Page 18 of Most Truly the Gentleman

“You would have a home of your own, and all the respectable occupation available to a clergyman’s wife. In time, you would be mistress of Longbourn, and in a position to assist any of your sisters who were still at home, and your mother, too.” She gentled her tone and added, “I do not say you must, Eliza, or that I will not respect you if you decide against him. But I urge you to weigh the practicalities as thoroughly as you have weighed your own desires.”

Elizabeth sighed. “I understand the practicalities, Charlotte, I do. But I also understand myself. I have not a temperament that allows me to long bear silently the fatuous and the thick-witted. Why do you think I still attempt to correct my mother’s wrong-headed notions after all these years? I would make him as unhappy as he would make me, and that would not assist my family either. It is not to be thought of.”

“I do understand, Eliza. I would be delighted for the opportunity to marry any respectable gentleman who was not vicious, but you and I are not alike. Perhaps it was wrong of me to advise you to behave as I myself would.”

“No, Charlotte, you were entirely correct to urge me to consider all the factors. I understand that it may be best for my family if I were to accept him, and yet even with that inducement, I cannot wish to be other than I am, if such an alteration would see me wed to such a man. I must hope that I may find a way to discourage his interest before he comes to the point.”

“I shall bend my mind to the problem, and if I think of anything which might assist you in your purpose, I shall waste no time in telling you.”

“You are a most excellent friend, my dear Charlotte. If only we might divert his interest to you!” Elizabeth said sportively.

“I would not object,” Charlotte replied seriously. “Pray attempt it, if you are able. I am more than ready to make myself agreeable to him.”

“You shall have your chance tomorrow night at Haye-Park. I shall praise you within his hearing in the meanwhile.” Charlotte thanked her for the favour, and they walked along a little in silence until Elizabeth said soberly, “There is another matter on which I would solicit your advice, my wise friend.”

“I claim no particular wisdom, save that which the handful of years I have on you may bring, but I am always happy to hear any concern of yours.”

“During both of my encounters with Mr Wickham, his expressions were so seemingly unstudied, his demeanour so apparently open and honest, that I am convinced I should have believed and trusted in almost any tale he might choose to spin, had I not been early warned of his character by a gentleman in whom I have a firm confidence. And Mr Darcy, while not half so much the opposite of what he first seemed, has proved himself a more worthy man than the hateful creature I deemed him to be. Even Mr Collins has displayed a measure of good sense and kindness greatly at odds with the picture I first formed of him. Tell me truly, Charlotte, am I often mistaken in my initial judgment of those I meet?”

Charlotte did not speak for a long moment, her expression thoughtful. “I should say that in ordinary cases you are a better judge than most. However, one who deliberately seeks to deceive is not an ordinary case, and too great a dependence on first impressions will give that sort of person an advantage over you. I think also that in relying so much on an assessment formed on first meeting, you deny some the opportunity to demonstrate that they possess qualities which are not immediately apparent, much less one of those intricate characters for which you have professed a fondness.”

Elizabeth smiled wryly. She could not refute anything her friend had said, nor did she want to. “I am coming to believe that Mr Darcy is one of those intricate characters. What he said that first night was very bad, but I know now that he had some reason to be in a foul mood, though none to exercise it upon me. He has since displayed some good qualities as well. I have not yet made him out, but I do believe there is at least as much good as bad within him.”

“It occurs to me that his words were meant to persuade Mr Bingley to cease importuning him to enter the dance, and were not about you at all, in essence if not in effect. I do think it indicates a certain selfishness, to speak so under such slight provocation, but whether that is an immutable flaw of his character, or a consequence of being a young man of fortune, breeding, and fine appearance, who is too much praised, I cannot say.”

“Mr Bingley does not seem above himself, though he is handsome and rich,” Elizabeth pointed out.

“Mr Bingley is of a naturally sunny disposition, I think, and he is not the nephew of an earl. One need only look to his younger sister’s airs to understand that they have not been welcomed in the first circles with open arms.”

Elizabeth laughed. “She is entirely desperate to be seen as a great lady, is she not? I would feel sorry for her, for I think those whose favour she courts might like her better if she were humbler and did not lift herself up by tearing others down.”

