Page 11 of The Painting (Pride and Prejudice Variation)
“M iss Bennet?” Mrs Norwood interjected.
“Forgive me…I have come…George called for me…My aunt is here too,” she mumbled, glancing back at Mrs Gardiner who was approaching in haste.
She felt unsteady on her feet, perplexed, like she had been caught up in a poor excuse for a farce. Surely this could not truly be happening. Mr Darcy here? How? When?
He was staring at her, apparently as astonished as she was, while Mrs Norwood was staring at him as she began to explain the situation in a light tone.
“We had a crisis caused by the kitten, but apparently Mr Darcy was the saviour. That is what the children called him.”
“It was just a kitten,” he replied, as though he could not find the right words. Just as he could not take his eyes off her. “Miss Bennet, what a surprise…”
“Indeed…”
“Are you acquainted with each other?” Mrs Norwood enquired.
“Yes…” Elizabeth replied. Mrs Gardiner arrived then, adding to the embarrassing situation.
Darcy asked to be introduced to the lady and Elizabeth obliged, still overwhelmed by her astonishment.
Fate took pity on them and several claps of thunder shook the sky, darkened by heavy clouds .
“Please forgive us, we should leave before the rain starts,” Elizabeth said hastily, with a meaningful look at her aunt. She said a brief goodbye, holding two of her cousins by the hand, while Mrs Gardiner took the other two, offering a more proper farewell.
As they departed, Darcy remained still, gazing after them, and some long moments passed before he returned his attention to his companion, who was watching with a delighted expression on her face.
“I beg your forgiveness, you must believe me a lunatic,” she said.
Darcy shook his head.
“Not at all. It is I who should apologise. I was just surprised to meet you…and then to see Miss Bennet.”
“Yes, I can imagine. The feeling was obviously mutual. For both me and her.” She smiled.
“I believe so,” he admitted. Then he gathered enough composure to speak further. “Forgive me, I do not…”
“You do not remember me. And how could you? The last time we met, you were not even ten years old. I was thirteen.”
“But do you remember me? Or did you just recognise the name?” he insisted.
“My recollections are mostly from my mother’s stories rather than from my own memories but yes I do remember you. At least, I remember the young boy that you were. Forgive me, I should at least introduce myself. I am Julia Norwood. My mother had the privilege of being Lady Anne’s friend.”
“Yes, I know. Mrs Clarke…I am staying at her cottage. She told me about you… About your mother…But only this morning…I have had no time to properly introduce myself.”
“What a blessed happenstance that you met my children first. Let me introduce to you my pride and joy: Anne and James Norwood.”
Darcy was not oblivious to the girl’s name. Both children greeted him most properly, and he responded with a formal and respectful bow.
“Would you like to come in?” Julia invited him .
He was still trying to catch a glimpse of where Elizabeth was going, so he refused more hastily than propriety would allow.
“No, I cannot…Forgive me…”
The woman’s countenance shadowed for an instant.
“Mr Darcy, please forgive me if my familiarity appeared rude to you, which it probably was. I am not ignorant to the rules of decorum regarding our social differences. I was simply overjoyed to see you and I might have forgotten myself. I surely do not want to impose…”
It was Darcy’s turn to interrupt her and to apologise with as much sincerity as he could.
“Mrs Norwood, I am begging you not to say such things. I am happy to have met you and I hope we will have many chances to talk at length while I am in Brighton. But now I am waiting for my friend—he is sure to arrive at any moment.”
“I understand. I noticed that Mrs Clarke is making some changes to the house.”
“Yes, she is.”
“I am very glad. It was such a pity to see it falling apart. I am sure Lady Anne would be glad too.”
“I hope she would,” Darcy admitted. He looked at the woman in front of him and smiled wholeheartedly, then he took her hand in his. “I am truly happy to have met you, Mrs Norwood.”
Her doubts and restraint disappeared.
“Please call me Julia,” she replied.
“Very well, Julia. And you may call me…Did you say Will? Nobody has ever called me Will, except my mother.”
“I called you so because—my mother told me as much—when I first met you I was not even four years old and you were just an infant. It was the first time that Lady Anne brought you here. Your name was too long and too complicated for me, so I shortened it to Will.”
“I see... Then please call me Will,” he said, and his smile broadened.
“Very well, Will,” she repeated. “By the way, Miss Bennet and her sisters are staying at the Crawford Cottage. The second house to the left,” she suddenly said.
