“I think her pretty enough,” Mr. Darcy allowed, keeping his true opinion of the lady’s extraordinary appearance to himself. “But I saw that you could not take your eyes off Miss Bennet.”
“Good Lord, man, she is an angel! An angel come to earth!”
“And the sister of the young lady to whom you have been paying a good deal of attention,” Mr. Darcy replied, quietly.
Mr. Bingley looked away. “True enough,” he said. “But dammit, I had not yet met Miss Bennet, or…”
“Or you would have paid your attentions to Miss Bennet, not to Miss Elizabeth,” Mr. Darcy finished for him.
“I fear that you are right, Darcy. But it is no gentleman’s action, to turn from one sister to the other, simply because she is prettier!”
“Bingley.” Mr. Darcy set his cue down. “I know nothing of either sister, other than the fact that both are lovely, though in different ways. I suggest that you take the time to know them both better, though it cannot be denied that you have, from the sound of it, raised expectations with respect to Miss Elizabeth.” He bit those last words out, unhappy with the idea for no particular reason at all.
Chapter Thirty-Six
As Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy prepared to visit Longbourn the next day, they were unhappily surprised to learn that Miss Bingley proposed to accompany them. “Butwhy, Caroline?” her irritated brother enquired.
“Simply to see how you get on with your courtship, Charles,” she replied, smoothly.
“It is not anofficialcourtship,” Mr. Bingley replied at once, his brows drawing together.
“I know, but you have made your intentions clear enough,” she said.
“Do you think so?” Mr. Bingley asked, nervously.
“Oh, without a doubt. After all, you have visited the family every day for weeks, and no one could believe that your interest was in her younger sister, Mary. I do imagine your Miss Elizabeth is waiting for you to make her an offer any day now.”
Mr. Bingley looked unhappily at Mr. Darcy, who lifted his shoulders a fraction of an inch and then let them drop.
The weather was clement, but Miss Bingley’s presence meant that the carriage had to be brought out, as she did not ride. Mr. Bingley stared moodily out the carriage window, not even pretending to listen to his sister’s prattle; Mr. Darcy, as a guest, was required to be polite, so he listened to her withhalf an ear and merely murmured noncommittally when was required.
When they arrived at Longbourn, Mr. Bingley got out first, handed his sister out, and then pulled Mr. Darcy aside for a quick word. “She agrees that expectations have been raised.” His voice was low.
Mr. Darcy merely nodded and then followed Miss Bingley to the house.
Mrs. Bennet sat in the parlour, with Jane and Elizabeth busy with their sewing. Mr. Collins and Miss Mary sat together, their new status as a betrothed couple plain for all to see. Kitty and Lydia had been sent upstairs as soon as the carriage had been spotted.
Mr. Darcy’s eye sought out Miss Elizabeth at once; she sat alone on a sofa. She raised her eyes to his and smiled.
Mr. Darcy was aware of a good many conflicting feelings as he moved, inexorably, inevitably, as if pulled by an invisible cord, towards her. He had promised Bingley not to approach Miss Elizabeth; as a gentleman, he should find a seat elsewhere, anywhere except beside Miss Elizabeth. But he was helpless to resist; a moment later, he found himself beside her.
But he immediately saw he had no cause to reproach himself, as Mr. Bingley had already seated himself beside Miss Bennet, rather than Miss Elizabeth.
“Mr. Darcy,” she began. Her voice was low, soothing to the ear, completely unlike Miss Bingley’s shrill soprano.
“Miss Elizabeth,” he replied, softly.
“I am told that you brought Jane home to us; I am sorry I was not present when you arrived in order to thank you for that service. May I offer my thanks, however belated, now?”
“No thanks are needed,” he said, automatically.
“I missed my sister dearly,” she continued. “So, though you will not accept my gratitude, you have it nonetheless.”
“I know what it is to long to see one’s sister,” he said. “I have a sister myself.”
“Oh! Will you tell me about her?”
He found himself, most unexpectedly, speaking about Georgiana – how well she played the pianoforte, her shyness, her droll sense of humour, how her spirits had been depressed after a difficult summer. “She has a new companion, a Mrs. Annesley,” he concluded. “She seems very kind.”
