Chapter 10
Anxious were the thoughts of both Elizabeth and Mr Darcy on the day that she was due to return to Pemberley. They both wondered if the somewhat magical spell could continue. Elizabeth had only understood her feelings towards Mr Darcy in his absence, so she was nervous to see if it would change the way they interacted upon reuniting.
She was pleasantly surprised to find that she need not have worried. Their reunion passed as if she had not ever left. Upon alighting from the carriage, she and Georgiana collided in an excited embrace, accompanied by squealing and skirt ruffling. She curtsied to Mr Darcy and was delighted when her warm smile was mirrored and returned to her. His hand ached with the longing to hold hers, and had they been alone, he would have kissed her knuckles. He hoped that his smile conveyed his desire to do so.
"I do hope you had a pleasant trip to York," he said to his three guests. "Such a lively and beautiful part of the world."
Elizabeth replied before her aunt and uncle could speak. "We did indeed have a wonderful time, thank you Mr Darcy. My uncle's business concluded successfully and I found the local sights most diverting. Indeed you are correct, the country around York is beautiful, but I am glad to return to the beauty of the Derbyshire hills."
He was overjoyed that she had returned, and was most definitely flirting with him now. "Well, we are very glad to welcome you back. Perhaps we should venture inside for some tea, and to allow you to recover from your journey. So much travel in so very few days, you must be exhausted."
The Gardiners and Elizabeth all felt their hours in a moving carriage most keenly, and agreed to Mr Darcy's eminently reasonable suggestion. The whole party then spent a pleasant hour reuniting and catching up with each other's news, before Mr Darcy invited Mr Gardiner fishing, and Georgiana expressed a desire to take Elizabeth to a further reach of the estate in the lovely sunshine. Mrs Gardiner had some correspondence to attend to and so the afternoon was passed in a slow and happy reunion for all members of the party.
~.~
The next day brought with it glorious sunshine, so Mr Darcy arranged the previously promised trip to the peaks at Eyam much to the delight of his guests. Elizabeth in particular could not contain her excitement at the prospect of a day spent in fresh air with new wilderness to explore. She had enjoyed the perfectly manicured gardens of Pemberley, but was looking forward to seeing the native scenery her friend had gushed about on so many occasions. And she was not to be disappointed, not at all. There was scenery as far as the eye could see, good company to be enjoyed, and stimulating conversation shared between all five members of the party.
Georgiana had arranged a picnic, which the misters Darcy and Gardiner were carrying on their quest to a rocky outcrop where they would break for lunch. Mr Darcy had promised a singular view from this particular resting place, and so they pushed on a short while longer than planned to reach it in time for lunchtime. Overall, the hike was not greatly challenging, but it was not without exertion at this stage. Looking around the group, their faces were all bright with the exercise, eyes aglow with the joy that good company and fresh air provide. The green slopes themselves were dotted with small boulders, which Lizzy mistook for sheep on one occasion, much to the Darcys' amusement and Elizabeth's embarrassment.
Such it was that the party arrived at their lunch spot in excellent spirits, and with a whetted appetite for the sumptuous goods that Georgiana had requested from the kitchens. They ate languorously in the warm sunshine, not in a particular hurry to keep moving. Mr Darcy had been correct in his assertion that the view from this particular spot was spectacular. Lizzy declared it to be the most charming vista she had ever seen, much to both of the Darcys' delight.
"The artist who painted the scene in your gallery is extraordinarily talented, Mr Darcy," Elizabeth commented to her conversation partner. He had followed her to the edge of the outcrop when she had stood and walked not more than ten feet from the group to get a better look at the view.
"Yes, that was indeed what spurred me towards commissioning the piece," he teased. "I do not think I would have spent good money framing it had I not found the end product pleasing."
"I dare say you wouldn't have. I know enough about you and your tastes to know you wouldn't hang that awful painting I sent Georgiana next to such a masterpiece." They were both chuckling at the remembrance of how truly dreadful it had been. "You do not have to concern yourself over whether to agree with me, Mr Darcy. I shall not be overly offended if you did not delight in my artistic flair. As you know, I was exaggerating my lack of talent for Georgie's amusement. But in reality, as well as in jest, I am not a great proficient so perhaps you would be better saving your wall space for some of her masterpieces."
"I appreciate the effort you have gone to in sparing me from offending you again," came his direct reply, once they had reigned in their laughter. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so happy, and so free.
"I was not sure at the time whether you would enjoy the joke, or whether it would concern you further, what with Georgiana mixing with the uncultured masses," she joked, although her tone belied a real insecurity.
"I wish you had not been subjected to my horrible mood on that day. I said words I have long since regretted," she thought idly how handsome he was when he was apologising. The vulnerability and sincerity in his expression was most refreshing.
"I appreciate your apology, sir," she replied. "Though, as I recall saying to Georgiana more than once since, I do not think there really is anything to apologise for. I was ready to jump to prejudice much faster than usual, and my pride rose to the occasion in a rather ugly manner. I believe we are well on our way to reconciling any differences, in any case."
