Chapter 6
Mr. Bennet had just settled in to enjoy a new book when a knock came on his study door.
He stifled a sigh of annoyance. The house had been tumultuous of late, and his three youngest daughters more vexing than usual. Jane and Elizabeth had been in London for the last three weeks, so he had been badly missing sensible conversation. Mr. Bingley was supposed to escort them home today. Maybe they were here already. He called for the person to enter.
It was Mrs. Bennet. "Mr. Darcy wishes to speak to you, Mr. Bennet," she said.
Mr. Bennet hid his surprise. He had not seen the man for almost four months, since Darcy had left Hertfordshire without a word to anyone. Not that anyone had missed him. He wondered what the proud young man wanted.
Darcy entered and greeted him as Mrs. Bennet departed, closing the door behind her.
"Mr. Darcy, what a surprise. How can I help you?" He resolved to be polite and conclude the interview as quickly as possible so he could get back to his book.
"Mr. Bennet, my mother and I took the liberty of escorting your daughters home with Bingley," Darcy said. "We have been enjoying their company since they have been in London."
Mr. Bennet raised his eyebrows. "Really? I had no idea you knew they were in London, much less took interest in their company."
"I have always been interested in Miss Elizabeth's company," said Darcy solemnly. "In fact, when I was in Hertfordshire in the autumn, I grew to love her. Unfortunately, personal matters took me to London and I was ill for some time. As soon as I recovered, however, I made my proposals to Miss Elizabeth and she has accepted. We would like your permission and blessing to wed, Mr. Bennet."
Bennet sat shocked at what the dour Master of Pemberley had just revealed. "You – my Lizzy – in love?" he stammered. It could not be possible. He knew Elizabeth hated the man. He almost thought the whole thing might be a joke until he observed the serious look on the young man's face.
"I hope you know that I will make it my aim in life to ensure she is happy and well-cared for. Pemberley brings in £10,000 a year and I have other satellite properties that bring in more. I have the settlement papers prepared if you would like to see them."
"Wait a moment, Mr. Darcy," Bennet broke in, annoyed. "I must speak to Lizzy before I give my permission for anything."
Darcy nodded, as if expecting this. "Of course," he said. "Would you like me to send her to you now?"
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Darcy."
The young man left, and a minute later Lizzy entered with a smile. "Yes, Papa?"
"I have spoken to Mr. Darcy, Lizzy," he said seriously.
She nodded.
"He tells me that you have accepted his proposal of marriage. Is this true?"
"It is, Papa."
Mr. Bennet was shocked to hear it from her own lips. "What are you thinking, accepting this man, Lizzy? Have you not always hated him?"
Elizabeth pursed her lips. "I do not hate him, Papa. He has changed since I first knew him, or at least, he is showing a better side of his character."
"And how long has this change been evident?" said Mr. Bennet cynically. "You have only been in London three weeks. How has he convinced you to marry him in such short a time?"
Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak, hesitated, then said, "I am convinced of his goodness, Papa."
But a suspicion was rising inside Mr. Bennet, and he had to give voice to it. "Lizzy, tell me truthfully – has he compromised you?"
Elizabeth's face flushed and she stammered, "Wh-what? No!"
But Elizabeth had always been such a sincere person that she could not lie convincingly. Mr. Bennet felt sick. "You are lying, Lizzy. What did Mr. Darcy do to you? Did he force himself on you?" He was pale and trembling with rage.
"No, no he did not, Papa!" Elizabeth hastened to say, apparently seeing the look on his face.
"Do not lie to spare me, Lizzy. I must have the truth."
"This is the truth," she said, and he could tell this time she was being honest. "He did not force himself on me. I – I was perfectly willing." Her voice faltered at the last in apparent embarrassment.
Bennet did not quite believe it. A worldly man such as Mr. Darcy must have seduced his innocent Lizzy. He did not see a way that she would willingly go to his bed. She was virtuous and pure. "Are you with child?" he asked in a tone of forced calm.
She flushed again and shook her head. "No, Papa."
Mr. Bennet sighed and put his head in his hands. "I am so sorry, Lizzy. I blame myself for this," he said.
"No, Papa, it is not your –"
"It is my fault," he insisted. "I should have been a better protector for you, so that men like Mr. Darcy could not prey on my daughters. I assure you I will take better care of Mary, Kitty, and Lydia."
Elizabeth just looked at him unhappily. "I do believe Mr. Darcy is a good man," she said at last. "He will try to make me happy. He has promised that."
Mr. Bennet let out a bitter laugh. "How generous of him," he said sarcastically, "after ruining you."
Elizabeth said no more, just looked at the floor unhappily. Bennet went to the door of his study and asked Hill to send for Mr. Darcy. Father and daughter sat in heavy silence until the young man appeared.
"Shut the door behind you, Mr. Darcy," said Bennet, and when Darcy had done so, continued in a hard voice, "Elizabeth has told me the truth."
Darcy's eyes widened and his gaze flickered to Elizabeth. "The truth?" he said hoarsely.
This just made Bennet angrier. "Yes, despite your attempts to make her lie. At my insistence she admitted that you had compromised her. I do not believe, however, that she was as willing as she says. You are a man of the world, Mr. Darcy, and she an innocent young lady. It is clear that you seduced any willingness from her. Now, this is what you are going to do." Bennet laid out his conditions in a hard voice. "I cannot call you out because now that you have taken her maidenhead Lizzy can marry no other. You will leave this house now and not come back until the banns have been read. Then you will marry Elizabeth along with Jane and your friend Bingley. Whether Elizabeth goes with you when you leave for your estate after the wedding is up to her. She will always have a home here, and I will not force her to go anywhere with the man who ruined her. Is that clear, Mr. Darcy?"
