Darcy, who under normal circumstances and with any other lady would have deemed such impertinence offensive, found it, instead—and when coming from this particular lady—to be nothing short of enchanting. Oh, how he dearly loved it when she took it upon herself to tease him! The corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly as he said, “Yes, well, I thank you for your concern, Miss Bennet.”

He then cleared his throat and continued, “After the passing of Mr. Wickham’s father, my own excellent father supported him at Cambridge with the intention the church would be his profession, and a valuable family living would be his once it were to fall vacant. After my father’s passing, which was but five years ago, Mr. Wickham professed a desire to study the law. Knowing by that time his habits deemed him quite ill suited for the life of a clergyman, I hoped rather than believed him to be sincere. He requested and was granted the sum of three thousand pounds in lieu of the living…”

If Elizabeth had not known exactly what to expect, Darcy surmised from her shocked expression it certainly was not this. Steadily and with no small degree of increasing agitation, he continued to give her a detailed account of Mr. Wickham’s rather lengthy history of disreputable behavior.

When he came to the events of the previous summer at Ramsgate, however, the pain was still too fresh, and Darcy found his pride would not allow him to utter the name of his beloved sister. Instead, he revealed only the attempted seduction and elopement of an estimable young lady of his acquaintance. At last, he had done.

Elizabeth’s gaze remained on Darcy’s face. She was sickened to think she, who had always prided herself on her abilities of discernment, had been so ready to tease and insult the taciturn man before her—a man whom she had known for many weeks now—in favor of a complete stranger whom she had only just met and was, even now, for the most part, still unknown to her. Wickham’s easy countenance and pleasing manners had, in the mere quarter of an hour she had spoken with him, managed to make quite a favorable impression upon her, but what a mistaken impression she had apparently formed! Elizabeth blushed with mortification. That it should have taken place in the presence of Darcy made her agitation all the more extreme. For some reason she could not quite explain or even fathom, Elizabeth could not abide Darcy thinking any less of her than he already did for having erred so greatly in her judgment of such a man as Mr. Wickham.

Elizabeth’s anxiety was apparent, and Darcy felt all the responsibility of it as he stopped and, in a low voice full of heartfelt concern, said to her, “Miss Bennet, I am sorry, exceedingly sorry if what I have just related has caused you such distress. Please believe me, my purpose in doing so was solely to warn you and your sisters of the very great danger to yourselves from Mr. Wickham’s society. It was not my intention to be malicious or to cause you pain, and I must beg your understanding and hope you will forgive me for having upset you.”

Elizabeth looked away. “No, sir, I am perfectly well, and indeed, you are mistaken. There is nothing to forgive, but I find I must now confess to you how unprepared I was to hear such an infamous account of the same amiable gentleman with whom I have only just become acquainted. I find it almost beyond me to credit such dreadful accusations and such duplicitous behavior, yet, given what I have come to know of your character, and given it is also your intimate history with Mr. Wickham, I fear I must believe you and allow it is true.”

Darcy uttered an audible sigh of relief and ran the back of his hand across his mouth. “Yes,” he said quietly, “it pains me to insist it is true in every particular. Please believe my sincerity, Miss Bennet, when I say there is no one who wishes more than I that Mr. Wickham’s gentlemanly appearance would ever be more than just an appearance.”

By the time Darcy and Elizabeth returned to the rest of their party, Wickham and Denny had since taken their leave. Elizabeth went to Jane and requested they all return home without delay. Jane readily agreed. Bingley, who proclaimed he was not entirely prepared to part with the ladies so soon, begged leave to accompany them back to Longbourn—a proposal that was met with happy acceptance from Jane. Feeling the danger of spending more time than he ought in the disconcerting company of Elizabeth Bennet for one morning, Darcy declined to join them, saying he had some pressing correspondence he had long put off but now found required his immediate attention.

*   *   *

That evening, in the privacy of their room, Elizabeth disclosed to Jane the particulars of her conversation with Darcy. Never wanting to think ill of anyone, Jane insisted Wickham could not possibly be so very bad as Darcy’s account of him made him seem.

