Lady Catherine’s lips curved, just faintly.
“He had better do it well.”
Elizabeth laughed softly.
“I believe he has been sufficiently warned.”
As she sat there, the tension of the previous day seemed, at last, to ease.
The future remained uncertain, but for the first time since Frederick appeared the night before, Elizabeth felt something like peace.
∞∞∞
One week later…
Elizabeth sat in the carriage before Lucas Lodge, her gloved hands folded lightly in her lap, though her gaze remained fixed upon the scene beyond the window.
Darcy stood just outside, assisting Charlotte into the other carriage where Lady Anne, Lady Catherine, and Georgiana were already settling themselves.
Charlotte, though composed, could not entirely conceal her gratitude, and Elizabeth felt a small stirring of relief at the thought that, whatever her friend’s earlier desperation, she would now be afforded an opportunity that might lead to something better.
The last week had been one of joy and healing. Returning to visit Hertfordshire had not gone as anticipated, of course, but in many respects, it had been far better than anything Elizabeth might once have imagined.
She had paid calls where she could, and received many more in return. Familiar faces—neighbors, acquaintances, friends of long standing—had come in a steady stream, each eager to see her once more, to admire her asMrs. Darcy, and to express, with varying degrees of delicacy, their astonishment at all that had transpired. There had been warm embraces, earnest inquiries after her health, and no small amount of whispered speculation regarding her sudden removal from Longbourn before her wedding.
Elizabeth bore it all with good humor.
If anything, she found comfort in it.
These were the people who had known her always—not as a curiosity, nor as a subject of gossip, but simply as Elizabeth Bennet. Their affection was genuine, their concern unfeigned, and their relief at her recovery from her supposed “illness” was both touching and, at times, rather difficult to answer without smiling.
Mrs. Bennet, for her part, had taken the greatest delight in it all.
“My dear Mrs. Darcy,” she had proclaimed on more than one occasion, drawing Elizabeth forward with unconcealed pride, “has made the most brilliant match! Quite the finest gentleman in Derbyshire, I assure you—and such a devoted husband!”
And before Elizabeth could do more than laugh and protest, her mother would continue, scarcely pausing for breath, “And you must also know—our dear Freddy has returned from India! Yes, indeed, quite alive, though we had all thought him lost—and such a handsome young son with him, too! Teddy, my dear—quite the image of his father, only younger, of course!”
The entire visit has, as a whole, been quite lovely, Elizabeth thought to herself as her husband finished the final arrangements in the other carriage.
At last, he exchanged a final word with the coachman, then climbed in beside her, closing the door firmly behind him. The space felt immediately warmer for his presence, more settled.
“Are you ready to leave again?” he asked.
Elizabeth’s lips curved.
“Yes—this time I shall have the benefit of consciousness, and may observe my surroundings properly as I depart.”
Darcy’s mouth twitched. “A distinct improvement. Though, as I recall, it was the middle of the night. You did not miss allthat much of consequence. The full moon on the trees, perhaps, but we have that in wilds of Derbyshire as well.”
She laughed softly, turning her gaze to him. “It feels an age ago,” she said. “And yet—it has not even been a year.”
“I have no memory of before,” he declared, “as there is nothing worth remembering if you were not with me.”
Warmth filled her, and she grinned cheekily at him. “Who would have imagined, when you first came to Meryton, that within the year you would engage in elopement with a simple country miss—who, as it transpired, is rather more entangled with your family than anyone could have foreseen?”
Darcy gave a low laugh. “I should have rejected the notion outright,” he said. “With the utmost conviction and pride.”
“And now?”
