Page 26

CHAPTER 26

Realisations

U pon returning to Netherfield, Darcy met his cousin in the sitting room adjoining their chambers to recount what had been said in the garden.

The Netherfield party had departed from Longbourn shortly after they all returned indoors, and Elizabeth had promised Darcy that she would inform her father of the countess’s revelations.

“We must uncover the nature of the connection between the earl and the viscount,” Darcy said to his cousin once he had finished his account.

“Why is it so essential to the earl that I marry the viscount’s daughter—so much so that he would risk Georgiana’s reputation to ensure my compliance? There must be something we are overlooking.”

“I agree,” Fitzwilliam said.

“Tomorrow, I shall send for a few men I know—reliable fellows who will not object to a post in the countryside for a few months. As you know, I have been corresponding with the colonel of the regiment stationed in Meryton and intend to meet with him early next week once my leave is officially concluded. While there, I will take the opportunity to learn what I can about the officers and observe them closely. Since I will be helping with their training, I will have many opportunities to observe the men to see which ones might be susceptible to taking bribes.”

He paused, his expression darkening as he met his cousin’s gaze.

“If my father discovers your attachment to a woman here, he will not hesitate to send one of his lackeys to interfere—or worse. As much as I dislike admitting it, I no longer know what he is capable of. The man I knew as a child was cold and distant, yes, but the one who came to demand you marry a child while threatening his own niece? I do not recognise that man.”

Darcy closed his eyes for a moment, reflecting on the day’s events.

“My conversation with Bennet did not go as planned. I must speak with him again, to learn whether he has received any further word from his brother in London. If he has not, it may be time to engage an investigator of my own to investigate both the earl and the viscount.”

He opened his eyes, his voice resolute.

“I shall call on Bennet first thing in the morning. Elizabeth promised that I could accompany her as she visits the tenants and that she will allow herself to be accompanied by at least two footmen whenever she leaves Longbourn. While I do not think there is anything to fear at this moment, I prefer to think that she will be well protected.”

“Elizabeth, is it?” Fitzwilliam teased.

“I did not think things had progressed quite so far.”

Darcy shook his head.

“We never had the opportunity to speak privately after I explained the terms of the contract. The matter of the earl soon took precedence, and I am determined to wait until I can assure her safety.”

He fell silent for several moments, but the colonel, knowing his cousin well, simply waited.

At last, Darcy gave a quiet, self-deprecating laugh.

“I have never met a woman like Elizabeth Bennet. Before her, I would have assumed that the mere suggestion of marriage to me would be welcomed— expected, even. But Elizabeth was furious when she believed her father and I had conspired to coerce her into a match without her knowledge.”

The tension was visible in his posture as he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.

“When speaking of estates, crop yields, and investments, I seldom struggle to express myself. But attempting to convey what I feel for Elizabeth Bennet?” He gave a rueful shake of his head.

“I bungled it entirely.”

He paused again, his voice quieter.

“Even now, I am not certain what she feels for me. She leapt into the fray when it came to deciphering my uncle’s intentions, and she was far more agreeable once I had explained everything fully. But still…”

Fitzwilliam chuckled.

“I believe she feels at least as strongly for you as you do for her. It was plain enough in the way she held your hand in the drawing room.”

Darcy’s eyes snapped to his cousin.

“Oh yes, Darcy—do not imagine that moment passed unnoticed. Nor was it lost on me how disappointed she looked when you clarified that your conversation with her father was not a proposal, as she had begun to hope.”

He leant forward slightly, his tone softening.

“Had you made your offer then, I believe she would have accepted it. And if I had to guess, I would say a portion of her anger this afternoon stemmed from the belief that your interest was merely a matter of duty, born of the contract. I saw her expression after you left. For a moment, she struggled to keep her composure.”

“Damn and blast,” Darcy muttered.

“There are days I curse my father’s interference in this matter—even if the contract may now prove a solution to one of my present problems. ”

Fitzwilliam chuckled.

“Miss Elizabeth is the least of your troubles at the moment. My father is, without question, the greatest. And you know as well as I do that Lady Catherine will have her say in all of this.”

