Page 84 of Fortuitous Encounters

“Exactly! We always married from the few long-standing prominent families in Meryton, who all knew each other over several generations. No tradesmen or outsiders were even considered. My mother is the closest thing to an outsider to marry into the family for a century, and even her grandfather was a gentleman from the area.”

Darcy loosened the hold on his wrist long enough to scratch his forehead in confusion—a gesture Elizabeth found fascinating for a man who always kept himself so tightly wound.

“I assume there is more to say on the subject.”

“Of course! Rosings, as my none too sensible cousin frequently repeats, was once prosperous enough to spend eight hundred pounds on window glazing alone! Yet here it sits with a quarter of its land fallow as far as I can tell, at least two tenant cottages empty, and the inheritance resting on a single daughter who looks hard-pressed to marry, let alone carry a son… no offence.”

Darcy chuckled. “None taken! My aunt has pretended we have a cradle engagement for years. No amount of denial will convince her otherwise, but I assume you had a point. Do you believe this to be the same sort of problem?”

“I suspect it is the same problem, only worse. Lady Catherine is the daughter of an Earl, and only the fact that you are her beloved sister’s son and rich as Croesus would allow her to consider a mere gentleman. I assume such inbreeding has been the custom for generations, but for whatever reason, the de Bourghs are not what they once were.”

Darcy nodded thoughtfully. “I presume you are working your way up to Pemberley?”

“Yes sir. I have no idea what your ancestors were capable of, but in the current generation, the standard for the most crucial decision of the young master’s life seems to be that he should make a half-hearted-at-best effort at courtship and give up at the first obstacle!”

Darcy gasped loudly as if she had slapped him (again!), and Elizabeth wondered if she had pushed him too far.

His face went through three shades of purple before he growled, “You think ‘the last man in the world’ qualifies as ‘the first obstacle’?”

Not to be intimidated, she snapped!

“I do, sir! In fact, I shall not scruple to assert, that the serenity of your countenance and air was such as might have given the most acute observer a conviction that, however amiable your temper, your heart was not likely to be easily touched. You slighted me the very first time we were in company—something that goes unapologised to this day. According to your cousin, you dragged Mr Bingley away from my sister, who is my superior in every way. She was and still is very much in love with him, little though the boy deserves it. Since you arrived in Kent, you have been grave and silent far more often than anything else. Colonel Fitzwilliam outtalks you ten to one. I can honestly say that I had no idea you found me anything but disagreeable, or tolerable at best.”

By that time, she expected to be standing on her toes shouting at the gentleman, but was quite surprised to find herself huddling and practically whispering.

Darcy alternated between staring and gasping inaudibly. This was far worse than the harsh words of the previous day, and he had not the slightest idea what to say.

Elizabeth looked him in the eye and continued. “When I declined last evening, did you ask me why I did so in a way that I could answer intelligently—the way you might ask a difficult question of someone you loved? Did you explain what was right with me, instead of what was wrong? Did you try to make me understand your feelings in any way, aside from that first startled-sounding declaration of love, which also included reference to your struggles and made your love sound like a personal failure?”

Darcy closed his eyes and shook his head in shame and further embarrassment.

Elizabeth disliked seeing him slumped in defeat, which surprised her. She disliked it even more than the angry and petulant gentleman she had dealt with the previous day, so she took a chance. She carefully unclasped her right hand from her left and reached over to grasp his arm.

“That is the first obstacle. Perhaps the events of the preceding months might be called obstacles—or at least they are from my perspective—but you cannot consider something an obstacle if you have not really tried.”

Darcy looked at her hand on his sleeve, then up to her face, and answered petulantly.

“Is it your contention that this is a sign of the Darcy weakness, and if so, why exactly do you feel the need to rub my nose in it?”

“If my contention is correct, the Darcys need new blood, or you will follow the Bennets and de Bourghs into extinction. You are doing an awkward job acquiring it but at least trying. You wisely avoid the ton and upstart social climbers of Miss Bingley’s ilk. I applaud the effort, if not the execution.”

Darcy laughed in spite of himself. “Though it sounds like the severest censure, it may be the nicest thing anyone has said to me in some time.”

Elizabeth laughed with him, though she was not at all certain it was funny. She drew a deep breath. “I chastise you because… because… well… to tell the truth… I do not really know why. I just could not stand to leave things as they were.”

“Where does that leave things then?” he asked in genuine concern, mixed with a dash of puzzlement.

Elizabeth thought for some time, standing awkwardly holding his sleeve.

“I suppose you must decide something. While I do not hold myself up as a prize—apparently my hand was something you desired at one time. It becomes a question of how much? Presuming neither of us would ever stoop far enough to force an alliance, we are still quite some distance apart. At the moment, I do not repent my refusal in the least—but I bitterly regret the manner of it. You may or may not regret proposing in the first place, but here we are.”

He sighed. “Yes… here we are,” having no better idea how to continue.

At length, Elizabeth asked, “Is a marriage between us something worth winning? It seems to me that if our union is worth having, it is worth fighting for. If it is not worth fighting for, it was not worth having in the first place. Handing me a letter and walking off without giving me a chance to reply does not sound like fighting for something important.”

Darcy snapped, “It sounds to me like taking a lady at her word. Should I keep importuning you or keep chasing you when you have made your preference clear? I would have just walked away but there are things you need to know for your own protection, as well as things I wished to say to defend my own honour. Perhaps we are still dealing with unregulated pride, but I could not stand having you somewhere in the world thinking so badly of me simply because I did not relate some key facts.”

Elizabeth stopped a minute to think, then sighed in acceptance. “I see your point. This is my second proposal in four months, and it does not seem to be something one gets better at with practice.”