Page 86 of See, Hear, Speak No Evil, Mr. Darcy
Darcy knocked and then waited for her to allow him entry. He found her sitting not on the couches, where he often sat. She sat behind the desk, just like he did when he wanted to reprimand her. Darcy vowed,We will henceforth have all conversations in the family sitting room.
Having thought to keep his address light, the solemnity he saw in her expression altered his voice toward gravitas. “You requested to see me, Ana?”
The desk did not make her seem small. He was certain the last time she had sat at their father's desk, it had all but swallowed her whole. He wondered,When had she grown into this formidable young woman?
“Did you, or did you not promise me you would make an effort with the ladies in the area so I might make a new friend here in Hertfordshire?” Ana folded her hands as if she were to judge all before her.
“I did, and I have. She is a little older than you, but she seems quite pleasant,” Darcy said, settling into a chair across from her.
“I did not ask what ladies Mr. Bingley approved of and made an effort to acquaint himself with. I ask after thoseyoutook the time to acquaint yourself with, which you only yesterday promised to do.”
“The ladies at the assembly were unfashionable, uncouth, and not fit company for anyone. They should be in the nursery. That is to say, with the exception of Miss Bennet,” Darcy said, checking his temper. It took no small amount of effort. She was his charge, not the other way around.
“I did not find any of the Miss Bennets or Miss Lucases unfashionable, nor so uncouth as you claim. Your opinion aligns with Miss Bingley’s? I had not thought you two so well matched.”
“What is this about, Ana?”
“Then with whom did you dance?”
“I danced with my hostess, as was required of me,” Darcy said, looking away from her knowing gaze.
Hoping she knew nothing else of his behavior the previous night, Darcy recognized that if she did, she would know disappointment. He never imagined he might act in a way that would disillusion her, having always thought of himself as an upstanding gentleman in every manner. He never would have acted thusly if she or his aunt and uncle were in attendance.
Ungentlemanlike behavior was unseemly to him. This situation forced him to recognize the truth of having presented himself in a manner other than as he ought to have done.
“Did you enjoy doing so? I recall your saying you avoided dancing with her in Town. Do you intend to single her out? Shall I emulate her?” Ana asked, satisfied when he grimaced. “I heard a most alarming report while in Meryton today.”
“Young ladies here have nothing else to do than to gossip? Confirmation that they are unfit company,” Darcy bit out.
“You were gossiping about them with Miss Bingley over tea and coffee this morning. They spoke of you when I met them over tea. I expectyouto tell me it is untrue. I expect you to say your promises mattered. I expect you to have meant it whenyou said I could make a friend, one I chose, rather than be in the exclusive company of a woman who uses me to her purpose. What I didnotexpect was to hear my brother, not once but twice, slighted a lady who had no cause to be slighted.”
“You go too far,” Darcy said, his eyes narrowing with the warning.
“Do I? I suppose only your opinion matters. And everyone should see all things as you do. But just how is that possible when you tell me nothing? How was I to know Mr. Wickham was not to be trusted? Or that I should have informed you or Richard if I crossed paths with him? How doesanyoneknow what you think if you will not tell us anything?”
Fat tears rolled down her cheeks unchecked. He reached into his pocket to retrieve his handkerchief, extending it to her, though she worked to calm herself.
Darcy had never been so humbled in all his life. That it was at the hands of his sister, ten years his junior, was astonishing enough. That it was a truth he ignored for his convenience was humiliating.
“You are correct, Ana. I would not want everyone to think as I do. It would make for dull conversation. And I would not have you speaking or thinking of others as Miss Bingley does. I would know disappointment in myself if you were to emulate her. Above even that, I should have told you that Wickham was not to be trusted.”
“Thank you. Now, tell me I heardwrong. Tell me you did not look down on all those at the assembly. There are landed gentlemen in this society. I am certain Mr. Bingley said so at dinner last night.” Georgiana dried her cheeks.
“I do not know,” Darcy said in confession. “When we walked in, talk of our fortunes was rampant. I was angry at hearing my value bandied about.”
“You have claimed talk of your fortune from the first time you attended a ball. Tell who spoke viciously, as you complain about in Town. Tell me who tried to entrap you, which you claim occurs a few times each year. Tell me the cause of your disdain so I might understand why you acted in the way you did.”
“None of that occurred,” Darcy said with some concession.
“I then conclude it an evening similar to thebetternights you have been out in London, yet you acted in the same condescending manner Lady Catherine would?”
Georgiana crossed her arms while waiting, her brow raised in expectation of a list. Her eyes narrowed the longer she was forced to await his reply. It was an echo of their mother’s expectation that he would explain why he had committed some misdeed. He swallowed around the lump in his throat, one formed from the emotions that surged with the thought.
“Theyareall below me in status.”
“Yet, if they are the families of gentlemen, they are above the Bingleys. You treated Miss Bingley with greater courtesy than those born of a higher status than she?”
His throat tightened when he first attempted to answer. Here again, she had exposed behavior he would have admonished her for.
