Page 61 of Dear Friend

19th October 1811

Netherfield

Darcy

The first correspondence forwarded to Darcy from Somerset arrived one quiet morning shortly after breakfast.

As he had instructed, the letter itself had not been opened. More importantly, the housekeeper at Willowbrook had taken the sensible precaution of enclosing it within fresh paper addressed directly to him, allowing it to reach Netherfield without drawing attention to the name upon the original direction.

Darcy recognised Elizabeth’s hand the moment he removed the outer covering.

For several seconds he merely looked at it.

He had expected another letter. Indeed, he had specifically arranged for any correspondence addressed to Miss Julia Harding to be forwarded to him. Yet expectation did little to lessen the sudden anticipation he felt now that one actually rested in his hands.

This letter was different from those he had found at Willowbrook. Those had been waiting for him when he arrived, already separated from Elizabeth by weeks or months. This one had been written only days ago, after she had met him.

Darcy swallowed and broke the seal before he had properly taken his seat.

Longbourn,

Hertfordshire

16th October 1811

Dearest Julia,

You will forgive me if this letter arrives livelier than most I have sent you lately, but Meryton has finally produced something worth reporting, and I find I cannot keep it to myself. Hence this hurried letter.

We have new neighbours. As with the assembly you attended when you were here, most of those newly arrived are not remarkable enough for me to write much about, though that is perhaps unfairly judging them at a glance, since I have spent very little time in their company.

There is, however, a Mr. Bingley who has taken Netherfield Park, and he brought with him a friend, Mr. Darcy, who arrived at our assembly last night and produced rather more conversation in Meryton than I believe he intended. Mr. Bingley is precisely the sort of man Mama approves of on sight, open, cheerful, eager to be pleased with everyone and everything. He danced twice with Jane, which has already thrown my mother into transports from which I do not expect her fully to recover before Christmas.

Darcy smiled.

He could imagine Mrs. Bennet’s enthusiasm perfectly well after his visit to Longbourn, and Elizabeth’s account of it required very little embellishment.

He continued.

Mr. Darcy is a stranger case entirely, and I hardly know how to give you a proper account of him. Sir William presented us in the usual way, and the moment he spoke my name, Mr. Darcy simply stared at me. Stared, Julia, as though I had said something extraordinary rather than merely stood still and allowed myself to be introduced.

Darcy’s smile disappeared.

He did not bow. He did not speak. He looked at me as though he had expected someone else to appear when my name was called and could not immediately account for finding me there instead. I confess I was rather at a loss what to make of it and half suspected Sir William had somehow announced the wrong name entirely.

Darcy lowered the page for a moment.

He had known his reaction upon hearing her name had been poorly concealed. He had not realised quite how poorly.

At the time, seeing Elizabeth Bennet standing before him after months of knowing her only through ink and paper had driven nearly every consideration of manners from his mind. Apparently, Elizabeth had noticed every second of his astonishment.

He returned to the letter.

And then, not an hour later, he rescued me from Mr. Sotherton.

You know how determined that gentleman has become. He approached me for the first dance in that particular manner of his which leaves very little room for a graceful refusal, and I was still searching for some means of escape when Mr. Darcy simply appeared beside me and claimed me for a dance he had never asked for. Apparently, he had observed Mr. Sotherton’s approach and read my expression well enough to know I wanted no part of the invitation. It was exceedingly presumptuous of him, Julia, and I do not know that I have ever been so grateful for a gentleman’s presumption.

We danced three sets in total, Julia. Three. Mr. Darcy knew I wished to avoid another invitation from Mr. Sotherton and offered to remain my partner for the following sets. I accepted, perhaps rather selfishly, because I had no desire to spend the remainder of the evening inventing increasingly uncivil methods of avoiding the other gentleman.