The meal ended. They rose and repaired to the sitting room, where the smallness of the company urged upon Darcy the necessity of engaging Elizabeth’s father. Accepting a cup of coffee from Mrs. Bennet’s hands, he stepped over to his host. “Mr. Bennet,” he addressed him, lifting his cup slightly in salute.
“Mr. Darcy,” he replied, and then with a quirk of his chin, he motioned to Bingley and Jane, who were now snugly alone in a corner of the room. “A likely pair, are they not, Mr. Darcy? Although all of these smiles and whispers are rather tiresome for the rest of the world, Mrs. Bennet assures me that it is to be expected.”
Darcy set down his cup and turned to him. “I believe Bingley will make her a very good husband,” he offered thoughtfully. “I have known him well for several years now. He is one of the finest men I know.”
“Oh, I have no doubt of it!” Mr. Bennet replied. “They are very well suited, he and Jane. Their children will never hear an angry word from either and may even allow their parents a say, on occasion. Still, I am happy for her.” He sipped at his cup. “And what of you, sir? Shall you remain long in Hertfordshire, or does London demand your presence?”
“My plans are unfixed at present, but I should not wonder that I will remain awhile longer.”
“Indeed!” Mr. Bennet seemed surprised. “Indeed,” he repeated. “Well, you are welcome to visit Longbourn at any time, Mr. Darcy. As you can see, I have any number of daughters who can provide an educated man with stimulating conversation.” He nodded at Mary, deep in a book, and Kitty, fixing ribbons on a large-brimmed bonnet. Then setting down his cup with an amused air, Mr. Bennet excused himself and announced to his wife, “I will be in my study should anybody need me, my dear.”
Darcy looked to Elizabeth, surprised that his host would abandon his guests so abruptly and wondering if this was a signal that he and Bingley should leave. But no one else seemed to take notice of their host’s odd behavior or move to conclude the evening, save to bid Mr. Bennet good night. Still, they did not stay long, and when he and Bingley rose to leave, Elizabeth followed him to the door and then outside, as had Jane with Bingley. With her arms wrapped about her against the chill, she watched him mount his horse. Looking down at her, her face turned up to him in the starlight, he was reminded of an evening a year ago outside the assembly hall in Meryton. So much had happened since that night that today had been resolved toward making him glad of the future. Yet in that same moment, he was restless as well. Elizabeth was his and not his, the companion of his heart but not yet at his side.
He leaned down to her. “Tomorrow,” he whispered. She nodded. “Tomorrow,” she mouthed and stepped away to her sister’s side, watching after them as their horses moved into the darkness.
Bingley was humming when, after urging his horse on, Darcy caught up to him. Tuneless, as usual, and progressing in fits and starts, the song drifted into the night. Darcy could only smile at his friend’s distraction and consider how light his own heart was. “And what creature are you summoning at this hour, Charles?” he teased him. “I believe all decent animals are tucked away in their barns.”
“Darcy, I am the most fortunate of men!” Bingley ignored his jab. “What a marvelous day it has been!”
“Quite,” Darcy murmured in agreement.
Bingley turned to him. “I say, it may not have been so marvelous for you to spend an entire evening with the Bennets. You have been a good friend to bear with it, Darcy, and I thank you.”
“Not at all, Charles.” Darcy dismissed it. “It is only natural that you should wish to be in the company of your fiancée as much as possible. I am, after all, here at my own invitation and can take myself away at any time.”
“You are very kind,” Bingley replied. He paused a little before adding in quite another tone, “And so very obliging as to lose Jane and me in the wood. How did that come about? We never saw you after the first half hour.”
“You did not wish to be so long alone then?”
“That is not what I meant.” Bingley laughed. “Well, I was not so concerned, not as concerned as Jane, certainly; for she had not seen how well you and her sister got along together at Pemberley. It was my thought that you lost us apurpose, for our sakes, and did not mind keeping Miss Elizabeth company while you did so.”
“Did you say as much to Miss Bennet?”
“Something to that effect. Should I not have?”
Darcy did not answer him immediately. Was there any purpose to keeping his joy to himself ? Soon it would be public knowledge, and Bingley was his close friend. In any event, he was desirous to hear himself say the words that would give substance to the events of the afternoon. And he was curious to behold Charles’s reaction. He brought his horse up close to Bingley’s until they were knee to knee. “You are only partially correct, my friend. I confess I had little thought for you and Miss Bennet this afternoon. My intent, upon your happy suggestion of a walk, was to devise a way to speak with Miss Elizabeth privately.”
“Speak privately!” Bingley pulled back on his reins and stared at Darcy in the moonlight. “What about, I wonder?”
“A private matter.” Darcy’s smile widened.
“Of course.” Bingley was not put off. “A private matter concerning what, might I ask?”
“Well might you ask —”
“Darcy!” Bingley’s voice grew menacing.
Darcy relented with a laugh. “Concerning the fact — and this may surprise you or not; for I can trust my own perception of myself no longer — that I have admired…nay, more than admired Miss Elizabeth almost since our first meeting.”
“Good Lord!” Bingley breathed out, astonished. “I suspected affection this summer at Pemberley, but since last autumn? You did nothing but spar with her!”
“Yes, that is true. We did not get on well last autumn. I blame my own behavior for her poor opinion of me at the start. But then there were also pernicious rumors concerning me set about by Wickham that fixed this opinion.”
“That rogue! And to think I must be his —” Bingley’s jaw snapped shut on that subject in favor of a more immediate one. “Go on, Darcy! You have loved her all this time! Well…” He drew in a breath. “This is truly marvelous! Rather like a play…that Shakespeare one. Oh, what was it…about that fellow…Benedick?”
Darcy laughed. “Yes, very like!”
“But what happened between then and Pemberley?”
“We met again last spring, when she visited friends in Kent near the estate of my aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. There was more misunderstanding and more abominable behavior on my part, I am sorry to say, but the nature of the problems that lay between us was finally revealed. When next we met at Pemberley, we found each other’s company much more agreeable.”
“Pray, continue!” Bingley urged as they set their horses into motion but slowly.
“We made a beginning, but that was all. When she was unexpectedly called home, it seemed unlikely that an occasion might arise when we might speak further.”