Clink.
“I will tell you in time.”
“In time! Surely when I meet her…”
“No.” his voice was suddenly harsh. “You are not to go in there. You shallneverset foot in that room.”
“But…” Elizabeth’s jaw had dropped in amazement, “The very reason you brought me here…”
“I forbid it.” he snapped. She shrank back, making Darcy look panicked. All of the command fell from his voice, and he shook his head. “Elizabeth, Georgiana is not just sick. I think she will frighten you. I love her dearly, but even I cannot stand the darkness that surrounds her. Please obey me.”
The woman did not answer at first but chewed her lip and stared at the ground. The softness in her husband’s voice was unmistakable. She looked up and did not see any doubt in his eyes. He was quite determined, and he never felt such conviction without a good deal of evidence to support it.
Still, curiosity burned in her soul. Elizabeth felt her stomach twist, because even when she nodded, she knew that she would disobey.
I’m lying to you.She thought, when Darcy smiled.Do not look at me that way.
Darcy looked back down at the decanter. When he had spoken about his sister, his hand had unconsciously closed around the neck. With a muttered curse, he let go. The stopper rattled against the lip.
Clink.
“I am going to keep this.” he said abruptly, “I do not ask for your permission, Elizabeth. I shall promise you that I will never drink it, but it will remain in my room.”
She opened her mouth to argue, and Darcy pressed his finger to her lips to silence her. Amazed, Lizzie stared at him. He smiled crookedly and moved his hand - not away, but to cup her cheek.
“My sweet angel.” he said, “You can keep the rest of it locked away. I shall not challenge you. It will help me to know that nobody in this house can drink, including me. But you must allow me my pride. Every morning, I want to wake up and know that I have kept that pathetic man under his tree. I want this to be the first thing I see, so that I can tell it that I have beaten it.”
“Looking your enemy in the eye, you mean?” she asked, barely moving. The soft caress of his fingers against her cheek made her feel frozen into place, not with cold but with a tender warmth. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them with a mischievous look, “I think you have discovered another way to coerce me, sir. I fear I will agree to anything you say.”
Darcy blinked, confused, and then seemed to realise that he was touching her. Going red, he took his hand away and mumbled an apology. Elizabeth wished that she had not teased him. She suddenly felt lonely again.
“I shall not argue, Mr. Darcy, but I must insist on a compromise.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”
“In the morning, after you wake, I will join you. If the level of port has gone down then I shall know about it at once, and you will allow me to lock it away with the rest.”
“It shall not be touched.” he promised fiercely, “I do not need you to check.”
Elizabeth reached towards him and shyly took his hand. His fingers closed around hers at once, but the implacable expression remained on his stubborn face.
“It is not for your sake, but for mine. I will begin my day reassured, and you shall not feel like you are fighting this battle alone.”
The stubborn expression faded slowly, and his free hand rose back to her cheek.
“Oh, my angel.” Darcy said softly, “I do not deserve you.”
“Probably not,” she replied with a smile, then turned her head and kissed his palm, “But I am yours.”
Chapter 20
Those mornings with her husband became the happiest Elizabeth could ever remember. No more did she lay groggily abed, loathe to face the cold and the difficult day ahead. Now, as soon as the maids drew the curtains back and brought her a cup of tea, she leapt from her bed. She soon found a knack for dressing herself so quickly that the tea was still hot when she was done. Then she carefully carried it along the three long corridors to Darcy’s room and knocked on the door.
There was no real reason to be so secretive. She was Mrs. Darcy andexpectedto visit her husband’s rooms from time to time. Indeed, she was meant to remain there for at least ten minutes (Lizzie based this estimation upon the duration of her father’s visits to her mother’s rooms). The servants would not have raised an eyebrow at such a routine, but the unusual purpose of her visits made Lizzie more circumspect, for the sake of her husband’s pride. She usually stayed for more than an hour - a duration which Darcy claimed would serve his pride immensely, if the servantswerekeeping watch.
He refused to explain the offhanded comment, which had made him smirk when it had occurred to him. Whenever Elizabeth brought it up, he smiled again and shook his head. He should nothave been so crass, he told her, and she should put it out of her mind.
Such a frustrating man!
