Alone With Mr. Darcy by J L Pearl

Author:J L Pearl [Pearl, J L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-11-22T05:00:00+00:00

4

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Propriety had indeed been the problem, not the solution, and Elizabeth’s life was no longer her own as a reward. She reflected on his as she retired to her chambers that night. Dinner had been less icy. Mr. Darcy seemed to be making an effort to be considerate toward her feelings, which she did appreciate, but it did little to rectify the oddity of the situation, and she did not do much to encourage him. Therefore they had parted once more not with animosity, but still a somewhat frigid formality, each to their own chambers. Elizabeth dressed for bed and settled beneath the covers with a book.

Some time later, when full dark had long since fallen but Elizabeth’s wakeful eyes had grown very much accustomed to the moonlit chamber, she rose, startled, to hear the sound of someone in the corridor outside her closed door. Then there was the knock: three quick, quiet raps, followed by silence. They waited.

Elizabeth waited too at first. But when it became apparent the person on the other side of the door, whom she supposed to be a servant, was not leaving, she got out of bed, pulling her clothing tight about her neck.

A chamber maid, perhaps? But why would they wait if it were? Wouldn’t they have assumed Elizabeth was asleep?

Her heart thudded in her chest as she padded silently as she could across the floor. If it were Mr. Darcy… what would she say? She stopped just inside the door.

“Yes?” she called softly.

“Elizabeth,” he said.

His voice was like music. It was deeper and richer than she had heard it before, suffused as it was with the weight and intimacy of the night. Her heart threatened to burst free, so loudly did it beat. She forced herself to take a deep breath.

“What do you want?” she said?

“I…” He paused, sounding unsure. What could he possibly want? “I only wanted… forgive me, Elizabeth. You were sleeping. I will leave you be.”

The floor creaked again, the sound of Mr. Darcy moving down the hallway. He moved slowly but steadily away, giving her space. Elizabeth glanced back at her bed, realizing she would never sleep tonight. Instead she opened the door.

“Yes?” she called. He turned to face her. His eyes darted down her form and back, just for an instant, before he composed himself and bowed at the neck.

“Forgive me, Elizabeth. I did not mean to discomfort you. I am only… I am mindful of how strange the day has been, and I have something I wish to say. It can certainly wait till morning if you are sleeping.”

She gestured to herself standing in the hallway. “Clearly I am not. What is it you wish to say?” She watched him gather his thoughts, standing, still in his dinner dress, in the middle of the hall, and reconsidered. “Come,” she said, stepping back into her chambers. “This is ridiculous. We are wed now; surely we can be alone in a room together at this point.”

“I suppose that is true,” he said, an undercurrent of humor in his voice.

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