Darcy and Richard took their leave from the inn to return to Pemberley.
Mrs. Gardiner said, "Well, ladies, I assume that we can leave you two to explore the village while I take my husband to visit some of my old friends? We will meet you back here in time for lunch." They then left.
Elizabeth said, "Miss Darcy, I am glad that you agreed to stay here with me. With your guests at Pemberley, I know that we will not have any time alone when we are there." They then left the inn and began to stroll down the main street of the village, arm in arm. Elizabeth noticed that they drew a great deal of attention from the local people who saw them, obviously recognizing Miss Darcy.
"Miss Bennet, will you call me Georgiana, or just Georgie? I want to be friends with you."
"I will, but only if you will call me Elizabeth, or just Lizzy as my family does. Please tell me about Miss Bingley. I have the impression that she is desperate to be Mrs. Darcy. That was obvious when I first met her in Hertfordshire, and again here."
"She certainly does, but Fitzwilliam is not interested in her at all. He only tolerates her as he is such good friends with her brother. I know that she wants to be friends with me only to get closer to my brother.
"Elizabeth, no—Lizzy, now that we have a chance to talk alone, I would like to ask you about my brother and Richard. I hope that you will not think that I am being impertinent, but I worry about my brother. For years he has been so busy looking after Pemberley and me that he has not had time to think about his own happiness.
"It was obvious that Richard is interested in you, but I know that my brother is as well. I also know that something happened between you two in Kent, but my brother will not talk about it. He was very upset when he came back from there. He had mentioned your name in his letters to me from both Hertfordshire and Kent, which he had never done before about any other woman. I know this is very personal, but I only want to see my brother happy. Please tell me if you think that we might become sisters in the future?"
"Georgie, that is a very personal question, but I will answer it as best I can. I can say that my acquaintance with your brother has be characterized by mistakes by both of us, right from our very first meeting. I will say that we parted in Kent on unpleasant terms, and I will admit that I am not pleased with my part in that exchange. I was very surprised when we met by accident here at Pemberley that he acted in a very friendly manner toward me. I had not expected that and will also admit that I was very embarrassed when I first saw him here. I know that my mistakes about his demeanor in Hertfordshire gave me a very negative impression about him for a long time. I now know that he is a complete gentleman and my regard for him is much greater now than it was before.
"As for our future, I cannot speculate as he is so difficult to read. Would I welcome his attentions? Yes, I believe I would, but am not counting on it."
Georgiana was not happy with this ambiguous reply. "What about Richard?"
"Georgie, when I met him in Kent, he was very attentive and seemed to be eager to be in my company. However, he very carefully told me that his financial situation as a second son was such that he had to look for a lady with a substantial dowry. I asked what his going price would be and humourously suggested the sum of fifty thousand pounds, which he did not dispute. I admit that I cannot understand why he now seems more interested in me. He knows that my dowry is minimal. Do you know if his situation has changed? I will admit that he would likely make any woman happy to have him as her husband; he is so cheerful all the time."
This last sentence bothered Georgiana as it seemed to indicate that Elizabeth would accept Richard's offer if he made one. "I do not know what his current situation is, but it is very obvious that he is interested in you. I also wonder if my uncle has done something for him? It is certainly possible as the Matlock earldom is quite wealthy with a number of estates. I am worried that you will be with him when you go to Matlock Manor and that he may make you some kind of offer while he you are there. However, he is still committed to the army and I cannot see how he could make any commitments for the near future until he is released from his duties and sells his commission.
"Lizzy, I believe that you could make my brother happy and that he would make you happy. He is a very good person in every way. I will do everything I can to bring you two together. Is there any way that you could come back here or that we could somehow see you in Hertfordshire?"
"I have no plans to return here and I will go back to Hertfordshire with my Aunt and Uncle as planned. My father misses me and would not be happy to see me travel again in the near future. As for whether you might come to my home, I would welcome you, as I am sure my sisters and parents would as well. With the four of us sisters at home, one more lady would not be much difference at all. My youngest sister, Lydia, is spending the summer at Brighton with a friend. However, if your brother would not want to let you come by yourself, that causes problems as it would not be fitting for him to stay with us at Longbourn. The last time he was in Hertfordshire, he stayed with Mr. Bingley at Netherfield, but I had not heard that he plans to return there to reopen the estate. From what your brother told me in Kent, he thought that it would be unlikely that he would go back there. That is too bad as he seemed to be developing feelings for my older sister, Jane. She still misses him very much.
"So, I am not sure how we might see each other again in the near future. However, we might be able to work something out." With these words, they continued to stroll arm in arm down the street, each deep in her thoughts. They both enjoyed their time together and Georgiana told her about the different shops and sights in the village. When Georgiana left to return to Pemberley, Elizabeth wrote a letter to her Mother telling her that she had met Miss Darcy and had invited her to come to stay with them at Longbourn. She did not expect any objections from her Mother, but she also had to mention how she came to meet the young lady when they had been touring Pemberley. She downplayed her meeting with Mr. Darcy as she did not want to have her Mother build up any expectations about him.
When Darcy and Richard were returning to Pemberley in Darcy's carriage, they were both reluctant to talk about what was foremost in their minds—Miss Elizabeth. Richard was thinking about how he could tell her that he was very interested in pursuing her, but that he had to leave the army first before he would be in a position to settle down. Would she wait for him? Was Darcy so interested in her that he might make her an offer first? Would she accept Darcy? He had a lot of questions that he could not answer.
