“But the child will not be at Netherfield?” the colonel asked.
“No, he will remain here, heavily guarded.”
“Go on,” the colonel urged when she paused. “What else are you thinking?”
Elizabeth’s hands fidgeted together as she explained. “During the ball, I could leave to go check on Benjmain. It will be a perfect moment for Le Corbeau—there will be chaos, new servants hired just for the event, a hundred distractions. He will act.”
“I do not like this,” Darcy said, his voice low. “Even with guards—”
“He will not expect guards,” Elizabeth said, wincing at the look that crossed Darcy’s face. “I could dismiss the nurse and send the footman away on some errand. But in truth, you will have soldiers stationed—hidden. When he comes for me, you will already be waiting.”
There was silence for a long moment. “I think this has potential,” the colonel said slowly. “Although he may suspect something if you disappeared without a reason during the ball. Perhaps if a footman were to tell you Benjamin was ill? Then the fact that you were leaving would be more public as well.”
Then Mr. Bennet sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “As much as I despise this, I cannot help but agree.”
Darcy said nothing. His jaw was clenched, and Elizabeth could see the war waging in his eyes.
“Can you think of a better plan?” she asked him softly, her eyes imploring him to understand. “One that will stop him before he tries again?”
Darcy looked away, then shook his head.
At last, Mr. Bennet nodded. “Very well. I do not like it, but I do not see another option.”
The colonel straightened. “I will ride into Meryton and speak with Colonel Forster. We must get things in place immediately.”
“I shall begin drafting letters to send to London,” Darcy said, his voice grave. “My footmen can be here within the day.”
“I will speak to Hill,” Mr. Bennet added. “We shall say the baby is ill and must be kept in Lizzy’s room. That will explain why the cradle is not returned to the nursery.”
He stood from his desk, causing the other three to rise with him. Coming around, he extended his arms to Elizabeth. “Here, I will return him upstairs, my dear. You be so good as to show our guests to the door.”
Bewildered at her father’s offer, Elizabeth made to protest, but then realized she might have the opportunity to speak to Darcy alone. She accepted and passed the baby to Mr. Bennet, then followed the two remaining gentlemen down the hall to the front entrance.
The colonel collected his gloves and hat, then said, “Darcy, I will meet you at Netherfield in two hours, after I speak with Colonel Forster. There is much to be done.”
Darcy gave a short nod, but his gaze was fixed on Elizabeth. He was watching her with such intensity, such quiet resolve, that her heart gave a hard, painful beat.
They were alone.
Elizabeth swallowed nervously and looked down at her clasped hands, unsure of what she wanted to say. The silence stretched between them, not uncomfortable, but charged—like the breathless pause before a storm or the stillness before a violin's first note.
Before her jumbled mind could process anything, she blurted out, “I suppose you must be going as well.”
“In a moment,” he said softly.
Something in his tone made her glance up. His eyes met hers—dark, solemn, intense—and her heart began to pound in her chest.
"Miss Elizabeth," he said softly, and her name in his voice sent a shiver down her spine.
"Yes, Mr. Darcy?"
"I had intended to wait." He took a step closer. "To give you space, time, peace. I thought… when all this was over, when we were safe again, then I might speak. But last night changed everything. The idea that I might have lost you—that he was in your home—”
He broke off, his jaw tightening, and she saw the flicker of anguish in his eyes.
"I cannot wait, Elizabeth. I am in love with you. Hopelessly, irrevocably. I have loved you for weeks now. Perhaps longer, though I only allowed myself to name it recently. You are the bravest, cleverest, most astonishing woman I have ever met.”
Her breath caught, and she knew,— as surely as she knew her own name—that she loved him in return.
