Mr. Darcy was not a vain man but he knew that some clothes could be more flattering to his appearance than others. So, that evening, he took great care in his choice and he even asked for his valet’s opinion. Barnes was surprised by the question but, of course, it couldn’t be shown in his answer, "Sir, I think the company won’t find any fault with you." Mr. Darcy frowned at the impertinent reply; yet scolding his cheeky servant was not to be thought about since he still had to be shaved. And since they both knew revenge was a dish best served cold, the settling of scores would wait. All in all, Mr. Darcy was rather grateful to his valet. It had been years now since his father had hired Barnes for his service - since he had graduated from Cambridge, actually – and both had developed the kind of familiar relationship that can only flourish between a devoted servant and his fair master. Barnes was providing Mr. Darcy with the most precious help at this precise moment: a friendly and efficient mood. It helped him to collect his thoughts for the dinner. He didn’t know how Elizabeth really felt about their last encounter, and above all, how she felt about the last incident. Incident indeed! He could not name that event this way to himself! It had been a thunderclap, a fireworks explosion, but not just a mere incident, and he would give his fortune to know if she had also felt it this way. Why had she withdrawn her hand so quickly? Was it only for propriety reasons? And she had been so frightened when she had hit him, he would bet her voice was deeply concerned, was he right? Could he hope? Dare he hope? So many questions and so few answers… She had the answers but he didn’t have the strength to bear them if they were not the ones he hoped for, not yet. So he would just go on with questions he would not ask, trying to find out the answers by himself!

While the maid was helping her with her bath and her dressing for the dinner, Lizzy struggled to not let her heart take control of her thoughts. Instead, she managed to remain sensible and tried to reason out everything that had happened. She didn’t need to understand her actions and reactions, one word only could explain all of them: love! But what about his?

First in the library, he had suggested the principle of the lessons. She had realised that Charles and Jane had probably never understood that she wanted to practice; but Mr. Darcy was known to be very clever, and he had obviously guessed rightly where her true preference lay. Then, he proposed that they had it at that moment. This, she agreed, was quite commonsensical because they had to be alone in the house for these lessons to take place, and, at that moment, all the others were absent. After all, this would not necessarily happen very often! Let’s see, what happened next in the ballroom? Aye, first, he had asked her permission to make himself comfortable; then, he had apologised for touching her; then again, he had denied all the impropriety of her unacceptable gesture; and lastly, he had suggested that they have another lesson. All this was even more proof that he was truly a perfect gentleman. She sighed at this thought, chastising herself for her past errors. So to summarise, he is a very clever gentleman. Well, I already knew this! And if it was not that encouraging, it was not bad either.

Heading down to the drawing-room a few moments before dinner, she was satisfied with herself. She had regained her composure and was quite recovered from the events of the afternoon.

When Elizabeth entered, smiling and hopeful in her ability to remain serene, everyone was already there. But her treacherous heart started right away its usual uneven beating when in his presence; she avoided Mr. Darcy’s look and went to take a seat. Georgiana shyly asked about her health. She was able to answer truthfully that she had taken a nap and that she was now quite well. Jane blushed and pronounced her gladness at such news. Truthfully, she was grateful to Georgiana; because as she had forgotten her little lie, she had not enquired after her sister’s health! Fortunately for Jane’s ease, the butler came to announce dinner.

During dinner, the conversation was pretty lively. Despite Caroline, both Jane and Georgiana had had a very good time in Bond Street, and the Molland’s pastries were true to their fame. Mrs. Bingley’s sweetness, Mr. Bingley’s undeviating cheerfulness and the many good things she had been told about Miss Bennet had allowed Georgiana to almost completely overcome her shyness, and she was taking an active part in telling all the details. There was much to talk about and, with the Charles’ enthusiast help, there was hardly a dull moment during the course of the meal.

Elizabeth was sitting next to Mr. Darcy, facing Jane and her already wavering confidence was slowly drifting away. Propriety made her look at the speakers, and she was glad of it: it made it easy enough not to look at him. But she felt shivers every time the rich sound of his laughter was heard, and she realised that she was becoming physically more aware of his presence with each passing minute. It was as if, now that their skin had touched, an invisible link had been created between them. She could now feel every time he was looking at her, something that had never happened before. She couldn’t make sense of this new sensitivity, and it made her very uncomfortable and consequently more withdrawn than she usually was. She was smiling when she would have been laughing, she was giving one-word answers when she could have uttered a witty repartee. Two persons noticed her unusual behaviour.

