"It is a compliment to you that I undertake it." He took a deep breath. "Very well. When I first met you, my plan was precisely what you thought. I wanted to seduce you, and I thought that whatever difficulty it caused you would be your own fault, and only show what a fine fellow I was. No, pray, Miss Bennet - I am trying to say something important here. I quickly learned that the usual flattery and blandishments did not work on you as they did on the girls in the marriage mart, perhaps precisely because you were not in the market for a husband. So I had to change my tactics, and I discovered you responded best when I simply talked to you in a serious manner about things that mattered to me. That is when my plan began to go awry, for I discovered that I liked talking to you that way." He gave her a sheepish look. "I have never much cared about what ladies had to say before."
"I will grant that you are not trying to paint yourself in an overly favorable light." She was not taken in, but she was becoming curious about where he planned to take this extraordinary confession. Most likely he hoped to play on her sympathies.
"I liked listening to you as well. It was like a puzzle, learning the person who lay behind the pretty face and attractive figure, but my goal did not change until that day in the ruins. I told you things that day I had never told anyone before. Then Eleanor told me..." He broke off with a frown. "Darcy, this is a private conversation."
Startled, Elizabeth looked up to see Darcy standing in the doorway, holding a book and looking displeased. How much of the conversation had he already heard?
"Then pray continue it," said Darcy coolly. "Pay me no mind. I will simply sit over here and read."
"Miss Bennet's reputation is in no danger from me," Lord Charles said.
Darcy gave him an incredulous look. "You will have to forgive me if I fail to believe the leopard has changed his spots."
"Perhaps the leopard cannot change his spots, but it does not follow that he cannot change the leopardess' name."
"Not that again!" exclaimed Elizabeth, rising to her feet. "I do not care to be mocked by either of you."
Lord Charles blocked her way. "Pray, Miss Bennet. I apologize if you were offended. That was not my intent. I would greatly appreciate it if you were to allow me to finish what I was telling you." With no great civility, Elizabeth said, "Oh, very well." She tried not to watch as Darcy chose a seat across the room from them, far enough away not to overhear quiet conversation, but in direct view of Elizabeth. It was almost humorous.
"I appreciate your tolerance, Miss Bennet. Now, where was I? Ah, yes. Eleanor told me the same story she no doubt told you."
"I cannot recall her telling me any story about you, but no matter."
He lowered his voice. "It involved one of those young ladies whose feelings I did not take into consideration and who left London to deal with the consequences. It turns out that she...." He paused and rubbed his hand across his mouth. "Pardon me. I find this difficult to speak of. She took her own life. That is what Eleanor told me, and it disturbed me greatly. Eleanor has been known to exaggerate things for her own purposes, and I hoped this was one of those cases. You will recall I left Bentham for several days after that. I needed to determine the truth of the matter. As it happens, Eleanor had not exaggerated." He blinked several times, then looked toward the window.
Despite herself, Elizabeth felt some pity for him. Even if he was selfish and shallow, it did not necessarily mean he was heartless, and clearly this had shaken him deeply. "I am sorry to hear it."
"I am not the one who deserves your sympathy. I would like to tell you that I fell on my knees in repentance and vowed to dedicate my life to her memory, but I did not. In truth, I barely recall what she looked like. What haunted me was that when I thought of her fate, I saw not her, but you — in misery over my callous treatment of you, being rejected by your family because of what I had persuaded you to do, your body floating in the mill pond." His voice had fallen to a whisper, but now he sat up straight once more and his usual mask fell back into place. "Suffice to say that it caused me great distress. I hurried back to Bentham, needing to see that you were alive and well. My original plans for you were completely cast aside by that point. I only wanted to talk to you and to hear you laugh. Somehow I thought it would give me some sort of absolution - as if anything could do that. When I returned, you were alive and well, but refusing to speak to me, and looking at me with scorn in your eyes that I knew I deserved. It is still there now." Elizabeth looked from him to Mr. Darcy, who appeared to be engrossed in his book. She had misjudged him as well at first, then slowly learned to trust him, only to have that trust betrayed. It had been a harsh lesson about letting down her guard with a man. Men spent their entire lives looking out for their own best interests, and it should be no surprise that they continued to do so. "Lord Charles, you have been through a painful experience. For that I am sorry, and if it has convinced you to reconsider your behavior, I applaud you. But I would be foolish if I did not consider the possibility that you might be playing on my feelings, attempting to elicit my sympathy and trust in an effort to disarm me precisely so you could take advantage of me in the same way that you did to that poor girl."
