After two days of ranting and silently questioning his own sanity—who desires to marry a penniless woman that does not desire to marry him?—Darcy decided to give her questions the benefit of rational thought. She had said her justice could not allow her doubts to go unspoken. Well, his justice could not allow her questions to go unexamined. After careful thought and deliberation, he came to the same conclusion he had all the other times he had thought about marrying Elizabeth Bennet. The advantages far outweighed any negatives. Yes, they were unfamiliar with each other, but that would change with time. He believed they truly were suited and he knew his feelings would not fade. They had only grown stronger since he’d met her last autumn and that was without being in her presence.

Once he had seen her in Kent, his feelings had grown enormously, to the point he could hardly think of anything else. He knew this part of it all, this fever of the heart, would not, could not, last forever, but he also knew that the abiding care he felt for her was long lasting and that his enjoyment of her presence was unlikely to diminish with time. He could only imagine how much more he would come to enjoy her when they were permitted to spend unlimited amounts of time together, undisturbed and unchaperoned. He imagined that once they were fully intimate with one another, there would be an unshakeable bond between them, in addition to the increase of feelings and pleasure in her company such closeness would necessarily bring.

Still, she should not have tried to cry off. Or to convince him to do it for her. It was cowardly of her. His pride told him to let her worry about it for a while and hopefully that would teach her not to try to break a promise, especially with him. A smaller, quieter part of him was very worried about her actions and the thoughts that must have led to them. Her obvious lack of attachment to him was surprisingly disturbing. What would it mean for their future together? Her father had told him she did not love him as he loved her, as was only right, but her lack of devotion was worrying.

Alas, his pride won out and he did not send her another letter for nearly a fortnight, letting her bask in the uncertainty she was sure to be feeling.

~