Mr. Darcy's Proposal (10 page)

“I believe we may have been wrong about him,” offered Jane trying to give her sister support.

Mrs. Bennet took a deep breath as if she was going to say more about her dislike of the man, but then she must have thought better of it and continued, “Oh! Lizzy dear, how rich you will be! The best of everything! Ten thousand a year and possibly more—a great estate and a house in town!” Their mother fanned herself even more vigorously as two bright circles of red appeared on her cheeks.

“Come here and let me congratulate you, my dear. I had always thought it would be Jane who married first, but at least you have done very well for yourself. Maybe this will prove to be advantageous for all of us. Do you think Mr. Darcy can be prevailed upon to help our family should your father…well, you know what I mean,” she said, thoughtlessly waving her handkerchief in the air.

Elizabeth was astonished that her mother’s thoughts had taken such a selfish turn so quickly. She was glad that no one else was present to hear. “Yes, Mr. Darcy is well aware of our situation and has expressed his wish to be of assistance.”

“Ah! What a relief to hear! We shall not find ourselves living in the hedgerows after all! I do hope he will overlook my disliking him so much before. Do you think it necessary for me to apologize to him?”

“I do not think so, Mama,” Elizabeth responded with a sigh.

“Well, if it comes up, you must smooth things over for me.” Her mother smiled sweetly.

Elizabeth threw her sister a look, but Jane only smiled back calmly as if nothing at all were amiss. “I have more to tell you,” added Elizabeth. “This concerns Jane.”

“My dear Jane. My darling girl! So beautiful! So sweet,” she said clutching her eldest daughter’s hand tightly.

“We are going to have a caller this afternoon so you might want to dress after you have finished eating.”

“Oh, dear! Is Mr. Darcy coming to call?”

“Yes, but it is another gentleman to whom I am referring. Mr. Bingley has returned to Netherfield and will be calling on us,” said Elizabeth brightly. She was very happy that she had apparently been successful in redirecting her mother’s attention.

“Oh, my goodness! Mr. Bingley coming here? Oh! Oh! This is good news! I must get dressed immediately. Hill, Hill! Where are you? Come here right now! I need you.”

“Do not worry, Mama,” Jane told her patting her hand. “I will help you get ready. But first, you should have something to eat. I will go see what is keeping Kitty with your tray.”

Jane went off in search of their younger sister, leaving Elizabeth and her mother alone in the room. Mrs. Bennet eyed her daughter suspiciously. “You are very sly, my dear. Is there something you have not told me?”

Elizabeth was confused. “What do you mean, Mama?”

“There has not been some impropriety between you that has forced this wedding to be so rushed?”

Elizabeth could not believe her ears. She felt the heat of embarrassment and anger rising in her face. “How could you say such a thing? I cannot believe you would ever think that I would…” Elizabeth stammered.

“Ah, well, never mind. It does not matter now. If you are to be wed to such a man, we must plan a grand wedding for you. Oh, so much to do!” Mrs. Bennet clapped her hands together in excitement just like a child.

“Mama, I do not think a large wedding would be appropriate given Father’s health. Mr. Darcy is planning to obtain a special license in London, and we will be married here very quietly as soon as possible.”

“Oh, a special license! But Lizzy, Mr. Darcy will expect a large wedding, will he not? I want to show him we can put on as fine an event as anyone. I do not want him to think we are not good enough.”

“Mr. Darcy will be very well pleased with a small wedding. His only wish is for us to be married.”

Mrs. Bennet’s face fell in disappointment, but brightened again almost immediately. “Oh, very well, I suppose you are right, but I still think you should have a large wedding celebration. At least, you will be married! And to such a rich man! Oh, I cannot wait to tell everyone about it, especially Lady Lucas. You know she was quite proud of Charlotte stealing Mr. Collins away from you. Now, she will be the one who is envious of me.”

Elizabeth could see that her mother had already rewritten events to her own liking, and it was no use trying to correct her. “You must not say anything until Mr. Darcy has spoken with Papa.”

