Old Friends and New Fancies (19 page)

The invitation was rapturously accepted on the part of Kitty, and very willingly by Georgiana, for she liked being with Jane, and was pleased at the prospect of seeing William again for his own sake. Elizabeth felt it most important that the girls should be together, for Georgiana to watch over Kitty and be a check on her impulsiveness; and Darcy gave a sign of his confidence in his sister, very precious to her, by saying: "It is a good thing you are asked, Georgiana, for there is no one else who can be trusted to keep Kitty in order and bring us a sensible account of this young man and his intentions."
To Desborough, then, they were to go, and to bear with them Mr. and Mrs. Darcy's invitations to Mrs. Bingley's guests for the Pemberley ball.

OCTOBER WAS RAPIDLY PASSING; and Elizabeth had received no acknowledgment of her letter to Mrs. Wentworth. This occasioned her to some surprise, for Anne was a punctilious correspondent, and certainly would not have allowed such an important question as had been put to her to remain long unanswered. At last, when Elizabeth had begun to fear that either letter or reply must have miscarried, the wished-for packet was discerned among the morning's post; and she carried it to her own private room before perusing it.

"My dear Mrs. Darcy,
"I do not like to imagine what you must be thinking of me, for my long and inexplicable silence. Your letter bears the date October the second, almost a month ago. Will you forgive me when you hear that I only just received it? We have been travelling abroad, as Frederick wished to take advantage of this period of comparative peace to visit some of the old Dutch cities, and we returned only this week, after a delightful but extremely fatiguing tour. Our letters have followed us about to our continually changing addresses, and it is little short of a miracle that so many of them have reached us. Yours has now reappeared at Winchester after its wanderings! This must be my excuse for not writing instantly to correct a misconception under which I grieve to think you have been labouring. My father is not engaged to Miss Crawford, and there is no probability of a marriage between them either now or at some future time. I know that some months ago a rumour to that effect was in existence, for, indeed, it must be confessed that my father's attentions to Miss Crawford were very marked, and my sister was among those who were confident that an engagement would ultimately result; but before we went abroad Elizabeth wrote to me from Brighton, where she and my father had removed, to say that the affair was at an end, Miss Crawford having given my father a definite refusal. I think they were a great deal vexed and disappointed, which was perhaps natural, for my father had counted upon succeeding, and it would have been a very advantageous match for him; but I cannot help thinking that there would not have been any great happiness in it for either of them. It was not altogether suitable--but, dear Mrs. Darcy, I should not weary you with my comments. In such a case as this everyone can supply their own. I do not know where Mrs. Grant and Miss Crawford are now, but I conclude in Bath. The only news of them that has reached me, besides what I have stated, was, I am sorry to say, that Miss Crawford had been ill, but I heard no particulars. All this seems bald and unsatisfactory; I wish I could have given you better and earlier information. Pray give our warm regards to Mr. Darcy and his sister. It was a great delight to me to renew my acquaintance with the latter, and to see her looking so lovely and blooming. Her countenance expresses so much sensibility, that one is convinced she must have a tender heart, and one hopes that life may always be kind to her. I had a great wish to invite her to pay us a visit when we returned to Winchester from London, and was disappointed to learn she had already travelled north. Will you mention it to her, and say how glad we should be if ever she was disposed to come in this direction? We would try to give her a pleasant time. Your children must be reaching a delightful age. Alas! with what a pang do I view our empty nursery! Accept my very cordial remembrances, and believe me," etc.
