Chance Encounters Read online

  Mrs. Gardiner graciously accepted and Lady Matlock gave her a card from her reticule and noted the address of Matlock House. If her suspicions were correct, she wanted to know all that she could of Miss Elizabeth Bennet.

  AS THE MEN moved to rejoin the ladies, Darcy touched Mr. Bennet’s arm, halting his progress. “Mr. Bennet, may I ask for a few moments to speak to you privately?”

  Mr. Bennet sighed. He anticipated this moment without eagerness. “Certainly, Mr. Darcy, I imagine you have something of import to say.”

  Darcy was a little confused, but he was too nervous to dwell on Mr. Bennet’s enigmatic remarks. “Mr. Bennet, as you know, I met Miss Elizabeth last Monday, and since then we have spent a great deal of time together, with the permission of Mr. Gardiner.” Mr. Bennet nodded gravely. “Each time that Miss Elizabeth and I met, my appreciation of her increased, and I have come to the conclusion that we are very well suited for each other. I would like to take this opportunity to ask you for permission to court her.” Darcy finally took a breath, and looked expectantly at Mr. Bennet. He was surprised at what he saw.

  Mr. Bennet was not smiling. Any other father with a daughter to marry off would have welcomed him with open arms, thrilled that a man of such consequence would turn his eye towards his child. Mr. Bennet did not have the appearance of happiness. He just looked at Darcy.

  “Is that all, Mr. Darcy? Do you have any other intentions towards Lizzy?”

  Furrowing his brow, Darcy said, “I assure you sir, my intentions are strictly honourable.”

  “Of course they are.” He said sarcastically.

  Becoming angry, Darcy replied icily, “I am sorry sir, but I do not take your meaning.”

  “I find the assertions of your intentions difficult to believe. You are a rich man.” He waved his hand, encompassing the room. “Your wealth is displayed quite effectively. No doubt you are quite accustomed to dazzling young girls, promising a courtship to appear proper, and then when you achieve your goal, you send them off, with a tidy little payment for their family.”

  Shocked and furious, Darcy faced Mr. Bennet. “Sir, I fail to understand you, what exactly do you take me for?” If this was not his Elizabeth’s father he would have thrown him from his home immediately.

  Mr. Bennet shrugged. “You are a rich man who is used to getting his own way. My daughter is not for sale to satisfy your whims.”

  Darcy drew himself to his full imposing height and glared at Mr. Bennet. “For your information, sir, I have never asked to court any woman before. I sincerely hope to win Miss Elizabeth’s heart and hand.”

  “Why?”

  Is it possible that this man is toying with me? Is he amused? Remembering his goal, he swallowed his urge to strangle Mr. Bennet and answered sincerely. “I have never met any other woman like her. She is kind, gracious, sincere, intelligent, witty and loyal. I have been chased by conceited, mercenary, overindulged ladies of society since I came of age. I am tired of fending off their so-called charms. I know that your daughter would be the partner in life of whom I have dreamed. My parents married for love, and I had the privilege of observing the joy of their union for twelve years, until my mother’s death. I have always hoped for a marriage of the same calibre, not one of convenience. No woman has ever come close to my vision for my wife until I met Miss Elizabeth. She has not only met my ideal, I know that she will exceed it. She makes me happy, and I hope that someday she will say the same about me.”

  Mr. Bennet knew listening to Darcy’s speech that he was speaking sincerely, and his own argument that Darcy only wished to use Lizzy for his own pleasure would not work. He changed tack.

  “I grant your sincerity of motive, Mr. Darcy, but what of Lizzy? She has never been exposed to such riches. How do you know that she does not have a mercenary motive?”

  Incredulous, Darcy stared at him. “Forgive me sir, but do you really know your daughter?”

  Affronted, he shot back, “What do you mean, sir? I raised her did I not?”

  “You certainly did, and I am grateful for the access to your library, and your guidance that helped create the extraordinary, intelligent, fascinating woman who is your daughter. That is why it is quite beyond my comprehension that you could stand here before me and accuse her of mercenary motives. You are the man who supported her decision to reject the proposal of her cousin, Mr. Collins.”

