I gazed up to share a smile that broadened into shared laughter. And in that moment, I perceived the boy I cherished, now matured into this quietly capable master striding confidently into his birthright. Somber he might still be, but not hardened or uncaring. Rather, his silent, steadfast spirit shone all the brighter amidst gathering shadows and uncertainties to guide those longing for light. I blinked back sudden foolish tears, filled with nameless happiness to see him so.
All too soon, I became aware that the shadows cast by our figures through the western window were growing longer. “Oh, dear,” I sighed. “Likely Jane and Aunt will be wondering at my absence by now. I told them I was only going for some air, not walking three miles and taking tea at Pemberley.” With sincere regret, I gathered my shawl and gloves to take a reluctant leave.
But Mr. Darcy appeared to share my hesitation, rising from petting his dog to standing at his full height with a sudden anxious mien. His gaze darted to the windows and then back to me.
“I have... enjoyed this immensely. But you must not leave just yet!” At my startled look, he amended swiftly. “That is to say, it would be my honor to send you home in the carriage when you do depart. But perhaps you might stay a little longer.”
I shook my head with a chuckle. “Longer? But I have just said… unless you think George might be able to join us?”
His shy smile hit me squarely in the heart. “I had hoped we might take a little more refreshment together. Or even a game of chess, as in old times?” Uncertainty overwhelmed his awkward invitation, and he looked aside as if to mask whatever he was leaving unsaid.
I smiled tightly. “I think it best that I go now. Thank you, Fitz…” I frowned. “I apologize. I ought to be calling you ‘Mr. Darcy.’”
His brow furrowed, and his gaze fell somewhere around my middle. “Yes… Yes, I suppose so. Well, let me call a carriage for you. I would not have you worrying your aunt further by taking the time to walk the entire distance back. Just one moment.” He held up a finger and stepped to the door, closing it behind himself as he went to speak to his butler.
That was very odd. Why would he not have used the bell pull? I bit my lip and wandered the library, admiring those dear familiar shelves with Wellington following at my heels. A few minutes later, Mr. Darcy returned, closing the door softly behind himself.
“The carriage will be ready momentarily. Er… I thought you would prefer a more… scenic drive than the main road. If I may, I will order the carriage to take you out the west entrance and down the old stone road before returning to Farthingdale?”
I smiled and tilted my head. “How very thoughtful, Mr. Darcy, but I would not wish to impose.”
“No imposition at all,” he insisted. “The least I could do.”
Fourteen
Darcy
Istoodframedinthe library’s wide front window, one arm braced against the ancient, warped glass as I watched the last glimpse of the carriage disappear down Pemberley’s winding drive. My imagination must be cursed because I could almost swear the summer breeze carried faint drifting notes of Elizabeth’s laughter.
My shoulders sagged as tension melted, a bone-deep exhale escaping my lips. She was safely away, and soon, the confusing echoes of her presence would fade, leaving only poignant memories behind.
Wellington padded over to thrust his sleek head comfortingly beneath my hand. I smiled down absently as he tilted his head to offer his left ear first and then his right. “There, now. No harm done, eh boy?” The familiar soothing ritual failed to settle my disquiet tonight. Before coherent thought could take shape, a polite rap heralded the butler’s entrance.
“Begging your pardon for the intrusion, Mr. Darcy. But I wanted to inform you that Master George and his guests departed by the front avenue not five minutes ago. Your own carriage bearing the young woman would not have encountered them.”
I managed an approving nod, still distracted. “Thank you, Huxley. Please have a cold collation sent to my study. I expect Mr. Bingley to share the evening meal shortly.” At his acquiescence, I added as an afterthought, “And kindly put Wellington’s dinner out. He appears ready to settle in for the evening.”
I crossed the darkening room, each step weighted by restless energy that had plagued me since parting with Elizabeth. Sinking into my desk chair, I roughly pushed both hands through my hair. What madness had possessed me, inviting her within these walls with Belmont’s party still touring the grounds?
All common sense urged their paths must never publicly converge. Especially not with George still besotted by some foolish memories of the fae enchantress from his boyhood. Yet, there she had stood, smiling up at me in dappled sunlight, joyous and open-hearted as ever… and my reservations had melted away unheeded.
I grimaced, shame heating my cheeks in the empty room. Father would be appalled by such carelessness regarding propriety and family duty. At this rate, I would soon prove as capricious and undependable as George.
Wellington wandered back to flop with a contented sigh across my boot tops. I reached down to stroke his silken ears. “You seemed mightily taken with our wild-haired visitor today.” His foot thumped the floor in rhythm with his tail. “Let us hope your master manages the association with equal aplomb.”
Another discreet knock heralded Huxley's return to announce, “Mr. Bingley to see you, sir.” I straightened from my tired slump, feeling every one of my seven-and-twenty years. Bingley’s amiable companionship promised a welcome diversion from restless speculations. And any man whom fastidious Wellington tolerated could not fail to lift my spirits.
“Show him in, thank you, Huxley.”
I stood to exchange greetings, appreciating anew Bingley’s unaffected friendliness as he crossed the room. My gaze lingered a fraction longer than strictly required, arrested by his glowing coloring and open features. Had he beenonlyto town on business? Or had he driven by Farthingdale on his way back to Pemberley? The fair Miss Jane Bennet seemed to have arrested his notice and put yet a higher spring in his step. Perhaps I would have to counsel him, as well, on the dangers of meditating on the face of a woman with no prospects.
But I was hardly any better after such an afternoon as I had passed. Had Elizabeth always boasted such arresting eyes and pleasing figure? I could conjure every varying hue and pattern of those dark irises with sudden, unsettling clarity. Chestnut locks had darkened to mahogany with time, and what was once a rat’s nest of tangles and ringlets was now a crown of sumptuous curls that invited fascinated study of their whorls and depths. Her laughter that bid the world laugh with her...
“Been out riding as well, Darcy?” Bingley’s cheerful hail jerked me forcibly back from disturbingly pleasant imaginings. I hastily schooled my features to calm interest, befitting one gentleman conversing with another as we moved to take places before the hearth. No need to burden Bingley’s uncomplicated existence with unsettled reflections not fully understood myself.
“No, only attending to some business.” I moved toward a chair, gesturing Bingley toward the one opposite. “Come in and make yourself comfortable. We’ve a cold collation on its way. I did not fancy a formal dinner after such a hot day. Brandy? You look as if you have been riding hard.”
Bingley grinned. “Nothing too arduous for me today, I assure you! Although...” He gave his buckskin breeches an absentminded brushing after Wellington rubbed against his leg. “I did have a splendid gallop across some pretty countryside. But that was the extent of my adventures.”
