The Beginning of Hope

Part 10

"Well, that was a very agreeable afternoon, do not you think?"

Jane had scarcely ceased from smiling long enough to ask her question, and Lizzy swallowed the impulse to tell her so.

"I can see you certainly think so," she replied, good-naturedly nudging her sister with her elbow, before turning to look out of the window of the carriage as they bumped towards home. The dark clouds still gathered in, although the rain had ceased at present. Lizzy did not think it would spare them for long.

"Did you not enjoy calling at Netherfield?" Concern for her sister was enough to over-rule her own personal happiness, at least for a moment, and Jane laid a questioning hand on Lizzy's arm. "Tell me, was it so very bad?"

"No, not so very bad." Elizabeth smiled, hoping to inject enough cheer into her voice to set her sister's concerns at ease. And also, because it was true. The call had not been as bad as she had imagined, and she had spent its entirety seated not two feet away from Mr Darcy, who she had once feared ever being in such close proximity to again. After their last meeting at Lucas Lodge, she had wondered if they should ever manage civility again, and it had not been without trepidation that she had followed her sister across the threshold of Netherfield Park, swallowing her desire to cry out or to flee, and knowing that to do either would be to betray the secret she determined to conceal. She needn't have worried so much, for Mr Darcy was as good as his word. We are strangers.

An unexpected shiver made its way up Lizzy's spine and she pulled her wrap a little tighter around her shoulders, warding off an imaginary breeze. She ought to be relieved, and in part she was relieved. Strangers they might be, but if this afternoon had demonstrated nothing else it had proved that they were capable of associating with one another and with their friends without disaster. There had been no allusion to the past, no direct conversation, and yet there had also been no disaster. It is enough, Lizzy told herself, wondering how many times she would need to repeat the motto until it became true.

"Here we are!" Jane exclaimed, as the carriage turned down the familiar drive. "Home again, home again - oh!"

"What?" Jane's surprise had not gone unnoticed and Lizzy turned to see what it was that had caught her sister's attention. A gentleman was walking along the drive towards them, and Lizzy was momentarily as intrigued as her sister before she recognised the figure as Mr Collins. She was about to say as much to Jane when she spied a second figure, another gentleman, one altogether less familiar to her than their father's cousin. She blinked, squinting at the man until her mind called his identity forth. Mr Wickham!

"It appears we were not the only people making calls this afternoon, Lizzy," Jane whispered, smoothing invisible creases from her skirts as the carriage lurched to a stop and they began to disembark.

"Ah, my dear ladies!" Mr Collins was close enough to offer a hand down, and he seemed quite delighted to see them. "Cousin Jane! Cousin Elizabeth! You have picked a most opportune moment to return to us, yes indeed! Most opportune. Allow me to introduce Mr George Wickham, who was just about to take his leave of Longbourn this very moment you have returned home to us!"

"Good afternoon, Mr Wickham," Jane said, politely greeting his bow with a curtsey. "I trust you found our family well?"

"Indeed." Mr Wickham's smile was quick and charming, as it had been on the previous occasions of their meeting. Lizzy wondered, idly, if he was aware that Mr Darcy was in Hertfordshire, and why it was that he chose to call at Longbourn instead of Netherfield, to renew an acquaintance with his old friend. It was on the tip of her tongue to mention it, although some instinct stayed her from doing so, fearing that it would be tempting fate to mention Mr Darcy again, so soon after surviving an interaction with him.

"Ah, Cousin Elizabeth, do allow me to escort you indoors!" Mr Collins was effusive in his offer of helpfulness. He glanced warily overhead. "It seems as if we are but moments away from another shower and certainly do not wish to be caught in it!" He laughed, a braying, too-loud laugh that ordinarily would have made Elizabeth seek to avoid him. With Wickham the only available alternative, however, she tucked her hand through the arm that Mr Collins offered and allowed him to steer her indoors, enquiring brightly after his afternoon.

This unexpected show of interest made Mr Collins straighten, beaming at her as he launched into a detailed description of his occupations. He had met with the local clergyman to discuss some parish matters and, upon returning home, sought an hour or two's quiet contemplation before joining the rest of the family in the parlour only to discover, to his surprise, that Mr Wickham was amongst them.

Elizabeth's smile soured at this second mention of Mr Wickham, yet she realised, in Mr Collins, she possessed a far better source of intelligence than any of her sisters.

"And how came Mr Wickham to call at Longbourn?" she asked, lowering her voice and leaning a little closer to ensure that only Mr Collins was the recipient of her question. "I did not realise he was well-acquainted with my family, indeed I only met him myself for the first time recently." It was a lie, but only a small one. She bit her lip and decided on a more honest course. "We scarcely know him. Certainly not enough that he should feel obliged to call on us without warning!"

"I am not sure that it was without warning, entirely," Mr Collins said, with a vague smile. "I confess I do not know what it was that brought him here at all, although he was very sorry to miss seeing Jane and yourself, for he appeared rather crestfallen to hear of your going to call at Netherfield. Your sister explained, of course, that you had made firm friends with Miss Bingley and sought to offer her a little feminine companionship, confined as she is with her brother and Mr Darcy for company."

"Oh?" Elizabeth's lips drew into a line. Yes, she could well imagine Lydia artfully constructing just such an explanation, twisting and turning and dripping with intrigue. She could turn any simple errand into teasing gossip and would relish the opportunity of doing so in Mr Wickham's hearing.

"Well, I dare say he will wish to be on his way soon." They reached the parlour and she turned to glance over her shoulder, meeting Mr Wickham's gaze. A shadow crossed his face and for a moment Lizzy had the feeling he was about to say something before he thought better of it. His smile returned, and he bowed a silent farewell before retreating.