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“Good news?” asked Mrs. Bennet, who was getting a little impatient with the betrothed couple. She was hoping that her future son-in-law would say something about her second daughter and the gentleman’s pending nuptials, no doubt.

“Indeed. I have the pleasure of having received a letter from my former benefactor, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, whom I previously informed of your good heart and the generosity of your nature,” he said to Elizabeth.

“I suppose that is a sort of consolation,” said Elizabeth, covering her mouth to mask a sardonic smile. The tales she had heard from Mr. Collins regarding the noble lady from Kent confirmed he was the most ridiculous man she had ever met.

“Yes, I am the recipient of her ladyship’s benevolence once more, for she has bestowed her blessings onto our pending nuptials.”

Elizabeth silently scoffed. “I am sure your happiness is now complete,” she said. “Now, if you will excuse me⁠—”

“If I might have the pleasure of more of your time, my dear, I have other news to impart. I am sure you will never guess what it is.”

Elizabeth grew weary. “I am certain I will never guess. Perhaps you will end my suspense by simply telling me.”

Mr. Collins started bouncing on the balls of his feet like a schoolboy and smiling. “The Right Honorable Lady Catherine de Bourgh and indeed the most benevolent person whom I have ever had the pleasure of knowing also informed me that her esteemed relation, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley and Derbyshire, is to be a guest of Mr. Bingley and our own Mrs. Bingley. What a great honor this is for our family. He will be staying in Hertfordshire a month.”

“Mr. Darcy?” Elizabeth cried and immediately prayed that her manner of crying out the name of the gentleman whose very essence embraced every inch of her body from her head to her toe and everywhere in between.

Mr. Collins nodded. “Indeed, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. Do you know Lady Catherine’s dearest relative?”

Elizabeth did not know what to say. Would confessing she knew Mr. Darcy not require some explanation of how she knew the gentleman? All the particulars of their introduction and under what circumstance? Speaking falsehoods was not something Elizabeth was in the habit of doing. Even though future circumstances might compel her to do so repeatedly, she did not mean to start at that very moment.

Denying she knew the man whose bed she had left mere hours earlier was something she would not do either. She could not. Instead, she nodded.

“How is that possible?” Mr. Collins scratched his head. “Lady Catherine said Mr. Darcy would not be arriving before Wednesday.”

“I had the pleasure of speaking with him this morning at Netherfield. You will recall I had no choice but to spend the night at Jane’s last evening, so that I might avoid being caught outside during a rainstorm.”

His countenance reflected his lingering confusion over Lady Catherine’s intelligence. “Indeed, although I am certain the Bingleys would have made a carriage available to you had you insisted.”

“The last thing I wanted to do was inconvenience my sister and brother. So, no—I believe staying at Netherfield was the best thing I could do for everyone concerned.”

Elizabeth did not mean to make herself unhappy about what she had done. On the contrary, spending the night in Mr. Darcy’s bed was a memory she would cherish for the rest of her life. Still, Mr. Collins’s speech gave her something to think of.

A month, she silently considered. Mr. Darcy will be here in Hertfordshire for a month. Elizabeth did not know whether that was a bad thing or a good thing. She leaned heavily toward the latter.

“How fortunate you are to have enjoyed such a pleasure. Come, Elizabeth. You must tell me everything there is to know regarding your meeting Mr. Darcy.” He brushed by Elizabeth, intending to sit on the sofa, and then paused. “On second thought, I feel it is incumbent upon me to go to Netherfield Park straight away.”

Elizabeth’s heart slammed against her chest. “But, sir, you must not intrude on the gentleman so soon after his arrival. He will surely think of it as impertinent.”

“Nonsense. It is not as though Mr. Darcy and I are wholly unacquainted. And as a former clergyman, I am obliged to repeat my condolences on the loss of his wife ... the late Mrs. Anne Darcy née de Bourgh and welcome him to the neighborhood. I suppose you ought to come with me.”

Elizabeth could not hide her surprise. “Mr. Darcy is a widower?”

The question reverberated in her thoughts over and over. A bevy of sentiments overtook her—a new awareness of the gentleman with whom she had suffered both agony and ecstasy.

“Yes, I am afraid so. His late wife passed during her lying-in. It was a most harrowing time for all concerned. Mr. Darcy was in agony. I have never heard of a man to suffer the loss of a wife so painfully as he did. No doubt, he simply did not want to face life without her. As Lady Catherine often asserted, the two of them were made for each other. Everyone who knew his late wife knew what an exceptional woman she was. She was a most charming young lady indeed. Lady Catherine, herself, always espoused that, in point of true beauty, her daughter was far superior to the most handsome of her sex because there was that in her features which marked the young lady of distinguished birth.”

Elizabeth was not immune to Mr. Collins’s commendations on Mr. Darcy’s deceased wife. She did not know how to look or feel as the drone of the other two voices in the room allowed a moment’s reflection.

It was not as though she had not entertained the idea of Mr. Darcy’s being a widower. He hinted as much when we were together last night, did he not?

However, Mr. Collins’s accounting of the young woman’s passing was oddly disquieting to Elizabeth and not at all in keeping with Mr. Darcy’s, albeit vague, innuendo.

At length, Elizabeth spoke. “As I have met Mr. Darcy already,” she said, trying to drown out her own conflicting feelings, “I do not know that it is necessary that I call on Netherfield with you.”

“Very well. I shall go to Netherfield Park and express condolences on our behalf. However, I assure you, Elizabeth, I fully intend to extend Longbourn’s hospitality to the gentleman by inviting him to dine here as soon as his schedule permits. I think I should make that my highest priority, for I am certain many of our neighbors are of a like mind. It would be a boon if one of my fair cousins attracted the gentleman’s notice.”

Elizabeth swallowed hard.