Page 81 of A Most Unwelcome Acquaintance

“He asks that you inspect the structure, and I shall consider what the interior requires.”

“Your brother asked me?”

“He suggested you when I reminded him that the repairs cannot proceed without direction.”

Darcy folded Stewart’s letter and placed it beneath the other papers. “The steward says the walls are sound.”

“The roof, door, and floor still need decisions.”

“Which belong to Bingley.”

“Charles intends to visit Longbourn.”

Darcy’s face gave her little, but he did not return to the letter. “Today?”

“He has discovered three reasons to do so.”

“He may have three.”

“Jane Bennet is reason enough.”

Darcy stood and moved toward the window. Beyond the glass, the east lawn sloped toward a belt of trees that concealed the summerhouse. “You object to his visiting her?”

“I object to haste. Charles mistakes ease for certainty and kindness for devotion.”

“Miss Bennet appears attached to him.”

“Appears.”

Darcy turned. “You doubt her?”

“I doubt what I cannot see. She smiles, listens, and agrees with him, but she is just as kind to everyone else.”

“Miss Bennet does not look at everyone the way she looks at Bingley.”

Caroline did not expect his answer. Darcy had watched Jane enough to distinguish her regard, though his attention during the visit seemed fixed elsewhere.

“You are an advocate for the family.”

“No.”

The answer came at once, and its force revealed more than agreement would have.

Caroline crossed to the desk. “Then you understand why I am concerned. Charles is young, wealthy, and inclined to trust people. Mrs. Bennet has five daughters and no sense of restraint. I am trying to protect him, not insult them.”

“I have not thought otherwise.”

“Yet you defend Miss Bennet.”

“I told you what I saw.”

“And her sister?”

Darcy’s expression changed. “What about her?”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, Miss Bingley, I do not.”