“I do not think so. Why, did she seem so when you danced with her?” Mr Bingley looked worried. “Shall I visit the Bennets tomorrow and apologise again?”
Darcy did not care for the idea of him going alone to visit the Bennets. If anything, he would suggest they go along together once an appropriate amount of time had transpired. “That might send the wrong message. Unless — have I perhaps misread you? Are you indeed interested in her as a suitor would be?”
Mr Bingley only shrugged. “She is very pleasant to converse with.”
Darcy was only slightly more at ease with that answer. “To answer your question: no. Miss Elizabeth did not seem peeved in the slightest. She was very pleasant to dance with, as you have already said.”
“Yes, I am glad you agree. Well, I hope she did not misunderstand. I have a great liking for her already. But her sister —” Bingley lifted his eyes heavenward. “She is like an angel come down to walk among us.”
Darcy did his best to suppress a smile. He himself would not have waxed so poetically about a woman he had just met, but he had not the slightest doubt of Bingley’s sincerity. His friend was sometimes over-eager in his enthusiasms, but never less than honest.
“Well, my friend. I think it is high time we both retire. I am sure we shall have many calls to make and many to receive tomorrow.” Bingley got up from his chair and deposited his half-drunk glass of port on the sidebar.
Darcy did the same with his, of which he had only imbibed a few sips, and followed Bingley out of the room. It was not until they had started to climb the stairs that he realised how exhausted he was. Yet Darcy was conscious of an unusual gladness that he had not stayed in that night. Had he been given the option, he certainly would have remained at home, and yet if he had, he would not have met the most fascinating woman of his acquaintance.
He said a last “goodnight” to Bingley before he opened the door to his suite of rooms and closed the door. Thankfully, his valet was waiting to help him undress.
Alone at last, he ran over the events of the evening once again, wondering at his strange feelings. How could Elizabeth have so thoroughly captured his thoughts and his imagination after only a single meeting? Yet he would have to be on his guard. The single meeting that had sufficed to show him her marvellous spirit and sparkling eyes had also revealed that her mother and younger sisters were by no means in command of equal elegance.
Bingley might be ready to declare himself in love without considering the connections and respectability of his lady, but Darcy had not the slightest intention of so committing his heart so recklessly.
Chapter 5
“You are making wrinkles, Caro,” Louisa said, as she had so often when they were girls. Caroline unscrewed her frown with difficulty.
“I am sorry. But I cannot stop thinking about Mr Darcy asking Miss Elizabeth Bennet to dance last night. It was so strange to see him with her, such a jumped-up country bumpkin of a girl. And the whole family has not the least education. It is painful to see Mr Darcy, of all men, with such a simpleton.” Caroline smoothed her navy blue silk gown, wishing she did not feel jealous of a no-name rustic miss like Elizabeth Bennet.
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet does not seem like a simpleton to me,” Louisa returned. “She seemed quite shrewd, actually. She is certainly taking full advantage of her unexpected inheritance.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why not procure two fortunes instead of one? Or so I imagine her to think. Her inheritance from her uncle may be generous, but I am sure it is not as vast as ten thousand a year.” Louisa leaned back on the settee and studied her nails.
Caroline lifted an eyebrow as she studied her sister. Louisa was growing quite rotund around the midsection now that she had been married for a few years. And it was not fromthe promise of a child soon to arrive, either. Indeed, Caroline would be surprised if they ever managed to have a child, with her husband so often away at the track, or the gentleman’s club.Anywhere, really, where he need not be in the company of his wife.
Louisa met her gaze. “You do not agree?”
“I do, unfortunately.”
“Well, you have been pouting about it all morning. Why not do something about it?” Louisa challenged. “I know that you have long hoped that Mr Darcy would be yours. Elizabeth Bennet may put a damper on all your plans.”
Caroline rose and began to pace. She hated that her sister was right. “That comment about her ‘fine eyes’ was very telling. I do not think I have ever seen Mr Darcy as taken with a woman as he was with Elizabeth Bennet,” she said with a huff.
“Yes, it does not bode well for your plans to catch him yourself.”
Caroline rolled her eyes. “You are not being very helpful by pointing that out, sister,” she said through gritted teeth. “However, I have a plan.”
Louisa perked up at this. “Oh? And what does this plan entail?”
Caroline stalked along the tall windows, hardly feeling the warmth of the late morning sunlight they allowed to stream in. “I will send an invitation to Miss Elizabeth, asking her to supper tomorrow. I will then assist her in setting her cap for Charles — which, to judge by that mother, I am sure she will do, given the slightest opportunity.”
“Why would you do that? I thought you did not like her.” Louisa sat up straighter and followed her movements as Caroline walked back and forth.
“I do not. However, we must think of the greater good. Charles has said he thinks her pleasant and witty. If it is a match between them, Charles will gain her fortune and estate, rather than depleting his by purchasing an estate for himself.” She allowed herself a small smile, ever thoughtful of smile lines, as her sister and mother had reminded her ever since her childhood. “More importantly, even if it is not a match, it will detach Miss Elizabeth from Mr Darcy.”
Louisa scrunched up her nose in distaste. “Are you quite sure, Caro? I had thought to do better for Charles. She has no title and no connections, after all. I heard tell that her father barely leaves his house and refuses to travel to town for the Season.”
“That does not mean that Miss Elizabeth will be averse to the idea. Besides, Charles will have to learn to steer his wife with a firm hand, no matter who he marries.”
