Page 29 of Saved By Mr. Darcy
“I… Forgive me, sir. What a fool you must think me, to be so startled by a chair.”
Mr Darcy shook his head, his eyes locked on hers. She saw such concern there that took her breath away; she knew him now to be a man who was capable of sympathy, yet she was taken aback by his empathy towards her.
“I am the fool. I should have taken more care. Please, take Miss Elizabeth back to her room at once. She must rest.”
“No! No, I cannot…I cannot bear to be alone there. Not again, a prisoner of my own body. Would you stay with me, Mr Darcy? Would you take me to the library, perhaps? I shall be fine. I am not accustomed to loud noises since…since the accident, and it brought back terrible memories.”
He hesitated, his eyes darting around the room for someone who might protest. The servants busied themselves in picking up the chair, two men for the task seeming a little excessive. Lizzy knew full well that servants liked nothing better than to listen and to gossip about what they had heard. Proper protocol had been forgotten in her time at Pemberley, she knew that – and, in the back of her mind, she knew that her reputation would be tarnished if they knew of how much time she had spent alone with Mr Darcy.
And yet, she did not care.
“I have a gift for you, Miss Elizabeth, that has just arrived. If you would be so good as to stay here, just for a moment or two, there will be no need to move you on the chaise.”
“I do not understand.”
“A moment, please.”
She nodded, watching as Mr Darcy left the room. She wondered what this gift would be, and what else he could possibly give her. She closed her eyes, waiting for her breathing to return to normal. She felt shaken to her very core by the sudden flash of the past.
“Miss Elizabeth.”
She was roused by the sound of his voice, and realised with horror that she had fallen asleep in the brief moment he had left her.
“I am sorry. I did not mean to…”
He looked at her, his eyes fixed on her as he seemed to take her in. What must he think of her? Did he pity her, this creature who could not stay awake for more than a few moments?
“You should rest,” he said eventually. “I would not exhaust you further.”
She shook her head, her natural curiosity outweighing any desire she had for rest.
“I must confess, Mr Darcy, that I have always been greedy for presents.”
He smiled, the slightest upwards tweak of his lip.
“Very well. Here.”
He gestured behind him to where a footman pushed a chair. It was a rich mahogany brown, the back woven with wicker. There were two large wheels on either side. It was unlike the Bath chairs she had seen before, for it lacked the large third wheel at the front. This chair looked as though it had been made according to her requirements; the seat was deep, the back high and supportive. She would be able to sit quite comfortably within it, for there was plenty of room for her leg to be stretched out before her and resting in the footplates.
“I don’t understand.”
“It is a Bath chair. The footplates can be individually adjusted so that your leg may remain straight in front of you.”
“I know what it is, I have seen them before, but…this one looks as if it were made just for me. I have never seen one as fine as this.”
“I had it designed according to specifications provided to me by the doctor.”
She knew that such fine workmanship completed to order would cost more than her pin money for years and years. She wastouched by the gesture, touched by the thought he went to such effort to make her recovery a little easier.
“Mr Darcy, it is too much! I cannot accept…”
“It is nothing. You deserve some freedom during your visit here, and I hope that this small gesture will help you to regain some independence. It will need to be pushed by another, I am afraid, but you need not be moved so inelegantly as you have been.”
“It is a beautiful thing. Thank you! Truly, I thank you for all you have done.”
“I would do anything for you, Miss Elizabeth,” he muttered softly, his eyes meeting hers. “I…”
“Brother!” Georgiana’s voice called. “I cannot find my favourite whip, have you taken it again?”
