“Then I shall bring you a cup of punch.”
“You may, Mr Darcy, but I am not sure I shall drink it.”
For the fifth time in that half an hour, she sniffed and crimped shut her lips to show me the extent of her displeasure with my earlier desertion. I continued to ply her with civility, which unfortunately, had the contradictory effect of enraging her further. The moment I took her back to Bingley’s party, she demanded to be taken home.
Bingley’s reaction was somewhat too loud. “No, truly, Caroline?”
“I will take her and send the carriage back,” Hurst said on a yawn.
“I suppose that means that I, too, must go,” Mrs Hurst said impatiently. “I hope the cook can send us up some cake to eat. Really, Caroline,” she pointed towards the closet-sized space Sir William had proudly calledtheir ‘supper room’, “I was so looking forward to the cakes I saw in there.
“Pray do not speak to me of cake!” her sister snapped, and I politely stepped away from them so as to draw less attention to their unhappy conference.
