With Eliot and Jane living, albeit temporarily, with Bing, Darcy figured he’d have a better chance to observe them, especially Jane. Unfortunately, over breakfast the next morning, Eliot had asked about his work. It wasn’t that Darcy didn’t like to talk about his work, he didn’t care to talk much at all, but Carter was in the middle of his own long-winded answer.

“And so Darcy takes control of…”

Darcy’s phone pinged with a message from Gina, which caused his lips to turn up in a rare, true smile. A smile Carter mistook for approval and continued waxing poetic.

Darcy typed out a brief reply. At Bing’s. Breakfast with them and Jane and Eliot.

Gina’s response was quick. Is that the one with the pretty eyes?

Darcy’s lips pursed, narrowly avoiding a frown. His eyes darted from the phone to find Eliot’s firmly fixed on him. Even from here, Darcy could see the golden flecks. But when had he mentioned them to Gina?

Yes.

He scrolled back through their messages. Had it been in a text, or an offhand comment he hadn’t noticed?

“Ah, there.”

“There? There what, Darcy? Come I must know,” Carter chirped, thoroughly distracted from his monologue on all things related to Darcy and Pemberly Visions.

Eliot’s brushed a hand over his mouth, drawing Darcy’s attention. He wouldn’t have been a bit surprised if Eliot were hiding a smile of his own. Not that he was giving anything away, using the moment to stretch his neck and act interested along with Carter.

“I’m texting Gina,” Darcy said, hoping the plain answer would lessen Carter’s interest.

“Oh, I simply love Gina,” Carter exclaimed while placing his hand on his heart. “Have you met Gina?”

“I have not had the pleasure,” Eliot replied. A move designed, Darcy was certain, to send Carter into greater theatrics.

“Gina is Darcy’s little sister. She is simply the best thing about him and he adores her.”

Darcy focused on his phone, continuing his conversation with his sister, which thankfully had shifted to her complaints about their mother. “I do think adore is a—”

Carter overrode him. “Why isn’t she here? Darcy, dearest, she should be here with us. I long to see her once more.”

This time Darcy was certain Eliot wiped a smile from his face. Darcy felt his own jaws clench with annoyance. “She is in the south of France with our mother.”

“Oh, the south of France is simply gorgeous this time of year. Have you ever been?” The question was directed at Eliot, who replied that he had not been. Carter informed Eliot that he simply must visit as soon as possible, while telling Darcy to text Gina to visit a specific florist shop as they had the very best roses. “Gina adores roses as much as I do, you know.”

Eliot uttered a slightly strangled, “I did not know,” to which Darcy added a low, “nor care.” Since Carter was still speaking, he missed the exchange, but not the shared look of amusement that passed between the two men.

“What? Whatever have you been saying to each other?” Carter pranced close to Darcy, putting himself physically between the two men.

Darcy coughed. “It appears that Gina is irritated with our mother.”

Carter negligently waved a hand. “Darcy’s parents are divorced. Such a scandal.” Darcy’s jaw tightened. Carter patted his forearm. “But we don’t talk about it.”

“The newspapers have talked about it enough already,” Darcy said.

“Whatever is your dear mother doing to annoy poor Gina?” Carter pushed in close, like he intended to read the words appearing on Darcy’s screen.

Darcy tried to turn his screen off before Carter could read, but Carter was too fast.

“She is insisting that they dress alike and call themselves sisters?” Carter put his hands on his hips. “Well, that is simply too much.” He looked at Eliot. “Darcy’s mother is a dear, but what girl would approve of dressing like her mother?”

“How old is she?” Eliot asked.

Darcy cut off whatever effusive comment Carter might wind around before getting to the point and simply said, “She’s twenty-two.”

Eliot gazed at him and Darcy fought the urge to squirm or look away. He would not be shamed by his family in front of this man. “That’s seems like a fairly large age gap.”

The words were spoken without inflection or anything that would suggest Eliot was passing censure on the Darcy family.

“We’re just under ten years apart,” Darcy said with a nod.

“It sounds like she has a brother who cares about her, which is a good thing.” Eliot leaned over and ruffled Jane’s hair, prompting a happy squeal of protest from her, though his eyes returned to Darcy’s.

Darcy stared at Eliot, wondering if he could drown in those warm eyes. The silence between them spread, growing almost loud, until the moment Carter, realizing there was too much to this silence, broke it with yet another string of demands for Darcy to text Gina.

In a huff of irritation, Darcy told Carter to text Gina himself before sliding his phone into his pocket and bidding the room a swift good day and retreating to his office, locking the door behind him.