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“By no means. How could you have prevented all Meryton from being deceived by his manners? We behaved like foolish fifteen-year-olds and smiled at his silly jests. I doubted his character more than once, but I chose to laugh it off and tease my daughters. I took no precautions and made no rules.”
“Wickham can deceive anyone when it suits him. My father thought well of him until the end of his life,” Darcy replied bitterly.
“Still, I am the father of five daughters, two of them very foolish. I ought to have been more careful. I am ashamed of how little I have done to guide them. My poor girl is not yet sixteen. I should never have allowed her to go to Brighton with so little supervision. Lizzy tried to persuade me, but I chose what was easiest for myself, as I so often do.”
Mr Bennet looked pale and weary. Darcy glanced towards Elizabeth again before Bingley spoke.
“Mr Bennet, please do not blame yourself so severely. We must try to do what is best for your family now. Would you wish Miss Lydia to come home, or to marry him? I fear Wickham will never be a good husband.”
His questions made it clear that he and Darcy had discussed the matter at length.
“I cannot say what would be best. Lydia must wish to marry him, or she would not have gone away with him. But I doubt he will marry her. Why should he? She has nothing, and he would gain nothing by it.”
“We shall see,” Darcy replied. “First we must find them, then decide what can be done.”
“Gentlemen, will you stay for dinner?” Mrs Gardiner asked.
“Thank you, but I must leave,” Bingley replied. “I still have some business to attend to this evening.”
No one pressed him to remain, but Darcy accepted. He could not bear to leave Elizabeth yet, and even seeing her across the room made the day more bearable.
He was grateful that Mr Bennet had not questioned him about the engagement before everyone, leaving him to speak of his intentions at a more suitable time. However difficult their circumstances, he wanted nothing more than to marry Elizabeth.
Despite their sadness, dinner was quiet and friendly. Even Mr Bennet seemed more at ease, beginning to hope that Lydia’s conduct need not destroy Jane’s and Elizabeth’s happiness. He was deeply concerned for his youngest daughter and wanted to help her, but Darcy’s confident presence and Bingley’s assurances comforted him about the others.
When dinner ended and Darcy rose to leave, Mrs Gardiner said, “Lizzy, please see Mr Darcy to the door.”
No one objected. Elizabeth needed a few moments with him, and they were willing to give her that comfort.
She led him to the door, her hand in his, and he kissed it and drew her into his arms.
“Your father is not yet convinced of my affection,” Darcy said, smiling into her eyes.
“Papa is often doubtful, but I believe he is less worried about us now.”
She wanted to ask whether he still intended to marry her, but could not bring herself to speak. Whatever happened, she believed in his love, and for that moment it was enough.
She murmured, “Thank you,” before he left.
∞∞∞
“Now, Lizzy dear, this is indeed a different Mr Darcy,” Mr Bennet remarked once they were alone again. “It is hard to believe he is the same man we met in Hertfordshire last year.”
“I believe he is very much the same, Papa. We simply failed to see him in the proper light,” Elizabeth replied, attempting to sound light-hearted.
“Indeed, we were too charmed by Wickham’s conversation and dancing,” Mr Bennet concluded with a touch of acerbity. “Let us rest now, for tomorrow we shall need all our strength.”
Chapter 14
That night was as restless and distressing as the one before, and Darcy was not near to comfort her. Recalling their passionate kiss and the pleasure it brought, she grew angry with herself for permitting his tender indiscretions, yet wondered how much more there might be to such intimacy.
Darcy’s friendly manner towards her father and his open interest in helping her family persuaded her to forgive his eagerness to acquaint himself with her…body, she thought with a faint smile. After all, he was a man. Her understanding of such matters, however, remained limited.
One moment, she felt him next to her body; the next, she dismissed the recollection, troubled by concerns for their future. Would he have the strength to confront his family once the scandal became known? She trusted him, not his family, whose influence might force him to forsake her.
Then her thoughts returned to Lydia and her imprudent behaviour. Horrified by the danger her sister faced, she prayed they would find her soon. At last, weariness overcame her, and she fell into a deep sleep, her mind more fatigued than her body.
Awakened by noise from the street, she hastily rose from her bed. It was nearly ten o’clock! She dressed in haste and hurried to speak to her aunt, whom she found in the drawing room, enjoying a cup of tea.
