He told himself that he ought to go straight to his chamber. If he spoke to Miss Bennet again tonight, he would only repeat what he had already said upon the road. She would be angry, and with some justice. He would answer with more earnestness than sense, because he could not watch a young lady ignoring her own peril and hold his tongue. They would part offended with one another, which would not be to either’s advantage.
He reached the turn in the stair with this excellent resolution almost formed. Above him, a door closed. Light steps moved along the passage.
Elizabeth appeared upon the landing with her candle raised.
The light caught her face and made her eyes darker. There were faint smudges beneath them that had not been there three days ago.
The passage at the top of the stair was narrow enough that there was no possibility of them passing in state. One of them must draw back. She halted with a little intake of breath, and for a moment they stood within arm’s reach, only the candle flames between them.
“Miss Bennet,” he said.
It was absurd to take pleasure in the shape of a name, yet he could not deny that he did.
“Mr. Darcy.”
She spoke with perfect composure, yet he heard a faint note of wariness beneath it. She held the candle with a steady hand, but the angle of her shoulders told him that she would be glad to close a door upon the whole world.
He looked at her, and the resolutions he had so recently framed dissolved. He would rather bear her anger than avoid giving her a warning.
“I beg your pardon,” he said. “I will detain you only a little while. There is a matter upon which I must speak to you.”
One slender eyebrow arched. “I believe we have already spoken of everything upon which we disagree, Mr Darcy,” she answered.
“I am aware, and I regret we have not yet found common ground there.” He shifted from one foot to the other. “Yet I find that I cannot be easy without canvassing it again. I shall not be long, if you will indulge me.”
There was the briefest pause. He saw the reluctance in her eyes. She might have swept past him with a curtsy and a cold good night. Instead, she shifted so that she stood against the wall and inclined her head.
“Very well,” she said, and he could not be certain in the low light, but he believed she smiled a little. “I suppose I must allow you one more lecture to complete the set.”
Her tone gave the words a turn that ought to have annoyed him. It warmed him instead. He could almost have smiled too, had the subject been anything less serious.
Darcy drew himself up, careful not to crowd her, and set his shoulder against the opposite wall. The little landing held them and their candles, but there was room for nothing else.
“Thank you,” he said. “I shall endeavour not to abuse the privilege.”
He paused to gather his thoughts. Before this journey, he had never attempted to persuade a woman that she was not herself. It was not a simple task. Perhaps he ought to attempt a different approach. “This concerns the journey tomorrow.”
“Ah. If you have come to beg me to change my mind about the carriage, I warn you, my decision is final. I mean to enjoy your larger springs and superior cushions.”
“That is not—” He stopped, drew a breath, and began again more evenly. “It is not the carriage itself that concerns me. It is everyone who will be travelling in it.”
“You grow mysterious, sir.” She waited, but when he did not proceed, she sighed. “I am listening.”
He remained still. “Mrs. Hobart did not know that there have been two boys born to the royals in Thurnia in the past two years.”
Her brows drew together. “Yes? Not surprising, I suppose, as she was in London.”
“And yet,” he said, “she was selected as the most appropriate companion for a Thurnian princess? Her knowledge of the family is incomplete. What else might have changed in those years?”
Miss Bennet tilted her head to one side. “I presume it was her residence in London that made her the convenient choice.”
“Rather too convenient, I fear,” he said. “The entire matter of your travelling party is too convenient.”
“You are determined to dislike that poor woman,” Elizabeth said. “She is rather self-important, but in the end, she is harmless.”
Darcy was not sure of that. “I am determined to examine the tale we have been given, if you will indulge me?”
Miss Bennet shrugged. “Very well.”