The first course was taken away and it was time to carve a slice of meat for his dining partner.
“Would you like some, Miss Elizabeth?”
“Yes, please.”
She looked at him strangely, watching his every move.Did she feel it, too?This pull towards him that he felt towards her?That he had been feeling towards her since the first time he heard her speak?
“Are you well, Mr.Darcy?”she asked quietly.
“Yes, perfectly well, Miss Elizabeth.Why would you think otherwise?”
“You seem…”
“I seem what?”
Energized.Excited.About to burst.She said none of those things.“Nothing.”She smiled and ate her dinner, cutting each bite into precise squares.
Darcy watched her in awe, feeling oddly privileged that he would get to live his life alongside this magnificent creature.He had always been proud of his position in life, of his ability to manage his estate and his affairs, of his family and his name.He had never thought of his wife as someone to be proud of.Not to say he had thought he would be ashamed of her, but he had simply never thought of pride and his soulmate at the same time.His soulmate simply was.He was neither proud nor ashamed.
Now, watching Elizabeth Bennet make eating roast beef look like the most graceful dance, he rethought that notion.He was incredibly proud.Of her, of the fact that Fate had chosen him—out of all the men she could have chosen—to be the husband of Elizabeth Bennet.It was a very great honor, and he was humbled and awed.
“Mr.Darcy?”
He startled.“Yes?”
“Sir,” Elizabeth spoke quietly, “is aught amiss?”
“No.”
“You are staring.”
“I am?”
“Yes.”
“What was I staring at?”
She shifted her eyes away.“At me.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, oh.”
He felt his face heating.“Forgive me, my dear.”He took a sip of wine, then noticed Elizabeth looking at him with a shocked expression.“What?I am not staring now.”
She looked around the table and ensured the others were busy talking amongst themselves, then said, “You called me dear.”
“I did?When?”
“Just now.”
She was becoming frustrated and he found it adorable.It must be the effect of the mark.He had never felt so moonish in his life.
“Why are you smiling?”she hissed.
“You are lovely when you’re agitated.”
She gasped, then clenched her teeth together, her cheeks flushing.
