Charlotte’s hand shot to her mouth. “Oh, my! Mr. Darcy?”
“Yes, well, his focus on duty rather than tender concern added to the pain from my injury caused me to be as abrupt with my response as was his offer to me. Everything about the process felt cold and distant like we would never be able to see the way to felicity. There was no possibility of my agreement. As you are aware, I did not attend Mr. Bingley’s ball. The next day the whole of the Bingley party, including Mr. Darcy, vacated the premises and never returned.”
“Lizzy, it is likely that you will be in Mr. Darcy’s company here. You will not be able to avoid him.”
“I have already been in Mr. Darcy’s company, Charlotte. The past two days he walked the same path as me. Tomorrow, though, I shall choose a different part of Rosings Park to explore.”
“Lizzy!”
Elizabeth did not like the grin on her friend’s face.
“Could it possibly be that he regrets your refusal?” Charlotte asked.
What? Of course not!
Charlotte added, “When you were both at Lucas Lodge, his eyes followed your every move. During the card party at your aunt’s house in Meryton he did the same. I suspect that if you were to ask him his intentions, he would have, perhaps reluctantly, shared that he was enamored of you.”
“Never! This is Mr. Darcy we are talking about, Charlotte. He is destined for someone of elevated rank, not a simple girl from the wilds of Hertfordshire.”
“Longbourn is hardly a wilderness, Lizzy.”
“Be that as it may, Mr. Darcy has no interest in me.”
“Are you absolutely certain of that?”
“Absolutely!”Elizabeth insisted. “He rarely speaks to me and never looks at me, so your speculation is flawed, Charlotte. Only in your dreams would Mr. Darcy genuinely care for me. I will promise that when we are forced together socially, we will meet as indifferent acquaintances. Thus, Lady Catherine will have no reason to shun me as competition for her daughter’s claims on the man.”
“I do not know, Lizzy.” Charlotte cautioned, “I think you are closing your eyes to an opportunity that few women would ever have. Do not be a simpleton by allowing your standards for what you demand in a marriage to make you appear unpleasant in the eyes of a man of ten times the consequence of any unattached male in Hertfordshire.”
“Do not be concerned, my friend. I only desire to keep my expectations from rising when nothing at all will come from Mr. Darcy’s being in Kent.”
Darcy had usedevery means of trickery to evade his cousin’s inquiry. Richard Fitzwilliam had earned his rank as an expert in military strategy, so he knew exactly which questions to ask to garner whatever information he needed. At the moment, he wanted to know Darcy’s private business.
“Am I not welcome to join you for a walk about the grounds? This is the third day in a row that you refused my company. If I did not know better, I would think I had fallen out of your favor. Yet, that cannot be, for who would rescue you from the dragon’s lair.”
“Do not refer to our aunt as a dragon, Richard.”
“I was speaking of Cousin Anne.”
Darcy was quick to divert Richard’s attention back to the point of conversation. “I have a weighty matter to consider that is private, Richard. It is for this reason alone that I choose to stroll Rosings without your company. I do my best thinking in solitude.” Darcy adjusted the perfectly tied knot in his cravat and swept a loose wave of his hair from his brow. He stepped closer to the mirror.Was that a spot Parker missed when he shaved him?No, it was a mere shadow.
Richard Fitzwilliam leaned back in his chair, stretching his feet out in front of him. He was the picture of relaxation until one noticed the piercing gaze and the grimness of his jaw.
“Weighty matter? Is that what you call her?” His cousin arched his brow in the same manner Miss Elizabeth had done anytime she called his opinions into question.
Darcy spun on his heel, his breath catching. “Her?”
Sitting erect, Richard said, “Dark hair tucked under her bonnet, pert chin, well-pleasing figure, good posture, walking asfar away from you as possible on the forest path? She is not our cousin Anne, Darcy. Lady Catherine will be furious if she knows you are trying to flirt with someone who is not her daughter.”
“Trying to flirt? Whatever do you mean?”
His cousin laughed. “My friend, from a distance, it appeared that you were chasing, and she was running as fast as she was able.”
“Bah! You know nothing.” Rubbing his hand over his mouth, Darcy paced.What should he hide from his most trusted friend? What could he reveal?After a moment’s pause, he said, “Her name is Elizabeth Bennet. She is not a stranger to me.”
Richard nodded. “Ah, I see. I have heard her name from Anne. She is a guest at the parsonage and a friend of Mr. and Mrs. Collins. How do you know her?”
Sitting across from his cousin, Darcy said, “We met in Hertfordshire. Her father’s estate is neighbor to the house Bingley leased. Because society was limited, we were often together. You should know that Bingley imagined himself in love at first sight with Miss Elizabeth’s eldest sister. Yet, my first impressions of the Bennet family showed them to be a crass and grasping sort. Thus, at the beginning, I did not present the best version of myself to any of them.”
