Page 106 of A Most Unwelcome Acquaintance

Kitty looked from one sister to the other, then toward Lydia, whose bright eyes promised no mercy. At last she unfolded the note and read, not from generosity, but because Lydia would otherwise invent its contents before dinner.

“My dear Miss Catherine,” she began, and stopped.

Lydia gave a crow of triumph. “My dear Miss Catherine! Oh, Kitty!”

Jane silenced her with a look. Kitty continued, the paper shaking in her hand.

“I am prevented from doing myself the pleasure of riding near Longbourn this morning. A trifling matter of business detains me in Meryton, but I shall hope for a more fortunate opportunity soon. If Mr. Darcy should be at your house today, pray do not let him think I have avoided him. I would not have him imagine me conscious of anything unbecoming. You mentioned that he and Mr. Bingley sometimes call in the afternoon, and that you expect them to dine with you on Thursday. I shall trust to your kindness not to let him misrepresent my absence.”

She lowered the paper, and the passage fell silent.

Lydia recovered first. “Well, that is civil enough.”

Elizabeth looked at her. “Civil?”

“He says he would have come if he could.”

“He asks Kitty to account for him to Mr. Darcy.”

Kitty’s eyes filled. “All he wants is for Mr. Darcy to stop telling lies about him.”

Jane took the note from her. “Kitty, when did you tell Mr. Wickham that Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley are coming to dinner on Thursday?”

Kitty hesitated. “I do not remember.”

“You must remember something.”

“He asked whether Mr. Darcy came often, and I mentioned the dinner. That was all.”

Elizabeth felt the first sharpness of certainty. This proved nothing about the living or Wickham’s debts, but Darcy could not have invented it. Wickham had used Kitty’s admiration to learn when Darcy would be at Longbourn and now he expected her to defend his absence.

“Did he ask anything else?” Elizabeth said.

Kitty drew herself up. “I did nothing wrong.”

“I never said you did. Tell me what he asked you.”

She looked away, and some of the tension left her face. “He asked whether Mr. Darcy spoke much to you.”

“And whether he came with Mr. Bingley or alone,” she added when no one answered. “He wanted to know if Mr. Darcy meant to remain at Netherfield through the winter.”

“Why did he ask you?” Jane said.

“Because I knew. Everyone knows Mr. Bingley calls to see you, and Mr. Darcy sometimes comes with him.” Kitty’s defense weakened as she spoke. “Mr. Wickham said he could not guard against a man who concealed his intentions.”

Elizabeth understood then why Kitty mistook Wickham’s questions for confidence. Each invited her to prove herself useful, while her answers gave him knowledge he could use without revealing his plans.

“Did he tell you why Mr. Darcy’s visits concerned him?” she asked.

“Mr. Darcy watches him and will turn everyone against him if he has the chance.”

“And so you watched Mr. Darcy for him.”

Kitty colored. “I did not watch him. I noticed things.”

“Because Mr. Wickham told you which things to notice,” Elizabeth said, gentler than before. “That is the difference.”

Jane’s hand tightened on the note, and Lydia’s amusement faded.