A Most Civil Proposal (20 page)

“That is completely without sense, sir!” Darcy snapped. “Evidently, for all your professed regard for your daughter’s nature, you have no true estimation of her character at all. Did you not hear me say that she refused me most decidedly? If she was influenced by my fortune, that would have been the moment to demonstrate it. How could she know that I would be so persistent? Many would not, and you know this if you would but turn your mind to it! She not only challenged me on behalf of her sister, she supported Wickham against me. No, sir, it will not do. She had ample opportunity to demonstrate her greed and did not do so. It was only after I convinced her that she had been misled that she even agreed to allow me to call on her in London.”

Elizabeth’s father was taken aback by the vehemence of Darcy’s response, but he still could not abide the man and looked at him with dislike. “Whether you or Mr. Wickham have the right of it is not as clear to me as you say it is to my daughter. Elizabeth’s opinion of you, as well as my own, was influenced by that man’s account of his misfortunes at your hand. You say that she has changed her mind about Wickham because of your proofs, but I have to question whether her judgment may have been equally affected by the transference of Mr. Wickham’s attentions to Miss King. No, I cannot so easily give way to your version of the facts, sir.”

By this time, Darcy was fast losing what respect he had previously possessed for the man, and was completely set against sharing any further family information with Mr. Bennet in an attempt to correct his opinion. He was also at the ragged edge of his temper, and he leaned forward on the desk, his fists resting on the surface.

“By what right, sir, do you dare question my character in this matter?” he said, enunciating each word carefully. “What report of my dishonesty has been publicly acknowledged? What tradesmen have I defrauded? On my word, sir, you might bestir yourself from this room and solicit the opinion of the merchants in Meryton regarding Mr. Wickham! You will find, I am sure, many unpaid accounts. I know this well, sir; you may rely on it. It has been ever thus, and I have several times assumed his debts in Derbyshire and at Cambridge. So I must be insistent, sir. I demand to know what personal knowledge you have to so defame me.”

Mr. Bennet seemed reluctant to answer, but eventually he said, “Perhaps I was too hasty. I cannot speak of any personal knowledge.”

“Then I might further point out that Mr. Bingley, whom you have given your consent and blessing to marry your eldest daughter, has several times testified to my character and honesty, yet you and others seem inclined to believe the slanders spread by Wickham simply because he is fair spoken although there are no such favourable witnesses for that man. I might also point out that your brother Gardiner seems favourably disposed toward me since he not only dined with me but twice invited me to dine with his family. In addition, he gave his conditional approval to call on his niece, an event unlikely to have occurred if he had reason to question my character.”

Darcy stood up straight. “I will speak plainly, sir. I can see that any further efforts to convince you would be fruitless, so I will simply ask, do I have your consent to marry your daughter, Elizabeth? Or would you prefer to see her ruined through no fault of her own due to your dislike of me?”

Mr. Bennet glared at Darcy, but he knew that he was well and truly without recourse. “Well, well, of course you must marry, after everything that has occurred. I will not withhold my consent, but I will not give my blessing, sir.”

“Does this mean you do not desire to see your daughter married from Longbourn?”

“I will not ask the reverend of Longbourn Chapel to perform a ceremony that I cannot bless.”

Darcy nodded coldly. “I will take the necessary steps then. Will any of your family be in attendance at our wedding, sir?”

“I will not forbid my wife and daughters to attend, but I will on no account be present myself.”

“If you would be so kind as to put your sentiments in writing, I will deliver them to Elizabeth.”

Mr. Bennet was offended by hearing this man’s use of his daughter’s Christian name, but he could hardly forbid it at that point. He only nodded. Darcy bowed stiffly and excused himself.

As Darcy stood waiting in the hall, Lydia and Kitty again peeked around the edge of the doorway and giggled when out of sight. Soon he heard Mrs. Bennet approach to determine what was distracting her daughters. She stood, astonished, to find him in the hall. Darcy greeted her politely, and found that his view of her had changed. After contending with the wilful self-deception of her husband, he could feel considerably more sympathy toward a woman who was merely silly.

“I did not know you were come to call, Mr. Darcy. Are you here with your friend, Mr. Bingley?”

“No, madam. I came here to speak with your husband.”

Lack of sensibility or not, Mrs. Bennet’s instincts were more than sufficient to detect the sudden advantage of such a visit.

“Would you care to step into the parlour and sit with us for the moment?”

“Thank you, but no, madam. I am but waiting on a letter that Mr. Bennet is preparing to be delivered to Elizabeth. When he is finished, I must be on the road immediately.”

Mrs. Bennet was equally up to the task of recognizing the possible meaning of Darcy’s unconscious use of Elizabeth’s name. And he had been talking with her husband . . .

Her conjectures were interrupted when Hill approached the door to the library. She was inside the room only momentarily before returning with two letters, which she gave to Darcy. He looked at them; Mr. Bennet had prepared one for his daughter and one for his brother Gardiner. Nodding and thanking the housemaid, he then bid Mrs. Bennet a polite farewell, leaving that bemused woman in contemplation of the possible advantage to her family of this visit. As he walked through the door, he heard her piercing voice immediately demanding answers to her many questions from her husband.

Darcy went straight to the stable, meeting the lad leading his horse partway. Thanking the boy, he quickly mounted, eager to be gone. As soon as he could manage, he urged the horse into a gallop, still seething in anger and desperate to be home — and to see Elizabeth as soon as might be arranged.

He groaned as he thought of how saddened she would be by her dear father’s response. That thought acted to quell his anger, and he gradually eased his horse back to an easy walk. He spent the remainder of the journey reviewing what he still wanted to accomplish that day.

