Page 114 of Twice Chosen

"Yes."

"Kitty?"

"Yes."

"Lydia?"

Darcy paused.

Elizabeth frowned. "That hesitation was offensive."

"You are doing better. You are also watching her like a mother hen whenever an officer enters a room."

Elizabeth sighed. "I know."

"She notices."

"I know."

"Then perhaps trust what you have already taught her."

Elizabeth looked away. "That is difficult."

"Yes."

She glanced up. "You are not going to tell me I must?"

"No."

"Why?"

Darcy smiled faintly. "Because difficult things are not made easier by being commanded."

Elizabeth's throat tightened.

"Georgiana taught you that," she said.

"Eventually."

"Sooner this time."

"Yes."

They continued.

Near the bottom of the hill, Darcy stumbled on a root.

Elizabeth caught his arm. "Careful."

He froze.

She froze too.

Then both began laughing.

The word had been one of the first cracks in their disguise at the assembly, spoken in the exact tone Elizabeth had used to an old man on a terrace decades later.

Darcy shook his head. "We were terrible at secrecy."