“What are we talking about?” Jane appeared from behind Charlotte—features flushed and slightly out of breath. “Is Charlotte putting you up to something again, Lizzy?”
“No, because I do not intend to do it. Tell her, Charlotte. Surely, she could use a laugh.”
Jane blinked innocently. “Tell me what?”
“Mr. Bingley’s friend insulted Lizzy. But honestly, Lizzy, it sounded to me like the sort of thing a man says when he meanspreciselythe opposite and is terrified to admit the truth.”
“There, do you see, Jane?” Elizabeth gestured toward her friend. “She is at it again. If I am not careful, Charlotte will own my best ball gown, my new bonnet, and half my pin money,”
Jane laughed. “Let me guess, Charlotte. You put Lizzy up to provoking a dance invitation from Mr. Darcy to force him to publicly favor her after being heard insulting her? Lizzy, how could you passthatup?”
“Oh, not just a dance,” Charlotte corrected. “Lizzy, if you set your mind to it, you could make ‘Mr. Darcy of Pemberley with ten thousand a year’ fall in love with you. I have every confidence in it.”
“Now you’re just being preposterous.”
Charlotte gave a soft shrug. “Is it preposterous? Or are you afraid it might actually work?”
The challenge sat between them, making the very air crackle.Impossible!There was no way a man as proud and insufferable as Mr. Darcy could ever be tempted by her. And why would she want him to be?
“You’re serious?” Elizabeth asked, eyes narrowing.
“Absolutely. I stand by my wager.”
The absurdly of it was almost too much to consider. “And if I don’t succeed?”
“The usual terms,” Charlotte said, a glint in her eye. “But I think we both know you’re far too clever to fail.”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. “And if by some miracle Idosucceed? What then?”
“Thenyouown the forfeit.“ Charlotte’s tone was light, but there was a knowing look in her eyes, the kind that made Elizabeth suspicious.
Elizabeth smiled, her head shaking in disbelief. “I think I would much rather let Mr. Darcy keep his indifference.”
But even as she spoke, the idea of forcing Darcy—Mr. Darcy—to fall for her, only to have the pleasure of rejecting him, sparked something wicked in her.
“Lizzy, do not let her bait you again,” Jane cautioned. “You know she sees you as a soft mark by now.”
“Indeed, and yet I let her swindle me time and again, because she is simply too persuasive—andpersistent—for me to refuse indefinitely.”
Charlotte laughed. “What else have I to amuse myself at these Assemblies? I scarcely ever have a dance, but I do usually find other diversions. What say you, Lizzy? Do you feel confident enough to venture it? Or has Mr. Darcy’s insult shattered that courage you are so proud of?”
That did it. Somehow, Charlotte always foundjustthe right leverage to work upon her. She straightened. “Very well, Charlotte. If you are so confident in this ridiculous wager, I’ll play along.”
“And your forfeit?” Charlotte asked.
Elizabeth’s stomach roiled with denial. She already knew what Charlotte would demand—the thing she had been trying to force for years. The very thought made her bristle.No. It couldn’t come to that.
Charlotte merely smiled, leaning in closer. “You know what you’ll have to do.”
Elizabeth tried to swallow the lump forming in her throat, but Charlotte’s knowing look only made her heart beat faster.
“No,” she decided. “Because I do not intend to lose.”
“I have not seen a more spectacular example of buffoonery since Eliza Townsend exposed herself with George Whitmore at Lady Framton’s ball,” Caroline Bingley declared, sinking into her chair with a sigh of exaggerated suffering.
Darcy kept his focus on the fire, willing himself not to engage. The conversation was predictable: provincial gatherings were beneath her; the company lacked refinement. It was a routine he knew too well.
“Really, Charles, I don’t know how you can find any pleasure at all in such company,” Caroline continued, swirling her wine. “The conversation was insipid, and as for the dancing—”
