The Gypsy Blessing (14 page)

“What happened next?” Georgiana asked.

“Eventually, we made our way out of doors and recognized my uncle’s carriage. None of us had seen Mr. Smith, but Mr. Gardiner did not wish to leave us to look for him. Knowing we would be much safer away from the theatre, my uncle saw us all inside and then climbed atop with the driver, ordering him to leave.”

“I do hope Mr. Smith was uninjured!”

Elizabeth nodded, “He caught up to us later at the Gardiners’ home. It seemed that he had been attempting to rejoin us in the box, but found it impossible to walk against the tide of people leaving the building. In fact, he was able to see our departure from his vantage point and was quite relieved that Mr. Gardiner had not waited for him.”

Georgiana visibly shuddered. “I do not think I would have been able to endure such a frightful situation!”

“I believe you would have done just as well, Georgiana,” Elizabeth stated with a smile. “But let us pray that you shall never have to prove it to anybody!”

Georgiana nodded.

In an attempt to change the subject, Elizabeth redirected her friend by asking which operas and plays she had attended so far. When Georgiana mentioned having attending a presentation of
King Lear
, Elizabeth said, “I had been reading
King Lear
again since coming to Ramsgate, but the book belonged to the library at the house my uncle rented, and I had to leave it behind.”

“Although the collection of books here may not as complete as those in my own libraries, I do remember seeing a few of Shakespeare’s plays among the shelves here.” Darcy pushed his chair back and stood. “Let us adjourn to the study and see if we cannot find it for you.”

~%~

His mind too busy replaying the events of the day, Darcy had endured enough of tossing and turning, and rose from the bed. After lighting a candle, he dressed in a lawn shirt, trousers, and a dressing gown, and settled into a chair nearby. The book of poetry reminded him of a conversation he had enjoyed with Elizabeth earlier in the evening. Darcy headed towards the study to choose something else to read.

Upon his arrival at the study, he noticed the door was slightly ajar. Pushing it open, he stopped short, surprised to see Elizabeth within. From his vantage point, he guessed that she must have dressed herself to come down and was unable to reach several buttons at the top of her gown. The light from the hearth played upon the exposed skin halfway down her back to where a bit of lace on the edge of her chemise began. His fingers itched to trace the line of her spine.

I should not be alone with this tempting creature!
he thought, and yet he could not force his feet to lead him away from her.

Elizabeth examined several volumes and then reached for a book that was too high for her limited stature. Darcy’s first impulse was to move forward and offer his assistance, but he became distracted by what she did next. Taking her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes searched the room. She placed her candle on a nearby table and stooped to pull a footstool towards the shelves.

Concern for her safety broke the spell that had held Darcy rooted amongst the shadows of the hallway. Taking a step or two into the room, he cleared his throat to announce his presence.

“Mr. Darcy!” Elizabeth startled and straightened, quickly turning her back away from him—he assumed in order to hide her state of undress.

He sensed more than saw her blush in the dim light. Darcy bowed slightly.

“I found that I am not in the mood for a tragedy after all, sir. I came down to find something else.”

“And the book you desire is out of your reach?”

She nodded. “I am still thinking of Shakespeare, but I might do better with a comedy this evening.”

As he moved closer to the bookcase, her scent invaded his senses, making him profoundly aware of the nearness of her person. Her attempt at backing away from him was thwarted by the lack of space at this corner of the room.

If I had not been so utterly distracted—if I was truly a gentleman—I would have stepped aside to let her move away before offering my assistance.

Now it was too late; he would do better feigning ignorance of his
faux pas
. He forced his gaze to search the shelf where Shakespeare’s volumes stood.

“Is
Twelfth Night
more to your liking?”

Confused by her lack of response, he looked down. Her soft, steady regard and the quickness of her breathing sent a thrill through him. His gaze caressed her features and settled upon her mouth. Her full lips parted, and he leaned towards her slightly. Her quiet gasp brought him to his senses.

Darcy straightened and stepped away to a more appropriate distance. Clearing his throat, the contempt he felt at his complete disregard of propriety saturated his voice when he barked, “Why did you not call a servant to retrieve a book?”

Her eyes widened and brows rose as she replied, “Would I not be thought of as exceedingly selfish should I interrupt someone performing their duties or disturb their sleep, only to get a book off a shelf?”

“Most assume that servants are here to
serve
the occupants of the house.”

She pursed her lips but held her tongue.

“I will not allow my guests to be injured whilst climbing on furniture,” he snapped. “In the future, if an item is not within your reach, I ask that you either request assistance or do without.”

“I will have you know that I am a champion tree climber, sir. If standing on a mere foot stool should cause me an injury, I would be thoroughly ashamed.”

In addition to the fire of anger brightening her eyes, a most appealing colour was now spreading across her cheeks. In his distraction, the novelty of what she had revealed took him off guard. Darcy could control his countenance for only so long before he burst out laughing. Instead of taking offense, as one would expect after a gentleman so boldly derided a lady, Elizabeth joined him in his mirth.

“Have you not been told that ladies should not climb...
anything
?” he asked between chuckles.

“It just so happens that my mother has found a need to remind me on a daily basis since the moment I took my first steps, sir! It has required a great deal of discipline on my part to curb most of the hoydenish activities I favoured as a young girl, but I am afraid my passion for tree climbing is one that I have yet to overcome. However, I
have
become more careful.”

