Page 4 of Love Among the Shadows
“Nonsense, Caroline,” Bingley replied. “They do not suspect him of the crime; they are merely conducting their duty. Mr Harper quarrelled with Darcy yesterday. It is only natural they would seek to question him.”
“It is unjust,” Mrs. Hurst interjected, shaking her head. “Mr Darcy sought only to avoid the man. Why could Mr Harper not let the matter rest?”
Darcy, leaning forward, his expression grim, replied, “He reeked of alcohol and presumed to jest about your sister. It may have been sport to him, but I do not engage in such coarse conversation. It is ungentlemanly.”
Miss Bingley beamed at this, evidently content with the knowledge that Mr Darcy had not only found the idea of someone jesting about her utterly abhorrent but had also deemed it worthy of confrontation.
“If only you had danced,” Bingley suggested with a sigh, “you might have avoided the whole conversation entirely—and this present dilemma.”
Darcy turned to him with a look of incredulity, as if questioning the logic of such a statement. Bingley, catching the silent reproach, sighed more heavily. Miss Bingley, who appeared to find her brother’s suggestion ludicrous, seized the moment to redirect the conversation.
“Dance with whom, precisely? Miss Elizabeth Bennet?” she exclaimed with evident disdain. “Surely, you do not expect Mr Darcy to behave as you do, Charles.”
“And what do you mean by that, Caroline?” Bingley asked, his confusion apparent.
“I mean that you are ever ready to blend into any society, regardless of its class. You fairly leapt at Miss Bennet the moment she was presented to you.”
“Presented?” Bingley echoed, perplexed.
Mrs Hurst pursed her lips in a gesture meant to command attention. “Surely, you understand what Caroline means. Miss Bennet’s mother is clearly intent on securing a match for her daughters, and she has positioned Jane to captivate your notice. Her sister, too, was conveniently near Mr Darcy, no doubt hoping to garner his favour. And you, Charles, with your incessant pestering, would have enabled the scheme entirely if Mr Darcy had not set her firmly in her place.”
At this, Bingley’s face grew serious, his easy manner stiffened by the accusation. “You are mistaken, Caroline,” he said firmly. “No one was placed anywhere. I noticed Miss Bennet long before Sir William Lucas introduced the family. Her beauty struck me at once, and I have since found her to be a delightful companion and dance partner, an engaging conversationalist, and most agreeable in every respect.”
Miss Bingley rolled her eyes with dramatic effect. “Oh, Charles, you have fallen entirely under her spell.”
While the siblings continued their debate on Mrs. Bennet and her daughters, Darcy remained silent, his thoughts far removed from their squabbles. How could it be, he wondered, that a single argument—a rare lapse in his usual self-restraint—could so swiftly entangle him in suspicion? That the man should turn up poisoned the next morning seemed a stroke of the most wretched fortune. Were it not for his wealth and standing, Darcy could not help but wonder whether the constable might have pressed harder, perhaps even detaining him until the investigation concluded.
Darcy pondered the matter for a long while, yet no answers came to soothe his unease. Instead, he was left with the disquieting thought that, for all his self-command and careful reputation, he was not immune to the unpredictable machinations of fate.
***
With nothing pressing to occupy their time, the Bennet sisters—excluding Jane, who had discovered her courses that morning—set out for an evening walk toward Meryton market. Chaperoned by Elizabeth, Lydia and Kitty led the way, their animated chatter punctuated by bursts of giggles as they admired a bonnet in a shop window or pointed out a dress on display at the modiste’s.
Elizabeth followed at a more leisurely pace, accompanied by Mary, who was expounding earnestly on a philosophical work she had recently read. Elizabeth, however, paid little heed to Mary’s discourse, having already readThe Ramblerherself and finding her sister’s reflections less engaging than the sights and sounds of the busy street. Her eyes roamed the scene before her, and it was then that she noticed him.
He stood a little apart, engaged in conversation with Mr Denny, an officer well-known to the Bennet family through Lydia’s frequent interactions. The stranger, whose striking appearance immediately drew Elizabeth’s attention, was dressed in the scarlet uniform of the militia. Though she had never seen him before, she surmised that he must be one of the officers newly arrived in Meryton, of whom Kitty and Lydia had spoken of that very morning after their return from aunt Philips.
As though sensing her gaze, the man turned, his eyes meeting hers for a brief moment. Before Elizabeth could look away, Lydia, who had just spotted Mr Denny, shrieked with excitement and waved him over.
“I didn’t see you at the assembly, Mr Denny,” Lydia exclaimed as the two officers approached. “I suspected your travels to London kept you away.”
Mr Denny bowed in greeting. “Miss Lydia, Miss Catherine,” he said, inclining his head to the party. “Indeed, Ireturned only two days ago, bringing with me my friend, Mr Wickham, who has recently joined us from London.”
Mr Wickham bowed gracefully, his manners as polished as his appearance. “If you were all present at the assembly, then I regret my absence all the more. What a spectacle it must have been.”
His appearance had already endeared him to Elizabeth, but his ease of speech and charming eloquence elevated her initial impression. He seemed entirely at home in their company, as though he had always belonged.
“Why did you not attend, then?” Lydia asked, her curiosity unrestrained.
“I was weary from travel,” Mr Denny explained. “And Mr Wickham had been unwell after an unfortunate encounter with some questionable fare in London.”
“Are you feeling better now?” Kitty asked, directing her question to Mr Wickham.
“Quite recovered, thank you,” he replied, a pleasant smile accompanying his words.
“And what do you think of Meryton?” Lydia inquired, as the group began walking again, the officers now joining them.
Mr Wickham lifted a brow, his expression amused. “It seems a friendly place thus far, though I have spent much of my time indoors. I daresay my opinion will improve as I grow better acquainted.”
