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Lord and Lady Matlock, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Mr. Bingley were also present at dinner. Elizabeth knew too well that the invitation was a privilege that they could not have expected a fortnight ago. And again, the question of why persisted in her mind, yet all the explanations were frightening to admit.

Mrs. Gardiner — as well as Lady Matlock — seemed to pay special attention to the situation. Surely Lady Matlock’s curiosity was at least as great as Mrs. Gardiner’s. However, there was not much to observe.

Mr. Darcy was a perfect host — amiable, considerate, entertaining the party with a friendly though restrained tone, in opposition to Mr. Bingley’s exuberance and the colonel’s easy manners. No particular attention was shown to Elizabeth, except the fact that, again, Miss Darcy agreed to play and sing with her.

“Mr. Bingley, now that you are engaged, what are your plans?” Lady Matlock enquired.

“My plans? I shall return to Hertfordshire probably in a week, to open Netherfield. And then it depends on Miss Bennet to choose a wedding day,” he said with an adoring glance at Jane, who blushed.

“How lovely. And you, Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth? Will you stay in town long?”

“No. We shall return home three days after New Year,” Jane said.

“Ah, so in a week also?”

“Yes.”

“I shall escort Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth home,” Bingley added.

“Of course you will,” Lady Matlock said, smiling encouragingly at him. “Miss Bennet, next time you come to London, you will likely be Mrs. Bingley. I insist on you visiting me again. With your aunt and sister, of course.”

“After my sister becomes Mrs. Bingley, we shall not be together as much as we used to be,” Elizabeth replied with a smile of her own.

“Married or not, I shall always enjoy Miss Elizabeth’s company,” Bingley said. “I always did, even when we were barely acquainted and when Darcy always disagreed with her. It was quite entertaining to watch them arguing all the time. I believe they quarrelled even when they danced together at my ball.”

Elizabeth felt her cheeks warming and cast a glance at Mr. Darcy, who seemed uneasy.

“There were some disagreements, but not arguing or quarrelling, merely discussions over differing opinions. The occasion to carry on a serious debate with a woman willing to share and defend her opinion is very rare and quite refreshing.”

“They sound like quarrels to me, and I wonder how many times Miss Elizabeth defeated you,” the colonel interjected, laughing.

“Unfortunately, some of my disagreements with Mr. Darcy were caused by my misjudgement of certain subjects. I am grateful and relieved that many of them have been resolved in the meanwhile.”

“You and my nephew seem to have had a quite tumultuous relationship, Miss Elizabeth,” Lady Matlock declared with a peculiar expression on her face.

“If we have, my share of the blame for it is certainly bigger,” Mr. Darcy said. “As Miss Elizabeth stated, I am relieved that we have reached a better understanding since.”

The entire conversation was light, as appropriate for a dinner party, but Elizabeth did not miss the curious looks of her relatives — and his. Except for Jane and Mr. Bingley, who only had eyes for each other.

After that particular conversation, there was some music provided by Georgiana and Elizabeth, then a little more conversation and drinks, and the party finally separated an hour before midnight.

Elizabeth left Darcy’s house with the same tightness in her stomach as when she had arrived. She was ashamed to admit it, but she felt a sense of deep loss leaving his house, and as soon as the carriage began to move, she wondered when she would see him again.

She slept little and poorly, fighting tiredness and thinking of him.

The following morning, immediately after breakfast, an express arrived from Longbourn. Mrs. Bennet was so exceedingly happy about Jane’s engagement that her nerves troubled her, and she begged her daughters to return home as soon as possible so that they could prepare for the wedding together.

The only one truly worried was Jane; Elizabeth and the Gardiners imagined that Mrs. Bennet only wished her daughters to be there to share in her elation. However, nobody could deny the request, so a note was sent urgently to Mr. Bingley, who immediately agreed to change his plans and escort them back home. So, the very next morning, on the 30th of December, Elizabeth, Jane, and Mr. Bingley left London, without seeing Mr. Darcy again.

Ten

January 1812

The ride back to Netherfield, which he had left in a hurry two months ago, was difficult and disquieting.

Bingley had returned to his rented estate almost a month earlier, and since then, he had written regularly, which was quite unlike his former habits.

He was to marry Miss Jane Bennet in a fortnight, and since Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst were not with him, Darcy agreed to keep him company. Besides Bingley’s plea, the reason that induced him to abandon his plans in town was his longing for Elizabeth.