"It does not mean we will never come back to the Academy," he said, his eyes burning into hers. "We can have some time together, alone, to give us a chance to enjoy each other and our marriage.”
“And if I am with child?”
“Then we will stay together until our child is born. We will set the child up in the nursery at Darcy House, and we will visit regularly.”
He almost made it sound reasonable. What if she said yes?
“Say yes, my love.”
Yes. Yes.It was what she wanted more than anything in the world. Her mind reeled with the possibility. Her mouth opened of its own accord to say the word that would change her life.
But then the real world came crashing down on her. She remembered that she was the only mage in the whole Kingdom who had the ability and training to receive messages from Riquer, who was going to France at great risk to himself. How could she face the Prince Regent after it was her recommendation that had sent him to France in the first place? And how could she explain to Prinny that she no longer wished to do this?
She stepped back, disengaging her hands from Darcy’s.
“I need time to think about it.” Her voice was strained.
Darcy examined her intently. “Why?”
She hated having to say this. “Because both you and I have to be absolutely sure this is what we want.”
Then she fled, rather than face him as the excitement faded from his eyes.
Chapter 8
Elizabeth spent the rest of the day in a daze. Darcy had handed her something she wanted on a silver platter. Every fiber of her being urged her to take up his offer and leave immediately, before he could change his mind. She wanted nothing more in the world than to go to Pemberley, away from all this – the constant worry, the relentless, exhausting training, the constant danger. To forge a new life together. To be together as nature intended.
She had not quite forgotten what it was like to live as she used to, safe in the lap of the countryside, surrounded by green fields. How much more wonderful it must be to experience that with the man she loved. To wake up with the sun shining through the window. To lie in bed with Darcy in her arms.
In Pemberley, they would not be surrounded by apprentices and watched by the other mages. She would not have to concern herself with anyone’s opinion but Darcy’s. And they would have the chance to love each other fully, to explore each other, to find their happiness.
She indulged in daydreams. The tender look in Darcy’s eyes as he kissed her, his gaze heavy with desire. Since she had tumbled headlong in love with Darcy, being together had almost become the stuff of fairy tales, something she could only dream of, forever out of reach. She quivered at the very possibility that it could become her reality.
She took this a step further, daring to dream of a babe to hold tight. Elizabeth would watch her grow, hear her laughter and her first words, and teach her about magic. She imagined a little girl, with bright eyes and dark curls like Darcy’s. Defiant and determined. She even imagined a boy like Darcy, with intense eyes and a serious expression.
What he had proposed felt as momentous as if he had just asked her to marry him. He had offered her a vision of their future. Who could possibly say no?
Yet how could she say yes?
By nighttime, she was no closer to reaching a decision. Every time she thought she had made up her mind, she discovered something else to add to her confusion.
Desperate to find some clarity of mind, she sought out Jane in her bedchamber. Jane, as always, was pleased to see her, but with one look at Elizabeth’s face, saw at once that this was not a social visit.
“What is wrong?” Jane’s voice was full of concern. “Has something happened?”
Sitting at Jane’s escritoire, with Jane on her bed, Elizabeth explained Darcy’s plan.
As Jane listened, her eyes began to glow, and she clutched her hands together.
“How splendid, Lizzy! I am so happy for you!”
Jane had not understood the dilemma at all. Knowing that filled Elizabeth with despondency.
"But Jane, don’t you see? How could he ask such a thing of me?" And to her surprise, she burst into tears.
The joy on Jane’s face disappeared and was replaced with puzzled apprehension.
"But I do not understand you, Elizabeth. He loves you, and you love him. You are married. Surely you knew this would happen one day?"
