A Most Civil Proposal (18 page)

“Long enough, Uncle,” she responded, looking up at Darcy with her eyes twinkling. “Long enough.”

Elizabeth had her hand on Darcy’s arm as they joined the others, and the warmth of their expressions was sufficient to alert Mrs. Gardiner, and she was not surprised when Mr. Gardiner announced that his niece had something to say before the meal began. Bingley and Jane stared at them in rapt fascination.

“Mr. Bingley, Jane, Aunt, Uncle, Maria,” Elizabeth said, forcing herself to break free of Darcy’s gaze to meet the eyes of the others in the room, “I would like you to be the first to know that Mr. Darcy has made me a proposal of marriage, which I have accepted. We are engaged to be married.”

Jane stared at her in stunned astonishment at actually hearing the words spoken, despite the suspicion she and Bingley had shared before dinner. Bingley recovered more quickly, suddenly understanding how Darcy had come to know of Jane’s true state of mind. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner suffered no similar level of surprise, however, and they lost no time in offering their congratulations. Bingley followed some seconds later, but a full thirty seconds went by before Jane could stir from her chair. When she did, she made up for her earlier frozen state by the strength of her embrace, and the tears she shed were assumed to be tears of joy though Jane herself was not so sure. Knowing of Elizabeth’s intense dislike of Mr. Darcy, she was stuck by a horrified suspicion that her sister might have agreed to marry Darcy in order to secure her own happiness with Bingley. The thought that Elizabeth might sacrifice herself for her sake could not be dispelled from her mind as she wept in her sister’s embrace.

Chapter 13

Saturday, April 18, 1812

That night in their bedroom after preparing for bed, Elizabeth and Jane were both awash in questions, but Elizabeth was adamant in being first to query Jane on every aspect of her engagement.

“Leave out not the smallest detail, Jane!” Elizabeth laughed merrily. “I want to know all!”

But Jane was too disturbed to begin. “Lizzy,” she said slowly, “I cannot talk of my own happiness when I am so upset for fear of your own.”

Elizabeth’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “Why, whatever do you mean? I am happy enough — perhaps not as happy as you, but I do not understand your concern.”

“But how can you be engaged to Mr. Darcy? I know how much you dislike him.”

“That is all in the past.” Elizabeth smiled. “I have been sorely mistaken in my previous opinion of Mr. Darcy, but in cases such as these, a good memory is unpardonable. This is the last time I shall ever remember it myself.”

“My dearest sister, now do be serious! I want to talk plainly. I am very worried over how Mr. Darcy came to know of my feelings for Bingley and how he came to tell his friend. I am sure that somehow his regard for you was involved, but I cannot fathom how it came to be.”

“Worried? Why should you be worried?”

Jane would not meet her eye. “I am afraid that you have agreed to marry Mr. Darcy in order to secure his help on my behalf, and I would be mortified if I achieved my own happiness at the expense of yours.”

Elizabeth was at first too confused to understand her meaning, but when she puzzled it out, she gave a short laugh. “Jane, Jane, Jane,” she said as she embraced her sister, “how can you suspect that? No, do not fear that. Mr. Darcy determined to go to his friend on his own. It is a long and complicated story, and you shall know of it, but
not
until you have told me yours.”

Jane at first would not be mollified, but the solemn assurances of her sister at length had the desired effect, and Jane’s spirits rose until she finally yielded to her sister’s entreaties for information. Elizabeth listened with great delight until Jane came to the Darcy’s visit to Gracechurch Street.

“I was quite surprised at how agreeable Mr. Darcy was when he visited, and I found Miss Darcy simply delightful though she was so terribly shy at first. They stayed the afternoon and then for dinner, and Miss Darcy invited me to visit the next day and spend the morning. I had a wonderful time, and I often found myself wondering how Mr. Wickham could have thought she was so cold and proud.”

