Page 188

Darcy answered too quickly. “It was very little trouble.”

“Perhaps not to you. It relieved me of some.”

“I am glad of that.”

“She chose them herself?”

“Yes. There was a misunderstanding about the extent of what I offered. She explained it to me.”

“And you survived the explanation.”

“Quite well.”

Mr. Bennet smiled. “She has a clear notion of what she may accept without being obliged to become somebody else in return. I have not always found it convenient.”

“Nor have I.”

They looked at each other, and Darcy laughed before the admission could grow more solemn than he intended.

“It is generally useful afterwards,” he added.

“That has been my experience.”

Mr. Bennet set the novel down. Darcy hesitated before introducing a subject he had considered since his guest arrived.

“May I ask how you found the journey?”

“Long.”

“Apart from that.”

“Your roads improved as we approached the house. I have no complaint to make which would repay your attention.”

“I was thinking of future journeys. Bingley and his wife will wish to see you after they are settled. Miss Bennet has spoken often of Longbourn.”

“Yes, she has missed it.”

“I know.”

Mr. Bennet’s eyes rested upon him. Darcy resisted the wish to explain more than he had been asked.

“I should be glad to make those visits easier where I can,” he continued. “A carriage can be provided. And I hope you and Mrs. Bennet will feel that you may return here.”

“You will have a house full of us if you offer that too freely.”

“Bingley appears to regard that as an advantage.”

“He is happily married to one of us. His opinion is not impartial.”

Darcy looked down at the book upon the desk. He could not claim a greater impartiality, and suspected that Mr. Bennet knew it.

“The invitations would be sincere,” he said.

“I am glad to hear it.” The older man paused. “But you must ask Lizzy what makes the distance bearable. She will have a better answer than mine.”

“I intend to.”

“Good. She may wish to see the younger girls as much as she wishes to see me. I have found it a disappointing but persistent feature of her affection that she does not confine it to the people who offer the most sensible conversation.”