Page 132 of A Most Unwelcome Acquaintance

Elizabeth looked at him then, and he saw surprise break through her anger.

Lady Catherine struck the ground with the end of her cane. “It sounds like her refusal to flatter you is a recommendation.”

“One of many.”

“Many?” Her gaze swept over Elizabeth, yard, and Sarah. “I see a country house in need of repair, a mother who cannot govern her tongue, younger daughters who run after officers, sheep beyond the windows, and a dog that does not know its place. There is neither polish nor restraint, yet you ask me to consider these recommendations.”

Bennet stepped closer. “You were not asked to consider anything.”

Darcy kept his attention on Lady Catherine. “You see what I saw when I came to Hertfordshire.”

Elizabeth’s expression changed. The words had reached her, though Lady Catherine appeared to hear only agreement.

“At last,” his aunt said. “Then you admit the truth.”

“I admit the error.”

Silence followed.

Darcy had spoken of that error to no one. He had examined it in private, each correction more uncomfortable than the last, but Lady Catherine had brought the matter into the open and left him no honorable retreat.

“When I first saw Miss Elizabeth,” he continued, “I judged her family, her habits, and even her place in a field before I knew her. I mistook competence for want of refinement, independence for disregard, and loyalty to her family for blindness to their faults. I believed rank had taught me discernment when it was misplaced confidence.”

Elizabeth did not look away.

Lady Catherine’s face hardened. “Contradiction fascinates you. A woman opposes you, and you mistake the novelty for character.”

“No. I mistook character for novelty because I had not met enough people willing to oppose me.”

Bingley looked as though he meant to smile, but Jane’s glance stopped him.

Lady Catherine turned upon Elizabeth. “And you stand there pleased with this triumph.”

“I am not pleased that he once thought so little of me.”

“Yet you accept his defense.”

“I accept that he has judged himself with more honesty than you have judged anyone since coming here.”

Lady Catherine snorted. “Honesty? You presume to instruct me in honesty while placing yourself in Darcy’s path at every turn.”

Elizabeth’s chin lifted. “I live three miles from Netherfield. It would require effort to avoid every road he might take.”

Sarah raised her head at the sharpness in Lady Catherine’s voice, then settled when Elizabeth touched her collar.

“There,” Lady Catherine said. “Even now the animal requires management.”

“All creatures with spirit do,” Bennet replied. “Some accept it with more grace than others.”

Darcy saw the corner of Elizabeth’s mouth move, but she suppressed the smile.

Lady Catherine faced him. “You defend this household because you have lost perspective. Look at the younger girls. They speak of officers as though the regiment existed for their entertainment, and their mother announces every hope before it has drawn breath. The estate will pass from them, and their connections offer no compensation.”

“You have learned much from Collins,” Bennet said. “I begin to regret that I taught him how to address a letter.”

“Mr. Collins understands duty.”

“He understands postage.”