Page 53 of The Slipper Scandal
Darcy studied her face for a moment, searching for signs of distress but finding only composure. "You handled him splendidly."
"As did you," she replied, and he was surprised to see genuine approval in her eyes. It affected him more than it ought.
He glanced around to find several guests still watching them with undisguised interest. Some wore expressions of shock, others thinly veiled amusement. But most significantly, there was something like respect in many of their gazes, not just for him, but for Miss Bennet.
Mrs. Abernathy was suddenly there with them. "Lizzy, dear, you must see the remarkable seascape in the Gold Room. Mr. Abernathy is quite enthralled with it."
"Yes," Miss Bennet said as she transferred her arm from his to Mrs. Abernathy's. "I would not wish to miss it."
As she moved away, Darcy remained still, watching her retreating figure. The realisation struck him with surprising force: his impulsive offer of marriage, made from a sense of honour and obligation, had somehow led him to precisely the woman he would have chosen had his heart alone been his guide.
Darcy followed the ladies as they stopped at a large portrait. Miss Abernathy was staring up at it.
"The artist has captured a certain arrogance in the eyes," Miss Bennet said, studying the haughty Regency buck. "One suspects he was not entirely fond of his subject."
Miss Abernathy laughed. "Indeed! Father says Mr. Houghton refused to pay, claiming the artist deliberately made his chin appear weak. One suspects that is why the artist has chosen to display it."
"I value honesty above flattery," Darcy interjected, holding Miss Bennet's gaze as she turned to him. "But is a scrupulously faithful reproduction art?"
"Is the purpose of a portrait not to capture the subject's likeness with fidelity?" she countered.
"Fidelity to what? The mere arrangement of features, or the essence of the person?"
Miss Bennet tilted her head. "Yet does this not grant the artist undue power to interpret the character of their subject? One cannotseecharacter writ upon another’s brow."
Fitzwilliam rejoined them in an ebullient mood. "Consider my cousin here. A strictly accurate portrait would show his stern countenance but might miss his loyalty and generosity."
Darcy flushed at this praise, but Miss Bennet seemed absorbed.
"Initial impressions may be corrected upon closer observation," Darcy added, hoping she understood his meaning.
Something flickered in her expression. Curiosity, perhaps.
"To perception in art and in life," Fitzwilliam said, "may we all see clearly what matters most." He glanced at Miss Abernathy, who was following his every movement. He offered her his arm, and the two moved away, heads inclined towards each other as they spoke in hushed tones.
Mrs. Abernathy glanced over at Miss Bennet and then Darcy, smiling and then following her daughter. When Darcy mimicked his cousin and offered his own arm to Miss Bennet, she took it without hesitation.
As the salon drew to a close, his aunt tapped his arm with her fan. Darcy left Miss Bennet in an animated conversation with Lady Cartwright and other respected matrons of society to speak with her.
"Your Miss Bennet has acquitted herself admirably," Lady Matlock commented. "I confess I was not certain how she would manage."
"You deliberately placed her in a lions' den," Darcy said somewhat accusingly.
"I did," his aunt acknowledged without apology. "But I was not the first.” She gave him a knowing stare, and he had to admit that he was at fault for that.
“You should be pleased, Darcy,” she continued. “Do you know that Lady Jersey herself expressed her surprise at Miss Bennet's 'unexpected refinement'? From her, that constitutes high praise indeed."
"Miss Bennet deserved better than to be subjected to such scrutiny," Darcy insisted.
"Perhaps," Lady Matlock conceded. "But she needed to face it, sooner rather than later. Better here, under my roof where I could ensure matters did not go too far, than elsewhere without such protection." She patted his arm. "Your Miss Bennet is strong. She will make an excellent mistress of Pemberley."
"If she consents to be," he murmured, almost to himself.
Lady Matlock lifted one eyebrow.
Before his aunt could say anything more, Miss Bennet approached with the Abernathys. Her cheeks were flushed with animation, and Darcy closed his eyes briefly to avoid imagining her in other . . . surroundings.
"Your Ladyship," Miss Bennet said, curtsying gracefully. "I wished to thank you for a most illuminating salon."
