Darcy had scared away Hannah and Ethan. I lied and said I only missed Hannah, but Ethan could have stayed forever. I forgave Darcy, but told him h e had to behave when the Knightleys returned tomorrow. I had invited Ethan back to hunt the pheasants of the estate. We had plenty so Darcy and him could share. Even Hannah and I would be delighting in the fun of the hunt. Hannah and I were very good at sport hunting. Ever since we were twelve we had both indulged in the activity.
I sighed as I made my way upstairs to bed, I saw Darcy leaving the library with a book. He had said that Hannah had pronounced a French book title, well I only had one French book, and he was carrying it. This made me laugh that Darcy was going to read that book. There must have been a certain spark between Darcy and Hannah. I could see them being together, considering that they were so much a like. Hot tempers, opinionated, two peas in a pod. They could have been best friends. All I could think about though was Ethan. I needed a husband and he needed a wife. We could certainly help each other out.
Maybe he didn't want to be helped. Maybe he was a free spirit… or he already had someone that he was going to get help from. I hoped not, I hoped that he would ask me to be his helper. He seemed to like me when we were sitting outside. Hopefully he liked shy girls. I was extremely shy around men usually. I would get myself tongue-tied.
I laid down in bed and stared out the open window. It was dark now and stars were shining brightly. I could have laid there and watched the stars forever, but I fell asleep quickly. I was so excited for the next day.
When I awoke the next morning the sun was already up and shining. I rolled out of bed slowly. I had been so tired last night and I was till tired this morning. I ran my fingers slowly through my golden hair. It had curled from the way I had slept upon it. I looked into my small looking glass and tried to brush it into a certain fashion, hoping that it would stay that way.
I passed by Darcy's room as I made my way towards the stairs. He was probably still fast asleep. I would bother him, thought I should have after he sent Ethan home last night. That still made me quite mad. I would have invited Ethan to stay in a guest, but he ran off to comfort his sister. He was respectable like that. So I had no right to be mad at him. Certainly not.
I skipped breakfast this morning I was just too anxious for Ethan to be here. He would make me so nervous. I made my way outside towards the pond. It was shimmering and rippling as fish swam through the clear waters. I absent-mindedly rested down on the bench that Ethan and I had sat upon the night before. It had been such an enjoyable time. Surely other girls would have been jealous of girls near Ethan, but no body would steal Ethan away. I would fight for him, or become Jane Austen. A writer who loved a man who could not afford to marry for love. I'd become an old maid and only think of him. It'd be a heart breaking life, but some lives don't end with love.
I continued to stare into the water as I daydreamed about Jane Austen and her love for Tom Le'Froye. A maid interrupted my thinking.
"Ms. Bingley?" She shyly spoke.
"Yes, Mary?" I answered.
"The Knightleys will be here soon." She was so quaint and polite.
"Thank you, Mary." I stood and walked with her towards the house. Still daydreaming as I walked through the foyer to the stairs. I sighed in a content manner as I ascended the stairs making my way to my room. I'd need to look nice, but just rigid enough for hunting. I pulled out a light cotton dress that was a peachy color. Perfect.
By the time I was done dressing the Knightleys were just arriving I ran downstairs before they got to the door and waited. Hannah came in first carrying a large picnic basket.
"Oh, Hannah. What a splendid idea. A picnic." I rushed to hug her as her brother shuffled in behind her, baring two guns. He was certainly ready for some sport. He sat the riffles down and offered a hug which I warmly took and held onto. He squeezed me tight before we heard Darcy's usual throat clearing gesture. He liked to make an entrance. I looked to Hannah. She had rolled her eyes. She believed in the conjecture of being modest while Darcy believed if you have wealth, show it. Now that I thought about it… They were complete opposites.
"Good morning, Mr. Darcy." Ethan was being polite, Hannah completely ignored him.
"Shall we head out to the fields?" I wanted to break the tension.
We arrived at the main pheasant field in a short amount of time. Hannah sat the picnic basket down and retrieved her gun from Ethan, who chuckled as she loaded it with ease. I sighed as I loaded my own gun, I wanted to warn Hannah that Darcy was a very competitive man, but she was a very competitive woman. There would be no stopping those two.
"Darcy, Hannah, why don't you take the north field." I separated us off so we could have a better chance, and so I could be alone with Ethan. Both Darcy and Hannah grumbled as they march off. Perchance sending those two away with guns wasn't the best idea. Ethan pulled me along across the field. I loved his arm around my shoulders.
He let go pretty soon though. He lifted his gun, "Get ready, Katrina." We came upon a large patch of grass and I raised my gun. We inched closer and the pheasants began to fly EVERYWHERE. Ethan shot first taking down one bird. I shot next and took down one myself. We went through the tall grass to retrieve the birds. Once we had gotten our birds we walked towards a tree, resting down beneath the shade. Ethan pulled me close. As close as we had been on the bench last night. I hid my face between his shoulder and neck like before, trying to hide my stained-blushing cheeks. He took his fingers and lifted my chin gently, making me stare into his eyes.
He then ran his fingers back through my hair, slowly. I could feel myself shiver from his touch. He pulled me just a little bit closer. I slowly exhaled as he pressed his lips to mine. My eyes fell closed and I rested into his arms. It felt like heaven. He then pulled away looking down at me. It was amazing.