Page 90 of A Most Unwelcome Acquaintance

“I will keep an eye on the fellow,” Bennet said as he reached for the coffee. “A young man who encourages impossible expectations can create trouble without exerting himself.”

Jane gave Lydia a look that ended the subject, though not her amusement. Elizabeth finished her breakfast without joining the argument. Until Mr. Wickham did something more definite than seek Kitty’s attention, she could do little without driving her sister further into secrecy.

An hour later, Hill announced Mr. Darcy.

Mrs. Bennet stared as though she could not account for his presence without Bingley. Jane rose, and Elizabeth noticed that Darcy’s glance passed over them both and settled on the library door.

“My father is inspecting the boundary fence with Thomas,” she said. “He should return before noon.”

Darcy’s disappointment was slight, but she saw it.

He nodded. “Then I have called at an inconvenient hour.”

“Not at all,” Mrs. Bennet said. “You will sit down, Mr. Darcy. Jane, ring for tea. Mr. Bingley did not accompany you? We have not seen him since Tuesday, though I daresay Netherfield keeps him very busy.”

“He had business to attend to, madam.”

Darcy took the chair Jane indicated and answered Mrs. Bennet’s questions without encouraging more. When the tea arrived, he accepted a cup, though his attention kept returning to the library door. Elizabeth began to suspect that he had come to speak with her father and was now uncertain whether to wait or leave.

Lydia entered before he decided. She stopped when she saw him, then recovered enough to curtsy and announce that Kitty would not come down because she was cross with everyone.

“Kitty is not cross,” Jane said. “She is unwell.”

“She was well enough to hide a note in her workbox.”

Elizabeth set down her cup. “Lydia.”

“What? I did not read it.”

Darcy’s gaze shifted to Elizabeth. His expression remained composed, but the look he gave her showed that Lydia’s words carried more meaning than she intended.

Mrs. Bennet demanded to know who had written to Kitty, and although Lydia denied knowing, she supplied three guesses, all officers. Jane tried to steer the conversation toward the regiment’s expected exercises, but Darcy’s answers grew shorter.

When Lydia at last left to fetch a ribbon she wished Jane to mend, Darcy put down his cup.

“Miss Elizabeth, might I ask whether your father is likely to return soon?”

“Not for an hour or two. He walked toward the west field.”

Darcy sighed. “I hoped to see him about a private matter.”

Mrs. Bennet straightened. “A private matter?”

“It concerns business, madam.”

That explanation satisfied her less than it should have, but Jane asked whether he wished to leave a message. Darcy hesitated.

“I would prefer to speak with him.”

Elizabeth understood then that his call was not social. His unease after Lydia’s mention of the note suggested the subject, though she could not imagine why Wickham’s interest in Kitty should bring Darcy to Longbourn.

“You can find my father along the boundary path,” she said. “You will know the gate when you reach it. It has not improved since your last encounter.”

Darcy smiled as he rose. “Then I know what to expect. Will you direct me?”

“A servant can show you the way,” Mrs. Bennet said. “There is no need for Lizzy to go tramping across the fields.”

“I should prefer Miss Elizabeth’s guidance,” Darcy said.