Page 59 of Colour My World
My eyes.Men had gawked at her before—some unsettled, others merely curious—but never with such undisguised shock.What did you see?
He gasped loudly. Heads turned.
“Darcy! What in heaven’s name?” Mr Bingley’s voice cut across the room.
Mr Darcy turned from her and hastened away.
Chapter 20
The moment Mr Darcy strode away, the air shifted. A cut. A deliberate, public slight.
Heat, quick and sharp, crawled up her neck. Murmurs, thin and pointed, spread like ripples through a still pond. Women leant towards one another, whispering behind gloved hands; gentlemen raised eyebrows and exchanged glances.
Elizabeth did not move. She felt eyes upon her, but she offered them nothing.
Shock came first. Then the flush of humiliation. But still she did not move.Let them look—
Something was different. The room, once full of hues and ripples of emotion, had dulled.Or had I snuffed it out, like a candle?Elizabeth blinked, but the aires remained muted. For the first time in years, the world was colourless.
“Lizzy.” She heard what she thought was Jane’s voice, but the buzzing hum of the affront muddled her thoughts.
“Well, I never!” Mrs Long’s voice cut across the room like a whetted blade. “To gasp at a lady as though she were a spectre and then flee! Never have I witnessed such rudeness in all my years.”
Mrs Bennet’s indignation flared. “It is a public insult. And wholly undeserved! Why, my Lizzy is as accomplished as any lady here!”
“More accomplished,” Miss Goulding said at once.
Mrs Bennet raised her voice. “If a gentleman cannot behave properly, he ought not attend an assembly. How dare he insult my daughter!”
Mrs Phillips sniffed. “Mark my words, he is no true gentleman. He may have ten thousand a year, but what use is it when he has not one ounce of manners?”
A growing chorus of agreement swelled around them.Mr Darcy has offended the entire room, not merely me.
Mr Bingley hesitated, his lips parted, struggling for words.I would think him a trout if my vanity had not been so wounded.
Elizabeth glanced at Jane. Her lips were pulled tight. Heraireburned red.
“Your friend has insulted my sister before all of Meryton, sir.” Even in her rage, her voice remained even. She did not fool Elizabeth.Jane is livid!
Mr Bingley blinked. “I—what? Surely, there has been some misunderstanding.”
“Oh, no misunderstanding, Mr Bingley,” Mrs Long replied. “He fled as though Miss Elizabeth sprouted fangs and claws.”
“I do not understand. Darcy is a gentleman. His honour would never allow him—”
“Honour?” Mrs Bennet interrupted. “He has humiliated my daughter. In public! If that is what gentlemen of the first circle consider civilized behaviour, you all may remain in Town!”
Bingley said, “Miss Elizabeth, I—Darcy is not—”
“He is not a gentleman,” Mrs Philips snapped. “And I pity you, Mr Bingley, to have such poor taste in friends.”
The barb struck, and Mr Bingley visibly recoiled. “I-I shall speak with him.”
Jane offered a tight smile. “Please do.” Heraireburned crimson.
* * *
From her vantage point, Caroline Bingley observed the rising spectacle with quiet satisfaction. Her sister, on the other hand, looked visibly worried.
