Chapter 32 #2
While she enjoyed the company and was relieved that the most distressing problems were resolved, Elizabeth paid little attention to the conversation either.
Under her husband’s intense gaze, flushed and restless, she could think of little else but the sensation of her husband’s lips upon hers and how well she fitted in his arms. Would they resume their interlude from where they were interrupted?
Dinner would come to an end soon, and they would both retire to their rooms. What would happen then?
Despite her eager expectations, Elizabeth’s reflections remained without an answer that evening, as the colonel requested a private conversation with Darcy.
He accepted, but not before throwing another glance, dark with regret and resignation, towards Elizabeth.
She smiled at him and retired alone. What else could she do?
***
After a restless night, spent mostly listening for her husband’s footsteps, wondering peevishly what the colonel had to talk to him about since they had been together earlier in the day, Elizabeth fell asleep close to dawn.
In the morning, she woke up later than usual, and her maid informed her that breakfast was already laid out.
“The master is downstairs with Miss Bennet and Miss Dar…I am sorry, Mrs Wickham.”
“Georgiana is downstairs?” she enquired, surprised and incredulous. Shortly after, she found her family around the breakfast table, her husband with a sister at each side, talking quietly. At her entrance, he stood and pulled out her chair so she could sit.
“Good morning! How wonderful to see you all here,” Elizabeth said with heartfelt delight.
“It is so good to be here,” Georgiana answered quietly, with a timid smile.
She did not say anything else, and Elizabeth did not ask any questions.
No matter the reason, the girl felt well enough to join her family.
Nothing else mattered. Elizabeth exchanged glances with her husband, pleased to see his contentment.
“This is the sort of breakfast I have longed for,” he simply said.
“So have I,” Georgiana whispered, and Elizabeth gently touched her hand. Indeed, it was the most pleasant breakfast they had partaken of since they married.
Afterwards, Georgiana and Jane returned to their rooms, the former to rest and the latter to prepare for another visit to the Gardiners’, leaving Elizabeth and Darcy in a slightly awkward solitude.
“What happened to induce Georgiana to come down?” she asked.
“I cannot imagine. I went to her room to see how she was feeling. She said she was well and suddenly declared she was hungry and would like some breakfast. It was sudden, but I was so grateful that I did not enquire further.”
“Sudden but so wonderful,” Elizabeth said. “We should certainly allow her to do as she feels, without further enquiries.”
She paused a moment, then continued, somehow uneasy, “Did your conversation with the colonel go on for long last night?”
“Actually, it did. If it had not been so late, I would have come to see you, but I did not want to disturb you.”
“Oh…I do not think I was asleep. You may come whenever you want. You do not disturb me.”
As soon as she had expressed it, the statement made her flush. He smiled, and his hand touched hers.
“I am glad to hear that. The colonel brought me some good news that might interest you.”
“News? For me?”
“Yes, in regard to Thomas Crawford. As I told you, we investigated his assertions, examined his papers, searched for people who knew his family. I am pleased to admit that my suspicions were unfounded. All the evidence supports his statements about his past. As for the present, he seems to have a fortune that grants him an income of six thousand a year.”
“Does it? I am glad, nay happy!” Elizabeth cried joyfully. “I cannot tell you how happy I am! Truly happy! What a relief to have a relative who has no other interest in me but for myself.”
She expressed her delight openly, but as her smile turned into a laugh, his faded, and he withdrew his fingers from hers. “I am glad to see you so happy,” he uttered.
“You do not look glad. Not any longer,” she argued. “Something has upset you, I can see. Do you still have reason to dislike or doubt Mr Crawford?”
“No, not at all. It is not about him.”
“Then what is it? I hope you will not keep another secret from me, sir.”
“No, it is just…when you mentioned someone who has no interest in you…I pray you know that, even though my initial interest was a financial one, my feelings have changed since.”
“Oh…” she whispered, finally understanding his response. “I appreciate you telling me. There is nothing I disliked about our marriage, except for the secrecy…”
She needed a moment to choose her words before continuing, “I pray you know, Mr Darcy, that even though our marriage was a practical arrangement, my feelings have changed since too. I hope you will not take offence every time I happen to mention something about my money. Neither of us is the same as on the day when we signed that marriage contract, are we?”
“No, we certainly are not. Though I believe, in essentials, both of us are very much what we ever were. But knowing each other better, we better understand the other’s disposition.”
“You must be right… Though we still have enough room for improvement in regard to our mutual understanding,” she said, trying to conceal her nervousness with a joke.
“Nothing would give me more pleasure than to learn to better understand you, my lovely Elizabeth.”
There was a teasing smile on his lips and in his eyes, and he appeared to jest too. But the hoarseness of his voice and the heat in his gaze made her quiver.
“You are very close to reaching that particular goal, Fitzwilliam,” she replied in a trembling voice.