His voice was closer than she thought and when she looked over her left shoulder, Mr.Darcy was only a few feet away from her.
“Are you hiding from me?”he asked, an odd expression on his face.
“No,” she smiled.“I am playing with you.”
“Playing?”
“Yes.You are entirely too serious, Mr.Darcy.You need to learn to play.”
He was directly in front of her now, sheltered beneath the canopy of pink blossoms.“Do I?”
“Luckily, I am an expert at playfulness and I can direct you accordingly.”
“Can you now?”He was looming over her, her back against the tree trunk and her head tilted up to face him.
“I can.”
Her eyes were sparkling in that way that drove him mad with wanting her and he could not resist ducking down and kissing her.He was just tasting her lips when Elizabeth cried out.
“Oh!”
Darcy pulled back and looked at the spot on her shoulder she was brushing with her hand.“What is it?”
“Something landed on me.”She was afraid it had been bird leavings, but she did not wish to say so to her beau, so she checked her shoulder as best she could and looked around her for evidence.
A giggle came from above, then they were showered with pink and white petals, falling like rain from the tree.
“Oh!”cried Elizabeth in delight.Now seeing that what had landed on her shoulder had only been a small stick, she was free to enjoy the petals raining down on her.
“You there!”
Mr.Darcy was another matter.He was staring up into the tree and calling to someone.She followed his gaze and saw a small child, no more than nine or ten, sitting high in the tree, shaking a branch and laughing at them as the petals fell down.
“Come down here this instant!”Mr.Darcy cried.
Elizabeth could not help but laugh.Mr.Darcy was a fiercely private person, she knew, and he would not take lightly to having been spied upon in such an intimate moment.But still, it was terribly funny.
She took his hand and tugged him away from the tree.“Come away, Fitzwilliam, there is no harm done.”
He looked at her as if he would ignore her for a moment, but finally he relented and followed a laughing Elizabeth back towards the castle to find their friends.
Friday, Full of Fits and Fury
Fridaymorning,Elizabethslippedout of the house early, Mrs.Hopkins’s muffins in her pocket.Only a week ago, she had been dreading meeting Mr.Darcy after their humiliating confrontation.Now, she moved down the path as swiftly as possible without breaking into a run, eager to see him.
He was at the stream, seated on the bench with his back to her.Thinking she would attempt sneaking up on him again, she crept up behind him slowly and reached her hands out, covering his eyes.He immediately stiffened, and she leaned over his shoulder, whispering in his ear.
“Guess who?”
Before she knew what had happened, Mr.Darcy grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, her legs hanging rather indecorously over his arm.She laughed gaily as he smiled down at her, and before she knew what had happened, he was kissing her as she sat sprawled across his lap.
When he pulled back, a rather satisfied look on his face, she said, “Wouldn’t you feel ridiculous if it had not been me behind you?”
Darcy smirked.“I knew it was you.I could smell muffins.”
Elizabeth laughed again and Darcy set her down so she could sit on the bench beside him.They ate muffins and spoke of silly nothings for a few minutes before Darcy stiffened, a grim look on his face.
“I must tell you something.”
