Page 96 of Her Whole Heart
“Let me take this moment, then, to say thank you,” Lady Henrietta said softly. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“Lizzy?” Jane called from the direction of the door. “Are you in here?”
Elizabeth shut her eyes. She only wanted a few moments to recover. Was that so much to ask? Though to be fair, Jane did not know that Lady Henrietta was here, and Elizabeth had no idea how long they had been shut up together.
She stood. “I am here, Jane.”
Jane opened the door wider, and she saw that Mr. Darcy was behind her, holding a lit candle.
“I am not ready to speak to you, Mr. Darcy.”
Lady Henrietta stood. “I should go.”
“Henrietta?” Mr. Darcy inquired.
Elizabeth had never heard him call his cousin anything but Lady Henrietta before.
“What are you doing here? Did you follow Miss Elizabeth into this room?” He strode inside, and Elizabeth feared he might launch into some sort of protective diatribe.
“In point of fact, Lady Henrietta was here first. I intruded upon her privacy, not the reverse.”
Mr. Darcy’s brows pinched together, and Elizabeth sympathized. She too was confused about the way many things had been unveiled this evening.
Lady Henrietta nodded to her and made for the door.
“I understand that you do not wish to speak to me,” Mr. Darcy said to Elizabeth before his cousin had exited. “But I hope you will allow me to say just a few things before you leave the ball.”
Elizabeth glanced at Jane, seeking her counsel in the same way that Jane had sought hers earlier. Jane nodded.
“Very well then,” she said, and resumed her seat. Mr. Darcy took the chair Lady Henrietta had vacated.
“Miss Elizabeth, the earl summoned me to Carlisle House after the Ashfords' ball.”
He paused and Elizabeth nodded.
“He raked me over the coals for having been uncivil to you, and insisted I make up for it by in turn being friendly to you, just amiable enough that others would either not believe the gossip about my insult or would think that I had said it mistakenly.”
Did he believe hearing the details would make this any less humiliating?
“I am not explaining this well, but please believe me—while I did as Lord Carlisle asked, at first, it was not long before I witnessed your generosity, your compassion, and yes, your bravery. I felt that something changed between us in the carriage at Hyde Park, and by the time I asked to call on you, I had quite forgotten the earl’s instructions. My request was real, Miss Elizabeth, and what we felt here this evening, that was true. Is still true, for me. If you do not believe anything else I am saying, I beg of you—believe that.”
Elizabeth felt as though she could crawl into bed and sleep for a hundred years. For so long she had been required to keep her emotions under strict regulation, and all the extra weight of the evening had exhausted her. Mr. Darcy’s confession was all mixed in with Lady Penelope’s vitriol and Lady Henrietta’s change in behaviour. Added to all of that, the way the fire and the monies that had come after had entirely changed her life and led her here. It was too much.
“I will think on what you have said, sir,” was all she could manage.
Mr. Darcy’s shoulders drooped, but he nodded and stood. “Thank you for hearing me out. I must warn you, however, of something else.”
Jane came to take his place in the seat across from her and Elizabeth glanced up to see Lady Henrietta still standing at the door. Mr. Darcy must have followed her gaze.
“I thought you were leaving,” Mr. Darcy said sternly.
“I was,” his cousin said, “but Penelope is outside.”
“Why would that keep you here? She is your great friend, is she not?”
“I . . .” Lady Henrietta looked back at Elizabeth. “I do not think so.”
Mr. Darcy glanced back at Elizabeth questioningly, but she shook her head. “It is complicated, and I do not have the wherewithal to explain just now.”
