Mr Darcy: A Man with a Plan by Lucy Marin

Author:Lucy Marin [Marin, Lucy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Read, Duplicate in Anthology
Goodreads: 53692365
Publisher: Quills & Quartos Publishing
Published: 2020-07-07T04:00:00+00:00

The answer struck her a week later. They were at a picnic, sitting a little apart from the rest of their party. Elizabeth reclined against the thick trunk of a tall fir tree. Mr Darcy, his jacket discarded, sat by her side. Elizabeth was determined to overcome the obstacles which were preventing her from fully understanding him but had made little progress in their recent meetings. Mr Darcy was leaving the neighbourhood in one week, and she would follow soon after. A letter from Mrs Gardiner, arrived just that morning, had confirmed the date and that they would go only as far as Lambton.

With the impending separation, Elizabeth was beginning to feel desperate. She needed clarity. If she had it, she would know the proper way to release both Mr Darcy and her from any obligation to each other. Or to give him that which he says he wants.

Elizabeth’s hand rested on the ground. Mr Darcy had plucked a bright yellow buttercup and caressed her hand with it. The soft petals gently slid from her wrist to the tips of first one finger and then another, and then to the back of her hand, tracing the veins. Elizabeth’s eyes tracked the flower’s movement, catching a glimpse of the strong fingers directing it. It was almost hypnotic given the silence between them.

Mr Darcy’s head was bent, his eyes watching the flower just as hers had been. Elizabeth looked at him, moving a little to the right to try to catch his expression. When she did, she saw something she had never seen before.

He loves me.

Her heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her throat. She could not deny what her eyes showed her. There was a softness, a quiet joy, and a vulnerability about him as he sat beside her and caressed her hand using the buttercup as a proxy. With his head bent and their relative seclusion, he must have felt comfortable enough to relax his usual reserve. Or perhaps, Elizabeth realised, she now simply allowed herself to see and understand.

He truly loves me. That is why he is here, why he has accepted my admonishments. He loves me and wants me to love him. He believes we will be happy together, and that matters more than my family or my wealth, more even than the awful way I misjudged him.

Elizabeth had no idea how many minutes passed before the sound of a lady’s laughter broke the spell, and she unconsciously moved her hand. Mr Darcy sat up and dropped the flower. Her heart beat rapidly and she stood, Mr Darcy doing likewise.

“Shall we take a turn? I fear I have been sitting too long.” Elizabeth avoided looking at him as she spoke.

It took several minutes for her to regain enough tranquillity to speak without fear of betraying her newly found, and very startling, awareness. She affected a happy, relaxed tone. “I find I must ask you to share a bit of your vast knowledge of Derbyshire with me.

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