He hesitated. “Please sing Jane’s favorite. I do not recall the name, but I remember the haunting beauty of it.”
Elizabeth inclined her head in acquiescence and moved to the pianoforte. She began to play, and when her voice rose, the room fell into reverent silence. Her tones filled the space, rich, full, and effortless, rising to the highest notes and falling again into the darker ones with a resonance that held every listener still.
When she finished, her guests applauded her performance. She looked up from the keys and met her husband’s gaze. He was already walking toward her.
“Darling,” he said softly, “would it injure your voice to sing another?”
“No, sir. I can sing three without concern of injury, though to sing more I must practice regularly, and I have not done so since moving to Derbyshire.”
He laid his hand gently over hers. “As a gift to me, will you begin again? You may use the pianoforte in the upstairs salon if you prefer privacy, but I would ask to be allowed to sit and listen.”
His earnestness touched her. “I will, sir. For you. I will sing for you if it brings you pleasure.”
He sat beside her on the bench, and she began her second piece,The Cruel Mother, followed byThe Three Ravens. When the final notes faded, a hush lingered before conversation resumed.
Richard turned to Isabella and whispered, “I used to love to hear you play. Will you favor us now?”
“Yes, I will play for you.”
She rose and crossed to the instrument, poised, and her touch was sure. Her performance revealed a mastery equal to Georgiana’s, perhaps even beyond it.
At her brother’s request, she played his favorite sonata. When she finished, Darcy asked, “Would you play Chopin’sNocturne in E-flat Major?”
“Gladly,” she said, and began at once. The melody filled the room, tender, wistful, exquisitely played.
Darcy leaned closer to Elizabeth and murmured, “That was my mother’s favorite piece. I can still see her at the pianoforte, playing it from memory, just as Miss Lewis does now.”
Mr. Lewis, seated on her other side, overheard. Something shifted within him. For the first time, he saw Fitzwilliam Darcy not as a proud man aloof from his equals, but as a son who had loved deeply and lost early. Perhaps he was not high in the instep after all. Perhaps his reserve was born not of pride, but of pain.
He lifted his quizzing glass and studied the man who had once seemed unapproachable.I will attempt to sketch his character,he thought.I will see for myself what manner of man Fitzwilliam Darcy truly is.Lewis next turned his quizzing glass upon Mary Bennet. A faint mark still showed where the stone had struck her, and he felt guilt. He had not yet apologized to her; he had been too consumed by anger over Richard.
Where was Richard? He scanned the room and soon spotted him standing in the back with Hurst, both men watching Isabella at the instrument.
Richard, meanwhile, congratulated himself on his foresight. He knew Lewis would eventually seek him out, and so he had gone to stand with Hurst, the very picture of propriety. When he lifted his eyes, he found Bella looking at him. He smiled and gave her a discreet wink. She turned back to the instrument, a rosy blush coloring her cheeks.
The evening drew to a close. Elizabeth sat beside her husband and, for the first time, felt that she truly belonged. Her gaze lingered on his face, searching for some hint of his thoughts. Was he happy, happy with her? Did he still believe he had chosen rightly in marrying her? She sighed softly. How did awoman secure a man’s heart for a lifetime? Would she be able to secure his?
Around them, laughter mingled with the faint notes from the pianoforte, as Georgiana continued to play with Mary at her side, and Pemberley seemed, for that night at least, the very heart of happiness. Now if she could only shake off her doubts, all would be well.
Chapter 37: A Quiet Day At Pemberley
The following morning, Mary was eating breakfast while reading a paper that lay neatly beside her plate. Mr. Lewis entered and said, “So, my partner is an early riser.” He passed behind her chair, then stopped, the habitual frown that seemed his expression of choice puckering his forehead. “And she reads the paper. Singular.”
He moved to the sideboard and began serving himself. Mary set down her fork and rose from her chair. She had no intention of remaining and giving this man another opportunity to insult her. She had made herself a promise: she would keep her distance, lest she again forget herself and speak to him with disrespect. A blush rose to her cheeks as she recalled her insolence from the day before. What would Mr. Darcy say if he heard of it?
He turned at once and set down his plate. “Miss Mary, I have been remiss. I caused you injury yesterday. I might have broken your reading glasses or taken out an eye, and I have not yet apologized for my offensive behavior. Please allow me to offer my apology now. If such a thing had happened to my sister, I would have run the man off my property with a whip or at gunpoint. Since Darcy has not done so, I can only surmise that you have not told him of my offense. I sincerely apologize for my trespass against you.”
He looked down at the floor and then back at her. “I see you have a small mark on your temple where the stone struck you. I amgrateful that it was a small stone, or you might have been gravely injured.”
When he had finished speaking, she replied, “I accept your apology, sir. It is gratifying to know that you understand how offensive your behavior was, and that you recognize you could have injured me for life. But as it is, I have suffered nothing more than a small bruise, and I hope you have learned a lesson from this.”
She curtsied. “Good day, sir.”
Mary turned and left the room. She decided then and there that Mr. Lewis was a man with a conscience, but he was so ill-humored that she wanted nothing to do with him, even though he was wealthy and owned a fine estate. The price of security with a man who had a temper like his was too dear. She would wait. Perhaps the rector had a small fortune and would offer for her. He was a well-looking man, and his conversation had been engaging.
On that melancholy thought, she went to the music room and closed the door. She would practice for an hour and afterward change and walk to the castle.
Lewis sat down to eat and was soon joined by Hurst, Jane, Bingley, Elizabeth, and Darcy. He was surprised not to see his sister but thought no more of it when the conversation around him began.
