Page 120 of What Change Entails

“From you?” He would like nothing better.

“Naturally. I have discovered a talent and must become insufferable.”

Darcy laughed. “You have begun promisingly.”

Her eyes danced. “Your elbow was high.”

“It was not.”

“It looked high to me.”

He received her critique with grace. “Then I must accept correction.”

Miss Bingley crossed nearer. “Mr. Darcy requires no correction in form. His shot was perfectly respectable.”

Darcy did not look away from Elizabeth. “Respectable is rarely the height of excellence.”

Elizabeth took the bow from him and rotated it in her hands. “Then we must try again.”

She stepped beside him to demonstrate.

The nearness was improper enough to require care and ordinary enough for plausible denial. Her sleeve brushed his coat. Her voice lowered so the rest could not hear every word.

“Your grip,” she observed. “Too much force. See how I hold the bow?”

Darcy stared at her rather than at the bow.

“A grave fault.”

“Indeed. You must learn finesse.”

“From a lady who terrifies crab apples?”

“Crab apples require firmness. You require subtlety.”

He risked looking at her then.

Her face was close enough for him to see the laughter she was trying to hide.

“Do I?”

The question left his mouth softer than intended.

Elizabeth’s color rose. She released the bow and stepped back, glancing toward the target with excessive interest. “In archery, certainly.”

Bingley called out, “Are we receiving lessons or witnessing courtship? I require clarification.”

Elizabeth nearly dropped the bow.

Darcy faced him slowly. “Bingley.”

His friend was unrepentant. “For scoring purposes.”

Lydia clapped once. “Courtship should count double.”

Miss Bingley’s voice cut in. “Miss Lydia, that is hardly appropriate.”

“Neither was my first shot, yet we all survived it.”