Page 83 of The Briar Bargain
"I have every confidence in your abilities," Mrs. Hurst replied. "And besides, my husband's definition of proper competition is rather flexible."
Mr. Darcy had been silent during this exchange, but now he rose from his chair and with quiet courtesy, moved to pull out a seat at the table for her.
"Shall we partner together, Miss Elizabeth?" he asked, his voice carrying that familiar formal tone that she was beginning to recognise masked deeper currents. "I promise to bear my share of responsibility for any disasters that may ensue."
She settled into the chair he had provided, acutely conscious of his proximity as he helped position it properly. "I shall endeavour not to disgrace you, sir."
"I have no fears on that score," he replied gravely, though she was almost certain she detected the ghost of a smile on his lips.
The fish counters distributed, the cards were dealt, and the first hand commenced. Elizabeth found herself slipping into the rhythm of the game more easily than she had expected. Whist required both strategy and acute observation, for the game demanded attention to what had been played,careful calculation of odds, and the ability to communicate with one's partner through the language of card selection.
What surprised her was how naturally she and Mr. Darcy seemed to fall into harmony. Within the first few tricks, she began to sense the logic behind his plays, the careful strategy that guided his selections. When she led with a low spade, testing the waters, he responded immediately with the jack, indicating both support for the suit and confidence in her judgement. When he played the queen of hearts in an apparently risky gambit, she trusted his reasoning and supported it with her ace, earning them a crucial trick and a small nod of approval from her partner.
Mr. Hurst, as it turned out, was a wildly unpredictable partner for his wife. He played with tremendous enthusiasm but also a curious relationship to the established rules of the game. His strategy appeared to be based more on optimism than calculation, and his card selection followed principles known only to himself.
"My dear," Mrs. Hurst said gently after her husband had attempted to claim a trick with a card that bore no relation to the suit led, "I believe you must follow suit when possible."
Mr. Hurst examined his card with the air of a man making a fascinating discovery. "Must I? How very restrictive. I had rather hoped we might embrace a spirit of innovation."
"Innovation is admirable in many pursuits," said Mr. Darcy with the exquisite dryness that Elizabeth was coming to adore, "but whist has survived several centuries with its current rules more or less intact. Perhaps we might defer the revolution until after this hand?"
"You have no vision, Darcy," Mr. Hurst declared with dignity. "No appreciation for creative interpretation."
Mrs. Hurst laughed, clearly not at all displeased with her husband's unconventional approach. "He always attempts to invent a new game when he finds himself losing."
"I do not lose," Mr. Hurst announced. "I merely play with greater imagination than the rest of you. Imagination, I might add, that is shamefully undervalued in this house."
Elizabeth could not entirely suppress her smile.
Mr. Darcy proved to be an attentive and encouraging partner. When she executed a particularly clever finesse, drawing out Mrs. Hurst's king with a carefully timed low card, he offered quiet approval. When she made a questionable play early in the second hand, leading into Mrs. Hurst's obvious strength, he covered her mistake without comment and adjusted his own strategy to compensate.
"You read the cards well, Miss Elizabeth," he said during a brief pause between hands. "Your father taught you, I suppose?"
"Indeed, though I suspect I learned as much from watching him lose to my mother," she replied as she looked over her hand. "Mamma may claim that cards overset her nerves, but she possesses an uncanny ability to divine what everyone else holds. Papa says it is because she assumes everyone is plotting against her, which in whist is actually sound strategy."
"A pragmatic approach," Mr. Darcy told her. "Though I imagine it makes for interesting family games."
"Interesting is certainly one word for it," Elizabeth said, and then paused briefly before saying "Gladiatorialmight be another."
She relished the way Mr. Darcy’s eyes sought the ceiling.
As the game progressed, Elizabeth found herself carefully watching her partner. When Mrs. Hurst expressed uncertainty about a particular play, he offered gentle guidance. When Mr. Hurst's creative interpretationsthreatened to derail the game entirely, Mr. Darcy redirected with patient good humour rather than sharp correction.
It was, quite simply, the most enjoyable card game she had ever played.
"That was lovely," she said when the time to prepare for dinner arrived. She rose from her chair as Mr. Darcy moved to assist her. "Though I suspect we shall need to invest in a more comprehensive rule book if Mr. Hurst's interpretations of them continue to multiply."
"I hope you will join us another time, Miss Elizabeth," said Mrs. Hurst with apparent sincerity. "You and Mr. Darcy make formidable partners. I fear my husband and I shall need to improve our play if we hope to maintain our dignity."
"You are too clever by half," added Mr. Hurst with cheerful resignation.
Elizabeth smiled, acutely aware of Mr. Darcy's presence beside her as he waited to escort her from the room. "I should be very happy, though you shall have to apply to Mr. Darcy for his part."
The courtesies of departure were observed with proper ceremony, and Elizabeth found herself walking alongside Mr. Darcy.
"You play exceedingly well," he said quietly as they neared the drawing room door. "I have rarely encountered a partner so quick to grasp strategy."
"You are too kind," she replied, though the compliment warmed her more than it should have. "I confess I found the game far more engaging than I had anticipated. It has been some time since I encountered either opponents or a partner who provided such a lively game."
