Page 5 of A Promise Made

Having mentioned Mr Collins, Darcy suddenly thought about Miss Elizabeth’s questions. He said, “By the way, I encountered one of your daughters, Miss Elizabeth, as she was taking a walk and I was riding. She asked me specifically why I was helping with the estate, and I told her to ask you. I hope that answer was acceptable?”

“Of course,” Mr Bennet responded promptly. “She came home from her walk and instantly asked me. I told her I could not tell her your motivation because the telling would hurt innocent people.”

Darcy suggested, “Since she is quite curious—and, I noticed, clever—I believe you should consider telling her, at least, the truth.”

“As you pointed out, the truth is very grim. I will not be sharing it with Lizzy.”

“I hate dishonesty in all of its forms, but in this case I wonder if you should, then, craft a story that explains my motives here without revealing the hurtful truth.”

Mr Bennet shook his head, obviously disgruntled about speaking on this topic. “Lizzy is a good girl and too young to demand answers. Neither of us need worry any further on this matter.”

* * *

Mr Bennet felt transformed by the felicity of having Fitzwilliam Darcy in his study, on his estate, in his life.

This is what he had been aching for—this is what he had been missing. This is what having a son would have felt like: riding out together, discussing thorny estate problems, being able to confer with someone else what had occurred in a meeting with a tenant or steward.

Having someone to share concerns and even responsibilities.

If only…. Well, he would not allow his mind to slip into melancholy. He did not wish to revisit the past, and even contemplating the future tended to be fraught. Thus, he intended to enjoy the present. And that meant, this afternoon, riding out with Darcy to the culvert near the Smith farm.

Chapter Six

Lizzy had finished reading a novel the night before, burning far too much of her bedside candle. That was the sort of thing about which her mother nagged, and even their benevolent housekeeper, Mrs Hill, shook her head over the waste.

After she finally closed her book and pinched out the flame, Lizzy had tossed and turned and dreamt dramatic dreams. She awoke feeling distinctly unrested.

But she also awoke with a theory about just who Mr Darcy might be.

It was a dreadful thought, and she could hardly bear to express it with words, even silent words within her own mind.

Could Mr Darcy be her half-brother?

In The Father and Daughter, the main character was a fallen woman who had returned home with her “child of shame.”

Lizzy wondered if an illegitimate child could inherit Longbourn.

If Mr Darcy was her brother, then her father must have sired him before he married her mother. Lizzy had not been told Mr Darcy’s age, but she was certain that he was at least a few years older than Jane.

What would happen if Lizzy’s father had “befriended” the daughter of a wealthy man or a nobleman? She imagined that an heiress who found herself in a family way while still unmarried might be swiftly wed to some man—possibly to a much older but wealthy man who desperately needed an heir.

If Mr Darcy was Papa’s natural son—but he had been given the name of and raised as a son by a wealthy gentleman who was quite old but who lacked an heir—that could explain several things. This theory fit with the fact that Mr Darcy wore fine, well-tailored clothes and owned a luxurious carriage, and it fit with her assumption that Mr Darcy was quite young but had already inherited.

Most importantly, this theory fit with the facts that Mr Darcy had arrived so suddenly with the wish to help, and that Papa treated him as if he was somebody special.

Still…could this tall, dark, handsome man actually be her brother?

Does Mr Darcy resemble Papa in any way?

Lizzy washed her face and hurried to dress for a walk. She hoped to run into Mr Darcy again so that she could study his face with this disturbing new theory in mind.

She rapidly strode up Oakham Mount and scanned the lower surrounds until she spied a rider. She could not be certain it was Mr Darcy, from that distance, but most people had been still abed when she had seen him the morning before, so she thought it likely. Noting to herself his location and heading, Lizzy ran down the hill and then walked to a meadow, arriving just a few moments before Mr Darcy rode in from the opposite side.

“Good morning, Mr Darcy,” she called out.

He rode closer before replying, “Another early-morning walk, I see.” He removed his hat and bowed a bit while remaining in the saddle.

“And another early-morning ride for you.” Lizzy saw that he seemed eager to ride on, but she wished to really study his features. She cast about in her mind for a way to get him to dismount.