Page 32 of A Cleverly (Un)contrived Compromise (Love’s Little Helpers #3)

CHAPTER 32

H ands clenched, back stiff, shoulders tensed to her ears, Elizabeth walked toward Darcy. She looked fierce without her customary smile.

Richard elbowed him. “You are in for it now.”

Darcy was powerless to move. All he could do was brace himself for the tempest to strike.

“Is it true?” she demanded.

“I believe I shall leave you two to chat.” Richard bowed and retreated.

Assuming nothing, Darcy asked, “Is what true?”

Elizabeth gritted her teeth, speaking through them. “Do you plan for Mr. Bingley to marry your sister?”

Nothing could help him now, so Darcy held his head as high as he could and told the truth. “Yes, I did.”

She snapped, completely overlooking his use of the past tense. “It is ridiculous! Do you really expect Mr. Bingley to wait years until Miss Darcy is ready to marry?” She flailed her arms heavenward. “How do you even know she will remain in love with him that long?”

Darcy knew the folly of rational speech to an impassioned woman, but Elizabeth was wrong about Georgiana. “She is of a steady character.”

“Really? Was she not in love with Mr. Wickham only this last summer?”

She had him there. He clamped his teeth down on his tongue, thinking maybe it would be best to say as little as possible.

“What of Mr. Bingley? Surely, he does not agree with your plan or he would not have paid any particular regard to Jane.”

“No, he would not have. I never openly encouraged the match.”

Elizabeth gasped. “But you wanted it! You would presume to dictate his future without a word of permission? Is that what you do with your sister, too? She would have sensed your approval and understood it as encouragement! Can you not see that by indulging her every whim, you are preventing her from experiencing consequences? In so doing, you deny her the opportunity to learn and grow, to strengthen her character. No, she relies on her protective brother to swoop in and sweep the mess under the rug, swatting my sister out of the way so that yours may trample all over Jane’s heart while she has her fun. It is a selfish love, and it will not last.”

Darcy’s blood lit afire. “Do you doubt Georgiana’s loyalty?”

“To Mr. Bingley—yes.”

“I thought you of all people believed in long-lasting love.”

“I do! But that is not what she has toward Mr. Bingley. She is full young! She does not even know herself enough to love someone else.”

“She is a Darcy.” Darcy emphasized every syllable.

They stood toe-to-toe now. “You are determined to discourage Bingley away from Jane? He loves her, I am convinced of it. And she is ready to marry now.”

Calmly, rationally, Darcy asked, “Are you convinced she loves him?”

Elizabeth raised her chin. “Yes.”

“Do not presume to know my sister better than I do when you are blind to the indifference of your own.”

“You think Jane indifferent?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes.”

Her chin trembled as she spoke, and her eyes sparkled. “I can forgive a great many things, but I could never love a man responsible for the ruination of my dearest sister’s happiness. How can I marry a man who held my family in such disregard, who proclaims himself an expert of my sister’s heart?”

“And three weeks have made you an expert of my sister? Come, Elizabeth, this is madness!”

She blinked over and over, her voice shaking. “If you choose to insist on protecting your sister at Jane’s expense, then I must insist we call off our engagement.”

Darcy reached for her, but she was too swift, and he was too numb to stop her.

* * *

Elizabeth was proud of herself for making it upstairs and to her room before the tears came. But once the first spilled down her cheek, they kept coming in heaves and swells.

Throwing herself on her bed, she buried her face in her pillow and wept. She would have cried longer, but she had to comfort Jane. Dear disappointed, heartbroken Jane. Oh, if only she had never met Fitzwilliam Darcy!

Tears burned her eyes anew, but Elizabeth choked them back. She washed her face and dabbed it dry, dreading the conversation she would have to have with her sister and wrapping her burgeoning anger around her like a shield.

Feeling stronger, she grabbed the door handle, took a deep breath, and yanked it open to step squarely on Jane’s toes.

“Ouch!” Jane protested, grabbing her foot.

“Oh, bother! I am sorry, Jane!” Elizabeth wrapped her arm around her sister and helped her hobble over to the bed.

“‘Tis no matter.”

