“I see.”
“What do you see?” Darcy asked sharply.
“Nothing at all.”
“Then why say, ‘I see?’”
Not above tormenting his cousin, Richard shrugged. “I am certain you will see, eventually.”
Darcy glared at him.
Richard smiled back. “Shall we go down for tea? Miss Bingley will wish to continue her tirade against the Bennets, especially in view of what neither of us sees.”
“You are being deliberately aggravating,” Darcy snapped.
Richard adopted a wounded expression. “Me?”
“Yes. You.” Darcy gestured to the door. “And, yes, let us by all means go down for tea. At least Miss Bingley will be speaking plainly, not in riddles.”
That brought back Richard’s grin.
Darcy followed his cousin from the room, a well-appointed space, as was all of Netherfield Park. If Bingley had consulted him as he ought, Darcy would have recommended letting theplace. Of course, he now understood why Bingley had forgone seeking any such advice. He cast a scowl askance at Richard.
Beside him, Richard drew his shoulders back. He puffed his chest out and adopted a stiffness to his bearing that made every movement a touch awkward. He then raised his chin, hardening his mouth and jaw into a frown.
Watching Richard become him, Darcy’s scowl deepened. “I do not look like that,” he muttered.
Richard glanced his way, the motion stiff, and managed to look down his nose at Darcy even though he stood half a head shorter. “I do not believe lesser beings have the right to criticize a Darcy of Pemberley.”
“I do not speak that way, either.”
“Miss Bingley has oft commended my portrayal.”
Darcy snorted. “She would praise the very way you draw breath if doing so brought her closer to being the relation of an earl.”
“True enough,” Richard agreed lightly. “But you cannot expect a lady not to give such matters consideration.”
Darcy cast his cousin a quick look, taking in the contemplation in his eyes. “You cannot be sympathetic to her ambitions?”
“She has been a staunch and capable ally in my ruse.” Richard shrugged. “More than that, she did not shirk from the danger of those two men in Meryton. I am not accustomed to thinking of young society misses as brave.”
Darcy frowned, then schooled the expression, aware the use of it featured heavily in Richard’s mimicry. Still, he’d heard the tale from Bingley. “Did not Miss Elizabeth actively seek help while Miss Bingley simply stood there screaming?”
“From what I heard, the two hastily formed that plan. For Miss Bingley to call for help while Miss Elizabeth sought some.” Richard glanced at him as they started down the staircase.“And you saw her immediately after the incident. She gave no evidence of being rattled.”
“True.” Darcy decided not to admit that he’d hardly noted Miss Bingley at all, his attention immediately captured by Elizabeth.
MissElizabeth, rather.
They went down to tea and, as predicted, Miss Bingley’s retelling of the afternoon as she passed along all that had taken place at Longbourn to her sister and Mr. Hurst. Each time Miss Bingley gave delighted emphasis to one of Richard’s insults, given in Darcy’s name, Darcy flinched. Richard, he noted, expressed only amusement.
Or was there more in the way he watched Miss Bingley? Richard’s entertainment at her antics certainly seemed unfeigned.
For her part, Georgiana sat with them for very little time before excusing herself to the small pianoforte in the corner of the room. Quietly and slowly at first, but with increasing confidence, she worked through the sheet music Miss Mary had loaned her. When discordant repetition and Georgiana’s increasingly hunched shoulders indicated she struggled with one section, Miss Bingley joined her on the bench to offer assistance. Darcy could not help but note the contemplative look that earned from Richard.
Their playing was interrupted by a footman, who carried an invitation to a gathering at Lucas Lodge the following evening. This, predictably, returned Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst to their favorite topic, the quality of families in the neighborhood about them. Only Bingley spoke in defense of the locals, and Darcy imagined they all suspected why.
The evening proceeded in a similar vein and, despite the call for cards, Darcy retired early. He would not admit as much, but he desired to rise with the dawn and ride out before breakfast.He could only hope that Miss Elizabeth would be at their usual meeting place. He longed to apologize for Richard’s behavior, and dreaded the notion that she might be too displeased to want any more to do with them.