“That is because that . . .
that man
. . . is not a gentleman!” Elizabeth said in a voice colder than Jane had ever heard, “and nothing he said regarding Mr. Darcy or his sister can be trusted.” Jane was stunned, knowing of her sister’s favourable impression of him, but she was even more surprised when Elizabeth related the whole of her experiences at Hunsford. Her astonishment at Mr. Darcy’s proposal was lessened by the strong sisterly partiality, which made any admiration of Elizabeth appear perfectly natural, but she was soon shocked to her core by Wickham’s history with the Darcy family. She would not previously have believed that so much wickedness existed in the whole race of mankind as was here collected in one individual. At first, her natural inclination to find good in everyone motivated her to labour to prove the possibility of error, but further reflection on the near disaster that had almost struck her new friend forced her to cease the effort.

“I do not know when I have been more shocked,” she said. “That Wickham should be so very bad is almost past belief, but consider what poor Miss Darcy must have suffered! And suffers still! It is no wonder that she is so shy; she must be afraid that everything she might do will turn out as wrong as her experience with Wickham. Oh, what a wicked, wicked man!”

Elizabeth had to smile at this; she did not think she had ever heard Jane speak so harshly. But her sister’s ire with Wickham could not last long given her nature, and she was soon inclined to sympathy with Mr. Darcy. Knowing how taciturn he had appeared in Hertfordshire, she was impressed by the eloquence with which he had delivered his sentiments. She could only feel them justified in that Elizabeth deserved such, but she was grieved for the unhappiness that her sister’s refusal must have given him.

“Poor Mr. Darcy. After expressing himself so well and so tenderly, consider how extreme must have been his disappointment.”

Elizabeth had to laugh at the memory. “He
was
quite well-spoken, but he did not start that way. When he first entered the room, he could say nothing; he paced, he stood, but no words came out. Only when he took the papers from his coat was he able to find a means of expression. Indeed, I was quite astonished at first, for I had never heard him speak so gently.” She sobered in contemplation. “I once challenged him that he did not present himself well to others because he could not be troubled, and I considered that I had scored a point against him. But I begin to think that I simply never bothered to look, for he appears to be exceedingly uncomfortable in social situations with people he does not know.”

“Was that when you changed your mind, Lizzy — after he explained about Wickham?”

“Not exactly.” Elizabeth smiled. “I was still incensed over his part in separating you and Bingley even if he was not as much in error as I first thought. But he convinced me to walk with him the next morning, and it was then he pledged that he would try to amend his error.”

“And that is how Bingley knew,” exclaimed Jane. “Oh, now I understand! Once I wrote that Bingley and I were engaged, that is when you agreed to marry Mr. Darcy.”

“Not exactly,” Elizabeth repeated. “I only agreed to receive him when — and if! — he came to call.”

“And allow him to court you.”

“Well, yes.”

“It was not a very long courtship!” said Jane teasingly. But she was again grieved when Elizabeth related the manner in which the gossip and threat of scandal had necessitated her early decision to accept Mr. Darcy’s suit rather than risk ruin to herself and damage to her family.

“You know how little a thing can lead to the destruction of a girl’s reputation, Jane, no matter how innocent she may be. And I had you and the rest of my family to think of, so I had to think deeply and clearly about Mr. Darcy rather than simply giving way to my irritation with him.”

“Oh, Elizabeth! To be forced into agreement by such pressures! It is terribly distressing that such vile gossip and whispers could cause such harm!”

“Jane, calm yourself!” Elizabeth laughed. “I had already discarded almost all the objections I had even before tonight, so you must consider that this merely changes the timing. And, as Charlotte would say, it is not so very bad! You agreed that Mr. Darcy has been most cordial and civil since returning from Kent, and from what you have said of Miss Darcy, I appear to be most fortunate in my future sister. Much more fortunate than you, for you shall be sisters with Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst!”

They both had to laugh.

“But are you certain —” Jane hesitated. “Forgive the question, but are you certain that you can be happy with him? I do not want to see you forced into a marriage with a man you cannot love, no matter how advantageous the match!”

