Elizabeth rolled her eyes and sat on the bench overlooking the brook.“My evening was as pleasant as yours, I imagine.Have you heard from your friend?”
“As a matter of fact, I have.”He continued to lean against a tree with his arms across his chest, watching her.
“That was quick.”
“Bingley was in when my man arrived and he waited for a response.It arrived late last night.”
“It must be convenient to have men to ride all over the country for you at a moment’s notice.”
“It is remarkably so.”
She rolled her eyes again.
“Do you care to hear his response?”
“Yes, please.”She smiled and removed a muffin from her small basket as Mr.Darcy opened the letter.
“He says all the usual things, then asks me if I am sure I was mistaken about Miss Bennet, expresses surprise she is in London, tells me I am an officious oaf for presuming to know the heart of a young lady I barely knew, and says he will call on her today and beg her to forgive him.”He folded the letter neatly and placed it in his pocket.
“Does he truly call you an officious oaf?”
“He used rather more colorful language, but that was the general idea.”
She smirked and held out a muffin.“Are you hungry?”
“Ravenous.”
She scooted over on the bench and placed the basket on her lap so Darcy could sit beside her.“I told Mrs.Hopkins I would be gone quite some time and she insisted on sending me with sustenance.There is tea if you would like some.”She held out a small crockery bottle still warm from the kitchen.
“Thank you.”He brought it to his lips and kept his eyes on her as he drank, then handed it back to her.
“I am glad Mr.Bingley will call on Jane.She deserves every happiness.”
“Bingley has been miserable without her.To be honest, I was regretting my role in it long before today.”
“Oh?”
“Yes.I do not like to practice persuasion on a friend.It is distasteful.But I truly thought it was in Bingley’s best interest, so I did it.Disguise is my abhorrence, but I concealed your sister’s presence in London from him.It has not sat well with me.Bingley has been so low, I have been tempted more than once to tell him she was in town and how to find her.”
“What stopped you?”she asked softly.
“You.”He turned to look her in the eye.“If Bingley married Miss Bennet, I would not be able to avoid seeing you, and last winter, I was foolish enough to think I could live without you and that I would be better off with a wife from the ton.”
“And now?”
“Now I realize how foolish I was.I have been in society many years.If I had wanted a wife from their ranks, I could have chosen one ten times over.”
“So you only changed your mind about Mr.Bingley because you changed your mind about me?”
“No, I changed my mind about Bingley because I realized I was mistaken as to Miss Bennet’s feelings and having known what it is to live without the woman I love, I did not wish to inflict such a thing on my friend if happiness was within his grasp.”
She flushed.“Am I that woman?”
“You know that you are.”
Elizabeth was sure she resembled a September apple from how much she was blushing.Recognizing the futility of trying to overcome such a thing, she laughed breathily and shook her head a little.
“What is so funny?”