Darcy looked at him with wide, somber eyes. "It is, sir," he said, seriously.
"Then you may go. Leave the settlement papers here on my desk. I will contact your solicitor with any questions. We will see you for the wedding." He waved for Darcy to leave, but the young man hesitated.
"May I have your permission to write to Miss Elizabeth during my absence?" he asked.
"If she so wishes it," Mr. Bennet replied angrily. "I certainly will not forbid her from receiving correspondence."
With another hesitation, Darcy looked over at Elizabeth and then departed.
When the door closed, Mr. Bennet let out a breath that was more like a sob.
"Oh, Papa!" cried Elizabeth, coming over to hug him. "It will be all right, you will see."
"This is all my fault, Lizzy," Bennet said, blinking back tears. "Can you ever forgive me?"
"There is nothing to forgive," Elizabeth soothed.
"I meant what I said," he continued, clearing his throat. "You need go nowhere with that man after you marry. You can stay at Longbourn all your life if you wish."
Elizabeth smiled sadly. "You are kind, Papa. But you must know I wish for a home and children of my own. I cannot have those things if I stay at Longbourn."
Mr. Bennet nodded sadly, wiping tears from his eyes. "Know that if you ever change your mind, you are welcome back here, Lizzy. If Mr. Darcy becomes abusive, do not stay with him."
"I do not think that will be necessary, but I promise," she said.
Elizabeth left her father's study, distressed that she had grieved him so deeply. It had been impossible to tell Mr. Bennet the full truth, but when he had guessed that she had been compromised, he had seen through her lie. So she had let him believe that was the sole reason she was marrying Mr. Darcy.
When she returned to the drawing room, both Mr. Darcy and Lady Anne were gone. She hoped that Darcy would indeed write to her before the wedding. She wanted so much to get to know him better before they married. She did not feel as if she knew him well at all.
She had felt his guilt and anguish as Mr. Bennet reviled him. She knew that Darcy was an honourable man, and that in the normal state of things would never compromise a proper young woman. Despite the fact that he had been delirious when he made love to Elizabeth, she knew that he still harboured deep shame and guilt for taking her virtue before marriage.
That night at bedtime, Elizabeth told Jane what had passed in Mr. Bennet's study, and how her father had forbidden Mr. Darcy from seeing Lizzy until the wedding.
"I had wondered why Mr. Darcy and Lady Anne left so abruptly," Jane said. "Mr. Bingley had said they were going to stay at Netherfield with him, but then he told me they had decided to return to Pemberley."
Elizabeth shook her head. "I am sorry to grieve Papa so," she said. "But there was no way to tell him the whole truth."
Jane soothed her sister by rubbing her arm. "I am sure Mr. Darcy will make a good husband, Lizzy," she said. "Mr. Bingley would not have him for a friend if he were not an excellent man."
"Of course you are right," said Lizzy. "I am hoping he will write while he is gone, however. I want to get to know him better."
Elizabeth's hope was fulfilled a few days later when a letter arrived at Longbourn from Derbyshire. Mr. Bennet looked sour when he handed it over but said nothing, for which Elizabeth was grateful. Mr. Bennet's attitude had become mournful in the last week, and he had immediately put multiple restrictions on Mary, Kitty, and Lydia's behaviour and privileges. In fact, he said he was going to send the two youngest to a strict school after the double wedding. Lydia had wailed and become hysterical in her anger, but Mr. Bennet remained immovable. Despite the grief this had caused her father, Lizzy was glad to see him taking her younger sisters in hand. They certainly needed it.
Elizabeth waited until she was alone in her room that night to read her letter. Darcy had apologized profusely for the scene in the study.
"I hope you will forgive me for the grievous situation I have put you in," he wrote. "I sincerely hope that this episode will not damage your relationship with your father. If there is anything I might do to aid you in this matter, please let me know."
He had then proceeded with a further apology.
"I know I should have said something before, but I want to offer my most fervent apologies for something that you overheard me say at the Meryton Assembly. I never should have spoken loudly enough to be overheard, nor should I have said such a thing at all. I did not mean what I said, I assure you. I had hardly even looked at you when I uttered such a cruel speech, and I have since come to consider you the most handsome woman of my acquaintance. My sole aim at that moment had been to get Bingley to stop pestering me, and so I said whatever I thought I should to get him to leave me alone. But I beg you will forgive me for it, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth was relieved to read this apology. This first episode had been the foundation for all her dislike of Mr. Darcy. Her vanity had been pricked, she realized now. She had seen a tall, handsome man with beautiful silver eyes, and had been immediately attracted to him. To hear that he thought her only "tolerable" had hurt, especially with the way her mother had denigrated her looks for years.
She did still wonder, however, if Darcy's sudden attraction to her had only come about because of the fated mate bond. He had not seemed to be attracted to her or even like her when he was in Hertfordshire. Had he only started to find her attractive once the bond activated? But she found her answer in his next paragraph:
"In fact, I was tempted to offer for you only a few weeks after that incident had passed. It was first at Lucas Lodge when you played for the company that I became enchanted with your fine eyes and felt that my heart might be in some danger. Alas, I was afraid of raising your expectations, and so you had no indication of my regard. I blame myself for that often. I hope you will be certain now of my continuing and unwavering affection, Elizabeth. You are – or will soon be – the wife I have always wished for."
Elizabeth felt her heart flutter a little at that. She was relieved that Mr. Darcy had held some attraction for her before he had felt the bond. She had worried that all of it was some biologically-induced imperative.
She sat down to write him back.