After many months, the impossible plucked her out of a grey misty limbo as sharply as if a frigid hand had grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her down to earth. So naturally, being unaccustomed to gravity's dominion over nature, as she turned to collect her relations to make the introduction, she staggered, finding the earth set at a different angle than when she last left it.
Mr. Darcy sprang into action, catching her by the elbow and then waist, uncertain if she had merely stumbled or was fully unable to support herself. She'd gone from flushed to pale so quickly that he wondered if he dared believe he'd seen her blush at all, let alone cherish it as evidence in his favor.
'Miss Bennett!'
This was becoming a real exercise in humiliation, thought Elizabeth as she struggled to regain composure and some semblance of control over the situation.
'How clumsy of me.' She laughed breathlessly at herself, in part to defuse his embarrassment at the impropriety by redirecting the blame, in part to stem near-hysteria. Throw them in the way of other rich m—an insupportable thought, steady, Lizzy.
'I would do well to remind you that I'm quite proficient on the dance floor.' And before she could even flinch with regret over her choice of the word proficient—heaven help her—his grasp tightened and then abruptly she was released.
Except he still seemed to have a hold on her lungs as her breath came quite shallow.
'Are you well? You must come in and rest. I'll ring for tea—or send for the apothecary.' As he found his voice again, his thoughts tumbled forth like children trying to fit out a door all at once.
Every nerve within her sang with pleasure at his inability to conceal his concern, which fairly galloped towards panic. The violence of his affections, indeed, rose unbidden in her mind. The wickedness of the comparison—or of the contrast? Wickeder still—shocked her, but she needed her humor and verve more than ever to give her the strength to carry this interlude forward to terra firma before further faux pas could strike.
'Thank you, Mr. Darcy, I am well, I assure you. Only justly mortified.'
She smiled at him; seeking to reassure them both, yet pale to tread over the past although she must to find footing to begin making her amends. She looked so strikingly vulnerable as her eyes searched his that he'd begun to reach for her hands without thought. Instead he smiled in return, still more determined to earn her confidence than he had been when he risked the dissolution of his friendship with Bingley to right the charges she'd laid at his feet.
Here Mrs. Gardiner chose her moment prudently and both parties found the necessary social niceties held them steady. Gauging her color safely improved, Mr. Darcy lost no time in making his many improvements known. Elizabeth regarded the park with fresh wonder, as if the very light of the sun had in some curious way altered all things it touched.