It was well that Elizabeth had taken the precaution of being alone to read this letter, for the agitation it caused could not easily have been concealed. A thousand confusing thoughts surged through her mind. Action, of some sort, she felt she must take, being the only person of their circle in possession of this knowledge; but what action would be safe, prudent and productive of results? While believing that Fitzwilliam had been refused, she had always found it hard to credit that he should have been refused for Sir Walter Elliot, and the denial of the statement found willing acceptance. It was so unnatural, so horrible, almost, to think of Miss Crawford as Lady Elliot! Before Elizabeth had even time to think of Fitzwilliam she had rejoiced over Miss Crawford's not having committed an act so unworthy of her. She next tried to recollect exactly what she had heard with reference to Fitzwilliam's dismissal. He had been confident that she was lost to him, through her engagement, he assumed; but since she had never been engaged, clearly there had been indications which, as Darcy had said, had forced him to believe that she was ill-disposed towards him. What, then, could anyone do for him now? It was not by any means certain that because she had rejected Sir Walter Elliot she could be induced to accept Colonel Fitzwilliam. And yet the knowledge that she was free, free still to be won, was a reason for not withdrawing utterly until he knew what would be the fate of his own pretensions, taken on their own merit. Elizabeth could not feel satisfied, remembering what had happened at Bath, that he had ever had a fair opportunity of pleading his cause. He might, indeed, have had a refusal as definite as Sir Walter's, and in that case there would be no kindness in reopening the subject; it would profit him little to know that another suitor had fared no better than himself, even though that suitor might be one who should never have aspired. But what if it had all arisen through a misunderstanding?
After long and earnest consideration Elizabeth determined that whatever steps she now took towards her cousin and the chances of a reconciliation, he must know nothing of them; if she had finally decided against him, there was no reason why he should be put to the pain of hearing it a second time. This at least seemed clear, and it paved the way for her next resolution, namely to write to Mrs. Grant, without mentioning anything she had heard, beyond the intimation of Miss Crawford's illness, and ask for news of them both.
Darcy entered while she was preparing to write, and she immediately handed him Mrs. Wentworth's letter. Having read it, he handed it back to her, saying gravely: "What are you going to do now, Elizabeth? for I suppose you are going to do something."
Elizabeth described her plan and its motives, and Darcy listened without giving her much encouragement. At length he said: "Have you realized what a great responsibility you are taking upon yourself in endeavouring to bring these two people together again?"
"Yes," said Elizabeth, "and, dear Darcy, do you not think we should be prepared to take it? I shall do nothing which could possibly give Fitzwilliam a moment's uneasiness; he has already suffered too much, and is a changed man, as you were agreeing the other day; but if there is the slightest chance of making him happy, I think we ought not to let it slip. No one but ourselves can possibly make any attempt to reunite him and Miss Crawford."
"I know you are prepared to undertake herculean tasks in the interests of your friends, my dear, but when a man has been so decidedly repulsed, it is a delicate manner to heal the breach. I imagine your scheme would be straightaway to invite Miss Crawford here, and send them both off for a walk, with instructions to return in half an hour an engaged couple?"
This was spoken without the ghost of a smile, but the idea it suggested to Elizabeth was so brilliant that she forgot to remonstrate her husband for not being sufficiently serious. "I never thought of it, but I will do it!" she exclaimed. "Not send them off for a walk, of course, but invite Miss Crawford and her sister to come and stay here. They shall come, if they will, as soon as the ball is over, for Robert is leaving the next day, and in the course of a quite fortnight it will be strange if I cannot discover whether she cares in the least for him."
"And after that time Fitzwilliam is to be summoned home with all speed, I suppose?"
"Oh, I cannot look so far ahead; if my endeavours prove unavailing, of course we must not let him know that they have been here at all."
"Well, Elizabeth, I am glad you are providing for all contingencies; and do not forget the most probable one, namely, that they will not be persuaded to accept your invitation. Miss Crawford may not want to lend a helping hand, or Mrs. Grant to play Fitzwilliam's game for him."
"Naturally, I shall tell them distinctly that he will not be here and we shall be quite to ourselves. If she has been ill, she may like to have a change. I decline to be discouraged, Darcy, by whatever you may suggest, for I am convinced that this plan can do no harm, and may do a great deal of good."
"Perhaps you are right, my dear; it seems to me to be a considerable risk, and we cannot emphasize too strongly the need for absolute secrecy; but you know I cannot wish Fitzwilliam anything better than a thoroughly happy marriage, when I think of what mine has done for me."
