“You have been eating them this whole time!”
Richard screwed up his face, then picked up the tray and offered a cucumber sandwich to Bingley before holding the tray close to himself. “She ismyaunt – andyoucan hardly afford to make her think any worse of you, poor devil.”
Across the room, a flurry of excitement near the window suggested that the ladies perceived their eagerly anticipated callers. As Richard stuffed the last of the cucumber sandwiches into his mouth, William looked imploringly at him.
“Do say you will help me contrive to speak privately with Miss Elizabeth; I am a desperate man.”
Through his indecorous mouthful, Richard agreed begrudgingly. “You are a madman, and I hope you will tell Lizzy the truth about your being Will Darcy in town and William Worthing in the country – and about your pretty, innocent ward. She deserves to know – but I shall do what I can for you.”
“It is hardly the sort of thing one blurts out to refined young ladies, but I shall try.”
When the ladies arrived, the gentlemen all rose to greet them, though Lady Catherine was uncommonly cold to William. She gave a few affectionate words of congratulation to Richard, and seemed resolved to settle in with the Fitzwilliam ladies at the wedding planning table, but as she glanced over the selection of refreshments, she scowled. “Before we begin, I must have some of those excellent cucumber sandwiches.”
She perceived the refreshments that had been laid out across the room and strolled that way to inspect the delicacies on offer, and grimaced at the tray that was empty but for a few crumbs.
Richard gave her a smooth, apologetic bow. “Apparently there were no cucumbers at the market this morning, Aunt. It is greatly distressing.”
“Well, no matter, Richard. I shall content myself with apple tarts. Oh, my dear boy, you shall never vex me again!” Lady Catherine patted her nephew’s cheek; Richard looked rather disappointed. “Come, sit with me and Jane – does she not look lovely this morning?”
As Richard was dragged away to the wedding planning table, William looked between Bingley and Elizabeth, who had been lingering near the doorway as if waiting for her mother to forget about her in all the hubbub. She smiled warmly at William, taking slow, almost stealthy steps toward him.
“Good morning Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley.”
There was an awkward pause as William gave his old friend a polite but impatient look, silently willing the man to comprehend him.
Fortunately, he did. “You look remarkably well this morning, Miss Elizabeth. But I fear you shall think me very rude and unsociable – do ignore me, for I intend to read a most fascinating book.”
After uttering such words as he had probably never spoken in his life, Bingley picked up the first book he laid eyes on and carried it off to one corner of the room. William still felt exceedingly agitated, despite having been in company with the present set of people very often in the last six weeks. Elizabeth stared at him expectantly, and across the room Richardmotioned his hand in a circle to hasten him, tipping his head pointedly to Lady Catherine.
William fidgeted uncomfortably, wishing to rip away his cravat entirely. “It is a charming day outside,” he said, rather hating himself.
Elizabeth grinned at him. “Are we to speak of the weather, Mr. Darcy? Or perhaps you mean to invite me to be outdoors, basking in said weather?”
“Yes, exactly – that is what I meant. The back garden at Matlock House is very, ah – well, I think I have not seen it in quite some time.”
Elizabeth pursed her lips into a smile that suggested she found his panic rather endearing, and William began to relax a little. Fortunately, Rupert Fitzwilliam sauntered into the room with a jubilant belch, ready to disoblige his entire family by waking before noon. Lady Catherine and the dowager countess began scolding him in unison, and Elizabeth quickly gave a breathy giggle as she took William’s hand and hastily dragged him out of the room.
She continued holding his hand as they made their way out of the house and began to stroll along the gravel path that wound through the small garden behind the townhouse. “We may not have long before Mamma notices our absence,” Elizabeth said softly.
William wasted no time. He lifted their entwined fingers to his lips to kiss the top of her gloved hand. “Elizabeth, ever since I met you, I have admired you more than any lady I have ever met… since… I met you….”
“Yes, I am aware of that, Mr. Darcy,” she said with another breathy laugh. “I have often wished that, in public at any rate, you would be more demonstrative – but I understand your hesitation. I love Lady Catherine dearly, but her disapproval ofyou means nothing to me. You hold an irresistible fascination for me – even before I met you, I was far from indifferent….”
“Elizabeth….” William murmured, finding himself lost in the ardor of her gaze. “Wait, what? Before you met me?”
Her cheeks grew pink as she smiled up at him. “I have always thought the name Darcy held such romance, such passion, such depth of feeling. My aunt, whom I adore, was called Darcy before she remarried, and I have always felt something moving and magnetic in that name. When I heard that my cousin Richard had a friend called Darcy, I had the highest hopes of your being a man I could love.”
William nearly tripped over his own feet, and his coat was snagged by a rosebush as he tried not to stumble. “And do you? Do you love me, Elizabeth?”
Confident joy fairly radiated from her sunlit face. “I do, most ardently.”
William took her other hand in his and drew Elizabeth closer to him. A gentle breeze rippled across them, and she shook away a few loose tendrils of dark, curly hair. She was utterly beguiling, and William was desperate to taste her lips once again. “Dearest, loveliest Elizabeth….”
She wet her lips with her tongue, nearly driving him to distraction. “Yes, Mr. Darcy? I believe you have something you wish to ask me?”
But the way she purred his name gave him pause; it wasnothis name, but he could hardly admit it or now, and spoil the beauty of such a moment. And yet, he had given his word to Richard. “Well, surely you do not mean to say that you could not love me if my name was not Darcy?”
She furrowed her brows for a moment and then shook her head as if he were merely teasing her. “But your nameisDarcy.”
