Page 111 of Her Whole Heart
At the very minute that a call could be properly made, he was announced over the chiming of the mantle clock, and Elizabeth wondered whether he had been waiting outside so he would not be a moment later. She smiled to herself. It would be very like him.
Jane touched Elizabeth’s arm, smiled, and stood, moving to sit next to Amelia and leaving Elizabeth alone on the settee.
Lady Carlisle asked her butler to show Mr. Darcy in, and suddenly, there he was, filling the doorway, tall, broad, handsome. He greeted them all and was invited inside.
He sat next to Elizabeth.
“Good day, Mr. Darcy.”
“Good day, Miss Elizabeth. I hope you are well?”
“I am, sir. And you?”
To this commonplace he did not respond. “Miss Elizabeth,” he said softly, “I returned from Longbourn yesterday.”
Although she had considered that he might make the trip, given his statement upon leaving her, she had dismissed the notion as too fanciful to be true.
“Why?”
Mr. Darcy took her hand in his, his touch gentle and reassuring. “I made it clear to your father that I will not stand for the way he has treated you. I informed him that neither he nor your mother are to bother you again and that they are not to presume upon you unless you have agreed to it beforehand.”
Elizabeth sat silently for a time. Her plan had been not to write, to allow her parents to come to this conclusion gradually, and she did not believe her mother would take such forceful direction well. There would be more letters. But to have such a champion? It was worth a hundred letters from Mamma, for indeed, she need not read any of them.
He appeared concerned when she did not immediately respond and addressed Jane while he waited. “I am afraid that my visit may only mean that you will be receiving more correspondence from your parents, Miss Bennet.”
“That is quite all right, Mr. Darcy,” Jane said sweetly. “Mr. Bingley and Lord Carlisle have already agreed that any post from Longbourn will not be accepted. My sisters may correspond with me through my uncle and aunt here in town if they are of a mind to do so.”
Elizabeth nodded. “And me, though I suspect they will each of them write to Jane first.”
Mr. Darcy still held her hand and he glanced at her guiltily. “I felt a strong response was warranted, but your father was unmoved. He is counting on your sister to help them.”
“He will have to manage his disappointment,” Jane replied. “For I shall have my own family to think of.”
“You went to Longbourn.” Elizabeth could not tell how this made her feel, precisely, though she knew she liked that he had done it.
He nodded seriously. “I did. I could not bear to see you so hurt. Not again. I beg of you, what else would you have me do?”
Her laugh was teary. “I am not angry, Mr. Darcy. I am grateful to have someone in my life who would protect me so vigorously. It is a four-hour ride to Longbourn. You must have been on a horse all day yesterday.”
Mr. Darcy chuckled self-consciously. “I left not long after I met you here. The inn in Meryton was reasonably comfortable, and it allowed me to visit with your father early in the morning.”
Her heart pounded wildly. He had left London the same day? Borne the discomforts of an unfamiliar inn all so that he might defend her more expeditiously? “Before my mother and sisters were awake,” Elizabeth said knowingly. “Well done, sir.”
“I will require your forgiveness one more time, however.” Mr. Darcy’s expression was not guilty now—it was boyish and mischievous.
“And why is that, Mr. Darcy?” Elizabeth inquired.
“I told your father I was going to marry you before I asked you whether you will have me.” He glanced over at Lady Carlisle, and bless her, the woman stood, cast a meaningful glance at first Amelia, then Jane, and swept out of the room. Amelia’s smile was a broad one, Jane’s more demure, but they said nothing, merely followed in Lady Carlisle’s wake.
“My goodness, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth said, impressed. “You do know how to clear a room.”
Mr. Darcy smiled and lifted her hand to his lips.
Elizabeth closed her eyes, for the sensation was exquisite.
“Miss Elizabeth,” he said, his voice low, fervent. “My feelings for you are not merely those of a friend. They are beyond mere admiration. I love you most ardently. When my mistake caused you to suffer so grievously—”
“There was far more to my suffering than your mistake, sir.”