The pout returned to Mrs. Bennet’s face. “Oh, very well, Lizzy. You say he will speak to your father this afternoon?”

“Yes, and then you may tell whomever you wish. Now, I am sure you want to be ready to receive our guests so I will go see what has happened to your tray,” said Elizabeth rushing off before her mother could think of another excuse to delay her.

Eleven

As promised, Mr. Darcy called early that afternoon. Accompanying the carriage on horseback was Mr. Bingley. His stated purpose was to call on the entire Bennet family, but from the moment he entered the house, he only had eyes for Jane.

Elizabeth greeted their guests and took a few minutes to speak with Mr. Bingley in order to ascertain her sister felt comfortable with the meeting. Seeing Mr. Bingley again was a little awkward for all, but his easy manners and genuine enthusiasm for renewing his acquaintance with the Longbourn family quickly helped everyone relax.

Mr. Darcy’s manner toward her mother and sisters was so markedly different that Elizabeth could only wonder at the change. He politely inquired after Mr. Bennet’s health, complimented Mrs. Bennet on the refreshments and even attempted to smile a few times. Elizabeth’s surprise was complete when she heard him tell Mary he had mentioned her love of music to his sister and that Georgiana was looking forward to meeting her to discuss their favorite pieces. Was this change for her benefit? She hoped it was the case but could not trust it entirely.

Mrs. Bennet’s behavior was also a surprise to Elizabeth as she noted her mother did not ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ over Mr. Darcy or make inappropriate remarks about their impending engagement or wedding. She honored Elizabeth’s wishes and said not a word about the purpose of Mr. Darcy’s visit that day until their guests had been there for almost a quarter of an hour.

“Does Mr. Darcy not have some important business with your father, Lizzy?” Mrs. Bennet asked, inclining her head toward the doorway. “You may show him up to your father’s room. I believe he is expected.”

Elizabeth blushed and looked to Darcy to see his reaction. Instead of cringing, he rose and gave a formal bow toward Mrs. Bennet.

“I promise to keep our discussion as brief as possible, Madam, so as not to fatigue Mr. Bennet.”

With that, he and Elizabeth left to go upstairs to her father’s bedchamber. The stairs were wide enough so they could ascend side by side, and part way up he caught her hand and held it.

“Mr. Darcy, please,” she said, attempting to pull her hand away.

“Please what?” He grinned at her, still refusing to release her hand. Seeing his dimpled grin and the way he looked at her nearly undid Elizabeth, and she blushed deeply.

“Please release my hand, sir. We are not yet formally engaged, and someone might see us.”

“May I not hold your hand to give me courage to speak with your father?” he said with mock seriousness.

“I really think you must give it back to me as it is not yet yours.”

“But now is when I need it.”

“So let me see if I understand,” said Elizabeth boldly teasing him back. “You need my hand in order to ask for it, but you may not have it until you have asked. Now that is something of a conundrum, sir.”

Before Darcy could respond, they reached Mr. Bennet’s door and Elizabeth knocked. “Papa, Mr. Darcy is here to speak to you. Are you feeling well enough?”

“Yes, my dear. Show him into my lair.” Although his voice was weak, at least his sense of humor was still intact.

When she opened the door, Darcy who still had not relinquished her hand squeezed it gently and walked past her into the room closing the door behind him. Elizabeth stood in the hallway wishing she could hear what they were saying, but she did not want to be caught listening. After pacing in the hallway for a few minutes, she reluctantly made her way back to the parlor to wait.

***

Darcy opened their interview by expressing his sincere wish that Mr. Bennet would soon be feeling better. After these formalities, he found himself at a loss as to how to begin one of the most important conversations of his life. Even though he was accustomed to dealing with people in many different types of business situations, this was the first time he was going to ask a father for his daughter’s hand in marriage—let alone a favorite daughter. Darcy fought the urge to pace, which he sometimes did to help him to think more clearly.

