Elizabeth was sitting by herself the next morning, and writing to
Jane while Mrs. Collins and Maria were gone on business into the
village, when she was startled by a ring at the door, the certain signal
of a visitor. As she had heard no carriage, she thought it not unlikely
to be Lady Catherine, and under that apprehension was putting away her
half-finished letter that she might escape all impertinent questions,
when the door opened, and, to her very great surprise, Mr. Darcy, and
Mr. Darcy only, entered the room.
He seemed astonished too on
finding her alone, and apologised for his intrusion by letting her know
that he had understood all the ladies were to be within.
They then
sat down, and when her inquiries after Rosings were made, seemed in
danger of sinking into total silence. It was absolutely necessary,
therefore, to think of something, and in this emergence recollecting
_when_ she had seen him last in Hertfordshire, and feeling curious to
know what he would say on the subject of their hasty departure, she
observed:
"How very suddenly you all quitted Netherfield last
November, Mr. Darcy! It must have been a most agreeable surprise to Mr.
Bingley to see you all after him so soon; for, if I recollect right, he
went but the day before. He and his sisters were well, I hope, when you
left London?"
"Perfectly so, I thank you."
She found that she was to receive no other answer, and, after a short pause added:
"I think I have understood that Mr. Bingley has not much idea of ever returning to Netherfield again?"
"I
have never heard him say so; but it is probable that he may spend very
little of his time there in the future. He has many friends, and is at a
time of life when friends and engagements are continually increasing."
"If
he means to be but little at Netherfield, it would be better for the
neighbourhood that he should give up the place entirely, for then we
might possibly get a settled family there. But, perhaps, Mr. Bingley did
not take the house so much for the convenience of the neighbourhood as
for his own, and we must expect him to keep it or quit it on the same
principle."
"I should not be surprised," said Darcy, "if he were to give it up as soon as any eligible purchase offers."
Elizabeth
made no answer. She was afraid of talking longer of his friend; and,
having nothing else to say, was now determined to leave the trouble of
finding a subject to him.
He took the hint, and soon began with,
"This seems a very comfortable house. Lady Catherine, I believe, did a
great deal to it when Mr. Collins first came to Hunsford."
"I believe she did--and I am sure she could not have bestowed her kindness on a more grateful object."
"Mr. Collins appears to be very fortunate in his choice of a wife."
"Yes,
indeed, his friends may well rejoice in his having met with one of the
very few sensible women who would have accepted him, or have made him
happy if they had. My friend has an excellent understanding--though I am
not certain that I consider her marrying Mr. Collins as the wisest
thing she ever did. She seems perfectly happy, however, and in a
prudential light it is certainly a very good match for her."
"It must be very agreeable for her to be settled within so easy a distance of her own family and friends."
"An easy distance, do you call it? It is nearly fifty miles."
"And what is fifty miles of good road? Little more than half a day's journey. Yes, I call it a _very_ easy distance."
"I
should never have considered the distance as one of the _advantages_ of
the match," cried Elizabeth. "I should never have said Mrs. Collins was
settled _near_ her family."
"It is a proof of your own attachment
to Hertfordshire. Anything beyond the very neighbourhood of Longbourn, I
suppose, would appear far."
As he spoke there was a sort of smile
which Elizabeth fancied she understood; he must be supposing her to be
thinking of Jane and Netherfield, and she blushed as she answered:
"I
do not mean to say that a woman may not be settled too near her family.
The far and the near must be relative, and depend on many varying
circumstances. Where there is fortune to make the expenses of travelling
unimportant, distance becomes no evil. But that is not the case _here_.
Mr. and Mrs. Collins have a comfortable income, but not such a one as
will allow of frequent journeys--and I am persuaded my friend would not
call herself _near_ her family under less than _half_ the present
distance."
Mr. Darcy drew his chair a little towards her, and
said, "_You_ cannot have a right to such very strong local attachment.
_You_ cannot have been always at Longbourn."
Elizabeth looked
surprised. The gentleman experienced some change of feeling; he drew
back his chair, took a newspaper from the table, and glancing over it,
said, in a colder voice:
"Are you pleased with Kent?"
A
short dialogue on the subject of the country ensued, on either side calm
and concise--and soon put an end to by the entrance of Charlotte and
her sister, just returned from her walk. The tete-a-tete surprised them.
Mr. Darcy related the mistake which had occasioned his intruding on
Miss Bennet, and after sitting a few minutes longer without saying much
to anybody, went away.
"What can be the meaning of this?" said
Charlotte, as soon as he was gone. "My dear, Eliza, he must be in love
with you, or he would never have called us in this familiar way."
But
when Elizabeth told of his silence; it did not seem very likely, even
to Charlotte's wishes, to be the case; and after various conjectures,
they could at last only suppose his visit to proceed from the difficulty
of finding anything to do, which was the more probable from the time of
year. All field sports were over. Within doors there was Lady
Catherine, books, and a billiard-table, but gentlemen cannot always be
within doors; and in the nearness of the Parsonage, or the pleasantness
of the walk to it, or of the people who lived in it, the two cousins
found a temptation from this period of walking thither almost every day.
They called at various times of the morning, sometimes separately,
sometimes together, and now and then accompanied by their aunt. It was
plain to them all that Colonel Fitzwilliam came because he had pleasure
in their society, a persuasion which of course recommended him still
more; and Elizabeth was reminded by her own satisfaction in being with
him, as well as by his evident admiration of her, of her former
favourite George Wickham; and though, in comparing them, she saw there
was less captivating softness in Colonel Fitzwilliam's manners, she
believed he might have the best informed mind.
But why Mr. Darcy
came so often to the Parsonage, it was more difficult to understand. It
could not be for society, as he frequently sat there ten minutes
together without opening his lips; and when he did speak, it seemed the
effect of necessity rather than of choice--a sacrifice to propriety, not
a pleasure to himself. He seldom appeared really animated. Mrs. Collins
knew not what to make of him. Colonel Fitzwilliam's occasionally
laughing at his stupidity, proved that he was generally different, which
her own knowledge of him could not have told her; and as she would
liked to have believed this change the effect of love, and the object of
that love her friend Eliza, she set herself seriously to work to find
it out. She watched him whenever they were at Rosings, and whenever he
came to Hunsford; but without much success. He certainly looked at her
friend a great deal, but the expression of that look was disputable. It
was an earnest, steadfast gaze, but she often doubted whether there were
much admiration in it, and sometimes it seemed nothing but absence of
mind.
She had once or twice suggested to Elizabeth the possibility
of his being partial to her, but Elizabeth always laughed at the idea;
and Mrs. Collins did not think it right to press the subject, from the
danger of raising expectations which might only end in disappointment;
for in her opinion it admitted not of a doubt, that all her friend's
dislike would vanish, if she could suppose him to be in her power.
In
her kind schemes for Elizabeth, she sometimes planned her marrying
Colonel Fitzwilliam. He was beyond comparison the most pleasant man; he
certainly admired her, and his situation in life was most eligible; but,
to counterbalance these advantages, Mr. Darcy had considerable
patronage in the church, and his cousin could have none at all. _