“Or perhaps—” she turned her gaze to him, scrutinizing, “—perhaps you are invested in the fate of another of the prime minister’s enemies.”
Darcy’s jaw flexed, but he did not take the bait.
She sighed dramatically. “Nothing? No sharp inhalation? No guilty flicker of the eye? You are making this terribly difficult.”
Still, he was silent as a stone.
Elizabeth huffed in frustration, thinking. If it was not politics, if it was not money, if it was not—
Oh.
Oh.
Her eyes widened in realization.Of course.
A slow, delighted grin spread across her face. “This was aboutme.”
Darcy stiffened.
Elizabeth’s chest warmed with self-satisfaction. She had unraveled him.
Darcy exhaled slowly, his gaze flicking toward Bingley and Jane, still ahead of them, before returning to the path. “That is hardly—”
“Oh, come now,” she interrupted. “It is a simple question.”
Darcy’s teeth were grinding so hard she could actually hear them. And still, he did not answer.
That silence. That pause. Thatguilt. A thrill of realization swept down her spine.
He hadknown her.Or at least, knownofher. Before London. Before the House of Commons. Before the assassination.
Which meant…
Her brows knit together as she turned the thought over, the implications unfolding like a map in her mind.Why?
Why had he never spoken to her? Why had he never made himself known? Darcy was a man of connections. His circles were not so far removed from hers that an acquaintance would be unheard of—indeed, had she not been introduced to his young sister? He ought to beexpectedto have made her acquaintance somewhere.
She took a slow step closer, watching him carefully. “I wonder…” she murmured, drawing out the words, “how long you have been avoiding me, Mr. Darcy?”
Darcy’s gaze snapped to hers.
“You did! You knew me before this,” she declared triumphantly, and then—even better— “And yet you never called. Never introduced yourself. Never sought an acquaintance.”
His scowl deepened.
She bit her lip, shaking her head in exaggerated disappointment. “What a scandalous oversight.”
Darcy exhaled harshly. “It was not an oversight.”
Her brows lifted. “Oh? And what would you call it?”
Darcy’s gaze cut sideways to her, something wary flickering behind his eyes as he muttered something low under his breath.
Elizabeth leaned in, her brow lifting. “I am sorry, what was that?”
He halted, and something in his chest was fairly trembling with some sort of pent-up…something. “Do not let your vanity fool you,” he gritted between his teeth. “It is no work of intrigue or fascination to suggest I was familiar with your name before having you thrust upon me.”
She drew back slightly. “I only meant—”
