Page 30 of Mr Darcy’s Worth: Three Pride and Prejudice Variations

“Cousin Elizabeth, I trust you have taken Lady Catherine’s reproaches to heart and will amend your habits,” Mr. Collins said at breakfast.

“Unfortunately, as much as I respect her ladyship’s opinion, I cannot do that. I woke up with a terrible headache, and the only palliation is a little exercise out of doors. Hopefully, Lady Catherine will not find out.”

“My dear, just as you like to work in the garden, Eliza enjoys walking. It is the same. I see no harm in it,” Charlotte interjected.

“My dear Charlotte, I beg to differ. It is not the same! Lady Catherine approves of me working in the garden, but she does not approve of my cousin’s habit of walking.”

“Let us indulge Lizzy for as long as she stays with us. She will leave soon, and each of us will return to our old habits.”

Mr. Collins agreed reluctantly, and Elizabeth marvelled at Charlotte’s patience in handling her husband. It was a daunting task, but likely the reward of a peaceful household was enough for Charlotte.

When she left the house, Elizabeth was undecided about her direction. Eventually, she took the path towards the children’s cottage, hoping Mr. Darcy would be there. Besides her desire to talk to him, she missed the little ones.

As she walked, she found herself wondering about the supposed engagement between Mr. Darcy and Miss Anne de Bourgh.

Last evening at dinner she had observed both of them with much more interest than on previous occasions.

She had not noticed a single gesture, a single word, or a single glance of connection between the two.

Miss de Bourgh had spent most of her time talking to her companion and to Charlotte, without any attempt to involve Mr. Darcy — unlike Miss Caroline Bingley had done at Netherfield.

As for Mr. Darcy, he seemed indifferent to his cousin. The lack of feelings between them was so obvious that Elizabeth pitied them if they were to actually marry.

Halfway to her destination, she heard the sound of hoofs and recognised Mr. Darcy approaching. He dismounted when he reached her, and strangely, her heart began to beat faster at seeing him, and she assumed it was due to their unresolved conflict.

“Miss Bennet!”

“Mr. Darcy! I was hoping to meet you, sir.”

“And I you. I want to apologise for—”

“Oh no, it is I who owe you an apology for all the unfair accusations I threw at you. I have no excuse for being such a simpleton.”

“Do not be too hard on yourself. Wickham has deceived many people, several of them older and more experienced than you, who had more opportunities to see his true character yet still failed.”

“The failure of others is no excuse for my foolishness. But I thank you for your forgiveness.”

“I am sorry if my response was too strong… I should have been calmer…”

“I understand…I am grateful that you trusted me enough to share the truth.”

“Since we last spoke, I have reflected deeply upon the entire situation. I should have revealed the truth to Colonel Forster and warned him. I should wager that by now Wickham has already run up debts with his fellow officers and probably many tradespeople too.”

“I cannot form an opinion on this matter, sir. If the circumstances were different, I would say that perhaps he deserves another chance — perhaps he is willing to change and improve himself. However, I have no arguments to support such an assumption.”

“That is why I would rather inform only his colonel, not everyone. The colonel will know to watch him and to take proper measures if required. In the meantime, forgive me if I sound presumptuous, but I would like to suggest you write to your father and advise him not to allow your younger sisters to be in Wickham’s company. He is not to be trusted.”

She needed a moment to understand, then her cheeks flushed. “Oh…dear Lord, surely he would not dare…”

“Wickham would dare to do anything for his own benefit or his own entertainment,” Mr. Darcy said with gravity. “Young, innocent girls like your sisters would never guess his deceptive nature.”

“I agree…I did not see the danger before as I never saw any partiality for them on Mr. Wickham’s side.”

“I heard his partiality lay towards you,” he said in a low voice, surprising Elizabeth. “I mean…I was told that,” he continued. “I admit, I was astonished, as he usually does not favour clever, witty ladies.”

Elizabeth looked at him, puzzled, wondering who had told him such a thing and why he was even interested. At his last words, she began to laugh.

“Well, then he was only acting in his usual way since I am neither clever nor witty.”

Mr. Darcy smiled back as they continued to walk together.

“Mr. Darcy, I do not wish to abuse your patience, but there is something else I wanted to ask you.”

“Please do so.”

“Do you have news from Mr. Bingley? He is in good health, I hope?”

