Rapacity & Rancor by Abbey North

Author:Abbey North
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2020-06-11T04:00:00+00:00

7

Darcy had done his best to highlight his good points, though he thought Lizzy still seemed far too skeptical of his claims.

“You truly expect me to believe you can remember the name of every servant at Pemberley?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “Indeed, I do. They are the ones who see to my comfort, and I owe them courtesy and respect. If the people below-stairs are unhappy, those of us above-stairs will certainly feel the fallout. I recall once when I was but a young man, not quite at my majority, I insulted the cook after she had toasted my bread more on one side than the other. It was a solid three months of burnt toast before she finally forgave the insult. It required a box of chocolates and an apology to restore calm.”

Lizzy laughed, and he realized she’d done that quite a few times over the intervening moments as they’d walked. “That I can believe, Mr. Darcy.”

“I am happy to see you are always prepared to think the worst of me.” He tried to inject his words with dry humor, but there was a part of him most melancholy about the idea, and he feared he’d revealed that when her eyes widened.

“Perhaps you have set me up to think the worst, Mr. Darcy. After all, unhandsome woman like me, in need of a pity dance partner, are bound to have a low opinion of one who shares such words.”

His eyes widened, and he stumbled in horror. “You heard what I said at the Assembly ball?”

She nodded. “Indeed, I did. I was not lurking or eavesdropping. I was there to get punch, and you and Mr. Bingley were on the other side of a large potted plant. I do believe Mr. Bingley complimented your ability to appear like one in fact,” she said with a note of teasing.

He flushed. “I apologize for my indiscreet words. I was tired, and I do not perform as well in social situations as Mr. Bingley. It allowed me to speak with intemperate impulse.”

“It hardly matters that you spoke the words aloud if you thought them.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Meryton will never compare to what you are used to, but it is most unfair to judge it without granting any possibility we might have our own lures.”

His heartrate accelerated for a moment, and he found it difficult to breathe. “Believe me, I understand there are certain charms in Meryton that can be found nowhere else.” Namely, the young woman walking beside him. He left that unspoken, wondering if she could infer his meaning.

If so, she appeared unmoved by it, though he hoped she was simply oblivious to what he’d intended. He didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. Just because he admired her brain and ability to engage in wits didn’t mean anything. At most, they could be friendly acquaintances, because he certainly wasn’t in the market for more.

When he took a wife, she would be of suitable breeding, and she would likely have similar wealth to him.

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