Page 40 of Her Whole Heart
Darcy was already shaking his head. He and his cousin spoke nearly at the same time, with Fitz behind him by a mere moment.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Chapter Thirteen
Miss Amberley’s drawing room was a flurry of chattering ladies. Colourful muslins and silks rustled as the ladies from Carlisle House entered, all of it fading away as the previous visitors exited. Elizabeth was dismayed to see that they would be suffering this visit alone, as her expectations for congenial conversation were not high. Miss Amberley had been a student at Mrs. Buxton’s Academy for Girls, but although Lady Henrietta had never treated her well, Miss Amberley had always attempted to gain her approval. Neither Elizabeth nor Jane wanted to pay this call, but Miss Amberley’s parents were friends of Lord and Lady Carlisle, and appearances had to be maintained.
Elizabeth glanced behind her, where the front doors were still open, and watched Lady Carlisle’s coach pull away past a carriage that had been sitting in the front of the building when they arrived. The countess would travel a few blocks away to have her own visit and then return for the three of them. The sound of clumping boots on the marble made her turn her head to see Laramie stationing himself across the hall from the drawing room. She flashed him a smile before entering. He never smiled back, but sometimes she imagined that he had.
“My dear Miss Hamilton,” Miss Amberley called, rising to greet them, one hand outstretched in welcome. She glanced at Jane and Elizabeth. “I expected you earlier, but here you are. And your friends.” Her gaze moved between Jane and Elizabeth before she turned back to Amelia.
“But you are acquainted with Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth Bennet. We were all at school together,” Amelia said.
Miss Amberley wrinkled her nose slightly, but clearly not wishing to offend a niece of Lady Carlisle’s, nodded. “Do sit down.”
Just as they did, three other ladies entered the room, and Elizabeth’s heart sank.
“Lady Henrietta!” Miss Amberley exclaimed. “How kind of you to call.”
Elizabeth had hoped this dreaded first meeting would occur on somewhat more neutral ground, but of course Miss Amberley would wish to have it take place in her drawing room. She had invited them for this purpose, and thank heavens they were later than expected, or there would have been a great many other visitors to witness it. Given that Lady Henrietta was known for not visiting with women who had no title of their own, Miss Amberley had secured herself a patroness by serving them up in such a way.
Elizabeth felt foolish—the coach sitting at the front of the house had not been waiting for its owner to return. It had been Lady Henrietta, not deigning to enter until she saw her prey arrive.
“Good day, Miss Darcy,” Miss Amberley said sweetly. “Your cousin was telling me just the other day about your love for music and I begged her to bring you with her next time she came.”
“Miss Amberley,” Miss Darcy murmured, and the three of them curtsied. Miss Darcy’s brows pinched together as she glanced between her cousin and the others.
“Will you introduce me to your friends, Lady Henrietta?” Miss Darcy inquired.
Perhaps it was only that they were in public, but Elizabeth certainly hoped that Miss Darcy was not required to call her cousin by her honorific at home as well.
Lady Henrietta frowned. “They are acquaintances at most.”
“Truly?” Amelia inquired. “I am sorry to hear that, for we were at school together, Miss Darcy, and I recall your cousin very well.”
Jane nudged Elizabeth slightly with her elbow, and the two exchanged a fleeting glance. Amelia, for all her giggling and innocent gossip, was becoming a formidable friend, and with a few more years in the ton, she would be nigh unstoppable.
“But my brother knows them all, does he not?” Miss Darcy asked, bemused.
“Your brother did speak of meeting them, but I doubt that they are anything but the merest acquaintances.”
“Like you and Elizabeth?” Amelia asked.
“Amelia,” Elizabeth said warningly.
“Ladies,” Jane said firmly, and Elizabeth was grateful. This was not an appropriate time or place to debate what had happened at school years ago. If she had her wish, it would never be discussed again.
Amelia subsided, but Lady Henrietta glared at Jane. “You are in no position to chastise me, Miss Bennet. I would ask you not to make the mistake of doing so again.”
“I cannot imagine what you mean,” Jane said innocently. “I would never wish to offend you, Lady Henrietta.” For this she earned a cold stare, but her expression remained serene.
Lady Henrietta exercised some power in the ton, but her few truly intimate friends were unlikely to be anyone Elizabeth or her sister caredto know. They had the sponsorship of Lord and Lady Carlisle, and the countess had proved herself more adept at the stemming of gossip than Lady Henrietta was at spreading it. Most of Lord Matlock’s family did not seem to be supportive of Lady Henrietta’s disdain, and they had several friends in town now. In that sense at least, they were on more even ground with Lady Henrietta than when they had been at school together. She wondered if that accounted for Lady Henrietta's most recent vitriol—she could not be pleased that those she had disdained had been so warmly welcomed into her society.
Miss Darcy shifted uncomfortably, and Elizabeth's heart went out to her. She could tell that the young woman, still a girl, really, had been made anxious by the tension in the room.
“I do know your brother, Miss Darcy, as well as your other cousins, and even your uncle is not unknown to me. As unusual as it may be, I would be pleased to introduce myself to you if you would like.”
