She spun around then, and she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him until his doubts dissipated. She was real and here with him.
Cradling his cheeks in her palms, she lowered from her toes. “You are my hero for interrupting me when you did. My fingers are in danger of petrifying against the quill.”
He looked past her to the towering stack of envelopes waiting to be posted. “My family will think no less of you if you take your time.”
She shoved him. “You would continue to distract me as you have been doing the past month!”
He grinned, wrapping his hand around her waist, and lowering his mouth to her neck. “I can think of several other, more agreeable ways to pass the time.”
She wiggled out of his grasp, laughing. “Not today, Fitzwilliam Darcy.” Then, twisting her lips to the side, amended, “Not this moment at least. I am determined to thank your relatives and friends who have sent gifts and hearty welcomes before the sun sets. Besides,”—she hopped on her toes—”I am in possession of such delicious news. I was sorely tempted to ride over the fields in search of you hours ago, and I would have done so were it not for all these letters I must write.”
Tugging his hand, she led him to the settee by her writing table.
“I heard from Jane. She said that Georgiana invited Mary to stay with her and the Matlocks in London.” She bit her lips and looked at him through her thick eyelashes.
He chuckled. “If you are scheming something, you may be assured of my cooperation.”
Darcy loved how her eyes glistened and danced.
“I am glad to hear it, and I will not abuse your trust. What I was thinking of was perhaps inviting Mary to Pemberley so that she and Georgiana might continue their friendship. You saw how they were at the wedding feast.”
“Inseparable.” He had noticed, and it had been a pleasant surprise to see how Mary encouraged Georgiana’s confidence while benefiting from her experience at the pianoforte.
“Excellent! I will suggest it to Georgiana when I next write.” She counted on her fingers. “That was themost pressing matter, but there is more.” Her expression went somber. “Jane’s letter was rushed as it contained some startling news. Wickham is dead.”
Darcy stiffened. “What happened?”
“As you know, the Bedlam doctor traveled with him to convince his commanding officer that he was insane and in need of the treatment at the asylum. However, Wickham had suffered so many bug bites and bee stings, one of them, too long unattended, became severely infected. He developed a fever, and by the time they lanced the festering wound, the poison was in his blood.” She rubbed Darcy’s arm. “I am sorry.”
“I am, too. How is Lydia taking his death?”
“Jane said she is already in widow’s weeds and grieving her situation in her best dramatic fashion. It will be difficult for her to flirt in head-to-toe black.”
Just like that, she lightened the air. Darcy brushed his lips over her fingers in appreciation. “How do the rest of the Bennets fare?” he asked.
“Kitty has taken to heart the lessons to be learned from Lydia’s rash conduct and poor choices. Jane says that she spends more time with Papa in his study, reading and discussing his bees. Papa is happy for her company, as the bees accepted his skiff as their own, and he needs her help to collect their honey.”
“And Mrs. Bennet?” Darcy worried for her now that the battery of the stimulator had given out.
“Papa has extended his area of study beyond bees to batteries, and she is content in the knowledge that he isconcerned for her welfare. That, and the security of Longbourn has restored her nerves marvelously. Which leads me to my next bit of news. I finally heard from Charlotte.”
Now it was Darcy’s turn to console Elizabeth. Taking her hands, he asked, “How is Mrs. Collins?”
She sighed. “You know how anxious I have been going so long with no word of my dear friend — anxious she would resent me for taking Longbourn away — but it was for naught. I ought to have known better.”
Darcy breathed a sigh of relief.
Elizabeth continued, “She apologized for not writing sooner, but she has been feeling so ill, she could hardly sit long enough to attend to her correspondence until recently. She assures me she is much improved, and that Mr. Collins is generous in his attention. She only has to lift a finger, but he is at her side, eager to be of assistance.”
“I am happy to hear it. What did she say about Longbourn?”
“She admitted she knew better than to set her heart on Longbourn, knowing I would find some way of securing it for my mother and sisters — a security Charlotte would have seen to had her mother and sister been in the same position and, therefore, one for which she can hardly fault her dearest friend.”
Darcy pulled Elizabeth closer, settling her in thecrook of his arm. Kissing her forehead, he said, “You must be relieved.”
“I am. Deeply relieved. Oh, I almost forgot,” she said, twisting to face him. “I also received a letter from Anne.”
“You have been busy today.”
