Page 30 of The Crown’s Gift

"You have learned restraint."

"No. Papa has made eavesdropping more difficult."

Charlotte shifted her weight and pressed one gloved hand briefly to her ankle. Mr Collins, approaching to claim the final dance, noticed before she disguised the movement. He fetched a chair and a glass of negus, then offered to surrender the set without mentioning Lady Catherine's opinion of perseverance. Charlotte accepted the drink, rested through one figure, and chose to dance the next. Elizabeth saw surprise soften into gratitude on her friend's face.

Darcy came to Elizabeth instead.

"You have not danced the last with anyone."

"Have you inspected my card?"

"Bingley asked on my behalf."

"Cowardice through friendship."

"Efficiency."

She placed her hand in his.

During the final figure, they spoke less than before. Silence had changed between them. It was no longer dismissal. It held awareness: his fingers closing around hers, the sweep of her skirt near his shoe, the instant before they separated and the pull when the dance returned them to one another.

At the end, Darcy bowed over her hand.

"Thank you."

Elizabeth could think of no teasing answer. "Good night, Mr Darcy."

In the carriage home, Jane confessed that Bingley had asked whether she could be happy living permanently at Longbourn.

Lady Bennet made a sound so sharp the horses seemed to quicken.

"He did not propose," Jane said quickly. "I told him happiness depends more upon the people within a house than its name."

"And what did he say?" Elizabeth asked.

Jane looked down at her gloved hands. "He said he hoped to become one of those people."

Sir Thomas turned toward the dark window. Elizabeth saw his reflection smile.

CHAPTER FIVE

Departures and Promises

Three mornings after the ball, Bingley rode to Netherfield with a question he did not manage to ask.

He found Jane walking beneath the covered terrace with Mary. Lady Bennet received him warmly. Sir Thomas invited him into the library after half an hour and waited.

Bingley sat, stood, examined a painting, and sat again.

"I admire Miss Bennet very much."

"That has not escaped us."

"I would never behave dishonorably toward her."

"I did not imagine you would."

Bingley's fingers tightened around his gloves. "I had thought—after the ball—that I might speak. But Darcy believes I should settle certain business first. My purchase of an estate has been delayed, and my father's investments require review. He says a proposal made while my future is unsettled may be selfish."