Page 137 of What Change Entails

He steadied her automatically before she toppled backward into the grass. “Miss Annie,” he said gravely. “You advance upon people with alarming speed.”

“You promised races.”

“Did I?”

“Yes.” She folded her arms. “Last year.”

Darcy peered helplessly at Bingley.

Bingley offered no assistance whatsoever. “You ought not disappoint children. It ruins their moral development.”

“Then you race her.”

“I absolutely shall.”

Within ten minutes Darcy found himself standing beside Bingley at the edge of the field while half a dozen children shouted instructions simultaneously.

Lydia took this entire affair far too seriously.

“You are cheating already,” she accused Darcy before the race even began.

“I have not moved.”

“You possess longer legs. It is suspicious.”

“That is not how cheating functions.”

“It ought to be.”

Georgiana stood beside Elizabeth.

Darcy came toward them instinctively.

Elizabeth caught him looking. The expression in her eyes changed very slightly before she glanced away again, enough to unsettle him completely.

The race itself became a catastrophe because Horace decided participation was essential. He barreled across the field after the children, knocking Bingley sideways while Lydia shrieked instructions no human or animal could possibly follow.

Darcy crossed the finish line second because Annie Wilcox bit his coat halfway through.

“That was strategic,” she informed him proudly.

“I have been defeated by an eight-year-old brigand.”

“You have been defeated by two,” Lydia corrected. “I assisted morally.”

Miss Bingley remained near the blankets throughout these proceedings, visibly appalled by all physical exertion involving dust.

Mrs. Hurst remained beside her with equal reluctance, though at least Mrs. Hurst accepted cake from the tenants when offered. Miss Bingley declined everything except lemonade and appeared increasingly stranded while the rest of the party dispersed naturally through the meadow.

Darcy noticed it because Miss Bingley wished him to notice it.

Each time he crossed near the rugs her posture adjusted slightly. Each time Elizabeth approached elsewhere, Miss Bingley interrupted within moments.

At length, she succeeded in cornering him beside the cider barrels while Mrs. Reynolds discussed table arrangements nearby.?

“I confess,” Miss Bingley said, lowering her voice, “I cannot comprehend why you encourage such informality.”

Darcy kept his stare upon the field where Lydia was attempting archery with a child-sized bow and missing the target by several alarming feet. She was more skilled with a regular bow.