“Are they? How lovely. My friend will be delighted to see them too,” he uttered. Then he kissed her hand, bowed, and took his farewell. The puppy ran after him, but James stopped him and scooped him up in his arms. Darcy waved to the children and they waved back, together with their mother.
So trapped was he in a storm of feelings that he could not properly comprehend, that he did not hear Bingley calling him repeatedly.
As he finally turned to his friend, he did not observe the two riders dressed in red uniforms who were accompanying a carriage that stopped in front of Crawford Cottage.
One of them, however, did not miss the sight of Darcy kissing the hand of the woman, nor him waving back to her affectionately.
He entered the house, bewildered, asking for a drink, while Bingley followed him. They went to the drawing-room and Tom brought them a tray with a bottle and two glasses, then departed, closing the door behind him.
“How are you, Bingley? You had a pleasant time, I hope?” he asked, with more politeness than real interest, while they both filled their glasses with brandy.
“Yes, yes… Darcy, there is something most unexpected that I just discovered. The regiment from Meryton is here, in Brighton, for the summer. And two of the Miss Bennets are here too. Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia. I had no chance to speak to them, but I saw them with the colonel’s wife. And with Wickham and Lieutenant Denny.”
Bingley was nervous, restless, pacing the room and sipping repeatedly from his drink. Darcy took a large swallow, then put his glass on the table.
“Wickham? Again? Upon my word, that scoundrel is like a curse; I will never get rid of him.”
With bitterness, he pondered that, if the youngest Miss Bennets were in that man’s company, Elizabeth must have disregarded his letter entirely.
“Yes…I know how much you despise him, but he seems to have many friends. ”
“Things are not always as they seem.”
He paused, searching for the best way to begin the painful disclosure.
“Bingley, the reason for asking you to join me here was to discuss precisely this. I did not wish to trouble you yesterday, as you were still tired from the road, but it cannot be delayed.”
“To discuss what? The regiment?”
“No, Miss Bennet. Miss Jane Bennet,” he replied.
Bingley stopped, glanced at him, then emptied his glass and filled it again.
“What is there to discuss about Miss Jane Bennet? We closed the subject last winter.”
“Did we? Did you?”
“Does it matter, Darcy? We agreed that my interest alone was not enough, since it was not reciprocated. What use could there possibly be in having another unpleasant argument?”
“I have no intention of arguing with you, but offering you my apologies and the truth you deserve,” Darcy uttered.
Bingley looked perplexed and lost. He frowned, “What could you possibly mean?”
“I see no other way of telling you this other than directly. I was hasty and probably wrong and unfair in judging Miss Jane Bennet’s feelings.
And I have certainly been disloyal and disrespectful to you by imposing my opinion on you and interfering in a situation that needed much more consideration. ”
Bingley’s frown deepened, matched by the redness that covered his face.
“You said you would speak directly but everything is a puzzle and a very disturbing one. You will need to explain it to me more clearly. You said you were wrong in your judgment? How could you know that?”
Darcy paced a little, then stopped by the fireplace. “During my visit to my aunt, Lady Catherine, I met Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She was visiting her friend, the former Miss Charlotte Lucas, who married Mr Collins.”
“And? Speak up!” Bingley’s impatience grew, as well as his irritation.
“I had the chance to talk to Miss Bennet on several occasions. She led me to believe that her sister’s feelings, although not apparent, were strong and deep. And she even accused me of separating you from her.”
Bingley blinked repeatedly, then he hurried to fill his glass again. He took another sip, then walked around for a moment, before replying.
“And did you believe her?”
“I had no reason to doubt her. Her accusations were quite harsh and seemed heartfelt. If she was right—which is very likely—then I was utterly wrong. And if I hurt you and Miss Bennet with my arrogant assumption, I betrayed our friendship too.”
“Nonsense! You betrayed nothing, simply expressed your opinion. But…This is…Are you sure? But why…”
“I am afraid there is much more. Miss Jane Bennet was in London last spring. She called at your house and your sisters returned the call. I was aware of the situation but wrongly decided to keep you in the dark.”
“She was in town? In my house? And you lied to me?”
“Yes. I purposely did not tell you, so there is nothing else to call it but a lie. I have no excuse, other than my arrogance and conceit and lack of consideration for your feelings.”
“But…How is this possible? You said Louisa and Caroline knew? They visited her? Why did they not tell me?”
“I cannot comment on their actions; I take the blame entirely, as it was I who proved unworthy of your trust.”