Page 77 of A Prudent Engagement

Bingley had turned frightfully pale.

Colonel Fitzwilliam patted him on the shoulder and poured him a tumbler of brandy. “The situation may not be irretrievable. Well, Darcy, how do you judge the matter?”

“What information I have, I promised not to divulge. What I can tell you is that I am wholly confident that if Miss Bennet does agree to marry you, it will not be on account of her mother’s feelings or out of any mercenary motives.”

This caused Colonel Fitzwilliam to raise his eyebrows again. “And how do you know that?”

“It was Miss Bennet who informed me of Miss Elizabeth’s dislike for me.”

Except suddenly, matters did not seem irretrievable to Darcy either.

“Former dislike,” Darcy amended. “Miss Elizabeth was completely clear that she no longer dislikes me.”

“By Zeus! Cousin, why are you still here?”

“What do you mean?”

Colonel Fitzwilliam swallowed his glass of brandy. “If I had so much encouragement and so much love for a woman as you have for Miss Elizabeth, I would besiege her until I convinced her to relent and accept my offer of marriage again.”

From Bingley’s expression, it seemed clear to him that he rather thought the notion applied to him as much as to Darcy.

“In any case,” Darcy said, “I realised yesterday that I should not have spoken with such confidence about Miss Bennet’s feelings to Bingley, and I considered it my duty to inform him of this.”

“Bingley, very favourable terrain,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said. “I think I understand the meaning behind Darcy’s guarded hints. Your Miss Bennet said something that made him guess that she was still in love with you, and out of maidenly delicacy she made him swear to not tell you. I would have the guns double-shotted and execute a charge in your place.”

Darcy opened his mouth and closed it.

He did not consider himself at liberty to confirm, and he could not deny.

Bingley’s eyes widened. “By George, she did! Why then are either of us still in London?”

“I suddenly realise,” Darcy said, “that I have no good answer to that, except that the hour is much too late to reach Netherfield before it is long dark, and it would be unkind to Mrs. North if I did not stay the night after she prepared the house for me.”

“Quite right. Best to arrive in the morning when we are well slept,” Bingley said. He then called out, “Waiter, bring me pen and paper—I shall send a messenger express to have Netherfield prepared for us tomorrow. That would be more considerate to the servants than descending on the house with no warning.”

Chapter Eighteen

As the neighbourhood had not been generally informed that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth had ended their engagement, it surprised few that within the course of a few days Mr. Darcy returned to Netherfield with his friend Mr. Bingley.

That Mr. Darcy had not previously stayed at Netherfield had made some wonder whether there had been a rupture between the two friends—possibly because Mr. Bingley had jilted the sister of the woman whom Mr. Darcy meant to marry.

As Mr. Bingley had now returned to Hertfordshire, it instantly became a matter of general confidence that the reconciliation was because Mr. Bingley’s friend had convinced him to seriously make his addresses to Miss Bennet, and that there would be two marriages for the fortunate Bennet family rather than one.

Maybe the Bennets were not so fortunate, given the recent death of Mr. Bennet, but that was easily forgotten in the anticipation of two eligible marriages.

When her mother and sisters came back from a card party held by Mrs. Phillips, Elizabeth learned that Mr. Darcy was at Netherfield, that he had definitely arrived with Mr. Bingley, and that the neighbourhood in general expected Mr. Bingley to at last make an offer to Jane. Elizabeth had not attended the card party chiefly to avoid enquiries about Mr. Darcy. She did not wish to face empty congratulations if the neighbourhood was not yet aware that their engagement had ended. She wished even more assiduously to avoid the empty sympathy and condolences, mixed with suspicious looks, that would be cast her way when they did know.

“See, I told you that it would all end well,” Mrs. Bennet said after crowing about how Mr. Bingley had been seen in Mr. Darcy’s carriage as it went through Meryton, and that poor Mrs. Nicholls was in a terrible flutter, as she had only received the message that the master was to return at midnight the night before Mr. Bingley actually entered the doors of Netherfield with his guest around noon.

“He cannot mean to offer for me again,” Elizabeth said.

“Oh, nonsense,” her mama replied. “It has not been generally announced that you ended the engagement. He merely needs to say that he wishes to mend matters.”

“He cannot mean to do that either.”

“And I am quite sure,” her mother added, turning to Jane, “that Mr. Bingley will at last offer for you. Mr. Darcy must mean to make him. He must have realised from something you said that you were heartbroken over Mr. Bingley, and that if he reunited you two, it would be a fine way to regain Lizzy’s approbation.”

At this Jane turned pink and then pale. “I do hope he has said nothing of the sort.”