Page 126 of Ashes and Understanding
He hadblueeyes. Icy blue.
She sat up sharply, the pain in her arm forgotten for a moment as her heart slammed against her ribs.
Her mind raced. Had she been mistaken? Could she have imagined it? But no—she had looked into those eyes as he tried to force open the nursery door. Pale, cold, blue.
Carter’s eyes had been green. Distinctly green.
She was not wrong.
Then who attacked me at Longbourn? And who did I face tonight?
The blanket twisted in her lap as she stared into the dark. The room was quiet again, but her thoughts were anything but.
Something was wrong.
Very, very wrong.
Chapter 28
Darcy slumped into one of the deep armchairs in Bingley’s study, cravat undone and waistcoat unbuttoned. His dress coat had been discarded over the back of a nearby chair, and his boots were scuffed from pacing. A glass of port rested on the table beside him, though he had not taken more than a few sips.
Across from him, Colonel Fitzwilliam looked no better—his usually impeccable regimentals had been stripped to shirtsleeves and braces, one cuff stained with something that might have been wine or blood or both.
They were both exhausted. And yet, neither of them could relax.
In the corner, Charles Bingley—still half in his evening wear, though he had at least changed his shoes—was bouncing on the balls of his feet, utterly oblivious to the tension still thick in the air.
“I still can hardly believe it!” Bingley said, beaming. “Jane said yes, and I could tell she meant it. I thought perhaps I ought to wait until the next day, but I saw her smiling at me, and I knew I would never forgive myself if I let the moment pass. And then when I found your father, Darcy, I thought he would make me write it out on paper before he gave me his blessing, but he just said—”
“You are going to be happy, Charles,” Darcy interrupted gently, managing a thin smile. “We are glad for you.”
Bingley’s grin widened. “Thank you, old fellow. And I cannot wait for you to join me in marital bliss, eh?” He winked.
Before Darcy could muster a reply, Miss Bingley swept into the room like a thundercloud edged with tulle. She stopped in front of the hearth, her cheeks blotchy with fury and her bodice rising and falling with angry breaths.
“I suppose,” she hissed at her brother, “that we are to offer congratulations for throwing yourselves away on a family so far beneath us they should be scrubbing our floors.”
“Now, Caroline, I know you are disappointed, but—”
“But nothing!” she shrieked. “Although I do not know why I am surprised; I should have expected such foolishness from you. Butyou,Mr. Darcy!”
She rounded on Darcy, who had been looking at the floor, wishing she would have saved her vitriol for a private moment. His head shot upwards as she continued her diatribe. “I am completely astonished at what I saw tonight. I simply do not understand why you would want such a… a… atrolloplike Eliza Bennet!”
Rage filled Darcy’s chest, but it was not he who responded.
“Careful,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said, swirling his port and not looking up, “you are starting to sound like a farmer’s wife who has just found her new neighbor keeps hens in the parlor.”
Caroline went rigid. “What did you say?”
“If Darcy wanted refinement,” Colonel Fitzwilliam continued smoothly, “he certainly would not have looked twice at a woman who dresses like a melted pumpkin, mocks his friends, and cannot hold her tongue.”
“You arrogant—!” Caroline sputtered. “Clearly your time in the army has addled your sense of propriety. I am not surprised you too have been taken in by that shameless little—”
Darcy rose to his feet, his chair scraping sharply against the floor. “Enough.”
Even Colonel Fitzwilliam had stopped smiling. He looked at her now with cold disdain. “Miss Bingley,” he said, voice like steel wrapped in silk, “I would caution you to mind your tongue. You are betraying your tradesman roots with every word. Do not presume that wealth alone makes a lady.”
“You—howdareyou!” she squawked. She looked around the room to her siblings. “Charles! Louisa! Will no one speak for me?”
