Chapter 6
Now that his fearsover Mrs. Bennet’s health were beginning to recede, Darcy turned his thoughts in another direction. He had spent over an hour yesterday afternoon with Mrs. Philips looking at lace, and that had been enough for a lifetime. Any possibility that Elizabeth’s aunt might improve upon further acquaintance had been squashed like a pancake. He could not categorically say that Mrs. Philips was the worst gossip he had ever known, but she came close.
That alone should have been enough to warn him away, but somehow, it was not. He told himself he was no longer needed, that he was free to leave. Yet still he lingered. He remembered Elizabeth’s pallor and her uncertainty, and his heart would not allow it. There was still the chance that Mrs. Bennet’s condition might deteriorate. Abandoning Elizabeth when her Papa was out of town was not an option. She needed a gentleman to help her.
Every time he considered living his life without Elizabeth, he was inundated with such a feeling of emptiness that his mind skittered. It was not a decision that could be made on an impulse. He needed time to decide what to do.
It was also deucedly difficult to stop thinking about her, because if he did happen to forget her for a moment, Bingley would make some remark about the Bennets and bring all the images flooding back.
“Do you not think Miss Bennet is a perfect angel, Darcy?”
Darcy was bending down to take a shot in billiards, but he stopped short.
“I still think she smiles too much.”
“There is no such thing as smiling too much. She is as radiant as a star, Darcy. At least she does not blow hot and cold like her sister Elizabeth. I find it impossible to determine what mood she is in. Miss Elizabeth is nice enough, but she is exhausting. I prefer someone more predictable.”
Darcy was struck by that perspective.
“Do you really think Miss Elizabeth is changeable?”
“How could you not have noticed? One moment she is laughing, then she becomes vexed, and before you have had the chance to catch up, she turns rebellious. I do not understand her at all. Do you?”
“Strangely enough, I do.”
“That is because you are more complicated than I am,” said Bingley, affably. “My requirements are much simpler. You, Darcy, have always loved a challenge. It is something you enjoy. Whereas I am naturally lazy and cannot make the effort.”
“Come Bingley, you do not fool me for a moment. You won a scholarship to Oxford because you were clever.”
“Being clever and working hard are two different things. You must not mistake one for the other.”
Darcy’s lips twisted in amusement. “So I take it that you prefer Miss Bennet because she isuncomplicated. Does that mean you think hersimple?”
“You knew very well that it is not what I meant,” said Bingley, good naturedly. “Are you ever going to resume playing?”
Darcy took up the mace stick and set it against the ivory cue ball.
“I mean only that Miss Bennet is a joy to be around, and I am satisfied with that. If Miss Elizabeth suits you better, that is your problem.”
