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  “But Darcy, did you not take the lead in persuading me to leave Netherfield?”

  “Bingley, I am not certain I understand. You were present when your sisters and I spoke with you about our reasons about returning to London after the ball. Now that I have spoken with Miss Elizabeth at Rosings, I can see why you are so upset. I was wrong to intervene and I am sorry. Though I did not meet with Miss Bennet when she was in London, there was one occasion when I saw her speaking with your sisters. Of course I had no reason to think they would not tell you about their meeting. Still, I knew nothing of any letters that Miss Bennet left for you or that Caroline had not sent your letters on to Miss Bennet.”

  “Thank you Darcy, and I can see why some might think Miss Bennet is not in love. Miss Bennet is not one to show much affection in public. She is reserved in these matters. Unlike my sisters, your beliefs were not mean spirited. As for my sisters, they have left this house and are no longer welcome here or at Netherfield. Just today I have sent word for the staff to open up Netherfield and I shall leave in three days to return. I hope you will join me, for except for Jane I shall be alone.”

  “Thank you Bingley but I have much business to take care of in town. Perhaps my cousin could join you for a few days. He met Miss Elizabeth at Rosings.”

  “I say, Darcy, Fitzwilliam would be an excellent choice, but do you think you can trust him around Miss Elizabeth?”

  “He is a good friend and cousin, Bingley, but he is not interested in Miss Elizabeth. Still, it will be good for both of you to have company, though he may return to town in less than a week.”

  CHAPTER 3

  Elizabeth’s Aunt and Uncle Gardiner greeted their niece as the coach rolled into the nearest town transfer station. After moving her things to the awaiting carriage, they headed to Gracechurch Street. “Lizzy,” her Aunt said, “I hope to hear about your visit with your friends. I can see that you are still a single woman.”

  “That is true aunt. I am afraid there is as much a scarcity of good men in Hunsford and Rosings as at Longbourn.”

  “You did tell me in one of your earlier letters that Mr. Darcy and his cousin were visiting their aunt at her grand estate. Is Rosings her estate? Pray tell me Lizzy that both men acted as gentlemen.”

  “Rosings is the name of his aunt’s grand estate. Regarding the gentleman business, Mr. Darcy was no different from before but his friend and cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, was much more the gentleman.”

  “Your Mr. Darcy would be wise to take lessons from the colonel.”

  “Aunt, he is not my Mr. Darcy. At times he acts like his aunt, who he addresses as Lady Catherine. She is a very headstrong woman and likes to dominate most conversations. It is not that Darcy dominates conversations so much as he wants to be in charge and make all the decisions and thinks he is better than everyone.”

  “There is an upside to Lady Catherine, Lizzy, as visiting with her allows you to sharpen your listening skills.” Both women now laughed.

  “Lizzy, you may stay as long as you like but I believe Jane and your father want you to return to Longbourn in two days.”

  “That is my desire as well,” Elizabeth said.

  They spoke much more that day and the next day after breakfast, Elizabeth joined her aunt and the three youngest children as they prepared to visit a local park.

  ***

  Colonel Fitzwilliam left Darcy House the next morning to meet with a friend and after that began to walk back when he spotted two women with three children. His eyes told him that the younger woman was Miss Bennet so he entered the park and soon approached the women.

  “Colonel Fitzwilliam,” Elizabeth said, smiling as she came upon the man, “please allow me to introduce you to my Aunt Gardiner. You have caught us taking the children out to the park this morning.”

  “I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Gardiner. Both of you have chosen a good day for an outing.”

  “So Colonel Fitzwilliam, Lizzy tells me that you and Mr. Darcy are cousins.”

  “That is true. We are also good friends. Mrs. Gardiner, I had the pleasure of meeting your niece at Rosings. I have heard my cousin often speak of Miss Bennet’s beauty and I must agree. Your niece is one of the handsomest women I have ever met.”

