"Miss Elizabeth?"
Mr Darcy was there. He had brushed the snow from his coat, but his cheeks were ruddy from the exertion. He looked younger, freer. Then he saw her face.
"What is it?" he asked, his smile fading. "You look distressed."
"Georgiana spoke to me," Elizabeth said quietly.
He went very still. "About what?"
"About the summer. About Ramsgate."
He paled. He looked towards his sister, who was now helping Mrs Gardiner build a snowman. "She told you? Everything?"
"She told me about the man. She told me his name." Elizabeth looked at him, her eyes searching his. "Mr Darcy, it was Mr Wickham."
Darcy closed his eyes.
"He told me..." Elizabeth swallowed hard. "His story of woe was that you cheated him of his inheritance. He painted you as a monster, and I believed him. I am sosorry."
"You did not know," Mr Darcy said, opening his eyes. "He is a convincing liar. He deceived my father. He deceived my sister. It is no wonder he deceived you."
"But you," she pressed. "You knew he was spreading these lies, and you said nothing. You let the county think you were cruel."
"I could not expose him without exposing Georgiana," he said simply. "Her reputation was my only concern. I would bear any insult to protect her."
Elizabeth felt a crack in her chest. This man. This proud, silent, difficult man. He had taken the blows to his character to save his sister from scandal.
"I am sorry, I must ask," Elizabeth said. "You arrived in Hertfordshire only two months after it happened, is this correct?"
Mr Darcy looked away, towards the frozen pond. "Yes. Miss Elizabeth, I was not in my right mind at the time. I was angry. I was suspicious of everyone. I looked at the world and saw only fortune hunters and deceit. When Bingley dragged me to that assembly... I did not want to be there. I did not want to know anyone."
He turned back to her. "And when he pointed you out, when he suggested I should dance, I had not even glanced at you before..."
"Before you called me 'tolerable'," she whispered.
He winced. "I said the first thing that came into my head to make him leave me alone. It was a lie, as I realized soon enough. It was the stupidest, most regretful lie of my life."
He took a step closer, invading her personal space, his eyes burning with intensity.
"You were never merely tolerable, Elizabeth. From the moment I set my eyes on you, I was lost. You were dangerous. You became vital."
He reached out, his hand hovering near her cheek, though he didn't touch her.
"I regret that comment every day. And I wish to correct the record, here and now."
"Mr Darcy—"
"You are the handsomest woman of my acquaintance," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "You are the only woman I see. And if I was blind in Meryton, I assure you, I see you perfectly now."
Elizabeth stared at him. She saw the snow in his hair, the vulnerability in his eyes, the strength in his jaw. She saw the brother who saved his sister, and the man who remembered the lemon biscuits and played toy soldiers.
"I see you too, Fitzwilliam," she whispered, using his Christian name for the first time in his presence. "I see you."
A shout from Lord Keathley interrupted them. "Darcy! Miss Elizabeth! We are heading back! The children are freezing and I require hot chocolate!"
Mr Darcy didn't move for a second. He held her gaze, a silent promise passing between them.
"We should go," he said finally.
