Chapter Six

Elizabeth sat nestled next to Mr. Darcy in of one the sleighs on the way to pond, noticing Anne had connived Miss Bingley into sharing a sleigh with her and Richard. A regular circuit of four sleighs ferried the house servants and their families, plus the Master's party through the glowing field between Pemberley and the pond on the edge of the woods. Luminaries lined the far edges, and the entire vista presented as a winter wonderland to all, even for those who had enjoyed such an evening for over a decade.

"Elizabeth, may I assist you with your skates?" Mr. Darcy used her Christian name softly.

"I would appreciate the courtesy, William," she answered in response, relishing the private moment they managed in the sea of people arriving and lacing up on the benches situated for the evening's fun.

As Mr. Darcy kneeled to affix the skates to Elizabeth's boots, she sucked in her breath and for a moment the position caused a flicker of understanding between them.

"Yoohoo, Mr. Darcy! I am so thankful you arrived. I'm a dreadful skater, and I hoped you might help me?" Caroline Bingley verily crashed into the shoulder of Mr. Darcy, illustrating her poor skills indeed. He finished Elizabeth's skates and ignored Caroline for a moment.

"Shall you be alright to start?"

Elizabeth nodded, anxious to join the fun on the ice. Mr. Darcy escorted Miss Bingley to the other side of the bench to wait while he affixed his own skates. When he searched the pond, Elizabeth held hands with a number of the children, all skating in a circle. A lump formed in his throat and Miss Bingley's pleas to join the skating barely registered.

For a quarter of an hour, the magic of the moonlight brought exceeding merriment and mirth to the crowd. Elizabeth skated a few rounds with Georgiana, then slowed to skate with Jane. Charles held his wife constantly for fear of a fall, but Jane only wished to skate a few rounds with her sister. Elizabeth turned to skate backwards to Charles' cries of protest, but Jane reassured him.

"We skate all winter at home and Lizzie is the best!"

As the threesome came to a stop so Jane could remove her skates, Elizabeth felt a small tug on her skirt. Looking down she saw young Sally Reynolds, the six-year-old grand-niece of Mrs. Reynolds.

"Miss, can you teach me how to skate backwards?"

Elizabeth said she would be delighted and held the little girls' hands as she instructed her how to scissor skate with her strong leg to keep her momentum going. Caroline Bingley shrieked when Elizabeth let go of Sally's hands at her own command and Sally skated right into the back of Miss Bingley!

"How dare you, you little—"

Elizabeth dashed forward and came to a stop spraying a small amount of ice which made Sally giggle. "I forgot to teach you when you skate backwards, you must look behind you for obstacles." Elizabeth lightly tapped the little girl's nose, motioning for her to join the other children her age. She turned to Miss Bingley who still gripped Mr. Darcy like a vice. "No lasting harm done, eh Miss Bingley? I wonder that you have forgotten how to skate when you practiced so beautifully at Netherfield?" Elizabeth shrugged as she began to skate backwards again, away from the strained couple.

"Miss Bennet is such a show off! How rude to those of us struggling to skate!" Miss Bingley's frustration bubbled over, but Mr. Darcy knew it was all bluster. He had seen Miss Bingley skate many times before, and knew the lady was simply using it as bait. With a nod to Richard, his cousin relieved him of Miss Bingley most gallantly as Anne was now sitting on a bench with Mrs. Bingley.

Darcy skated alone for a few turns, watching Elizabeth laugh as young Sally showed off her new skills to the boys her age, who could not quite get the hang of her new trick. He cruised nearer to the jolly woman, and placed an arm around her waist.

"I wonder, Elizabeth, if you've ever danced on ice?"

She waited breathlessly as Mr. Darcy held her other hand out and pushed off . Her feet easily obliged. "No, William, I fear I am new to this pleasure!" It was exhilarating to skate as a couple, her body pressed to his as they both faced forward. Elizabeth felt as light and graceful as a frost fairy. After a few rounds on the ice, applause broke out at their ice dancing, causing Elizabeth to blush, enhancing her cheeks already a pleasing shade of rose from the cold.

Darcy slowed their progress as they neared Anne and Richard who had taken up Darcy's example and were now skating in tandem. Soon, the ice filled with couples, young and old, enjoying the coziness pairs skating afforded. Anne and Elizabeth laughed, and Darcy realized if he and Richard had machinations, the ladies too might have made plans.

