She smiled, “I should have practiced more; I should have taken Lady Catherine’s advice when I had a chance.”
“You can still practice while you are at Pemberley, it would be my pleasure to help you sharpen your riding skills, but if you wish to see Mackworth Castle it seems to me you have only one option.” He smiled his most devastating dimpled smile at her and her resolve to resist him melted away like snow on cobblestones under the midday sun.
“Have we sufficient time now?”
Darcy took his watch out of his waistcoat pocket and checked the time. We may be a little late for breakfast, but if you do not mind and you are confident that your uncle and aunt will not be upset, I think we can do it.”
“The one we need to ask if he is not going to be upset is your horse. Will he be well with the extra weight on him?”
“That is what horses are for and this one is very strong.” He patted the stallion's neck lovingly and got a little horse kiss as a reward.
Elizabeth laughed, “What is this glorious creature’s name?” She asked also patting his mane.
“Sir Ebony.”
She looked amused, “How fitting. Who named him?”
“Me. However I was two and twenty at the time and with my head full of dreams.”
“Are you saying you no longer have dreams, Mr Darcy?”
He fixed a heated gaze on her, “oh I have dreams Miss Bennet, but they are less frivolous and perhaps more of an enduring nature.”
She blushed, “I see.”
“Do you?”
She looked away and scratched her head disconcertedly, “So are we going to see Macworth Castle or not?”
Immediately he offered her his cupped hand which she stepped into and up to the saddle. After she seated herself, he climbed behind her and adjusted her on his lap.
“Comfortable?” He asked pulling her impossibly close.
She fidgeted nervously. His warmth sipping through his clothes and heating her up more than the morning summer sun could ever do.
“Yes,” she said shyly.
He clicked his tongue and Sir Ebony moved slowly down the slope towards the west side of the hill.
After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, he asked, “how is Bingley getting on in Hertfordshire without my interference?”
She smiled trying to compose herself, as she could feel the warmth of his breath on the nape of her neck as he spoke, “As much as I would like to say that things are moving apace, I am afraid I cannot.”
“Do you mean to say his sisters have returned to Netherfield to torment him?”
She laughed, “Miss Bingley can certainly torment anybody within her reach, but no, Mr Bingley has been left well alone to make his own decisions, but he seems to be dragging his feet.”
“I must say I am surprised. Once I told him of my interference last autumn, I thought he was going to run me through and leave me for dead.” He chuckled. “I thought he would propose to Miss Bennet the first moment he had the opportunity.”
“Well, he has had more than one opportunity in the last three months but so far, nothing.”
“Very well, it looks to me that I will have to follow you to Hertfordshire and meddle into his affairs again, this time positively. Do you not think so?”
She turned towards him. His face was right there almost touching hers. She could have reached out and kissed him… all she lacked was the courage.His eyes had a shade of green in them that she had never noticed before. The hazelnut colour seemed to alter according to the light of the day.
She breathed in his scent... she felt like melting into the arms holding her around her waist to hold the reins... but she forced herself to focus on what he said,
“I wish for nothing less, Mr Darcy.” She whispered.