  “I do not know if you should believe this account from Mr. Darcy’s cousin, aunt. Mr. Darcy told Mr. Bingley at the assembly the very first time he met me that I was just tolerable and not handsome enough to tempt him.”

  “Yes, Miss Bennet, I have heard that story, but what he did not tell you was that he had rode to Netherfield that day only to be told of the dance. Darcy does not enjoy such gatherings of strangers but had no choice but to attend, less he suffer the effusions of Mr. Bingley’s sister. Caroline would have happily kept him company if he had remained at Netherfield. You know Caroline, so perhaps he was not in the best mood that evening. In addition, he was recovering from a cold and was quite tired. Most of his things were sent earlier with Bingley’s things but he put off his visit until he felt better. Even then, I believe he made an error in coming, for he was not fully recovered. My cousin is the last person who would make excuses for his conduct and he told me he how sorry he was for behaving so poorly at the assembly. I only know that he tells everyone how wonderful and how beautiful you are.”

  “You are trying to flatter me colonel,” Elizabeth said, as she began to color.

  “Perhaps a little, Miss Bennet. I will be leaving soon to join Mr. Bingley at Netherfield. He is excited about returning while we are enjoying such good weather.”

  “Is he returning with Mr. Darcy?”

  “No, it is doubtful that he will return for he has pressing work in town, though it is possible he will return to Netherfield later with his sister, Georgiana. As for myself, I shall only stay a few days then I have to report back to town.”

  Elizabeth took in all of this news and could not figure out what was happening, but was certain that Darcy must have spoken with his friend about Jane’s feelings for him. She would have to learn more later but if Darcy had spoken with his friend about Jane, then he would have apologized for his action to separate the two.

  The colonel did not tarry long before leaving the others to return to Darcy House.

  That night at her Aunt Gardiner’s the two women stayed up late discussing Mr. Darcy and her aunt spoke again about Darcy’s remark about her beauty. “Lizzy, I am relieved to hear these things of Mr. Darcy and I feel he did not mean to insult you at the assembly. He would have been wise to have remained in town longer until he was fully recovered.”

  “Probably he was eager to see Miss Bingley, aunt.” This brought on a laugh and soon her aunt left her to sleep.

  Elizabeth had survived their meetings without telling of his proposal, but when she went to bed she found too many things on her mind to deal with. This was astonishing and made her think that she could have saved her sister all this grief if she had written to Darcy or seen him in town. That would have worked. Had he not said he was in love with her? If Darcy had gone to Bingley and told him he was wrong about Jane’s affections, he would have earned her respect. He had already convinced her he was a better man than Wickham, and now he has told his cousin of her beauty and he even had an excuse for his remarks at the assembly. Darcy had never spoken of this to he as he was not one to complain of such things, nor did he gossip such as George Wickham did.

  Elizabeth continued to think on these things as she tried to sleep and began to feel a little ping in her heart at the same time as she smiled. Elizabeth wanted to see Darcy again and could not stop thinking of what his cousin had told her. When she awoke she noticed she had been crying and understood the reason. Now she wished that Darcy would return to Netherfield with the others.

  CHAPTER 4

  When Darcy arrived from Rosings he expected that Georgiana would arrive later the next day from Pemberley. He had been so excited about introducing Elizabeth as his intended but now those wishes were unlikely to come to fruition.
There was some hope though, with Bingley returning to Netherfield with Fitzwilliam. Surely his cousin would find out if Elizabeth had any feelings for him. Now he braced for Georgiana’s arrival but he no longer feared she would detect his poor spirit. So far his secret about the proposal was unknown to all unless Elizabeth had spoken of it.

  At four, Simmons, the butler came to Darcy’s study and announced that Georgiana had arrived. They greeted and he asked of her stay in Pemberley but mostly she asked about his visit to Rosings. They did not talk long and he said they could talk about these things at length after dinner. Darcy wanted to tell his sister about Miss Bennet but he knew he had to be careful.

