Page 70 of The Cheapside Runners
She laughed but gestured for him to continue.
“I was even more intrigued to learn the curious history of ‘Miss Gardiner’ from the Turners, then piqued by Mrs Black, after hearing about her from your uncle, then triply beguiled by Mrs Duff after witnessing you dispatch the bane of my existence.”
He smiled ruefully. “To be absolutely clear, I am not disconcerted—I am impressed. Lucky me, I do not have to pick between the only three women who have ever fascinated me.”
She stared a moment, and finally asked, “Are you bothered by the fact that I trained your sixteen-year-old sister to do the same or worse and will similarly instruct every daughter or niece I ever have.”
“Once again, more impressed than bothered. Only a weak man would let squeamishness dissuade him.”
She shrugged. “By that definition, I can assure you that the world is chock full of squeamish men.”
“Fortunately for both of us, we need not concern ourselves with the rest of the rabble. We only needonepartner who matches us.”
Elizabeth was still thinking about what he said when Jane poked her head in the door to ask if they would be delayed much longer.
She sent her back to the parlour then finished answering his question.
“Listen to the rest of my story and sleep on it. If you are still interested, return in the morning and I will give you an answer.”
“It will be my pleasure,” he replied with a smile that Elizabeth thought clearly demonstrated exactly why he couldnot be as jovial as Mr Bingley. He would not last a week in the marriage mart if he openly displayed it on a regular basis.
~~~~~
Once everyone was seated, Elizabeth began. “I have decided, very much against my usual inclinations, to trust all of you with my story.”
Lydia said, “I know I am the least trustworthy woman in the room, but I swear on my life to keep it to myself.”
Amber added, “If I am ever tempted to speak, I need only remember you felling that man like an oak tree without batting an eye.”
Everyone laughed and the tension eased.
Elizabeth sighed and looked at Darcy nervously to find him watching her intently. Subtlety did not seem to be his strong suit.
A few days earlier, she had overheard Mary wondering aloud if she even liked men at all, and it had made her wonder. She certainly liked some men. Her business centred around protecting ladies from scoundrels, so by necessity she spent most of her time thinking of and dealing with the worst. Even then, starting with her Uncle Gardiner (butnother father), she could name dozens of very good men.
Even though she had to concentrate on the worst of the lot, she had no real qualms about the rest. She had also never felt the slightest flutter of real attraction for any man, andcertainlynothing like love.
She had never even considered a possibility with Mr Darcy, any more than she would consider a relationship with a prince. It was just not something one thought of.
She wondered if she might have been attracted to him if he had attended dinner and been polite that first night. It was hard to say, since the man trying to court her had improved manners via his relationship with her uncle. She doubted she would havegotten along with Mr Darcy if she had met him before his reformation. Her instructions to her students to disregard first impressions had its limits.
Now that she apparently had a handsome suitor,who already knew her darkest secret, she began to gain enthusiasm for the idea of courtship. He openly admitted she was the only eligible woman to ever catch his attention, so she thought it only fair to admit that shedidfind his attentions… interesting. She also had to admit that she had never been entirely indifferent to him, despite her protestations to the contrary.
She knew how minds worked enough to be aware that true indifference could easily be triggered by simply considering a man not worth forming the slightest attachment to.
All in all, she eventually decided Mr Darcy intrigued her more than enough to see what he was about.
~~~~~
Her woolgathering finally complete, Elizabeth began quietly.
“Most of you know the basic story. Longbourn is entailed, and the Bennets turned a blind eye to the future and savednothing. Mrs Bennet has obsessed about getting her daughters married before her husband dies, which is surely weeks or months away. That means we all had to come out at fifteen, and she threw us at any reasonably solvent man who came along.”
She stopped and stared around at her audience, then finally at Darcy who had taken the seat next to her (apparently just to disconcert her).
Everyone nodded, since all but Miss Darcy had seen it personally or experienced it.
Elizabeth frowned. “I came out at fifteen and at first, it seemed fun and exciting. Most of the boys at the assembly were ones I had known for years, so the possibility of finding a husband seemed remote, but I did enjoy dancing, and some quite mild bits of flirting.”