Chapter 15

Sunday, April 19, 1812

No sooner had he sighted the rear gate to his townhouse than it swung open, and Darcy turned into the stable area. Johnson, the head groom, along with two apprentices, was already waiting for him, and Darcy dismounted quickly. He was exceedingly eager to put that morning’s disastrous errand behind him and move on with the other tasks he had to accomplish that day.

Darker tasks than I thought I would have when I left here in such good spirits this morning
, he thought sourly as one of the apprentices took the reins.

“Welcome back, sir,” the groom said, assessing the condition of Darcy’s horse with a single look. “Looks as if Ned got a fair workout, sir,” he said. As the lad began to lead the horse away, Johnson called after him, “Walk him for a full half-hour, now, before he touches even a drop of water.”

“I am afraid I was eager to get back to town,” said Darcy as he removed his gloves. “I certainly worked him harder coming back than I did going out.”

“Ned’s a good ’un, sir,” said Johnson, “so long as he gets cooled down good before he gets to the water.”

“If you would be so good as to provide a couple of your lads with transportation, I have some notes to write for delivery to my solicitor’s office and then to the
Times
. I will be going out after I clean up, so please have my carriage ready in two hours.”

“Very good, sir.”

“Thank you. Meanwhile, I have a number of tasks to accomplish and too few hours left to do them.”

“Aye, sir,” said Johnson as he turned back to his beloved stables, “you’ve the right of it there!”

Darcy handed his coat, hat, and gloves to the footman who ran up as he approached the rear entrance, and his butler met him as he entered the door. “Welcome back, Mr. Darcy,” he said. “I trust that your journey was pleasant?”

“Pleasant enough, thank you,” said Darcy, returning Stevens’s smile. There was no need to let Mr. Bennet’s disagreeable and reluctant consent cast any further damper on the joy of this day. The primary concern was settled, and he and Elizabeth
would
marry, displeasure of her father or no. “Do you know where my sister and cousin are?”

“Miss Georgiana is in the music room, and Colonel Fitzwilliam left the house on an errand about a half hour ago.”

“I have some notes to prepare for immediate delivery, and then I must wash the road dust off. Please inform Miss Darcy that I will wait on her in about an hour.”

“Very good, sir,” said the elderly man.

“Please have tea sent to my study, Stevens,” Darcy called over his shoulder. “My throat is caked with road dust.”

“At once, sir.”

Darcy proceeded to his desk, though he would have preferred the bath first. He composed a note to his solicitor, informing that capable man of his forthcoming marriage and instructing him to secure a marriage license as soon as practicable. He included the fact that his prospective bride was not yet of age but that her father had consented to the marriage, though he did not mention Mr. Bennet’s refusal to bless the union since it did not matter from a legal point of view. He also asked for a rough draft of marriage agreements, setting down the important points he had worked out in his head during the ride back from Longbourn, requesting a rough draft by the following afternoon if at all possible, otherwise first thing on the morning next. He wanted to review at least the outline of the agreement with Elizabeth before he took it to her father to sign.

He frowned at the thought of so soon having to confront Mr. Bennet again, but his mood was lightened by the arrival of a tray with tea and sweet cakes. After the first cup of tea, he devoured two of the cakes, since he had skipped the noon meal while travelling to Longbourn and back. The drafting of a brief announcement to be placed in the ‘Engagements’ section of the
Times
took only a moment, and the note to his Uncle and Aunt Matlock requesting to call on them on Monday afternoon took scarce longer. However, he spent considerably more thought on the letter to Lady Catherine before ringing for Stevens. When the butler entered, he handed him the notes and letters for delivery.

The bath was as refreshing as he had anticipated, and he arose from the tub with a feeling that he was leaving the gloomy events of the morning in the same bathwater as the road dust. Jennings had caught his master’s mood, and he was brisk as he helped him dress. Within fifteen minutes, Darcy was heading down the stairs smartly, having to restrain himself from descending the steps two at a time. The sounds of Mozart drifted down the hall, and he entered the music room quietly to be rewarded with the sight of his sister concentrating completely on her playing. She could not see him from where she sat at the pianoforte, and he enjoyed the skill and the feeling she put into her presentation.

There were better practitioners from a technical point of view, he thought, but there were few who could better express their love for the music. In that respect, though Georgiana had the greater skill and technical execution, she and Elizabeth were similar in the warmth of their performance.

When she finished, he gave her a brisk round of applause as he walked toward the instrument. The unexpected sound caused Georgiana to turn and rise from the bench.

“William!” she exclaimed as she came towards him with both hands outstretched. “You have certainly been gone long enough. I knew you went riding, but I anticipated your return before now.”

Darcy clasped her hands and leaned forward to kiss her on the check. “It has been a most eventful day, dearest, and we need to talk. I have important news.”

At her raised eyebrows, he repeated, “Very important. Please, have a seat here beside me.”

Georgiana seated herself beside her brother and looked inquisitively at him.

Darcy chose his words with care. He was anxious about breaking this news to his sister since she had no forewarning of his attachment or his intentions to Elizabeth. He smiled grimly to himself.
I did not have much forewarning myself,
he thought reproachfully.
Perhaps Richard is right about this impulsiveness business!

Georgiana watched her brother wrestle with his thoughts. He ran his hand through his hair as he often did when he pondered how best to phrase something delicate. Finally, he leaned forward and took one of her hands in his. “Dearest, I know this is going to come as a surprise, perhaps even a shock to you, because it has taken place with great suddenness.” He drew a breath and said, “Georgiana, I am to be married.”

Georgiana at first could not understand what he had said. Whatever she expected, it had not been that! William had seemed distracted in the past months, but he had not been seeing any young woman that she knew of, except those within his normal circle . . .