They walked down into the garden. Elizabeth shivered, feeling a little chilled by the breeze. With the sun starting to set, she wished she had brought a shawl. Her gown, though the most suitable one she had for a ball, was less appropriate for walking outside with winter fast approaching. Mr Darcy seemed to sense this and quickly took off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders. “Forgive me, I should have realised you would be cold.”
“That is quite all right. I am well,” she said and thanked him for the jacket. He clasped his hands behind his back, as though careful not to touch her.
Though, Elizabeth thought suddenly, he need not. He was her husband and had every right to touch her. Butterflies swirled in her stomach at the thought.
But that was mere foolishness. Mr Darcy had been the perfect gentleman since the first moment she had met him. Even their compromise had been purely the result of accident, not inclination. Likely, he did not even wish to do any such thing.
“Lady Catherine has spoken a great deal of your uncle, the Earl of Matlock,” Elizabeth remarked, trying to turn the conversation so she would not be preoccupied by her disturbing thoughts. “Do you see your uncle often?”
“Less so these days. I visited more often when my cousin, Richard Fitzwilliam, was at home, but now he is with his regiment.”
“Do I recall correctly that your cousin is in the Regulars?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes. It suits him well, for I have never known a braver man,” he said with a proud smile. “I should very much like you to meet Lord and Lady Matlock when we visit London. They will be enchanted by you.”
“I am not sure about that, but I will certainly do my best to offer a good impression,” she said. The thought of meeting his family could not fail to be a little daunting. It seemed all too likely that she would not be up to their standards, as she so obviously was not up to Lady Catherine’s. They had only too many grounds to judge her, from her lack of connections to the lack even of a governess. Little wonder if they were displeased to find their nephew married by accident, and to a woman of so little consequence.
Mr Darcy stopped on the little winding gravel path and turned to her. He took her hands. “You will charm them, just as you have charmed me,” he said huskily. He paused, and she thought her heart might beat out of her chest.
She thought to make light of the moment, but no matter how she scrambled to find the words, none were forthcoming. He leaned forward, seemingly about to say something more.
The supper gong rang, only just audible at their distance from the house.
“We should return,” Mr Darcy said, sounding a little disappointed. “After walking back, there will be little time to prepare.”
“And it is cold besides,” Elizabeth agreed. They turned and walked briskly back to the house.
“Thank you for helping me with my lesson today,” Elizabeth said as they went inside. Upon reentering the building, she removed Mr Darcy’s jacket from her shoulders and held it out to him. He did not put it back on, but slid it over his arm. To her confusion, Elizabeth found he looked more handsome than ever without it, with his shirt and cravat uncovered. More approachable, perhaps.
She cleared her throat and broke eye contact. Her thoughts were all a confusing jumble as it was, without him making her lose her head with his piercing brown eyes. “I must make haste. Your aunt will not be pleased if we keep supper waiting because of our tardiness.”
Mr Darcy chuckled. “No. Of course not.” He gave a slight bow and took her hand, surprising her again when he kissed it. “Until this evening, then.”
She nodded and started out of the room, if only to allow herself time and space to think. She could not think clearly when he was so near. What was the matter with her? A fortnight ago, she had been single, unattached, and happy. Or at least, she had thought she was happy. This new wave of sensations and feelings was so wholly foreign to her.
There was surely only one explanation for the strong admiration and regard she had come to feel for Mr Darcy, for her increasing confidence in his character and intelligence, for the way he made her heartbeat quicken. Astonishing as it was, she was falling in love with her husband.
Elizabeth drew in a deep, deliberate breath. How had this happened? True, Mr Darcy had shown himself more than worthy of her respect. He had done his duty in speaking for her hand and in every way leading up to their marriage. He had proven himself to be constant and upright, a man of intelligence and character in every way. Elizabeth had not married for love, and yet love seemed to be finding her all the same.
She would have thought she would welcome the feeling. Indeed, she would have — if only she could hope that Mr Darcy might feel the same.
He had sacrificed so much for the sake of honour, of duty. Elizabeth now knew very well what kind of woman Mr Darcy might have expected to marry. No, Mr Darcy’s wife was not intended to be a simple country girl with an ill-mannered mother and an insignificant dowry.
Mr Darcy had looked past that to do right by her, but a care for honour was not the same thing as an open heart. Mr Darcy had already offered her respect, courtesy, his name. She ought not to ask for more.
Despite how honourably he had married her, it was too much to hope for that he would come to love her.
Chapter 15
Though Darcy had not precisely gone to the library in search of his wife, he could not deny that he was pleased to find Elizabeth there. Particularly not when, hearing him enter, she looked up and gave him a smile of open welcome.
“You look as if you’ve been spending your afternoon in worthwhile pursuits,” Darcy said, looking at the books on the table before her. “What have you found?”
“TheOdysseyand theIliad,” Elizabeth told him. “The translations in your library are intriguingly different from those in my father’s collection — or so I believe, for it has been some years since I read them. I believe it is time for me to be reacquainted with two of the great classics.”
“A most noble pursuit, if I ever heard one,” Darcy replied. He pointed to the window, where the sunshine had just broken through the clouds and was flooding the garden with delicious rays of golden light. “Though I must confess I had rather less scholarly pursuits in mind, myself. I was considering going for a walk about the gardens. Would you like to accompany me?”
Her face brightened. “Oh, I would like that. I will just take these to my room and return to you, if you do not mind waiting.”
