“He stayed with the rest of my family at Gracechurch Street. My uncle Gardiner lives there.”
Darcy nodded. Mr. Gardiner had been instrumental in helping him secure Elizabeth’s paintings so quickly. He wanted to say that her uncle was a good man, but doing so might lead the conversation to what Darcy had done, and he did not want to draw attention to himself that way.
“Mr. Darcy?”
“Yes?”
She bit her lip, nervous. “Why did you do it?”
One look at her hope-filled eyes and he knew exactly what she meant and how to reply. She gave somuch of herself to others. She had filled his heart with a vibrancy and joy he would try to give to her.
Sitting beside her, he drew her hands into his. “I did it for you. I have never met someone so fiercely loyal and kind. Even now, you took the burden of conversation off my shoulders when I did not know what to say. You make everyone’s life better, you see to their every need, and I wish… it is my hope… that you will allowmeto care foryou.”
In a flash, she was in his arms. When her lips touched his, there was nothing uncertain or indifferent in her reply.
EPILOGUE
ONE MONTH LATER…
Darcy walked-ran-slipped the short distance from Pemberley’s great house to the hunting tower, his feet crunching in the fresh snow. The tower had windows all around, which was the main reason Elizabeth had chosen it for her art studio, but it was cramped. And at four hundred feet away from the house, the distance was too far for Darcy’s taste.
Stomping his feet at the entrance, he ascended the stairs two at a time until he saw her standing in front of a canvas, her back to the door. He stood there for a minute, watching her paint his aunt’s portrait and trying in vain to catch his breath.
“I feel you, Fitzwilliam,” she said. “Please come inside out of the cold.”
“My apologies for the interruption?—”
She shushed him with a smile and the press of her finger against his lips. “You know the rule, my love: family first.”
Darcy loved her rule. He loved everything about his wife. “I have something for you.”
She set down her brush. “A kiss?”
“Always.” That was another characteristic he loved about Elizabeth. She took delight in the simplest things, turning every kiss into a gift with the same passion with which she lived her life. He brushed his lips over hers and then pulled away before he forgot why he had interrupted her work. There would be time for many more kisses later. “First, I have to show you something in my study.”
They walked arm-in-arm down the hill and up the stairs, past the art gallery where the Rembrandt once again hung. Mr. Bennet had sold it to Darcy for fifty pounds?the same price he had paid at themarché ouvert?and the promise that he was welcome to study it and the other masterpieces decorating Pemberley’s walls whenever he wished. It was an arrangement to which both sides easily agreed.
Not so hisotherarrangement with Mr. Bennet, who considered that Darcy was benefiting disproportionately from their families’ unions. He was not wrong. Until today, Darcy had not been completely certain Mr. Bennet would yield.
Darcy opened the door to his study, and there she was, centered on the wall behind his desk, wearing agown that matched the peacock blue color she presently wore.
“My father’s first painting!” Elizabeth gasped. She rushed to stand in front of it, her fingers stretching out to touch it but stopping just short.
It was not as stunning as the woman herself, but Darcy’s heart swelled when he looked at the portrait of Elizabeth. Mr. Bennet was a master. His skill would be highly sought after and handsomely recompensed by the best families.
“How ever did you convince him to part with it?”
Darcy told her the only part that mattered. “He knew it would make you happy.”
She twirled around to face him, tears spilling over her fingers. “Is it possible to be happier than I am right now? I fear I shall burst with joy!”
Darcy felt his lips lift on one side. “You thought this was your gift? No, my love, that is mine. Your gift is this way…” He held out his arm, and he led her up the stairs at the end of the hall. Up they climbed until they reached the rooftop.
He held the door open for her, all his efforts rewarded when she squealed and jumped into his arms.
“It is perfect!” she said between kisses.
He laughed. “You have not seen what is inside yet!”
