“You never had them thoroughly vetted, did you?” Caroline shook her head impatiently and muttered “Amateurs!” under her breath. “I did a standard background check and was planning to tell you on Monday. The accountant for On-a-Stick, Inc. recently embezzled a lot of money from the company. They’re teetering on the brink. Without a big infusion of cash, the company would have to sell out or risk bankruptcy.”
Bing went even paler. “Jane never said anything…”
Caroline regarded him as if he were a small child. “Of course not. She’s probably hoping to marry you quickly and then get Daddy’s money to shore up her family’s processed food empire. He’s well-known for investing in troubled businesses.”
All those mild looks Jane had given Bing…she’d never seemed as besotted with him as his friend believed. Certainly not as besotted as Bing. Why hadn’t Darcy noticed that before?
Bing stared into space as though he were struggling to process the sight of a horrific car accident he had just witnessed.
“Bing?” Darcy asked.
“She …did ask me about how Dad chose the companies he invested in…and if I knew anyone who needed PR help from her friend Charlotte’s firm. I didn’t think anything of it.” Darcy had to avert his gaze from Bing’s crestfallen expression.
“Of course she did,” Caroline crowed. Good Lord, was the woman capable of any empathy at all? Even for her own brother?
“There could be an innocent explanation—” Darcy offered.
“No, there couldn’t!” Caroline cried.
Bing’s expression was bleak. “Thanks, Darce, but you know this has happened before.” Bing’s heart had been broken by a gold digger in college. He had been head over heels, but she had only cared about what he could buy for her.
Darcy didn’t want Jane to be like that. But Fanny Bennet’s text left little room for ambiguity. Had the whole family been in on the scheme? Had Elizabeth’s medicine delivery been part of the plan—a way to sneak into the White House? No, then she would have flattered and flirted with him, not exercised her acerbic wit.
Bing’s face was gray and drawn. “Maybe you should talk to Jane about it,” Darcy suggested.
“Yeah.” Bing stared across the room, where his girlfriend was chatting with Elizabeth. “Yeah, I’ll talk to her.”
Darcy had no doubt that conversation would contain phrases like “this isn’t working anymore.” Maybe Bing was jumping to conclusions, but Darcy agreed with Caroline. It was unlikely there was an innocent explanation. Thank goodness I didn’t act on my disastrous feelings for Elizabeth Bennet! Her family is even worse than I thought.
“I never trusted those Bennet women,” Caroline said. “That Jane Bennet smiles too much. It isn’t believable.”
Darcy tried to catch Bing’s gaze, but his friend was still staring forlornly at Jane.
***
From a discreet distance, Elizabeth watched a drunken Kitty laugh, hanging on the arm of some senator’s son. So far Kitty’s behavior had occasioned many winces but nothing egregious enough to warrant intervention. Why did her family have to be so mortifying? Kitty spilled champagne on her dress provoking louder laughter.
Elizabeth checked her phone. She hadn’t even been at the ball for two hours, yet it already felt like the longest party of her life. The only saving grace was that Bill’s continued interest in Charlotte relieved Elizabeth of those obligations. In the meantime, she had nothing to do except fume about the president’s treatment of her.
“Lizzy!” Elizabeth had a one-second warning before her mother’s hand clamped onto her upper arm. “How did you secure a dance with the president?” Her eyes were bright with excitement.
Elizabeth cringed. “He just asked me.”
“He hasn’t danced with anyone else. It must mean something!”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t mean anything. He probably just felt bad about calling me stupid and ugly.”
“Now, Lizzy, keep an open mind. Maybe he sees something in you that nobody else does.” Before Elizabeth could reply to this backhanded insult, her mother rushed on to the next topic. “But it doesn’t hurt to have more than one iron in the fire. Your eggs won’t fertilize themselves!”
Elizabeth closed her eyes. God, I hope nobody else heard that.
“So I want you to meet this charming young man!” Without waiting for a response, Fanny dragged Elizabeth toward a knot of people.
“I’m here with Bill,” Elizabeth said.
“Pfft! Who cares about staplers?” Mrs. Bennet leaned close and whispered in Elizabeth’s ear. “He’s a congressman, and his uncle does venture capital for troubled businesses. They might invest in our company. Be nice to him.”
Elizabeth glanced at the group of partygoers. “Lydia is already ‘being nice to him,’” she observed.