She tried again. “Even the adults will be playing games, taking on foolish roles.”
“I am familiar with Twelfth Night revels, Miss Elizabeth. I have even been known to enjoy them.”
She stared at him in perplexity. She had expected him to be glad to have an easy escape from this invitation. “The reason I invited your sister, over certain qualms of my own, was because of something my aunt said. She told me it would be good for a girl who had been forced to grow up too fast to have a chance to be a child again, even if only for an evening.”
He nodded slowly. “There may be something to that. It seemed like no time between when Georgiana was playing with dolls and when she was ready to elope.”
Elope? Had it gone so far? Poor girl! “I agree. But I am aware you found the company at the Meryton assembly less than pleasant, so I wonder what you will make of having to share a table with apprentices and overtired, unruly children. My cousins are usually well behaved, but the holiday excitement may be too much for them.”
He took a step towards her and placed his forefinger lightly beneath her chin, and suddenly she fell back in time to that moment under the mistletoe. Her lips tingled with the memory, and her insides grew hot.
But instead of kissing her, he asked softly, “You seem eager to dissuade me. Do you wish me to stay away, Miss Elizabeth?”
Her body had turned traitor, and she could not think. So she blurted out, “No, but I fear you will disapprove of us, and I would not like that.”
A slight smile quirked his lips. “You need not worry about that. I may not be as accustomed to children as you, but I assure you I will be happy with the company.” Something about how he said it, the soft look in his dark eyes, told her he was not speaking about the children.
The air around them suddenly seemed thick, and she had to work to suck in a breath of air. “Then we will be glad to have you,although you may regret it when you see my uncle on his hands and knees playing horsey with the little ones.”
Now his smile grew wider. “That might be beyond my skills, but my cousin's children have found my pick-a-back rides to be tolerable.”
She could not help teasing. “Then you may be in great demand after all, Mr. Darcy.”
He said, in barely more than a whisper, “I can only hope.”
Chapter 9
Elizabethhadgivenuptrying to convince herself that she did not care about having Darcy’s good opinion. How could she do otherwise, when she had spent the night dreaming of Darcy tipping up her chin with his finger – and not stopping there? Her lips tingled every time she thought about it.
That did not stop her from laughing each time her aunt suggested Darcy might have atendrefor her, as if such a notion were completely ridiculous. She had her pride, after all. Nothing could come of this, and she did not want anyone pitying her for disappointed hopes.
Still, the anticipation of the evening haunted her all day on Twelfth Night, so she was glad when their guests finally arrived. Her eyes immediately flew to Darcy. He had taken her advice and was dressed plainly, if still elegantly, and her mouth went dry at the sight of him. She tore her gaze away to greet Georgianawith enthusiasm, though her efforts were drowned out by little Margaret’s delight at Miss Darcy’s appearance.
Georgiana offered a thin paper-wrapped packet to the girl. “I brought you a Twelfth Night gift. It may be for both of us someday.”
Margaret’s eyes went wide. “For me?” She tore open the paper with more enthusiasm than regard for manners, revealing a booklet of sheet music. “Duets? Will you play them with me, once I have learnt them?” she asked earnestly.
“That is my intention,” Georgiana said. “These are ones I played when I was your age. Miss Elizabeth, this is for you.”
It was a smaller package. “How very kind of you!” Elizabeth exclaimed, grateful that Mrs. Gardiner had warned her this might be a possibility.
“I hope you will like it.” Now Georgiana sounded shy.
“I am certain I will,” Elizabeth said warmly as she unwrapped it, and then she gasped. Inside lay the kid gloves she had admired at the shop, the ones far too expensive for her. A generous gift indeed, and her cheeks warmed because she knew precisely who had picked it out. Mr. Darcy had been watching her when she picked up those very gloves and stroked them longingly. “These are beautiful! I thank you. I love the embroidery – I have always wanted a design like this. I will treasure them.” She did not dare look at Darcy.
“I am so glad you like them.” Georgiana said. “They are from both of us.”
Elizabeth caught her breath. Even though gloves were one of the few things a single gentleman could properly give to a lady he was not engaged to, it felt more intimate than that. She would never be able to slip these on her hands without thinking of him. “Then I thank you both! And I have a small thing for you, Miss Darcy, though it can hardly compare.” She had spent allmorning finishing the embroidery on a bookmark just in case this happened.
Before she could even fetch it, Margaret grabbed Georgiana’s hand. “Come into the party,” she cried. “It is almost time to draw lots for our characters!”
Mr. Darcy said solemnly, “We certainly cannot miss that.”
Elizabeth let out a breath. He might do well here after all.
The Gardiners' Twelfth Night gathering was more enjoyable than Darcy had expected. Being in Elizabeth's presence was, as always, both a delight and a torment. John Carlisle, Mrs. Gardiner's brother and Darcy's childhood lesson-mate, had stopped by at the beginning solely to meet him again. He proved as stimulating a conversationalist as he had ever been, and a reminder of the happy days when both Darcy's parents had still been alive. He suggested another meeting to catch up with Darcy in a quieter place, and Darcy had been glad to agree.
The children and the apprentices were indeed noisy as they played their Twelfth Night characters. Darcy suspected Mrs. Gardiner's hand in it when he had chosen the lot making him king for the evening, if only to avoid any of the youngsters having the role. Little Margaret started out as his queen, but she had abandoned him quickly in favor of Georgiana, her clear favorite.
