Elizabeth blinked. “Bingley?” She turned sharply, tugging at his hands to make him face her again. “How did you know our new neighbor was a man named Bingley?”
Darcy chuckled, a low, rich sound that sent a shiver through her. “I gathered as much when I stopped at Longbourn before coming up here to find you.”
“You—” She gaped. “You called at Longbourn?”
He gave a slow nod, amusement dancing in his dark eyes. “How else do you think I found you? You do have such a fearful habit of wandering off.”
“But you… you met my family. My mother and my…” she gulped. “Please say you did not meet Lydia.”
“Yes, that was the one. And there was a Kitty, too, was there not? They mistook me for their new neighbor and immediately began pressing me for news of my establishment, the size of my fortune, and the number of guests I had brought with me.”
Mortification crashed over her like a wave. “Oh, heavens.” She pressed her fingers over her eyes. “I am so— They are— That is to say, my family can be rather... enthusiastic.”
Darcy laughed outright at that. “So I gathered.”
She peeked up at him through her fingers. “And you... you did not correct them?”
His grin was infuriatingly smug. “I did not wish to disappoint them. But I was intrigued to hear of my old friend Bingley taking a house in the area.”
Her mortification swiftly turned to curiosity. Narrowing her eyes, she crossed her arms and demanded, “Old friend? Clarify that, if you please.”
Darcy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Charles Bingley and I have known each other since Cambridge. He has been one of my closest friends these many years, though we have not spoken in some months, due to my... distractedness of late. I fear I have become a more feather-brained correspondent than he ever was, which is quite theaccomplishment.” His mouth tightened slightly. “That is something I deeply regret and mean to set right.”
“I am sure you will—just as soon as the by-election is won. When does it end? Surely, you shall have all the same support, perhaps with—”
“Elizabeth.”
The sound of her given name on his lips stunned her into silence. It was the first time he had ever said it.
Gently, deliberately, he reached for her hands again, cupping them in his. His touch was warm, firm—steadying in a way she had not realized she needed.
“There will be no by-election,” he said softly.
She blinked, shaking her head slightly. “But... but the papers were full of it. Stanton was imprisoned... he is not free, is he? Was there some mistake?”
His grip on her hands tightened slightly. “There will be no by-election... forme.”
Elizabeth’s lips parted, her breath shallow. “I—I do not understand.”
Darcy exhaled and stepped a fraction closer. “I had words with Sir Edmund Gresham last night. He is a perfectly honorable man of considerable experience and sound character. He was hesitant to stand at first, but when I told him I would withdraw, he agreed—on the condition that I would not divide an honest vote and give Stanton’s allies a chance to manipulate the results.”
Elizabeth’s pulse pounded in her ears. “You—youagreed?”
He nodded. “I did. And I went to see my uncle this morning to explain my intentions. The earl was satisfied with my solution.”
Elizabeth could only stare at him. The weight of his decision—what it meant for him, what it might mean for her—made her head spin. She stared at him, at his calm expression, at the quiet certainty in his voice, and something inside her twisted.
“Why?” she demanded. “Why, after all this work, are you quitting? Giving up?”
His gaze drifted back toward the horizon, his eyes unfocused over the distant road as if searching for something only he could see. “This was never what I wanted,” he said finally. His voice was quiet, almost contemplative. “It was not even what I needed. But Providence was good enough to give me a glimpse of that which Ididneed.”
Elizabeth frowned. “What do you mean?”
He turned to her then, as if shaking himself from some reverie, and when he spoke again, his voice had changed—lower, more somber. “My sister,” he said. “She hada... rather shocking experience in Ramsgate. Matters there did not end well for her.” His mouth pressed into a firm line. “She may find some scandal whispered about her, in fact.”
Elizabeth’s heart fell. Just when she thought—no,hoped—this conversation was leading somewhere else, he shifted entirely. Her disappointment flared, but she pushed it down, focusing instead on the concern in his voice. “Is she well?”
He breathed in deeply, as if fortifying himself. “I believe she is as well as she can be, under the circumstances.” He exhaled slowly. “But I feel it is best for my sister, and for myself, if I go back to Pemberley and remain there for a while. Lower my profile, as it were.”
