Elizabeth rose and moved to adjust the coverlet, buying herself a moment before answering. The act required no thought, though she performed it with care, smoothing the fabric where no smoothing was needed.
“Mr. Darcy spoke,” she said at last.
Jane’s interest heightened despite her fatigue. “To you?”
“Not directly. Not—at first.”
She resumed her seat.
“There was a discussion. Miss Bingley began it. You may imagine the subject.”
Jane’s lips curved slightly. “Accomplishments? She seems rather set on proving herself the most accomplished lady in the land.”
Elizabeth tilted her head to one side. “Naturally. She described her definition of them at length and with great conviction.”
“And Mr. Darcy?”
Elizabeth paused. “He disagreed.”
Jane’s brows lifted. “Disagreed?”
“In part. He added to the list. Reading, he said. And—other things.”
Jane watched her. “What sort of things?”
Elizabeth stared down at her hands. “Character. Judgment. The ability to think before speaking.”
Jane’s smile deepened. “All very sensible.”
“Yes.” It had been very peculiar.
“And you do not approve?”
Elizabeth lifted her head quickly. “I did not say that.”
“No,” Jane said gently. “You did not.”
Elizabeth rose again, unable to remain still. She paced the room, her steps measured, her thoughts less so.
“It was not merely what he said,” she continued. “It was how he said it.”
Jane waited.
“He spoke as though—” Elizabeth stopped, searching for the words, then began again. “As though the things Miss Bingley values were insufficient. As though they were of no consequence unless something else existed beneath them.”As though he spoke directly to me.
Jane regarded her with quiet interest. “And you disagree?”
“No.” The answer came more quickly than she had intended. Elizabeth pressed her lips together. “I do not disagree,” she repeated, more carefully. “It is only… unexpected.”
“From Mr. Darcy?”
“Yes.”
Where, she wondered, had the proud and haughty gentleman gone?
Jane considered this. “Perhaps we have yet to see him fully.”
Jane’s voice remained gentle, but there was unusual certainty in it. She had watched Mr. Darcy closely during the past several days and appeared quite persuaded that his present conduct revealed his true character far more accurately than his earlier reserve.
