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Perhaps now he will be willing to talk.

For his part, William was weighing his options. If he answered a few of Richard’s questions, then he might be able to keep some of his interactions with Elizabeth a secret. “Go ahead! You will not be satisfied until you ask.”

“What happened to leave you in such a state?”

“Elizabeth tried to leave Pemberley last night. I heard her as she ran down the hallway, so I quickly dressed and went after her. Once I was sure she had escaped the house, I knew she must be at the stables. That is the only place she is familiar with on the grounds. I found her inside with the kittens and brought her back here.”

I can hardly believe I slept through anything so remarkable. My army experience has taught me to sleep with one eye open. I cannot imagine how you, Mister Sleeps-like-a-rock, heard someone as light as Elizabeth running down the halls of Pemberley.”

“I was not sleeping. I was reading in my bedchamber.”

Richard walked to the middle of the room, pacing in his interrogator’s posture. “So what of Mrs. Drury? Would she not have heard the door opening? And why would Elizabeth run away in the first place? Did someone scare her?”

“I learned that Mrs. Drury is sick with a cold, and Mrs. Reynolds had given her a draught that made her sleep more soundly. As to why she ran, from the fear in her eyes I believe Elizabeth must have had a nightmare and thought she was escaping Northgate—escaping Stefano.” A look of distaste crossed his features as he repeated that name. “At the stables, I had to convince her that I was not the count.”

“And that is all? She came back with you just as if she had not run from here as though the building were on fire?”

Wearily, William rubbed his eyes, trying to decide how much to tell. He had begun to feel guilty for the way he conducted himself—going in and out of Elizabeth’s room unchecked, kissing her whenever he desired and holding her in his embrace, though she was often only in her nightclothes. His mind recalled the events earlier that evening.

As he neared the house with Elizabeth in his arms, he went to enter the still open door to the library. She cringed, uttering a small sound, and buried her face in his shoulder. Her arms tightened around him, crushing the doll between them. He stopped, clasping her even more securely.

“This is my home, Elizabeth. This is Pemberley. You are safe here. No one can harm you inside these walls. Do you understand?”

When she did not reply, he whispered in her ear, “Look.”

Barely turning her head, she gazed at the familiar façade. “Pemberley,” she repeated.

Blowing out a deep breath, he began walking again. “Yes, Pemberley. My home—your home now.”

She seemed to relax, and he almost regretted that she loosened her grip on him. Continuing through the door, across the room and into the foyer, he encountered Mrs. Reynolds, whom he addressed even as he kept moving. “Please bring your bag of remedies. Miss Lawrence has some injuries to her feet.”

Richard repeated his point. “And once you got Elizabeth back to the house, she entered just as if nothing had happened to make her fly out of here in the first place?”

“Not exactly.”

Richard smiled. “And what exactly does not exactly mean, my friend?”

William groaned, sank into the nearest chair and looked away.

“Oh come on, Darce. You have not been able to keep any secrets from me since you were five, when you lost my favourite whistle. Confession is good for the soul! Besides, nothing you do in regards to Miss Elizabeth would surprise me.”

William glared at him. Seeing his glower, Richard only succeeded in making things worse. “Do not take offence so readily. I am only saying that you have already broken all the rules of propriety where she is concerned.”

Richard held up his hands in surrender as William stood, hands now clenched into fists. “I know you had no choice but to take her in, and I am convinced that you truly care for her. I know that you would never take advantage of the situation, so sit back down, Cousin!”

William did as he was asked—not because of Richard’s request, but because he knew he had taken advantage of Elizabeth’s response to him. It had been like a dream for the woman he loved to welcome his touches, his kisses. Convinced that it had been for her benefit—after all, the doctor said that her recovery depended on her ability to trust in him—he had done everything to strengthen their bond. Thus, he had treated her as though they were betrothed, and praying that when she recovered, she would remember the man he was now and not the arrogant man she rejected in Kent.

A pronouncement interrupted William’s reflections, and he looked up to see Richard smiling from ear to ear. “Do not spare my feelings. Tell ol’ Richard everything!”

William had never been good at keeping things from his cousin, as they had been best friends all his life. Thus, he retold the story of what happened, revealing almost everything.

“I had gone to Elizabeth’s bedroom to check on her.” Richard’s smirk caused him to frown. “That is how I knew she was missing. Providence must have intervened, however, as I felt led to go out onto the balcony and caught sight of her running towards the stables. I have already told you how I found her in a stall with the kittens. She thought I was him.” Richard nodded, no longer smiling.

“The other significant development is that she was once more grasping that doll—the one she brought from Netherfield.” Shaking his head with resignation, William admitted, “But you guessed correctly. When we returned to the house, she was afraid to come in. Just as, at first sight, she believed I was Stefano, I imagine she thought this was Northgate. I had to reassure her that it was Pemberley.”

“I see.”

“I met Mrs. Reynolds as I entered the foyer and learned that she had awakened to check on Mrs. Drury. I explained what had happened and asked her to tend Elizabeth’s feet as soon as she looked in on her companion.”