He laughed. “I do as well. My mother says I am too silent and that I should learn to rattle away as other young men do nowadays.”
Mary giggled. “What did you say to that, sir?”
“I kissed the top of her head and told her I would think about it.”
They walked on, the sound of the brook murmuring beside them.
After a moment, he said, “I know I began poorly with you, but I think you are a very beautiful woman, and I am drawn to your quiet manner. I do not feel the need to ‘rattle away’ to keep you entertained,” he said with a self-conscious smile. “With most young ladies, silence is an awkward thing to be filled at once with chatter. But with you, Miss Bennet, I find it easy to be myself. I feel serenity in your company that I had not known before with women on the marriage mart.”
He paused and turned slightly toward her. “Miss Mary, I would like to court you during this visit. I wish for us to become better acquainted. I would only ask that you not see those other men while we are courting.”
“Other men, sir?”
“Yes, Rivendell or the rector. Darcy said the rector approached him yesterday, asking to pay you court. He evidently is quite taken with you.”
His brows lifted. “Darcy did not tell you?”
She shook her head. “No, sir, there has hardly been time. We have all been so busy.”
“Of course,” he said. “Then I am glad I was able to speak to you first.”
She colored up to the tips of her ears, and he noticed. “What is it, Miss Mary? Why are your cheeks flaming hot?”
“Sir, I warned Mr. Darcy to hint to the rector that I have no dowry. I did not wish him to be misled by my sister’s hospitality or my manner of dress.”
He pressed her hand gently. “It is well. That was how it came up. I asked about you and whether there were any prior attachments, and he said there were not, but that he had hinted at your lack of dowry to the rector. The rector has no concern; he has his own fortune and seeks only an amiable, serene wife.”
“Oh,” she said softly. “I did not know.”
“I have my own fortune as well,” he continued, “and need not marry a woman with a dowry. I can marry where I choose.”
She flushed again.
“Ah, your lovely complexion is as expressive as your eyes,” he said warmly. “Well, Miss Mary Bennet, will you permit me to pay you court? I am not the ogre I appeared when we first met. I was worried about my sister, whom I love very much. I am her only protector, and to me falls the burden of looking after her best interests, and sometimes that can be worrisome. I know it is no excuse, but I wanted to give you the context of why I was out walking, irate and kicking stones, and I ask your pardon, ma’am.”
She raised her eyes and caught his glance. “What say you, Miss Mary? Will you pardon me? Can you see your way to forgive me?” he asked, his expression so beseeching that she smiled and covered her mouth with her hand to repress a giggle.
“Sir, I think I must forgive you. Anyone must forgive you when you look so…”
He grinned. “Pathetic? Hangdog? Blue-deviled?”
She laughed. “Yes, sir. I was thinking beseeching, but pathetic will do.”
“And will you permit a courtship?”
She inhaled slowly and looked away from him.
“That does not look hopeful,” he said lightly. “Please tell me, what holds you back?”
She turned to him. “Sir, when first I met you and saw how often you frowned, I told myself that you would make some poor woman a very miserable husband, and that she would lead a miserable life. I thought it a pity and a shame.”
He raised a brow. “A pity and a shame? Why is that, Miss Bennet? Did you see something in me that it would be a pity and a shame to lose?”
She laughed. “Sir, you grant no reprieve.”
“No, Miss Bennet. I am fighting for my life here, and the lives of my future children, who are crying out to me to secure their mother.”
She giggled. “Sir, you are not taking this seriously.”
