Page 182 of A Question of Character

“I am trying.”

They resumed walking.

Neither spoke for several minutes.

The silence no longer felt strained.

Instead it resembled the pause after rain, when clouds had begun breaking though sunlight had not yet reached the earth.

Darcy knew the moment had come before he consciously determined it.

They had reached the old oak overlooking the meadow where they often paused.

Elizabeth rested one hand upon the rough bark while watching swallows wheel above the fields.

He had rehearsed elegant speeches.

Measured declarations.

Expressions worthy of the depth of his affection.

Every one deserted him.

“Elizabeth.” Something in his expression stilled her smile.

He stepped nearer.

“I once believed myself a man who governed every important decision through reason.”

She waited.

“You have proved me mistaken.”

A faint color touched her cheeks.

“I do not know when admiration became attachment.”

He smiled slightly.

“Perhaps you knew before I did.”

“I suspected.”

“I imagine everyone suspected except myself.”

Her laughter escaped despite the solemnity of the moment.

“It is possible.”

“I have loved you longer than I understood.”

His gaze never left hers.

“You have altered my understanding of happiness.”

She drew one slow breath.

“I find I cannot imagine returning to Derbyshire without hoping every road might somehow bring me back to Hertfordshire.”