Page 14 of An Accidental Meeting
“I do not mind at all, if I have the correct partner,” Darcy replied, willing to bear the scrutiny if it meant her uncle understood him to be sincere.
“Elizabeth had told us that you did not initially find her the correct partner for a man of your station.”
Darcy grimaced. He had forgotten all about that first night at the assembly in Meryton until this moment. So much had happened since. But he was not going to allow the statement to go unanswered. “I did ask your niece for a dance, Mr. Gardiner. Twice, in fact. She declined both times.”
They had not been the most painful of the refusals she had handed him, but it was all he was prepared to disclose.
“And right she was, if you were rude,” Uncle Hugh offered. “Makes me like her even better.”
Darcy cast a disgruntled look at his uncle, who guffawed. “Aha! It madeyoulike her better, too! And we say that women are the contrary ones.”
Mr. Gardiner listened to the exchange but did not laugh. “May I recommend, Mr. Darcy, that in future you demonstrate any interest to my niece in a more traditional manner? It may clear up any lingering confusions for the both of you.”
“Mr. Gardiner,” Darcy said, picking up his glass again, “I believe I can promise you that.” What he did not dare ask the man was whether he believed Elizabeth might change her mind about him.
“Well, gentlemen,” Uncle Hugh said gaily, finishing off his drink and setting his glass down with a thump. “Shall we join the women?”
Darcy supposed his uncle had his uses after all.
Chapter Five
Elizabeth followed Aunt Nora and Aunt Gardiner into the drawing room. She shook her head. Even in her thoughts it felt strange to be less formal with Mr. Darcy’s aunt than her own.
Aunt Nora turned to Aunt Gardiner. “Miss Bennet’s mother is your husband’s sister?”
“Yes. His father was a solicitor from Hertfordshire, but when he decided to go into business, London was the better location for him. We met when he travelled here for the wool markets.”
“I see.”
Elizabeth heard no censure in the brief reply and was relieved. Aunt Gardiner had been greatly anticipating this evening’s visit and meal, and she would not want her to be disappointed by any coolness on the part of their hostess.
She settled into her chair as the two older women conversed and turned her mind to the problem of Mr. Darcy. He simply was not the same man that she had known before, and while his softer words and expressions were enticing, they still rather confused her. Was it possible he had listened to all those horriblethings she had said at the parsonage and taken them to heart? Her essential points had been correct, but she had shot them at him like stones from a slingshot.
Elizabeth did not believe that a man could change himself so entirely over the course of a few months, which led her to a mortifying conclusion. Was the man she met today the man he had been all along? And if he was this kinder man—a man who was genuinely frightened when he thought his housekeeper might be injured and who had called a physician to tend to her, a man who had invited her relatives in trade to dinner—why had he been so aloof and haughty when she had known him before?
“Elizabeth,” her aunt chided quietly. “You are not attending.”
She startled. “Do forgive me,” she said immediately.
“There is no need,” Aunt Nora said. “For I believe I have my answer.”
Aunt Gardiner’s laugh was gentle. “I could be wrong, but I suspect she is trying to reconcile your nephew’s previous behaviour with his amiability today.”
“He did not appear any different this evening than normal. Perhaps a little more talkative, but that is hardly surprising when he has invited a pretty young lady to dine.”
Elizabeth’s cheeks warmed. “I thank you for the compliment, madam.”
“Mr. Darcy was rather reticent when Elizabeth met him before. He did not want to dance or seem interested in the families in her neighbourhood.”
“That is a shame. He is a lovely dancer.” The older woman was far away for a moment before she added, “I still recall his first dance lessons. His mother was his partner. How they laughed.”
“Perhaps he is simply more comfortable at home,” Elizabeth suggested.
“That is likely,” Aunt Nora replied. “I do wish George had taken Fitzwilliam to town more often as a young man, butafter Anne died, he had no heart for society. It always required an effort on his part, and he simply was not up to the task. Fitzwilliam knows all the rules, but was never a member of the London set before he inherited. You can understand how overwhelming such company would be for a quiet young man not long out of mourning. Add to that Fitzwilliam’s striking height, looks, and fortune, and you can imagine how he would be the focus of every matchmaking mamma’s eye.”
“He is like Judge Darcy, then?” Aunt Gardiner inquired. “For your husband said he was not fond of the London crowds, either.”
“Darcy men tend to have rather serious natures, at least in the last several generations,” Aunt Nora said with a smile. “They like rules, they like order—”