"I do not think ugly is a word I would use to describe your person or any of her characteristics," he said. There, I have done it, he thought to himself as a glorious blush coloured her cheeks. He felt oddly compelled to kiss her warm skin there. He wanted to feel the soft skin of her cheeks under lips. But on taking a step towards her, his stomach fell through his knees as his foot met with a loose stone that fell from underneath him. He let out a quiet cry of surprise, scraped his left arm, and felt a sharp thud to his head as the world went black.
~.~
Elizabeth jumped to action the second that she saw him slip, and with reflexes more cat than woman, reached for his hand as his body went limp and tumbled off the side of the rocky cliff. She instinctively laid down to maximise the leverage of her light body against the heavy weight of his, and called out to her companions.
Mr Gardiner ran quickly to her aid and managed to get a grip on the arm Lizzy was employing to hold tight to Mr Darcy. Together, and much to their onlookers' relief, they fulfilled the difficult task of hauling his unconscious form back to safety. Georgiana was sobbing, and Mrs Gardiner was trying to console the poor girl.
The very last pull - the one that dragged him over the edge and back to solid ground - left Elizabeth in the curious position of having Mr Darcy's still form on top of her. Most accidentally, she had heaved one last time and he glided in the direction of her pulling, between her legs, where his body had flopped onto her torso. Entirely inappropriately for the given moment, for any moment, she scolded herself, she found that she rather enjoyed his weight on her person. If it weren't for her urgent need to breathe, and her acute concern for his unconscious state, she would have savoured the seconds of this confounding closeness a little longer.
As it was, the intimate interval was broken as Mr Gardiner helped her to make her way out from underneath their injured host. She continued supporting his weight, from the side now, and frantically searched his face for a trace of wakefulness. She employed her bare hands to check for a pulse - which she was relieved to find - and to hold his face under her increasingly anxious scrutiny. She could not see any breakage to his skin, but she was concerned at how hard he had hit his head.
"Mr Darcy," she called, adrenaline forcing an even tone, in spite of the turmoil that she was feeling. "Mr Darcy," she repeated, a little louder. And then a third time for luck, she cried "Mr Darcy." She was half tempted to try shaking his body, but was instead rewarded for her efforts with a pair of long and thick fluttering eyelashes.
"Elizabeth?" He murmured sluggishly, against a great pain to the back of his head. "Elizabeth is that you?" His words were slurred, and he had closed his eyes again, for the light was much too bright to look at. He had managed a glimpse of her worried face before he felt his brain pulse and his stomach squeeze. Bless her, he thought, she is so beautiful. How fortunate I was to fall to her feet, if I did indeed have to fall.
"It is me, you are correct," she replied, her tone more staccato than he would have liked. He couldn't quite remember what had happened before he slipped on that stone, and couldn't think of any reason she would use that tone unless he had done something wrong.
"I have not offended you, have I?" He checked, reaching for her to steady himself as the world spun. She let out a shocked noise as he accidentally reached for her chest rather than her shoulder. He was not embarrassed, in fact his only coherent thought at that moment was how delightfully soft she felt. She felt a strange sensation before correcting his error and moving his hand to her shoulder, and replying to his unfounded concern.
"No, you silly man," this was said with affection so thick that her uncle raised his eyebrows, but correctly determined this was not the moment for that particular conversation with his niece. "You have fallen and injured your head. It is very important that we help you home, so that you can see a doctor. Do you think you can move?"
He nodded his head and made to stand, holding tightly to the proffered hands of both Elizabeth and Mr Gardiner. He immediately regretted his choice. The delightful picnic, partially digested, was ejected from his stomach and onto Elizabeth's dress as he found his wobbly way to his feet. The two ladies who were watching from a safe distance averted their eyes, and Elizabeth winced at the general unpleasantness, and in concern for her friend's brother.
He apologised profusely, and leant heavily on his two companions for support as they began a slow walk back to the carriage. Fortunately, it was near in distance to their lunch spot, as the main body of the walk had been planned for the afternoon. So it was a difficult but not impossible task to help Mr Darcy back down the hill to the carriage.
He refused to open his eyes for any length of time, claiming that the sunlight was giving him a headache. Georgiana, seeing the growing lump on the back of his head, gave Elizabeth a towel wrapped in ice, from the picnic supplies, to hold there. He complained loudly when she first touched it to his engorged sore, but his protestations fell on unlistening ears.
"I am afraid that this next bit is unlikely to be pleasant for you, so you might wish to sleep if you are able," Mr Gardiner warned as he and a footman helped Mr Darcy into his carriage. Georgiana sat opposite her brother so that she could keep an eye on him, and Elizabeth entered the carriage next. He had just enough presence of mind (and just enough absence of inhibitions) to reach for Elizabeth's hand and bid her to sit next to him, so she can maintain her hold on the cold compress, he reasoned. She was not in a mood to decline his requests, so sat on the rich satin upholstery trying to ignore the scent of his lunch on her dress, and to hold the icy bundle close to his injury site as they traversed the good road back to Pemberley.