Page 52 of Compromise & Consequence
“And I was under the impression you looked to find fault.”
“Absolutely not. My mind was more agreeably engaged, and your quickness of thought kept me on my toes. I never knew from one moment to the next if you would agree or challenge. Ifound it exhilarating.”
“Thank you.” She felt her cheeks warming. All those times she’d thought he stared at her because he found her disagreeable. She had much to think about when she was in the privacy of her chambers.
“Before dinner, might I ask if you enjoy the theater?”
“I do. Whenever I am in London, it is one of the highlights of my visit.”
“Then, may I ask if you would join me next Thursday forThe Taming of The Shrew?”
She couldn’t help herself; she laughed.
“Do you think we dare?”
“If nothing else, it will provide us new ways to torment each other.”
“Mr. Darcy, I would love nothing better than to attend the theater. It will be most entertaining.”
“I might ask my aunt and uncle to join us. They could also bring my sister, Georgiana. I would very much like for you to meet her.”
She hesitated only briefly before telling him the news.
“If you are referring to Lady Matlock, I met her last week, along with your sister.”
“You did? Where – How in the world?”
“At a tea shop, of all places.”
Burke opened the door to the study.
“Dinner is ready, sir.”
“Thank you.” Darcy crooked his elbow. “Over dinner, tell me more about your meeting.”
“If you insist, but you may not like what happened.”
Chapter Thirteen
You may not like what happened… it sounded ominous, yet, Elizabeth said it in a playful tone. He was letting his imagination get away from him.Wait for her to tell you before you judge, he admonished himself.You already mucked it up once, do not do it again. Once the first course was served and they were alone, Darcy asked how she met his Aunt Matlock.
“Mrs. Gardiner and I were enjoying a welcome break after shopping – her husband owns Gardiner Emporium – when an elegant lady and young girl entered the tea shop. I paid them no mind as they were strangers, but the next set of ladies who entered was none other than Miss Bingley and her sister, Mrs. Hurst.”
Darcy gave no indication he knew who Mrs. Gardiner was. He would explain later. Right now, he was curious – no, it was more like he dreaded what was to come next. Knowing Miss Bingley as he did, and having read the horrendous letter she’d written Jane, the outcome would not have been pleasant.
“Miss Bingley, as you can well imagine, began chastising me, claiming I was a fallen woman, which upset the other patrons. The owner asked me to leave.”
“He did what?”
“You must realize, he had no idea who I was, and was quite fearful of losing the patronage of the other lady who could hear every word.”
“Miss Bingley had no right to say such things.”
“Ihavethought about that. As your closeparticularfriend, she would have known we were married, but of that fact, she remained quite ignorant.”
Elizabeth shot him a hard look and he couldn’t look her in the eye.
“This is another area where I have failed you. I did not tell the Bingleys about our marriage. Charles was to have come to dinner before our wedding but the rest of his family invited themselves and we did not have the privacy I wished to relay the news.”