Elizabeth relaxed her head slightly against the crook of Mr. Darcy's shoulder, her arm was becoming most tired. "This is lovely, but I'm afraid I need a rest."

"Certainly, how beastly of me to keep you so engaged."

"No, no," Darcy dropped Elizabeth's arm and released his hold on her waist, surprised when the young woman grasped his hand most firmly. "This evening has been a fantasy, I don't want it to end!"

Sadly, it did end as the cold depleted everyone's energy after an hour or so, and the trek back to the main house began in shifts. Caroline Bingley slipped on the ice and cried out, ruining everyone's fun as she demanded Mr. Darcy assist her to the sleigh as her ankle hurt too much to bear weight. As Caroline continued to cry, Elizabeth rode back with Georgiana and young Miss Sally at the former's invitation. As the young girl sat snuggled with Elizabeth, remarking on the bright stars above, Elizabeth dreamily answered politely while her mind replayed the wonderful feeling of skating in Mr. Darcy's arms.

Only as the sleighs returned to the stables did Elizabeth remember he was to leave in the morning and a pain pricked her heart. Handing young Sally to Mrs. Reynolds as it was well past the little girl's bedtime, she walked arm in arm with Georgiana.

"Mind the ice, Elizabeth. We don't want a real twisted ankle to contend with while the men are gone."

The sauciness of Georgiana's slight at Miss Bingley shocked Elizabeth for a moment, but she laughed as well. "But I'm afraid I don't walk alone well. Miss Darcy, oh please, won't you help me?"

As the two girls shook off the snow from their cloaks, they were alight with glee. Elizabeth lamented on how Mr. Darcy was nowhere to be seen, and frowned when Georgiana offered to walk with her to retire. She sighed, but reasoned it was just as well she seek her bed. She did not trust her affection for Mr. Darcy to abstain from liberties if he so much as hinted, and that would not make enduring two days without him any easier.

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The ladies of the house spent most of their time in the downstairs sitting room since Miss Bingley had refused to admit her injury was a farce. She reclined on the chaise lounge after being carried there by a footman and with her many complaints, Elizabeth wished the woman had opted to remain in her rooms to recuperate.

For the third time that morning, Elizabeth's stitches refused to behave and she was picking at the red thread with one eye squinted. Jane reached over to her sister and calmed her hands. "You are so impatient, Lizzie, and this design is intricate."

"Who knew a simple rose could be so bothersome!" Elizabeth shook the handkerchief she was embroidering in frustration. Georgiana stopped her scales to attend her friend.

"This is a lovely present, are they for William?"

Elizabeth nodded, beginning to blush, and the conversation piqued the ears of Caroline from the chaise. "Is it not a bit above your connection to him, Miss Eliza? What will people say about the brazen Bennet women who chase men? There's only so many patched up marriages to go around, you know."

Elizabeth scowled and remained silent. Jane smiled and patted Elizabeth's leg. "Charles and I are most pleased you did not harden your heart to him. The two of you will make a splendid match."

The two sisters shared a warm embrace as Caroline Bingley's face began to turn purple. "Her! Charles wishes for ME to marry Mr. Darcy! He is in love with me and only awaiting me to show him affection in return!"

All four of the ladies in the room stared at Caroline's outburst. It was Anne who responded first. "Please, Miss Bingley for over half a decade you unsuccessfully wooed my cousin. He will never offer for you, a daughter of a tradesman, when there is a lady of fine quality before him." Anne gestured toward Elizabeth, who shook with guilt. While it was true that Caroline did not have the same status, it was still Jane's family.

"Mrs. Fitzwilliam, while I am pleased at the compliment, Mr. Bingley's family has nothing to be ashamed of . . ."

"Of course not," Georgiana echoed. "But William has told me many times how much he admires you Miss Elizabeth, all the way back when he first visited Hertfordshire in his letters. Yours must be the longest courtship in the history of England!" The younger girl giggled, trying to add levity to the situation.

A pounding in Caroline's head thumped incessantly as she watched the other three laugh and congratulate that whore on winning Mr. Darcy when she was not yet even engaged to the man! No, Mr. Darcy was hers! Pemberley was hers! A wounded screech came from deep in her chest and she rushed forward with intention to hurt that harridan Elizabeth Bennet as much as she hurt inside.

