Her eyes were dancing, but her tone was kind. Ought he to apologize, or would that make matters worse?
“Of course,” he said. He was about to say there was plenty of time to be further acquainted, but he checked himself.Thatwould not do at all.
He had already made enough mistakes. There was no need to add impulsiveness to the list. Miss Bennet may be a gentleman’s daughter, but that did not change the reality, which was that her relatives were in trade. To pursue this would be reckless. The wisest course of action for him was to steer wide and avoid seeing her again.
He had come here to fulfill a promise, and he had done so. There was no further reason for him and Georgiana to visit the Gardiners.
“It is time for us to take our leave,” he said, “before we overstay our welcome.”
“It is very kind of you, Mr. Darcy.” Miss Bennet briefly touched his forearm, and he was shocked to find himself craving more.
“You must stay for dinner, Mr. Darcy,” said Mrs. Gardiner. “It is the least we can do to repay you for your kindness.”
For a moment, he was about to accept. It would have been nice to share dinner with them, but he was only too aware of how easily that could be misinterpreted.
“Thank you. However, you do not need to repay me for an old, discarded toy.”
He rose to his feet, aware that he still needed to correct his earlier mistake with Margaret. He strode over to her.
“Well, Miss Margaret, are you enjoying the rocking horse?”
“Oh, yes, Mr. Darcy,” she said, her eyes shining. “Thank you very much, sir.”
He went down on his haunches. “It is a pleasure. You may keep the horse but on two conditions.”
She looked perplexed and worried.
“First, you must promise me you will never, ever run towards a pond or river again, even if it is frozen. Water is dangerous.” Margaret was looking at him with big, somber eyes. “Even ifyou are proficient swimmer, you must never approach the water alone. Do you promise me this?”
“Yes, sir,” she nodded vigorously.
“What do you promise?”
“Never to go near the water alone.”
He gave a quick nod. “Very well. That is my first condition. Do you want to know the second one?”
She nodded.
“My second condition is that you must take care of the horse. It is a very special one, and very delicate. You must not treat it roughly or allow anyone else to do so. Do you promise?”
“Yes, sir. I promise I will be careful and not treat it roughly.”
He nodded and stood up. “Good. We have an agreement, then.” He looked over to Mrs. Gardiner. “Right Mrs. Gardiner?”
“Right.” She smiled at him, then turned to her daughter. “Where are your manners, Maggie? You need to curtsey to Mr. Darcy. He is leaving.”
The little girl climbed down with obvious reluctance and gave him a brief curtesy, clearly eager to get it over with. He bit back a smile.
Now it really was time to take his leave.
As he bowed over Miss Bennet’s offered hand, he felt a stab of regret. Was this really farewell? Did it mean he would never see her again? He hesitated. Should he accept the dinner invitation after all?
A quick moment’s reflection determined it would be unwise. He could not allow a temporary attraction to cloud his judgement.
“Goodbye, Miss Bennet.” Was there an echoing regret in her eyes?
He looked away. He did not want to examine her too closely, because he did not want to hesitate.
