“Yes, she seems more animated as well. Did you see her run away with Miss Mary to show her the tree house? Have you ever seen my sister run?”
Richard laughed. “No, I have not. Though that is something my mother would hardly approve.”
Darcy chuckled. “I am glad to see Georgiana becoming more…” he paused to consider the word, “more human.”
Richard nodded. “I know what you mean. She is learning to relate to others.” He gave Darcy a pointed look.
Darcy smirked. “You are thinking the same of me, I suppose.”
Richard lifted his brows. “If the shoe fits.”
Just then, Georgiana began to play, with Mary turning the pages. After two pieces, she leaned nearer to her companion. “Mary, do you have any music with you?”
Mary flushed. “I do, but I am a beginner compared to you. I would rather not play tonight.”
“Tomorrow then,” Georgiana said kindly. “Join me during my practice hour and bring your music. I will help you improve.”
Mary looked surprised. “Truly? You would help me?”
“Yes. I have studied for ten years, since I was five. I can teach you much, and when you grow beyond my help, your sister will surely engage a master for you. You are teaching me French, and I shall teach you the pianoforte.”
Mary’s expression brightened. “Thank you, Georgiana. I will come.”
The two girls rose from the bench and moved aside. Darcy turned to Elizabeth. “Mrs. Darcy, will you favor us with a song?”
Her eyes were smiling as she inclined her head in agreement. She approached the instrument, placed her hands on the keys, and began to play the prelude to a ballad. Then she beganto sing, and her voice filled the room, rich, powerful, and hauntingly pure. Her voice struck Darcy; it reminded him of Elizabeth Feron, whom he had once heard sing in London. Richard turned toward him and raised his brows, silently expressing admiration. Darcy could only nod. Her voice was comparable to the great sopranos of the age.
When the song ended, Elizabeth sat still, her gaze lowered to her hands as if returning from another world. Darcy asked, “Elizabeth, will you sing another?”
“It is my pleasure, sir.” This time, she sangLady Isabel and the Elf Knight. When she finished, Jane made her request. “Please, Lizzy, singThe Elfin Knight. It has always been my favorite.”
Elizabeth sang for her sister, and the haunting melody, rich with quiet pathos, stirred everyone who listened. When the final note faded, there was silence. Elizabeth rose and said, “It has been too many weeks since I last practiced. I should stop now before I do myself harm.” She returned to her seat, and the company soon broke into pairs to converse. Elizabeth watched her husband move to his cousin’s side.Her husband.Warmth rushed to her cheeks as the memory of his kiss returned to her. His lips had been warm, his scent filled her senses, clean, but masculine like the man himself. His arms, firm and sure, had drawn her close until she was pressed against his chest. She could have remained there forever.
But then he had released her, and as his eyes searched her own, she had felt timid and uncertain. They had spoken a few words, and the moment had slipped away. Now she longed for him to kiss her again, yet fear pricked at her. She wondered whether she had truly answered him in kind. She could not recall if she had returned his embrace with equal warmth or met his kiss as she ought. A faint unease crept in as she considered that shemight have seemed distant, even reserved, and that her silence or stillness may have conveyed reluctance where none was intended. The thought troubled her. Had her want of response discouraged him, or led him to believe she did not welcome his attentions, when in truth she had only been uncertain, taken unawares by the suddenness of the kiss and by the surprising depth of her own feelings?
Her gaze flickered toward him, his dark head inclined as he spoke with his cousin. She resolved that she must be more encouraging the next time, if there were to be a next time. Of course, there would be one, for how else was he to have his heir? That much was certain. She could only hope that her reserve had not persuaded him to wait too long before he tried again.
Darcy joined Richard near the fire. “What am I to do about Caroline’s threat? The more I come to know my wife, the more I wish to protect her. She is unlike any woman I have ever met. I never thought I would say this, but Christianna did me a favor when she threw me over. She is nothing compared to Elizabeth. But Richard, Caroline despises her. When she returns to London for the season, she will seek to defame my wife. I cannot stand idle and allow that to happen. I must act to prevent it.”
Richard placed a hand on his cousin’s arm. “That little problem has already been resolved.”
“You mean because Bingley hopes to marry her off to his cousin?” Darcy asked. “If I know Caroline, she will drag her husband to London and use his fortune to make trouble for Elizabeth.”
Richard shook his head. “No, cousin. It is resolved for another reason.”
He then told Darcy of the attempted compromise and the fright he had given Miss Bingley. “I warned her to stay out of London for a year.”
Darcy studied him. “Do you believe she will obey?”
“She was frightened, Darcy. I must admit I did my best to terrify her. It was cruel, and not my finest moment, but she left at half past four in the morning to escape me. If she marries this man and cares for him at all, she will keep silent about everything. Should she come to town, we will visit her and warn her that if she spreads gossip, we will start rumors of her own compromise. But I do not think she will dare. She believes me a criminal.”
Darcy frowned. “Why would she think that? You are an honorable man, a decorated officer.”
Richard looked away. “Because I told her so. I said I was a criminal without conscience, no longer a gentleman after years on the battlefield.”
Darcy grinned in appreciation of the lie, then chuckled, and as Richard’s account replayed itself in his mind, he gave way at last to quiet laughter at the sheer absurdity of it all. “Only you could tell such a faradiddle and be believed. No wonder you succeed at intelligence work.”
He leaned back in relief. “Then I will not spend another moment worrying. May I share part of this with Elizabeth, so she, too, may rest easier?”
