Page 48 of Her Whole Heart
She had experienced terrible dreams twice more since the incident, but she felt inexplicably steadied by the thought of him so near.
“Please inform Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy that we shall join them directly,” she replied. As the maid withdrew, she stood. “I suspect I know Mr. Darcy’s purpose in calling.”
Jane frowned. “Lizzy, are you certain it is wise to see him so soon after the incident in the street? Perhapsanother week . . .”
Elizabeth brushed her hands down her skirt. She had informed Jane how everything had happened, including how Mr. Darcy had held her. She had not told Jane how it had made her feel.
“Lady Carlisle is in. She would have told the gentlemen we were not at home had she not felt enough time had passed.” There had been a good deal of gossip, but Lady Carlisle had been in her element as she armed her own highly placed friends with the true story and sent them out to spread it. Lady Henrietta was not portrayed in a friendly light. “I suspect Mr. Darcy’s concern is for his sister, not me, and she is a sweet girl whom I wish to introduce to our little circle. I think a few unselfish friends might do her a world of good.”
Mr. Darcy rose from his seat upon their entrance, his commanding figure creating an imposing silhouette against the grey light streaming in through the windows. Lady Carlisle and Amelia smiled at her and picked up their sewing.
“Mr. Bingley,” Jane said from behind her, sounding pleased and shy.
“Miss Bennet,” he greeted her. The pair moved quickly to a corner of the room to speak to one another with some semblance of privacy.
Elizabeth watched the couple as they retreated. Mr. Bingley held out a card with pink ribbon and lace—she had forgotten it was Valentine’s Day but was pleased Mr. Bingley had recalled.
Mr. Darcy cleared his throat softly. “I took advantage of Bingley’s plans to attend Miss Bennet. I hope you do not mind.”
“Not at all.”
“My friend seems enamoured of your sister,” Mr. Darcy said. “I admit that I have not been paying him much attention, so I was surprised to learn he had been here so often.”
He came every Thursday, but also on Tuesdays, now. Lady Carlisle had assigned two maids and a footman to be near when she was out.
“You have no need to worry for him,” Elizabeth said, ready to take offence on her sister’s behalf.
“I meant nothing by it, Miss Elizabeth,” he told her. “Bingley is a good man, and your sister is a good match for him.”
Suddenly Elizabeth was feeling contrary. Had he come just to inspect her sister? “Because she is a gentleman’s daughter with a fortune, Mr. Darcy?”
“Because Bingley is stalwart, Miss Elizabeth, but he is also a gentle man. He requires an intelligent, pleasant, kind wife. I do not know her well, I admit, but I think them well suited.”
Elizabeth’s cheeks grew warm, embarrassed that she had misjudged him, but if she was blushing, Mr. Darcy did not mention it. Instead, he drew in a deep breath.
“I came today for three reasons. First, to inquire as to your health.”
“I am well, Mr. Darcy.”
His gaze was sombre, and she wondered whether he saw through her still.
Eventually, he moved on. “I wish to again convey my profound gratitude for your swift action the other day. Georgiana is younger than me by more than ten years—she is nearly as much a daughter to me as a sister, and she is all that remains of my family. To give you my thanks is inadequate, I know, but you have them nonetheless.” He cleared his throat. “And then, as I was thinking of all I owed you, it occurred to me that while I called on Lord Carlisle after my terrible insult at the Ashfords' ball, I never offered my regrets directly to you. I am both dreadfully sorry for that ungentlemanly utterance and the fact that my request for pardon has come a month late.”
"I beg you not to dwell on obligations where none are required," she replied. “The insult, while not forgotten, has been long set aside. I will be impertinent now and say that because I knew you so little, your words caused no lasting wound.” She offered him alittle smile.
His expressive brows furrowed, his chin dipped, and the corner of his mouth turned up before he replied in a gentle tone, “The fact that you rightly gave my ridiculous words little credence does not excuse my speaking them.” He lifted a hand as though he would run it through his hair but stopped himself in time. “I had not realised how much being in town for a proper season at last would feel so much like . . .” He frowned. “I did not visit today to tell you of my troubles.”
“I would not make you uncomfortable, but I would be happy to listen. Hearing of your troubles might help distract me from my own,” Elizabeth said quietly.
She glanced at Jane and Bingley, happily chatting about the card he had brought her while Lady Carlisle and Miss Hamilton remained unnaturally attentive to their sewing. Elizabeth strolled to a window in the corner opposite from Jane and Mr. Bingley, leaving her chaperones in the centre of the room. Mr. Darcy followed.
They stood together for a time, observing the garden. There was nothing much to see this time of year.
“It is the first time I have been in town for more than six weeks since my father’s death,” Mr. Darcy said. “In fact, I received the message alerting me to his accident while I was at the boarding house in Middlesex. The one where my cousin was recovering after the fire at Mrs. Buxton’s?” He waited for her to nod before continuing. “I had been in London, so was managing Lady Henrietta’s care until her father could arrive.” He clasped his hands behind his back.
This was unexpected. They had been in the same building for a time, years before. “Did you happen to see Jane or my father there?”
Darcy blinked. There had only been three girls remaining when he had arrived, two of them injured and a sister. The other girl’s family was in residence, and once he had been assured that the other girl's family wasin residence, he had not enquired further. “I believe I did see them, in passing. Miss Bennet was tending you and came to take your father upstairs. Were you badly injured?”