"Darcy! for you to be paying me compliments! The world must be coming to an end. And now here is nurse bringing the children, so I shall have to postpone my writing for the present."
The letter was posted, and Elizabeth had to wait longer than she would have wished for an answer to this one also, but after about ten days she had a note in a hand she did not know was brought to her. It proved to be from Mrs. Grant, who dated it from Everingham, Norfolk, and said that she was writing in place of her sister, who was still so far from well that it was necessary to spare her all trouble and fatigue. She had been extremely ill during August and September, and had seemed to make so little progress towards recovery that they had come to stay with their brother a few weeks ago, in the hope of obtaining some benefit from the more bracing air. Unfortunately, she had not gained all the good they had hoped for, and they were still anxious about her. On first receiving Mrs. Darcy's kind invitation she had felt it was impossible to accept it, as her state of health and spirits made her languid and disinclined for exertion, but Mrs. Grant and Mr. Crawford had at length, using all their powers of persuasion, induced her to reconsider her decision, for they both felt that to mix with her friends once more, and to be in the midst of such agreeable and stimulating surroundings as a visit to Mrs. Darcy would afford, would be the best possible remedy for the nervous complaint from which she had suffered. In any case, they would shortly have to leave Everingham, as it was too cold and exposed a spot, but her sister was scarcely equal to the journey to Bath yet, so that Mrs. Darcy's letter had come at a most fortunate time.
Miss Crawford was very desirous that Mrs. Grant should explain that she was still an invalid to a great extent--"and she insists on my saying a tiresome and exacting one, though I cannot endorse that," added Mrs. Grant. "But she is afraid of giving trouble, and of being, on account of her want of health, an unacceptable visitor; and she says that if she is going to trespass upon your kindness, she cannot do so on false pretenses, and so wishes you to know just how you will find her, in case you would rather postpone having her until some future time, when she is more of a rational being."
Elizabeth perceived something of Miss Crawford's old spirit peeping out in this message, the spirit of independence, which would laugh at her own weakness rather than appeal for pity, and made her reluctant to accept a kindness which might wear the aspect of an indulgence. Had it not been for her recent illness, and the consequent pressure put upon her by her brother and sister, it was clear she would not have come to Pemberley; Elizabeth was conscious, in the wording of the letter, of a shrinking from it, and the earnest way in which Mrs. Grant, on her sister's behalf, begged to be assured that they would find Mr. and Mrs. Darcy
quite alone
at home, emphasized something more than an invalid's wish for seclusion.
In her reply Elizabeth endeavoured to convey a complete assurance of the quietness of Pemberley and its suitability for anyone in Miss Crawford's delicate condition. There would be no one at home but themselves, she said, excepting, of course, Mr. Darcy's sister, whom Miss Crawford had met, and who was one of the household; the patient should have every care, and could lead whatever kind of life she preferred; she should not be troubled in any way, or even be asked to join the rest of the party, until she felt stronger, as Elizabeth hoped and believed she soon would. The letter was expressive of the writer's goodwill, and she trusted that it might do away with any remaining unwillingness that Miss Crawford might have felt in renewing an acquaintance which had indirectly caused her so much pain. Elizabeth rejoiced in having accomplished the first step. Miss Crawford's acceptance might have been wrung from her, but it was unlikely she would withdraw it, and once she were safely established at Pemberley, whether Colonel Fitzwilliam were to be made happy or not, at least there would be no more misunderstandings.
Elizabeth proposed a date to Mrs. Grant for the arrival of the two ladies, but decided to maintain her reserve on the subject towards everyone, except her husband, until the ball should be over and her cousin should have left the house, for she was particularly anxious that no hint of it should reach his ears. Georgiana's discretion could have been depended upon, but Elizabeth felt it would be better to postpone telling even her of Mrs. Wentworth's reply until matters should be further advanced.