Chapter 28 The Library #2
“It is my pleasure, sir.” This time, she sang Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight. When she finished, Jane made her request. “Please, Lizzy, sing The Elfin Knight. It has always been my favorite.”
Elizabeth sang for her sister, and the haunting melody, rich with quiet pathos, stirred everyone who listened.
When the final note faded, there was silence.
Elizabeth rose and said, “It has been too many weeks since I last practiced. I should stop now before I do myself harm.” She returned to her seat, and the company soon broke into pairs to converse.
Elizabeth watched her husband move to his cousin’s side.
Her husband. Warmth rushed to her cheeks as the memory of his kiss returned to her.
His lips had been warm, his scent filled her senses, clean, but masculine like the man himself.
His arms, firm and sure, had drawn her close until she was pressed against his chest. She could have remained there forever.
But then he had released her, and as his eyes searched her own, she had felt timid and uncertain.
They had spoken a few words, and the moment had slipped away.
Now she longed for him to kiss her again, yet fear pricked at her.
She wondered whether she had truly answered him in kind.
She could not recall if she had returned his embrace with equal warmth or met his kiss as she ought.
A faint unease crept in as she considered that she might have seemed distant, even reserved, and that her silence or stillness may have conveyed reluctance where none was intended.
The thought troubled her. Had her want of response discouraged him, or led him to believe she did not welcome his attentions, when in truth she had only been uncertain, taken unawares by the suddenness of the kiss and by the surprising depth of her own feelings?
Her gaze flickered toward him, his dark head inclined as he spoke with his cousin.
She resolved that she must be more encouraging the next time, if there were to be a next time.
Of course, there would be one, for how else was he to have his heir?
That much was certain. She could only hope that her reserve had not persuaded him to wait too long before he tried again.
Darcy joined Richard near the fire. “What am I to do about Caroline’s threat?
The more I come to know my wife, the more I wish to protect her.
She is unlike any woman I have ever met.
I never thought I would say this, but Christianna did me a favor when she threw me over.
She is nothing compared to Elizabeth. But Richard, Caroline despises her.
When she returns to London for the season, she will seek to defame my wife.
I cannot stand idle and allow that to happen. I must act to prevent it.”
Richard placed a hand on his cousin’s arm. “That little problem has already been resolved.”
“You mean because Bingley hopes to marry her off to his cousin?” Darcy asked. “If I know Caroline, she will drag her husband to London and use his fortune to make trouble for Elizabeth.”
Richard shook his head. “No, cousin. It is resolved for another reason.”
He then told Darcy of the attempted compromise and the fright he had given Miss Bingley. “I warned her to stay out of London for a year.”
Darcy studied him. “Do you believe she will obey?”
“She was frightened, Darcy. I must admit I did my best to terrify her. It was cruel, and not my finest moment, but she left at half past four in the morning to escape me. If she marries this man and cares for him at all, she will keep silent about everything. Should she come to town, we will visit her and warn her that if she spreads gossip, we will start rumors of her own compromise. But I do not think she will dare. She believes me a criminal.”
Darcy frowned. “Why would she think that? You are an honorable man, a decorated officer.”
Richard looked away. “Because I told her so. I said I was a criminal without conscience, no longer a gentleman after years on the battlefield.”
Darcy grinned in appreciation of the lie, then chuckled, and as Richard’s account replayed itself in his mind, he gave way at last to quiet laughter at the sheer absurdity of it all. “Only you could tell such a faradiddle and be believed. No wonder you succeed at intelligence work.”
He leaned back in relief. “Then I will not spend another moment worrying. May I share part of this with Elizabeth, so she, too, may rest easier?”
Richard nodded. “Yes, but let her tell no one else. Her elder sister may wed Bingley, and I would not have him hear of it.”
Darcy’s eyes widened. “Indeed not. The last thing I desire is to see you saddled with his sister.”
When the evening drew to a close, Darcy approached his wife. “Elizabeth, may I escort you upstairs?”
She rose. Her sisters stood also, and together they made their way up. Richard remained below. “Darcy, I will play billiards for an hour, then your servants may close up for the night.”
Darcy acknowledged him with a nod and then went up with Elizabeth. At his wife’s door, he said quietly, “The night is still young. It is only half past nine. Would you like to read the next section of The Odyssey with me? We might test the comfort of your chairs.”
Her lips curved in a smile. “I would like that, sir. Give me twenty minutes to prepare for bed, and you may join me.”
He inclined his head and left her, smiling to himself. She still felt at ease in his presence, comfortable enough to change into her nightdress and study with him in her chamber. His kiss had neither frightened nor driven her away. Hope stirred.
And her voice, how had he not known that his wife possessed such a gift?
None of her family had ever spoken of it.
Then it occurred to him that they had not known each other long enough to learn much of the other, nor had there been any occasion for her to reveal such a talent.
How many other gifts, he wondered, had he yet to discover in her?