“Lord, no! What a bore that would have been!”
Elizabeth winced at Lydia’s bold and dismissive statement. Mr Darcy raised his eyebrows, and his lips twitched as he shot Elizabeth a look. She was surprised and relieved that he looked more amused than disapproving.
He said, “Ah! mais on conte si bien fleurette en français.”
Lydia really looked at him, at that moment, and Elizabeth wondered if she was seeing him for the first time as a handsome man. “What—” Lydia paused, then started again, “What does that mean?”
Elizabeth translated in a low voice, “It means ‘But one can flirt so well in French.’ Which you would know if you had taken the class offered by our delightful neighbour.”
Lydia’s mouth made an astonished “O.” But then she shrugged and said, “Well, at least Kitty and I tookoneclass. Jane did not take any! She never even tried a single session of any of the classes, so I do not know how she was so sure she would not like them.”
Elizabeth found herself blushing. She had deliberately expressed Jane’s dislike of the group classes as if she had tried at least one and discovered that it was not somethingshe enjoyed. Mr Darcy sent her a swift glance that made her believe that he noticed the discrepancy of the two reports. But he did not exhibit any feelings on the topic through words or expression.
“What about you, Miss Mary?” he asked. “Did you take advantage of any of the classes?”
“Yes, of course,” Mary said. “Lizzy and I took every session of every class. We were the only ones in the neighbourhood to do so.”
Mr Darcy smiled at Mary and then at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth felt almost giddy with happiness. She looked sidelong at Mary and discovered that her next-youngest sister was smiling complacently. Mary made her excuses to leave the room, saying pointedly to Mr Darcy, “I will be diligently practicing the pianoforte, as is my daily routine.”
He nodded and complimented her desire to work hard with an old adage: “It is said that little strokes fell great oaks.”
Mary immediately quoted the Bible in agreement: “In due season, we shall reap, if we faint not.”
“Very good, Miss Mary.” Mr Darcy turned to Elizabeth and asked, “I wonder if you would like to take a walk?”
Elizabeth shot to her feet, and she was relieved that Jane and Mr Bingley would accompany them rather than her reluctant parents or even more resistant youngest sisters.
As soon as they reached the garden, Mr Darcy offered his arm.Do not jump to conclusions, Elizabeth told herself.You are the second eldest, and Mr Bingley obviously put first claim for the eldest, so this attention means nothing.
They walked briskly, soon leaving Jane and her prospective suitor far behind. Elizabeth eagerly asked, “Mr Darcy, it did not occur to me, yesterday, but you must have realised before you joined your friend at Netherfield Park that you would be closeto where your sister’s correspondents lived. You must have wondered if we would be attending the assembly.”
Mr Darcy smiled gently as she waited for him to respond. He said, “You have informed me of two things I must have done and have asked me no questions.”
He was being deliberately obtuse, and he therefore deserved a tease. She said, “I mourn with you that your logical thinking skills have obviously suffered of late, or you would have understood the implied question. I am certain that this disability is because of your very advanced age.”
He chuckled and replied, “Pray, take pity on my decaying faculties, and pose an actual question.”
“Did you realise that you must be close to our father’s estate and that you might see us at the dance?”
“Yes, I did. I actually went so far as tohopeI might see you at the assembly.”
Elizabeth felt bubbly inside, just as she had when Mr Darcy had smiled at her and Mary. She reminded herself yet again that this was not the beginning of a Gothic novel, and no romance was brewing between Mr Darcy and any of the Bennets.
After a dozen more steps, Mr Darcy changed the subject: “At the assembly, you asked what group class my friend and I would teach. And although you were teasing, and I am almost certain that neither Bingley nor I have the time or inclination to teach a group of ladies, I did consider that you and Miss Mary might benefit from instruction on riding. I assume you both ride, but do you know how to leap over enclosures?”
“Actually, I donotknow how to ride,” Elizabeth said. “Mary knows a bit more than I, but she basically plods along on our old nag or she walks; we do not have many horses here at Longbourn.”
Mr Darcy did not seem surprised, which pleased Elizabeth. She had talked to some ladies who had gasped, “You do notride?”—as if she had just admitted that she did not eat food, but instead subsisted on the sun’s rays.
He said, “I have an extremely gentle mare at Netherfield. Should I bring her here tomorrow for a lesson?”
Elizabeth despised cowardice—especially when she saw it in herself. The fact that her family’s estate did not have horses for riding had spared her for too long the self-knowledge that she was still afraid of riding from her last attempt, at age ten, and the massive bruise that had resulted from a truly awkward fall.
She opened her mouth to sayyesbut heard her traitorous voice say “No.” She stopped walking and turned to Mr Darcy. “I mean yes. I…I hate to admit it, but I am ridiculously frightened to try. But I want to face my fear, conquer my fear.”
“Misty is, as I said, gentle, and we can go slowly. Naturally, it is up to you, but I believe you have it in you to, as you expressed, face and conquer your fear. It would be my honour to help you do so.”
