Page 45 of Mr. Darcy’s Diamonds

“Miss Elizabeth.”

She looked to her side to see Mr. Darcy, the corners of his lips ever so slightly turned up.

“Would you care to dance with an old friend?” he asked.

Friends was perfect, of course, as she knew he could never be more no matter how much she wished it. She would savor this dance for what it was and what she would later dream it could have been.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The following morning, his heart full yet light, Darcy knew it was time to ask Bingley about Miss Elizabeth’s family as he had promised himself he would. He had hoped for a chance the evening before, though he later conceded it would not have been an appropriate place for the discussion.

Now, though, Darcy was alone with Bingley in Hurst’s billiards room once again, and he was hesitant to broach the subject. Did he really want his friend to know of his interest in Miss Elizabeth? Not at such an early stage, surely.

“Did Miss Bennet find the party last night to her liking?” Darcy asked casually as he hit a ball into a side pocket.

“She was enchanting…That is to say, she was enchanted,” Bingley corrected himself. “She adores all the entertainments the Season offers.”

“Is this her second time in London? Was last year, when you met her, the first?” Darcy would find out about Miss Elizabeth’s family with an indirect line of questioning if he could.

“No. She had visited her aunt and uncle a few times when she was younger. Before I met her, it had been more than a year, though, since she had been here.”

“So, before her cousin came to live here, then?”

“Yes, I suppose it must have been,” Bingley considered. “Miss Elizabeth came to stay two years ago February, when she turned fifteen, so perhaps Miss Bennet also had a short stay in London when she was fifteen or sixteen.”

“Hmm,” Darcy said. “Why did Miss Elizabeth come permanently?”

“She never said—unless she told Caroline—but I thought she was unhappy to come, as though she had been sent away.” Bingley’s face softened with concern. “Lizzy, I mean Miss Elizabeth, was always a bit guarded when speaking of her family. She did say, though, that her father was a farmer.”

“As am I, Bingley,” Darcy said with a smirk.

“Um, yes. Miss Bennet said something last year, however…”

“Said what?” Darcy prompted when it appeared Bingley would not continue.

“Oh. Well, Miss Bennet said she and her cousin have not been close for years. Something about her mother not wanting her to associate with Miss Elizabeth because of her low-born father. Mrs. Bennet often referred to him as a tenant farmer, although Miss Bennet did not know this to be true. Apparently, it was something of a scandal when Miss Elizabeth’s mother ran off to marry him, though. But then they both died, in a carriage accident, I believe, around Miss Elizabeth’s first birthday. She lived with Miss Bennet’s family after that.”

“Until her aunt could shuffle her off to other relations and away from her impressionable daughters.” Darcy furrowed his brows.

Bingley nodded.

“Is Miss Elizabeth then left to shift for herself? Will her uncles do something for her?”

“Miss Bennet said she thought her cousin’s studiousness stemmed from the knowledge she would need to be a governess,” Bingley said. “I do not believe even Miss Bennet’s dowry is large, and her father’s estate is entailed—she has three sisters and no brothers—so her uncles can likely not support Miss Elizabeth much longer.”

“I see.” Darcy nearly tore up the felt on his next shot, so disturbed was he by this news. “And what of the London relations they stay with? Where is their estate?”

“The Gardiners? They have no country house. He is Mrs. Bennet’s brother; he is an importer and owns Gardiner’s Emporium. He did business with my father, which is how we all met Miss Elizabeth two years ago.”

“An uncle in trade?” Darcy was becoming irrationally angry. How had this not come up when he had met Mrs. Gardiner the previous spring at the menagerie? They had spoken of her childhood in Lambton, near his own home, and that her father, a rector, had been the second son of a gentleman. He had not asked about her husband, having focused more on catering to Miss Elizabeth’s and her young cousin’s preferences.

“Yes. They live on Gracechurch Street. That is where we first met Miss Elizabeth. They are good people. And…” Bingley swallowed nervously. “Miss Bennet’s mother’s sister married a solicitor in their home village.”

“And you are courting Miss Bennet? Do you not have plans to buy an estate and become a gentleman?” Darcy practically growled.

“I…yes. Darcy⁠—”

“Your future wife’s connections must be impeccable if you wish to establish yourself well in society,” Darcy said, reminding himself of the reality of his own situation. He had not realized his feelings for Miss Elizabeth had expanded far enough to make him so unsettled now. He thought nothing had changed for him the night before aside from an inconvenient and overwhelming attraction to her person. “I apologize, Bingley. Of course, you know this and will act accordingly.”