Page 28 of A Most Unwelcome Acquaintance

“I am relieved.”

Hurst entered unnoticed, his coat thrown over his shirt and his eyes half open. He poured a small glass of spirits and surveyed the breakfast offerings with disinterest.

“I thought the Bennet girls were lively,” he said after a pause. “The eldest is a beauty, the second a wit, and the rest blend together. If the bread is fresh and the mother permits a man to finish his soup, I could endure an evening at Longbourn.”

Caroline did not look at him.

Hurst forked a piece of ham, ate it, and added, “If you want London, Charles, you must return to Town. You will find no better here than you have met so far.”

Bingley took a swallow of his tea. “I do not want London. I want this.” The answer brought quiet to the table. He set down the cup and met Caroline’s eye. “I like it here. I am happier than I have ever been.”

His admission stripped the matter of its harmlessness. Caroline’s mind turned to how she might weaken his attachment before it became fixed. The tea was cooling by the second, and her hand gripped the handle to keep from trembling. “Think of your future, Charles.”

He smiled. “I am. But I am also thinking of my present.”

Caroline turned to Darcy.

“Then remain while that is true,” he said to Bingley. “There is no merit in leaving a place because other people expected you to tire of it.”

Bingley’s smile widened. “Thank you.”

Caroline had no answer for either of them.

Louisa’s hand hovered at the rim of her cup, uncertain whether to refill it or set it down. Hurst returned to his food, his interest in the subject drained.

Bingley pushed back his chair. “I had better make myself fit to call upon respectable people.” He slipped the folded paper into his pocket. “Darcy, will you ride with me?”

Caroline looked at Darcy before he could answer. He glanced through the window. “Not this morning.”

“Another letter to write?”

“Several.”

Bingley appeared disappointed, but only for an instant. “Then I shall give Miss Elizabeth your regards.”

Darcy’s hand stopped beside his cup. Caroline saw it. “That is unnecessary,” he said.

Bingley grinned. “I shall give them to her with great care.”

“You will do no such thing.”

“I understand.”

Bingley left the table in better spirits than he had entered.

Hurst finished his breakfast, gathered two pieces of toast, and followed him from the room without farewell. Louisa drank the last of her tea, then rose. “I should speak to Mrs. Nicholls about dinner.”

Caroline did not ask why the housekeeper required Louisa’s assistance. Her sister’s retreat was transparent, but convenient. The door closed behind her.

Darcy drew the letter back before him. “You encouraged him,” Caroline said.

He looked at her. “Did I?”

“You know how Charles forms attachments before he knows where they may lead.”

“Yes.”

“And how he may mistake kindness for something more.”