By Force of Instinct (10 page)

elizabeth and Jane looked at one another at this unexpected announcement, wondering who in London might call on them as opposed to their aunt and uncle. Mrs. Gardiner’s face exhibited well-bred surprise as she examined the cards, and she looked up at her nieces with an expression of concern. “Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy,” she said.

elizabeth could not have been more surprised if the caller had been the Prince regent. Her heart seemed to stop for a moment at the thought of seeing Mr. Darcy once more. Her astonishment at his coming and voluntarily seeking her again was great. Her mind then flew to the fact of Mr.

Bingley’s presence—she could not account for it in any way but that Mr.

Darcy had taken her criticisms to heart, and she did not know if she was more pleased or frightened by this conceit.

Jane looked a little paler than usual, but more sedate than elizabeth had expected. on the gentlemen’s appearing, her colour increased; yet she received them with tolerable ease, and with a propriety of behaviour equally free from any symptom of resentment, or any unnecessary complaisance.

elizabeth only hoped that she looked as composed as her sister; she felt an inner disturbance quite different from that which she wished to project.

Jane made the introductions to Mrs. Gardiner, who was pleased in particular to have the opportunity to meet the gentleman who had so captured Jane’s heart. The usually loquacious Bingley seemed to have forgotten the power of speech as he gazed at Jane, however, and Mr. Darcy drew more of Mrs. Gardiner’s attention when he spoke with her civilly.

to no one’s surprise, Bingley took the place by Jane that had so often been his in Hertfordshire. elizabeth waited with a flutter of anxiety for Mr.

Darcy to approach her, but he instead sat opposite her, responding only briefly to her polite enquiries about his stay in London. Mrs. Gardiner, 59

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feeling the discomfort of the situation, employed her not insubstantial skills in engaging Mr. Darcy in conversation. Initially he was as succinct and stilted in his replies as elizabeth would have expected him to be when dealing with his social inferiors, and for a moment she regretted having told him of her aunt’s origins, as he might otherwise have taken her for a woman of fashion. she reminded herself, however, of her own pride in her aunt, and listened most attentively as Mrs. Gardiner finally succeeded in beginning a conversation with him about Derbyshire.

Mr. Darcy’s eyes turned not infrequently to elizabeth, causing her to apply herself to her work with a diligence it did not often command. Bingley’s behaviour to Jane was such as showed an admiration of her, which, though more guarded than formerly, persuaded elizabeth, that if left wholly to himself, Jane’s happiness, and his own, would be speedily secured. Though she dared not depend upon the consequence, elizabeth yet received pleasure from observing his behaviour. she was less certain as to her feelings about their other caller.

The gentlemen had not long been there when new visitors were announced, and Mr. and Mrs. Monkhouse made their entrance. once introductions had been effected, Darcy glanced at Bingley and suggested it was time for them to make their departure. Mrs. Gardiner, with a glance at the stricken look on Jane’s face, urged them to stay.

“There is often quite a crowd of callers here at this time of day,” Mr.

Monkhouse said very civilly. “our hosts are most congenial, and many of us take sad advantage of that fact!”

Darcy, once again looking quite uncomfortable, replied only briefly, but condescended to agree to remain for a brief period. His eyes once again turned to elizabeth.

With a certain slyness, elizabeth said, “Mr. Monkhouse, Mr. Darcy is an admirer of your cousin, Mr. Wordsworth, sir.”

Darcy shot her an enigmatic look before responding in the affirmative.

“excellent!” said Monkhouse energetically. “I am always pleased to hear it. Myself, I am currently reading the new works of Lord Byron—his approach to poetry is quite a revelation.”

“Indeed he has such powers of expression and real individual feeling as must make the older poets seem lame,” said Mrs. Gardiner.

“More individual, or more indulgent?” queried elizabeth. “I must say 60

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that I prefer the greater simplicity evidenced in the work of coleridge and Wordsworth.”

“Do you feel, then, Miss Bennet, that the exaltation of the individual has gone too far?” asked Monkhouse.

elizabeth considered the question for a moment. “to me, there is something lost when the ideal of individual self-awareness is translated to a position of passivity, where the poet hopes to experience as much as possible while doing nothing.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Darcy looking at her with some surprise, whether at her idea or merely that she should hold such ideas she could not tell.