“But, Lizzy, are you certain, absolutely certain, he has such designs at this time? Perhaps he has come to regret his past actions and is anxious to reestablish his character in the eyes of the world. He seems to possess such an expression of goodness in his addresses.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No, Jane. I would well wish to think as you do, but I cannot help but believe it unlikely. Though Mr. Darcy’s countenance bespoke the most vehement dislike of Mr. Wickham, you did not notice the way Mr. Wickham looked at Mr. Darcy. His expression was one of such derision and insolence. No, I cannot so easily acquit him of the crimes Mr. Darcy has laid at his door. I feel most inclined to believe he is not a man to be trusted.”

“By this account, then, Lizzy, he appears to feel as passionately for Mr. Darcy as Mr. Darcy does for him. Something very bad, perhaps even worse than what Mr. Darcy has related to you with regard to their association, must surely have occurred to promote such strong feelings of aversion.”

“I confess I am of your opinion on this matter. Mr. Darcy was most disturbed, Jane. Even as he was speaking privately to me of Mr. Wickham, he remained visibly so. It is most out of character for him to reveal such emotions on any matter, and given this, I cannot help but wonder whether he may yet be keeping something further to himself.”

Jane was thoughtful for a long moment before saying quietly, “Lizzy, I do believe Mr. Darcy must be in love with you.”

Elizabeth stared at her and laughed. “Jane! Whatever makes you think such a thing? Surely Mr. Darcy feels nothing for me. You remember his comment at the assembly, do you not?”

“Indeed, it was very wrong of him to say such a thing at all, never mind in company, but, Lizzy, does it not strike you as incredible that a man of Mr. Darcy’s notoriety—such a proud, private man of much significance in the world—would speak with you so willingly and openly about his dealings with such a man as Mr. Wickham? I can hardly credit it. No, it could only be a compliment to you, my dearest sister.”

“Really, Jane, this is too absurd!” She laughed again. “You know just as well as I do, Mr. Darcy holds me in contempt for my decided opinions and my impertinent manner. He would never deign to pay his addresses to me, an unknown country miss with nothing more than fifty pounds and my charms to recommend me, not when he could have a fashionable woman with fifty thousand and a title.”

Jane smiled. “I beg to differ.”

Elizabeth made to protest, but Jane silenced her. “You forget, Lizzy, I, as well as Charlotte, have noticed the attention Mr. Darcy pays you, even if it is nothing more than staring at you from across the room. It cannot have escaped your keen observation that you are, indeed, the only lady he stares at.” Jane shook her head. “No, there is no other explanation for it. Mr. Darcy must be in love with you.” The discussion was continued in earnest, and half the night was spent in conversation.

Chapter 2

The next day saw the arrival of an unexpected addition to the family party at Longbourn: Mr. Bennet’s cousin and heir, the Reverend William Collins. With the intention of making amends for an ongoing estrangement by his late father and the entail of Longbourn estate to himself upon Mr. Bennet’s death, Mr. Collins journeyed from Kent to choose a wife from among Mr. Bennet’s five daughters. If this did nothing to recommend Mr. Collins to the young ladies, it did at least add the promise of entertainment for their father, who was an enthusiastic admirer of the ridiculous. Mr. Collins did not disappoint.

Though none of Mr. Bennet’s daughters, with the exception of Mary, could receive Mr. Collins’s arrival or his attentions with genuine pleasure, the same could not be said for Mrs. Bennet, who welcomed him with open arms—as she would any gentleman of an eligible age and a good income. Mrs. Bennet introduced him to her girls with great cordiality and enthusiasm.

Being the most beautiful of the five sisters, Jane immediately caught his eye. Fortunately for Jane, however, her mother most dutifully pointed out to him that Bingley and his five thousand a year had preceded him. It was then only fitting for Mr. Collins to transfer his affections from Jane to Elizabeth—the next in age and beauty—and he did so with surprising alacrity.

“Lord, Lizzy!” her youngest sister, Lydia, laughed that evening after the gentlemen had withdrawn after supper. “I daresay you are becoming quite popular with all the pompous gentlemen in the neighborhood. First you are seen in Meryton talking alone with that dull Mr. Darcy, and now you have gone and caught Mr. Collins’s eye, as well! What a good joke if Papa were actually to force you to marry one of them! I could not imagine being shackled to such wretched bores!”