"And has it not served me remarkably well?"
"Only because you are fortunate enough to possess enough of it for three people."
The ensuing discussion occupied a considerable portion of the meal and concluded in the formation of a party. Mrs Makepeace undertook to direct them towards the most promising stretch of beach, Mr Bingley undertook to make several important discoveries and Mrs Bennet warned everyone to wear their most sensible shoes.
Darcy agreed to accompany them only because Georgiana appeared to take some enjoyment in the scheme.
???
His thoughts had not been particularly agreeable company since his conversation with Elizabeth in the High Street and showed little sign of improvement. He had spent a good deal of time attempting to persuade himself that his remarks to Bingley had been misunderstood and an equal amount acknowledging that such an argument was unlikely to survive serious examination. Whatever distinctions he might once have drawn between caution and prejudice, or prudence and pride,had become considerably less convincing when repeated in Elizabeth's voice.
By the time they reached the beach, the tide had retreated far enough to expose a broad stretch of shore. Bands of shale and limestone ran across the sand in dark ridges and shelves, while visitors wandered amongst them with varying degrees of purpose. Some carried hammers and baskets. Others merely stooped from time to time to examine whatever the sea had recently surrendered.
Mr Bingley surveyed the scene with immediate satisfaction. "There. You see? Fossils everywhere."
"I see only rocks," said Darcy.
Bingley paid no attention and immediately set off in pursuit of scientific distinction. He was arm in arm with Miss Bennet and they smiled warmly at each other as they progressed to a part of the beach where they could talk with relative privacy.
Darcy watched him go with some amusement. There was a peculiar confidence in his friend's conviction that enthusiasm could compensate for expertise. It was not entirely unfounded. Enthusiasm had already secured him Miss Bennet's good opinion, a success which wiser men might have envied.
Elizabeth remained behind with her mother and Georgiana, listening while Mrs Makepeace pointed out the layers of shalemost likely to contain fossils. To Darcy's surprise, she appeared genuinely interested. Within a few minutes she had abandoned all pretence of merely accompanying the others and was examining the beach with close attention.
It ought not to have surprised him. She was not the kind of woman who did anything by halves. Whether she was arguing, laughing, reading or walking, she seemed incapable of engaging with the world in a superficial manner. Every new subject became worthy of investigation. Every new acquaintance became worthy of understanding.
And every observation he made of her served only to render his earlier conclusions increasingly indefensible.
A little way ahead, Georgiana crouched beside a patch of broken shale while Elizabeth knelt beside her.
"No, look more closely," Elizabeth was saying. "That mark runs in a pattern. This one does not. Mrs Makepeace said the difference is often easier to see when the stone is wet."
Georgiana turned the fragment in her hand. "I believe you are right."
"I should hope so. I have been studying the subject for almost twenty minutes."
The answer produced a laugh which, though still infrequent, had become considerably less rare since their arrival in Lyme.He had spent years believing that Georgiana's happiness depended chiefly upon protecting her from unhappiness. Elizabeth, without seeming aware of it, had adopted a wholly different approach. She expected Georgiana to engage with the world rather than retreat from it.
"Darcy!"
Bingley's voice interrupted his reflections. His friend approached carrying a stone roughly the size of a dinner plate. "I believe I have found something extraordinary."
Darcy accepted the specimen, examined it briefly and returned it.
"You have found a stone."
"It is not a stone."
"It is entirely a stone."
Bingley looked scandalised. "Upon my word, you possess the least scientific mind of anyone I have ever met."
"Then I must endeavour to bear the disappointment."
Miss Bennet, who had joined them, examined the object for herself. "I fear Mr Darcy may be correct."
Bingley sighed deeply. "I see I stand alone."
"Not entirely," said Elizabeth, approaching the group. "I think it is a very handsome stone."