“Please sit down, Mr. Darcy,” said Mr. Bennet indicating a chair near the bed.

Darcy cleared his throat nervously. “I believe you know why I am here today,” he said.

“Lizzy and I have talked, but I would like to hear what you have to say in your own words.”

“I know you do not think much of me, Mr. Bennet. Last fall, when I was in Hertfordshire, I gave no one reason to like me and for that I am sorry. I am not a man who is comfortable in society.”

“It seems we may have something in common after all, Mr. Darcy.”

“When I first met your daughter, I did not make a good impression. In fact, I believe I was generally disliked in the entire county partly because of my demeanor and partly because of what Mr. Wickham told people about me. I am now convinced if I had behaved differently in the beginning, Mr. Wickham’s stories about our dealings would not have been so easily believed. It was entirely my own fault. Elizabeth has told me she related the truth to you about that man’s character and his dealings with my family.”

“Yes,” said Mr. Bennet, “Lizzy has told me about that, but what I would like to hear is just how you came to fall in love with my daughter.”

Darcy was a little surprised at the question, but his desire to win Mr. Bennet’s good opinion encouraged him to answer. He related how he had enjoyed Elizabeth’s wit and intelligence, not to mention her beauty, almost from their first acquaintance last fall, but had done nothing to forward the relationship before it was time for him to leave the neighborhood. When he arrived in Kent, he was very much surprised to find her there visiting. After spending time together, he became convinced that their feelings of attachment were mutual. He had resolved to ask for her hand, but things had not gone as he had planned.

“I know now if I had proposed that evening, she would have rejected me out of hand. In the process of offering to help her return to Hertfordshire expeditiously, I discovered her true feelings toward me. At first, I was crushed as I had every belief that she would welcome my addresses, and I was angry with her for being so blunt about what she perceived as my failings.”

“Yes, my dear Lizzy can be quite direct,” Mr. Bennet told him. “No one who has been caught on the sharp end of her wit has much chance of coming away unscathed.”

“I know that well, sir. Her words pierced my soul, but after I got over being angry, I began to examine what she had said more carefully—I tried to see myself through her eyes however painful it might be. I did not know nor even care very much how I appeared to others until that day.”

“I would have wagered that you would have simply withdrawn to London and forgotten her quickly,” said Mr. Bennet. “With your fortune, you would certainly have no trouble finding any number of beautiful women willing to marry you.”

“I admit that was my first inclination, but I realized it would not be possible for me to forget her. She was already too much a part of me. So after I admitted to myself there was a certain truth to what she had said, I resolved to do something about it.”

“And that brought you to Hertfordshire,” said Mr. Bennet.

“I have promised Elizabeth that if we are married and something happens to you, I will provide for the well-being of Mrs. Bennet and your other daughters.”

“Frankly, sir, I am concerned you have taken advantage of our situation to bring pressure to bear on my daughter to accept you,” Mr. Bennet challenged.

Darcy was uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was taking. As he looked deeply in to the older gentleman’s eyes, he considered the idea that Mr. Bennet might be testing to see how he would react and decided to be more forthright than he might normally have been with someone he scarcely knew. “Elizabeth’s happiness is my primary concern, but yes, the timing of all this has been to my advantage. That does not change the fact that I can give her what she most needs right now—peace of mind.”

“And what would you do if I told you I would not consent, even with all you have offered?” asked Mr. Bennet.

Darcy paused for a moment to consider his response. “Of course, I would use all my powers of persuasion to convince you to change your mind. I have realized that I must make certain changes in my life, and I cannot envision a future that does not include Elizabeth by my side to guide me. In the short time I have known her, she has brought me more happiness than I have known for a very long time.”

Mr. Bennet painfully adjusted his position on the pillows. Darcy patiently awaited an answer although a few moments began to seem like forever as he was suspended in anticipation. “Mr. Darcy, I believe what you have told me, but I am still reluctant to agree to this marriage.”