Chapter 15 #4
She thought his confidence and position had as much to do with it as his sex, but he was not wrong. “That is terribly unfair. Tomorrow, you should use that to your advantage and insist on seeing me. Cause a riotous scene at my door, rant and storm like a violent lover, if need be.”
“Why do I not instead tell Jane that you will roam the draughty corridors in the dark again to find me if she does not let me in?”
“Well, if you want to be reasonable about it.”
Darcy’s chest shook with silent laughter. “When we return to Longbourn, you can ramble the countryside to your heart’s content and drag me along with you. In the meantime, I will stay by your bedside from breakfast to candlelight.”
“I would like to return home now,” she said. “I am sure your carriage is comfortable and we could drive very slowly. We could take all day to go thirty miles. And you would draw the shades if the light bothered me.”
The hand around her shoulder moved up to stroke through her hair. “Jane would disagree with you.”
“She is motivated to return home soon too; Bingley is there. Tell your friend to write to say he is breaking his heart over not seeing her every day.”
“I do not know Jane well yet, but she strikes me as resolved, and she would say it is not safe for you to travel.”
Elizabeth pouted because he was not wrong. Jane was firm where she felt herself to be right.
“The surgeon said you need a fortnight of rest, no sudden movements to jostle your head and neck, no bright lights, no anxiety.”
“Being here in your room has only proven that I need to sleep next to you every night. Going home to marry you would reduce my anxiety.” She sat up, wondering if she could make that dark look of desire return to his eyes, only to find she already had.
He stared at her mouth, lips parted, and all she could think of was kissing him.
When she leant toward him, Darcy hesitated. “The surgeon said no activity at—”
“Please, just kiss me before I go.”
She could have said she wanted to comfort him, and to take away both of their worries for a while, but there was no need.
He felt the same. She brought a hand to his cheek, and Darcy carefully brushed his lips gently across hers.
His hand curved around her nape, his fingers stroking across her skin.
They kissed for long moments, but Darcy never deepened the connexion.
They were soft, tentative touches to reassure the other that they were well.
When he pulled away, she whispered, “I want to stay here.”
She saw in his eyes the understanding of everything that she was saying—and even what was beyond her words. His expression said they had not gone far enough to satisfy him, either. “I want you here too, but that is hardly wise.”
That only made her wonder how vigorous the act could be, but she looked forward to finding out.
He rose and came around the bed and held out a hand as though she needed support.
She could not fault him for being anxious, and let him help her.
“Will you stay at Longbourn or Netherfield when we leave Woodcote?”
“Whichever you prefer,” he answered whilst trying to smooth her hair.
“Miss Bingley might come to Netherfield, so you should stay at Longbourn. No one there will lock me in a cupboard whilst they try to seduce you.”
A soft expression played around the edges of his lips. He was holding back a smile. “I admire the liveliness of your mind, but how can you sport about this now? I feel a visceral pain whenever I think of you suffocating in a dirty rug about to be thrown underneath the horses.”
“I sport with you to distract you, and cheer you, and show you that not even a blow to the head will dampen my playfulness. So I will add that you should stay at Longbourn so it would be easier for me to seduce you myself.” He blinked in surprise.
“Unless you think we have gone too far already for being only engaged?”
“No, it only matters what you decide,” he said quickly, “but we are not likely to have the opportunity at Longbourn under your parents’ watchful eyes.”
He was wrong, but she would not argue with him.
Her father would object if he ever left his library and knew of it, but her mother would not, not once the papers were signed.
“Then you ought to stay at Netherfield with Bingley, and then I will walk in the rain hoping to catch a cold so I must stay the night.”
He shook his head with a smile as he led her to the door. “You are getting ahead of yourself. You are to stay here, and in bed, for a fortnight, remember?”
“But being away from Woodcote will be better for us. You must know that.”
She put her hands on his shoulders and Darcy pulled her in close, resting his forehead against hers.
“Let us wait until Saturday and see what the surgeon says. If he agrees, we will frustrate my horses and coachman and walk all the way to Longbourn if that is what you want. Meanwhile, I will sit with you every day.”
“Good. You will so often be with me that you will tire of my company.”
Darcy kissed her again. “Elizabeth, that is simply not possible.”