Lord Netherby made no reply; he thought the Knight, perhaps, was venting his own regrets at the downfall of a political ascendency he wished to see vested in men of his own station,—a position they had long enjoyed, and which, in some respects, had placed them above the law.
“You lay more store by such ties, Knight,” said the Earl, in a low, insinuating voice, “than we are accustomed to do. Blood and birth have suffered less admixture with mere wealth here than with us.”
“Perhaps we do, my Lord,” said Darcy, smiling; “it is the compensation for our poverty. Unmixed descent is the boast of many who have retained nothing of their ancestors save the name.”
“But you yourself can scarcely be an advocate for the maintenance of these opinions: this spirit of clan and chieftainship is opposed, not only to progress, but to liberty.”
“I have given the best proof of the contrary,” said Darcy, laughing, “by marrying an Englishwoman,—a dereliction, I assure you, that cost me many a warm supporter in this very country.”
“Indeed! By the way, I am reminded of a subject I wished to speak of to you, and which I have been hesitating whether I should open with my cousin Eleanor or yourself; the moment seems, however, propitious,—may I broach it?”
Darcy bowed courteously, and the other resumed:—
“I will be brief, then. Young Beauclerk, a friend of your son Lionel, has been, as every one younger and older than himself must be, greatly taken by the charms of Miss Darcy. Brief as the acquaintance here has been, the poor fellow is desperately in love, and, while feeling how such an acknowledgment might prejudice his chance of success on so short an intimacy, he cannot leave this without the effort to secure for his pretensions a favorable hearing hereafter. In fact, my dear Knight, he has asked of me to be his intercessor with you,—not to receive him as a son-in-law, but to permit him to pay such attentions as, in the event of your daughter's acceptance, may enable him to make the offer of his hand and fortune. I need not tell you that in point of position and means he is unexceptionable; a very old Baronetcy,—not one of these yesterday creations made up of State Physicians and Surgeons in Ordinary,—an estate of above twelve thousand a year. Such are claims to look high with; but I confess I think he could not lay them at the feet of one more captivating than my fair Helen.”
Darcy made no reply for several minutes; he pressed his hand across his eyes, and turned his head away, as if to escape observation; then, with an effort that seemed to demand all his strength, he said,—
“This is impossible, my Lord. There are reasons—there are circumstances why I cannot entertain this proposition. I am not able to explain them; a few days more, and I need not trouble myself on that subject.”