Darcy turned toward her.
Their eyes met.
There was, in his expression, the slightest hesitation – not uncertainty, but a searching look, as though he wished to discover whether she knew.
Elizabeth felt the warmth return to her cheeks.
She did not look away.
Something in her expression must have answered him, for Darcy’s gaze changed almost imperceptibly. The reserve in it softened, and a quiet understanding seemed to pass between them.
He knew.
Elizabeth lowered her eyes at last.
Mrs. Bennet received Mr. Darcy with great animation. “Mr. Darcy! We are quite delighted to see you again. Such a pleasant surprise on so uncertain a morning. Pray, sit down. Jane, my dear, have you rung for tea?”
Darcy thanked her and took the seat offered, though Elizabeth could not help noticing that his composure, usually so unshaken, seemed touched with an unusual gravity.
“How are the ladies at Netherfield? After Sunday, we ought certainly to pay our respects, girls. They gave such a fine entertainment for the neighbourhood.”
Elizabeth seated herself near the window and tried very earnestly to attend to what was said.
She was not entirely successful.
Darcy had spoken several times to Mrs. Bennet and once to Jane. Yet she could not help being aware that, from time to time, his gaze returned quietly in her direction.
At length, there came a small pause in the conversation.
Darcy turned slightly toward her. “Miss Elizabeth,” he said, “I hope you are well this morning.”
The words were perfectly ordinary. Yet Elizabeth felt, quite absurdly, as though the entire room had fallen silent again. “I am very well, sir. I thank you.”
Darcy inclined his head. “I am glad to hear it.”
Nothing more was said. But Elizabeth, who had heard those same polite inquiries a hundred times before from other gentlemen, could not persuade herself that this one meant quite the same thing.
After some quiet, Darcy spoke again. “Have you been walking this morning, Miss Elizabeth?”
Mrs. Bennet soon recovered her full command of the conversation. “Mr. Darcy, you must not think us very dull hosts. This morning, we were obliged to say farewell to Mr. Collins, so Lizzy has had no time for walking. But how good of you to notice. She, indeed, likes her walking even in such weather. Lizzy, my dear, you might show Mr. Darcy the garden though there is little to see at the moment. Come spring, however, it will be beautiful.”
Elizabeth felt the warmth rise again to her cheeks.
Jane rose at once. “I shall come with you.”
But before Elizabeth could speak, Mr. Bennet closed his book and stood. “My dear Jane, I must beg a moment of your time in the book room. There is a small matter upon which I require your assistance.”
Jane looked surprised but nodded. “Of course, Papa.”
Mr. Bennet turned toward his wife with mild composure. “As for the rest of us, I imagine we are all very content to remain indoors. The weather threatens rain at any moment.”
Mrs. Bennet hesitated. “But Lizzy ought not to go alone…”
“My dear,” said Mr. Bennet calmly, “they will be in the garden, not in the wilderness.” He glanced briefly toward the window. “They will be visible from the house most of the time.”
Darcy rose. “If Miss Elizabeth does not object,” he said quietly.
Elizabeth did not trust herself to speak immediately. After a moment, she inclined her head. “I should be happy to show you the garden, sir.”
