Swipe Left on Mr. Darcy — Guard Down, Page 8
By Suha · Published
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Transcript
Restless, Caroline rises and smooths her sheath, walking a slow, deliberate line across the drawing room past Darcy to catch his attention — but he never looks up from his book. Caroline turns to Lizzie with a sweet, inviting smile, one hand extended: 'Walk with me, Lizzie. It's good for the figure.' Lizzie sets down her book and rises with a wry smirk; behind them, Darcy now watches both women over the top of his book.
Image description
In three panels, Caroline parades across the room past an unbothered Darcy, invites Lizzie to walk with her, and Lizzie rises with a smirk as Darcy watches over his book.
About this chapter
Still stranded at Netherfield while Jane's fever breaks, Lizzie has to survive days in the cool glass house in yesterday's clothes — trading barbs with Caroline, fielding Darcy's unguarded stares, and puncturing a smug drawing-room debate about what makes a woman a real catch. Then her family descends: Mrs. Bennet sweeps in with Lydia and Kitty to 'rescue' Jane, gushing over the house, sprawling on the designer furniture, and demanding Bingley throw a party — while Lizzie dies of embarrassment and Caroline drinks it in. Bracing for Darcy to confirm every cold thing she believes about him with a verdict on her circus of a family, Lizzie gets the opposite: he sidesteps the insult entirely and quietly tells her that her sister is lucky to have her. It disarms her more than any cruelty could — and her tidy verdict on Mr. Darcy starts to come apart.