Page 128 of What Change Entails
Elizabeth lowered her voice. “I judged you very unfairly last spring.”
He smiled. “You possessed considerable assistance.”
“I do not mean Wickham.” She paused.
Darcy seemed to sense her need for privacy and beckoned to her. She stood and took his arm, joining him in walking around the perimeter of the room.
“No?” Darcy continued when they had distanced themselves from the others.
“No.” She glanced toward the pianoforte before continuing. “You appeared so certain of yourself. So severe. I thought…” Embarrassment interrupted her.
“What did you think?”
“That you disliked everyone.”
“That accusation contained a measure of truth.”
Darcy watched her with an expression that made continuation unexpectedly difficult.
Elizabeth gathered herself again. “But I no longer believe you despise society half so much as you dread it.”
His brows rose faintly.
“There,” she said more softly. “You see? I am learning.”
His expression altered, enough that she caught surprise before he hid it again.
“I have never excelled in unfamiliar company,” he admitted after a moment. “Bingley moves among strangers with absurd ease. I generally prefer silence to speaking poorly.”
“You speak very well.”
“Not invariably.”
“No,” Elizabeth agreed. “Sometimes you are dreadful.”
His laugh stirred warmth through her so swiftly that she added, “But not intentionally.”
The room quieted around them. Georgiana continued playing. Lydia had abandoned her interrogation of Bingley and now attempted to steal sugared almonds from a dish Mrs. Gardiner protected with increasing vigilance.
Darcy absently stroked the top of the instrument. “You once accused me of lacking proper gentlemanlike behavior.”
Elizabeth covered part of her face with one hand. “Must we revisit every humiliation I have ever inflicted upon myself?”
“I have not forgotten them.”
“Unfortunately, neither have I.”
“I deserved some portion.”
“Not all.”
“No,” he said after a moment. “Not all.”
She was acutely aware of how he surreptitiously drew her closer as they walked. Her heart beat quickly as the cent of cedar and sandalwood invaded her senses.
Ridiculous.
She had danced with this man. Walked beside him through Lambton. Sat across from him repeatedly at dinner without descending into complete disorder.
