When they left Lucas Lodge, the Netherfield and Longbourn parties had been the last ones waiting for their carriages to be brought around. Jane and Bingley had been inseparable again, and Elizabeth smiled at the couple speaking closely to each other. She chatted with Charlotte and kept an eye on where Mr. Darcy stood surrounded by Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. He was mostly silent.
The Bingley carriage was brought round first, and Miss Bingley wordlessly made Darcy hand her into the carriage. She made a fuss of needing her shawls and the blanket arranged properly to protect her from cold, and as Darcy solemnly busied himself with arranging the fabrics, Miss Bingley turned and singled out Elizabeth with her eye. She gave Elizabeth a superior smile.
Elizabeth felt a twinge of jealousy, but she suppressed it.
On the ride home, Mrs. Bennet regaled everyone with each sign that Jane was certain to be soon settled at Netherfield, and Jane was too pleased to object this time. Lydia and Kitty talked over everybody exclaiming how handsome Lieutenant Denny and Captain Carter were.
The next morning Elizabeth set out early on a walk. A small wafting of snow had fallen the previous night, and the bare branches of the trees looked glorious decked in white. The sun had only started to melt it, and sparkling droplets of water dripped from the trees.
It was a cold clear day, and only a few wispy clouds hung like thin sugar confections in the air. Elizabeth had tightly bundled herself up, and the bite of cold on her cheeks was almost pleasant. She skipped along the aged wooden fence that bordered the road. Every so often Elizabeth flicked the white snow off the top of the rails.
In the distance, Elizabeth saw Charlotte walking towards her.
Elizabeth called out to her friend, "Pray, walk with me for some distance."
Charlotte smiled and hurried over. "I hoped to see you this morning. I set out in this direction on the chance you might come this way."
"Is this not a beautiful morning? I love when it snows enough to turn everything white, but not enough to stop me from walking."
Charlotte's bonnet bobbed in agreement. Charlotte then said, "Lizzy, there is a matter… well, you and Mr. Darcy were quite close yesterday."
Elizabeth blushed. "He was unhappy — thinking about his sister — I tried to comfort him, but I fear what I said did little good."
"Most evenings you find some reason to speak to Mr. Darcy as much as possible."
"We are friends — only friends — I assure you."
"Are you? His frequent gazes show more than friendship. And Lizzy, you like him more than you wish to admit. Be cautious — likely his situation is better than many of the rumors, but he still would find it difficult to afford to marry a girl with a tiny dowry."
"We have not known him for much longer than a fortnight. A matter of a half-dozen conversations and several dances cannot reveal enough of his character for me to wish to marry him. It would not be sensible."
"Sensible? That has little to do with the matter. Many persons develop affection and marry on a slenderer basis. Besides I do not think one's likelihood of happiness in marriage would be greater after an opportunity to study the other's character for a twelvemonth. Success in marriage seems to me to be almost entirely a matter of chance."
"Do you wish me to pursue him, or avoid him?"
"You should be wary. It is likely he will marry Miss Bingley. Such a match would make good sense; the close connection to an old family name and an earl would disguise the scent of trade left on the Bingleys' fortune, while her dowry would absorb much of the debts left by his impecunious father."
"She is wrong for him! Mr. Darcy is too sensible to marry a superficial, scheming woman like Miss Bingley."
Charlotte raised her eyebrows expressively.
Elizabeth stopped walking and leaned against the railing of the fence. She brushed the snow away. There was a thick line of hedgerows across the field. The air was cold and clean. A symphony of birds piped their greeting to the morning. Elizabeth tried to pull a splinter out from the railing. Before the slender bit of wood came free, it snapped in the middle.
"I am not in love with him, and I am not handsome enough to tempt him. I heard him say that at the assembly ball."
Charlotte huffed disdainfully. Elizabeth looked at her friend; Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Really?"
Elizabeth blushed. "He said it."
"Lizzy, self-deception is not a handsome characteristic. You like each other."
Elizabeth laughed. "I hope he does not like me, for if I believed that, I would become shy in his presence. He is very handsome. Let us speak no more on this. You are convinced nothing can come of it because of his need for money, and I am convinced there is nothing at all."
Charlotte leaned her elbows on the fence railing. "I am not convinced nothing will come of it. It may be exceedingly imprudent, but if he falls in love, he may act against his own interests. Things appear different when a person is in love."
Elizabeth's heart raced at the thought: what if he did fall in love and ask her to marry him? It was irrational to feel this way so fast, but Elizabeth knew she would accept him.