  After dinner she joined him in the study and again he asked of her visit to Pemberley but she quickly changed the discussion to his visit to Rosings.

  “You appear to be in better spirits, William, and I imagine your visit to Rosings must have gone very well. Ever since you returned from Netherfield last November you have been in high dudgeon, but now you appear better, though you usually are down after visiting our Aunt Catherine. I want to know about everything that went on at Netherfield, for therein lies the answer to your down spirits the last few months. This time I expect answers from you brother and I have asked some of these questions before but you have not been forthcoming, as if you have a secret you wish to hide. First you need to tell me why Mr. Bingley up and quit Netherfield so soon. Did you not say he was very close to one of the Bennet women?”

  Darcy knew she had pressured him before on this subject and that he needed to tell her more than what he had included in his letters.

  “Georgina, I thought I had written to you about it. Netherfield is a grand estate and is in Hertfordshire and is situated close to the little village of Meryton. Mr. Bingley became friendly with a local woman who lived but three miles away at Longbourn. Her family consists of five daughters and no sons and her mother and father. Mr. Bennet is a gentleman farmer and their home is entailed to Mr. Collins who is Lady Catherine’s parson. He will inherit Longbourn when Mr. Bennet passes.”

  “Yes, brother, you wrote about her, a Miss Jane Bennet I believe, and her sister too, a Miss Elizabeth. Now I suppose that you have also met some of the locals. You wrote in your last letter of seeing Miss Elizabeth at Rosings. Will you please tell me more about her and all her family?”

  “The family is pleasant for country people. Miss Jane Bennet is the eldest daughter and is very pretty and seems to enjoy Mr. Bingley’s company. The next eldest is named Elizabeth. She is very pretty as well.”

  “It appears you were happy in Hertfordshire and the local people did not drive you away so why did you abruptly leave right after the Netherfield Ball and do you have any regrets?”

  “It is true that I was happy at Netherfield and I enjoyed meeting the local people, and quite enjoyed my visit. Both of the eldest Bennet daughters are charming and I enjoyed their company. I suppose the people around Netherfield are not much different from many in town, except they are rural and not as wealthy as those I associate with in town.”

  “You implied in your letters from Netherfield that Mr. Bingley had feelings for Miss Jane Bennet and I imagine you may have had similar feelings for her sister, so why did you leave, William?”

  “Georgiana, you need to know the Bennet family. Except for the two eldest sisters, the others show a total lack of propriety and the two youngest are very silly and often act out of control. I could tell you of how they acted at the Netherfield Ball, but suffice it to say, they were flirting with many of the officers. The mother is insufferable in trying to marry off her daughters and her father takes a passive role in their management, deferring most decisions to Mrs. Bennet. It would be nearly a disgrace to be married into such a family. Miss Bennet has little money and fewer connections.”

  Darcy paused as if to confirm to himself that he had said too much and Georgiana saw his discomfiture.

  “William, the truth is you have enjoyed the company of Miss Elizabeth Bennet, so I cannot fathom why you would leave. None of this makes any sense.”

  “Mr. Bingley’s sisters and I convinced my friend that Miss Jane Bennet, Elizabeth’s eldest sister, was not in love with him. I thought with Bingley back in London that he and I would be free of the Bennet daughters.”

  “This too makes little sense. Let me see now, you both left Netherfield because you liked the women. What were you thinking?”

  “Georgiana, I did not want to fall in love with Miss Elizabeth, so I believed that if Mr. Bingley left Netherfield he would be rid of her sister and I would be rid of Miss Elizabeth, but I knew when the coach pulled away from Netherfield that I was a fool. I have missed her and it was good to see her again at Rosings.”

  “You have a responsibility to get Mr. Bingley back to Netherfield and I hope that is in your plans.”

  “Mr. Bingley is traveling to Netherfield in a couple of days to meet with Miss Bennet. Miss Elizabeth was mad at me at Rosings and said I had separated her sister from the man she loves.”

  “Be truthful now, William. Do you love Miss Elizabeth?”

