An Unexpected Ally

Part 18

"You cannot mean to suggest that Henry Fielding is a better author than Samuel Richardson!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she and Mr Darcy drew within sight of Longbourn.

"Correct. I do not suggest it. I declare it a fact."

Darcy could not quite keep his lips from quirking into a smile and betrayed himself entirely by laughing at the look of exasperation Elizabeth shot him.

"And here, Miss Elizabeth, it seems we have made it back to Longbourn in one piece." He was poised to take his leave when Elizabeth laid a light hand on his arm to detain him.

"You will come indoors, won't you? I'm sure Papa will be pleased to see you again, and Mama and Jane..." She trailed off, evidently sensing his reluctance, and dealt one last trump card. "And Mary! You cannot mean to have walked all this way without checking on Mary. I have it on good authority she received a letter from Georgiana just yesterday..." Her voice took on a teasing, wheedling tone and Darcy made a great show of resigning himself to his fate.

Privately, he was delighted to be so eagerly encouraged to stay, and his breath caught in his chest when Elizabeth slid her hand through the crook of his elbow and they walked the last few steps along the Longbourn drive not as strangers or enemies, but as friends.

"Lizzy, is that you?" Mr Bennet called from his study.

"It is, Papa, and I have brought a guest!"

"Oh?" There was the sound of a chair scraping across floorboards, much shuffling of piled books and detritus and a few swallowed curses before Mr Bennet's head appeared in the doorway, blinking in confusion as he fixed his gaze on Mr Darcy. "Aha. Mr Darcy. What brings you here?"

The greeting was not cool, exactly, but it certainly lacked the warmth the Bennet patriarch might have offered towards certain other guests. Like my cousin. Darcy swallowed. He had managed to put all thoughts of Richard - both good and bad - aside, allowing himself to enjoy a stolen half-hour with Elizabeth Bennet. The break had done him good, and for the first time since his return to Hertfordshire, he had felt the clouds that hung over him lift. They returned, full-force, with the reminder that of the two cousins, he was not the one most readily welcomed under this roof.

Well, you have not lost the opportunity to change that, he thought, forcing his uncooperative lips to curve upwards in a smile.

"It has been suggested to me that I might like to stay for a spot of tea. Will you join us, Mr Bennet?"

Mr Bennet's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth as if to say something about the incredulity of being invited to take tea in his own house by a man who did not live here, but his gaze travelled to Lizzy and something he saw there prompted him to swallow his comment.

"Indeed. Go on into the parlour. I shall join you."

He waited until they had progressed past his door - past any hope of safety or escape, Darcy thought - before calling after them.

"You shall be a welcome addition, I am sure, Mr Darcy, for Lydia, Kitty and Mary have all been hovering around Jane and my wife all morning. They are surely eager for a fresh victim."

Darcy could hear laughter in the older man's voice but had no time to do anything but press a vague smile onto his features as Elizabeth opened the door to the parlour and ushered him inside.

"Lizzy!" Jane exclaimed, looking up from her embroidery. Her eyes widened slightly as she realised her sister was not alone. "And...Mr Darcy!"

Four other feminine heads swivelled towards him, eyes opening in mirrored surprise, and he struggled to keep his smile in place.

"Good morning, ladies." He snatched his hat off his head and bowed, feeling Lizzy slip free of him and saunter over to peer at her sister's embroidery, leaving him to face the rest of her family alone. They all blinked up at him, expectantly and he hurried out an explanation that sounded as unbelievable as it was true.

"I happened to be walking not too far from here and crossed paths with Miss Elizabeth. It seemed only right to ensure that she reached home safely."

"Of course," Lydia exclaimed, her eyes bright with amusement. "Very chivalrous."

"Noble, I should say." Kitty swallowed a giggle.

Darcy could feel his cheeks reddening and turned back towards the open door just in time to see the hallway blocked by Mr Bennet's bulk.

"Well, I think it a kindness. You often bestowed the same on me in London and I shall never forget it," Mary said, loyally. She shot her younger sisters a quelling look before turning back to Mr Darcy with a bright smile. "Won't you sit down?"

"Yes, do sit down, Mr Darcy," Mrs Bennet gushed, pushing her daughters aside in her eagerness to welcome their handsome, newly-returned neighbour. "I hope Lizzy did not drag you on a route march on your way here." She glared at her. "You must be quite worn out."

"Mama!" Lizzy laughed. "You make me sound like some kind of drill-sergeant. Might I remind you that Mr Darcy was already out walking when our paths crossed? And that he offered to walk the rest of the way here entirely off his own back."

Lydia and Kitty dissolved into whispers and giggles that made Darcy sink, as unobtrusively as possible, into a chair. He might be growing slowly acclimatised to his interest in Elizabeth Bennet, but that did not mean he wished it - or himself - to become an object of ridicule.

"What are you two giggling about?" Mr Bennet complained, coming in at last to join them. "If there's one thing I cannot abide it is giggling. Cease and desist!" He spoke gruffly but his eyes sparkled with humour and affection, and he took deliberate consideration of where to sit, at last deciding upon a chair near to Darcy, offering him a silent show of support that was only too necessary.

"You must not mind my daughters, Mr Darcy. Far too silly for their own good, every one." He swept an arm in a wide arc, encompassing the whole room until it came to rest on Lizzy's shoulder, which he patted warmly. "Except for Lizzy, of course. She is by far the most sensible..."

"The cleverest!" Lydia put in, sourly.

"The most charming!" Kitty mimicked.

"The one who certainly does not deserve to be singled out, when Jane is sitting next to her!" Elizbeth declared, tweaking a lock of Jane's blonde hair, and turning their conversation in a new direction.

Darcy watched her, pleased to be afforded a moment of quiet where he need not be the centre of attention. How could he ever have nursed anything but affection for Elizabeth? He marvelled at the way he had dismissed her, upon their first meeting, and dared to think that by leaving Hertfordshire for London he would be leaving her behind. Why did I ever wish to? he asked himself, his heart sinking uncomfortably in his chest. I know I shall never be able to be without her, if only I had the slightest hope she might feel the same...