It was a little dark in the room despite the candles, but Elizabeth detected a faint blush on Mr. Darcy’s cheeks. “Quite so, madam,” he said stiffly, and set his fork down. “We wish to discover more specifically who arrived in the area from out of town before the ball.”
“And you believe my father will know this?” she asked disbelievingly.
“He is the primary land-holder in the area and has been at Longbourn many years. He would at the least know where we ought to begin.” Mr. Darcy seemed to feel this a very reasonable course of action.
Elizabeth shook her head. “Papa does not pay attention to such visitors unless it is to laugh at them. He will send you to Sir William. You may as well begin there.”
Mr. Darcy coughed and lifted a napkin to his mouth. “I beg your pardon?”
“My apologies, Mr. Darcy,” she said coolly. “I did not understand you to be hard of hearing.”
“Surely you do not mean Sir William Lucas?” he asked dubiously.
Her irritation flared. “Why would I say it if I did not mean it?”
“But he is so . . . so . . .” Mr. Darcy glanced at her and swallowed.
“Amiable?” Elizabeth supplied, the tone of her voice a warning.
Mr. Darcy nodded, but it was clear from his expression that this was not the word he would have chosen.
“Do you think that because he began his life in trade that he is not astute? He was the mayor, Mr. Darcy. He addressed the king.”
Mr. Darcy did not appear impressed. “Yes, but . . .”
“Have you addressed the king, sir? In any manner at all?”
“No.” Mr. Darcy appeared as though he had swallowed something very sour.
She felt a small sense of vindication. “Have you been knighted, sir?”
“Of course not,” he replied, exasperation sneaking into his voice.
“Then perhaps you should not look down on him for an accident of birth. Do you think
him unobservant?” She lifted her eyebrows.
“No,” Mr. Darcy protested. “Not precisely. I merely thought him…”
“Simple.” That was the heart of the matter. Mr. Darcy thought himself so very clever.
Mr. Darcy lifted a shoulder. “Well, yes.”
“This is why you ought to have sought my opinion from the start, Mr. Darcy,” she told him sharply. “Having been at Netherfield for a few months, during which time you managed to offend nearly everyone you met, does not qualify you to judge the inhabitants of the area.” Truly, many of her friends had taken up against Mr. Darcy on her behalf so perhaps she bore some of the blame, but he had given them additional reasons for affront without any assistance from her.
He sighed and sat back. “Very well, madam. Tell me of Sir William Lucas.”
His unwilling resignation, as though he still could not trust that she had something of value to say, provoked her further. “Sir William perhaps ought not to have sold his business with so many children to settle, and possibly he enjoyed his time at St. James a bit too much. He tells the same stories many times over until we know them by rote. But we all have faults, sir. Despite them, Sir William is one of the most honorable men I know.”
Mr. Darcy’s face expressed his surprise, but he was wise enough not to speak.
“Did it never occur to you that Sir William is affable for a purpose?” Elizabeth asked. “That as the former mayor he is protective of all of us in and around Meryton? That particularly with a militia quartered nearby, he wishes to know every visitor or new resident who appears in our area? How is that object best served? Does haughtiness invite confidences?”
Mr. Darcy appeared quite abashed. Good. He should be. The heat of her temper abated.
“Who was Mr. Bingley’s first caller at Netherfield, Mr. Darcy?” she asked with more gentleness. “Who attempted to save your reputation among the local families by arranging that you dance with me at Lucas Lodge?” She removed her napkin from the table and shook it out with one snap of her wrist. “I refused because I did not wish for your reputation to be salvaged. Sir William was rather disappointed in me, I am afraid.” She sniffed. “For some reason, he seems to like you.”
“Your refusal did you no injury with me, Miss Elizabeth,” Mr. Darcy said contritely. “I admit, I was intrigued. I do not believe I have ever been refused before.”