It was to Elizabeth. Aside from an injured heart, Jane now had an injured foot! “It is my fault. I should have been more cautious.”

“All will be well, you will see.” Jane nudged Elizabeth in the side. “A fine, steadfast love cannot be swayed by a misunderstanding.”

Oh no. She and Fitzwilliam would never agree about their sisters. As far as Elizabeth was concerned, she was through with him. She swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked hard. That high-handed, arrogant, selfish man! How dare he pretend to be chivalrous and charming when all the time, he was willing to sacrifice Jane’s prospects for his sister! “I do not want to speak of him, Jane. He is not the man I thought he was.”

He knew Jane had been hurt before. He knew Elizabeth would not stand to see Jane hurt again. He knew that, and he still took Mr. Bingley from her. How did he justify his actions? By claiming to understand Jane’s heart better than Elizabeth! Of all the arrogant, self-serving claims! A harsh laugh escaped her.

Jane looked at her questioningly.

The last person Elizabeth wanted to talk about was proud Mr. Darcy, but she had to explain. “He presumed to understand your heart better than me. He believes that you are indifferent to Mr. Bingley. Can you imagine? After all the consideration you have shown his sister, instead of recognizing your grace, your compassion, and your patient serenity, he assumes you are indifferent!” She laughed bitterly, waiting for Jane to join her.

Jane did not. She pinched her lips and calmly clasped her hands. A niggling fear choked Elizabeth’s laughter dry. “You do love Mr. Bingley, do you not, dearest?”

“Ought a woman love a man too fickle to make his own decisions?”

Elizabeth steadied herself against the headboard. “Tell me you love Mr. Bingley, Jane.”

“There was a time, a very brief time, when I believed myself in love. But it was a flicker of a flame, and it died when I learned more of his character.”

Elizabeth clenched her stomach. “He is everything amiable and gentlemanly! You told me so yourself!”

“And I stand by what I said. But while Mr. Bingley possesses many fine traits, he is still a boy in many ways.” Jane clasped her hands in her lap and smiled. “I would rather marry a man.”

Elizabeth groaned. That the insufferable Mr. Darcy had been right was unbearable. Especially after what she had told him. She groaned again.

Jane looked at her in alarm. “What is it? You do not look well.”

Truth be told, Elizabeth did not feel at all well. “Oh, Jane, I said some things I should not have. I spoke too plainly about his sister, and when he would not be reasonable, I called off our engagement. I told him I could never love him for disappointing my sister, and now I learn that he was right?”

She covered her face with her hands. Oh, what had she done?! Elizabeth had always prided herself on the quickness of her tongue, but not today. Today she had spoken impulsively, emotionally, irrationally.

“Oh, Lizzy!” Jane rubbed her back. “You will have to apologize for that.”

Elizabeth sat up to look at her sister. How could she be so calm?

“And I must apologize to you for leading you to believe that I am still in love with Mr. Bingley. In truth…my affections belong to another.” Jane caressed her cheek.

“I am going to be ill,” Elizabeth grumbled.

“Nonsense. Do you not see how similar you are? It was presumptuous of him to arrange Mr. Bingley’s future as well as his sister’s, but did you not try to do the same with me? You were foolish to speak to him so boldly about his sister, but did he not do the same? I daresay you are right about Miss Darcy, and Mr. Darcy was right about me. Both of you would sacrifice your own happiness to protect others who do not need your protection! Apologize, Lizzy! Make amends!” She sounded so certain.

“I do not know if I can.”

“Now is not the time to be stubborn,” Jane said sternly. “Especially not on my behalf.” With a sly smile, she added, “Allow Mr. Darcy to grovel sufficiently first, and then forgive him.”

“I do not know if he can forgive me after what I said.”

“Love is complicated enough. Do not make it harder! Love is a choice, a decision made by two imperfect people to trust each other through triumphs and tribulations, to exert themselves for each other’s happiness.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“I do not mean to. You and I both know that nothing worth having is easily gained.”

Ah, but that was the problem. Elizabeth loved Fitzwilliam, but she had given him an impossible ultimatum. If he chose his sister over her, then her love for him would die a slow death. That was not good enough.