“Heavens, no! Jane is far too modest. Why, if she liked a man, he would be the last to know of it, for she is so reserved. Sadly, it is my youngest sister who leads in this way.” She sighed, shaking her head in seeming regret. “I suppose if I recall her example and try to behave as she, perhaps I could be persuasive enough.”
“It would be better if you do not act the coquettish naif. You have a sophisticated manner, and I would invite you to employ it. Most who would consider this sort of scheme do not think of themselves as girls just out of the schoolroom.”
“Are you truly in earnest? You have seen such a trick?”
“More than once, and sometimes far more desperate measures than what I propose. If you wish to know whether it has ever produced the desired result, you would have to apply to another, but it has not stopped many from making an attempt. If you truly dislike the notion so much, let us think of another way, but I doubt that I, dressed as I am….”
She nodded slowly. “I understand.”
Darcy held the door for her and stood aside, just as he had seen his own male servants do on so many occasions. How natural it seemed already, to attend this woman who met every gesture of service with a graciousness that displayed appreciation, rather than expectation. And how easy he felt when the eyes of the room were not upon him, but on her! He could breathe in her company, and even enjoy all he saw as if through eyes not jaded by years of careful observance of all Society’s pointless mores. How she had, in the course of one frenetic, turbid morning, somehow taught him the simple pleasure ofbeing, was a mystery certain to baffle him for a long while.
She cast him one last nervous glance, fumbled slightly with the tips of her gloves, then arched her shoulders and stepped forward into the shop. The proprietor of the boot shop met her with a discreet bow of humility. “How might I be of service, madam?”
Darcy stood stock still behind her, his profile turned so that he appeared ready to reach for the door, but his eyes were following her every movement… a little sliver of tongue which nervously touched her lips, the maidenly flutter of lashes as she withdrew the slip of paper he had given her from her reticule. She seemed to draw herself up then, and with cheerful, serene confidence, made her request.
“I beg your pardon, sir, but I understand you have a parcel to be delivered to this address.” She gently touched the paper to the counter and slid it to the cobbler.
He accepted it, and his forehead wrinkled when he read the street number. “To this address? Madam, I often deliver to thisaddress, for the gentleman is one of my finer customers.” He dropped his voice significantly, then handed the paper back to her. “I would not like to displease the man in any way,”
“Nothing of the kind, I assure you. I simply desire to send a message to the servant who will receive the parcel.”
The proprietor began to shake his head in denial, lifting his hands, but when Miss Bennet drew out the second paper and laid it down with two silver coins, he began to show more interest. “I understand the parcel is to be delivered today?”
“The boots are ready, madam, and the delivery only wants my boy’s return from his last errand so that he can carry it.”
“I thank you most kindly for the information,” she tipped her head grandly, as if she were any fine lady in a ballroom accepting champagne from her partner.
The bootmaker cleared his throat, and the silver coins disappeared. “Anything to please a lady,” he returned gruffly.
She turned with casual elegance and strode to the door without so much as a glance at his face, just as any lady out with her servant would have done. Darcy almost chuckled at the sight of her, so assured and composed, but the moment her feet touched the pavement and the door jingled closed behind them, she released a great sigh and then an astonished little laugh.
“I cannot believe I just did that! Do you not think it was wrong, to do something in deceit?”
“Whom have you deceived? You told the man nothing about yourself, real or imagined, nor anything of the message you conveyed. The person receiving the message, which was written inmyhand, not yours, will benefit from the intelligence gained. You were not attempting to form an assignation or to injure anyone, and I myself hope to be the beneficiary of the communication once it is received properly.”
“What precisely did you tell this Wilson person?”
“Where I expect to be found throughout the remainder of the day. If he does have anything of interest to report, he will need to know how to send word to me.”
She paused, tilting up her head and narrowing a single brilliant eye. “You are a mystery to me, sir.”
“I imagine I must be. Shall we have a formal introduction, Miss Bennet?”
She cocked her head the other way, white teeth just catching her bottom lip in thought. “I am of a curious nature, sir, which you have no doubt discerned. Moreover, I enjoy watching people and discovering their foibles and peculiarities. You are among the more unique individuals I have encountered. You walk about town dressed in clothes that I know very well are not your own, you seem to wish to avoid anyone of your own circle, yet in all other respects, you behave as someone with… abundant resources at his disposal.”
“It is true, Miss Bennet,” he answered slowly. “I will tell you anything about myself you wish to know, for I believe you deserve honesty.”
“And what of you? Do you not risk exposure, if I were to learn of your name and consequence? Do you not fear that I might bring harm to your sister or attempt to compromise you as someone else has done?”
He smiled, enjoying the answering twinkle in her eyes. “I am not afraid of you.”
“Are you not? For though I may not be of noble blood, I do have a reputation to lose, after all. Have you no fear of reprisal for spending the day with me?”
“Have you?”
She seemed to pause. “I fear having no choice in my fate.”
“In that,” he answered gently, “you are not alone. Since we have both agreed that at present, we do have some choice in remaining away from our residences, where certain unpleasantness awaits us both, let us content ourselves. We shall be discrete and protect eachother from those who would speak slanderously of either of us. Do you wish to know my name, Miss Bennet?”
