“I see.So you are more than enamored of Miss Covington.”
He flushed.“We have only recently begun to see each other regularly again.”
She nodded.“But you think you would like to marry her?”
“She is my first choice, yes.”
“First?Or only?”
“At the moment, only.”
Elizabeth nodded but said nothing.
“I tried to forget her two years ago.I paid attention to the daughter of one of my mother’s friends and thought we might make a go of it, but I could never fully forget Miss Covington.Every woman I met, I compared to her.”
“Let me guess.They all fell short?”
“Precisely.”
“Oh dear, I believe I should call you Fitz regularly now.”
He looked at her in confusion.
“You have just confessed to being in love with Miss Covington.Such a statement demands a more informal address, don’t you think?”
He looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and said, “I would be pleased for you to call me Fitz.Even though my dolt of a cousin has yet to work up his courage and propose to you.”
It was Elizabeth’s turn to flush.“I do not think it is courage he lacks.”
“You do not?”
She shook her head.“I asked him to give me time to become accustomed to the idea.After all, it was barely over a fortnight ago that I would not have even considered him a friend.”
“But you have spent a great deal of time with him since then.Much more than you would if you had seen one another at a few dinners and balls.”
“You are not incorrect.”
“So it is you who lacks the courage?”he asked softly.
She tilted her head and sighed.“It is not courage I lack, but conviction.”
“You are still unsure of him?”
“Do not look at me like that.You have had a lifetime of knowing his character, seeing him in every situation, watching how he reacts to difficulties.I have had a fortnight.Under the circumstances, I think I have come a rather long way.”
“Forgive me, you are correct of course.I know Darcy to be an exemplary man and I would be remiss if I did not tell you that you could do far worse in a husband.”
She gave him a look he could not interpret, but he thought it was a cross of exasperation and interest.
“Not only would he be a good husband to anyone lucky enough to marry him, but he will be especially good to you, for he is desperately in love with you.”
She could not help the smile that formed at such a pronouncement.“I have come to the same conclusion.”
“So what are you waiting for, Lizzy?”
She looked at him in surprise, seeing the stern expression she would expect of any self-respecting elder brother.“Nothing, I suppose.”
He smiled.“You should tell him that.The poor man is tied in knots.”