Darcy's thoughts were about what Richard was planning to do. Was he in a position to make her an offer? Would he do it while they were at Matlock Manor? Was he really inviting her to go there to get the approval of her from his parents? He knew how eager they were to meet the lady who had saved Georgiana, so would their excitement mean that they would want her as a daughter-in-law? How could he get to her first when she was leaving in just two days and he was still unsure of how her feelings for him were? He definitely did not want to make the same mistake that he had made in Kent and talk to her before he knew her feelings for him were such that she would welcome his proposal. He was even more sure now that he wanted her as his wife.
Their ride to Pemberley was unusually quiet. When Darcy and Richard entered the house, they were assailed by Caroline for having left without telling her that they were leaving. "Where is Miss Darcy? Did you take her somewhere? She did not mention that she was going anywhere this morning. I wanted to spend the morning with her."
Darcy said, "Miss Bingley, please! We merely rode in to Lambton to see the Gardiners. Georgiana decided to stay there with them for the morning. She will return after lunch and we will see them all for dinner today."
She was not happy on hearing this, but she did not want to upset Mr. Darcy by showing her anger. "I am only disappointed not to be able to spend more time with her."
Darcy disengaged himself from her as soon as he could. Richard asked him if he wanted to go for a ride, but he said that he had business he had to look after, so Richard went to the stables to have his horse saddled for a solitary ride. Darcy then went to find Bingley. When he did, he asked him to join him in his office. Darcy decided that he had to talk to his friend while he had him alone. "Bingley, I have something I have to say to you that is important. When I was in Kent visiting my Aunt, I learned that I had made a big mistake when I told you that I did not see any regard from Miss Bennet towards you. Apparently, she had developed deep feelings for you, but her natural reticence made her hide her affection. She still misses you."
"Darcy! How could you? Do you mean that all this time we could have been together, probably even married by now? Do you know how much misery you have caused us? How did you find out? Miss Elizabeth?"
"Yes, it was Miss Elizabeth who berated me for interfering with your personal life. I admit that I must have been wrong, but I just could not see that she showed you any stronger regard than she showed everyone else. With her mother desperate to have her marry, I thought that she would have forced her to accept you even if she had no special affection for you. I did not want to see you in a marriage of unequal regard. You would not have been happy in that situation.
"The one aspect of this whole affair that I most regret is that I knew that Miss Bennet had been in town for several months after Christmas, but I did not tell you. She even visited your sisters and they returned the visit."
"Caroline and Louisa did that! How could they! I am going to have strong words to say to them about this. But now what should I do? Is it too late for me to go to Miss Bennet? She must be disgusted with me for having left Netherfield without even a farewell. I had intended to return there, but you and my sisters prevailed on me not to. What should I do?"
"Bingley, I made a vow not to interfere with your life ever again, so I will not tell you what you should do. However, there is only one way you will find out if she will welcome you back—you should go there to see how she receives you. For your sake, I hope it is not too late. I do hope that my mistake will not cause us to lose our friendship as I value your company. I enjoy the times we are together." Darcy did not notice that his vow not to interfere with Bingley's personal life was immediately broken by suggesting what he should do.
"Darcy, I should punch you right in the nose for this, but I cannot do that as I am too happy. Right now, the thought that I still might have a chance with her is making me so pleased! I have to go back there to see her right away. I will send word to the Netherfield housekeeper to reopen the house. I had planned to go with my sisters to visit our family in Scarborough, but I will send them on their way without me. Can I borrow one of your carriages to go to Hertfordshire? Darcy, you have no idea how this makes me feel. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever met, and her character is as perfect as her appearance. I hope she will forgive me." Bingley was so happy that he was bouncing just like a child who was about to receive a sweet.
"Bingley, for your happiness, I hope she will forgive you. If it helps, blame your separation on me; I deserve her censure. I can only wish you the best. I have to warn you that your sisters will not be pleased with your change of plans, as I am sure you know. They had expected to stay at Pemberley for several weeks, but if you go south, will they continue north without you?"
"I will tell them they have to leave when I do. I doubt that you would want them to stay here without me. I know that Caroline's presence can be irritating. I have told her that she will likely never be Mistress of Pemberley, but she does not believe me. I will make sure they leave when I do."
With these words, they were both quiet. Bingley was lost in his thoughts of reconnecting with his angel, wondering what words he could use to have her forgive him. Darcy was also deep in thought about his own love life. Miss Elizabeth seemed to have warmed to him after their bitter parting in Kent. Would she be agreeable to have him continue his attentions to her? Should he ask her if she would accept a formal courtship with him? That would mean that he would have to go to Hertfordshire, but he did not mind that if Bingley was reopening Netherfield. Perhaps Georgiana might want to go there as well to continue her friendship with Miss Elizabeth. If Georgiana became good friends with her, that would mean that he could be with her as well. But what about Richard? It was obvious that he was also infatuated with her and they would be together at Matlock Manor for several days. Was it too late for him? Would he find a chance to talk to her tonight?
Darcy broke the silence. "Bingley, if you go to Netherfield, would you mind if I, and perhaps Georgiana, go there as well? I will tell you that I would like to court Miss Elizabeth, but she is leaving here very soon. If I want to be in her company, I will have to go to Hertfordshire."
"I would not mind your company at all. In fact, I would welcome it as I will be at Netherfield all by myself. Of course, Miss Darcy would be welcome as well. She could even help us by acting as the Mistress of Netherfield while she is there, if you do not mind. It could be a good experience for her. I will go right now to send an express to the housekeeper; then I have to talk to my sisters." He left to do this.
