Page 86 of A Prudent Engagement

Then Jane added, “He thought I was wholly indifferent to him. He had been convinced that I cared nothing for him and that I would have been most unhappy if he offered. It was only that conviction that kept him from returning immediately from town.”

Elizabeth hummed.

“He can be too uncertain in his own judgment,” Jane said, “but he means to be more confident, and I shall be happy to see that. I perhaps have been too certain of late, and that will let us balance matters out.”

“Ah, Jane,” Elizabeth said, not quite looking at her sister, “I do not know whether Mr. Bingley said this to you, but I think…well, I shall now conduct my own experiment in saying more than must be said—it feels quite odd. Mr. Darcy informed me during our walk that he was the principal friend who counselled Mr. Bingley against making a match with you. He had observed you closely at the Netherfield ball and determined that you had no real affection for his friend and on that basis convinced him that you were indifferent.”

Jane was silent for a little while.

Elizabeth added nervously, “I do hope that you will not despise him for this. He has acknowledged his error, and perhaps this makes his part in reuniting the two of you less objectionable. And while he must receive a portion of the blame for—”

Her sister laughed. “Lizzy, do not be so anxious. I was only contemplating, as you often do, the irony of this situation. No one ought to assume that they know the feelings of another. I was convinced that you were indifferent to Mr. Darcy, and I went to him in hopes of protecting him from an unhappy marriage—that your separation was of shorter duration than mine from Bingley can in no way excuse my unwarranted interference. Bingley at least had made it an old custom to turn to Mr. Darcy for advice on serious matters.”

“Perhaps we should rail against the common practice of accepting advice,” Elizabeth said, suppressing her smile with some effort.

“You certainly seem to be in little danger of accepting too much advice,” Jane replied with another laugh. “But what makes the irony is that during the course of my unfortunate conversation with Mr. Darcy, I told him that he was not a man well suited to understanding the opinions of women.”

Elizabeth giggled. “He is not. I love him dearly, but he is not.”

“There, you said it. And in such a way that I cannot doubt it,” Jane said. “I now shall be simply happy for you.”

“And I shall be simply happy for you.”

The two sisters then embraced, and Elizabeth returned to her room.

Chapter Nineteen

The next Sunday, Darcy and Bingley rode over to Longbourn to sit in the Bennet family pew next to their beloveds.

It would only be the following week that Jane and Bingley might start to have their banns read, but Darcy felt a deep satisfaction at hearing the second reading of his.

The week had been tumultuous, but in the end, the mending of matters with Elizabeth had left him feeling happier and more confident by far.

While there was a great deal more to learn about her, he felt that he had made a strong start on understanding her character.

The details would, happily, take a lifetime to puzzle out.

Elizabeth smiled widely throughout the service, and any time she spied curious neighbours looking at them, she grinned at that person.

It was impossible for Darcy to not have a suspicion that his beloved attended less to the solemn words of the sermon that she ought. Sadly, he could not comfort himself with having made up for the deficit, though he hoped his mien was suitably serious so as to make the desired contrast with Elizabeth’s cheeriness.

As soon as the service ended, Elizabeth turned to him with bright eyes as they stood. “Everyone is delighted to see you returned—and to hear about Mr. Bingley.”

Darcy took her hand and squeezed it.

Elizabeth added, “I told Jane last night about your involvement in Mr. Bingley’s disappearance—I have decided to venture an experiment with disclosing every particular in every situation.”

Darcy laughed at that notion. “I still have matters that I shall keep private, and I hope that you do as well.”

“Oh, certainly! There is an enormous difference between informing a person that they are unworthy to know my business, ‘my dear sir, no, I assure you that I shall not explain why I am standing here in your way. Your station is too inferior to mine for you to—’”

“I never sounded like that.”

Elizabeth giggled. “Exaggeration is essential to humour.”

Darcy pressed his lips together to keep from smiling too widely. “I am instructed.”

As they made their way out of the church, a great many persons spoke to Elizabeth, to offer additional congratulations and to enquire whether she would share the wedding day with Jane.