Jane’s amusement deepened slightly.
Elizabeth paused before speaking again.
“Did you notice,” she asked carefully, “the degree of attention he paid me specifically?”
Jane appeared unsurprised. “Yes.”
Elizabeth sat near the bed, smoothing unnecessary wrinkles from her skirt while trying unsuccessfully to sound indifferent.
“He moved beside me in the drawing room. At dinner he scarcely addressed anyone else for more than two minutes at a time.”
Jane considered this mildly. “Perhaps he feels a particular connection because you are related through your father.”
“Perhaps.”
The explanation failed to satisfy fully.
Elizabeth frowned slightly. “Even so, the familiarity seems excessive considering we only met today.”
Jane tilted her head thoughtfully. “Some people form attachments quickly.”
“Or intentions.”
Jane giggled just enough to trigger a brief cough.
“You suspect intentions already?”
“I suspect enthusiasm uncontrolled by restraint.”
“That may be equally true.”
Elizabeth leaned back slightly, her thoughtful expression still touched with mild amused.
Mr. Wilson had been perfectly civil. More than civil. Attentive and warm.
She felt no inclination whatsoever to encourage the particular preference he seemed increasingly eager to display.
And somewhere beneath that realization lingered another truth she preferred not to examine too closely.
She could still recall precisely how Mr. Darcy watched her through the window when she departed Netherfield.
That memory alone rendered every comparison unfair.
Jane snuggled lower beneath the blankets. “You are frowning.”
“I am thinking.”
“A dangerous pastime at this hour.”
Elizabeth smiled thinly. “You sound like Papa.”
“That should alarm us both.”
Jane’s eyes drifted closed shortly afterward, exhaustion reclaiming her fully at last.
Elizabeth extinguished the extra candles before retiring to her own chamber.
There, alone at last, she brushed out her hair slowly while replaying the evening in her mind. Mr. Wilson’s arrival would undoubtedly alter the household atmosphere for the duration of his stay. Whether for better or worse remained uncertain.
