Page 29

“What a lovely room this is, Mr. Darcy! I don’t think we saw it when we were here last,” Mrs. Bennet gushed, looking around the dining room with awe.

“Thank you.” In his mind, he cursed Mrs. Reynolds for seating him next to his mother-in-law.

He could almost see the mischievous twinkle in his housekeeper’s eyes when she indicated the chair to Mrs. Bennet.

The outside world saw a sweet, kindly, gray-haired household employee, but he knew the truth: underneath Mrs. Reynolds’ motherly demeanor, there was an imp who took naughty delight in making him squirm.

Oh, she was loyal as the day was long—and discreet, and efficient—and she loved Georgiana and the girls to distraction.

And that, William decided, was what would save her from getting fired for subjecting him to the raptures of Mrs. Bennet.

He watched his wife’s mother pick up her spoon and turn it over, eyeing it with the astute appraisal of a dedicated jeweler—or a seasoned gold-digger. She made the back of his neck itch.

“Was this your mother’s silver?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so. It’s much too fine for Lizzy to have picked it out.”

He frowned, and Mrs. Bennet, taking it as an indication he might be questioning his choice of spouse, hurriedly replied, “Oh, you know, Lizzy’s just so young.

She doesn’t always think about things like that and how they reflect on a household.

I’m sure she’ll learn quickly, though. She’s clever, I’ll give her that.

” She giggled nervously. “She’d rather buy a leather-bound book than a pretty hat or a piece of china for the house.

” She leaned toward him and whispered, “It’s her father’s influence, I’m afraid. ”

“Mrs. Darcy is not required to decorate the house or her person to ‘reflect well’ on this household.”

Mrs. Bennet, sensing she had annoyed her rich son-in-law but not quite knowing how, grasped for another topic. “Youth has its own benefits though. Lizzy is healthy and strong, and pretty—if I do say so myself.”

He looked down the table at his wife, engaged in a private conversation with Jane.

“But I’m very fortunate as a mother. All my girls are attractive—Jane and Lydia are the most beautiful, of course, but…” She trailed off, as if suddenly realizing that she had not flattered his vanity by suggesting he had chosen the plain daughter.

“How is your sister, Mr. Darcy? She is such a lovely young lady. I saw her the other day at Netherfield’s…”

William tuned out his mother-in-law and focused instead on admiring his wife.

Mrs. Bennet was right; she was young and pretty and bursting with health.

Her eyes danced as she made a joke to Jane; her cheeks were just the color of a perfectly ripe peach.

That lavender dress was so becoming on her.

He imagined it sliding off her and squirmed uncomfortably, chastising himself for mentally undressing his wife while her mother sat prattling in his ear.

“—do you know, Mr. Darcy?”

“Hmm?” He wrenched his attention back to the inanity of dinnertime small talk. “Pardon?”

“I was wondering if you knew when Mr. Bingley would return from Glasgow.”

“Oh. Probably not for a while. He is working on opening the store there. His aunts seem to have the Meryton store well in hand, so there is no need for him to be here.”

“Hmm.” Mrs. Bennet sniffed delicately, casting a blatant look at Jane.

He turned his attention to Jane, too, and squirmed again, but for a different reason. He well remembered his conversation with Bingley back before Christmas.

“Darcy, old man, I need some advice.” Charles looked up at him, uncertain.

“I’m thinking about trying to open a store in Glasgow.

You know the dry goods place there closed last year, so there’s a building already established, and it’s for sale.

The store here and the one in Franklin have been doing well, so I have some capital to invest in start-up. ”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all planned out.”

“Then there’s the personnel issue. I’m sure there are people there looking for work, but I was thinking it would be good to have someone in charge that I knew was capable and responsible. Caroline has already said she doesn’t want to move.”

Bingley glanced at Darcy as if he half-expected disapproval. “I was thinking about offering the job to Jane Bennet.”

“Jane Bennet?”

“Yes. Now, I know what you think about the Bennets, but Jane’s very sharp.

She’s good at designing displays and what she orders from the suppliers always sells.

And the customers love her.” He fidgeted, shuffling his feet, and looked out the window.

“I mean, what’s not to love? She’s kind, and helpful, and easy to talk with, and beautiful… ”

“Charles.”

“What?”

“Don’t tell me I have to warn you about trifling with the employees.”

Charles looked up at him, offended. “I’m not ‘trifling’ with Jane Bennet.

My admiration has nothing to do with whether or not she takes the job in Glasgow.

And besides all that, it’s not ‘trifling’ if I really like her.

If I could spend some time with her, I think…

well, she might be just the girl for me. ”

Darcy shook his head, chuckling. “How many times have you said those same words about some other woman?”

Bingley’s grin was sheepish. “Perhaps. But this time I really mean it. An angel couldn’t be more beautiful or kind.”

“She smiles too much.”

Bingley rolled his eyes.

“She is quite pretty, I suppose. But Charles, think about it—are you sure she wants your attention?”

Bingley looked taken aback. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is, have you ever seen any indication that she welcomes your advances?”

“I’ve hardly made any kind of advances. What kind of man do you think I am?”

“I know that you’re a gentleman. But does Jane Bennet know you well enough to know that?”

“Well—”

“And how do you think she would react to what she might interpret as advances from her boss—given that she needs this job to help support her family? If you like her, do you really want to put her in that position?”

“I never thought about it like that.”

“In my opinion, you need to be sure before you consider courting a woman who works for you. If it turns out badly, it turns into an awkward situation, even in the best of circumstances.”

“Exactly.” A haughty voice sounded from the doorway.

Both men turned quickly. Darcy was at first startled and then annoyed, to find Caroline Bingley, listening to every word they said.

He also cringed a little for Charles’s sake, thankful he didn’t have to deal with that meddling woman.

Charles was much more patient than he would ever be. Too patient, probably.

“William,” she cooed, her voice sticky like the overly sweet iced tea she served him when he visited.

“You always give Charles such good advice. Very sensible. Besides, I like Jane Bennet very much. She is valuable to us at the shop here in Meryton—as an employee,” she said, emphasizing the word ‘employee’ and making it quite clear she didn’t want to think of Jane Bennet as anything else.

Certainly not a member of her family. “And I would hate for you to frighten her off, Charles.”

Perhaps Darcy had overstepped the bounds of friendship that day. Then again, if Charles felt what he should have for Jane Bennet, he would not have given up so easily.

His thoughts were interrupted by a shriek from the other side of the table.

Lydia Bennet was giggling hysterically. “We should go down and call on Danny at the feed store. Maybe we can catch him with his shirt off when he unloads the truck.”

Kitty snorted, choking on her food. She grabbed her water and was trying to take a sip when Mary reached over and gave her a sharp slap between the shoulder blades that sent water all over Kitty’s plate.

He watched Elizabeth, whose pleading look at her father made her humiliation obvious. But Dr. Bennet cut and chewed his food as if he hadn’t heard or seen a thing amiss.

Darcy glanced back at Jane, whose face was frozen in a smile.

Typical Jane Bennet. A woman who would not react with censure to this cacophony must not be affected by much.

He felt new justification for intervening on his friend’s behalf.

Charles was better off without a woman whose feelings could not be touched.