Page 30 of Elizabeth Bennet Says Yes to Mr. Darcy

“Yes.”

The answer came without hesitation.

“Do you desire him?”

I spun around, horrified.

“Papa!”

He picked up his glass with offensive innocence.

“I'm your father, not a piece of furniture. A marriage sometimes requires more than respect.”

“I refuse to discuss this with you.”

“That's a clear enough answer.”

I left the library to the sound of his laughter.

In the corridor, I pressed my hand to my burning cheeks. The memory of Darcy near the library, of his gaze on my mouth, of his hand restrained when he had wanted to touch my hair, came back with embarrassing clarity.

Yes, I desired him.

This discovery resolved nothing. It complicated everything.

Chapter 10

Darcy

Bingley forgave me with a generosity that only deepened my shame.

We were in Netherfield's library the morning after his engagement. He had spoken of Jane for nearly an hour before remembering he might have reason to resent me.

“I was furious, of course,” he said. “At least until the moment I saw her again. After that, I couldn't find the time.”

“You should still be angry.”

“What would be the point? You told me the truth. I came back. She loves me.”

His smile was unbearably happy.

“You could have come back months earlier.”

“Yes.”

He sat down across from me.

“But I also let you decide for me. Caroline claimed Jane didn't care for me. You believed it. I preferred your certainty to my own judgment because it spared me the risk of refusal.”

I looked at him in surprise.

“You're not responsible for my deception.”

“No. Only for my cowardice.”

Bingley almost never used that tone. Jane made him more clear-eyed without diminishing his kindness.

“Miss Bennet is fortunate,” I said.