His eyes widened as if she had slapped him, and a flash of anger crossed his face, then was quickly banked. He took several ragged breaths. "That is understandable, I suppose, since a fortnight ago, I might well have done precisely that. While I know that is no longer true, you cannot see into my heart to know it, and you would indeed be foolish to give immediate credence to a man with my history. All I can hope is that you will allow me the opportunity to prove to you that I have changed."
"All I can offer is to grant you the benefit of the doubt, but to what purpose? I will be leaving Bentham soon and I think it unlikely we will cross paths again. It seems you have little to gain, unless you still have hopes for your original plan."
He took a deep breath, and then spoke all in a rush. "Miss Bennet, you are quite lovely, but there are many other lovely ladies in the world. I would not have bared my soul like this for the sake of a night's pleasure. I am not making you a proposition but a proposal."
What a fool she was! She had almost believed him up to this point. "My lord, we have discussed this in the past, and there is absolutely nothing you can say to me that would convince me you are sincere. It is very easy to make a promise, and just as easy to break it." She pushed herself to her feet and made for the door, avoiding the eyes of Mr. Darcy who had looked up from his book at her raised voice.
Lord Charles was there immediately, blocking her route. "Perhaps you will believe this. Darcy, may I have your attention? I need a witness." He took her hand between both of his and pressed it to his lips. "Miss Bennet, will you do me the very great honor of becoming my wife?"
How dare he toy with her! She snatched her hand back. "I will never believe you. Now pray let me pass."
He did not move. "I have made you an offer of marriage in front of a witness of good family. I cannot withdraw it. Tell her. Darcy."
There was a brief silence, and then Darcy said in a strained voice, "In that much he is correct. For what it is worth, he appears to mean it."
It would be hard to determine which of the two gentlemen angered her more. However, if she had learned one thing from the disaster of Darcy's proposal at Hunsford, it was not to allow herself to lose her temper. Digging her fingernails into her palms, she said, "If you are in earnest, my lord, then I thank you for the compliment of your affections, but fear I must decline."
He smiled tenderly at her. "You still do not believe me, do you?"
"Why should I believe you? You have known me for all of a fortnight, you know nothing of my family except that it is far inferior to your own, and you expect me to believe you have fallen so much in love with me that you are willing to degrade yourself by marrying me? Perhaps you mean it at this particular instant, but when you return to your right mind in an hour or two, you can thank God on your knees that I did not take you seriously."
"I
t is not just this instant, Elizabeth; I have been trying to tell you this for three days, but you have not been willing to hear me out. I cannot blame you for failing to trust me when everything in my past gives you no reason for trust, but I assure you, I will keep repeating this question tomorrow and the next day, in front of whomever you choose, until you do believe me." Placing a finger under her chin, he leaned forward.
She jumped backwards with an angry retort on her lips, but before she could say a word, Darcy interposed himself between them. "Carlisle, Miss Bennet is distraught. Perhaps if you allow me to speak to her separately, she will be able to see reason."
Now Elizabeth knew which one of them she hated more. Lord Charles looked puzzled for a moment, and then his brow cleared. "Ah, yes. You are a friend of her father's."
"Indeed." Darcy, clearly lacking an understanding of how close she was to striking him, took Elizabeth by the elbow and led her to the other side of the room.
