The Bennet family returned home near dawn. Mrs. Bennet was eager to be the last to leave to give Jane the most opportunities to spend time with Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth was exhausted, but too lost in thought to attempt to sleep. She dressed for walking and quietly stepped out while everyone else was in bed.
As the sun was just up, she decided to go to Oakham Mount, hoping the beauty of the sunrise would help calm her nerves. Mr. Wickham had lied to her! But even stranger was the fact that Mr. Darcy was justified in his actions toward Mr. Wickham. And Mr. Darcy admired her! It was all too much to comprehend. Elizabeth had thought that Mr. Darcy only looked at her to see a blemish. Apparently, that was not the reason at all that he looked at her so frequently. Charlotte's perception was correct and the thought of admitting to her the truth made her smile as she was climbing the hill.
She continued in her musings until she spotted a horse tied off in the path ahead. Someone else was enjoying her retreat! By the looks of the immaculately groomed horse and expensive saddle, it must be someone of fashion. Thinking it likely one of Sir William Lucas' sons, she smiled and continued. She stopped suddenly when she saw a tall gentleman standing on the ridge as she turned a corner. Mr. Darcy!
He was not facing her, but was looking out over the valley instead. Even fully attired in his riding outfit, she marveled at his strong shoulders and form. Afraid of being caught, she turned around to leave. It would not do for them to be alone together, especially if he had feelings for her. Unfortunately, she stepped on a twig during her retreat, and the snap brought Mr. Darcy out of his reverie.
"Miss Bennet!"
Elizabeth stopped and turned around. Seeing his shocked expression caused her to smile. She curtseyed and said, "I did not expect to find company on my walk. I am sorry if I disturbed you."
It took him a while to realize that she was teasing him with her smile. "While you may have disturbed me, it does not follow that the disturbance is unwelcome." He smiled at her. "Do you often walk here? It must be five miles at least!"
"It is just under five miles, and you already know me to be an excellent walker!" And if you think I will stop coming here because you find me intolerable, you are mistaken!
"Yes." He looked at her with one of those unreadable expressions that always unnerved her. She looked out over the valley, confused. One minute his look criticizes me, and the other he seems to admire me. Complicated man!
"It is a beautiful view, and it always helps me gather my thoughts, not to mention it keeps me out of the house for a few hours of peace." Her first thought running through her mind was that she should not need to justify herself to him. She had a right to walk where she liked.
"I can imagine that would be a necessity, but surely today it would not be too noisy. According to the servants at Netherfield, your family left only two hours ago. I would imagine that most of your family would sleep in today." Which is why I had to exercise my horse: to banish thoughts of you in your bed.
"You are correct. I needed to settle my thoughts." She continued in her mind, Mr. Collins was ever present during the ball, and I was unable to be truly alone until I returned home. As I did not want to startle anyone, slipping out for a walk was more agreeable than pacing my room. Realizing he was still looking at her, she continued. "Mr. Darcy, there is one thing which I still do not understand. Last night, you implied that you admire me. At the assembly ball, not two months ago, you stated that I was barely tolerable and not handsome enough to tempt you. You never appeared pleased with anything during all of our interactions. What changed?"
During her speech, he turned to face the view again. When she had done, he took a deep breath to calm himself. He did not expect her indifference to him. It was a blow to his pride that he would never admit. "Nothing changed. While I was at the assembly, I was not in good humor. I had just had a letter from my sister that indicated she was unhappy. I should not have gone out that night, except that if I had stayed home, I worried that Miss Bingley would have stayed with me to keep me company. The thought of being alone with her was enough to make me go to the ball.
"I did not realize you could hear my remark to Bingley. I had not even seen you properly when I made that remark. I simply wanted him to leave me to my thoughts. I have never been easy in company I am unfamiliar with. I do not know how to appear interested in the concerns of strangers. Since Mr. Bingley is so easy in company, I usually leave it to him to make new acquaintances, and I may continue the acquaintance later. I apologize if I made you uneasy at the assembly. I certainly find you more than tolerable." He paused, and smiled at her blush. "In fact, I can truthfully state that no other woman has your beauty nor your clever wit. I have very much enjoyed our interactions these past weeks."
