He toyed with a funny little ridge on the table. It stuck up and caught the edge of his thumb as he passed his hand over the surface, and it gave him something to look at besides those eyes of hers. “I assume what you mean by that is ‘the last time I was there for more than a day.’”
“As you please,” she replied. “But why go all the way to Derbyshire for only a day?”
He swallowed and shifted his feet under the table. “Five years ago, my father died, leaving me the estate, my family name, and a young sister who was, at the time, only ten years of age and could not reasonably travel to London alone.”
Her brows arched. “So, you are avoiding painful memories?”
“You might say…” His brow pinched, and he dug into that ridge of the wood with his fingernail, as if the effort and mild destruction of prying it loose would distract his mind from the sting of memory. “Father disapproved of my ventures with Bingley.”
“Hardly surprising,” she mused. “I confess to wondering at it myself, after everything my aunt told me about the Darcy family and Pemberley. Why did you do it?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Because I gave my word. I owed a debt—a debt that money alone could not repay. And so…”
He trailed off, clamping his teeth shut as Bingley arrived beside him, helping Miss Bennet into the seat nearest her sister and plopping into another himself.
“I say, Darcy, this is indeed capital! Fresh air, the trees along the way laden with snow, the jingle of harness bells—I always did fancy harness bells. Why do we not use them in summer?”
“Would you like them half as well if you heard them constantly?”
Bingley’s brow puckered. “Do you know, I’ve not the least idea, but I would not mind finding out.”
Jane Bennet laughed. “I imagine you will have your fill of them in Meryton, for by now, everyone will have them out, along with their sleighs. The main streets in town do not see so much traffic as those in London, so the snow tends to build faster and linger longer.”
“Just as I hoped!” he declared. “Something so fresh and clean about snow, is there not? Far better than slushy paths and gray streets. Tell me, Miss Bennet, what else have we to look forward to in Hertfordshire?”
“Oh, if you are looking for lavish entertainments, I am afraid you may be disappointed. We are a simple town.”
“Just so!” Bingley enthused. “That will suit Darcy admirably, eh, chap?”
Elizabeth Bennet slanted a sly smile at him. “Are you saying, Mr. Darcy, that you would not miss the stifling ballrooms and endless parlor games you would face in London?”
“Not at all. In fact, I believe I would much prefer frostbite.”
“Then, why do you never leave London?”
Darcy’s face fell.Why, indeed… He darted a quick glance to Bingley, whose expression had also sobered. But in an instant, Bingley had shifted back to his eager charm as he gestured toward Miss Bennet.
“Darcy here is putting you on a bit. Why, he is just as dapper in a ballroom as he is in a drawing room or a study.”
“Oh!” Miss Elizabeth surveyed him with teasing approval. “Adaptable, are you, Mr. Darcy?”
“More so than he will admit,” Bingley declared. “Why, you should have seen him in France at Madame De Courcy’s—”
Darcy cut him off with a sharp clearing of his throat, and Bingley colored and fell silent.
Miss Elizabeth raised a brow, her eyes dancing with intrigue. “I imagine that must be quite a story.”
Darcy shot Bingley a warning look, but it was already too late.
“Oh, quite! He had this new waistcoat, do you see, and it happened to be the same color as—”
“I am sure Miss Elizabeth would not be interested,” Darcy interrupted.
Bingley wilted, but what did Darcy in was the disappointment in Elizabeth Bennet’s… rather astonishing… eyes… He swallowed and almost recanted his objection. After all, the story was notthatinappropriate. Just embarrassing. But he was saved when the driver appeared at the door just then, calling out that the horses were ready.
Darcy took the opportunity to stand, feeling as though he had narrowly escaped a rather humiliating exposure before the first woman whose good opinion he had ever cared about. As he glanced over, however, he saw Elizabeth watching him. He thinned his lips and offered to help her rise, but he said no more.
They returned to the carriages, but as he climbed into his seat across from Bingley, Darcy found himself glancing back out the window, catching a last glimpse of Elizabeth Bennet before the door closed.
