Page 39 of Mr. Darcy’s Diamonds

Miss Elizabeth nodded. “I try to be. They have done much for me, and I do not wish to be a burden.”

Darcy leaned closer to ask her what she meant.

“Did you eat oranges for breakfast, Mr. Darcy?”

“No.” He laughed at the off-topic question.

Miss Elizabeth inhaled deeply. “I love the smell of oranges.”

He chuckled again. It was something his young sister would say. Darcy’s bergamot soap did have a distinctly orange scent, but he did not feel it right to mention it.

“Mr. Darcy, do you agree?” Miss Bingley placed her hand on his right arm before he could turn the conversation back to questions that would remain unanswered.

Why would Miss Elizabeth feel she was a burden? As he had told her in January, the situation surrounding young women being out or not was hazy. Perhaps he should not have spoken to her, but she was the only person in the room he wanted to converse with at the moment.

“Forgive me, Miss Bingley. To what do you refer?” He could feel all traces of a smile had left his face.

“We are deciding between Mrs. Turling’s ball or an evening at Vauxhall Gardens tomorrow. As Miss Bennet has never been to Vauxhall, and you do not care for dancing, I would choose the garden. I asked whether you agree.”

He looked to Miss Elizabeth, but her head was bowed as she worked on exquisite embroidery. Had she held that in her lap the whole time they had been speaking? He had noticed her dark hair and lovely face and had consciously stopped himself from making any further perusal. Miss Elizabeth would be excluded from the ball, but she might join them at Vauxhall, depending on what the entertainment was and which part of the garden they would visit.

“Vauxhall is an experience not to be missed, Miss Bennet.”

The girl only nodded serenely in reply, exactly as she had appeared each time he had looked at her.

“Will you and your relations join us, Miss Elizabeth?” he asked, turning back to her.

Miss Bingley let out a grating laugh. “Do not be silly, Mr. Darcy,” she said, putting her hand on his forearm again. “Remember, Eliza is not out. She should have left the room when you arrived, but we are so used to her presence that we forgot.”

Darcy was angered on Miss Elizabeth’s behalf, but she continued her neat stitches as though she were indeed not in the room and had heard nothing of Miss Bingley’s affront.

“I would not chase Miss Elizabeth away. If my presence is an issue, I will excuse myself.” He stood and bowed.

“Mr. Darcy, I thank you, but I will go upstairs while you finish your tea and conversation,” Miss Elizabeth said, also standing. “I would not wish to make you uncomfortable.”

“You do not make me uncomfortable. Indeed, I will stay only if you do.” Darcy was perhaps crossing a line of propriety now, but he felt the situation had become ridiculous. He heard Miss Bingley gasp theatrically, but his eyes remained on Miss Elizabeth as they stood before each other. “Bingley is a close friend. In fact, he has said he considered me as a brother, and you spend time in his company. Can I not be considered an extension of the family in this regard?”

“Capital idea, Darce! I would hate to give up Miss Elizabeth’s company or yours, as I am back to Oxford on Saturday,” Bingley said.

“And I am back to Pemberley myself in a week,” Darcy said. “Surely we can drink tea together a few times without driving each other to distant parts of the house.”

Miss Elizabeth grinned, but her face fell as she looked past him to her friend and her cousin. “Do you mind, Caroline? Jane?”

Miss Bingley’s words were more sputter than content, but Miss Bennet acknowledged no harm in it, so long as they were all together.

Miss Elizabeth sat, as did he, and they exchanged secret smiles before he turned to speak with his hostess to appease her and observe Miss Bennet to appease his friend and his own curiosity.

Chapter Nineteen

On the morrow, Elizabeth was more excited than usual to visit the Hurst townhouse. The previous afternoon, they had all decided to meet about eleven in the morning each day this week before the gentlemen left London. That would allow the others to sleep in after their late nights while also giving them a chance to rest again before the next entertainment. Elizabeth had been willing to change her own schedule this week when she was given no doubt she was invited, even though Mr. Darcy would be in attendance.

In truth, her good mood was owing more to the knowledge that he would be there than that she had been invited at all. He had asked about her studies the day before, and they had discussed philosophy before Caroline interrupted again. Their conversations were not particularly long or deep, but he made her feel wanted in a way nobody else did of late. Elizabeth was still trying to get closer to Jane, and while her cousin spoke to her, she had not chosen to bring up their previous argument.

“Jane,” she said tentatively as the carriage neared Grosvenor Street.

“Yes?”

“Do you know anybody by the name of Asbury?” Elizabeth held her breath as she awaited a response. Her curiosity about her family had never left her, but she had not felt she could ask Jane anything until recently.