Blushing more than ever, she looked away again. His smiles were so disarming! "Thank you. I must say that your insult fueled my dislike of you so much that when I met Mr. Wickham, I was more than willing to believe his story against you. Now, I don't know what to think. I am ashamed I let my feelings rule my judgment. My father often said that he did not like how Mr. Wickham was so willing to tell his tale upon our first meeting."
For a while, Darcy did not speak, and he started pacing over the path. Her indifference for him was nothing to the thought that she hated him, and he had just given away the truth of his feelings for her. No woman has ever spurned a chance to catch a Darcy of Pemberley. Realizing the danger of his thoughts, he decided a change of subject was needed. After all, he knew he could never act on his feelings. "Perhaps I should speak with your father about Mr. Wickham. Then, he could take appropriate action to protect the shops and villagers from Mr. Wickham. Do you think he would listen to my explanation and be discreet?"
"I hardly know if he would even listen to you." She paused. "Your refusal to dance with his favorite daughter has colored his opinion of you. You can be assured of his discretion, at least. He does not like to talk to people, especially when it is clear gossip."
"I wish I could take back my behavior and the things I said. I imagine it is the talk of Meryton."
Elizabeth laughed at the thought of Mr. Darcy worrying about being the talk of Meryton. "It is, but it will die down as soon as there is another scandal. There is too much going on for a simple country town to dwell on past events." Realizing that she was uncomfortable with the idea of a scandal, and knowing that he esteemed her, she needed to change the subject. "Is Mr. Bingley to travel to town today? Miss Bingley mentioned that he was leaving soon. Are you planning on joining him?"
"His plans are to travel this afternoon. I am eager to see my sister again, so I will travel with him." Thankful that she wished to change the subject, he continued. He wanted to ensure that she knew he had no designs on her. "It is likely that I will spend Christmas in town. Then, I need to travel to Pemberley to prepare for the spring planting. I do not know when Mr. Bingley or I may return." He paused, realizing he was about to ask if she would welcome his return. He knew he could not return if he was so besotted with her after so short an acquaintance. Thinking retreat was his best option, he walked over and untied his horse, then turned to Elizabeth. "I believe it is time for me to return to Netherfield. Shall we?" He gestured towards the path that led towards Netherfield and Longbourn.
When she nodded, he offered her his arm, and she accepted. When her hand touched his arm, she could feel the heat radiating from him. She felt lightheaded and had to hold on tighter than normal. This affected him more than he thought it would. After a few moments, he decided to add a safe conversation to distract his thoughts. "Do you have any plans to travel for the holidays?"
Elizabeth had been thinking about how Mr. Bingley's absence would affect her family, and she almost missed Mr. Darcy's addressing her again. Thankfully, her quick mind came to her rescue, and she was able to respond. "No, I believe that my aunt and uncle from London will visit us." She looked to him to see if he remembered that she had relatives in trade. His frown showed that he remembered her low connections.
"Do you enjoy their company?" Darcy was not sure he wanted to know the answer.
"Yes. My Uncle Gardiner is a very respectable tradesman, and they have four very energetic children that love to play. I prefer them to come in the summer when we play games out of doors, but they enjoy listening to stories by the fire as well."
They continued in silence for a while, until he could not refrain from finding out more about her preferences. "And what stories do you tell them?"
"Sometimes I read to them from the books in my father's library, but they prefer it when I make up my own stories of knights and dragons or fairies and goblins." She paused when he chuckled under his breath. "Do I surprise you?"
"You never fail to surprise me. You are unlike any woman I have ever met and likely ever will meet." He paused, realizing his error. Looking for an escape, he saw that he was close to where the path split to go toward Netherfield. "I should go. Thank you for listening to me last night and for your company this morning." He bowed, and turned to leave, but before he left, added, "Mr. Bingley and I will wait on your family before we leave, as I would like a chance to speak with your father."
With that, he jumped onto his horse and sped toward Netherfield. She looked after him for a while, still uncertain of the gentleman. Even if he did admire her, he was clearly uncomfortable in her presence. Finally, she turned and continued on her way.