Elizabeth colored.“Well, I, he is,” she paused and looked away, shaking her head and pursing her lips.“Yes, I find him attractive.”
“And if he offered to court you tomorrow, you would accept?”
Elizabeth huffed.
“Or would you decline on the grounds of him being unattractive?”
“Of course not!What a ridiculous reason!A person cannot help their looks.”
Charlotte leveled a piercing look at her friend.“Exactly.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes.“It is hardly the same thing.”
“Is it not?”
“Men care much more about these things than women do.”
“Do they?”
“Yes!”
“Then how is it that I am married and Jane is not?”
Elizabeth gasped and looked at Charlotte with shock and offense.
“If beauty alone were the deciding factor in marriage, Jane would have wed years ago.And if beauty alone were the deciding factor in spinsterhood, I would still be one.”
“What does this have to do with Mr.Darcy?”she asked warily.
“So he found you tolerable.What of it?That was months ago.He has now come to know you better.It is entirely possible he now finds you attractive, much how you have changed in your opinion of Colonel Fitzwilliam’s looks.”
“I am certainly prettier than the colonel,” she grumbled.
Charlotte smiled.“That you are.So you see, Mr.Darcy could very well be in love with you.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes again.“Charlotte, you have taken up an idea and run wild with it.”
“Why do you say so?Has he insulted you again and I did not hear of it?”
“No.”
“Does he still stare at you when you are together in company?”
“He is looking to find fault!”
“Because men so often stare at that which they dislike,” said Charlotte with a look of smug disbelief.
Elizabeth huffed again.“There is nothing better to do at Rosings.”
“Of course.A young man of independent means in the country of his own accord can find nothing better to do than stare at you out of boredom.I comprehend it clearly now.”
“He does not speak to me!”
“He is a quiet man.”
“He is rude and haughty.”
“That does not mean he dislikes you.”
