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Darcy shook his head. “That is the part I don’t understand. I admit I said some things I shouldn’t have said, and I admit that I wasn’t as friendly as I should have been, but I cannot understand why complimenting Miss Elizabeth would make her so angry with me.”

Worsley just looked at Darcy for a few moments. Then he said, “Mary told me everything, you know. I can answer your question, but I wonder what you will do with that information should I choose to help you. I do not wish for my future sister to be hurt any more than she already has been.”

“I am uncertain what you are asking of me,” said Darcy. “Are you demanding to know my intentions towards Miss Elizabeth?”

Worsley shrugged. “In a way, I suppose.”

“I admire her a great deal,” said Darcy.

“I feel drawn to her as I have felt toward no other woman. I cannot say I will be promising marriage, but I would at least like the chance to be near her, to talk with her. I have no intention of hurting her, but as I have clearly proved, I am perfectly capable of doing so without intention.”

Worsley sighed. “I suppose your answer is as good as any,” he said.

“Personal relationships are so complicated that I have always found the question of ‘What are your intentions?’ to be completely pointless. Very few men deliberately set out to hurt a lady, though I suppose there are plenty of men whose purpose is merely to have fun. I assume you are not the kind of man to deliberately engage a lady’s affections unless you were at least a little serious about her. ”

“I am fairly serious about her,” said Darcy. “I believe that, given the chance, I could be very much in love with her. To be frank, the idea scares me a bit, but her wealth and connections are a reasonable match to my own, so I see no reason to resist.”

“Her connections?” asked Worsley. “Are you referring to me?”

“Yes,” said Darcy without demurring. “Her other relations are so low, that without you as her future brother-in-law, I would have to consider her to be unsuitable.”

“Ah,” said Worsley. “I believe I see now why my future sister is so completely opposed to you.”

“And will you be sharing your great wisdom?” asked Darcy.

Worsley laughed briefly, but he became serious quickly.

“By denigrating most of her relations, you are showing that you have no respect for anyone she loves. Her low relations, which you only see as names and titles, are everything to her. If you cannot respect that part of her, you will never respect her, and the one thing Elizabeth will never tolerate from a husband, or even a friend, is lack of respect.”

Such a viewpoint had never occurred to Darcy, though it should have.

By looking down on her connections, by being cold to her neighbors, he was indirectly looking down on and being cold toward her.

If he ever wanted to gain her attention, he would have to adjust how he thought about and responded to people.

“Why didn’t you have this problem?” Darcy asked Worsley. “With Mrs. Allen, I mean. You are of even higher status than I am.”

“Mary is very different from her sisters,” said Worsley.

“She is not as romantic nor as emotional as they are, at least not overtly. Additionally, she married Mr. Allen when she was just sixteen and was subsequently introduced to, and accepted by, a much higher society than that of her sisters. This is why I was introduced to her in the first place. As for myself, I care very little for who her relations are, though I would do anything in my power to make her happy, including freely associating with anyone she deems worth associating with.”

“I believe the salient fact is the last one,” said Darcy. “The question then is, do I respect Miss Elizabeth’s judgment enough to be associated with those who she respects? Do I like her enough to be willing to do whatever it takes to make her happy?”

“Those sound like good questions,” said Worsley. “Do you have answers?”

“Not at the moment,” replied Darcy. “I will have to think on it.”

Silence pervaded the room while Darcy pondered. “You never did explain why my attempted apology simply angered her further,” he said, eventually.

Worsley chuckled. “She didn’t believe you.

Elizabeth has it so firmly fixed in her mind that her older sister, Jane, is the pretty one that your exaggerated compliment felt false to her.

She thought you were making fun of her appearance, teasing her for being so arrogant as to take offence when you called her merely tolerable.

In short, because your compliment was so far above what she could believe it ended up cutting her to the quick. ”

“But I was entirely sincere,” said Darcy. “In that moment, with the fire of anger in her eyes, she was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.”

Worsley held up his hands defensively. “I believe you, Darcy. I feel the same way at times when watching Mary’s changing expression as she ponders a new topic.”

Silence fell again. Then, Darcy said, “Suppose I decide that I do like Miss Elizabeth to such a degree that I would be willing to adjust my entire outlook on life. How do I apologize to her when she won’t even speak to me?”

Worsley raised his eyebrows. “If you are asking that question, I imagine you are more serious than you previously indicated.”

Darcy shrugged one shoulder. “Perhaps,” he said. “I have drawn no firm conclusion yet.”

Worsley nodded. “I am no expert on apologies, especially not to ladies. I am too young for that. The only thing that comes to mind is that if she will not hear you out, perhaps you could write a letter. If you did, I would ensure she gets it in a discreet way. I cannot promise whether she will read it, however.”

Darcy nodded in return. “I believe I will take you up on that offer, but I should take another day or two to be certain of my course. Thank you, Worsley, you have been of enormous help.”

“Not at all,” said Worsley. “I am merely looking after the happiness of my future sister, and by extension, my future wife.”