Mrs Cartwright looked at him with faint amusement. "That is very generous, Mr Hadley, but have you forgotten we are on opposing sides?"
"I had not forgotten," he said. "But I hoped we might postpone hostilities until the pudding has been removed."
Mrs Cartwright laughed before she could stop herself, a light, surprised sound that seemed to startle her as much as anyone. For an instant the tiredness in her face lifted, and Elizabeth realised she could not be more than five-and-twenty. Withoutthe shawl held so tightly about her shoulders and the shadow of grief beneath her eyes, Mrs Cartwright might have looked almost girlish.
Mr Hadley seemed to notice the change too, for his smile warmed.
The first course was served, and for a few minutes the room gave itself over to the pleasant confusion of a large dinner. Servants moved quietly behind chairs, and both ladies and gentlemen exchanged remarks about the journey, the house and the beauty of the grounds. Elizabeth looked instinctively for Jane and found her several places away, seated between Colonel Fitzwilliam and one of the Blackwood brothers. The Blackwood brother—which one she could not have said—was speaking with great animation, but Jane’s attention was not entirely his. Colonel Fitzwilliam had bent his head towards her, saying something in a low voice that made her smile down at her plate.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. So that was how matters stood. Her beloved sister, her truest ally in every unfamiliar room, had been at Chaffley Hall only a few hours and was already in danger of being quite lost to a handsome colonel with laughing eyes. Elizabeth could hardly blame her. Colonel Fitzwilliam was kind and sociable and seemed just as taken with Jane as she was with him.
She lifted her glass and took a cautious sip of wine. Then she looked across the table and saw Mr Darcy seated directly opposite her. Of course he was. Lady Hortensia’s arrangement could not possibly be accidental. Elizabeth had known their hostess only a few hours, but she had already formed the opinion that very little at Chaffley Hall happened without Lady Hortensia’s knowledge. Mr Darcy sat very straight, his dark evening coat fitting him exceedingly well, his linen starkly white and his expression as grave as ever. Candlelight caught the strong line of his face and added red tones to the dark wave of his hair.
Mr Darcy looked up and she dropped her gaze to her soup. This was ridiculous. She was not a child to be caught staring, nor was she a silly girl to be impressed by a pair of fine eyes and a well-cut coat. He had behaved abominably. That was what she must focus on.
She took a spoonful of soup and burned her tongue.
Across from her, Mr Darcy’s mouth moved. It was only the smallest movement and gone almost immediately, but Elizabeth saw it. He had been amused. Not openly, of course. Mr Darcy’s amusement appeared to be under strict regulation, like everything else about him, but it had been there.
Farther down the table, Mr Anstruther was telling an animated story while Captain Fanshawe listened with a faint smile.Elizabeth had not yet spoken to either gentleman, but both seemed pleasant enough and had the distinct advantage of not being the infuriating Mr Darcy.
At the head of the table, Lady Hortensia was speaking to Mr Bennet with ease, and Elizabeth smiled fondly at her father. She remembered with a pang that he would be removing to the Dower House tomorrow. She was not sure how she would navigate the next few days without his gentle guidance and wry sense of humour.
Her eyes moved to Mr Darcy again before she could prevent them. He was speaking now to the gentleman on his left. As if sensing her gaze, he looked up again. This time neither of them looked away immediately. Candle flames trembled between them, and for one strange moment the noise of the dinner seemed to recede. He was not smiling. He was not even speaking. He merely looked at her, serious and unreadable, until his brows drew together slightly. There it was again. That stern, disapproving look. Elizabeth returned it with one of cool enquiry.
Mr Hadley leaned towards her. "Miss Bennet, have you a grand plan to lead your team to success?"
Elizabeth turned to him with relief. "Not quite yet, sir. I believe I shall have to know the details of the first contest before I beginon my grand design for victory. I am sure our hostess has a few surprises up her sleeve."
"I hope," said Mr Darcy from across the table, "that surprises will not trouble the ladies too much. Lady Hortensia has designed the Challenge to test qualities in which gentlemen may be expected to have some natural advantage."
Elizabeth looked up at him. The words were said calmly, and perhaps he meant nothing very dreadful by them. That did not make them less annoying. "Natural advantage?" she repeated.
Darcy seemed to realise, a moment too late, that he had chosen his words poorly. "I meant only that gentlemen are often educated with competition in mind. At school, at university, in sport and even at their clubs. They are accustomed to rivalry."
"How fortunate for you," said Elizabeth. "We ladies must make do with whatever small scraps of wit and judgement we have gathered between hemming handkerchiefs."
Mrs Cartwright lowered her gaze to her plate, though Elizabeth saw her mouth twitch.
Mr Hadley looked at Mr Darcy with cheerful reproach. "Mr Darcy, I believe you have just improved Miss Bennet’s chances of leading her team to victory quite considerably."
Darcy frowned. "How so?"
"Nothing steadies a side quite like being underestimated."
One of the Blackwood brothers laughed. "That is true enough. Henry is forever underestimating me at Gentleman Jack’s, and he more often than not ends up on his backside."
"I do not," grumbled another Blackwood further down the table.
"My dear cousin," said Colonel Fitzwilliam, from farther down the table, "I hope you are not insulting the competition before the games begin. It is poor strategy to kick a hornet’s nest."
Darcy gave him a cool look. "I was not aware I had insulted anyone."
"No?" said Elizabeth. "Then I shall admire your natural talent, sir. You achieve it so effortlessly."
Mr Hadley laughed into his wine, while Colonel Fitzwilliam’s eyes brightened with open enjoyment.
"There, Darcy," said the colonel. "You see? More determined already."
