“He’s very thorough,” Darcy observed.
“Too thorough. We’ll be here for ages if he’s allowed to examine every lamp post between here and the car.” Elizabeth tugged on the lead. “Come on, Waffles. It’s not that fascinating.”
But the delay had given her time to think, which was either a blessing or a curse. Her sisters’ voices echoed in her head:Tell him how you need to be loved.Jane’s calm certainty that honesty was always the right choice, even when it was frightening.
They resumed walking, their footsteps muffled by the snow. Elizabeth could feel the moment building, the weight of words she needed to say gathering in her chest like storm clouds. The longer she waited, the more impossible it seemed to find a natural opening.
“Darcy,” she began, then lost her nerve. “The–the evening went well, don’t you think?”
“Very well,” he agreed, though something in his tone suggested he’d caught the false note in her voice. “Elizabeth, are you all right? You seem . . .”
“I’m fine,” she said, then winced at how patently untrue that was. “I’ve been brittle,” she admitted, sheepish. “Circling an ending makes me like that. I’m sorry.”
“Is it just the writing, then?” He didn’t sound convinced.
Elizabeth could feel her sisters at her back: no more guessing; say the thing.
“No, it’s notjustthat. I’m scared, if we’re being honest.”
“Scared?” Darcy stopped walking, turning to face her with concern written across his features.
Elizabeth felt her stomach perform an elaborate gymnastics routine. This was it, then. No more delays, no more deflecting. Either she said what needed saying, or she spent the rest of their relationship wondering what might have happened if she’d been brave enough to try.
“It’s about Christmas . . . and about me putting far too much weight on one present to answer a question I should’ve asked out loud.”
Darcy’s expression became more guarded. “The headphones.”
“The headphones,” Elizabeth confirmed. “And the scarf. And the fact that I think we might be speaking different languages when it comes to . . . well, to the most important things.”
A couple passed them on the pavement, bundled up against the cold and laughing about something, and Elizabeth realised they were having this conversation in the middle of a public street while snow fell on their heads and her dog ate something questionable off the ground.
“This is ridiculous,” she said, half laughing despite her nerves.
“We could go back to the car.” But Darcy didn’t move.
“No, I’ll lose my nerve if we stop now.” Elizabeth took a deep breath and released it, watching it form a cloud in the cold air. “Darcy, when I gave you that scarf—that terrible, amateurish scarf—what did you think?”
“I thought it was grand,” he said at once. “I told you that.”
“Yes, but what did itmeanto you?”
Darcy was quiet for a moment, considering. When he spoke, his voice was careful. “I thought . . . I thought you’d spent time on me. Real time, learning something new just to give me something personal. I thought it meant you cared about me enough to put that much effort in.”
Elizabeth felt something loosen in her chest. “Yes. That’s what I wanted it to mean.”
“And the headphones?” Darcy asked.
She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “They were thoughtful and exactly the kind of help you give. I realised I wanted them to say something they couldn’t. About us, I mean.” She shook her head. “That part was me. But I also want to tell you what feels more . . . romantic to me. If you want, that is.”
The words hung in the air between them. Elizabeth watched Darcy’s face, trying to read his expression in the orange glow of the street lights.
“Understood,” he said gently. “Tell me two or three things that land as romantic for you, and I’ll try to make them happen. To tell you the truth, I’d be relieved to have some help in that department.”
“Really?” Elizabeth asked. “Because I’m not trying to be ungrateful. I know you put thought into choosing the headphones—”
“But they weren’t what you hoped for,” Darcy finished.
Elizabeth’s breath caught. “Not that I had anything specific in mind, but . . . Yes. That.”