  “You know about that?”

  “I do.”

  Mr. Bennet remained silent.

  “Mr. Bennet, your arguments against this courtship have been ill-founded and weak. I wonder if the reason you supported Miss Elizabeth’s rejection of Mr. Collins was more for your own selfish reasons.” Mr. Bennet stared at him. “I believe that you do not ever intend to let Miss Elizabeth leave home. You see her as your companion, and now that she has met a man who is truly worthy of her, your weak arguments of the past are proving ineffective.”

  Mr. Bennet was stunned, Darcy was clearly very clever. The belief he held that Darcy would easily give up on Elizabeth after being accused of assumed misdeeds had failed. He knew that he had no grounds for refusing the courtship, but he was not willing to let go of his own desires. He still had time and would search for reasons for Elizabeth to reject him, and even refuse consent for marriage if it went that far. His daughter would never go against his will. “That is enough, Mr. Darcy. I will not listen to any more of this argument. I will grant you permission to court my daughter, and in the end you will see that you will grow to be ashamed of her low connections and will abandon her. I only wish to protect my daughter from pain.”

  “Thank you for your permission sir. I am sure that you will find that your daughter will never require protection from me.” Darcy coldly showed Mr. Bennet to the door.

  WHEN THE MEN returned to the ladies, Elizabeth looked up eagerly to see Darcy, and was confused that he and her father were absent. Noticing her frown, Richard made his way to her, and quietly told her that Darcy had asked for a private conversation with her father. Seeing her eyes grow wide, and a blush touch her cheeks, he laughed and gave her a reassuring smile.

  Nearly a quarter-hour later, Mr. Bennet entered the room alone, and red-faced. He approached Elizabeth and informed her that he had given permission for Darcy to court her. That he was upset and unhappy was clear. He refused to be drawn into any conversation and instead took a large glass of port and began wandering around the room, taking everything in.

  It took ten minutes longer for Darcy to regain control of his emotions. To say that he was angry and offended would be an understatement. He had been insulted and degraded in his own home by a country squire. All of the changes that he made to his behaviour over the past year to see the good of people and not to judge them based on their status were dissolving. How dare he! He thought angrily. Who is he to accuse me of such things? He should be grateful for my interest, instead he spat on me, as if I were nothing more than a cad wishing to take advantage of his daughter! The advantage is all for her! He paced around the room furiously.

  Then, through the slightly open door, he heard the sound of Elizabeth’s warm, bubbling laughter, and suddenly his fury for himself evaporated. He recognized in time the reappearance of the man he used to be, and returned to the man he was striving to be, the man who would be worthy of Elizabeth. His anger for Mr. Bennet’s insult towards him was redirected towards the insult of his own daughter. This woman spoke so glowingly of her love and appreciation for her father, a man who would prefer to see her live a life without love to satisfy his own desires. He could not understand what lay behind Mr. Bennet’s actions, but he was sure to be thinking about it frequently.

  At least I have his permission to court her. If I do win her hand, no, WHEN I win her hand, he will not welcome my application for his consent to the marriage. I will need to learn when Elizabeth comes of age so that she will be able to make her decision, regardless of her father’s feelings. He and Elizabeth had a great many things to discuss, and he would not hold back any p
art of his confrontation from her. He respected her too much to withhold the truth.

  When Darcy finally entered the drawing room, he knew that all eyes were on him, but he only sought one pair. He looked to Elizabeth, and her concern for him was evident. He smiled slightly and went straight to her side. He needed her presence to calm him.

  “Are you well? Papa told me that he gave you his consent to court me, but he did not seem pleased. What has happened?”

  Darcy disregarded propriety and quickly kissed her gloved hand. “Miss Elizabeth, please, it was a difficult conversation. I do not understand at all your father’s reluctance to grant his permission, but for tonight, let us simply rejoice in winning it, and I promise you, I will tell you our entire conversation when we next have time alone. I promise to never lie or conceal anything from you.” She continued to look very concerned and caught herself just in time before she reached up to stroke his face. Darcy did not mistake the gesture and smiled at her with gratitude. “Now, Miss Elizabeth, could you please grant me a dear wish? May I hear you play for me? You did promise, remember?”

