Page 104 of A Most Unwelcome Acquaintance

“No.” His answer came without hesitation. “That is why I said this much.”

The words checked her. She did not mistake them for confidence, but neither could she dismiss what they implied.

Ahead, Kitty had stopped at the gate. Lydia was speaking to her, but Kitty looked toward the lane beyond the meadow.

Darcy followed Elizabeth’s gaze. “Has Wickham made promises to her?”

“None that she can repeat with certainty.”

“That is not an answer.”

“It is all I know.”

“He will allow her to believe whatever secures her attention. If challenged, he will say he never promised her anything.”

Elizabeth thought of Kitty in the draper’s shop, defending a confidence that had made her feel chosen while exposing her to embarrassment.

“You describe what I am beginning to see,” she said.

Darcy’s expression changed. “Then why are we arguing?”

“Because seeing a fault in Wickham does not establish every charge you make against him.”

“I have not asked you to establish every charge.”

“You have asked me to distrust him.”

“Yes.”

“On evidence you still control.”

“Not all of it.” He looked toward Kitty. “Not any longer.”

They reached the gate. Bennet’s work was a gate indistinguishable from the old one except that it opened without lifting. Bingley praised it as though Bennet had redesigned the entrance to Pemberley. Bennet, who had joined them by another path, accepted the praise with a smile and a quick bow.

Kitty stood apart, and Elizabeth relaxed when Darcy did not approach her. He spoke instead to Bennet in a low voice. Her father listened, asked one question, and nodded.

On their return to the house, Elizabeth walked with Jane. Behind them, Lydia teased Bingley about the gate, while Mary explained why hinges required regular oiling. Darcy remained with Bennet.

“What did he say to you?” Elizabeth asked her father when they were alone later.

“He gave me the names of two men who may have accounts against Wickham and asked me not to use his name when I inquire.”

“Will you?”

“I sent a note to Colonel Forster.”

“And if the debts are real?”

“Then Wickham will settle them, surrender what he purchased, or explain himself to men less charmed by him than your sisters.”

Elizabeth looked toward the drawing-room door, remembering that Kitty had gone upstairs soon after the visitors left.

“Do you believe Mr. Darcy?”

Bennet considered her before answering. “I believe he has supplied information that we can test. That is more useful than asking whether I like the man who supplied it.”

She knew the rebuke was deserved.