The answer came after some hesitation.

“I know he is in good health, but I have not seen Bingley much lately. We last spoke in February, when he went to visit a friend in Oxfordshire.”

“Oh…so he was not in London?”

“No.”

“That is strange because…my sister Jane has been in town since January, and she visited Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst.”

She waited for his response, but none came.

“They told my sister that Mr. Bingley was in town but was busy with you and Miss Darcy.”

At this, he turned to her, a frown appearing on his face.

“I was informed of your sister’s presence in London. To my knowledge, Bingley had already left by then.”

“Mr. Darcy, there is no other way of asking this, even if it might raise a further disagreement between us. I know Mr. Bingley’s sisters put great effort into separating him from Jane and keeping him in town, but I sense you were no stranger to this matter either.

I am not ignorant of the fact that you never approved of Mr. Bingley’s admiration for my sister. Can you deny it?”

“I have no wish to deny it, Miss Bennet. I always take responsibility for my actions.”

They walked in silence for a short while. She felt disappointed by his cold admission of ruining Jane’s happiness. He sounded careless and arrogant, just as he used to in Hertfordshire.

“I knew his sisters opposed Bingley returning to Netherfield because of his admiration for your sister. And I knew she was in town. I suspect they refused to inform him.”

“I see…so my sister has been suffering for four months because of an evil scheme meant to ruin her happiness, and probably his too. I shall not pretend I am not disappointed and stunned by the complete lack of consideration you — as well as his sisters — showed to Mr. Bingley.”

“Miss Bennet—”

“I am sorry, I have a sudden headache. I should return to the Parsonage.”

“Miss Bennet, please, only a moment longer.”

She looked at him. His gaze was dark, and she could not read anything in it.

“Miss Bennet, I did not disapprove of Bingley’s admiration for your sister. In truth, I believe she is one of the most beautiful women of my acquaintance, and with her flawless manners, I am sure she is universally admired.”

“She is,” Elizabeth replied with pride. “I am as aware of my sister’s lack of faults as I am of the fact that the rest of my family has plenty. From our situation in life to the breaches of decorum that are not rare for us.”

She expected him at least to attempt to deny it, but to her pain, he did not.

“All those were issues to consider, and they might have been the strongest inducement for Bingley’s sisters. For me, my main concern was my friend’s happiness. I did not want him to be hurt in a marriage where most of the affection lay on one side.”

Again, Elizabeth stared at him, trying to comprehend his words.

“What could you possibly mean, sir.”

“Miss Bennet, we both know that, while my young friend fell in love immediately, your sister’s heart is not easily touched.

Anyone who saw them together, especially at the Netherfield ball, could observe that he was deeply enamoured while your sister received his attention with pleasure but no particular interest. I do not doubt that she would have been a loyal wife to Bingley, but in the end, both of them would have suffered, even if secretly.

A marriage with unequal affection is worse than one with no affection at all. ”

“So, you separated your friend from my sister because you thought her indifferent to him?” Elizabeth enquired, almost suffocated by repressed anger and grief.

“I tried to protect him. I did not induce him to go to London, but when we were there, he asked my opinion about his situation. I honestly told him the result of my observation. Bingley left my house that day, and I have barely seen him again after that.”

She stood still, breathing hard and fighting to keep her composure.

“Have you been in love many times in your life, Mr. Darcy? And perhaps betrayed many times?”

At this question, his astonishment seemed complete.

“Excuse me?”

“I am only asking because apparently, you claim equal expertise in matters of the heart as in business and estate management. You must have had quite a lot of practice in both areas.”

“You are wrong, I assure you. I claim no expertise. I am not the sort of man to easily fall in love.”

“I assumed as much. But then you must be the sort of man who is ready to ruin others’ felicity based on assumptions that he does not even take the trouble to verify.

If your friend was ready to propose to my sister, you should know that you have destroyed the happiness of both.

My sister’s affection for Mr. Bingley was not as openly displayed as his for her, but it was at least equally strong.

And her suffering is so deep that she cannot overcome it even after four months of grief. ”

Her tone was sharp, cutting, and she did not regret it, nor did she try to amend it. If she had every reason to regret her accusations in regard to Wickham, Mr. Darcy’s selfish intervention and his arrogant assumption deserved the worst.

“Miss Bennet…”