Darcy groaned.

“Do not remind me. I have told her often enough that her ambitions were in vain, but she refuses to hear it. She has a singular talent for disregarding anything that contradicts her expectations. Neither my mother nor my father desired for me to marry my cousin as evidenced by the contract he did sign, but my aunt will not let the matter alone.”

Fitzwilliam laughed outright at his cousin’s expression.

“Well, at least she may be the easiest to handle, considering that the contract overrides her claim that she and your mother had an agreement that you would marry Anne. Mother is already coming around to the idea of your Miss Elizabeth—which is no small feat, given they only met today. Give her another day or two and she will be singing your intended’s praises.”

He paused, amusement dancing in his eyes.

“Or perhaps you should simply marry her at once. If the knot is already tied, it will be that much harder for anyone to object or for anyone to threaten her since I doubt you will let her out of your sight.”

Darcy turned on him with a scowl.

“You suggest we do what—marry in secret?”

Fitzwilliam leant back in his chair, arms crossed, thoroughly enjoying himself as he baited his cousin.

“Why not? You are clearly devoted to her. She all but declared her feelings in front of half the drawing room when she hid your joined hands underneath her skirts. Had the others in the room seen the interaction, particularly her mother, she would have proclaimed your engagement to the entire room. I am afraid that the only people unaware of your attachment are those who choose not to see it. ”

Darcy gave him a withering look.

“Marriage is not a matter to be rushed through like a battlefield dispatch, Richard. Elizabeth deserves better than to marry in secrecy and haste. She deserves a proper courtship, a proper proposal—and the freedom to refuse, if she wishes. I would not have her bound to me against her wishes.”

“Of course you would not,” Fitzwilliam said mildly.

“I am only suggesting that time may not be on your side. If my father is half as determined as we believe—and if he suspects your feelings are fixed—he will do something. It is likely he will not act with the same regard for Elizabeth’s well-being that you possess.”

Darcy’s jaw tightened.

“Then I must act first, but not with deceit. If I am to marry her, it will be openly and with her full consent.”

“I never suggested anything else.” Fitzwilliam studied him for a moment, then gave a short nod.

“Then do it soon, before the earl does more damage. After today, your Miss Elizabeth already knows your intentions. Ask her properly and let the rest of us deal with the fallout as you celebrate your bride.”

After recounting her conversation with the countess and Mr. Darcy to her father, Elizabeth withdrew to her room.

The day’s visit had been a whirlwind of highs and lows—Mr. Darcy’s near-proposal, followed by the painful suspicion that his interest stemmed merely from a long-standing contract between their fathers, and then the moment of clarity when he had spoken—quietly but deliberately—of his feelings and his desire to marry her.

He had not said he loved her, but he had made it unmistakably clear that he cared.

Lying back on her bed, Elizabeth closed her eyes, letting the hush of her room soothe her while her mind returned to the conversation in the sitting room.

In essence, he had offered hope—if not a proposal, then a promise of one.

And the thought left her both thrilled and deeply unsettled.

Their acquaintance had been short—they had only officially met at the start of the previous month—but their relationship had grown in a way that seemed to defy time.

From the very beginning, the conversation between them felt effortless.

The letters they exchanged, although they had not written directly to each other, had given them a level of familiarity with each other that would not have been possible otherwise.

With the echo of his words still fresh in her memory and the warmth in his eyes lingering in her heart, Elizabeth could no longer deny what she felt.

She loved Fitzwilliam Darcy.

If his words held the truth she believed they did, he might very well love her in return.

A gentle knock stirred her from her reverie.

Jane’s voice followed, soft and hesitant.

“Lizzy? May I come in?”

“Of course, Jane,” Elizabeth replied, lifting herself from the bed and going to the door to let her sister in.

“Lizzy, what did you and Mr. Darcy speak about with Papa today?” she asked.

“There were several matters of business that we needed to discuss,” Elizabeth evaded.

“As you recall, Mr. Darcy went to see him first, and then he called for me and the colonel to join them.”

Jane nodded slowly, a frown replacing the smile she had worn upon entering.

