“They are very fair,” Toby said.
“You only need to apologize properly,” Thomas added.
Darcy bowed his head. “Then I shall do so.”
Both boys watched him closely.
“You promise?” Toby asked.
“I do.”
Thomas studied his face. “You will not fail again?”
Darcy met his gaze.
“I will not.”
The answer appeared to satisfy them.
Toby stepped back. “Good.”
Thomas nodded. “Then we shall permit it.”
Darcy almost smiled.
“Your approval is most valuable.”
“It is,” Toby said.
“We must go,” Thomas added. “Lessons.”
“Miss Porter will notice,” Toby said.
“And she will tell Mama,” Thomas continued.
“And then we shall be in trouble.”
Darcy inclined his head. “Then you had best make haste.”
They turned together.
“Remember,” Toby called over his shoulder, “tonight.”
“Do not waste the opportunity,” Thomas added.
They ran down the slope, their figures quickly diminishing against the landscape.
Darcy remained where he was for a time.
The implications settled in his mind.
Miss Bingley’s intentions were plain enough. She would never have invited the Bennet sisters without a purpose. Questions would be asked, observations made, and conclusions drawn.
He knew her habits.
She would probe, flatter, diminish, and compare, all while preserving an appearance of civility that concealed more than it disclosed.
Elizabeth Bennet would certainly attract her notice.