  Still confused, and feeling a burgeoning angry suspicion of what happened, she convinced herself that this was not the time to discuss her father further. She smiled warmly, “Of course, I will play for you, sir. I always keep my promises, especially when I am assured of an appreciative audience.” She gave him a cheeky grin, and was happy to hear his soft laugh. Settling on the bench of the pianoforte she played while he leaned against it. They were alone in their own world. She played with feeling, and he felt his emotions soothed by her sweet voice.

  THE REMAINDER of the evening was pleasant. Darcy endeavoured to avoid Mr. Bennet and stayed by Elizabeth’s side. He only managed to smile for her though, and only with a small lift to the corners of his mouth. What he needed was to take her into his embrace and bury his face in her hair. Unfortunately he was limited to simply drinking in her scent. After his guests departed, with many genuine expressions of gratitude, and another blushing kiss to Elizabeth’s hand defiantly delivered directly in front of Mr. Bennet, Darcy found himself ensconced in his library with Richard.

  “Well Cousin, what think you of the evening?” Richard had not failed to notice the change in Darcy and Mr. Bennet’s demeanour after their conference.

  Darcy took a long sip on his brandy and looked at Richard thoughtfully. “I think that it went very well. Miss Elizabeth was as lovely and engaging as I knew she would be. Her growing friendship with Georgiana was a pleasure to observe, and it was gratifying to see how open your parents were to meeting her and her family. That was a wonderfully unexpected surprise.”

  “I think that my parents have been so concerned that you would never marry, that they welcome seeing your interest in any woman. They know that you have never desired a match with Cousin Anne, despite what Aunt Catherine claims, and they also know that she would not be healthy enough to be a wife for any man. They were concerned at first about you being taken in by a fortune hunter, but quickly realized that you are well-versed in the machinations of those women. I think that their desire for this evening, once they realized that you were introducing them to your potential wife, was to simply observe.”

  “I imagine that you will be talking to them about it most thoroughly tomorrow.” Darcy said dryly.

  “Ha! I will be surprised if they are not laying in wait for me tonight!” They both laughed at the truth of his statement. “Bingley seemed rather taken with Miss Bennet,” he said grinning, “I did not think that I would ever see a man so instantly struck by love again after your reaction to Miss Elizabeth.” He chuckled at Darcy’s glare. “You cannot deny it, Darcy. You were fascinating Monday night. Was it not even a week ago? Amazing!”

  Darcy ignored Richard’s barbs. “Yes, Bingley was quite enamoured of Miss Bennet, but we should, however, note that he is frequently in and out of love. I will take care to observe his sincerity. I would not wish her to be hurt.”

  “Because it would hurt Miss Elizabeth,” suggested Richard sagely. Darcy made no reply. “The Gardiners seemed an excellent couple. If I did not know the truth of his circumstances, I would have said they were members of the ton, not the first circles, but they could easily fit in. Excellent conversation from both of them, and Georgiana seemed to respond favourably to them, to all of them, Bennet and Gardiner alike.”

  “She seems to be returning to herself.” Looking at Richard, he added, “She had a long talk with Miss Elizabeth yesterday, and spent the time after she left deep in contemplation. Miss Elizabeth did not have a chance to tell me everything about the talk, only to say that she challenged her behaviour with Wickham and had her consider the reasons behind her response to him. I hope that Georgiana opens up to me about it soon. But in any case, I cannot deny the positive affect that a few hours in Miss Elizabeth’s company have made on her, and I am grateful to her for it.”

  “She is a remarkable woman,” agreed Richard.

  “She certainly is; which makes her father’s reaction to my request for courtship so odd.” Darcy proceeded to tell Richard of the entire confrontation with Mr. Bennet. He was astonished with the man’s attitude.

  “I wondered what happened between the two of you when he returned to the room. What is your assessment of his behaviour?”

