"Thank you."
"You ought to keep it."
"I intend to."
Darcy met her eyes briefly. The exchange lasted no more than a moment, yet it was the first occasion upon which she had looked at him voluntarily all afternoon.
It was also the first occasion upon which he found himself wondering whether there might still be some small hope of repairing the damage he had done. The thought was dangerous, but he could not persuade himself to abandon it.
By the time Mrs Bennet announced that she had discovered a fossil, the entire party had already gathered around three previous discoveries, none of which had survived Mrs Makepeace's inspection.
"It is not a fossil," said Mrs Makepeace for the third time. "You have found stones."
Darcy watched the exchange with half his attention. The other half had been occupied for the better part of an hour by Elizabeth.
As the rest of the group drifted away together, he stood next to her and cleared his throat awkwardly.
Elizabeth was examining a piece of shale in her hand. She looked up only after several moments. "It seems we have beenabandoned," she said in a more disappointed tone than he would have liked.
For a little while they walked in silence. The tide had left pools amongst the rocks which reflected the pale afternoon sky, and gulls wheeled lazily overhead. Elizabeth continued examining every promising fragment she encountered.
At length she said, "I believe I understand the attraction."
"The attraction of fossils?"
"Of looking for them. One begins by expecting nothing and then finds oneself convinced that the next stone may contain something remarkable."
"That seems an excellent recipe for disappointment."
Mr Bingley would say it is exciting."
"Perhaps that is because Mr Bingley would find excitement in a ditch."
Elizabeth laughed. "That is very unfair."
"It is perfectly fair. You forget how long we have known each other."
"And you are very fond of him."
"Yes, I rather am."
Elizabeth nodded and looked into his face which was so open and handsome to appear almost boyish. Yet her mind returnedto the conversation she had overheard in the breakfast room and her mouth settled into a grim line.
"I am afraid I have given you very little reason lately to think well of me," he said thoughtfully.
Elizabeth turned the fragment of shale in her hand before answering. It bore a faint impression which had appeared promising at first glance but now seemed less so.
"You may be assured," he said after a moment, "that there is not a sentence of that conversation I have not regretted."
Elizabeth raised her eyes to his. "Regretted because I heard it?"
"No. Had you never heard a word of it, I should still have been wrong. Indeed, that is perhaps the most uncomfortable part of the business. I cannot even console myself with having been misunderstood."
For a little while neither spoke. The sea moved steadily below them, breaking against the rocks in long white lines before withdrawing once more. A gull cried somewhere overhead. Farther down the beach, Bingley appeared to be arguing with Mrs Makepeace about an object he remained determined to classify as a fossil.
Elizabeth's gaze returned to the stone in her hand. "You seemed very certain of yourself at the time."
"I was."
