Darcy awoke to a semi-lit room. The drapes had not been pulled shut while he slept, and as he began to sit up slender slits of sunlight showed the silhouette of the master's chamber.
He was angry with himself that he had slept the day away. Precious hours had been wasted and now it would be too late to travel again.
Standing up, and next to the bed Darcy discarded his shirt and exposed his bare chest. Running his fingers through his unruly hair he decided that his first task would have to be to bath.
Moving towards the door he pulled the hanging bell twice to summon his attendants, and within in moments the head butler and Darcy's steward were inside the chamber.
The butler, without a word from the master, set to work gathering the discarded pieces of clothing scattered on the floor, while Darcy began to go over his plans with his steward.
"Roberts, I will need the horses ready and well rested by tomorrow morning. I will also need you to go out and seek a specific merchant I am in need of and bring him back to the house within the hour." Darcy continued to talk as he moved towards the writing desk positioned in the corner of the room.
The butler also moved with the master, simultaneously pulling back the heavy drapes to reveal the late afternoon light on the list Darcy had begun to write out.
Looking up at his man Darcy continued to give his thorough instructions. "You will go to this location." Darcy handed over the folded piece of parchment. "Do make certain that he brings the precise items I specified in my message! I do not have time to waste on any errors."
Darcy stood waiting for a reply from his man, as the butler moved from the bedroom to the bath to prepare the hot water.
"Sir, I will leave at once, but first there is a matter of your guest."
"My guest? Who is here Roberts?" Darcy asked frustrated that he had not been awakened earlier.
"Colonel Fitzwilliam, sir. He arrived some time ago. He has been in your study ever since. I am aware that a bottle of your finest brandy had been made available to him an hour ago."
"Roberts, tell him I will join him momentarily, and Roberts, make no mention to the Colonel of the business you are attending to this evening." His man bowed and knowingly exited the room.
Darcy turned and walked towards the heat of the bath that was seeping into the room, wondering what or who had brought his cousin to his London home this evening.
As Roberts entered the foyer on the ground floor he paused a moment before heading towards the master's study. Looking down at the parchment Dracy's trusted manservant read the location of the task he had been assigned to fulfil.
Reading the location again for the second time, Roberts began to scratch his head. For the life of him he could not comprehend what business Mr. Darcy could have at this late hour with a jeweller.
Slipping the parchment away inside his jacket, Roberts pushed through the study's door to great the Colonel and relay the master's greetings.
Upstairs Darcy sat unassisted in his bath, replaying the events of the past few days.
He was pleased to be within the walls of his own home, but his heart continued to ache. Even sleep offered no respite from his distress.
As he closed his eyes, his body soaking in the hot water, her face began to run across his mind, and in the silence of the room he spoke her name aloud.
"Elizabeth."