Page 56 of The Difference of a Darcy
Darcy found himself steered into the sitting room, familiar to him from his prior calls, and yet now strange in being received with such warmth. Elizabeth took a plain wooden chair nearest the hearth. Darcy remained standing her side until Mrs. Bennet insisted he sit as well.
“Never mind the upholstery, dear. I daresay it could use a cleaning anyway.”
He had once dismissed her as frivolous and fawning—yet she treated him now with the same unreserved kindness she had once shown Bingley, and without any hope of advantage.
It was humbling.
If a sodden stranger arrived at Pemberley—especially on Boxing Day, of all days—claiming acquaintance with Georgiana, he might offer them dry garments. But they would be shown to the kitchens, not his drawing room.
“Oh, but what dreadful weather,” Mrs. Bennet continued without pausing for breath. “Hill says it came on quite sudden—did you get caught very far down the lane?”
“We had just passed Lucas Lodge,” Elizabeth replied, accepting a towel and blotting her face. “It struck before we could reach shelter.”
Mrs. Bennet tsked and bustled to adjust the fire screen. “Well, I am sure you must be frozen. Poor lambs. So, tell me—how did you meet Mrs. Collins?”
“I was visiting Kent recently, where I encountered Mr. Smith.” Elizabeth gave Darcy a fond smile, and he nearly forgotit was all a pretense. “One thing led to another, and… well, here we are, newly married as well.”
“Oh, that is wonderful! And how is my daughter? I imagine she has taken to her duties quite well. She always was a bright one.”
Darcy’s heart wrenched as he saw the flash of pain in Elizabeth’s eyes. “Yes,” she managed to say. Darcy could hear the slight hitch in her voice. “Indeed. She… seems to have settled in.”
“Such a good match,” Mrs. Bennet said, settling herself on the edge of the settee with the air of one entirely satisfied with her own foresight. “So very suitable. Of course, we always thought the eldest would marry first—our Jane is such a beauty—but it was not to be.”
Darcy watched as Elizabeth arched a brow over a fine eye. “No?”
Mrs. Bennet’s face pinched ever so slightly. “Mr. Bingley—he is the gentleman who let Netherfield last autumn—he left rather suddenly, you see. Quite shocking. Everyone thought… well…” She fluttered her fingers vaguely. “But no engagement was ever announced. And a young lady must be sensible, must she not?”
She smoothed her skirts. “Mr. Collins had been disappointed, of course, when Lizzy first refused him—silly girl! But then when he turned his sights towards my Jane—who was heartbroken and pining after Mr. Bingley—Elizabeth changed her mind. I daresay the matter was settled quite practically.”
Darcy gripped his teacup, fighting to keep his expression neutral.So even with my absence, Mr. Bingley still abandoned Miss Bennet and Netherfield. It was not entirely my fault.
“Jane,” Mrs. Bennet continued, “has not been quite herself since. She rarely goes out. But she is the gentlest creature—she bears things with such grace.” Her voice dropped. “Though I do worry. She grows thinner by the day.”
Elizabeth frowned in concern at her mother, and—for a moment—Darcy wished he could kiss her cares away. He was also surprised by Mrs. Bennet’s sincerity. There was no lamenting the loss of Bingley’s fortune, but rather genuine concern over her daughter’s emotions.
He had believed her to be coarse, and often she was—but in warmth, in welcome, she far outshone many women of higher rank.
Certainly more than Lady Catherine ever has.
“Ah! Here she is now. Jane, darling! Where have you been?”
Darcy stood before he realized what he was doing, and then Elizabeth’s sister entered the room.
Jane looked very much the same—elegant, fair, her features lovely as ever. But Darcy saw the difference at once. Her smile, though immediate, did not reach her eyes. Her figure, though graceful, seemed frailer. And there was something heavy in her expression—something quiet and pained.
Elizabeth shifted, and he could tell that she longed to run to her, to embrace her and hold fast and tell her everything would be well.That is how it will feel for me with Georgiana, I imagine.
Instead, Darcy said with careful gentility, “It is a pleasure to meet you. Mrs. Collins spoke so fondly of her sister.”
Jane glanced at her mother, then back at Elizabeth. “You are… friends of Lizzy’s? You seem familiar somehow, but I am not certain…” Her voice trailed off.
Darcy felt the ground shift slightly beneath his feet as Elizabeth replied, “Yes, I met her when she came to the Hunsford parish.”
Bowing, Darcy added, “We were passing through and wished to pay our respects. Your mother has been most kind.”
“Did you, perhaps, bring a letter from her? Correspondence of any kind?”
Unprepared for this question, Elizabeth looked at Darcy, who shook his head. “No, I am afraid our schedules did not allow time for that. We were not even sure if we would come here as we journeyed. I am taking my wife north to Derbyshire to meet my sister.”
