Page 211 of The Governess of My Heart
“I am certain she will not make the same mistake twice,” he said, recollecting her past.
“Now, you promised to take me to the cliff today; I want to see the sunrise,” she said as it had not yet dawned.
It was the middle of May, and spring had glorified Derbyshire’s beauty. Darcy took Elizabeth on his horse and rode up to the mount near Ashton Park, to the same spot they had met a year ago. He carefully dismounted her from the horse, and they walked hand in hand to the cliff.
“And we stop here,” Darcy said, not wanting to let her near the cliff’s edge.
“Fitzwilliam, please just a little bit closer; I will be cautious,” she said, and Darcy led her closer. Both looked at the falls, and the force and strength of the water resonated so much with the admiration, regard, and passion they felt for each other.
She tried to take a step forward, but Darcy caught her hand.
“Miss, you are dangerously close to the cliff. I would advise you to step back immediately,” he cried.
As for Elizabeth, those words were etched in her memory forever.
“Can you not hear me, madam?” he asked again, pulling her into his arms.
“Of course, I can hear you. Anyone a mile away can hear your commands, I suppose. But I am not someone you can order around. I do not have to obey your commands, sir.”
“Then you leave me no other choice but to punish you in the way you deserve,” he said, kissing her ever so gently. Elizabethbegan to feel dizzy and was very certain of its cause. Darcy immediately noticed her countenance as she struggled to stand.
“Elizabeth, Good Heavens! Are you well?” He cried and helped her steady herself.
“Come now,” he said with worry, walking her away from the cliff.
“I should have never allowed you to stand so close to the edge,” he cried angrily.
“Fitzwilliam, I am well. I felt dizzy, and it is nothing to worry about.”
“You don’t look well, and I have noticed you are not eating at all these days. Georgiana mentioned the same thing the other day during supper. Let us return home; I will send for the doctor.”
“Yes, maybe it is time to send for the doctor,” she said, and her reply startled Darcy as he assumed she would protest.
“You are scaring me; apart from now, how long have you been feeling this way, and why did you not mention it to me? How could you not tell me?” he asked with irritation.
“Do not be angry; I just wanted to make sure that…”
“Make sure of what? You wanted your condition to worsen or for me to find out on my own? You are hurting me so much now, Elizabeth, and you are well aware of that.”
“I wish you would not say that; my current condition should not make you feel distressed, but the opposite.”
Darcy stared at her with confusion, and Elizabeth gently placed his hand on her stomach and looked at him calmly.
Darcy saw her eyes fill with tears, and her face expressed boundless joy.
“Yes, I am unwell and might be so for some months, but I hope you can be happy about it,” she said.
It took an eternity for Darcy to understand what Elizabeth meant; he kept staring at her with his hand on her stomach.
“Elizabeth, are you... are you?”
“You are going to be a father,” she said, her words resonating with the happiness in her eyes.
Without thought, he lifted her and spun around in joy.
“Fitzwilliam, put me down; you are making me dizzy again,” she cried.
Darcy finally let her down, and she laughed in joy.
