Miss Elizabeth laughed. “Have no fear, Mr. Darcy. It is not my intention to entice you to dance with anyone, least of all with me. We have nothing to talk about, and I am sure we both can think of more diverting ways of spending our time than in each other’s company.”
Darcy grumbled. Did she think him dull? Her dismissive manner irritated him. He was tempted to ask her for a set merely to prove his point, but his ill humor kept his senses in check.Insufferable female.
She leaned closer, and he caught a whiff of sweet orange blossom and spicy cloves. Fresh and light with a heady kick. How appropriate. A grin curled from her lips up to her eyes. “I would much rather Mr. Bingley ask my sister to dance again.”
Darcy jerked to his full height, looking over her to see Bingley talking with none other than Miss Bennet and her atrocious mother. A heady kick, all right! How had Darcy allowed Bingley to escape unnoticed?
With a brief glare at the distracting sprite gloating at him, Darcy dismissed himself and hastened to station himself at Bingley’s side.
Miss Elizabeth joined them, her smile bright.
If Darcy did not do something quickly, Bingley would ask Miss Bennet to dance with him again. Drat it all! Desperate not to cede another victory to Miss Elizabeth, Darcy turned to Miss Bennet. With a grand bow, he held out his hand. “Might I have the honor of your next dance, Miss Bennet?”
Miss Bennet, of course, accepted graciously. Bingley’s brow furrowed and his lips twisted. Mrs. Bennet was delighted.
Darcy pretended not to notice Miss Elizabeth as he whisked her sister away from Bingley on his arm. It was ungentlemanly to gloat.
Then, like a flea that plagued him, there she stood beside her sister. She grinned at her partner—at Bingley, who looked with cow eyes at Miss Bennet.
Darcy attempted to engage Miss Bennet in conversation, but she had eyes only for Bingley. Bingley’s partner did nothing at all to distract him from his open admiration of Miss Bennet. She pranced and spun, looking entirely too pleased with herself.
Well played, Miss Elizabeth. Well played.This was no longer a battle of contrary wills. This was a full-on war.
CHAPTER7
Elizabeth’s triumph did not come without cost. So distracted had she been with Mr. Darcy—insufferable man!—she had forgotten to check her younger sisters. Of course, the girls had lost no time in finding a pack of officers and had placed themselves at the center. They laughed so loud that Elizabeth wondered how they did not lose their voices. Would that they did!
Even after Elizabeth retrieved them, whining and pouting, from the bevy of soldiers, Kitty and especially Lydia were indecorously boisterous. Elizabeth felt Mr. Darcy’s disdain everywhere she went. Being taller than most, he was easy to spot in the crush. Always, his gaze followed her, criticizing and vexingly superior.
To make matters worse, Mr. Bingley had only danced once with Jane. Granted, it was the opening dance, but if Jane’s hopes were not to be crushed that evening, she needed more assurance. If only Mr. Darcy did not intimidate anyone brave enough to approach Mr. Bingley. It would serve that surly gentleman right if Elizabeth dragged Kitty and Lydia over to him. She would love to see how he managedthat!
But allowing Mr. Bingley to see the flaws of her family so closely would only hurt Jane’s chances, so Elizabeth kept at a distance and tried to ignore the heat that crawled up her neck into her cheeks every time her eyes met Mr. Darcy’s.
Hours passed, supper was served, and she looked longingly at her calm friend, Charlotte, who sat with her family. Elizabeth maneuvered Kitty to join her. Charlotte was steady, and Kitty’s behavior always improved without Lydia’s influence.
Elizabeth wished she could join them. Pretending to enjoy herself while subduing Lydia and quieting her mother began to wear Elizabeth thin. She nearly cried when it was time to return to the cacophony of the ballroom. Plastering a smile on her face, Elizabeth readied herself to dance on aching feet. She had already lined up several suitable and mannerly gentlemen from among their neighbors to keep her sisters entertained.
“Lizzy.” Kitty tugged on her arm before they passed the archway leading back to the ballroom. “I have a message from Charlotte for you, but I only have a moment before Mr. Denny claims me for the next set.”
“Mr. Denny?” He was not one of their neighbors, but he seemed like a decent sort. “Who is dancing with Lydia?”
Kitty rolled her eyes. “Charlotte wished to speak to you, but you left the dining room too soon.”
Elizabeth would not be distracted this late in the evening. “Kitty, I asked with whom Lydia is going to dance.”
“Charlotte has some news to relay to you regarding Mr. Bingley,” Kitty said, still not answering her question. She must have noticed Elizabeth’s impatience. With another roll of her eyes, Kitty gestured to where Lydia stood with Mr. Chamberlayne. “See? Mr. Chamberlayne has claimed Lydia’s next set. Surely you cannot disapprove of him. Come, Lizzy, Charlotte said she has useful intelligence.”
Lydia waved at Kitty to join them. Mr. Denny was there, too, adding credibility to Kitty’s claims.
“Charlotte said she has useful intelligence?” Although Elizabeth was still suspicious, thiswasthe sort of phrase Charlotte might use. It would hardly have originated with Kitty. Charlotte knew that Jane’s heart had been touched by Mr. Bingley; she had seen it for herself at the Meryton assembly. Had she learned something new?
“Yes, she begged for you to meet her in Mr. Bingley’s book room.”
“In his library?” If Charlotte wished to say anything she did not wish others to overhear, the room tired fathers went to nap in relative quiet was not a good choice.
Lydia’s gestures got wilder. Kitty shuffled her feet. “No, not the library. His study. The one farthest away and quieter.”
That was even stranger. “That is a private room. Why would she wish to meet me there?”
