Mr. Darcy gave a brittle laugh.
“None whatsoever,” he acceded. “But the explanation for that is very simple. Mrs. Bennet knew better than to waste her time onme. She has given her full attention to my friend Bingley instead, knowing that he is much more easily trapped than I am.”
She made a sound of frustration in her throat.
“Is that it, then. Is that all the apology you have to offer?”
He felt bewildered. He was not in the habit of giving elaborate apologies. He did not know what she expected of him.
“I—”
She did not let him continue. “You have mistaken the situation completely. I should point out that Mama’s reluctance does not come from considering that you are too far above us. Onlyarrogancecan prompt you to think so. I regard you as my equal. You are a gentleman; I am a gentleman’s daughter.”
“I am aware of that, madam. But I do not understand how that is supposed to change my perception of Mrs. Bennet.”
“If you throw your mind back to that first encounter we had, and recall the words you spoke, you will realize we have good reason to think you arrogant. Do you recall what you said? Something along the lines of a certain young lady not beingtolerable enoughto tempt you?”
Darcy started, recognizing the words.
“Did Bingley tell you?”
“Mr. Bingley did not need to tell me. You told me so yourself. You did not even trouble to lower your voice so I would not hear you.”
He felt the blood rise to his face.
“You were not intended to hear it. I believed the noise of the ballroom would prevent the words from reaching you.”
“You were looking straight at me when you said it. Even if I did not hear you, do you think I did not see the sneering expression that was obviously aimed at me?”
“I—” He could not find a way to excuse himself. He had not done it deliberately, but hehadintended to put her in her place. He spread his hands in a gesture of – what? He was not quite sure. Possibly supplication.
“I am sorry for the distress I caused you,” he said.
“I was not asking for an apology,” she said, “though I do believe you. I am just giving you an explanation for Mama’s attitude. A gentleman who snubbed her daughter in such an obvious manner could never be welcome.Thatis why she does not like you.”
No one liked to hear that someone disliked them. It did not make him feel any better. He had to ignore the set-down and focus on what Elizabeth was telling him. It was certainly not what he expected. How many society ladies would easily forgive him a snub, if there was even a remote chance that he might single out their daughters?
Mrs. Bennet was not one of those women, apparently.
“Then your mother is a gem indeed,” said Darcy, “if she is willing to discount the possibility of a match between us because of injured pride.”
She nodded. There was something regal about the way she inclined her head, and he saw it now, when he had not noticed it at all before. Elizabeth was tooproudto use subterfuge and to resort to tricks and stratagems. If a gentleman wanted to marry her, he would have to be eager, or not at all.
“You believe in love as a basis for marriage?”
“Is it so very strange that I would want the gentleman who is my husband to love me?”
The question hung in the air. It tugged at something deep inside him.
She twirled on the swing, twisting the rope until it was completely tight, then releasing it like a spring. She spun around, airy and graceful as a dancer. She was unfettered, completely unconscious of her loveliness. His breath caught in his throat.
A wave of tenderness swept through him, cresting and frothing until it filled his whole being, washing away the last traces of his anger.
“No, not strange, given who you are,” he said, softly.
But she was not yet finished with him. She still had a few knots to untangle before she would accept him. He prepared to listen, no longer driven to prove a point.
“I am sorry that your life is so blighted by matchmaking mamas, but may I remind you that the whole purpose of the London Season is precisely to match young ladies of good breeding to the highest bidder. What you are saying is true of all young gentlemen of a certain social standing. It is how society functions, Mr. Darcy. Do you think we do not deserve the same chance at securing a good marriage because we do not possess a fortune?”
