“I have no knowledge of that, as this set is… not quite an heirloom, but it was purchased by my father, and—”
“I am very glad then,” Elizabeth interrupted with a laugh, “I did not drop the piece.”
Darcy laughed in reply, and he tapped a pawn on Elizabeth’s side of the table.She liked how his hand waved just a few inches in front of her chest as he did so.
“This one was replaced after Georgiana dropped it a few years ago, you can see how the color is notquitethe same.And this piece,” he tapped another with his fingers brushing her fingers, “this bishop once fell, but only the head came off, and very neatly, so a craftsman glued the pieces together again in a cunning way, but,” he picked up the bishop and handed it to Elizabeth, “you can see the line if you hold up the piece right to the light.But he polished away the rough edge so that it is almost impossible tofeelwhere the hole came.”
She did so, and saw as he said.But what caught her eyes more was the giant bible held by the Bishop, looking as much like some witch’s grimoire as a holy book.There was a line of tiny words on the open pages.But the letters were too small for Elizabeth to read.
“It’s from the gospel of Matthew.My father’s favorite passage.He gave the order to be carved so.”
“How did the artist make such tiny scratches, and on a black surface?”
“With difficulty, I would imagine.”Darcy shrugged.“I once studied the pieces under the lens of my microscope, and—”
“Under the lens of your microscope, I imagine every boy has one.”
“Your father did not?He always struck me as the sort of man who might have scientific interests and leanings.It is not so expensive to get a decent one.Papa believed it was most important I gain a thorough understanding of the modern scientists, and my tutor had written several notable papers and he was a member of the royal society.”
“And your tutor was a member of the royal society?”Elizabeth grinned, looking at Darcy.So casually wealthy that like the wealthy always did, he hired the service of the most interesting and best persons.Of course she now was so wealthy herself.
A microscope, Papa certainly could have afforded a microscope if the desire had crossed his mind, but a tutor who was a member of the royal society?
Whatever the cost, such men had the opportunity to find more prominent patrons than Papa.“I think my father had a preference for the less modern.He put his money into antiquarian books in the main — and stars.We had a fine telescope.”
“Ah.We also extensively purchased books.In such days as these I cannot countenance the neglect of a family library.”Darcy grinned boyishly as he picked up one of the delicately carved white pawns and settled it two blocks forward on the heavy marble board.“I sound quite conceited with that tone.”
“Only alittle,” Elizabeth replied.“But an advantage that accrues to the very wealthy is that they can both pursue antiquarian books and microscopes and scientific learning.”
Elizabeth moved her own pawn, and Darcy made his move.
“I do not think,” he said, “that I am soveryrich.Do not get the idea that I am one of the greatest fortunes in the land.A great fortune, yes, but there are at least a hundred estates of greater extent than mine.I cannot compare to a duke for example.Or to a Rothschild.”
“Merely to an earl?”
“Merely to an earl.”Darcy quirked his lips, and his eyes twinkled.
He picked up his bishop to move and then hesitated, frowning.He asked in a half embarrassed voice, “You have not played chess frequently of late, have you?”
“What?”Elizabeth looked down at the board again, and at Darcy’s bishop, and at her king, who had already been checkmated through the passage she’d opened up by moving her pawn.She laughed and groaned.“Just like Papa used to do to me.I forgot that trick.”
She laughed and pushed Darcy’s pawns back into their original spaces, enjoying how now it washerturn to brush her fingers against his.“That was merely a, ah—”
“A practice round?”
“Exactly!This was a round to warm the fingers up, so that we could safely move the heavy chess pieces.It does not count.”
“Certainly not.Certainly not.One must exert great caution in lifting such heavy objects lest one injure oneself.”
Darcy grinned at her and Elizabeth grinned back.
They played several more games, all of which Elizabeth lost, but she got much better over the course of the games.That night, as she lay in bed with Darcy, Elizabeth said to him, “Though it is not England, I think this can be home for us, at least for the time.”
“Yes,” Darcy whispered back, “I like Paris very much.”
“Do you think… we should stay here for now, for a while?”
“Yes,” Darcy kissed her and pulled her body against his.“We shall.”
