Page 115 of Near Pemberley

Darcy listened.

“And he did not care what would happen to the rest of us. He did not just ruin one person, but a whole family. He had no right!” Her hands tightened. “If I possessed the authority, I should ensure he never recovered from it.”

Darcy regarded her quietly. “And how would you accomplish that, Miss Bennet?”

She thought for a moment. “At present? Very badly.”

The answer startled a laugh from him.

“But I should certainly try.”

For the first time that morning, they found themselves smiling at one another without reserve.

Then, Elizabeth sobered. She looked him in the eye and said, “I want him punished. I want him to regret ever setting foot in Hertfordshire. I want you to find him and punish him.”

Darcy regarded her steadily. “I intend to find him.”

Nothing more. Yet something in the quiet certainty of the words was more reassuring than any promise could have been.

For a few moments, they continued walking in silence.

Elizabeth found her anger gradually subsiding. It had not vanished entirely – she suspected it would not do so for a very long time – but speaking of it aloud had eased something within her.

Then, another thought returned to her. “Lydia refuses to tell me how you found her.”

Darcy’s expression changed immediately.

Elizabeth noticed it at once. “So there is a story.”

“There is.”

“And she is under strict instructions not to repeat it.”

A faint smile touched his mouth. “Very strict.”

“Which naturally makes me wish to know it all the more.”

“I suspected it might.”

Elizabeth folded her arms. “Mr. Darcy, I hope you do not imagine that mysterious silences discourage curiosity.”

“No. I have known you too long for that.” The answer escaped him before he could reconsider it.

They battled with their eyes.

Elizabeth looked away first. “You have not known me very long.”

“It feels longer.”

The quiet admission hung between them.

To Darcy’s relief, Elizabeth returned to her original subject.

“Then why the secrecy?”

He hesitated.

“Because the circumstances are unfortunate.”