“I hurt her, deeply, by not trusting her… but I let my pride stay me from apologizing. From realizing that I had behaved poorly. Instead, I stood my ground, and pushed her away in turn.” Gulping down his tea, he turned his gaze toward Darcy, “Let this be a warning to you. Apologize as soon as you recognize any wrong… Pride is a poor replacement for someone you love.”
“She is married now?” Darcy questioned, the haunting eyes of the man before him saddening.
“I thought she would be, but no. She has not even come close from all I can tell.”
“Then why not swallow your pride,” Darcy urged. “If what you say is true of Elizabeth, that you think she would forgive me if I asked, then why would the woman you loved and who loved you not be willing to give you that same chance? It may not be easy, if indeed two years have passed, but it is worth the risk. Is it not?”
“Do you think she would? I do not deserve to be forgiven.”
“Neither do I deserve it, but I did not know that love or even forgiveness were as simple as deserving. You will never know until you ask her… just as I will not know until I ask Elizabeth.”
Refilling their cups, Lord Brayburn smiled as he returned to his seat, his delicate cup raised in the air, “To our success, and may we have the courage to see it through!”
Raising his cup in turn, Darcy sighed, “And may our ladies be inclined to forgive us.”
Taking a sip of his hot tea, Darcy’s gaze shifted toward the door.Yes. Courage. And forgiveness. But first, there was the matter of seeing her well.
Chapter 34
Staffordshire, England – 1812 – Day 16
Wincing as she moved beneath a strange weight, Elizabeth opened her eyes.Under her and on top of her were piles and piles of blankets, and within them… bricks?Forcing herself to reach for them, Elizabeth stilled as she met with more blankets, the hard, rectangular shapes within confirming her suspicions.
Throat parched, her gaze met the roaring fire beside her, its heat sweltering.Why? She had been out in the cold, trying to find wood… but she had not found it. Had she?
Lips thinned as she sought to roll away from the heat of the fire, her chest tightened.Darcy? Surely, he would not be sitting beside her whilst she slept? But there he was, asleep in a chair.
Whatever had happened?
Brows knitting, words and sensations and thoughts and vague images flitted through her mind.Cold. Pain. Fear. Promises. The sensation of being carried. A pair of eyes as gentle as they were determined. Exhaustion. Contentment.These each swirled about, intermingling until they emerged as a faulty but real memory.She had lost her way. Lain down by a tree. He… He had found her and somehow, he brought her home.
Just as he promised.
There were gaps. Fragments. Yet they told the story well enough. He had saved her. After everything he had said. The way she had ignored him. Still, he had been as brave, as loyal, as any man might. As if none of their disagreements or doubts had occurred.
“Elizabeth!” Mary whispered and shouted in the same breath. “At last, you have slept ever since he brought you back to us last night.”
“Water,” Elizabeth begged, a million questions forced to wait.
Within seconds Mary held a cup to Elizabeth’s lips, the liquid welcome and painful as she drank.
Setting the cup on a nearby table, Mary returned to her sister’s side, a hand wrapping around hers tightly. “Oh, Lizzy, we were so worried. I was nearly ready to go after you when Mr. Darcy and the Reverend came back in; as soon as he heard, Darcy all but raced out, though, the Reverend had him wait long enough to dress in more layers and bring a blanket for you.” Setting a second hand on top of Elizabeth’s, she shook her head, “It was hard to not go after you. When Mr. Bingley, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and the drivers returned, many of them wished to go as well, but the Reverend would not allow it until Darcy had had a chance to bring you back; he felt that if more men were sent out and Darcy came back with you, then we might have to send more out after those who had gone to search, and that such it might continue.”
“He was not wrong,” Elizabeth said hoarsely. “When Aunt was lost in the snow, they sent out five men; one of them brought Aunt’s body back, another two had the sense to give up the search, but two never returned. Either they became lost themselves or continued on because they thought Aunt Phillips was still out there.”
“That was the only thing that kept me from following after myself. Indeed, Mr. Bingley and Richard had to hear the tale from Jane before they would stay–indeed, had Darcy not come when he did, they would have gone nonetheless.”
“I would expect no less… but who is this ‘Richard’ you speak of? Surely it is not your Colonel?”
Face growing as red as ripened beets, Mary let go of Elizabeth’s hand.
“He…” fiddling with the edge of a blanket Mary’s lips curled in a smile. “I did not wish to say anything, with everything you have been through, but… in all of the anxiety and fear, well, he came to admit he is in love with me.ME! Can you imagine that? I do not pretend blindness. I knew there was something very deep he felt for me… but I so feared it might be friendship. I… I cannot believe I am telling you this but.” Turning quickly toward the sleeping form of Mr. Darcy, then any possible place someone might hide, she blushed, “But when he admitted he loved me, I kissed him.” Eyes wide she pushed back a wayward hair, “What is even more shocking was he kissed me back!”
A brow raised, Elizabeth chuckled. “That was shocking to you? That a man who professed his love would not kiss you in return? Mary. Mary. I fear Jane and I did leave a few gaps in your education.”
Giggling, Mary shook her head, “Oh, Lizzy. I am content enough I do not mind your teasing; no, not content, in a state of utter bliss now that I know you are well. I have Richard’s love, my sisters are all well, and I suspect once a certain someone gets around to asking Jane for her hand, that I shall have three sisters married by the end of spring!”
“Artfully avoiding the issues Darcy and I have faced; though yes, if it is up to me, he and I shall be married as you say.” Resting a hand on her sister’s, Elizabeth gave it a squeeze before laying back, a heavy weariness beginning to form. “You too, if your beau has any sense.”