  “Georgiana, I have asked those questions of myself. You should know that I have reservations, for I must consider her family and her lack of fortune and connections and what my family and friends would say to such an alliance. Her family are so beneath my station.”

  “Brother, you are stating the obvious, for there are few people that are of our class. I would prefer to socialize and become friends with the Bennets any day than with Caroline Bingley.”

  “Georgiana,” he said, trying to keep on track while knowing he was losing his argument even as he spoke, “you are correct in many things you say. The point I am trying to make is that she is below our class and has few connections and limited opportunities.”

  “What are her feelings for you brother?”

  “That is an excellent question. The simple answer is she does not like me.”

  “I suppose you must now tell me why she has such feelings.”

  “My first night at Netherfield I attended an assembly in Meryton. While there Bingley chastised me for not dancing and offered to introduce me to Miss Elizabeth. She overheard me tell Mr. Bingley that she was only tolerable and not handsome enough to tempt me.”

  Georgiana saw her brother color. “I remember saying those words but thought she did not hear me. You just do not know how big a fool I have been. We met many times and usually our discussions ended in arguments. It never occurred to me that she overheard my conversation with Bingley.”

  “So it appears you do care for her and it is unfortunate that you cannot talk without getting into arguments. She must be quite a woman to have caught the attention of a rich handsome gentleman as yourself. It is almost funny that you have passed on other rich and handsome women about the town, many of whom are titled, and have found a country gentleman’s daughter who pays you little mind. It is as though your great wealth means nothing to her.”

  “Yes, I believe you are correct.”

  “Brother, I should like very much to meet her. From your description she seems to be a woman that would make you happy for all your days. If she is such a woman, I trust you will not let her lack of social connections keep you from her if she already owns your heart.”

  Darcy did not reply and knew his younger sister was correct in all she had said.

  “You have told me enough to keep me up all night pondering these things. Thank you for speaking of these things to me brother. I will keep what you have told me private and I trust you will find a woman to love soon. For all we know, she lives at Longbourn.”

  Their discussion having ended, Darcy thought of all that had been said. Georgiana had noticed that he was happier than anytime since he returned from Netherfield, and she knew it was because he saw Elizabeth at Rosings. Darcy was confused that he could be happy after his disaster of a proposal, but figured that the positive news of Bingley returning to Netherfield gave him hope.

  That night as he tried to
sleep, he thought of her, just as he had since first seeing her at the assembly. The thought of her stirred his passion and caused his heart to beat as if it wanted to jump out of his chest. For so many nights he had struggled to put all thoughts of Elizabeth out of his mind, but he could not, then suddenly he was at Rosings and he saw her again. Even though she had refused him he held out hope he might eventually win her heart and so was able to settle into a good sleep. Each night he dreamed of her and did not want to wake and was certain he needed to win her love.

  He had long thought that his social position and family expectations made an alliance with her nearly reprehensible. These thoughts worked on him and found their way into his proposal as he told Elizabeth of the difficulty he faced in choosing her as his future wife. What a fool he had been, and he wondered how Elizabeth perceived his words, for in front of her stood Fitzwilliam Darcy, the Master of Pemberley. This was a man who was expected to marry a great woman from the highest circles, but had lowered his standards to propose to a lowly country girl from Hertfordshire. Darcy had never really given marriage that much thought before he met Elizabeth and he knew little of love, though he was astute enough that he realized that many of the marriages made in his privileged society were unhappy ones. He had always been on display at society balls and outings and many a fair maiden had entertained a future with him but he never found a woman that he cared for. Included in that group were women of wealth and title and some quite handsome, but he was not interested in any of them. The many weeks he had been away from Netherfield had been the most unhappy period in his life.

  CHAPTER 5

  Kitty was the first to see the coach pull up at Longbourn. “Elizabeth has arrived,” she said as the others went outside to greet her. After some brief refreshments Elizabeth walked off with Jane into the garden.