Page 70 of Penned By Mr Darcy
“Still. I believe it takes great courage to stand before an armed man and not be afraid.”
“I was afraid,” Lizzy yawned. “But I was angry, more than anything. Such people that exist in the world, Jane. I am glad that we have not been exposed to wider society, if that is what it harbours.”
“I am sure Mr Wickham is nothing but an anomaly. Mr Darcy was very worried about you, you know.”
“Was he?”
“He could not stop looking at you. He worried only for your welfare, and our reputation. He gave the constable a great deal of money, you know.”
“I know.”
“He loves you very much, Lizzy.”
“I think I know that too,” she whispered.
∞∞∞
The day of the ball arrived, and Elizabeth felt lighter than she had in weeks. There was no burden to carry, only the promise of joy. She was not sure when her feelings for Mr Darcy had shifted so greatly; she was only certain that there had been a change. When she thought of him now, she did so with fondness – and near constantly, for she found herself often distracted, consumed in the memory of her lips against his, the feeling of his hair beneath her fingertips, the pressure of his touch on her waist…
How pleasant that encounter had been before it had all fallen apart.
She wished to repeat such an embrace as often and as enthusiastically as she could. Though, perhaps her wish was a foolish one. She had not heard from Mr Darcy since the day of the terrible encounter with Mr Wickham. She did not feel disappointed, for she understood he probably had much to occupy his mind. She had been consumed by it, barely speaking to another soul for two days, before she had begun to recover herself.
Her greatest hope was that Mr Darcy had remained at Netherfield, and that he would be there tonight.
“Lizzy!”
She was jolted from her day dream with a sound shove and call of her name from Lydia. She blinked, brought back to reality. Lydia loomed in front of her, her hair pinned in rags.
“What?!” Lizzy asked irritably. “You do not need to scream at me so!”
“Apparently I do, for I have been calling your name for ages and you did not reply! Then I had to come all the way here, and you were in a terrible sort of…I don’t know, you weren’t blinking or moving! I thought for a moment you were dead!”
“Do not exaggerate. What is it that you needed me for so desperately?”
“You promised me your gloves.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll get them.”
“You never went, by the way.”
“I’m sorry?”
“To meet Wickham. I was going to follow you, but you returned home from your outing with Jane and never left the house again. What was the point of the letter?”
“It was not needed in the end.”
“Will you ever tell me what all that was about?”
“Perhaps when you are older.”
Lydia sighed dramatically.
“I shall never be able to wait that long.”
“I am sure you will forget all about Mr Wickham soon enough. You won’t be seeing him again; he is gone from Hertfordshire.
“Oh well,” Lydia sighed, “Mr Denny is just as charming.”
