difficult situation here. The tenants have much to feel grateful for.”
Darcy looked at her, his face unreadable. “You have also risen to the challenge admirably, Miss Bennet, especially with young Jenny. She showed me the picture you drew of her. She is very proud of it, and rightfully so.”
“You flatter me, sir. What little talent I have for drawing lends itself more to caricature than to portraiture. It is fortunate for me that Jenny is not a critical audience.”
“I thought you captured her likeness quite well.”
“The drawing served its purpose, which was to convince her to sit still so as to avoid injuring her leg further.” Elizabeth was surprised to be exchanging pleasant conversation with Mr. Darcy. Perhaps it was the presence of his cousin that allowed him to be more civil.
Nonetheless, she was conscious of the discomfort inherent in spending an unchaperoned evening with two gentlemen, each of whom had offered her his hand in marriage, reaching the conclusion that the efforts of the day might have fatigued her sufficiently that anyone would understand her need to retire from their company as early as possible. The fact that those efforts had primarily been on the part of Mr. Darcy rather than herself, and that making doll clothes was not in fact particularly tiring work, did not seem particularly relevant. Besides, she had not yet finished the novel loaned to her by Charlotte which sat waiting on her bedside table, and if she stayed up late reading by candlelight, who would be the wiser?
As it happened, the novel could not hold her attention that evening, not when she had so many decisions to make. The thoughts crowding her head demanded to be heard. She had been shocked to discover that Mr. Darcy considered his proposal to be still an open question, if not an expectation. Colonel Fitzwilliam would no doubt expect an answer to his offer the next day, and she had no idea what to tell him.
Two days ago she would have accepted him with pleasure. She liked and esteemed him, and believed she could learn to love him. His income, while not sufficient for the lifestyle he had been raised to, seemed perfectly satisfactory to her, and neither his breeding nor his manners could be questioned. Yet it seemed somehow improper to accept him in light of Mr. Darcy’s proposal, unwanted as it might have been, but if interfering with his cousin’s desires did not trouble the colonel, she could not understand why it should bother her.
Still, the colonel had not in fact proposed to her two days ago, and had not done so until he decided that he or his cousin must marry her. Darcy, on the other hand, had spoken when nothing forced his hand. Did this mean that the colonel was more concerned with preventing Darcy’s marriage than with marrying her? She knew he admired her, but he had also admitted that his father’s wishes played some part in his decision. Did that speak for him or against him? Taking his family’s views into account displayed a pleasing sense of duty, but hardly indicated strong feelings on his part. She thought he would be disappointed if she refused him, but not heart-broken, but she could not say the same for Darcy.
Her heart began to thud in her chest. Was that what felt so troubling in all this? Darcy had said nothing further about his feelings for her, but instinctively she knew that he had been hurt, badly hurt, by her refusal. It had shown in his tight-lipped looks, his long absences – perhaps even in his foolhardy behavior risking himself to rescue Jenny’s doll. Yet he had still shown concern for her, buying her the cloak in town and assisting her when she could no longer face riding the mare. Even then, he had not taken advantage of her when he could have. She could not deny that if she were only to judge on depth of the gentleman’s feelings, Darcy would come out ahead.
It was one thing to refuse him, but would it be cruel to him if she
Darcy looked at her, his face unreadable. “You have also risen to the challenge admirably, Miss Bennet, especially with young Jenny. She showed me the picture you drew of her. She is very proud of it, and rightfully so.”
“You flatter me, sir. What little talent I have for drawing lends itself more to caricature than to portraiture. It is fortunate for me that Jenny is not a critical audience.”
“I thought you captured her likeness quite well.”
“The drawing served its purpose, which was to convince her to sit still so as to avoid injuring her leg further.” Elizabeth was surprised to be exchanging pleasant conversation with Mr. Darcy. Perhaps it was the presence of his cousin that allowed him to be more civil.
Nonetheless, she was conscious of the discomfort inherent in spending an unchaperoned evening with two gentlemen, each of whom had offered her his hand in marriage, reaching the conclusion that the efforts of the day might have fatigued her sufficiently that anyone would understand her need to retire from their company as early as possible. The fact that those efforts had primarily been on the part of Mr. Darcy rather than herself, and that making doll clothes was not in fact particularly tiring work, did not seem particularly relevant. Besides, she had not yet finished the novel loaned to her by Charlotte which sat waiting on her bedside table, and if she stayed up late reading by candlelight, who would be the wiser?
As it happened, the novel could not hold her attention that evening, not when she had so many decisions to make. The thoughts crowding her head demanded to be heard. She had been shocked to discover that Mr. Darcy considered his proposal to be still an open question, if not an expectation. Colonel Fitzwilliam would no doubt expect an answer to his offer the next day, and she had no idea what to tell him.
Two days ago she would have accepted him with pleasure. She liked and esteemed him, and believed she could learn to love him. His income, while not sufficient for the lifestyle he had been raised to, seemed perfectly satisfactory to her, and neither his breeding nor his manners could be questioned. Yet it seemed somehow improper to accept him in light of Mr. Darcy’s proposal, unwanted as it might have been, but if interfering with his cousin’s desires did not trouble the colonel, she could not understand why it should bother her.
Still, the colonel had not in fact proposed to her two days ago, and had not done so until he decided that he or his cousin must marry her. Darcy, on the other hand, had spoken when nothing forced his hand. Did this mean that the colonel was more concerned with preventing Darcy’s marriage than with marrying her? She knew he admired her, but he had also admitted that his father’s wishes played some part in his decision. Did that speak for him or against him? Taking his family’s views into account displayed a pleasing sense of duty, but hardly indicated strong feelings on his part. She thought he would be disappointed if she refused him, but not heart-broken, but she could not say the same for Darcy.
Her heart began to thud in her chest. Was that what felt so troubling in all this? Darcy had said nothing further about his feelings for her, but instinctively she knew that he had been hurt, badly hurt, by her refusal. It had shown in his tight-lipped looks, his long absences – perhaps even in his foolhardy behavior risking himself to rescue Jenny’s doll. Yet he had still shown concern for her, buying her the cloak in town and assisting her when she could no longer face riding the mare. Even then, he had not taken advantage of her when he could have. She could not deny that if she were only to judge on depth of the gentleman’s feelings, Darcy would come out ahead.
It was one thing to refuse him, but would it be cruel to him if she
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