MDVMDVMDV
One day when the afternoon sun pushed away the cold, Miss Bingley convinced Darcy to take a walk about the gardens with her.
For the past days Darcy had observed her closely. He wanted her money. It was not romantic, but that was the sole reason he was tempted. Marrying a girl who, as Miss Elizabeth described her, was a perfect production of a good English girl's school, left him cold. He needed more in a marriage.
But Miss Bingley really was not so bad. Perhaps she would be tolerable, and if he could tolerate such a marriage, he had a duty to add to the wealth of the family. Besides, he would like to be Bingley's brother in truth.
Netherfield's gardens were picturesque and well laid out. The two ambled around the mossy cobblestoned paths. At last Miss Bingley said, "Mr. Darcy, I know you do not think highly of me."
Darcy made the required denial.
Miss Bingley shook her head. "You do not. You perceive my admiration for you, but I fear you believe I only show you attention because I know you to be wealthy and because I greatly admire Pemberley. Please do not deny it; you said exactly that."
"And you replied that you had a heart. I have since suspected I may have misjudged you."
"You remind me of my father. Very much. You are a man like he was. That is why I admire you."
"Oh." Darcy replied cautiously. He had heard stories from Bingley about his father's ruthlessness as a businessman and how he casually paraded his mistress in front of their mother.
"You are driven by a passion for your family's future. You do what is necessary, and you are not frightened by difficulty. It isn't just your wealth that makes you stand out. The gentlemen in London are house bred lapdogs while you are a confident wolf tested by cold who can hunt down whatever is necessary to feed his den."
Miss Bingley laid her hand on Darcy's forearm, "I do dearly hope a man such as you shall be the future parent to my children. I would know they would be cared for."
She focused her eyes on the ground and blushed. Darcy suddenly saw that while her beauty wasn't vividly alive in the way Elizabeth's was, Miss Bingley was almost a handsome woman. She was not lying. She liked him for more than his fortune.
It gave him a tender feeling towards her that was mixed with a vague guilt. Darcy's mind flinched towards Miss Elizabeth singing at Lucas Lodge.
"Do you believe me?" Miss Bingley asked. "This is not merely words; it is what truly is in my heart."
"I believe you."
"I worry for you. Your life was tied to caring for Georgiana. I recall how sweetly you talked to her and kept her about when we would visit Pemberley. I fear if you return home alone, it shall not be good for you. Don't."
Darcy knew he flinched away from returning to Pemberley for that reason. But would Miss Bingley be good company? She played and talked well, but there was an overbred shallowness about her. He did not know what it would be like to live with her for years.
He said, "You and Bingley live very well here. Life at Pemberley is more constrained. I do not spend money on clothes — or many daily comforts. I do not entertain often. If I married, I might become more sociable and spend more to please… her, but I still would set aside at least five or six thousand a year to reduce my debts."
"I have seen how you live."
"It will be many years before the debts are gone. Likely a decade."
"You fear I could not be happy? Please, Fitzwilliam" — she looked at him with appealing eyes — "I would not mind."
"You do not know how it is to live under such conditions for year upon year. It is a different life. Your friends might sneer at you for having less of clothes and carriages than they."
Miss Bingley pressed her lips together and grimaced. But she spoke firmly, "I understand — it would not be forever. Eventually everyone would see your worth. I know it."
Darcy looked down and pulled at his ear. Marrying her was the right, prudent, thing to do.
He simply did not know.
"I shall think on the matter. I still hesitate. I do not love you, and I always thought — "
"Do you not respect me? And we have been friends for many years. Is that not a sufficient basis for companionship? You are a practical man."
"Mayhap you are right, but… I do not know. Not yet."
The two parted. Miss Bingley entered the house, after giving Darcy a smile that was kindly or hungry, and he went to the stables. He needed to marry now that Georgiana was gone, so he could have an heir.
He no longer disliked Miss Bingley. There was something appealing about how she wanted him, and she was prettier than he had realized before.
Prudence and duty pointed towards her, and she would be a tolerable wife, though not who he would have chosen if there was no need for money. He really would like an additional twenty thousand pounds.
He did not need to make a final decision yet, but he should marry her. He could wait a few more weeks to see if his judgement of her character worsened in that time, but before he returned to Pemberley, he would probably offer marriage to her.
Darcy had a good ride and decided the idea of marrying Miss Bingley was pleasant. He would like a woman in his bed and managing his house. Miss Bingley was pretty enough.