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Mrs Darcy's blessing had been warmer and much less terrifying than her husband's, and even Miss Mina, whom he privately considered the most vengeful member of the family, had been to see him and made a grudging sort of peace. The peace had been agreed on the condition that she might make a drawing of his face, bruised and battered as it currently was, and she had produced a suitably gory sketch with such glee that he did not know whether he ought to be alarmed.

"Oh, Mr Briar, this is wonderful!" she had exclaimed, holding up her drawing and examining the great purple bruise that covered the left side of his face. "I am working on a painting of David holding the head of Goliath, and I have been struggling to make the giant look sufficiently battered. But now I shall be able to make him look most dreadful! Your injury has been enormously helpful."

Nathaniel had not been entirely sure how to respond to the compliment, particularly when she had added that she hoped the bruise would remain a little longer so she might study how its colours changed. Still, it was good to know that his suffering had been of some artistic benefit.

✽✽✽

He found Cathy sitting beside the window in one of the small morning rooms, her curls shining a rich chestnut in the sunshine. A book lay open upon her lap, and her brow was creased in concentration. She was so absorbed that she did not notice him enter, and he contented himself for a moment with looking upon her, drinking in the sight of her elegant figure and beautiful, intelligent face.

"Hello, Cathy!" he said in a booming, jovial voice that made her jump in her seat. He chuckled at her reaction.

"Nathaniel! You are up! You are dressed! You are here!" She sprang from her chair and ran towards him, only to stop short when she was a few feet away, uncertain whether she ought to embrace him. Her hands fluttered uselessly at her sides, and Nathaniel had to resist the temptation to pull her into his arms and settle the matter for her.

"I am! I see your powers of observation are as acute as ever, Miss Catherine Darcy. Now, I have come to ask you a very important question."

Her eyes widened, and a deep blush spread across her cheeks. Nathaniel realised at once that he had given her the wrong impression.

"Oh, no, sweetheart, not that sort of question! Good Lord, I have only just been permitted to get out of bed. I thought I might first attempt a little walking before we contemplate anything so momentous." He grinned at her. "What I meant to say is that I should very much like the pleasure of your company for a walk. I thought we might go over to the barrow and see how things are progressing."

"But you are not well! You cannot walk all that way. What if you become dizzy or your head pains you? Dr Franklin said you must not overexert yourself, and I am sure he did not mean for you to go marching across Pemberley on your first morning out of bed."

"I am perfectly well, Cathy, and quite sick of being treated as an invalid, I assure you. We shall go at the most sedate pace imaginable, and you may scold me all the way there if it pleases you. If I grow tired, I shall sit upon a convenient rock and allow you to tell me what a foolish man I am until I have recovered sufficiently to walk home."

"I do not need to wait until you are tired to tell you that," she replied, although she was smiling now. "And I should not like you to think that I am scolding you merely for the pleasure of it. You gave us all a terrible fright. I do not wish to see you lying in that bed again."

"Nor do I, sweetheart. Although your attentions have made the experience most agreeable. I may start taking to my bed for a fortnight once a year, just to repeat the experience." He offered her his arm. "Come, Cathy. I promise not to fall into anything or otherwise endanger myself. Will that satisfy you?"

"For the present, I suppose it shall have to," she said, slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow. "But we must tell Mama where we are going, and I shall ask Martha to accompany us."

"Of course. I would hate to be accused of leading you astray, when I have only just managed to persuade your father that I am a respectable gentleman."

Martha thankfully kept a not entirely respectable distance behind them, allowing them a good deal of privacy as they walked. Mrs Darcy might have something to say about the maid's interpretation of the duties of a chaperone, but he had no intention of complaining. It was pleasant to be outdoors again, with the warm sunshine on his face and Cathy tucked happily against his side, and for the first few minutes he was content to enjoy her company without saying much at all.

He had never thought himself a man who took any pleasure in silence. He liked conversation and noise and laughter. But there was something lovely about walking with Cathy, listening to the birds calling from the trees and the occasional rustle of her skirts against his leg. Every so often she glanced up at him, smiling shyly, and he found himself returning the smile with equal pleasure.

They had made their way beyond the formal gardens and were following the path towards the western grounds when he found himself thinking about a conversation he had been putting off since first waking. There was so much he wished to tell her, and so much he ought to have told her weeks ago. He had been a coward throughout the whole business, although he had dressed it up in his own mind as concern for her happiness. Harwood had been right. Cathy was capable of deciding what sort of life she wanted, and it was high time he allowed her to do so.

"Cathy, do you remember when we went riding together, and I told you about my dog, Pip?"

"Of course I do," she replied at once. "The poor creature. I have thought of him often. I still cannot understand why your brother should have wanted to frighten him so dreadfully."

"Because it amused him, I am afraid. My brothers were both fond of that sort of entertainment, especially when I was the unfortunate object of it. Pip was one of the few creatures in that house who enjoyed my company, and I suppose my brother thought it would be diverting to spoil that pleasure."

"That is a horrible thing to do to anyone, Nathaniel, and a horrible thing to do to a dog. Did your parents not punish him?"

"My father thought I was making too much of the affair. He said a dog ought to be accustomed to gunfire and that I was encouraging Pip to be a coward by fussing over him. My mother was annoyed that the commotion had disturbed her afternoon rest. I cannot recall that either of them showed any concern for him."

Kate made a small noise of disgust, and her grip upon his arm tightened. "I do not think I like your family overmuch."

"Nor do I, sweetheart, and I have had twenty-seven years to form my opinion." He smiled down at her and gave her hand a reassuring pat. "Do not look so distressed, Cathy. It was a long time ago, and I have made a very pleasant life for myself since then. I have friends all over the world, I do work that I love and have been fortunate enough to see things most people can only read about."

"But it must have been terribly lonely when you were a little boy."

"It was, at times. I think the worst part was that I did not know things could be otherwise. My father was a stern, disapproving man, my mother took little interest in us and my brothers inherited the worst qualities of both. We lived in an enormous house and wanted for nothing in the material sense, but there was no affection and no laughter. Just cold disappointment. When I first came to Pemberley, I could scarcely believe how affectionate you all were."

"Even Papa?" she asked, smiling a little. "I know he can appear very forbidding, particularly when he is displeased."

"Especially your papa. I have seen the way he looks at your mother and you girls with his heart in his eyes. I have witnessed him allow your little nephew to pull his hair and climb all over him like a baby monkey and—never tell him this— but I once saw that ridiculous spaniel of his lying in his arms like a babe. I cannot imagine my own father doing any of those things. If he did once hold his family in affection, I never saw it."