Chapter 32

The next morning, Elizabeth sat alone, writing a letter to Jane. Mrs. Collins and Maria had gone into the village on some errands. Just then the doorbell rang. It was a clear sign that a visitor had come. Elizabeth was quite surprised. She had heard no carriage, so it was likely Lady Catherine. She put away her half-finished letter, to avoid any awkward questions. Just then the door opened. To her great surprise, the person who came into the room was Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy alone.

Mr. Darcy too seemed surprised to find Elizabeth alone. He said he had thought all the ladies were at home, and he apologized for calling so suddenly.

They both sat down. After Elizabeth asked after everyone at Rosings, the room seemed about to fall into complete silence. She had to find some topic, somehow. In this awkward moment, she thought of the last time she had seen him in Hertfordshire. She also wondered what he would say about how quickly his whole party had left. Elizabeth said,

"Mr. Darcy, you all left Netherfield so very suddenly last November! Mr. Bingley must have been quite pleasantly surprised to see all of you follow him within just a day. If I remember right, he left only one day before you. I hope, when you left London, that he and his sisters were all well."

"They were very well, I thank you."

Elizabeth felt she would get no more of an answer than that, and after a moment she added,

"I have heard that Mr. Bingley hardly means to return to Netherfield again?"

"I have never heard him say so. But it is likely that he will spend very little time there in the future. He has many friends, and he is at an age when his engagements with friends only keep growing."

"If he means to stay so little at Netherfield, it would be better, for the sake of the neighborhood, if he gave up the house entirely. Then some family might settle there properly. Of course, Mr. Bingley did not take the house for the neighbors' convenience. He took it for his own convenience. So he will decide, on the same principle, whether to keep it or give it up."

"I should not be surprised if he gives up the house as soon as a suitable estate can be found for him to buy," said Mr. Darcy.

Elizabeth did not answer. She was afraid to say any more about his friend. Having nothing else to say, she decided to let him find the next topic.

Mr. Darcy understood her meaning, and soon spoke again. "This seems a very comfortable house. I have heard that Lady Catherine did a great deal to improve it, when Mr. Collins first came to Hunsford."

"I believe so. And I am sure her kindness could not have been given to anyone more grateful for it."

"Mr. Collins seems to have been very fortunate in choosing a wife."

"Yes, indeed. His friends may well be glad that he has found one of the very few women sensible enough to accept him, and able to make him happy afterward, too. My friend has excellent sense — though I cannot say for certain that marrying Mr. Collins was the wisest thing she has ever done. Still, she seems perfectly happy. And, looking at it practically, it is certainly a very good match."

"It must be very pleasant for her to be settled within such easy distance of her family and friends."

"Easy distance, did you say? It is nearly fifty miles."

"And what is fifty miles of good road? Little more than half a day's journey. Yes, I call that a very easy distance."

"I should never have counted the distance as one of the advantages of the match," cried Elizabeth. "I could never say that Mrs. Collins is settled near her family."

Mr. Darcy gave a small smile. "I see how attached you are to Hertfordshire. Anything beyond the neighborhood of Longbourn must seem far to you."

Elizabeth thought she understood the meaning of that smile. Mr. Darcy must have believed she was thinking of Jane and Netherfield. She blushed, and answered,

"I do not mean that a woman can never settle too near her family. Near and far are relative. They must depend on many circumstances. If a family has enough money that travel costs mean nothing to them, then distance is no problem at all. But that is not the case here. The Collinses have enough income to live comfortably, but not enough to travel often. I am sure my friend would not call herself near her family, unless the distance were less than half of what it is now."

Mr. Darcy drew his chair a little closer to her. "You are not in a position to feel such deep attachment to any one place. You cannot always stay only at Longbourn."

Elizabeth looked at him with surprise. Some change came over Mr. Darcy's feelings too. He drew his chair back, picked up a newspaper from the table, and, glancing over it, asked in a colder voice than before,

"Do you like Kent?"

They talked a little about the county, both of them speaking calmly and briefly. The talk soon ended when Charlotte and her sister came in from their walk. The two sisters were surprised to find the pair alone together. Mr. Darcy explained that he had mistakenly thought all the ladies were at home, which was how he came to call so suddenly on Miss Bennet. He sat for a few minutes more, saying little to anyone, and then left.

"What can this mean?" said Charlotte, as soon as he had gone. "My dear Eliza, he must be in love with you. He would never call on us so informally otherwise."

But when Elizabeth told her that he had stayed silent the whole time, even Charlotte's hopes could not make love seem very likely. After guessing at many possible reasons, they could only conclude that, especially in that season, he had come simply because he had nothing else to do. All the outdoor sports of the fields were now out of season. Indoors there was Lady Catherine, books, and a billiard table. But gentlemen could not stay indoors forever. From that time on, the two cousins walked to the parsonage almost every day. The parsonage was close by, the walk there was pleasant, and the people inside it were agreeable. They came at various hours of the morning, sometimes separately, sometimes together, and now and then with their aunt as well. It was plain to everyone that Colonel Fitzwilliam came because he enjoyed their company. This made everyone naturally like him all the more. Elizabeth thought of the pleasure she felt in his company, and of the admiration he clearly showed her. It brought back memories of George Wickham, whom she had once liked best of all. Comparing the two, she felt that Colonel Fitzwilliam had a little less charm to win people over. But she believed his mind was deeper, and that he knew more.

But why Mr. Darcy came to the parsonage so often was harder to understand. It could not be for the pleasure of company, since he often sat for ten minutes at a time without opening his mouth. And when he did speak, it seemed more from necessity than from any wish of his own — something he endured for the sake of good manners, not something he enjoyed. He rarely showed any true liveliness. Mrs. Collins did not know what to make of him. From the way Colonel Fitzwilliam sometimes laughed at his dull behavior, she could tell that he was usually quite different. But from what Charlotte herself had seen of him, she never would have guessed it. She wanted to believe that this change in Mr. Darcy was caused by love, and that her friend Eliza was the object of it. So she set out seriously to learn the truth. She watched closely, both whenever they were at Rosings and whenever he came to Hunsford. But she learned very little. It was clear that he looked at her friend very often. Yet the meaning in that look was hard to judge. He looked at Elizabeth steadily and seriously. Still, how much admiration it held was often doubtful. At times he seemed simply lost in thought.

Charlotte hinted once or twice that Mr. Darcy might have feelings for Elizabeth. But Elizabeth always laughed the idea away. Mrs. Collins thought it would be wrong to push the idea further, since it might raise hopes that could only end in disappointment. But it seemed to her that if her friend could come to believe she had Mr. Darcy under her power, all her dislike of him would surely disappear.

In her kind plans for Elizabeth, Charlotte sometimes considered a marriage between her friend and Colonel Fitzwilliam instead. He was, without question, the most agreeable man there. He clearly liked Elizabeth, and his social position was excellent in every way. But there was a problem that outweighed these advantages. Mr. Darcy had a considerable power to give church livings to whomever he chose. His cousin, however, had none at all.