Elizabeth was warmed by the devotion and concern in her eyes. She smiled and squeezed Jane’s hand.

“Do you remember how I used to laugh when Charlotte told me that I was too romantic and I should be more practical? Can you believe that I finally listened, at least a little, to her advice? For that is surely true; after the news that you were engaged to Mr. Bingley, I forced myself to sit down with Mr. Darcy’s letter and made myself forget my anger at his arrogance and presumption, and I actually tried to consider the situation with dispassion. And by the time I was done, I found that all but one of my objections could not stand up to the bright light of reason.”

“And what was your last objection?” Jane asked quietly, for this was a new Elizabeth to her — much more sober, more reflective. Her sister had always possessed a sparkling wit and an intelligent and lively disposition, but she was so quick of mind that she seldom paused to reconsider a matter.

“My only objection was that I do not return the love that Mr. Darcy holds for me, and I was concerned that it could in time prove to make marriage unendurable,” said Elizabeth quietly. “But we discussed that tonight, and I believe my fears are put to rest. We shall be friends at least, and I believe we share a mutual respect that will prevent a marriage such as our parents have.”

Jane was saddened at this; though she loved her parents, she could not deny the truth of Elizabeth’s statement.

“I do think that you and Mr. Darcy will make a good match,” she said quietly. “I have never shared your opinion of him, and he was most sincere and gracious when he called to congratulate me.”

“I am sure you are right,” said Elizabeth with a sudden smile. “In any case, I did not desire to spend my whole life with my family at Longbourn! Eventually, I should have settled for someone who was easy of manner and would be kind to me, for I do so want children. So why not Mr. Darcy? After all, he is
not
Mr. Collins!”

This drew a laugh, then Jane slyly interjected, imitating her mother’s tones, “And he
does
have
ten thousand a year
!” This time, the sisters laughed until they had tears running down their cheeks.

When they recovered, Elizabeth asked, “Jane, has Mr. Bingley told you that when Mr. Darcy confessed his interference, Mr. Bingley was so angry that he ordered Mr. Darcy from his home.”

“No! Charles has not said a word of this!”

“Yet it is true. William told me of it tonight, though he has since been forgiven. But Mr. Bingley also banished Miss Bingley to the Hurst townhouse and suspended her allowance.”

“He banished Caroline? Oh dear . . . but that does explain why she is not at his house.”

“It is indeed singular behaviour for him,” said Elizabeth in considerable satisfaction. “Perhaps this is a new Bingley! I begin to think that he has grown quite protective of you.”

Jane blushed. She desired to avoid confrontation as much as possible, but the idea of Bingley being incensed on her behalf could not but please her. “But I wonder that he has not forgiven his sister as he has his friend.”

“Jane, do you not see the difference? Mr. Darcy did what he did for what he believed was Mr. Bingley’s own good, and when I forced him to acknowledge that he was mistaken, he made his confession and tried to right the wrong. And he must have done so knowing that it might cost him Mr. Bingley’s friendship. Yes, I know he did it partly for my sake, but I do believe that he would have done so in any case. But Miss Bingley is a different matter. I daresay she continued to try to mislead her brother and very likely refuses to ask for forgiveness.”

“Perhaps that is true,” said Jane sadly.

“Then it is up to Miss Bingley,” Elizabeth said. “I believe that Mr. Bingley will not tolerate any disrespect to you, even by his sister, and he will not allow her back until she forsakes her duplicity and promises to treat you as a true sister. So it is not up to Mr. Bingley or you, Jane. It is up to her.”

Jane’s distress at having to think ill of Caroline Bingley was soon overshadowed by the joy of confidences shared by the two sisters. For her part, Elizabeth was relieved by having unburdened herself of all the secrets weighing on her since that eventful night at the Parsonage. She was certain of a willing listener in Jane whenever she might wish to talk on the issue again, but for now, she forgot about those concerns in her delight at being once more with her sister, and they talked far into the night.