Bluebells in the Mourning by Mackrory Karalynne

Author:Mackrory, Karalynne [Mackrory, Karalynne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Meryton Press
Published: 2013-05-04T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Elizabeth bit her lip and fixed her gaze steadily out the carriage window. Her cheeks, she knew, were flushed and warm. It was always the result whenever her thoughts brought her back to Darcy and the kiss, her first kiss, only a few days before. The tingle from it had long since disappeared, but the rapidity of her heart rate often returned with the memory. To have gained such a man’s love was beyond Elizabeth’s comprehension. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the padded seat of the carriage.

Elizabeth had not felt such joy and contentment before in her life, and she laughed to herself at the thought that she was now in love with the last man in the world she thought she could ever be prevailed upon to marry. To think she had held that belief just a short three months ago. She knew that her changed perspective had started with her sister’s death; from knowing him better, his disposition was better understood. In this new light, his artless compassion, gentle kindness and understanding nature could be seen, and she could not deny it if she wished.

Her pride still rankled that she had been so deceived by Wickham’s character. She believed now, after reflection, that his deception was more her fault than his. Had she not set herself so decidedly against Mr. Darcy because of his slight against her at that first assembly in Meryton last autumn, then she would not have let her wounded dignity be taken in by the charms of Mr. Wickham. Elizabeth struggled with a mixture of wonder and discomfort to think how the tragedy of Lydia’s death had shown Mr. Darcy in a new light. She might have gone on forever disliking the man and misjudging his character.

With her new understanding about his feelings for her, she realized that, if Mr. Darcy had allowed his love for her after all these months to compel him to offer her his hand and she had not learned the truth about him, she would have made an even graver mistake in refusing him. For a refusal, she knew she would have given. The very thought of hurting him so, of turning away his love, a love she could not imagine living without now, made her eyes swim beneath their lids.

With overwhelming gratitude, Elizabeth offered up a solemn prayer of thanks for the blessings she’d been given in the face of this adversity. She was certain that he was now the only man she could ever be prevailed upon to marry. Elizabeth smiled as she thought, It is a good thing then that he plans to call on me soon.

* * *

Madeline Gardiner had not spent twelve years of blissful matrimony without being able to recognize the look in a man’s eyes when he was in love. Neither was she unaware of the look that came into a man’s eyes when that love was coupled with desire. Therefore, as much as she had

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