She looked up immediately. The gentleman her father had recognised upon the road was already striding across the lawn with determination.
"Jane, I shall be only a moment."
Without waiting for a reply, Elizabeth hurried after him.
"Sir?"
The music from the terrace swallowed the word.
He continued walking. She quickened her pace, weaving between guests until she was close enough to touch his arm. He stopped so abruptly that she almost collided with him.
"Must we really continue this pursuit?" he said sharply, without turning. "I had hoped to avoid speaking so plainly, madam, but you leave me little choice. I have not sought your acquaintance, nor shall I. I must ask you not to seek mine."
Elizabeth stared at the back of his head. "I beg your pardon?"
He turned and his expression was one of unmistakable impatience. "If this is yet another attempt to become acquaintedwith me," he said, "I can only advise you that persistence is unlikely to succeed."
"You may set your mind entirely at ease, sir," she replied, every bit as coolly. "The acquaintance is one I had no intention of pursuing. Indeed, had I known so simple an act of courtesy would be received with such extraordinary self-importance, I should have spared us both the trouble."
Darcy frowned and looked at her more closely. "Madam, if you would allow me to—"
"No, Mr Darcy—I believe you are that gentleman, are you not?—you have spoken quite enough."
Her voice carried farther than she intended. A few nearby conversations faltered, and several heads turned discreetly in their direction.
"I am perfectly aware that you are a gentleman of consequence, and no doubt many ladies are prepared to overlook a great deal on that account. I am not amongst them. In my circles, lowly as you may think them, a gentleman is valued not for the size of his estate or rank, but for his conduct towards others. I regret to say that, in that respect, you have made a singularly poor first impression."
She held out the watch. "You dropped this, sir."
"Miss—I have behaved abominably. I was under the impression—"
Elizabeth folded her arms.
"That every lady who speaks to you must be laying siege to your estate and person?"
Darcy opened his mouth. But he could not think of a single thing to say.
"Had I known returning your property would provoke a lecture upon my supposed designs," she added, "I might have left it where it lay."
Jane had evidently seen enough of the exchange to be concerned. She crossed the lawn at a brisk walk, her expression anxious as she came to her sister's side. "What has happened?"
Elizabeth did not take her eyes from Darcy. "Nothing of consequence," she replied, though her cheeks still burned. "Mr Darcy appears to have mislaid both his watch and his manners."
Darcy closed his fingers around the watch. He drew breath to answer, but another gentleman arrived before he could.
"There you are, Darcy."
The newcomer was the gentleman Elizabeth had seen laughing so easily amongst the guests since their arrival. Tall, broad-shouldered and dressed in military uniform, he possessed an openness of countenance that stood in complete contrast to hiscompanion's reserve. His easy smile faded as his eyes travelled from Darcy's expression to Elizabeth's and back again.
"Have I interrupted something?"
"Only the conclusion of an unfortunate misunderstanding," said Darcy quietly.
The colonel looked from one face to the other and sighed as if repairing Darcy’s misunderstandings was a cross he regularly had to bear. "Allow me," he said, stepping forward with an easy bow. "Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, at your service. This taciturn fellow is my dear cousin, Mr Darcy. He is sometimes lacking in the powers of conversation, but I assure you he improves—well at least a little—on closer acquaintance."
Elizabeth inclined her head politely. "Miss Elizabeth Bennet. This is my elder sister, Miss Jane Bennet."
Richard turned towards Jane. "Miss Bennet..."