"Kindly unhand me! What right have you to counsel me about marriage?" she hissed.
He paled. "I was forced into making that offer, Elizabeth. You, of all people, must know it was not what I desired! I am doing my utmost to delay making it public in the hope I can find a way out of it. I have not given up."
Her heart seemed to leap from her chest. Could it be true? Or was it just wishful thinking on her part? His reason made no sense. "How could you be forced into making an offer? Did they hold a pistol to your head?" she said scornfully.
He winced. "No. The pistol was at my sister's head. I could not allow them to ruin her life, even if it meant hurting you. I have been looking for an opportunity to tell you this."
She wanted so badly to believe him, but all she had suffered in the last day came to the forefront. "And since Lord Charles decided to propose to me, this seemed like the best time." He could not miss the cutting edge on her voice.
He glanced at Lord Charles. "No, but for once, pray listen to me. If you refuse his proposal, you make it in his best interest to do something to force you into marrying him. For God's sake, do not do that!"
She would have dearly loved to ignore anything Darcy said, but she could not miss his implication. "You think I should accept him?" she said in disbelief.
"No, of course not! Tell him you need time to think it over. Let him think he can change your mind with a little persuasion."
How dare he look at her like that when he was to marry Eleanor? And how she hated to admit that he might be right. Without a word, she turned her back on him and walked slowly back to Lord Charles, her heart pounding. "My lord," she said, striving for calmness, "This is so unexpected. I am overwhelmed by the honor of your offer. Would you be so generous as to allow me a little time to consider it? Mr. Darcy has reminded me that he knows you far better than I do, and that I should not allow myself to be swayed by third-hand reports and rumors."
Lord Charles took her hands in his. "Of course you may take time to consider, my dearest. I should have realized that this would be too much to take in all at once." Glancing over to where Darcy stood, he said, "Thank you, Darcy."
"You need not mention it," said Darcy coolly, returning his attention to his book.
Although Elizabeth wished for nothing more than to return to her room and hide her head under a pillow, there was something she needed to do first. She did not know what to make of Darcy's words, and Eleanor was the only one who might be able to answer her questions. Stopping at her friend's rooms, she found Eleanor alone, wearing nothing but a shift, quietly brushing her already perfectly smooth hair in front of a mirror. Her maid, who should have been dressing her for dinner, was nowhere to be seen.
Eleanor only glanced at her briefly on her entrance, then resumed staring in the mirror. Crossing behind her, Elizabeth took the silver-handled hairbrush and ran it through Eleanor's golden hair. "You seem out of sorts," she said quietly.
Meeting her eyes in the mirror, Eleanor said flatly, "How could he stop loving me so quickly? Or did he never love me in the first place?"
"Paxton? He has not stopped loving you, not for a minute."
"Then why did he come to see you?"
"Because I am the only person he can talk to about you. Confiding in Darcy is out of the question, and it is too painful for him to see the two of you together. We spent most of our walk speaking of you. You are all he thinks about."
"He is not courting you?"
Elizabeth laughed. "Lord, no. And I have no romantic interest in him either. I am just the only one to whom he can unburden himself."
"It would be so much easier for him if he loved you instead of me. He could just go to your father and ask for your hand, without any need to hide." Elizabeth put her hands on either side of Eleanor's face. "Yes, it would be much easier for him if he loved me, but you are the one he loves."
"Even after I quarreled with him?"
"Even then. Tell me, did you stop loving him after your quarrel?"
The shadow of a smile began to form on Eleanor's face. "No, of course not. But he was already so angry with me even before this engagement, and now it must be even worse."
"It is not you he is angry with, but Darcy. You told him all along that you would wed the man your father chose for you, so he is not surprised you are doing so. He thought Darcy planned to help him in his quest to marry you, and instead Darcy is marrying you himself. Paxton is understandably bitter about that." Elizabeth began brushing Eleanor's hair again, but encountered a tangle. Eleanor winced as she tugged at it.
