Page 26 of A Most Unwelcome Acquaintance

Caroline glanced at Darcy, but he was reading again. She set down the pot and waited until Bingley looked up.

“There is a note from Town. Lady Harrowby’s daughter is engaged to the new member for Warwick. They announced it at the Camden House ball last week.” She paused, allowing the information to reach both gentlemen. “They say he is the best catch of the season.”

Bingley nodded, uninterested.

Darcy folded the letter along its existing crease. “They waited until he was engaged to decide it.”

Caroline smiled. “You do not approve?”

“I do not know him well enough to approve or object.”

“You met him at Lord Wilmot’s.”

“Twice.”

“And?”

“He spoke as though Warwick had elected him to govern the country.”

Bingley laughed and reached for the egg cup.

Caroline kept her attention on her brother. “Lady Harrowby’s daughter is a girl of remarkable poise. You remember her, Charles? The cousin of Miss Newcombe, with the pearls. I believe you admired her dancing.”

He nodded without looking up, tapped the rim of the egg cup against his plate, and removed the shell while Caroline waited. “She danced well.”

Caroline continued, “I hear the ball was everything it should have been. One misses such occasions in Hertfordshire. The entertainments here are simple, with limited charm.”

“Mm,” Bingley said. He spread a thick spoonful of orange marmalade onto the toast, his eyes fixed on the glistening rind, as though he found it more instructive than the conversation.

“Of course, a provincial gathering cannot compare with what we have in Town,” Caroline said. “The society is too different.”

“The difference is not always to London’s advantage,” Darcy said.

Caroline turned to him.

He had returned the letter to the table and was cutting his ham.

“I cannot believe you prefer a country assembly to the best houses in Town.”

“That is not what I said. I said London does not profit by every comparison.”

Bingley gave Darcy an appreciative nod. “That is what I meant.”

Caroline lifted her cup. Darcy had attended the assembly with reluctance, spoken to few people, and danced with no one, yet spent much of the evening watching a room he claimed not to admire. She had expected the recollection to support her argument.

Instead, it had brought his attention into the conversation.

Bingley reached for another slice of toast. “I like the company here. One knows what to expect, and there are no games.”

“There are always games,” Louisa said. “They play them with less skill here.”

Bingley grinned. “Then I have less chance of losing.”

“The difference is one of prospects,” Louisa continued, her voice calm, but the intent clear. Marriage had made her more conscious of rank, not less. “The families in Town are better connected, and a good marriage sets the tone for years. A man must consider what sort of connections a match will bring.”

“Connections may enlarge a marriage,” Darcy said. “They do not make it.”

Caroline saw Louisa’s eyes move to him.