As Caroline Bingley leapt from the chaise, forgetting her injured ankle, it was Georgiana who sprang to action first. Her tall frame matched Caroline's and boxed her out from the sofa, and with what appeared to be the gentlest touch, the strong hands of Georgiana Darcy seized Miss Bingley's and twisted to wrap them around. Caroline Bingley cried out in pain and Georgiana instantly released her to crumple to the floor.

"Oh, Miss Bingley, you have overtaxed yourself from your injury." Georgiana motioned for the footman by the door to hasten over. "James, please help Miss Bingley upstairs to rest, and I hope you will not trouble yourself to leave your rooms again today." The command in Georgiana's tone brooked no disagreement from the ladies and as soon as the offensive woman was removed, she let out a huge breath she had been holding after her edicts.

"Georgiana Wilhemina Marie Darcy!" Anne shouted, breaking Georgiana from her panted breaths. The younger cousin turned to face her older one, fearful of reprimand. Instead, Anne rose from her seat beside Jane and crushed the young girl into her arms. "May every London drawing room live in fear of this one's wrath!" Anne released Georgiana to look at the young woman closely. "My mother and yours would be so proud! Mother always did abhor that upstart!"

The Bennet sisters were still afright as Elizabeth realized Caroline might have hurt Jane and the baby. With a whisper, she asked Jane how they were going to tell the gentlemen what happened?

"I'm not sure, but leave it to me. I'll find a way to alert Charles that his sister needs help."

Her hands still shaking at the morning's outburst, Elizabeth returned to her stitching with gusto. Squinting once more, she finally spied the loop she needed to push the needle through to pull the petal into a point.

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The hard ride to Willow-On-Havre weighed heavily on Darcy, Bingley, and the Colonel as they all reclined in what was likely to be Charles' future study. The house was still stubbornly Tudor in design, but the majority of issues were cosmetic comforts.

"You think Jane will have the house despite the garish decor?" Charles worried about selecting an estate without his wife's approval, but knew it was too much to ask her travel.

"What woman doesn't like to decorate? I'm sure she and Elizabeth and Anne will have wallpaper samples and fabrics picked out before we return," Richard reasoned.

Darcy tried to stay focused on the matter at hand, but his thoughts kept returning to his own home. What would it be like to update rooms of Pemberley with Elizabeth's tastes? He hadn't changed much since his parents were alive, and now understood what men at the club meant about a woman's touch to a home. "Don't forget this is merely a preliminary courtesy, Charles. We will need to visit again in spring to sign any final documentations and we should hold another inspection of those earthworks on the southern side. I know the tributary has a habit of flooding when the rains come. It's important they be reinforced."

"You manage to kill joy everywhere, don't you cousin?" Richard scolded Darcy. "Buck up, Bingley. You are a true gentleman now!" He raised his glass to salute the man.

"Er, yes, yes, thank you, Colonel." Bingley looked into his own glass at his reflection and smiled. After taking a drink, he cleared his throat. "I do not begrudge Darcy his lack of joy, I know all too well the misery of unrequited love."

"Indeed, he does, and at your hands, Darcy!"

Shamed, Darcy grunted and finished his own drink, trying to think of a way to retire before the conversation turned to his business.

"That was some pretty ice dancing with my sister-in-law. I must ask you, rogue, what are your intentions?" Bingley used a mocking deep voice, despite Richard losing his solemn countenance.

"Will it be pistols at dawn, gentlemen? I'm not sure I can second you both, we may need to conscript Mr. Cornish."

"Enjoy your taunts, gentlemen. You know my intentions are honorable for Elizabeth." Darcy frowned and muttered to himself. "We should be married now."

"What was that? I believe I heard married in that mumble, didn't you, Bingley?"

"Indeed, I should make him ride out tomorrow for a special license. Don't you think, Colonel?"

"I'll propose to her the moment we return to Pemberley! There, will that make you two cease and desist?" Darcy placed his glass on the rolling tray and stood from his chair. "Feel free to carry on at my expense, I am to bed."

"The sooner to return to your sweet Elizabeth!" Richard called after Darcy, receiving a scowl from the man as he slammed the study door shut. "Well, Bingley, what do you think? Will he propose in the entryway or find another way to isolate her?"

Bingley swirled the last sip of brandy in his glass and shrugged. "According to my Jane, my sister-in-law may well tackle the man and drag him off to propose to him, herself."

Richard laughed at the picture painted in his mind as he had no doubt Elizabeth Bennet could indeed club and drag his cousin off without even lifting a finger. Then again, it was good for a Fitzwilliam man to have a strong woman by his side.

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