Page 28 of Her Whole Heart
“Darcy!” called a male voice.
He blinked.
Bingley rode up to his side of the carriage before he saw who else accompanied him. “Miss Bennet,” he said, doffing his hat, and then blushing to the roots of his hair. “Er, good day, Lady Carlisle. Miss Elizabeth.”
Miss Elizabeth’s countenance brightened. “Good day, Mr. Bingley.”
Miss Bennet lifted her eyes slowly to meet Bingley’s. “Good day, sir.”
Bingley went still, as though he had been hit over the head with a cricket bat.For heaven’s sake.
After a moment of ignoring everyone other than Miss Bennet, Bingley suddenly smiled and returned his hat to his head. “Miss Bennet, you are the very person I was hoping to meet today.”
“Was I, sir?” the lady asked.
“Yes. I would like to ask, that is . . .” He glanced at Darcy and then Lady Carlisle nervously before returning his gaze to Miss Bennet. “I would like to ask whether I might call on you.”
Miss Bennet nodded. “Of course. Oh,” she said, startled. “I beg your pardon, Lady Carlisle. Would that be quite convenient?”
“We are at home on Thursdays, Mr. Bingley,” Lady Carlisle said evenly. “Between eleven and two.”
Bingley’s smile widened. “Thank you, Lady Carlisle.” He touched the brim of his hat. “Miss Bennet.” He began to ride away but stopped suddenly and turned back. “Goodness, I nearly forgot. Darcy, my sisters and Hurst will return to town next week. Please say you will come and dine with us.”
“Send the details to the house, Bingley,” Darcy said. The last thing he wanted to do was dine with Bingley’s sisters and Mr. Hurst, and he hoped there would be some legitimate reason to decline. Bingley himself was a good friend, but his sister Miss Bingley reminded him rather too much of Lady Henrietta, though without the title to explain her behaviour. He would rather not spend an evening in close company with her.
“I shall,” Bingley said. “Until Thursday, Miss Bennet,” he said, and then rode away.
Darcy’s gaze wandered over to Miss Bennet. She was not smiling, but her eyes were cast down, her hands clasped in her lap and her cheeks flushed. Miss Elizabeth sent a rather smug look at her sister.
Perhaps this was a good sign for Bingley, but Miss Bennet would need a strong constitution to put up with Bingley’s sisters. Miss Elizabeth would have no trouble with them, but Miss Bennet was much more demure. However, that was Bingley’s business. Lord Carlisle had only assigned the care of Miss Elizabeth to him, and thank goodness, for he was finding himself unequal even to that task.
“Not that I wish to say I told you so . . .”
“Stop it, Lizzy,” Miss Bennet said with a quiet laugh. She nudged Miss Elizabeth with her elbow.
Darcy did not understand what the women were discussing, but neither, it appeared, did Lady Carlisle. He glanced out at the crowd and spied Fitz and Milton on their mounts, the colonel dressed in a spotless red uniform and gaining a great deal of female interest.
Fitz’s smile widened at the sight of him. He tipped his head towards Milton, who turned to look where his brother was indicating. He nodded, and the two rode to join them.
“My goodness,” Miss Elizabeth said by way of greeting, “have you kept the general waiting after all, Colonel?”
“The other way around, in fact,” the colonel said. “The general decided he had worked long enough today. Fortunately, he sent a messenger to my father’s house, but alas, by then I was dressed so well I thought I ought not waste it.”
The ladies smiled at Fitz’s self-deprecating remark about his uniform. He had not been wearing it at the lecture.
“How fortunate for us,” Lady Carlisle said genuinely. “And your timing is perfect, Lord Milton, for there is Simon.”
Darcy had met the Honourable Mr. Simon Howard before. He was the Carlisles’ third son and had been at both Eton and Cambridge with Milton. He noted that they were sporting the same fashionably wild hairstyle. It was beyond him why anyone would spend time having his hair done to look as though he had just rolled out of bed.
“Mother!” Howard called. “I did not believe you when you said you would be here this evening. You do not like the cold. Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth.”
They both nodded at Howard.
“We will not remain long, Simon,” Lady Carlisle said fondly. “But I had to do something to roust you from wherever you arehiding these days. And the Bennet ladies must be seen. I only wish I had been able to convince Susan to come with us.”
“Susan does not like the cold any more than you do, and you know exactly where I reside,” he said cheerfully. “You ought to come visit your grandchildren, for they have been asking about you.”
“Perhaps I shall, then,” Lady Carlisle said, clearly pleased.
