Page 27 of A Most Beloved Sister
“What—what should I do?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Let the doctor come and render his determinations. Once Miss Bennet is well enough to return home, you can leave her and her family in peace. Return to London and find someone more appropriate to marry. Someone who can bear your children and manage your home.”
With each word Darcy uttered, Bingley seemed to shrink into himself more and more. At last, he said, “I see your point, Darcy. You needn’t elaborate any further.”
There was silence as each man was absorbed in his own thoughts. After several long minutes, the clock striking the hour interrupted the stillness.
“It is time for breakfast,” Bingley said tonelessly.
The two men exited the room and made their way towards the staircase. Darcy clapped his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Forget about Miss Bennet. There are much better matches you could make.”
“Ahem.”
The two men froze and turned towards the sound. Just behind them, coming from the guest wing, was Elizabeth Bennet.
The fire in her eyes told Darcy that, once again, she had heard him make a disparaging remark about her sister.
He groaned to himself. How could this morning get any worse?
Chapter 8
Elizabeth stared at the two men in front of her, feeling as though she could claw their eyes out. Never once had she wished to have been born a man—even with the entail—but that moment she would have given anything for the ability to call them out.
“How dare you,” she seethed. “I’ll have you know—”
“Elizabeth.”
Just as he had the night before, Mr. Bennet arrived at the exact moment his daughter was about to unleash her fury. He stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I believe, my dear, that you had something you wished to say?”
“But Papa, they just—”
Her words stopped suddenly when he squeezed her shoulder none too gently.
Gritting her teeth, Elizabeth forced a smile. “My apologies, gentlemen, for my behavior last night.”
Bingley and Darcy watched with wide eyes. When nothing further was said, Bingley looked at them in bewilderment. “I don’t understand.”
“My daughter is a gentlewoman,” Mr. Bennet said, “and she was raised to behave as such. She knows what is due to her host and hostess, no matter how provoked she may be.”
“In that case, please allow me to apologize for the provocation,” Bingley replied, shifting from one foot to another. “I don’t know what came over Caroline to behave in such a manner.”
“You heard what your sister said, then?” Mr. Bennet asked with an edge to his voice.
Bingley nodded, and Mr. Bennet continued. “Then I trust that you will handle the matter?”
Confusion flitted across Bingley’s face, but Darcy broke in smoothly. “Of course he will.”
Elizabeth shot Darcy a hard look. “I find, Papa, that my feet hurt rather badly right now. I think I will take breakfast with Jane in her room.”
Mr. Bennet looked down at his daughter’s bandaged feet and sighed. “Very well, my dear, but you will be expected to come downstairs at some point today to speak with your hostess.”
She nodded at her father, then dipped a shallow curtsy at Bingley and Darcy. “Gentlemen,” she said coldly, placing an emphasis on the word.
With that, she turned and went back into her room, closing the door firmly behind her. Darcy’s words echoed in her mind, and the idea that he was encouraging his friend to forget her beloved sister in favor of better matches made her want to scream.
The urge was so overwhelming, in fact, that she crossed the room and collapsed onto her bed. She buried her face in the pillow and yelled as loud as she could.