“I agree with you entirely. Your first impression of her, and of her brother, her sister, and Mr Hurst, you need not question,” Charlotte said, chuckling.

“And what of Colonel Fitzwilliam? We have not canvassed his character.”

“I do not feel equipped to do so. My impression of him at first was of amiability, intelligence, and good breeding, yet the more I speak with him, the more I think that while none of that is false, there is a great deal more to him also.”

“And now it is for me to agree with you completely,” Elizabeth said. “He and his cousin are both interesting studies. If you will take Mr Collins off my hands, I shall have more leisure in which to observe them.”

“I can only promise most faithfully to try.”

12

A GENTLEMANLY CONSPIRACY

The people of Meryton and its surrounding estates were in high spirits as they gathered in Mrs Goulding’s drawing room at Haye-Park. It was not so loud as the gathering at Denby Hall—that had been akin to the lobby of the theatre at Covent Garden before the opening of the Season’s most anticipated spectacle—but it was more than Darcy could easily bear. He forced himself to move about the room, greeting several of the gentlemen he knew, and wished that Mr Bennet had attended. They might have found a quieter corner and spoken of books.

He looked about for someone standing alone, or a very small group he might join. Bingley was, as usual, speaking with Miss Bennet on the edges of a larger conversation. Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst were ostentatiously confining themselves to each other’s company near the refreshments, and though he knew he would be exceedingly welcome to enter into their talk, he could not think of much that he would enjoy less.

Miss Elizabeth, too, was part of a group too large for his liking, speaking with Miss Lucas and her brother, the Miss Longs, and her ridiculous cousin the clergyman. That fellow had intercepted him and Fitzwilliam the moment they entered and regaled them with praises of Lady Catherine and Anne de Bourgh for a full ten minutes, though Fitzwilliam, far less the focus of the man’s attention than Darcy was, had effected an escape after five. Collins would no doubt have blathered on for even longer had Darcy not taken advantage of a brief pause for breath to excuse himself to greet his acquaintances before they thought him rude. He departed with the clergyman’s praises for his attentiveness, so like his noble aunt’s, ringing in his aching ears.

He spied his cousin sitting near the fireplace with only the admiral as a conversation partner, and pointed his steps in their direction. Fitzwilliam spent a great deal of time with the older man, calling upon him as much as thrice each week. Twice, Darcy had accompanied him, most recently the previous day when he had joined his cousin to speak with Colonel Forster. They had assured the militia regiment’s commander that proof of Wickham’s debts would arrive shortly, and received in return word that though Wickham had, as yet, done nothing he might be censured for, he would be watched more closely henceforth. With this, they must be satisfied until Darcy’s evidence could be presented. Darcy would have wished that Colonel Forster might act more fully on the information of two respectable men, but neither could he blame the man for exercising caution when he need only wait a few days to remove all possibility of doubt. Afterwards, they had visited the admiral for an hour before making their return to Netherfield.

The old sailor’s manners were unrefined, and his education more attuned to astronomy and strategy than to literature, but his mind was keen and his disposition warm. He and Fitzwilliam did enjoy recounting their battle stories, which could be rather too gruesome for Darcy’s comfort, but they would not speak of such things in a crowded room. He greeted the admiral and availed himself of the empty seat on his other side.

“Kirkland was just asking me if Bingley is serious in his intentions towards Miss Bennet,” Fitzwilliam informed him, “and I was about to reply that while he has made no decisions of which I am aware, I have never known him to be so focused in his attentions, nor so little playful in them. When I have seen him enamoured of a lady previously, there was only banter and flirtation in it, but he speaks with Miss Bennet of serious subjects. Would you agree with my assessment, Cousin, with your greater knowledge of him?”

Darcy considered this and nodded slowly. Fitzwilliam would not disclose what Bingley himself had said of his intentions, and neither would he. “Cautiously, I do agree. I have not been privy to very many conversations between the two, but he did mention the other day that they had spoken of what an estate owes to its tenants, which is not a subject I should ever have imagined him canvassing during a call or at a party with anyone at all. I also do not recall his exclusive attentions lasting a month complete before.”