Page 119 of The Long Road Back to Yesterday

When she raised her eyes, she found several people watching them.

“Mr. Darcy, several guests appear to be watching us.”

His low chuckle sent a thrill through her middle.

“Mrs. Radcliff has most likely told half the neighborhood of our engagement.”

Mrs. Radcliff, standing nearby, turned at once. “Sir, I did no such thing.”

Mr. Darcy raised his brows.

Their hostess soon made further concealment impossible by warmly congratulating Elizabeth on her engagement.

A young woman standing nearby looked at Darcy in surprise.

“Married?”

Their hostess laughed. “You have not heard, Miss Thorne? Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet are engaged.”

Miss Thorne looked from Darcy to Elizabeth before offering her hand.

“Then I must congratulate you, Miss Bennet. You have taken me quite by surprise. I had not heard Mr. Darcy was courting anyone.”

“Thank you, Miss Thorne. The engagement is very recent.”

Her mother joined them, and they were introduced.

“My daughter has known Mr. Darcy since she was a child. His mother was my close friend, and our estates share a border.”

Miss Thorne added, “Mr. Darcy and his cousins were always doing far more interesting things than I was permitted to do, Miss Bennet. Naturally, I followed them everywhere.”

She looked at Darcy. “I was eight, and you were ten, but I was as tall as you were and a better rider.”

Darcy laughed. “I remember it rather differently.”

Miss Thorne laughed with him.

Someone claimed her attention, and she and her mother excused themselves.

Elizabeth watched the young woman cross the room. She was not pretty, but there was something attractive in her frank manner, and Elizabeth found herself wishing to know her better.

“She is very pleasant, sir. Perhaps someday we will be friends.”

Dinner was announced soon afterward.

Elizabeth was seated close enough to Mr. Darcy to speak with him without neglecting those around her. She had not seen him among his Derbyshire neighbors and found herself watching him.

An older gentleman sought his opinion about drainage on one of his farms, and their host spoke to him about a horse he had recently acquired. A woman farther down the table asked after Georgiana.

These people had known Darcy since boyhood. He was at ease among them and clearly well respected.

During the second course, he glanced toward Elizabeth’s plate.

“You have eaten very little, Elizabeth. Do you dislike oysters?”

“I do, sir, and I have been trying not to look at them.”

Darcy moved the oysters to his other side and reached for the salmon. “Would you prefer this, darling?”