Page 1 of Saved By Mr. Darcy
Prologue
Derbyshire seemed to be all that her aunt and uncle had promised it would be. The scenery was very fine indeed; the rolling green hills and great stone crags as strange to her as if she were in another world entirely. The flat expanses of Hertfordshire felt a thousand miles away as the carriage trundled through the countryside. There were no houses in sight, and she wondered how far they were from another soul. She relished solitude; how wonderful it would be, she thought, to sit on a rock beneath the sunshine with a book, basking as happily as some little creature in the sun.
And then, unbidden, she wondered what it would be like to lie back, not against the hard stone, but against the warm, welcoming body of someone else. To be cradled by strong arms and to feel the hard planes of his chest against her back…She inhaled sharply, swallowing hard as she willed the terrible thought to go away. She did not want that. Not at all.
“What are you thinking of, my dear?” Aunt Gardiner asked. “You are daydreaming.”
Elizabeth’s eyes snapped towards her aunt, brought back to reality at once. Her aunt looked at her warmly, her smileexpectant as she awaited an answer. Lizzy willed herself to speak, to answer as though there was nothing at all wrong. Really, she was quite alright; save for the terrible, nagging doubt that had tugged at her for these past months. Away from Kent and Hertfordshire, away from the noise of her sisters, she had finally had a chance to think.
“It is beautiful,” she said, silencing the racing thoughts in her mind and instead choosing a pleasantry that would not betray her torment. “There is so much to see.”
“It is a shame we must see most of it from the inside of a coach,” Aunt Gardiner said. “When I was a girl, my father would sit me on the back of his cart as he travelled from village to village. The fresh air whipping around us, the birdsong as loud as the clatter of the horse’s hooves. I would jump off as I pleased, taking myself away to explore. Oh, it was a wonderful place to grow up.”
“I did not think you so wild, Aunt!”
Her aunt chuckled, shaking her head.
“My wildness is long gone now, but I am certainly glad to be home.”
“Where are we now?”
“Time was, Lizzy, I could tell you every rock and stone,” Aunt Gardiner sighed. “Now, I am not so sure. Though I believe we must be nearing Pemberley; look there, can you see the Darcy crest?”
Lizzy’s head snapped towards the window. There was a fence post to their right, the small crest nailed to the wood marking the beginning of the vast swathes of land Mr Darcy apparently owned. The crest was faded, the paintwork dull. How far outwere they, that this sign received such little care? It seemed most unlike Mr Darcy to let such things escape his keen eye for detail.
“Oh. Are we far from Matlock?”
“Yes, but Lizzy! We cannot simply pass through without visiting! Such a fine place, I truly have never seen a house so fine in all my years. We are so close that it would be a terrible shame to miss the opportunity.”
“No!” Elizabeth said, a sudden vigour to her voice that stirred her uncle from his slumber. “I mean…must we? You must be eager to reach the inn, you look weary.”
Her uncle barely suppressed a snigger, while her aunt threw her hand to her chest in mock outrage.
“Charming! Weary, indeed! It is scarcely midday! Come, Lizzy, what is the matter? It is not like you to be so eager to rest.”
“It is nothing. I just would not like to impose on Mr Darcy.”
“Don’t be silly, Lizzy!” her uncle chortled. “Men like him are not likely to be found at home. He shall be off gallivanting somewhere or other, I am certain. His housekeeper shall be glad of our visit and our coin.”
Lizzy thought privately that she did not think a man like Mr Darcy capable of gallivanting. There was nothing he did not do with the utmost care and consideration. It was a quality she found to be frustrating, for she could see little of that particular quality in herself. In the brief moments she had allowed the man to cross her mind, she wondered if she had not misunderstood him. It did not matter now, for she surely had no desire to see the man again - nor to study his temperament any further.
The carriage rolled onwards towards Pemberley. The trees around them grew thicker, until the road was completely shaded. She watched the flickering shadows on the wall of the coach, wishing that her heart would cease its hammering. He would not be there. How often had he been home in the months she had known him? No, she would not see Mr Darcy today.
Suddenly, there was a noise Elizabeth had never heard before. It was like a dozen horses galloping towards them, the sound getting closer and closer. She could scarcely breathe as it echoed thunderously through her body, the carriage shaking as her vision blurred. She was falling, falling…
And then everything was black.
Chapter One
The sight of Pemberley was always a welcome one. Darcy knew every inch of this land, for it had been his playground as a boy, his livelihood as a man. He made it his business to familiarise himself with not only Pemberley’s vast estate, but the endless countryside surrounding it. If one did not understand the bigger landscape, then what use was understanding Pemberley’s? He was not so naive to believe that he was so important that the world around him did not matter. He strived to educate himself on all things, to make judgements that were honest and fair.
He had been away from Pemberley for far too long. The last time he had been in Derbyshire, he was setting off for London, then Hertfordshire, to help Bingley settle in his new home. What a different man he had been; one untouched by the agony of love. He could scarcely remember the time before Elizabeth Bennet had consumed him, changing the fabric of his very soul. He thought of her constantly, saw her face in his dreams each night. He loved her more than he ever had, he was certain of that, but his pride was sorely wounded.
He stopped at the top of the hill, looking down at Pemberley. He had loved this spot ever since he was a boy; you could seeeverything from here. The puffy cloud-like shape of the sheep in the fields, the glittering water of the lake, the manicured hedges of the gardens, and of course the house itself. His home, spread out before him - large, and at the same time so small that it almost felt like he could pick it up and put it in his pocket, taking Pemberley wherever life led him.
He wasn’t sure when he had become so sentimental, but he felt the anxiety that had been lodged within him since Kent ease slightly. He had sorely missed his home, as well as his sister. Knowing she was just a few minutes away, safe and happy in this place they both loved so much, eased his mind and soothed his soul.
He kicked his heels, bidding his horse onwards. They travelled down the well-worn road. The conditions were poor; Darcy had heard of the recent summer storms that had caused chaos and destruction over much of this part of the world. Clearly little effort had been made to clear the roads, and he would have words with his steward about it. There was a duty of care to maintain the roads on Pemberley land. The amount of debris was dangerous, and a less skilled rider could come to harm.
