Font Size
Line Height

Page 28 of Beyond Pride, Past Prejudice

Little could be done to ease Elizabeth’s pain.

She had undeniable evidence of Mr Darcy’s indifference.

Leaving them to accompany Lady Olivia and her friend was the most explicit way of telling her that everything was over between them and there was no hope of a future reconciliation.

Unlike a few days ago, she would not talk about the matter.

She spent her days playing or walking with her cousins in the park and speaking to her uncle about his business and interests.

She kept her doubts to herself and did not share her torment with her aunt or Jane.

Determined to leave, she prepared for her journey home, paying no heed to her aunt’s repeated attempts to change her mind.

Jane tried to speak to her, but for once, her dear sister could not breach the wall that Elizabeth had built around herself and her suffering.

Jane was ready to accompany her to Longbourn but considered their departure a bad idea.

In despair and lacking inspiration, Mrs Gardiner sent a message to Lady Oakham, recounting the unfortunate turn of events—how Elizabeth had regarded Mr Darcy’s departure as irrefutable proof of his unwavering decision to see in her nothing more than an acquaintance met by chance at the theatre.

To her relief, Lady Oakham and Miss Darcy called the next afternoon, just a few days before the intended departure.

Elizabeth welcomed them with a smile, one of the first in recent days.

She had developed a deep affection for Lady Oakham and an immediate connection with Mr Darcy’s younger sister from their first meeting.

Unfortunately, their friendship had arrived too late. That thought filled her with sadness as she watched the pleasant and unmistakably friendly smile on the young lady’s face.

“I find it hard to believe you are eager to leave while London still offers such fine plays,” Miss Darcy remarked with unexpected diplomacy for someone so young.

“I have been away for more than two months, and I miss my family and home,” Elizabeth replied honestly.

She yearned to see her sisters, talk to her father, and ask her mother for the latest news from Meryton; she sought the steadiness that had once anchored her existence.

“I can understand your feelings,” Miss Darcy admitted. “While I enjoy my time in London, I eagerly await the end of June when I shall return to Pemberley. Moreover, I invite you to visit us when you travel to the Lakes.”

Elizabeth smiled, but she doubted they would stop at Pemberley. For her, the night at the theatre, where she had witnessed Mr Darcy’s apparent indifference, had genuinely ended her hopes of a reconciliation.

For a while, the conversation revolved around London and the theatre until Lady Oakham decided it was time to address the true purpose of their visit.

“Our presence here is not just to discuss Mr Shakespeare’s plays,” she declared, and suddenly, all eyes were fixed on Elizabeth, waiting for her to speak. But she simply shook her head in response.

“You say no even before knowing our intentions!” Mrs Gardiner gently scolded. “I have always admired your fearless spirit, which no one could ever suppress. You are a fighter, and I can say that in Kent, you let that part of you take control before examining the situation. Am I right?”

“You speak the truth,” Elizabeth conceded, though she disliked feeling coerced into a course of action against her inclinations. “Unfortunately, it seems I have lost that particular battle.”

“No!” the ladies exclaimed in unison. Miss Darcy surprised Elizabeth the most, displaying a fervour comparable to her older companions.

“Let us speak frankly,” Lady Oakham said. “Last week, with the colonel’s help, I told Georgiana what happened in Kent.”

Georgiana and Elizabeth flushed deeply—one out of happiness at being included in such a conversation, the other out of profound regret for how she had once expressed her anger and frustration.

Elizabeth could only hope that the colonel had not been too precise in his account and that Miss Darcy did not perceive her as a vindictive and unyielding woman.

Even if she had been so in the past, the events at the Parsonage had given her much to reflect upon and had led her to conclude that a change in her behaviour was necessary and long due.

The silence that followed was broken by Lady Oakham. “My dear Miss Elizabeth, Georgiana’s presence here proves there is still hope and that we are on your side.”

As Elizabeth shook her head with deep sorrow, Georgiana spoke with unexpected urgency, “No, I beg you to believe us—Lady Oakham knows what she is saying.” The charming blush upon her cheeks made it evident to all how much effort it took for that shy young woman to speak so openly.

