Chapter 5 #2
Elizabeth scarcely knew what to think. She hastened towards Miss Darcy, seeking what she hoped would prove the safety of the younger girl’s company.
Never before had a gentleman affected her so strongly through a single touch.
She had already discovered that she enjoyed the younger Mr Darcy’s conversation, and there could be no denying that he was exceedingly handsome.
She had recognised that much even when she believed him to be a gardener.
But whatever had passed between them beside the phaeton had left her thoroughly unsettled.
When Miss Darcy addressed her, Elizabeth scarcely knew what answer she gave and could only hope it had borne some relation to the question.
Mrs Gardiner soon joined them, and beneath her aunt’s familiar conversation, Elizabeth gradually recovered her composure.
A short time later, Elizabeth sat upon one of the rugs with Miss Darcy beside her. The others had chosen the chairs provided by Pemberley’s servants, but Elizabeth and Georgiana had both been charmed by the prospect of dining upon the ground.
Her newly recovered composure was threatened, however, when the younger Mr Darcy lowered himself onto the rug on her other side.
Nevertheless, the conversation soon became so light and easy that Elizabeth felt herself relaxing once more.
The three passed comfortably from one subject to another, discussing books and music, history and the prospect spread before them.
It was unlike any picnic Elizabeth had experienced before, made all the more pleasant by her companions.
While her admiration for Mr Darcy increased with every exchange, she found Miss Darcy equally delightful.
“Miss Bennet,” the younger girl began after her brother had gone to fetch more lemonade and pastries for them, “do you think you might call me Georgiana?”
Elizabeth smiled, touched by the request.
“I know we have been acquainted for only a short while,” Miss Darcy continued, “but I should very much like for us to be friends. When you leave here, perhaps we might write to one another.”
“Of course, Georgiana,” Elizabeth replied.
“And you must call me Elizabeth—or Lizzy, as my family does. I hope you will write to me often, for I should not like our friendship to end so soon after it has begun. You may tell me everything you are learning, particularly when you begin school this autumn, and I shall send you all the news from Longbourn.”
Georgiana’s expression brightened. “I should be delighted to have a friend to write to, Elizabeth.” Elizabeth could see the slight hesitation when she spoke her name, but was pleased that she already seemed so comfortable with it.
“Then it is settled, Georgiana, and we shall be very good friends indeed.”
Elizabeth became aware of Mr Darcy’s return and looked up to find him standing nearby with their refreshments. His gaze moved between his sister and Elizabeth, and the warmth in his expression suggested that he had heard at least part of their exchange.
“I see I have been absent long enough for the two of you to dispense with ceremony,” he observed as he resumed his place beside Elizabeth.
“Only with each other,” Georgiana replied, accepting the lemonade he offered her.
“I am relieved to hear it. I should not like to discover that I have been excluded from some new fashion in informality.”
Elizabeth accepted her own glass, careful not to allow her fingers to linger against his.
“You were gone for several minutes, sir. There is no knowing what customs might have changed in your absence.” She took a sip of her lemonade before adding, “Although, as I have an elder sister, I am rarely Miss Bennet even at home. You may call me Miss Elizabeth, if you wish.”
His gaze held hers. “I should like that very much, Miss Elizabeth.”
Something in the way he spoke her name sent warmth into her cheeks, which she resolutely attributed to the sun. She raised her glass again, hoping the cool lemonade might restore her composure.
Conversation continued around her, but Elizabeth remained acutely conscious of the gentleman beside her. After several minutes, she set aside her empty glass and rose.
“I believe I shall take a closer look at the prospect from the ridge,” she said.
The picnic had been arranged near the edge of a wooded ridge, and a short distance away, an outcropping of stone offered an uninterrupted view across the valley.
Elizabeth walked towards it, remaining well within sight of the party.
The breeze was stronger there, stirring the ribbons of her bonnet and cooling the warmth that still lingered in her face.
She had been standing there only a few moments when footsteps sounded behind her.
“May I join you?”
She turned to find the younger Mr Darcy approaching. “It is your prospect, sir. I could hardly deny you.” Smiling, she hoped her reply appeared teasing rather than harsh, and she watched him smile in return before approaching her.
“The land belongs to Pemberley—and therefore to my father,” he said as he came to stand beside her, “but the view is free to anyone who stands here. Still, I hope I am not disturbing you.”
“You are not,” Elizabeth answered, though her voice sounded rather less certain than she would have liked.
For several moments, they both appeared to devote their attention to the prospect before them.
“I apologise if I made you uncomfortable earlier,” Mr Darcy said at last. “Georgiana has taken to you, and I would not deprive her of a friend through any fault of my own.”
Elizabeth drew a steadying breath before turning towards him. “You did not make me uncomfortable. I was merely… discomposed for a moment. That is not quite the same thing.”
Something shifted in his expression, though she could not determine whether it was surprise or relief.
“And Georgiana is a delightful girl,” she continued.
“She is near in age to my youngest sister, and I am very pleased to have befriended her. I gather that she is somewhat shy in company, but she has spoken quite freely with me. She has asked if we might correspond after I leave, and I have gladly agreed.”
“She is not ordinarily comfortable with new acquaintances,” Mr Darcy said. “I have rarely seen her speak so easily with someone she has known for so short a time.”
Elizabeth glanced back towards the picnic, where Georgiana now sat beside Mrs Livesay. “Perhaps it is because it does not feel as though we have known one another for only two days. Your family has been remarkably welcoming.”
When she turned back, she found his attention fixed upon her.
“We have all been delighted by the opportunity to know you better.”
The warmth in his gaze made Elizabeth want to lower her eyes, but despite her discomposure, she made herself hold his.
“And I have been delighted to know more of your family,” Elizabeth replied, the flush once again creeping into her cheeks. This exchange seemed to alter something, for Elizabeth felt as if the air had shifted. She was no longer able to meet his gaze and returned to looking at the distant scenery.
“You will leave Lambton in less than a se’nnight,” he said after a moment had passed in which she thought his eyes likewise turned towards the prospect.
“Yes. My aunt and uncle must return to their children and his business, and I have already been absent from Longbourn longer than my father would like. I had a letter from him this morning asking how much longer I would be away.”
She heard him draw a breath beside her and dared to look at him again.
“I find I do not like the thought of your leaving,” he admitted.
Elizabeth turned towards him more fully.
“Our acquaintance has been very brief,” he continued, “and I know such an admission may appear premature. Nevertheless, I should regret allowing it to end merely because you must return to Longbourn.”
Elizabeth’s heart beat so forcefully that she feared he might perceive it. “Georgiana and I have promised to write.”
“And I am very glad of it.”
“Perhaps we might occasionally exchange a line or two through her letters,” Elizabeth offered.
Mr Darcy continued to hold her gaze. “I would not ask you to conceal a correspondence within my sister’s. Without your father’s knowledge, it would place you in an improper position—and Georgiana will soon be away at school. I should prefer that any correspondence between us be entirely open.”
Elizabeth found herself unable to look away. “Then perhaps, Mr Darcy, we must discover another means of continuing our acquaintance.”
He stepped a little nearer. They remained in full view of the picnic party, yet his nearness caused her breath to quicken.
“There is one proper means,” he said. “With your father’s permission, I might write to you as a suitor.”
For a moment, Elizabeth could only stare at him. “You would wish to court me?”
“I would.” His answer came without hesitation. “I am obliged to remain at Pemberley with my father at least until Michaelmas, but afterwards I would be free to travel to Hertfordshire. Until then, with your father’s consent, we might continue to learn more of one another through our letters.”