Page 206 of The Long Road Back to Yesterday

Elizabeth laughed. “I should have loved to see it at its zenith.”

Darcy returned with two glasses and offered one to Elizabeth before taking a place nearby.

When Rogers came to Caroline with a minor problem, she gave him the necessary instructions and resumed her seat.

Darcy looked over the spread. “Everything has been very well arranged, Miss Bingley. I confess I had not expected luncheon in the open air to be managed with such elegance.”

A flush rose in Caroline’s fair complexion. “Thank you, Mr. Darcy.”

Across the way, Bingley offered Jane a plate of strawberries between them. She chose one, and he left the plate within her reach. Elizabeth was pleased to see his attentions to her sister becoming so marked.

After luncheon, the servants began clearing the plates while the party remained beneath the trees.

Elizabeth rose and walked toward the edge of the shade. Darcy joined her.

“You chose well,” she said.

“Miss Bingley deserves the credit for the elegance. I merely asked Rogers for his recommendation.”

Elizabeth looked across the grounds. “Then I am grateful you thought to ask him. It has been a very good day.”

* * *

It was well into the afternoon when Caroline announced that they ought to begin the journey home if they meant to reach Longbourn before evening. They helped the servants gather the blankets, then boarded the carriages and set off.

They had been on the road for nearly an hour when the first carriage slowed and came to a stop.

Darcy leaned forward as the coachman climbed down. A moment later, Rogers appeared at the window.

“One of the traces requires attention, sir. It should not take long.”

Darcy descended, and the others followed. The road ran between open fields, with a stand of trees farther along and a narrow stream passing beneath a stone bridge.

Bingley offered Jane his arm and led her toward the bridge. The three young women followed behind.

Elizabeth had gone a short distance along the road when Darcy came up beside her.

“I hope this delay has not diminished your opinion of my expedition.”

“Not at all. You promised me a day at Berkhamsted. You said nothing about returning me safely to Longbourn.”

His resonant chuckle made her smile. “I shall be more precise in my promises hereafter.”

They continued along the edge of the road toward the bridge.

“I had forgotten how much I missed this,” Elizabeth said. “A day in which nothing of consequence happens, and we are together.”

Darcy looked at her. “Yes.”

She glanced toward the carriage. “I find I am grateful for a broken harness. It has given us a moment of privacy.”

His head bent toward hers, his eyes resting on her face. “I long for more days like this, Elizabeth.”

Near the carriages, Caroline watched Darcy bend his head toward Elizabeth as she spoke. A moment later, his laugh carried faintly back along the road.

Louisa glanced at her sister.

Caroline looked away. “I had not known Mr. Darcy could become so completely engaged by a woman’s company.”