Of Mr. Darcy it was now a matter of anxiety to think well;and, as far as their acquaintance reached, there was no fault to find. They could not be untouched by his politeness; and had they drawn his character from their own feelings and his servant's report,without any reference to any other account,the circle in Hertfordshire to which he was known would not have recognized it for Mr.Darcy.There was now an interest,however, in believing the housekeeper;and they soon became sensible that the authority of a servant who had known him since he was four years old, and whose own manners indicated respectability, was not to be hastily rejected.Neither had anything occurred in the intelligence of their Lambton friends that could materially lessen its weight.They had nothing to accuse him of but pride; pride he probably had,and if not,it would certainly be imputed by the inhabitants of a small market-town where the family did not visit. It was acknowledged,however,that he was a liberal man,and did much good among the poor.
With respect to Wickham, the travellers soon found that he was not held there in much estimation;for though the chief of his concerns with the son of his patron were imperfectly understood, it was yet a well-known fact that,on his quitting Derbyshire,he had left many debts behind him, which Mr. Darcy afterwards discharged.
As for Elizabeth,her thoughts were at Pemberley this evening more than the last;and the evening,though as it passed it seemed long,was not long enough to determine her feelings towards one in that mansion;and she lay awake two whole hours endeavouring to make them out. She certainly did not hate him. No; hatred had vanished long ago,and she had almost as long been ashamed of ever feeling a dislike against him, that could be so called. The respect created by the conviction of his valuable qualities, though at first unwillingly admitted, had for some time ceased to be repugnant to her feeling; and it was now heightened into somewhat of a friendlier nature, by the testimony so highly in his favour, and bringing forward his disposition in so amiable a light, which yesterday had produced. But above all, above respect and esteem, there was a motive within her of goodwill which could not be overlooked. It was gratitude; gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him, and all the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection.He who,she had been persuaded,would avoid her as his greatest enemy,seemed,on this accidental meeting,most eager to preserve the acquaintance, and without any indelicate display of regard,or any peculiarity of manner,where their two selves only were concerned, was soliciting the good opinion of her friends,and bent on making her known to his sister.Such a change in a man of so much pride exciting not only astonishment but gratitude—for to love,ardent love,it must be attributed;and as such its impression on her was of a sort to be encouraged,as by no means unpleasing,though it could not be exactly defined.She respected,she esteemed,she was grateful to him,she felt a real interest in his welfare;and she only wanted to know how far she wished that welfare to depend upon herself,and how far it would be for the happiness of both that she should employ the power, which her fancy told her she still possessed,of bringing on her the renewal of his addresses.
It had been settled in the evening between the aunt and the niece, that such a striking civility as Miss Darcy's in coming to them on the very day of her arrival at Pemberley, for she had reached it only to a late breakfast,ought to be imitated,though it could not be equalled,by some exertion of politeness on their side;and,consequently,that it would be highly expedient to wait on her at Pemberley the following morning.They were,therefore, to go.Elizabeth was pleased;though when she asked herself the reason,she had very little to say in reply.
Mr.Gardiner left them soon after breakfast.The fishing scheme had been renewed the day before, and a positive engagement made of his meeting some of the gentlemen at Pemberley before noon.
