Page 48 of The Sole Love

“I am not certain. I thought we would see each other frequently in Bath and discover more about our feelings, but from here, it is difficult to discern his intentions.”

“But what do you intend to do?”

“I am not certain yet.”

Seeing Elizabeth’s worried face, Jane hastened to add, “Please listen to me and do not be angry. I believed desperately in love, in marriage based upon a passionate and mutual feeling. I looked with pity upon Charlotte, who…did what she had to do, what her parents and, in the end, her age required of her. But what happened with Mr Bingley changed me.”

“You no longer believe love is necessary?” Elizabeth asked fearfully.

“I still do, but now I accept that marriage is the only way for girls like us to have a happy life.”

“Girls like us?”

“Yes. Although we have no dowry, Papa is a gentleman, and there can be no question of one of us taking any of the occupations available to a woman. You cannot deny that.”

Elizabeth shook her head. She had sometimes thought of becoming a companion, even a governess, simply to secure her independence and avoid being obliged to marry without love.

“And if he comes and proposes to you?”

Jane did not answer immediately, but finally rested her head on Elizabeth’s shoulder and said, “I shall probably accept.”

Elizabeth had to sit down to control her beating heart. She had to find Mrs Gardiner and tell her the news. She could not share the information with her father; it would only deepen his anxiety.

“I shall go now,” Elizabeth said, “and find our sisters. A maid will lead you to the parlour, where we shall gather shortly.”

She remembered that Darcy wanted to see her before dinner, but there was no time to meet him. She feared that, faced with this new catastrophe, she would tell him the truth so that she could rely on his judgement. But she was afraid of his reaction.

Instead, she searched for her aunt, who listened to her story in silence.

“Say something,” Elizabeth pleaded.

“My dear, we are miles from London, and even if Mr Haskett comes, he will stay at an inn, not here, perhaps ten miles away.”

“A marriage proposal takes a minute,” Elizabeth said, then smiled at Darcy, who had entered the room, apparently searching for her.

“Go, Elizabeth Bennet. Stop trying to solve problems other than your own. I shall talk to Jane. Now go and be happy.”

Fortunately, Elizabeth did not see the anxiety on her aunt’s face. With no Mr Bingley and a David Haskett ready to travel to Derbyshire, the situation had become more than dangerous.

“Maybe it is time to write to Mr Haskett and tell him the truth,” Mr Bennet said when his sister-in-law brought the news. He was tired, and not because of the journey.

“No,” both Mrs Bennet and Mr Gardiner said at once. The four of them were on a terrace facing the park, but no one could admire the stunning landscape and the beautiful evening.

“Unfortunately,” Mr Bennet said, “we cannot postpone this until it is too late. Do you want to find young Haskett strolling across the park one day? It is better to tell the truth and let Mr Haskett prevent his coming here or ever seeing Jane again in this life.”

They stood in silence for a time as happy noises floated out from the parlour. It seemed that Colonel Fitzwilliam had arrived, and the entire gathering greeted him with cries of joy.

Mrs Bennet tried to speak, but her sister-in-law put a gentle hand on her arm. “Let us go inside and have a good dinner. Afterwards, we shall sleep on this problem and make a decision tomorrow.”

Mr Bennet nodded, agreeing that he needed to rest, as did they all.

They were invited in to dinner, but with the stir created by the colonel’s arrival, nobody saw their worried faces except Elizabeth. So when Darcy asked her to sit beside him at the table, she did not hesitate and took the chair to his right while he assumed his usual place at the head of the table. She saw Jane sitting to her right, relieved not to be next to one of the older family members.

The dinner was delightful, animated by Colonel Fitzwilliam and Darcy, who told stories about their childhood at Pemberley.

“My mother loved London and did not much like the countryside,” the colonel said, laughing without any sign of reproach, “so my brother and I spent many summers and winters at Pemberley, alone with the Darcys. It was pure heaven! Lady Anne made every day special for us.”

Darcy nodded with nostalgia. He would have loved to have his parents at that table, and he wondered what they would have thought of Elizabeth.