He drew nearer to his wife and placed his arm gently around her shoulders.
"By the end of dinner this evening, you will understand why I have never, from the first day I met her, felt any desire to know her better, much less court her. Even with her beauty and her thirty-thousand-pound dowry, I doubt she will ever secure a husband unless he is a man in desperate need of a fortune to relieve debts or some other pressing necessity."
Elizabeth opened her eyes and then kept her gaze fixed upon him as she considered his words. She could hardly fault him for acknowledging Miss Bingley's beauty. The woman was undeniably handsome, and an heiress besides. Of course, she was an heiress. That woman enjoyed every advantage.
"Very well, sir. I shall endeavor to put aside my concerns, though I must admit that I am jealous."
His eyes softened. "Jealous?"
"Yes. She embraced you in a manner that your own wife has never done in public."
A smile tugged at his lips. "Of course you have not. You are a genteel woman, Elizabeth. I do not believe you could conductyourself in such a forward manner even if your life depended upon it."
Taking her hand, he grew serious once more.
"Please do not allow this woman to come between us. Your manner has been so stiff and distant that I scarcely know what to do with myself. I feel as though you have shut me out entirely and placed me in your black books."
Her brow relaxed, and a faint smile touched her lips.
"Well, I could not possibly be happy if my husband were embracing his mistress, sir. But you say she is no such thing, and so I shall endeavor to set the matter aside."
He took her hand.
"Darling, I did not embrace her. She did all the embracing and pressing. She is nothing to me. I ought to have stepped back and offered my hand before she had the opportunity to throw herself at me in that manner. I apologize, Elizabeth. I forgot that she was in the habit of, of doing that. I promise you, it will not happen again. Is everything well between us, darling?"
"Yes, sir."
He bent his head and kissed her on the mouth. His voice rumbled deep in his chest as he murmured, "Elizabeth, I love you so much."
His voice was low, his touch affectionate. He kissed her again. "Darling, are we truly well?"
She nestled her face against his neck and pressed small kisses along his jaw and in the hollow beneath his ear.
"Yes, sir. We are well. I was very distressed, but since there has never been anything between the two of you, and there is nothing now, I shall strive to set aside my fears."
After a moment, she added, "Perhaps we should stay at Longbourn."
He lifted her onto his lap and buried his face in her hair.
"Charles would be very hurt, darling. We have been friends for nearly eight years."
"Very well, sir. We shall remain here, and I will do my best to tolerate Miss Bingley."
Darcy laughed softly and pressed a kiss to her temple.
"That is all I ask. If you can endure Caroline for her brother’s sake, I shall consider it a further proof of your kindheartedness, Elizabeth."
Chapter 58: Miss Bingley
Married?How could this be? When had he married?
Caroline paced back and forth across her bedchamber, wringing her hands as she struggled to make sense of it. During the Season, Mr. Darcy had been much sought after, yet he had shown no particular interest in any of the fashionable young ladies who had fluttered about him.
He had been his usual distant, brooding self when she left London to attend her ailing aunt in Scarborough.
It must have happened then.
Since her return, she had followed every society paper, and his name had appeared in none of them. She had assumed he was back in Derbyshire.