CHAPTER TWENTY
“Miss Bennet,” Mr Bingley cried, pulling his horse to a stop and quickly dismounting. “How good it is to see you.”
Elizabeth heard nothing else he said. Under other circumstances, she would have been happy to speak to Mr Bingley, even expect that she, her sisters, and the two newly arrived gentlemen would spend an interlude talking together, exchanging a few commonplaces, ascertaining why they were all in Meryton, and introducing Mr Wickham to them. But she had a strong suspicion Mr Darcy and Mr Wickham already knew each other. Mr Darcy all but glared at him, his chin barely lowering enough to call it a nod. It was difficult to tell in the bright daylight, but she believed Mr Wickham’s complexion had paled.
“Miss Elizabeth, Miss Mary,” Mr Darcy said, removing his hat. “I hope I find you both well.”
“V-very, thank you, sir,” Mary said, the slight stammer informing Elizabeth that her sister had alsonoticed the uncomfortable greeting—or rather, lack of—between the men.
Mr Darcy met Elizabeth’s eye. She furrowed her brow slightly, intending for him to read a silent question in her expression, and was almost certain he answered it with a slight shake of his head.
“Denny, we-we should not take up any more of the Miss Bennets’ time,” Mr Wickham called to his friend.
“Oh, but Mr Wickham, we have not had a chance to talk at all!” Kitty said.
“I know!” Lydia exclaimed. “You must come to my aunt’s house tomorrow evening. Mr Denny has been invited, and she will not mind if you are there too, Mr Wickham. Say you will.”
Jane attempted to stop her, but she was not equal to the task, not when both Kitty and Lydia insisted Mrs Philips would be desolate if she learnt she had missed out on hosting the newest member of the regiment before anyone else could. Mr Wickham agreed that if Mrs Philips extended the invitation to him, he would attend her gathering. Elizabeth had the impression he had largely conceded so that he and Mr Denny might depart.
“I shall go directly to my aunt and demand she send Mr Wickham a note at once,” Lydia stated as soon as the two officers were gone. “Come along, Kitty.”
Seeing that Jane was occupied with Mr Bingley and had not heard, Elizabeth said, “No, you will not. We shall remain together, all five of us.” Turning to Mr Darcy, she said, “I apologise for my sister’s behaviour. I do not believe she, or Kitty for that matter, have evenacknowledged that you are here.” Kitty turned pink and murmured a greeting. Elizabeth worried her own complexion would take on a noticeable amount of colour, such was her embarrassment, but that was forgotten in a moment because Mr Darcy smiled at her.
Lydia let out a loud, not entirely polite noise, which Elizabeth would have overlooked had her sister not also said, “How can you tell me what I am not to do when you are speaking to Mr Darcy even though Papa said you are not permitted to? I do not see that him saying something kind about us to Mrs Best, who everyone knows is a horrible gossip and is only angry because you made Papa?—”
“That is enough, Lydia,” Elizabeth interjected. “Mr Darcy, again, I apologise for my sister’s poor manners.”
“Shall I take her and Kitty to the shop?” Mary asked. “Will you and Jane be far behind us?”
Elizabeth agreed, first impressing on Kitty and Lydia that they were to obey Mary else the five of them would return to Longbourn without Jane’s promised treat. Lydia stamped away, leaving a red-faced Kitty chasing after her and Mary struggling to keep up with them without running. Elizabeth sighed and briefly closed her eyes, opening them at the sound of Mr Darcy’s voice.
“How are you this morning?” he asked, his gaze on her.
“Afterthatdisplay? Lydia is headstrong, but I hope age—and vigilance by my parents, sisters, and me—will make a difference. Apart from being mortified, I am well.” When she looked into his eyes, she momentarily felt light-headed and kicked herself for being so stupid—both for having prattled on about Lydia and for being so affected by his presence. “And you?”
His eyes flickered in the direction Mr Wickham had taken, and he shrugged. “I am afraid Bingley and I cannot keep you and your sisters company while you are in Meryton or return to Longbourn with you. We have business at Purvis Lodge, but we could not ride by without spending a few minutes with you.”
“Whileyoumight be able to withstand the temptation, I am sure Mr Bingley could not.” She tilted her head to gesture towards where he stood with Jane, the couple speaking animatedly.
Mr Darcy chuckled, which somehow made him even more handsome, a feat Elizabeth would have said was impossible. “I agree so far as Bingley is concerned, but as to what you said of me, I shall assume you were teasing.”
She grinned, and for a minute or two, they exchanged what little news they had. She was curious about his connexion to Mr Wickham, but to her surprise, she only remembered their awkwardness once she and Mr Darcy had separated; while they were together, she had been caught up in their conversation, even though they had not touched on any serious subjects.
When saying goodbye to them, Mr Bingley added, “I hope we shall see all of you, and your excellent parents, soon. Very soon.” The Netherfield party was engaged elsewhere the following evening and would not be at Mrs Philips’ soirée.
“I am sure an occasion to meet will arise before long,” Mr Darcy said. “Perhaps the day after tomorrow.”
He was looking at Elizabeth, and she wondered whether he hoped they would see each other during an early morning walk; he might even be hinting that he desired to meet in the only way open to him at present. As she walked farther into Meryton with her sisters, Elizabeth reflected that he might want to talk to her about Mr Wickham, and she knew she would do her best to be on those paths where they had encountered each other before and at about the same time.
Mr Wickham attendedMrs Philips’s evening party, presumably having received the necessary invitation. Elizabeth did not speak to him at first, but she did study him. There was no doubt that he was a good-looking man, perhaps one of the most handsome she had ever seen, and he spoke easily and warmly to everyone he met. In short, he was charming, and given the strange behaviour she had witnessed in both him and Mr Darcy the day before, she was perplexed; indeed, she had spent far too long reflecting on it and was ever more anxious to speak to Mr Darcy.
It was only after she had been at her aunt’s house for about an hour that she spoke to Mr Wickham. She had been talking to friends, but when they left her—and before she could join Charlotte in another corner of the room, as she had intended—he was beside her.
“Miss Elizabeth, I am glad to finally have a moment to get to know you better. I began trying to catch youalmost as soon as I arrived, but each time I thought I might, someone has prevented me,” he said, giving her a lopsided smile. “Everyone has been so friendly, even more than I expected from what my fellow officers said.”
“We are always glad to welcome new people, but I suppose that is usual in small towns. We are forever running the risk of becoming tired of each other’s company.”
He laughed more than her small joke deserved. “I have tried to make my way to you several times, but someone always stopped me.”
