Page 77 of Her Whole Heart
“First, do you enjoy the opera?”
“I have never been, Mr. Darcy, but I believe I would like to attend.”
“I have secured a box for Friday’s performance and would be glad to invite your party to join us.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Very well. I shall inquire whether Lady Carlisle has plans.”
“And offer her and the earl an invitation to dine with us after, if you would.”
Elizabeth shook her head at him. “Very well, Mr. Darcy.”
“Thank you. Next,” Mr. Darcy said, his dark eyes boring into her own, “I should like to request either the first or the supper set at Lady Morgan’s ball. With all the male attention you attract and this extraordinary new gown you will be wearing, I am sure to have a great deal of competition for your hand that night.”
None of the men meant anything to her. They were not serious suitors, so Mr. Darcy had nothing to worry about. Still, it was nice that he had noticed.
“My goodness,” Elizabeth said, teasing him to hide how flustered his gaze made her. “Such an early request for a dance. Have we moved on from calling to courting so quickly, Mr. Darcy?”
He smiled, a full, devastating smile that made Elizabeth’s heart race. “I have called, and you admitted you need time to know me better. I am simply arranging our opportunities.”
“What if I decide I do not wish to partake in these opportunities?” Elizabeth asked, just to see what he would say.
“Then I would be disappointed,” Mr. Darcy confessed, his voice dropping into a deeper timbre. “But I am a gentleman, Miss Elizabeth. I will behave as one.”
He meant, she knew, that should she decide against him, he would accept it. But something inside her said refusing him would be a mistake.
It was a serious thing to face a decision so momentous that it might very well determine the way in which one spent the rest of one’s life, and Elizabeth attempted to dry her suddenly damp hands on her skirt without Mr. Darcy noticing.
He held out his hand, and she slid her own into it without thinking.
“Do not be nervous,” he said. “Let us focus on the opera, for now. We can speak of the ball later.” He waited for her to nod before moving on. “Finally, my sister would very much like to be a part of Miss Torrington’s salon and I promised I would consider it. Do you think it an appropriate setting for her? She is more confident than I have yet seen her, but she is still only fifteen.”
Elizabeth relaxed. Here was something she was comfortable with, and it did not escape her that he was consulting her opinion about his own sister. “Oh, you might better apply to Miss Torrington for that,” Elizabeth said. “But I do believe she means this to be a small, intimate salon. Georgiana ought to be quite safe, though I should warn you that I may return her to you with a great many new and unorthodox sentiments.”
Mr. Darcy nodded, his eyes twinkling. “I am not afraid of you.”
Elizabeth laughed quietly. “Nor would I have you be.”
“As you suggest, I will confirm with Miss Torrington that it is to be a more intimate event with friends. I will of course attend if Georgiana does, but I suspect she will wish to spend most of her time with you. Is that something to which you would be amenable?”
“Of course,” Elizabeth assured him. “Your sister is bright and eager. She is a pleasure.”
“Until I mention that a fifteen-year-old might not be old enough to do something she wishes to do.” Mr. Darcy was nearly grumbling here, and it put Elizabeth more at ease.
“I think you have done splendidly with her. And believe me, the moment you have departed and cannot hear her, she is full of compliments about her brother.”
Mr. Darcy smiled ruefully. “I am relieved to hear it. I fear, at times, that I am the ogre in all her stories.”
“No,” Elizabeth said emphatically. “You are quite her hero.”
Her suitor blushed, and Elizabeth thought that perhaps he washerhero too.
Darcy was pleased and proud to lead a rather august set of people through the rotunda to the box at the opera house with Miss Elizabeth on his arm. It was good to be open about courting her, and he believed he had an excellent chance of winning her. But he could not be sanguine. She was forever surprising him. Thus far, the surprises had been good ones, but he could not necessarily count on them to always be so.
She was lovely in a fashionable gown that somehow implied her figure rather than openly displayed it. She was like a gift that had been exquisitely wrapped, and he had a difficult time taking his eyes from her. When they arrived at his box, he stepped aside and allowed the others to precede him but kept Miss Elizabeth on his arm. He glanced down at her as Lord and Lady Carlisle, Lord and Lady Ashford, Milton, Fitz, Miss Bennet, and Miss Hamilton all filed past and began to take their seats in one of the three rows.
When Darcy and Miss Elizabeth entered, the middle row was the only one remaining. His cousins and the unmarried ladies were in the top row and his titled guests—the Carlisles and the Ashfords—at the bottom near the railing. Darcy led her to the centre of the row and helped her sit before taking the chair next to her.
As the orchestra began to play, Darcy could not help but notice out of the corner of his eye that Elizabeth was stealing glances at him. He dared not hint that he saw her doing so but thought ita good sign.
