Work Text:
"Have you seen Miss Bennet out today?" Caroline asked, casually throwing the question out to all inhabitants of the Netherfield parlor. "She was rambling about the park again, as if she had nothing better to do with her time."
Mr. Darcy, whom the question was principally and subtly aimed at, looked up.
"I did," he said.
"And did you see that sapphire pendant around her neck, Mr. Darcy? It seems odd for a country girl to sport such a bauble, don't you think? Or did you not see it, in that your attentions were fixed solely upon her fine eyes?"
Darcy looked up fully at this, and a twinkle passed between the eyes of himself and his friend.
"I am flattered that you appreciate my taste, Miss Bingley."
"Your taste, Mr. Darcy? Whatever can you mean?"
"Well, simply that it was I who gifted Miss Bennet with the 'bauble' you saw."
"Oh!" Caroline stammered a moment, and then, regaining her composure, straightened her dress and opened her fan. "How very kind of you. But tell me, is it proper to bestow such finery upon-"
"My future wife, Miss Bingley? I do indeed."