“Oh,” she said, her gaze dropping to her hands.

“Papa joined Mr. Bingley and me while we walked. I thought it strange since I would have expected Papa to remain inside or to accompany you and Mr. Darcy. He seems to rather like Mr. Darcy. ”

“Did it trouble you that Papa followed along with you?” Elizabeth asked, tilting her head slightly.

“It surprised me,” she said, exhaling slowly.

“Even though Papa has changed so much over the last five years, I am sometimes still astonished when he acts as he did today On occasion, I have seen him watching me converse with Mr. Bingley, but today his attention was more marked than usual.”

“What are your feelings towards Mr. Bingley?” Elizabeth asked.

Jane sighed. “I like him, Lizzy, but I am uncertain if what I feel for him is more than that. Perhaps it can grow into more, but we would need to spend more time together first. Most of our conversations have been superficial, and I do not feel that I know him very well yet.”

“You will come to know him in time,” Elizabeth reassured.

“What of you and Mr. Darcy?” Jane asked her sister.

Elizabeth felt her cheeks heating.

“I like him very much, Jane,” she confessed.

“Do you love him?”

“I think I do, Jane,” Elizabeth replied.

“He is so very good and kind, and I have enjoyed talking to him so much since he came to Hertfordshire. We seem to never run out of things to say to each other.”

Jane looked at her sister in quiet surprise.

“You have not known him long,” she said gently, after a pause.

“Are you certain you can feel so deeply, so soon?”

Elizabeth smiled, a little wistfully.

“It may seem sudden, but it is not quite as brief as it appears. Mr. Darcy may have only been in Hertfordshire these past few weeks, but I first met him in September—before he ever came to Longbourn for that brief visit. Papa had been corresponding with him since the elder Mr. Darcy passed away. ”

She paused, her expression thoughtful as she tried to explain as much of the truth as she could.

“I often read his letters aloud to Papa—and more than once, I helped to draft the replies. Over time, we even began adding brief personal notes to the ends of Papa’s letters. Through those small exchanges, I began to form a sense of him—not just the dutiful master or an attentive correspondent, but the man himself. He is reserved, yes, but also intelligent, steady, and far more kind than I once assumed. By the time we met in person, I already knew something of his nature, and I believe that familiarity helped me to understand him far sooner than I otherwise would have.”

“I did…I did not know,” Jane stammered.

She dropped her voice and whispered, “You exchanged notes with Mr. Darcy without Papa’s knowledge?”

Elizabeth laughed.

“No, Jane, Papa was aware of everything from the beginning. There was nothing clandestine about it—we never corresponded in secret, and there was certainly nothing improper in the letters. They were mostly about estate management, but we did mention a thing or two about books or philosophy. Nothing more.”

Jane tilted her head, clearly intrigued.

“Truly?”

Elizabeth smiled, her expression wistful.

“Yes, truly. It was nothing at first—comments about an essay he had read, or a passage from Locke or Addison that struck him. But over time, I came to look forward to those lines. They revealed much about him, and while I thought nothing would ever come of it, I enjoyed exchanging these little pieces of information with him.”

Jane’s eyes searched her sister’s face.

“And now?”

Elizabeth hesitated, then nodded slowly.

“I still enjoy speaking with him. We still talk of books and philosophy, and all the same things we spoke of in our letters.”

Again, Elizabeth chuckled softly.

“We have even discussed estate management—both here and at Pemberley. He spoke of it with ease as though he trusts my opinion. While he has not yet said the words aloud, I believe he means to. I am quite certain he has spoken with Papa, and I expect an offer will be made before long.”

Jane reached for her hand, her voice soft with concern, but touched with hope.

“Then I am glad for you, Lizzy. In private, Mama has made a few comments that made me think she believes the connection is unlikely because of Mr. Darcy’s status in the ton, but I am not surprised. Perhaps at the speed, but, my dear sister, if you are certain of his heart—as well as yours—then I shall be happy for you.”

Elizabeth gave her sister’s hand a grateful squeeze.

“I did not expect it either. But somehow, it feels right, as though it were fated to be.”