“My brother is not a man who easily forsakes his principles or his feelings. If he has shown you affection, believe me, it will not vanish so easily. No matter what he wishes us to perceive, I know he suffers, and he is far from having forgotten you.”

Lady Oakham nodded, entirely in agreement with Georgiana’s words. “But he must discover that your feelings have changed. At this moment, he believes that matters stand exactly as they did when you parted in Kent—that you still bear the same aversion towards him that you so plainly displayed.”

“Please, do not give him up,” Miss Darcy pleaded, looking directly at Elizabeth with a candid smile that showed the beauty of her soul. She was ready to do anything for her brother.

“Why are you on my side, Miss Darcy?” Elizabeth asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.

“I have complete faith in Lady Oakham,” the girl replied earnestly.

“Yet, my support has deeper roots…and I want to be honest with you. Fitzwilliam has assured me that his marriage will not change the way we live now, which is as a happy and united family. I believe him. He told me he wants a wife who will love Pemberley and its inhabitants. He wants a compassionate and dedicated lady who will work alongside him and enjoy life in the countryside as much as London.”

“You do not truly know me,” Elizabeth murmured.

“Then allow me to become acquainted with you! What are your thoughts on the matter I have just described? Are you such a lady?”

“She is! You have aptly described her,” Mrs Gardiner interjected with affection and admiration before jesting, “She is also stubborn—”

“Like my brother!” exclaimed Miss Darcy, still smiling.

“She tends to speak before thinking and loves to fight for what she believes in. Yet, her imperfections render her a complex lady.”

“You flatter me, Aunt,” Elizabeth responded. “However, yes…I would relish having a husband who regards me as his equal. I may not possess the knowledge required to manage an estate like Pemberley, but I would enjoy learning.”

“So, you see?” Miss Darcy exclaimed, and her beautiful face showed her expectations. “I know you—you are the wife my brother needs. And we have not decided this—he has. You are the lady he has chosen to be his wife.”

Elizabeth shook her head for the tenth time that morning as if a testament of her stubbornness were still necessary, yet they all saw on her countenance a feeble yet incontestable ray of light, the proof that her inner fight could be finally won by hope.

“Please, Miss Elizabeth, believe me,” Georgiana spoke with courage. “I pity Cousin Anne for being this feeble creature. Yet she is not a proper wife for my brother, no matter how tenacious Lady Catherine is or what stratagems she intends to use.”

“And she is utterly right!” Lady Oakham exclaimed. “Anne is not suited to a passionate man like Darcy, but…there are many other ladies in London prepared to marry him at any cost. Take Lady Olivia—”

“Oh!” exclaimed Georgiana, blushing deeply. “When I met her a few months ago, her presence sent shivers down my spine.”

“Indeed, my dear. You have seen it right. If a lady like her intends to win Darcy, she will stop at nothing to attain her aims. Between Lady Catherine and someone like Lady Olivia, Darcy will finally capitulate, convinced, as men often are, that the time for marriage has simply arrived.”

“What, then, are my chances?” Elizabeth asked, but the ladies in the room could tell the difference in her voice and perspective from an hour ago.

“Your chances lie in your purity, intelligence, lively nature, and genuine love for my cousin. And whilst this may not seem advantageous now, as you have hurt him, your most potent weapon is his love for you.”

“And you advise me to continue to…”

“Yes, you must remain in his vicinity, but in a manner distinct from Lady Olivia, who smothers him with her constant presence. You could write him a letter!”

“Oh no, I do not think so,” Elizabeth said, shocked by the idea.

“I implore you, Lizzy, reflect on the counsel Lady Oakham is offering you,” Mrs Gardiner urged, pleased that her niece was receiving such support.

“Yes, Lizzy, please heed this advice.” Miss Darcy called her by her familiar name, a hint of playfulness in her tone, indicating that some rules could be broken.

Elizabeth smiled at the young lady. “You are leading me down a treacherous path.”

