“That does not mean I will relax my guard,” said Mr. Darcy, winking at her.
“Prudent,” replied Elizabeth.
Then she turned her attention, noting Kitty and Georgiana dancing together and giggling. “It seems your sister has enjoyed the evening.”
“I thank you and your sisters for ensuring she has enough partners to satisfy her,” replied Mr. Darcy warmly. “It might have been hard for her to watch other girls her age dancing while she must sit out.”
“Not at all, Mr. Darcy. She is a wonderful girl.”
“Then I hope you will continue your friendship with her.”
Elizabeth smiled at the gentleman. “I have little choice, since you appear determined to press your suit.”
“I am,” said the gentleman with no hint of hesitation.
“We must see what happens,” said Elizabeth. “But I have no objection to friendship with your sister, regardless of the situation between us.”
When the evening ended, Elizabeth left with her family, the tingling sensation on her hand where Mr. Darcy’s lips hadpressed against it accompanying her all the way home. As the carriage rolled toward Longbourn in the darkness, she was startled to realize that she had enjoyed the evening, and had enjoyed Mr. Darcy’s company most of all. For the first time, she looked forward to the coming weeks.
Chapter XII
Morning came, and Caroline Bingley looked about her chambers at Netherfield with distaste. She had never liked this estate, had deplored the neighborhood as provincial and unworthy of her time. Even now she still thought that, despite everything.
Caroline had not slept well the previous night. Her lip curled in disgust, for she knew that the other residents of Netherfield would have expected weeping, bitter recrimination, or even tantrums and broken glass. As Caroline always practiced honesty with herself, she could acknowledge that concern had some merit.
Instead, Caroline had spent the night angry and unsettled, examining the last three years in her mind, wondering where it had gone wrong. She was not without understanding—Caroline had seen the titters behind hands pressed to mouths, recognized that barely concealed disdain that hid behind strained civility. Any lady in London who had any pretense to rank had looked on her pursuit of Mr. Darcy with scorn. The upstart would learn her place. She reached too high.
But it had all seemed so simple. Mr. Darcy and Charles were great friends—that truth was inescapable to anyone who had ever seen them together. With such a connection, Caroline had sought to expand that friendship. Surely a marriage to the sister of such a close acquaintance must be a desirable outcome.
It appeared as if she had not understood Mr. Darcy at all. While she might rail and deplore his choice of an unfashionable country miss, Caroline could not deny that his attention to Miss Elizabeth Bennet was genuine. If he had paid half so much attention to Caroline at any time in their acquaintance, she would have planned the wedding breakfast.
Of greater immediate import was Charles. The brother who had always been so compliant appeared to have slipped the silken leash Caroline had thrown around his neck. He would not be managed, had determined to make Miss Bennet his wife. To be thwarted by two such insignificant country misses was more than Caroline could bear. And to crown it all, Louisa had acted against Caroline’s wishes and lured Charles back to Netherfield.
The previous evening had been a disaster from the first moment. Even with the evidence to the contrary, Caroline had believed that putting herself near Miss Elizabeth would show the contrast between them. Mr. Darcy could not fail to see who the superior woman was. Yet he had danced twice with her, and all Caroline’s efforts had not yielded a single set, even though he had danced with both Miss Elizabeth’s wild younger sistersandthe awkward wallflower sister who almost never danced.
The worst part of it was that she had lost control of her temper; her behavior would prove to those who looked down on her that she was nothing more than the daughter of a tradesman. Caroline had worked hard to leave her origins behind—even now they followed her like a faint miasma in the air.
Jane might be inferior and Eliza impertinent, but it seemed there was nothing to do but confess defeat. It was galling, but Caroline knew there was little choice. She was not blind to the knowledge that dropping her objections and keeping her acquaintance with Mr. Darcy would assist her in society, but when compared with what she thought she had, it was a paltry consolation.
She could only hope that her behavior had not damaged her position in society. If word of the previous evening made its way to London, the giggles behind hands might become open laughter complete with pointed fingers and unconcealed glee. It was fortunate that no one in this neighborhood had any connection to London—even the knight in their midst wasnothing more than a puffed-up shopkeeper who now lived on a tiny estate. She should be safe.
Swallowing her pride and withdrawing her objections to the Bennet sisters would not be easy, but she must. The alternative was unthinkable.
“BROTHER, MIGHT I ASKyou a question?”
Darcy quirked an eyebrow at her, and Georgiana giggled. It was an old jest between them, one that felt like an anchor after the storm of the previous evening, a turn to normality if only just a little.
“I shall take that as permission and ask another,” said Georgiana, a trifle primly, Darcy noted—it must be the company she was keeping of late. “Are you set on offering for Elizabeth?”
As he had expected something of this sort, Darcy sat back and considered. The Bingley family had all dispersed after breakfast, though both Darcys had noticed that Miss Bingley did not appear—that had been enough permission for them to retire to the sitting-room attached to Darcy’s bedchamber. Though he had attempted to read, his thoughts wandered, such that he had not turned a page in ten minutes.
“Do you wish to have her as a sister?” asked Darcy at length, not avoiding the question—or not that exactly.
“Do you not know that it is impolite to answer a question with another question?”
Darcy was helpless to prevent the grin from appearing on his face. “Perhaps. Let us make a pact, then—if you answer my question, then I shall answer yours.”
Georgiana glanced heavenward, but her trembling lips negated her show of pique. “Of course, I would welcome Elizabeth as a sister. Now, will you not speak plainly?”
