“Darcy, why did Miss Elizabeth give you the letter?” Bingley held up the note between the fingers of his good hand.
“I presume because my sister is mentioned.”
Bingley continued to stare at him. “The last time you two were in a room together, you nearly took each other’s heads off.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Bingley was incredulous. “Do you not recall? You and Caroline created a list of the thousand subjects a lady must master to be considered truly accomplished! I thanked God that evening that I am a man, for as a woman I should never measure up. Nor would nine gentlemen out of ten, I daresay.”
“I was attempting to offer her a compliment,” Darcy protested.
“Who?”
“Miss Elizabeth! She was holding a book when I said extensive reading was an accomplishment. Which is true.”
Bingley laughed aloud and then grabbed at his shoulder. “Do not make me laugh, Darcy. Miss Elizabeth had only just told Caroline that she was not a great reader.”
Darcy was confused. “I thought she was only being modest.”
Bingley grunted and grabbed at his shoulder again. “Stop.”
“A woman who is as witty and bright as Miss Elizabeth must be a wide reader. She even compared your sisters and me to Gilpin’s cows without any of us being aware.”
It was Bingley’s turn to appear lost. “What? Whose cows?”
Darcy rolled his eyes. “Never mind. Is there a point to this attack on my character?”
“Yes,” Bingley replied, amused. “Miss Elizabeth does not like you. Why did she give you the note, even if it mentioned your sister? She might have had her maid pass it to Greyson without any risk, yet she gave it to you.” Bingley was quiet for a moment before he pushed himself up. “Shedoeslike you.”
Darcy’s heart leaped at the notion. Did she?
Bingley scratched the back of his head. “You believed you were offering her a compliment, in your own moody way, yes?
“Itwasa compliment,” Darcy insisted, though now he was less certain.
“You like Miss Elizabeth. You did even at Netherfield, but she did not like you, then.” Bingley was nodding as he put it all together. “Now that you are staying in her home to assist me, the same way she came to my home to assist her sister, she is learning to likeyou! Ha! This is excellent!”
“It is more complicated than that,” he said sternly.
“Oh.” Bingley nodded sagely. “Because you think everyone expects you to make a brilliant match and you hate to disappoint the members of the ton.”
“I could not give two bloody . . . I do not care what the ton thinks of me.”
“Do you not?” Bingley wore a shrewd expression that Darcy could not like. “Well, not you, perhaps. But the Darcy name?Thatyou wish to have spoken of with reverence.”
Was this what Bingley truly thought of him? Moreover, was he right?
“I did not wish to disappoint my parents, Bingley. You know they always intended for me to marry well.”
“Yet their definition of ‘well’ need not be your own. Come now, man. Your mother favoured a marriage to your cousin Anne for you, and you have decided against honouring that wish. And from what you have said about your father, I daresay he would approve of Miss Elizabeth.”
Darcy was silent. Bingley might be right. His father had been drawn to his mother not for her father’s title and her ample fortune, though he had been grateful for them. He had appreciated Lady Anne’s lively wit, her love of learning, the way she had of lighting up a room when she entered it.
“Do you intend to act upon your feelings for her?” Bingley cocked his head to one side. “I will not judge you either way. But consider it, my friend. If we are fortunate, a marriage lasts a lifetime. How do you wish to spend yours?”
How indeed? He was sure there was a woman who had all of Miss Elizabeth’s best characteristics yet was also in possession of a fine fortune and elevated connections. But his fickle heart did not want her. It wanted Miss Elizabeth.
Bingley gave him a sombre look. “I only ask that if you are not serious about Miss Elizabeth that you do not continue this friendship,” he said. “Politeness is all that is required.”