Elizabeth could hardly think for the buzzing in her ears."And what is that, Miss Bingley?"
"Elegance, of course.Breeding, naturally."Caroline's smile sharpened as she delivered her final blow."And most importantly, proper biology."
The pause before 'biology' felt deliberate as a slap.
"As a beta, you could never satisfy an alpha of his caliber.You must know that.It's simply a fact of nature."Caroline touched her throat, the gesture obscene in its suggestion."Whereas I...well, I can give him everything he requires.Everything heneeds."
Elizabeth's wit, usually her sharpest weapon, turned to ash in her mouth.What could she say?That she wasn't beta at all?That she'd discovered her omega nature just last night and spent the next hour writhing on the very gentleman's bed?
"How fortunate for Mr.Darcy," she managed.
"Isn't it?"Caroline's heather scent bloomed with satisfaction."In fact, he specifically requested a private audience with me this afternoon.Given the timing and his recent correspondence with Lady Catherine, I have every expectation of what that might concern."
"How thrilling for you.I shall leave you to anticipate your triumph.If you'll pardon me, I must return before I'm missed."
Elizabeth fled.Not running, never running, but walking with purpose back out of the gardens, away from Caroline's satisfied smile.
She was an omega now.She'd presented last night, her body revealing its secret in the most mortifying way possible.But what difference did that make?Being omega didn't grant her elegance or breeding or appropriateness.It just made her the wanton creature who'd begged him for things she hadn't understood, who'd clawed at his clothes like an animal.
Inside, Elizabeth moved straight for where she knew her father would be.The library door stood partly open.Her father sat ensconced in a leather chair, spectacles perched on his nose, looking perfectly content.
"Papa."She closed the door behind her."We should leave.Today."
He glanced up, marking his page with one finger."My dear Lizzy, whatever has brought on this sudden desire for departure?"
"The weather has cleared somewhat.The roads—"
"Are still treacherous, as I explained to Mr.Darcy this morning."His eyes sparkled with private amusement."Poor man seemed quite desperate to arrange our transportation.Offered his own carriage, his own footmen.I've rarely seen anyone so eager to be rid of someone else's houseguests."
The buzzing in her ears was back, all the more vicious for having disappeared for a moment.Her alpha wanted her gone.
"Then surely we should—"
"Nonsense.Charles has been most generous with his library, and these walls are delightfully thick.Much quieter than Longbourn."He patted a stack of volumes beside his chair."I've found several fascinating treatises on crop rotation I'm eager to examine."
He cared not one whit for crop rotations."Papa,please."
"Elizabeth."His tone shifted to that particular blend of affection and condescension she'd known since childhood."You've survived three days.Surely you can manage another evening or two until the roads are properly safe.I won't risk your mother's nerves—or mine—with a carriage accident simply because you've had some trifling disagreement with the other young ladies."
It was no use.The rest of the day stretched like pulled taffy, each hour sticking to the next.Elizabeth helped Jane sort correspondence, her sister's gentle chatter washing over her while she numblessly folded letters and sealed envelopes.The Bingley hounds provided brief distraction—their simple joy at belly rubs and ear scratches requiring nothing more complex than presence.
She attempted reading in the window seat, but the same paragraph about Roman aqueducts blurred before her eyes seven times.The words meant nothing.Her body hummed with low-grade fever, skin prickling beneath her stays.
By late afternoon, tremors ran through her hands.She blamed the cold when Jane noticed, though sweat gathered at her nape.
Dinner proved torturous.Caroline claimed the seat beside Darcy again while Elizabeth fought to keep down her nausea at all the disgusting scents.
"The roses must bloom magnificently in June," Caroline said, fingers ghosting along his cuff."I noticed the climbing varieties along the south wall when we visited last spring.The pink damasks were particularly fine—such complex fragrance compared to the more common gallicas."
"They do well in that aspect."
"I imagine the succession planting extends the season considerably.Do you favor the newer hybrid chinas for their repeat flowering, or do you maintain the traditional once-blooming varieties for their superior scent?"
"Both have their merits."
Her hand drifted away, an absent touch to the collar of her gown, a move which would draw any alpha's gaze to her unadorned throat."How diplomatically put."Caroline's laugh was soft, intimate."I should so love to see them properly displayed.Perhaps discuss some improvements with your head gardener?I've had remarkable success with companion plantings at our home in London—the lavender and catmint create such lovely contrast with the roses, and the bees are mad for them."
"Perhaps."
