elizabeth did not trust herself to answer.
"Only be careful, Lizzy," her mother said, more gently. "Not timid. I should never wish you timid. But careful. It is all too easy for the lady to be injured in these situations."
???
Darcy approached after a moment.
"Mrs Bennet has left you thoughtful."
"She has lately taken to doing that," Elizabeth said. "It is very inconvenient."
"She is a woman of more perception than I had understood."
Elizabeth looked at him. But there was no irony in the remark.
"She is often underestimated. And it is often her family doing the underestimating," she said.
They stood side by side, looking out at the sea.
After a moment, he said, "I spoke earlier of my conduct. I should speak also of my intentions."
Elizabeth closed her eyes briefly. "Must you?"
"What passed yesterday cannot be dismissed. I ought not to have done it. I know that perfectly well. But knowing it does not alter the fact that I did, nor what must follow from it."
Elizabeth’s composure sharpened. "You speak as though I had no part in it. Do not say what I think you intend, Mr Darcy. You have made it quite clear I do not fit in your world. And I can tell you plainly that I wish no man to be bound to me under an obligation. Remember our intention to be indifferent acquaintances?"
"I speak as a man who should have known better," he said. "You are a gentleman’s daughter. I am responsible for my conduct toward you."
There was something in the steadiness of his manner that made it difficult to answer lightly.
Colour rose in her face. "You have made it very clear sir, that I am not born to your world and I do not believe a single ‘aberration’ will change that fact."
He visibly flinched at her words.
Elizabeth drew a breath. "You build a great deal upon a single misjudged moment in a hallway. You speak of what ought to be," she said. "But you do not seem to have considered that I might object for reasons entirely my own."
She turned slightly toward the sea. It would have been simpler if he had been merely arrogant, or merely impulsive. Simpler still if she had felt nothing for him at all.
"I do not know what to think," she said at last.
"I have spoken abruptly," he continued, "and perhaps without sufficient regard for your ease. That is my fault. But I will not withdraw what I have said, nor pretend it was said in error. I am not indifferent to you."
