Darcy reined in the horse and when the gig came to a halt, he turned to glare at his cousin. “What?”
“How kind of you to ask,” Anne replied sardonically. “It is terribly noble of you to come all this way to escort me, but had you troubled yourself to ask what I wished first, you might have saved yourself a trip, for I do not wish to go.”
“Sir William is under the impression that you were planning to leave this afternoon.”
“I have changed my mind. I do not feel well.”
Darcy regarded her for a moment. She looked no more indisposed than usual, though he could not imagine why she should invent such a claim. “I am sorry to hear it, but if that is the case, you would certainly be better coming with me and being seen by my physician.”
“For heaven’s sake, they do have physicians outside of London, you know, Darcy. But that is immaterial. I wish to stay here.”
“You cannot mean to be away from Rosings for Christmas. What has my aunt to say about all this? Has she objected to your being here?”
“It would be difficult, given that she does not know.”
Darcy made a concerted effort to prevent his expression from reflecting his thoughts. “Pray explain how she can possibly be unaware that you are not at home?”
“Because she is not there, either. She has been called away to visit a dying friend.”
“She believes you are still at Rosings? Anne, please tell me you have not obliged the servants to conceal this from her?”
“Do not be ridiculous. She knows I am not there.”
“And?” he pressed, his displeasure escalating. “Where does she think you are?”
“At Number One. With you.”
He turned away sharply so she would not see the oath he mouthed. If there had not been reason enough to get her out of Hertfordshire before, there was no possibility of her remaining now. He had no intention of exposing himself to Lady Catherine’s wrath should any harm befall her daughter whilst ostensibly in his care. This was precisely why he abhorred disguise.
“I have never observed this streak of cunning in you before,” he remarked icily.
“No, well, I am discovering some less than agreeable parts ofyouthat I never noticed before, either.”
Darcy was taken aback as much by the turn of her countenance as the charge she flung at him, yet he would not knowingly cause her distress and thus moderated his tone as he attempted to explain his concern. “There is a man in the vicinity, a Mr Wickham, who?—”
“Yes, I am acquainted with him.”
“So I understand. But he is not the sort of man whose company it would be prudent for you to keep.”
Anne narrowed her eyes. “You have an excessively low opinion of my intelligence.”
“It is not my opinion of you that matters. It is my opinion of him.”
“In that case, you need not concern yourself. It will be no punishment at all for me to stay away from him. Meryton is a large enough town that avoiding him ought to be easy.”
“It would be considerably easier in adifferenttown. Why are you so insistent upon staying here?”
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. When she replied, it was not with an answer to his question. “You behaved very strangely just now at Longbourn. Miss Elizabeth was exceedingly rude to you, yet you said nothing. You only smiled at her. It is most unlike you to tolerate such an affront.”
Darcy glanced pointedly at Mrs Jenkinson, whose studied indifference to their conversation was convincing nobody.
Anne ignored him. “I thought I understood you did not care for her,” she continued, “but if you truly do not find her handsome enough to tempt you, then why do you allow her to be so insolent towards you?”
A shard of uneasiness shot through Darcy’s gut. How the devil did Anne know he had said that? “Miss Elizabeth was not insolent. She was merely teasing.”
“Teasing? What are you thinking, allowing her to believe it is acceptable for her toteaseyou? You cannot continue to raise her expectations in this merciless manner, Darcy. It is cruel.”
“I have given nobodyanyjust cause to believe they may expect attention from me,” he said gravely. He may as well have claimed he did not possess a head.