“I would agree with Miss Bennet,” Darcy said. “If we are to take the assumption that the divine element of man is self-consciousness, is it not more valuable to explore the possibilities of the self than to look to the effect of the world upon the self? In the works of Wordsworth, unlike Byron, the awakened consciousness leads to the awakened moral sense, and thus to the experience of the divine.”

It was elizabeth’s turn to raise an eyebrow as Mr. Monkhouse engaged Darcy and Mrs. Gardiner in a lively debate on the romantic ideal. she was sufficiently caught by the surprising sight of Mr. Darcy contending on an equal basis with those self-same people he scorned in his proposal to her that she paid less attention to the conversation itself than she might have otherwise. Matters continued in this vein, with Bingley conversing softly with Jane, oblivious to the animated discussion surrounding him, until the arrival of Mr. Gardiner, accompanied by another caller familiar to elizabeth, a passionate-looking young man by the name of Mr. Brewer.

on their entrance, Monkhouse declared cheerfully, “And now, Mr. Darcy, you will find that our debate on poetry is at an end, since our friend Brewer will indubitably discover a way to turn the conversation to abolitionism within a matter of minutes!”

Mr. Brewer laughed as he took his seat next to elizabeth, favouring her with a warm smile. His admiration of the younger Miss Bennet was well-known to both her and the Gardiners, as was the inevitability that his political involvement would never allow him the substance to make a serious offer to a woman without independent means. elizabeth tolerated his attentions with her usual good humour, but with awareness of the dark looks he was earning from the gentleman across the room. As Mr. Brewer launched into 61

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an enthusiastic report on his most recent activities in the abolitionist cause, she could not help but recall Darcy’s attentions to Miss temple, and the initial feelings of satisfaction she felt on observing his jealousy turned to a sort of anger that he felt that he might admire wherever he liked, but that she was off limits to all other men. she raised her eyes to him, watching until his gaze returned to her, and met it with a long and serious look.

Darcy felt a sudden lurch of uncertainty when he caught her gaze. He had become surprisingly comfortable during the previous discussion, which had been sufficiently stimulating to distract him from the combination of pain and pleasure induced by being in elizabeth’s presence. He was under no illusions that she had forgiven him for his behaviour, but she had at least seemed neutral, even a bit teasing, toward him until now. Was she perhaps communicating that the weedy stripling beside her meant something more to her than he did? He gritted his teeth in an effort to control himself.

Mrs. Gardiner interrupted Mr. Brewer’s impassioned speech. “I admire your position regarding the abolition of slavery, but I must once again question the basis of your position, which would free all slaves while leaving the majority of them as the
de facto
property of the minority,” she said in a dulcet tone which belied the steel underneath.

elizabeth looked away from Darcy to observe how Mr. Brewer would handle this challenge. she was not disappointed; his colour rose as he said,

“My dear Mrs. Gardiner, the basis for abolitionism is the recognition of the evil of holding rational beings as slaves, and the question of the status of women is still open at present. I would personally agree that the present company supports the argument that the educability of women is safe, but I have seen no evidence that this is the rule rather than the exception.”

“I am grateful, sir, that you would acknowledge that I am a rational creature,” said elizabeth with an amused smile. “I must wonder, though, whence comes any argument that women cannot be educated; it seems we have a number of instances to prove that women may be educated safely, and no cases at all of women who have been driven mad by learning!” she cast a sly glance at Darcy to see how he bore her radical statement.

“to which I might add,” said Mrs. Monkhouse, “that there is a certain danger in entrusting the rearing of children to beings whom you consider both ineducable and irrational! natural affection cannot coexist with a state of complete dependence.”

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Mr. Gardiner entered the fray. “can we, in fact, expect virtue from those who are wholly dependent on the whims of others, be they slaves, women, or children? I would posit that just as our society encourages men to live for their wealth, it encourages vanity, cunning, and manipulation on the part of women who must live by their personal charms, which are now a higher goal than virtue itself.”

“I agree that it is unfortunate that women often must rely on their beauty and allures to attract a man, rather than on their moral stature,” argued Mr. Brewer fervently. “This is one of the unnatural distinctions of our society, where wealth, beauty, and rank are of greater importance than virtue.