“Careful? Did you take too many risks and suffer broken limbs?”

“I do not think one would be able do well climbing trees without taking
some
risks, but generally safety comes first. I did learn a great deal about tending to one’s own sprained ankles and wrists, but have never suffered a broken bone.”

Darcy had to bite back a smile at her display of superstition when she reached out and touched the wood of the shelving.

Elizabeth continued, “Because some of my companions were not as cautious as I, I became quite good at finding the apothecary when he was not at home. But when I said I became more careful, I meant careful of my
gowns
, sir. Out of necessity, I learned to sew earlier in life than most young ladies would acquire that skill so that the servants had no reason to report to my mother any tears in my skirts. Since then, I have also found that embroidery of a vine will cover the tell-tale signs of mending remarkably well.”

His rich laughter filled the small study. “Please, promise me not to tell Georgiana that you continue to participate in this activity, or she may begin to climb trees again, too!”

“Again? Was she good at it?” Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled with mischief.

Darcy noticed that she had promised nothing. He nodded. “At times, when she was not engaged in her lessons, she would follow me and my cousins about the grounds of Pemberley and try to keep up with us. I am more than ten years her senior, and my cousins are older than I, so most of our activities were well beyond her abilities. She always seemed to compensate somehow; I guess she had good models in us... except for running—her legs were much shorter than our own.”

“She sounds very much like me, then. I have no brothers, but I did tag along with the neighbourhood boys on occasion. They thought by engaging in activities beyond my skills, they would lose me, but I learned quickly and would often end up outdoing them at their own games—which, I am sure, made my trailing along after them even less appealing than before!”

Darcy chuckled. “In our case, we would slow our pace so Georgiana could keep up. Now that I think of it, the only one who continued to insist that she go home was Wickham.”

His smile faded quickly, as did hers.

Elizabeth asked, “Mr. Wickham spent a great deal of his time with the sons of gentlemen, then?”

“Yes. One would think the sons of an earl would have insisted the son of a steward be left behind, but they never did. That is not to say they
liked
one another. My cousin Richard—Colonel Fitzwilliam—and Wickham never got along. They spent more time arguing than doing anything else, but I always felt that deep within, they both enjoyed their scraps.”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow during his speech. She had no idea that the Darcys’ uncle was an earl. She supposed one of his cousins was the viscount. “And since Georgiana habitually followed you, she was often with Mr. Wickham?”

Darcy nodded. “He did not treat her well at all, Miss Elizabeth, and we clashed over it quite often. I never thought she would need to be warned against him, because I did not expect she could have
any
positive feelings for the man at all.” He hesitated, contemplating whether he should go on. She probably already knew, and besides, being female, Elizabeth might understand his sister better than he ever could. He continued, “What puzzles me the most is that she said she had
always
loved him.”

She tilted her head and nodded. “Unfortunately, logic does not dictate the yearnings of the heart.”

Darcy’s own logic was telling him to discontinue this interview now and keep Elizabeth at a distance from now on, but his heart desired much more than conversation with her. Her voice interrupted his musings.

“Mr. Wickham’s conduct towards her when she was young explains several comments she has made to me. Thank you for confiding in me, Mr. Darcy. It will help me to understand the situation from a different perspective.”

“May I ask a question?”

Fascinated by his hesitant tone, she answered, “Certainly.”

“What did you mean when you called yourself a ‘champion’ at tree climbing?”

Elizabeth laughed. “I told you I outdid the boys at times, but I also must admit that I had not been particularly modest about it. They were resentful, and, to teach me a lesson, they thought up a contest including several activities, including tree climbing. Unbeknownst to me at the time, since they were careful about which challenges they included—each being an area that only
one
person excelled—by the end of the challenge, each person had the right to be proud of an accomplishment. I was declared the champion of the tree-climbing portion of the challenge. Once they admitted that I was good at
something
, my vanity was satisfied, and our acquaintance went along much more smoothly.”

He smiled widely.
Conversation with Elizabeth is refreshing—unlike that with any other young lady of my acquaintance.

Elizabeth’s expression changed quickly to one that he did not understand, and she looked away from him, linking her hands behind her back.

I did not say that aloud, did I?
“Is something wrong, Miss Elizabeth?” he asked.

“I am quite tired, sir.” Schooling her features, her gaze returned to his face. “All this discussion leaves us where we started. Will you get the book, or shall you force me to call a servant?” As an afterthought, she added, “Or you can turn your back, and I will get it myself.”

Darcy had to hide his disappointment at her voicing a wish to leave him, but he, too, realized this meeting had best end—his being alone with her had already been far from proper. “I apologize for keeping you so long.”

He stepped closer once again and retrieved
Twelfth Night
. Their fingers touched as he handed her the book, and she flushed and swayed slightly. He placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

She shook her head slightly and said, “I am well, thank you.”

Knowing that was his cue to release her, Darcy found that he could not. Inadvertently, the thumb of his right hand had settled against her collarbone, and it was taking all his strength to keep himself from caressing the silkiness of her skin there.

Elizabeth is under your protection—end this now!

After filling himself with her scent, he stepped away, bowed and fled the room before the power of his will could fail him—and her.

~

The moment Darcy left the room, Elizabeth took a few shaky steps around the sofa that had blocked her from moving away when he had moved closer to her and sank into the cushions, breathing a sigh of relief.