“You had better send urgent messages,” he said. “Ask the colonel and Mrs Cooper to dine with us this evening…and do not forget Mr and Mrs Gardiner and Miss Kitty.”
Chapter 38
“Where are we going?” she asked.
He was walking at such a pace that she scarcely had time to observe anything, and besides, she had no desire to release his hand. It was curious how much pleasure their joined hands gave her, almost as much as a kiss.
“To your apartments,” came his reply, and she immediately obliged him to stop.
“Mr Darcy, the ‘discussion of bodies’ is not for now.”
For what must have been the tenth time that day, he burst into laughter.
“My dear Miss Bennet, I am old-fashioned. I shall become acquainted with my wife only on our wedding night.”
And it was her turn to laugh, “You spent an hour kissing me senseless, and now you sound like a bishop writing a conduct manual,” she teased him, yet in truth, she breathed more easily. That morning, she had still been uncertain he would appear during her visit, let alone have an opportunity to speak with him, and only a few hours later, she was engaged to him, the man she loved and she tremendously happy. More bewildering still, hehad kissed her in an embrace that had stirred every one of her senses.
It had been too much.
She wanted quiet, peace, time to think. She needed events to proceed at a pace she herself could understand, for she wished to remember every moment.
He opened the door to the drawing room, and once inside, she felt she wished to live at Pemberley and be merely a visitor here.
“What has happened?” he asked when at last he looked at her properly.
“I am overwhelmed,” she admitted, honestly and, in haste, he drew her into his arms, gentle and protective.
“Forgive me. We shall go slowly. You must have time to grow accustomed to everything.”
“Do you read my thoughts?” she asked, her face hidden against his chest.
“I hope not only the respectable ones.”
“I have no others,” she confessed.
He kissed her forehead and, looking directly into her eyes, replied,
“You will, my dear.”
Elizabeth slipped gently from his embrace, eager to explore the room, to examine every object. She ran her fingers across the silk that covered the walls and marvelled at the elegant fragility of the furnishings.
A large Chinese vase overflowed with roses, and she suspected that fresh flowers were brought to the room every day.
“Elizabeth, this will be your apartment. You may do whatever you wish here. Throw everything away and replace it with only those things you like.”
“I like everything, but it is all so beautiful and valuable that it feels almost like a stage set.”
He said nothing, though he appreciated her honesty immensely. He was certain she would soon become accustomed to it all and, before long, would be exactly the mistress that house required.
“Mama largely refurbished the house twelve years ago, and it was undoubtedly one of the most elegant and fashionable residences in London. And this is not a brag but a reality. Papa felt the same, even if she did not touch his apartment and the library.”
Then an idea occurred to him.
He summoned the housekeeper, Mrs Forbes, who entered with an air of complete ease. The moment she saw Elizabeth, however, her expression altered. Surprise was impossible to conceal, and perhaps there was even a little apprehension, for she had undoubtedly guessed who the lady accompanying her master must be.
Elizabeth smiled when Darcy presented his housekeeper, but Mrs Forbes managed only a curtsey and a strained smile, which vanished altogether when Darcy announced,
“Mrs Forbes, Miss Bennet is my fiancée.”