However, many men believe their wives’ deference to them to be a virtue and a symbol of respect, and in what way is the independence of women a greater virtue than that?”

elizabeth winced; it did not trouble her to shock Mr. Darcy with radical thought and arguments, but she feared an entrance into the subject of the evils of wealth which would cause a most unpleasant situation. He once again surprised her not only by ignoring the potentially offensive implication but also by entering into the debate.

“I cannot agree that all men would wish for a spaniel-like fawning on the part of their wives. The current expectation is for women to be submissive,”

he replied thoughtfully, “but I would question the strength of mind of the man who requires a companion he can command at all times, rather than one who may stimulate his mind. I personally do not care for holding conversations with a mirror but rather with another
rational
soul. The very submissiveness of so many women in fact speaks for rather than against their educability, as it is clear that society encourages and reinforces that behaviour in every manner.” He was acutely aware of elizabeth’s surprised gaze upon him; he wondered at her reaction, as she of all people should have no doubt as to his inclinations on the matter.

“Well spoken, Mr. Darcy!” cried Mr. Monkhouse. “I also would not wish for a wife who must be treated as a child! “

“And it is very good for you that you do not!” his wife said with good humour, “else you should be sadly disappointed.”

“And I shall be sadly disappointed if we cannot continue this fine discussion! Gentlemen, Mrs. Monkhouse, would you do us the honour of joining us for dinner?” Mr. Gardiner said heartily.

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elizabeth drew in a sharp breath and closed her eyes, not wishing to see the look that would cross Darcy’s face at the very idea of dining in such company. she opened them to look only at the floor as she heard his demurral, stating that they could not possibly impose on such short notice.

“Well, we shall not press you to stay if you must be away,” said Mrs.

Gardiner civilly, “but there would be no imposition; unexpected guests are a common enough occurrence here that our cook has the sense to anticipate the likelihood.”

With a silent prayer that her aunt would not unknowingly humiliate her further with another invitation which must be abhorrent to a man of such pride, elizabeth looked to Jane, whose happy smile almost made up for her own discomfort.

“Bingley, what do you say? Bingley!” said Darcy, raising his voice slightly when unable to initially attract his friend’s attention.

“yes?” responded Bingley, tearing his eyes from Jane with a clear effort.

“Mrs. Gardiner has invited us to stay to dinner.” Darcy’s tone was neutral.

Bingley’s face lit up with a radiant smile. “I should be delighted to join you, Mrs. Gardiner, unless Darcy is engaged elsewhere.”

“no, I have no fixed engagements,” said Darcy. elizabeth looked up at him in surprise, and he gave her a slight smile of apology. It was obvious that she would prefer him not stay; indeed, he knew that he should have made his excuses, but when pressed he could not convince himself to leave her presence.
God knows when I shall see her again—not until Bingley’s wedding, no doubt, if that event should come to pass,
he thought. He did not know whether to hope for or dread such an occurrence; if Bingley turned his eyes elsewhere than Miss Bennet, Darcy could hardly expect to see elizabeth again, but to be thrown into her company on occasion because of the connection to Bingley would carry not only the exquisitely painful pleasure of seeing her, but the eventual torture of watching her someday fall in love and marry another man—no, that was not an outcome he could desire. At least it appeared that he need not worry about the stripling beside her, judging by her spirited response to his assertions. He did not think he could bear to discover that she was favouring another man just yet.

He was pleasantly surprised to discover that he enjoyed the company at dinner. Being seated between elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner was no doubt 64

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responsible for a good deal of his pleasure, especially as the former seemed to be in good spirits and ready to tease, even if she did avoid his eyes on occasion. It was enough to be near her, to hear her voice, to catch a whiff of her fragrance drifting past him. He knew that he would never have more than that, and was willing to brave the dreams that were sure to haunt him once again in order to be allowed to pretend for a brief while that all was as it had been between them. It helped that the conversation was stimulating; he could see why elizabeth enjoyed visiting her aunt and uncle so much, and helped explain her surprising lack of provinciality that he had noted in Hertfordshire. He could find it in himself to regret that the Gardiners and Monkhouses were not of a social stratum to permit continued intercourse.