“I have observed how damaging a lack of respect and communication is in a marriage, and it is my intention to understand you so that we might at least become friends.” She twisted her hands together.
A small voice in his rational mind had feared she might wish to live separate lives—to reside in London, with a large allowance and all the city’s entertainments to spend it on, while he returned to Pemberley. It was what most ladies in society arranged.
Elizabeth was different, and his heart leapt with this confirmation of it. “What do you wish to know? You may ask me anything.”
She arched her brow. “Anything?”
The impertinent minx! He met her bold look. “I am not one to retract an offer once it is made.”
“Checkmate, Mr. Darcy. I cannot argue against that. Very well… anything.” She tapped her fingers against her chin and glanced askance at him, increasing Darcy’s suspense.
When he thought he could hold his breath no longer, she said, “I would like to hear of your childhood at Pemberley. Did you ever get into mischief?”
Relief added volume to his laugh. If only she knew half the antics he and his cousins practiced! “Quite often.”
She narrowed her eyes in disbelief, rousing Darcy’s determination to prove he was more than she presumed him to be. “My father claimed he had no gray hair before I was born.”
“I take it he had only a light dusting of gray, perhaps at his temples?”
She had guessed correctly, but Darcy would be the last to admit it. “He called me to his study at least once a week.”
“On whose authority am I to believe such a claim?”
“Certainly not my own,” Darcy teased in turn. “If Richard were here—he is my cousin, dear friend, and fellow conspirator in mayhem—he would describe some of our exploits with alacrity.”
She smiled. “I think I will like this cousin of yours.”
“Five minutes in your company will be enough to secure his loyal friendship.”
“That is either a compliment of my character or a criticism of his.”
“Oh, I never speak ill of my relations.”
“No, that is a condescension best saved for strangers at an assembly.” Elizabeth looked as though she regretted the jab as soon as it crossed her tongue.
Darcy would have none of it. Hehadbehaved abominably, and he enjoyed her teasing too much to allow it to end. “I made you feel the brunt of my ill-temper that evening, and for that I must beg your pardon. My mother would have chastised me thoroughly, and my father would have lost no time summoning me to his study for a well-deserved lashing.”
She fiddled her fingers and chewed on her lip. After several moments of hesitation, she said, “It is a rare father who holds his own son to such a high standard. Did he not require the same of all the children in his household?”
Wickham. Father had entrusted his steward to discipline and guide his own son, and Wickham was deceptively sly.
Clenching his jaw, he looked her in the eyes. “My behavior gave you an unfavorable impression, and I pray you would please forgive me. You have had little reason not to believe the worst of me, especially in contrast with one whose manners are designed to charm and flatter.” He did not want to speak any more of Wickham, but he wanted—no, needed—to know if Elizabeth still believed that man’s slanderous lies.
She spoke slowly. “You said that there was much more to your history with him.”
Pressure built up inside Darcy. If she required the whole truth now, he would tell her.
He felt her fingers brush against the forearm of his coat. “Mr. Darcy, I am not a person for whom patience comes easily, but I shall not force your confidence. Trust takes time. I shall wait until I have earned yours.”
Darcy whooshed an exhale of intense relief.
She continued walking, and Darcy kept pace, his step lighter.
“I shall accept your apology on one condition,” she turned to him, her serious face contrasting with the devilish gleam in her eyes.
It took Darcy a moment to recall what he had apologized for. He tensed, dreading that she would attempt to take advantage of his generosity, as so many others had done. He so badly wished her to be different!
“All will be forgiven,” she continued, “if you tell me about your sister.”