Mr. Darcy was disappointed and afraid. Disappointed because, once again, he was in the presence of the Elizabeth he had last met in Hertfordshire. He had hoped that the relative easiness of their relationship during this afternoon would have lasted longer. Afraid because her behaviour was a bad omen for the answers he was trying to fathom. What had happened while she was getting dressed? Had she come to regret agreeing to another lesson? Had she come to regret agreeing to this lesson? Had she come to regret them both, to regret coming to London? Little did he know that, the more questions he had, the more he was looking at her to try and understand, and the more he was looking at her, the uneasier she felt…

Jane was concerned. She had invented her sister’s fatigue to give Lizzy a good excuse to avoid Caroline, but she may have unknowingly hit upon the truth. She had seemed well enough on entering the drawing-room but now, Lizzy wasn’t herself. While observing her sister, Jane also took notice of their host’s behaviour. Although he seemed interested in their afternoon adventures, she often caught him looking at Lizzy. And his gaze was quite concerned also. Her doubts flew back. Charles had told her that Mr. Darcy had come home instead of coming with him to meet the ladies. The business excuse seemed perfectly credible, and neither he nor Lizzy had shown any sign that they had met during their afternoon alone in the house; yet that might be an explanation. They had met and something had happened which drove them to behave thus. She resolved on speaking with her sister as soon as she could to confirm her hypothesis.

After dinner, the ladies left the dining-room to let the gentlemen have their port. As Mr. Bingley knew his friend would not be very interested in what had not yet been said of the afternoon shopping, he chose another topic and asked him about the part of the afternoon they had not spent together. "So, Darcy, was your business worth leaving me alone with four ladies?" he asked, a chuckle in the voice.

Smiling, Mr. Darcy answered: "May I remind you that two of them are your sisters and one is your wife? You must be quite used to their company. Only Georgiana could have surprised you!"

"True… But you know perfectly that Georgiana is a very well-bred young lady and that she could not be troublesome. Anyway, were you able to attend to all your business?"

If Mr. Darcy had not known his friend so well, he would have wondered if he suspected something. Could he include Elizabeth in his ’business’? He decided to wait and see. "No, actually, I shall have to spend some time on it shortly."

Then, Mr. Bingley surprised him, "Oh, that’s a pity. I’m afraid you won’t have time to help Miss Bennet with her novel, then!"

He decided to be somehow honest with him. "Well, this is precisely the reason why I didn’t finish my business matters. While I was working, Miss Bennet came in the library to find a book about fencing and I helped her."

"That’s very good of you! Have you been able to be useful?"

"I hope I have. We decided to meet another time." At least, it was true. And if Bingley could help him to be alone with Elizabeth, it was worth it! "But, to get back to my business matters, my solicitor comes tomorrow morning and it will hopefully be settled after that."

"Good… So, … how do you find Jane?"

And so, the conversation went on, on a more interesting topic for Mr. Bingley.

In the drawing-room, Georgiana, carried away with her newly found confidence, had decided to entertain her guests with some silly remarks Caroline had made to her during their shopping afternoon. She was mimicking Miss Bingley so accurately that laughter filled the place. While Elizabeth’s mirth was frank and open, her sister couldn’t repress an indulgent "Oh’ from time to time; this was after all her sister in law who was being laughed at. Jane could observe that Lizzy’s uneasiness seemed quite forgotten, and she realised that it had been the case since they had left the gentlemen. This was very interesting indeed …

When Georgiana had finished, Jane asked her sister, "Are you sure you’re well, Lizzy? You didn’t seem yourself during dinner."

Elizabeth was aghast but tried to answer casually. "Dearest Jane, please, do not concern yourself… Everything is fine with me... I’m still a little bit tired; I guess I was more exhausted than I thought." Speaking with Jane of her state of mind was confusing. She was more and more aware that it could be helpful to confess her feelings to someone, but doing this in front of Miss Darcy, his sister, that was dreadful! She had to change the conversation or she would soon be lost! "Miss Darcy, I see you have a very nice pianoforte in London as well. I should be very glad if you would play something for us."

Georgiana was happy to comply; pleasing her brother’s beloved was a duty and a pleasure, and she wanted to show Miss Bennet how hard she had practiced since last summer. She chose a difficult part and started to play.

Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy entered the drawing-room while she was playing. The former chose to sit by his lovely wife, the latter chose to stand by his sister, as if to turn her pages. This way, he had both Georgiana and Elizabeth in his view. Jane noticed that her sister had blushed and had looked at the floor when the door opened.

At the end of the piece, the praise was unanimous and Georgiana was asked to play once more. She answered, looking at her brother, "I shall. But may I be so bold as to ask Miss Bennet to play something after me." Turning to the now flushed brown haired young woman, she added, "I was delighted by your song last summer; it would be a great happiness to hear it once again." Turning back to her brother, she was rewarded by his surprised but grateful look.

Elizabeth didn’t feel like remembering that delightful evening because the hope it had created had been crashed by the misery Lydia’s elopement had brought. "I’m afraid I haven’t practiced it for a long time but I shall play you a Scottish air I have recently learned."

Mr. Darcy replied with a warm smile, "I’m sure it will also be delightful."

She smiled shyly while thanking him by a slight bow.

Georgiana’s second performance was as good and as much applauded as the first. She left her place to Elizabeth who played her song very gracefully. Mr. Darcy was now sitting in front of her and his stare didn’t leave her for the whole piece. Although his position by the piano would have satisfied his need for her sheer presence, he had preferred to favour the delight the sight of her gave him. Fortunately, she knew the song perfectly and her performance was not too affected by the turmoil his look was creating in her. She was warmly congratulated but denied her listeners the pleasure of hearing another song.

"I beg your pardon, but I still feel a little bit tired. Would you mind if I retire now?"

Mr. Darcy stood up, a frown creasing his brow. "Not at all, I hope you shall be better tomorrow."

"And, I feel quite tired also. Shopping was exhausting. I think I shall retire now as well," Jane said.

To no one’s surprise, Mr. Bingley indicated that he would follow his wife and the three of them left the drawing-room.

Now that they were alone, Mr. Darcy could congratulate his sister on her behaviour with their guests. "Georgiana, I would like to tell you how proud of you I am. Since the Bingleys and Elizabeth have arrived, you’ve acted like a very accomplished hostess. I am sincerely delighted with your conduct."

"Thank you, William. Your compliments are a treat for my heart. But I should not be the only one to receive them. If our guests were not so nice, I couldn’t be so at ease. Mr. and Mrs. Bingley are the sweetest persons I have ever met and Miss Bennet is … so kind, so charming that I really do not have to work very hard." After a pause, she added shyly, "I would so dearly like to congratulate you also William, how do you see the future?"

She didn’t need to be more explicit; her brother had perfectly understood her. "I still don’t know. This afternoon, while you were in Bond Street, Miss Bennet and I had a very… interesting meeting. I gave her a fencing lesson, you know. She was so passionate; she reminded me of the first time I saw her at Netherfield, wild from her three mile walk in the muddy countryside. But then, after what I could call an incident, she suddenly came back to the reserved Elizabeth we’ve seen tonight."

His sister asked eagerly, "What happened?"

"I’d rather not talk about it. Do you mind?"

"Of course not, I think I understand. But, tell me, have you planned to have another "interesting meeting"?"

"Yes, she agreed to another lesson."

Georgiana seemed thoughtful for a minute or two. Then she said: "I think that, since she has agreed to another lesson, she has enjoyed herself. No matter the incident, she would like to meet you alone once more. It is a very hopeful consideration, is it not?"

Mr. Darcy sighed and answered: "I’d like to be as optimistic as you are, my dear, but I’m not sure I can. I just hope that we’ll have that other lesson soon, this uncertainty is very hard to bear."

"As for that, dear older brother, I will try to help you!" After a while, she added with a wink, "I really like Miss Bennet very much!"

Mr. Darcy could not repress his chuckle, "I’m not sure I want your help, but thank you, Miss Matchmaking. Now, as your elder brother, I advise you to go to bed! Good night Georgiana."

"Good night William."

As had become his habit, he went to the library to think about Elizabeth. When he entered the room, he remembered the last time he had been there. She was with him, she had teased him, she had smiled at him, she had agreed to have him as a fencing master. He went to his desk and his eyes fell on the letter he had been writing to his steward when she had come in. ’Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy’! Would she ever be Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy? He couldn’t understand how someone could go from despair to happiness and back to despair in less than a day. But he had! If only he could have faith like Georgiana! If only he could understand her feelings! If only he could speak to her! At that moment, he regretted his behaviour towards her this very day. He should have been more direct. He should have told her how he loved her, how he still loved her, how he would always love her. But he hadn’t dared. He was a man of principle, a man known to be brave, he had proven he was, several times, in his dealings with Wickham, but where Elizabeth was concerned, he had acted as a coward, hiding behind his social position, then behind his pride, and now behind his gentlemanlike manners. Had he ever been himself with her? Yes, once, at Pemberley, and if it had not been for the dreadful news from Longbourn, he would have proposed her. He had gained enough confidence, there, to do it. What had changed since? Why should she like him less now in London than then at Pemberley? What mistakes had he made since? He could think of none, but he knew he didn’t think clearly where she was concerned. And Georgiana thought he had a chance, but Georgiana was not yet seventeen and had little experience to refer to! Now, did he have any choice but trusting her? He should cling to that, I will cling to that. And tomorrow, I will speak to her; I have waited long enough. As the clock had rung a late hour, Mr. Darcy made his way to his bedchamber, got undressed and laid down on his bed. He had prepared himself for another long sleepless night, yet it was not to be. The previous bad nights and the day’s events got the better of his anguish and he fell asleep very quickly with a single thought Tomorrow.

In their bedchamber, Jane and Charles were talking about Lizzy and Mr. Darcy. Charles had just told his wife of the conversation he had shared with his friend.

Jane concluded, "So, I was right, they did met during the afternoon."

"What made you think so?"

"Both of them were in the house while we were not. This evening, Lizzy seemed to hide as soon as Mr. Darcy was here, while he seemed to try and read into her mind with no happiness in what he understood. So I supposed that something had happened before dinner. Still, I don’t see how some fencing advice can make them behave so strangely."

"I do not either but how can we know?"

Jane replied softly, "By asking! Charles, would you be very unhappy if I went to my sister’s room to speak with her?"

"Of course I would!" he answered with a sigh. Then, he smiled warmly and said, "But I know you won’t feel happy if you don’t try to help your sister; and I made it my duty in life to make you happy. Aye wife, leave me at once!"

Jane kissed her husband and she was gone.

The Fencing Lessons, Chapter 8