“Lizzy,” Jane said softly, glancing between us. “I do believe he means to speak with you.”
“Is that so?” I said lightly, though my heart had begun thumping a little faster. “Well, I suppose there’s no avoiding him. He does look rather determined, doesn’t he?”
Jane smiled. “Perhaps because he’s not as terrifying as you think.”
I arched a brow. “You’re not the one who’s had to make excuses for him all over Meryton. Did you even hear that conversation I had with Aunt Philips yesterday? She wassurehe was for Bedlam, and I w—”
“Go, Lizzy,” Jane commanded, giving me a little push forward.
Before I could continue, Darcy had arrived. He greeted us with a crisp bow that made my skin flush. “Miss Elizabeth,” he said, his voice low and far too delicious for my nerves. “And Miss Bennet,” he added with a nod to Jane, who returned it with all her sweetness. “I hope you find the ball to your satisfaction.”
“Who could not, Mr. Darcy? I was just saying as much to Jane, was I not?”
Jane’s eyes were already fixed across the room, and she hummed distractedly. “Indeed, you were. If you will excuse me, Lizzy, I… I think I should like some punch.”
Mr. Darcy bowed again as Jane left us, and we both watched her path—directly toward Mr. Bingley, who was already moving to meet her halfway.
“Your sister appears to be somewhat… emboldened this evening,” he observed.
I pinned him with a look. “Precisely what is that supposed to mean, sir?”
“Nothing more than surprise on my part, I suppose. I had not previously noticed any symptoms of peculiar regard from her.”
“That is because you have been too twisted in knots to notice much of anything apart from your own concerns.”
Mr. Darcy narrowed his eyes at me, but there was that flicker in his cheek that gave away his efforts at not smiling. “Touché, Miss Elizabeth. It seems that for once in my life, I cannot presume the right to claim the superiority of my own observations. I trust I may rely on your counsel in… certain matters?”
“On that one, at least. And if you should decide to take it upon yourself to meddle in my sister’s affairs, I shall start telling everyone that you talk to spirits, and do not for an instant think I won’t.”
“I would not dream of it, Miss Elizabeth. There are few beings in this world… or the next… who frighten me quite so much as you do.”
I fisted a hand at my hip and surveyed him archly. “Ifrightenyou?And you, a big, strong gentleman who would never, in a thousand years, dream of running screaming across the Netherfield lawns in abject terror? Certainly nothing twitchy or nervous aboutyou, Mr. Darcy.”
He arched a brow. “I will give you ten thousand pounds to never repeat that episode to another living soul.”
“Oh, I will take you up on that offer, Mr. Darcy. I suppose you expected me to modestly protest that I could never take advantage of you like that, but I could, and I will. Do you prefer a bank cheque, or hundreds of ten pound notes that no one will ever trace back to you?”
His lips twitched, and his eyes twinkled in mirth, though it still wasn’t quite a smile. “I submit to the lady’s preference.”
“Well,thislady’s preference is to sort it out over a dance. And since we have been standing here for several minutes and you have yet to tender your offer, I shall simply claim it. Shall we dance the first set, once the music begins, or the supper set?”
He looked me directly in the eyes. “Yes.”
That caught me by surprise. His gaze was so focused just now—the light in his eyes so intense and his posture suddenly listing toward me in such a way that I felt like we were alone at that gamekeeper’s cottage again—and he was still pleading for me to understand, to accept what made no sense.
It was that look that said he would have crawled inside my winter cloak with me and simply hidden away from the rest of the world, clinging to me like I was his only friend… or a lover. Either notion made my blood heat in a way that was probably indecent in a crowded place. Indecentanywhere, I suppose, save a bedroom—another idea that made my skin prickle with wild notions.
I tried to swallow but found little success. “Well, sir,” I rasped. “I believe the first set is about to begin. And as you have said, ‘yes,’ that amounts to a contract, so I shall demand my due.”
This time, Mr. Darcy did smile, and it did something to break off the look with which he had been searing me. A relief, to be sure, but not altogether a pleasant one. I rather liked the way he had been looking at me.
He cleared his throat and gestured toward the ballroom. “It seems I’ve been dragged into festivities against my will.”
I narrowed my eyes slightly, catching the flicker of something—someone—just over his shoulder. Oh, of course.Ewan. I couldn’t see him, but Darcy’s posture stiffened, his eyes flickering to the side, telling me all I needed to know. The ghost was back, and no doubt, he was up to something.
“Dragged against your will, Mr. Darcy?” I tilted my head in mock sympathy. “Whatever could have convinced you to agree to such torture?”
Darcy’s eyes flicked momentarily to a spot over my shoulder, the barest hint of exasperation crossing his face before hecomposed himself again. “It’s a long story, Miss Bennet. One that involves... more than just my own volition.”
