Elizabeth looked away, focusing on cutting her eggs into precise squares.Each scrape of knife against porcelain felt overloud.Jane chatted with Mrs.Hurst about new curtains, their voices a blessed distraction from the tension coiling through the room.
Darcy pushed back his chair.
"If you'll excuse me."He didn't wait for acknowledgment, striding from the breakfast room without looking at anyone.Without looking at her.
Caroline's lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile.Her gaze slid to Elizabeth with feline satisfaction, as though she'd scored some private victory.
After breakfast, Elizabeth retreated to the morning room with her embroidery, desperate for isolation.Her plan was simple: occupy every waking moment with activity—stitching, walking, anything that might drain her completely and grant her the oblivion that had escaped her these past two nights.The window seat had scarcely taken her weight when footsteps announced the death of her solitude.
"Miss Eliza."Caroline glided closer, silk skirts whispering against the floor."How industrious you are this morning."
Containing a sigh, Elizabeth elected to set aside her work for the moment."I find needlework soothing."
"Do you?"Caroline settled into the chair opposite, arranging her skirts around her."Though I confess, I've noticed something rather...unusual about you today."
Elizabeth's needle paused."Oh?"
"There's a particular scent about you."Caroline's tone was all innocent curiosity, but her eyes glittered with malice."Quite distinctive, actually.Sweet, rather...cloying.Have you been unwell?"False concern dripped from every syllable, but Caroline's eyes glittered with something far less charitable.
She can't smell him.She can't.
Elizabeth had scrubbed her skin raw before dawn, standing in the copper tub while gooseflesh covered every inch.She'd called for fresh water twice, ignoring the maid's confused expression.The lye soap had left her skin tight and dry, but surely—surely—it had washed away any trace.
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean.I'm quite well, thank you."
Caroline leaned forward slightly, inhaling with theatrical delicacy."How curious.It's almost like..."She paused, letting the moment stretch."Well, it reminds me of those little bottles one can purchase in certain London establishments.You know the ones—for ladies who wish to appear more...appealing to particular gentlemen."
Elizabeth's fingers tightened on her embroidery hoop."I haven't the faintest idea what you're suggesting."
"Don't you?"Caroline's smile was razor-sharp."How fascinating that a sensible girl like yourself would suddenly develop such...exotic inclinations.Though I suppose desperation can drive even the most practical person to rather extraordinary measures."
"Miss Bingley—"
"Oh, there's no shame in it," Caroline continued airily."Half the unmarried ladies in London resort to such aids.Though I must say, the application seems rather heavy-handed.Perhaps less would be more convincing?"
"I assure you, I am wearing no artificial enhancement of any kind."
"No?"Caroline's eyebrows rose in mock surprise."How very strange.Because that scent is quite unmistakable to anyone with experience in such matters.Though I suppose if one were new to these techniques, one might not realize how obvious the effect appears to others."
Those omega perfumes from London chemists were ten shillings a bottle—Caroline had openly derided a supposed friend of hers for trying three different brands last Season.Though every London apothecary sold omega essence in cut-glass bottles, Elizabeth had never understood the appeal.Why would anyone want to smell like synthetic roses and musk when they could simply be themselves?Surely, if a beta snared an alpha husband through such means, they were building a life on dishonesty rather than true love?
"Yes, I imagine so," Elizabeth said, her smile sharp as broken glass."Though I pity any woman foolish enough to build her marriage on such foundations.One cannot wear a mask forever without it becoming a prison."
"Just so," Caroline said sweetly."Besides, everyone knows the most eligible bachelors require authenticity above all else.Along with genuine breeding, natural grace… The sort of qualities that cannot be purchased in bottles or acquired through wishful thinking."
"Then we are of the same mind," Elizabeth said.
"Of course.You've always struck me as far too proud for such artifice—too convinced of your own natural charms to resort to assistance.Though pride, I suppose, can be a luxury only the truly secure can afford."
"Miss Bingley."
Both women turned.Darcy stood in the doorway, his posture rigid, his expression carved from marble.
"I believe my aunt once mentioned that ladies who concern themselves overmuch with the personal habits of others often reveal more about their own character than those they criticize."His voice carried the precise neutrality of a man delivering a verdict."I found her observation quite astute."
The colour drained from Caroline's face, leaving her complexion the shade of curdled milk.Then heat rushed back, staining her cheeks crimson.
"I—of course, Mr.Darcy.I merely—that is—"
