Page 103 of The Difference of a Darcy
Elizabeth followed her gaze, her throat tightening.
Then she reached out and gently touched the woman’s arm.
“There may be nothing left,” she said softly. “But there is something now. Someone. And soon there will be two.”
Mrs. Reynolds did not reply.
But she gave a faint nod.
Chapter 20
Elizabeth stood bundled at the back door, her shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders, waiting with an eagerness she tried not to show too plainly. When Darcy emerged from the stables, wiping his hands on a cloth, she could not help the smile that broke across her face.
He returned it—wry and warm. “Shall we escape while we still can?”
Their paths rarely crossed now—at least not for long. A quiet brush of fingers when passing one another in the hallway, a tired smile across a supper table, a whispered goodnight before collapsing into sleep. But this afternoon, by some miracle of scheduling or grace, they had both been given the same half-day.
They stepped into the winter chill together, their boots crunching lightly over the frozen earth. The air was sharp, but the sun shone low and golden through the bare trees. The landscape had softened slightly since their arrival—some of the worst weeds and brush had been cleared by his hand and others’, though the estate still bore the marks of neglect.
They walked slowly toward the woods beyond the lower meadow, saying little at first. But as the distance from the house grew, so did Elizabeth’s words.
“She asked for another book,” she said, voice bright with pride. “And she wore a different gown today. I found it buried beneath a stack of blankets in the wardrobe. She even let me style her hair in a new way.”
Darcy stopped walking. He turned toward her, his eyes full.
“I do not know how to thank you.”
She shook her head. “It is not necessary.”
“It is. Elizabeth, you have done more for her in a fortnight than anyone else could in a year. I… I could not have hoped for someone more perfect for her.” A pause. “Or for me.”
The words landed between them like a breathless secret.
She looked up at him, surprised—and deeply moved.
He cleared his throat, gaze drifting to the horizon. “I have been thinking,” he said, more quietly now. “If… if we are stuck here, if this becomes our life—could you be happy like this? At Pemberley, I mean. As we are now?”
Elizabeth exhaled, her breath a cloud in the air. “I do not know. This life—it is difficult. Exhausting. But it is also meaningful. Helping Georgiana has been… incredibly rewarding.”
He nodded, but his shoulders slumped slightly as he waited.
“But,” she continued softly, “I do miss my family. Jane. Papa. My sisters. Even Mama’s fretting and Lydia’s wild behavior.” Her voice caught. “And I do not know if I will ever see them again, not as their sister.”
“I am sorry,” he said, the words low and pained. “I never meant—”
“You must not apologize,” she interrupted gently. “I do not blame you for what happened. You could not have known.” She looked away, her throat tightening. “But I do wonder when, or even if, the angel—or spirit or fae, whatever he was—will decide we may return. He said ‘for a time.’ But what does that mean?”
He was silent.
When she looked at him again, his expression was so forlorn that it struck her like a blow.
“I did not mean to sadden you,” she said quickly. “Truly. I only wonder.”
He nodded, but his eyes were shadowed.
“I would rather think on things that give me pleasure,” she said, with more cheer than she felt. “Helping Georgiana gives me that. As does walking with you. Talking to you. Coming to know you, even if we are like two ships passing in the night.”
His mouth quirked. “More like two ships crashing in the night,” he said dryly. “And sinking into a snoring slumber.”