"It is not as if Darcy had decided to offer for me of his own accord. My father and brother put him up to it."
Elizabeth chose her words with care. "He told me they threatened to harm his sister in some way if he did not make the offer. Is that true?"
Eleanor's eyes widened. "I cannot say. I was not present at the time. Why would they do such a thing?"
"That is what I cannot understand." In her mind, Elizabeth heard Darcy's earlier words - If you refuse him, you make it in his best interest to do something to force you to marry him.
"Why would he need to be threatened? I am an excellent match for him. Perhaps it is his loyalty to Geoffrey."
Coming to a sudden decision, Elizabeth said, "Or perhaps his heart is engaged elsewhere."
Eleanor swiveled to face her. "I hope not. I would never wish to cause him the heartbreak I have known with Geoffrey. Surely he would have refused if that were the case!"
"Not if he feared for his sister," Elizabeth said slowly. "He is her guardian, and he takes that responsibility very seriously." She was not certain which of them she was trying to convince.
Eleanor frowned. "I will ask him. I would like him as my husband, but not at that price."
Elizabeth swallowed hard. "You need not ask him. It is true."
"How do you know? Did he tell you?"
"He did not need to." Elizabeth looked down at the brush in her hands. "He and I had just come to an understanding when all this happened."
Eleanor's face grew as white as her shift. "Oh, no! And you... Oh, Lizzy, I would never have agreed to it if I had known! Pray, you must believe me!"
"I know that, and while the news distressed me, I was not upset with you. He was the one who had abandoned me without a word."
Tears gathered in Eleanor's eyes. "I am so sorry! I have ruined everything for you. How you must hate me!"
Setting down the brush, Elizabeth caught her friend's hand in hers. "I could never hate you, dearest Eleanor. You could not have known. I never told you because you were already suffering so much from your quarrel with Geoffrey, and I did not wish to say anything until I was certain."
"I will not stand in the way of your happiness! I shall tell my father that I have changed my mind and will not marry him - that I have decided I would rather many Lord Deyncourt."
"Wait! You should speak to Mr. Darcy first. If you suddenly change your mind, your father may assume that Darcy asked you to do it, and that could endanger his sister."
E
leanor frowned. "You are right. I must somehow make it clear that he had nothing to do with my change of heart. But I will not marry him - that much I can promise you."
Chapter 13
Why had he agreed to stay for dinner? Darcy could have been gone by now instead of facing endless hours more of Lord Bentham and his wife, not to mention his betrothed, to whom he had so little to say. Then there would be the pleasure of watching Carlisle making up to Elizabeth. What a hopeless situation!
Nor could he stop being haunted by the look of anger and hurt in Elizabeth's eyes when she reminded him that he had no right to say anything to her about marriage. She was the last person in the world he wished to injure. At the same time, a shameful part of him rejoiced in knowing she cared enough about him to be hurt by his sudden defection. But had she believed him when he told her that he had been forced into it? She still seemed so angry, and rightly so. He still hoped to find a way to escape the betrothal but it was only that - a hope. He needed to prepare himself for the very real possibility that he might have to many Eleanor.
Then there was the question of Paxton, who clearly had no intention of allowing him to speak. Did all their years of friendship not entitle him to a chance to defend himself? After all, Paxton's suit was doomed regardless of whether Eleanor was engaged to Darcy or to Lord Deyncourt.
But it made a difference to Darcy. Unbidden, the image of Elizabeth rose before him, with all the wrenching pain of loss, but that was not the only problem he would face if he married Eleanor. There was the matter of her family; Lord Bentham might wish for improved ties, but Darcy did not. If he could not engineer a way to break the betrothal, he would have to talk to Eleanor regarding his expectations about her family soon. He supposed he had no particular objection if Eleanor wished to visit her father and stepmother, but he needed to make her understand that he would not be joining her on such occasions, nor did he wish to entertain them at Pemberley.