“And he agreed to this?”
“Oh, yes. To tell you the truth, Uncle says he looked relieved. He returned as promised and apologised profusely for interfering in my affairs. Then I knew for certain you must be involved.”
“I made him… ah… aware of his officiousness, but told him explicitly that he could let it go, as all had turned out for the best.”
Jameson said, “Were I in the unlucky gentleman’s shoes, I could not leave well enough alone, and I suspect you were waving a red cape at his sense of honour He came prepared to eat humble pie, and when we were disinclined to serve it, he brought his own.”
Elizabeth laughed and catalogued the turn of phrase for later use. “So, what did he do?”
“He apologised and said he was ashamed. He said he had not acted in a gentlemanlike manner. Oddly enough, he said that he would ordinarily offer reparations, but he was afraid I would be offended by the idea.”
Jane answered her sister's unspoken question. “I had never considered it one way or the other. I simply decided it was best to confuse him a little further, so I thanked him very kindly for his handsome apology, then thanked him very kindly for taking the action in the first place.”
Elizabeth laughed. “So, you thanked him for two opposite things at once?”
“Of course. If he wants to be your friend, or whatever he is, he needs to embrace the ambiguities of life.”
Elizabeth laughed. If Mr Darcy was trying to learn to act in a more gentlemanlike manner, he was certainly making a good start of it.
Jameson took up the story. “He said he would like to invite us to his town house for dinner, but he had another urgent matter of business to attend to. He then indicated he had heard I was looking for an estate and offered to lend any assistance I might require.”
Without thinking, Lizzy said, “You should take him up on it. He isverygood at what he does.”
All that had been said so occupied her that she missed the nod and smile between her sister and future brother-in-law.
Jameson continued, “He said he would be honoured to host us at Pemberley, should we ever be prepared to make the journey to Derbyshire.”
Elizabeth squeaked,“He what?”
Jane chuckled. “You heard him. Pull it from your own head, Lizzy. We are invited to Pemberley at our convenience.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Well… that is… interesting.”
The whole conversation had muddled her thoughts.Would the play ever start?
A small commotion sounded at the door. In the corridor, someone said, “That is odd. Someone seems to be in Darcy’s box.”
She wondered if it was about to turn into a messy social debacle.
Before Elizabeth could decide, the most unexpected exclamation came from the corridor. “Miss Bennet! How wonderful to see you! This evening just gets better and better.”
Plus Two
It took Elizabeth much longer than it should have to answer, but since there was no trick Anne knew that Jane had not invented, a quick kick brought her back to herself. She remembered her manners at last, curtseyed, and offered a greeting.
“Colonel, what an… unexpected pleasure.”
She hoped he would not read too much into the pause while she chose between accuracy and politeness—or at least she liked to pretend she was that much in control of her thoughts. In truth, she was startled and tried her best not to babble. The ghosts of Rosings haunted her, and she was not convinced she cared for the experience.
Of course, Jane had no idea who the new entrant was, so she offered no help. The colonel wore no uniform, making him indistinguishable from any other gentleman.
Fortunately, he either did not notice the pause or chose to ignore it. “Miss Bennet, it is wonderful to see you here.”
“I hope you are not inconvenienced. I understood your father offered his box, then moved us to this one at the last minute. Your cousin arranged the whole thing. Of course, if you need it, we can return another evening.”
“Absolutely not. This is a fortuitous encounter, and I find not the slightest fault in it. I have slept with a dozen men in a tent smaller than this many times.”
Elizabeth laughed while Jane looked suitably shocked.