  Shaking his head, Darcy showed his frustration. “I truly do not know. At first I thought it was him simply being overprotective, but when he began questioning Miss Elizabeth’s motives, I began questioning his. I am suspicious that he is jealous of her.”

  “Really? Interesting. I would have thought that he was selfish, and did not wish to lose her companionship.”

  “I considered that, but now after having a little time to think about it, and also taking into consideration some statements that Miss Elizabeth has made about the failure of marriages of convenience, and their negative impact on the family, my assessment has changed. I wonder if he is looking at the possible love match of his daughter to a man who can give her financial security as well as access and exposure to people and culture that he would not ever experience.”

  “It may very well be a combination of the two.”

  “You may be correct. He really had no reason to deny my request for courtship, but he may be very difficult for future requests.” Richard raised his brows at that.

  “Fortunately he is returning to Hertfordshire on the morrow, and you will be free to court Miss Elizabeth. Mr. Gardiner seems to be supportive.”

  “I would not let that keep me from Miss Elizabeth if he were not.”

  Richard chuckled. “My, my, Cousin, you are lost.”

  Chapter 7

  “Edward, I gave permission for Mr. Darcy to court Lizzy tonight. I think that it was a grave error, and that I should take her back to Longbourn in the morning.” Mr. Bennet was pacing in Mr. Gardiner’s study after their return from Darcy’s townhouse.

  “I do not understand, Thomas. What do you suspect? Mr. Darcy is a fine young man.”

  “I think that he only wants to ruin her and then abandon her!”

  “That is unfounded! He would not have asked for your permission to court her if he was not serious! He introduced her to his family, as well as introduced our family to them. He is a man who could have any woman, any heiress, and he chose Lizzy. It is a great honour! Do you not see this?”

  “I do not trust him. I think that Lizzy should be at home where she belongs.”

  Beginning to suspect his motives, Mr. Gardiner asked, “What about Jane?”

  “She may stay here. She seemed to enjoy the attentions of Mr. Bingley, and if they form an attachment here, it may continue when he comes to Netherfield.”

  “I am confused. What is the difference between Jane and Elizabeth?”

  “I just do not think Mr. Darcy is good enough for her.”

  “My Lord, Thomas, what more do you want? A title? Royalty? Mr. Darcy is an exceptional young man. I think that you have a problem letting go of Lizzy.” The statement was me
t with silence. “Thomas? You must realize that she will leave you someday. How can you deny her a possibly extraordinary future with a man such as Mr. Darcy?” Again there was silence. “Thomas?”

  “She may stay.” Mr. Bennet strode out of the room.

  ELIZABETH TRIED to speak to her father about his meeting with Mr. Darcy early Monday morning. He refused to answer any of her questions. In the end, he told her that he trusted her to do the right thing, encouraged her to remember that she knew very little of him, and told her she would be always welcomed back at Longbourn, no matter what happened. Mr. Bennet soon took his leave and returned home.

  Elizabeth knocked on the door to Mr. Gardiner’s study, and entered when she heard his call.

  “Lizzy! What brings you here?” He knew it would be about her father. He stayed home from work that morning, hoping that she would seek him out.

  Elizabeth looked confused. “Uncle, I am so unsure of myself. I have been asked to enter into a courtship with the kind of man I have only dreamed of knowing. I already respect him, and hold him in esteem, and I am astonished at my developing tender regard for him.”

  Gently, Mr. Gardiner asked, “Then what is confusing you, Lizzy?”

  She looked up into her uncle’s kind, concerned face. This was the relative who she respected more than her father. She always hoped to find a man like him as her husband. The Gardiner’s marriage was the one that she wished for, based on love and mutual respect and support. Her parent’s marriage was an absolute failure.

  “Papa. He had some sort of confrontation with Mr. Darcy last night. Mr. Darcy said that he would tell me everything about it when we could have some privacy, but I think that I have an idea what they discussed. Papa has been saying such odd things to me about him. He keeps implying that Mr. Darcy will hurt me. If he said something like that to Mr. Darcy, I can understand why he was so upset. I just do not understand why he would want to convince me that Mr. Darcy was an unworthy man.”