The butler walked through the door and said, “Young Jones has returned and is awaiting you in Mr. Hamilton’s library.”
“Excuse me, Miss Bennet. We will know shortly if we are to be off.”
Taking a final sip of her tea, she too walked out of the room and up the stairs to her chambers.
* * *
“Mr. Darcy, what a lovely day. I thank you for making it your duty to see to my entertainment.” Miss Elizabeth smiled as she clasped her hands behind her back and walked alongside him toward the house. Sarah followed behind.
“Well, Miss Bennet, since we are detained at Ashby Park for another day, I know how you enjoy roaming the countryside.” He took her gloved hand and helped her over the stile then tucked it in his arm.
“That I do, sir. I cannot help but think how beautiful nature is and how lucky we are to be enjoying it.” A light breeze lifted a loose curl at her neck and he wondered what it would feel like between his fingers. At that moment, a flock of geese rose from the pond behind them and flew overhead. “Breathtaking.”
“I agree,” he said before he could stop himself.
“I believe there is a primitiveness in nature which does not adhere to the dictates of society…which I find refreshing.”
“Go on.”
“I wonder what our lives would be like if society’s expectations did not force us into roles we might not want to follow.”
“Such as?”
“Such as daughters, wives, and mothers. What if I wished to be an actress, or write books, or even never marry? Yet, those are not things a woman can contemplate. For example, without a husband, women have nothing. We are at the mercy of the stronger sex.”
“But marriage is an honorable institution. Even you can regard it as such.”
“Yes,” she said thoughtfully. “I can. I do. But it is unfortunate that women go from their father’s home to that of another keeper. And hopefully to a home with affection.”
“Yes, affection,” he said moving his gaze from her to the meadows stretching before them. “It is unfortunate that in our society many marriages are made more for financial gain and connection than true affection.”
“Yes, it is.” She sighed. Seeming to want to rally their maudlin spirits, she said, “Isn’t it fortunate that you will gain both society’s expectations and personal affection from your own union?”
He walked with his hands behind his back and said almost too quickly, “Yes, yes, Miss Bennet. Fortuitous indeed.”
* * *
He leanedhis head back on the sofa in Hamilton’s library as the clock chimed two in the morning. He could not rest upstairs knowing she was asleep but three doors away from his own room. Though there was nowhere he would rather have been, to be so close to her all day long, yet not have any chance to win her had been a sweet torture.Elizabeth. He swallowed the amber liquid and relished the burn down his throat.She is the stuff dreams are made of. Taking another drink, his thoughts continued to ramble.Oh, Prospero. I have a Tempest in my soul, and must only wait out the storm until it passes and I can go on with my life.
He was in a certain state of undress having removed his cravat and jacket. He sighed, resting his face in his hands. “But why? Why Mother, what did you hope to accomplish?” He looked up at the ceiling while once again laying back against the sofa. “I could very well love this woman. A part of me already does. But there is Anne. Would that I could declare myself,” he said, shaking his head. “She speaks of love. Of affection. I could give her that and so much more. But she will never know and nor will I. My dearest, loveliest Elizabeth!” He took the last swallow of his glass and rested it next to him, gathering up his coat and cravat as he stood.I must be off to bed, for tomorrow this imaginary world will end and I will wake and accompany her home.He blew out the candles, put the screen up in front of the fire, and attributed the fleeting shadow by the door to the dancing flames.
Lizzy had awokenfrom a restless sleep and unable to return to the Land of Nod, she determined it would do her well to retrieve a book from the library to calm her mind. Seeing Mr. Darcy alone and in partial dishabille, she turned to depart, not wishing to interrupt his solitude. However, she could not bring herself to leave. Having never seen a man’s bare neck before, she was mesmerized—the rise and fall of his chest, his muscular form beneath the fine lawn shirt, the slow roll of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed... By the time all lessons of propriety returned, it was too late.
Like a priest, she had heard his confession, yet was at a loss.Can he be in earnest?
As she darted up the stairs and down the hallway, she did not stop until she reached her own room.Mr. Darcy admires me! How is that possible?Her breath was rapid as she placed her hand on her chest in an attempt to calm her racing heart.Fate is a fickle being. My heart is uncertain but I must hie to my bed and pray Mr. Darcy awakens without the dew from Puck upon his eyes.“For if he looks with affection upon me,” she whispered, “I would hardly know how to respond.”
She held her breath as the steps stopped in front of her room for a moment, then continued on, ending only with the opening and closing of his door.
I must ease my thoughts. This will not do. If I wait for another quarter of an hour at least, Mr. Darcy will be asleep and I can peruse Mr. Hamilton’s library.
She continued to walk about her room, stopping once to draw back the curtains and look outside at the moon peeking through the clouds. The beauty of nature made her pause once again and consider her earlier conversation with Mr. Darcy.If I only had freedom, the true freedom to do as I wished.She looked at the clock again, nodded to herself that enough time had passed, and deftly exited her room for the library.
Darcy did not callfor the footman to act as valet when he finally made it to his room a little after two. As he readied himself for bed and added a log to the dwindling fire, his thoughts were full of a pair of fine eyes and a beautifully formed, impertinent mouth.Anne. This is unfair to her. Elizabeth… Stop it, man! Miss Bennet is a wonderful woman who will make Hamilton a good wife. Though she has no dowry to speak of, her family’s manners are atrocious, and she would never be accepted within society. And, there is Anne!He thought again of his cousin and then his aunt Catherine. Darcy shuddered as the visage of his aunt came across his mind.
I will never forget the day my mother died. I died too, that day. Had Mother not had that letter drawn up for me to marry Anne, my life would be so much different now. I would be my own master, able to court Elizabeth Bennet if I so wished. But…He sighed.I will not go against the dying wishes of my mother. I only wish she had spoken to me about it and not left it to Aunt Catherine. Or even allowed Father to know of the details.He smiled at the memory of his father who had been gone these five years. Reaching for his father’s watch, he realized he must have left it in the library. As the clock chimed three-quarters passed the hour, Darcy slipped back into his breeches and quietly left his room to retrieve his treasure.
Lizzy had almost decidedon a book when she looked down and noticed a beautiful, gold watch resting on the table by a half empty glass. She picked it up and inspected the treasure. An ornate engraving of a majestic home facing a lake was on the front of the time piece. She opened the watch to find the inside engraved with the words:
