Mr. Darcy's Bride

Chapter 31

Nothing seemed amiss as Elizabeth and Darcy returned to the ballroom. Elizabeth glanced around to see if their confrontation with Wickham had been overheard. She did not see any questioning glances directed their way, nor did she feel the sense that the room was waiting to see what would happen next. She breathed a sigh of relief; they may have dealt with the issue with their guests being none the wiser.

Kitty ran up to her. "Lizzy, where is Lydia? I saw her leave the ballroom and I thought she was going to find you, but apparently she was not."

Darcy looked at Elizabeth and nodded that he would give the two women some privacy. He discreetly moved in the opposite direction.

"She did, and I have not the time to tell you what happened," said Elizabeth, clutching Kitty's hands. "However, she and Georgiana are in the sitting room to the left. I am certain that Lydia would benefit from her sister right now. Go and see her."

Kitty headed directly for the sitting room, and Elizabeth was struck by how much love there was in her family, even if many of its members spent most of their time being foolish. What she had told Darcy was the truth; she knew that Lydia felt her current heartache deeply, but it would not take much time for her to move on and find another man to occupy her thoughts. Certainly much less harm was done than if Wickham's plan had succeeded. She gazed at Kitty's retreating back and felt a warm sense of love for her sisters.

"Be cautious, Mrs. Darcy," a voice said in her ear.

Startled, Elizabeth whirled around to find Caroline Bingley standing next to her.

"Pardon me?" Elizabeth asked.

"Look," said Miss Bingley, pointing her chin towards where Darcy stood in conversation with the Duchess of Worthingham and a man that Elizabeth did not recognize.

"I see," said Elizabeth, trying not to let her frustration towards Caroline seep into her voice, "but I do not know what cause I have for caution."

As they watched, the Duchess laughed and reached out to touch Darcy's forearm. He raised his eyes to her and their gazes seemed to lock for a moment. She stepped just the slightest bit closer to him and dropped her hand, but she continued to hang on every word that he said.

"Did you know that they had an involvement when he was younger?" said Caroline. "It was before I was out in society, but Louisa was out and she told me all about it. It seems that they were quite inseparable. She was already married, so nothing formal could come of it, but there were whispers of impropriety. If Darcy was my husband, I would watch him very cautiously around her. Old habits, as they say, die hard."

Elizabeth took a step back and replied coldly, "Thank you for your concern for my marriage, but I think it is very much misplaced."

Miss Bingley raised an eyebrow. "You can believe what you wish," she said. "I only tell you in the spirit of friendship. It is nothing to me one way or another what you do with the knowledge."

She gave Elizabeth a closed-lip smile and walked away.

Elizabeth resisted the urge to roll her eyes and reminded herself that Miss Bingley, however infuriating, was still her guest. She should have expected some sort of interference of the sort, but she had to work to overcome it. Miss Bingley would never change; all Elizabeth could do was learn to tolerate her.

She glanced back at Darcy. The Duchess had moved closer to him, and seemed to be held rapt by what he was saying. She appeared to be very familiar with him; too familiar, if Elizabeth was being honest with herself. She did not trust Caroline Bingley, but she also knew that Miss Bingley would not hesitate to tell the truth if she thought Elizabeth would be hurt by it. Could there be something to the story she had told?