“Please, Lizzy,” pleaded Jane. “I need at least one of our stories to end well.”

Elizabeth was experiencing one of the most intense moments of her life, torn between her old nature—uncompromising and sometimes prejudiced—and accepting that any man she would marry would have both qualities and faults.

“You can make him realise that you regret what happened in Kent but that your response was, in essence, an answer to his insulting declaration,” Lady Oakham said.

“And please remember that he explicitly declared his profound love for you,” Mrs Gardiner added, looking to the other ladies for their approval, which she received in the form of vigorous nods.

“Yet he unjustly loathed my family, deeming Jane a fortune hunter!”

“That would make an excellent beginning to your letter, persuading him that his ideas about your family are wrong. Your present position is changed. You do not want to fight but to make him know your family and acknowledge that your feelings have undergone a transformation.”

“He must know Jane’s true nature. I do not deny it is regrettable that Mr Darcy harbours such terrible thoughts about her,” Mrs Gardiner said. “Every member of our family possesses both virtues and flaws—even Jane.”

“Such is human nature, ladies,” Lady Oakham agreed. “We must be happy when around us we have people who present a good balance between faults and qualities. And I am sure Darcy is in the same situation.”

“But how can I possibly write him a letter? It would be a grave impropriety. Only betrothed couples are permitted to correspond.”

“Yet, Fitzwilliam wrote to you, and you regarded his gesture as perfectly acceptable.”

“He personally delivered the letter to me…” Elizabeth hesitated.

But her hesitation arose not from her unwillingness to break the rules of decorum but rather from her uncertainty as to whether such delicate matters could be settled through letters.

To what extent could he alter his opinion of her family based on mere words?

And yet, in the end, that was all she had.

“Nevertheless, he was not your betrothed, which indicates that, in his mind, your relationship had transcended mere friendship despite the absence of an engagement.”

“A matter of interpretation…but yes…I agree.” Elizabeth finally spoke with her usual jest, allowing her defiance of convention to shine through.

“We could see it as a relationship without set rules,” Lady Oakham continued.

And her beautiful face expressed the joy of play, even though the subject was one of great seriousness.

But in the end, love could not be only suffering, and the hope that had awakened in their hearts made the ladies recall their own loves, while Georgiana found herself dreaming of the love that was yet to come.

“And what would that kind of relationship look like?” Elizabeth asked, curious about this unusual idea.

“A man like Fitzwilliam must have strong feelings for a lady if he asks her to marry him.”

Elizabeth blushed and nodded, remembering his words of love.

“One could argue that a man in love who extends a proposal is almost as good as betrothed, even if the lady declines,” Lady Oakham said. Everybody burst into laughter as they agreed they did not need any rules.

“I shall compose a letter, but how shall I deliver it to him?”

But it seemed there was already a plan.

“You will visit tomorrow for tea, invited by Georgiana, who will inform her brother of your impending arrival during dinner this evening,” Lady Oakham declared, shifting forwards in her seat and looking at Elizabeth with affection.

“Listen…Lizzy,” the lady continued, “if he is at home when you visit, and he takes a moment to greet you, that will signify his continued interest in you. I am confident that a man in love would be unable to resist the impulse to steal a moment with you. Do you agree, Mrs Gardiner?”

“Indeed I do, Lady Oakham.”

“And?” Elizabeth asked impatiently.

“And you will bring the letter. Mrs Gardiner, Georgiana, and I shall make it possible for you to have a brief moment of privacy as you prepare to take your leave.”

“And if he does not come?” Elizabeth asked, her anxiety apparent.

“Then you will leave the letter on the salver, and we shall allow him more time to mend his wounded heart. But promise me that in that case you will not abandon the…fight for love.”

Elizabeth nodded, suddenly possessed by a newfound confidence.

Throughout her life, she had relished the opportunity to meet her problems head-on.

Thanks to the counsel and support of these remarkable women, she was resolved to fight for him against any rival, even against his own reservations if necessary.

She wanted to make him understand and show him at the same time that her feelings had grown into that marvellous sentiment called love.