Page 84 of The Long Road Back to Yesterday

By the time she reached the stone circle, the Darcys were ascending the causeway. Mr. Darcy helped Georgiana dismount, and the girl joined Elizabeth upon the massive flat stone. Mr. Darcy took his place on Elizabeth’s other side.

“I do not understand why you are not exhausted, Miss Elizabeth. You have run a full two miles to reach this place.”

Her eyes met his. His expression betrayed no teasing. “No, sir, I am not tired. The airing does me good.”

“Look. The sun is upon the horizon.”

They faced the east as the first rim of gold broke above the horizon. Bright orange spread beneath streaks of purple, while the rising light caught the clouds and set their edges aflame. Gold poured across the moor and over the ancient stones as the colors deepened, then faded with the climbing sun. None of them spoke until the spectacle had passed.

When the morning brightened, Elizabeth surveyed the land. “The mist and the gray horizon bring to mind an age when perhaps elves and fairies walked the earth.”

Georgiana laughed. “Lizzy, you say such things.”

Elizabeth glanced at Mr. Darcy to judge his reaction. His expression had grown sober, his attention fixed upon her. She must learn to govern her high spirits. These siblings did not know her well, and her liveliness might get her into trouble if she did not temper it.

She met Mr. Darcy’s eyes, hoping to set him at ease. “Sir, I was only jesting. I know full well there are no such creatures as elves and fairies, but the beauty of this place is so haunting, so otherworldly, that it makes one think of magic and miracles and wonders far removed from ordinary life.”

He raised a brow.

Her gaze returned to the distant horizon. “I want to fix this place, the mist, the henge, and the two of you firmly in my mind, so when I am a governess, perhaps in a house in London, suffering from air fouled by the smoke of a thousand chimneys, I may return here in memory and remember this day.”

She jumped from the stone and faced them. “I must return, or I shall be late for breakfast.”

“Go on, Miss Elizabeth. I will help Georgiana mount, and we shall catch you up.”

“Very well, sir.”

Elizabeth ran into the mist and green grasses, making her way through the scrub and patches of heather. How she wished she might see this place in the spring. Would the moor be covered with wildflowers?

As she ran, her thoughts returned to Mr. Darcy. He seemed everything a man ought to be. Thoughtful, decent, wise, and protective. If not for Lydia’s fall, perhaps he might one day ask for her hand in marriage. Though a wealthy landowner, he displayed none of the arrogance she might expect from a man of his consequence. He thought neither too highly of himself nor of his station within the highest circles of society. Perhaps his fortune freed him from the necessity of seeking a well-dowered wife.

The brother and sister rode up beside her, drawing her thoughts back to the present.

When they reached the gate, Elizabeth stopped to make her farewells. As she buttoned her pelisse, she said, “Thank you both. I shall see you at ten o’clock.”

Mr. Darcy doffed his hat, and Georgiana said, “Yes. I can hardly wait to search through my book for treasure.”

Elizabeth laughed as she retrieved her bag from the tree. As she wrapped the shawl over her hair, she said, “Mrs. Radcliff has ordered Cook to serve her specialty for tea today. I am told it is a delicious pudding much sought after by the local gentry. I shall not be surprised if I gain weight during my visit to Derbyshire.”

Georgiana suppressed a cry of delight. “Oh, Lizzy! Does she mean to serve her baked custard pudding? She will not share her recipe with anyone, though all our neighbors have begged her for it.”

“Yes, indeed. She says it will be flavored with nutmeg, and she means to serve it warm. I imagine Cook must be preparing it now.”

Georgiana addressed her brother. “Come, Fitzwilliam, let us hurry home so we shall not be late to the Radcliffs’. I should very much like some pudding.”

Elizabeth met his eyes as he made his final farewell and doffed his hat once more. Amusement and perhaps even pleasure shone in his eyes, and when her gaze dropped to his mouth, she found his lips curved with pleasure.

She felt certain of it. He enjoyed her company. He must, for he kept coming back.

She waved farewell and passed through the gate. She ran all the way to the house, slipped up the stairs, and found the warm water Anna had brought for her. She meant to hurry through her morning toilet and return to her books. If Mrs. Radcliff had gone to such trouble over the refreshments she meant to serve at tea, she would probably expect them to spend the morning in conversation.

It was already October 12. Elizabeth needed answers before the winter solstice, and the thick volumes still awaited her search.

It was exactly as Elizabeth suspected. Mrs. Radcliff was matchmaking, and to her mind, the surest way to a man’s heart was through his stomach.

“Elizabeth, should you and Mr. Darcy make a match, I shall share my famous recipe with you, for it would be impertinent of me to tempt him to your side with this delicious pudding and then deprive him of it once he has made you an offer.”

Elizabeth studied the woman’s face. She spoke in earnest. “Is that how you captured your daughter’s husband, ma’am?”