Mr. Allen bowed. “Miss Bennet, may I escort you to the dinner table? Charles informs me that we are seated beside one another.”
Mr. Darcy followed behind them. Mr. Balfour had been assigned the seat on Elizabeth’s other side, yet Darcy had exchanged the nameplates and placed his own where Balfour’s had been. He waited while Mr. Allen assisted Elizabeth into her chair, and when Mr. Allen had taken the seat to her right, Darcy seated himself on her other side.
This vexed Elizabeth. Mr. Darcy’s expression was brooding, and his manner cast a shadow over her attempts at conversation with Mr. Allen, but she persisted.
“Mr. Allen, do you keep rooms in town?”
“Yes, I do, ma’am. I am welcome to reside in my father’s house, but my mother is determined that I should marry. I discovered that there was often an eligible young lady invited to dinner who expected an offer of marriage, so I resolved to take rooms of my own in town.”
Elizabeth raised her napkin to her mouth to conceal her laughter. He grinned, and his amusement was pleasing to her.
“And do you have any brothers, sir?”
“No, ma’am. I have two sisters, and that is the difficulty in its entirety. I must produce an heir, and now, for that reason, my father also schemes to see me married.”
She laughed quietly. “Sir, when next we meet, I expect that you will introduce me to your wife, for I do not see how you can escape much longer.”
He chuckled. “And you, Miss Bennet? Do you have brothers?”
“No, sir. We are five sisters. Two of them are married, and two are not yet out. I am the member of my family who stands in precisely the same position as yourself, sir. If I am not careful, I shall soon have two sisters and a father all contriving to see me married and settled.”
“So, no one has yet begun any stratagems, ma’am?”
“No, sir. I am grateful to say that I have not yet suffered any such schemes.”
“Do you reside in this neighborhood, Miss Bennet?”
“I do. My home is Longbourn, which lies but three miles to the east.”
“Tell me, Miss Bennet, do you wish for marriage?”
At that moment, a servant placed a bowl of white soup before her, and she was spared an answer.
However, Mr. Darcy, who remained in a difficult humor, spoke. “Miss Bennet, I did not hear your reply.”
She swallowed the spoonful of soup she had taken. “My reply, sir?”
“Yes, to Mr. Allen’s question. I wish to hear it. Do you wish for marriage, ma’am?”
She pressed her lips together in vexation but then produced a polite smile.
“Sir, as you know, a woman may not leave her father’s house unless she is respectably married. Because of that expectation of society, all women, including myself, must wish for marriage.” She turned narrowed eyes upon him.
“But when it comes to marriage with a particular gentleman, there are some men whose temper is so disagreeable that a woman could not possibly wish to be united with him.”
Mr. Allen laughed. “Touché, Miss Bennet. It is well known in town that Mr. Darcy is inclined to brood and can be very ill-tempered, particularly when a hostess expects him to dance with her daughter.”
Elizabeth laughed softly, and Mr. Darcy stiffened.
Mr. Allen was enchanted from that moment with Elizabeth, and the two passed the remainder of dinner in conversation with one another. He laughed often at her remarks, and Elizabeth more than once raised her napkin to her mouth when she could not restrain her own amusement.
Mr. Darcy ate in silence and from time to time cast an angry look toward Mr. Allen. Elizabeth caught his expression once, and his countenance appeared so dark that she believed he was jealous of the fine London gentleman.
She pressed her lips together. It signified nothing, for he would not act to secure her. She was not good enough. The thought stung and turned her attention back to Mr. Allen.
“Miss Bennet, may I request your first and the supper sets?”
Her eyes crinkled with pleasure. “You may have my first set, sir, but the supper set has already been promised. All my other sets remain open.”
