Chapter 7 - Saturday, September 19, 1812

Mr. Darcy had not slept well. Multiple issues bothered him greatly. Had Miss Elizabeth taken sick yesterday, spending too much time awake, trying to be polite to them? Had he scared her with his attention to her in the library? She had seemed a bit skittish around him when he took her elbow last evening. He would have to ask Georgiana to give her more time to rest during the day.

Why had he not heard from her family? The stories he heard through his sister portrayed a loving family. Surely they would have sent word as soon as his missives were received. He was determined to send out express letters again this very day with his own rider and have him wait for replies.

What did Miss Elizabeth think of him? The fact that that particular question came into his head worried him. Was he forming an attachment to the young lady? She was smart, well educated, and she was a gentleman's daughter. Not to mention he thought she was beautiful. He wanted, needed, to know more about her. But surely he could not let her see his regard. He could not marry a country miss with no dowry, no connections, could he? What would his family say? Georgiana seemed to like Miss Elizabeth, but his uncle the Earl and his Aunt Catherine would surely disapprove of her.

He was disappointed to see only Georgiana in the breakfast room. He had hoped that Miss Elizabeth would join them for breakfast. After noticing her pushing her food around on her plate at their first meal together, he felt embarrassed that he did not take that into consideration earlier. As he had for the last dinner they had together, he had instructed the housekeeper that everything served should be able to be easily eaten with one hand. He was mulling over what else he could do for her comfort when Emma, the maid assigned to Miss Elizabeth, came into the breakfast parlor, holding a note in her hand and looking very nervous.

"Pardon Sir, Miss, but Miss Elizabeth was not in her room this morning when I went to wake her for breakfast. I found this note, addressed to Miss Darcy on the vanity. Her trunk is still there, but some of her dresses, her books and her portmanteau are gone." She stopped. "Sorry to interrupt your meal, but I thought it might be important."

Mr. Darcy assured her that she had done the right thing and the young maid curtsied and scurried from the room. During this, Georgiana was reading the letter from Elizabeth and loudly proclaimed "She is gone! She decided to go home to Meryton for her sister's wedding and has left."

"How can she do that?" Mr. Darcy wondered out loud. "She knew we were awaiting a reply from her family. What was she thinking?" He did not immediately understand the sharp pain in his gut.

"Oh goodness!" remarked Georgiana as she continued to read the note. "She is riding on top of the mail coach, all the way to London!"

"Why would you think that?" Mr. Darcy nervously asked his sister. " What do you know about mail coaches, let alone about riding on top?" She handed the note to her brother to read.

"We were planning an imaginary trip to London. She asked how to get there if you did not have a coach or a horse, pretending we were poor. We talked about the different ways to get to London and she mentioned the mail coaches. I remembered that Mr. Wilson sent Timothy and Gregory to London recently to return with some horses. They rode the mail coach because it was faster. We talked about how much it would cost to travel there with a maid and I told her you would never let me travel in a mail coach. According to the paper I got from Mr. Wilson, it costs fifteen shillings to ride on the top of the coach to London, that is what she says in her note!' Georgiana started to cry. "Oh no, it is my fault she is gone. If I had not found the information from Mr. Wilson, she would not have been able to leave. This is all my fault!"

"No, Georgiana, this is not your fault. Miss Elizabeth would have found a way to go even without your help, she is a very clever woman. I think we are lucky that she did not try to walk to London!"

"What are we going to do? The mail coach left Lambton last night at half past twelve. She can not ride all the way to London on top of a mail coach!" Georgiana lamented.

"No, of course we are not going to allow her to ride all the way to London on the top of a mail coach. I am going to go after her. I must travel fast and will take my horse. I will have a coach follow and as soon as I find her, I will take her to Meryton myself." Darcy stated as his heart pounded in his chest.

"Please let me come. You know you have to have a chaperone for her once you find her. I think we get along well. Let me, and a maid, travel in the coach. She will certainly need a friend after such a harrowing journey." Reluctantly Darcy agreed with his sister.

"Go pack quickly, but I think Mrs. Annesley should travel with you instead of a maid. Elizabeth seemed to be comfortable with her. Ask Emma to pack the remainder of her belongings. I will copy out the list of the mail coach stops for the groom and you will follow as soon as possible. I wonder how she got the fifteen shillings she needed?"

"Emma said some of her dresses and her books were missing. I wonder if she took them to the resale shop to get the money? Oh, no! We talked about the resale shop in Lambton too! She must have been worried that it would not be enough to buy a seat inside the coach, that would have been one pound, ten shillings. I wonder if she had any jewelry to sell also?"

"I will send the steward to talk to the shop owner. We certainly must buy back anything she sold and bring it with you. I can not believe she would do such a thing! Was it so terrible being here with us that she had to steal away like a thief in the night?" Darcy wondered out loud as that pain in his gut got worse.

"No Fitzwilliam, she was very appreciative of what we did for her, but her sister's wedding was coming up. Oh goodness, how did I miss that when I read the note? Her sister is marrying someone named Mr. Bingley. I think when Mrs. Annesley read the letters found in her luggage, she had mentioned her sister was engaged to a man named Charles. Charles Bingley! Her sister, Miss Bennet is marrying your friend, Charles Bingley! Oh goodness, she did not know that we knew her soon to be brother-in-law. I assume you would have been invited to the wedding and would have seen her at the wedding next month!"

"Georgiana, I had just received a letter from Bingley and had not had a chance to read it. Now that I think about it, between his usual blots, I believe Charles mentioned that the estate he was leasing was in Hertfordshire and he mentioned courting a lady named Jane. I was hoping to go visit him soon as he asked for my help with his new estate. I will have to go back through his letters, blotted as they are, to see what information I can find. Would that not be quite the coincidence if Miss Elizabeth's sister truly was marrying Bingley?" He left the breakfast room to look for the letter in his study. He opened the letter and quickly perused the usually atrocious handwriting, blotted even more than usual.

The best he could decipher, Bingley was to be getting married in a month, but the wedding had been postponed as his soon to be sister-in-law had gone missing on a trip home from York, where she had been staying with a friend. She had been on a post coach, but when the coach arrived in London, no one could tell her uncle what had happened to Miss Elizabeth. The family was in an uproar and he was trying to find out what information he could. He was to go to London and help her uncle, Mr. Gardiner, search along the post coach route. He asked that if Mr. Darcy was to hear anything, since the post coach was to travel through Derbyshire, would he please write back to Netherfield, attention to his steward, as soon as possible.

It seemed as if his express letter to Longbourn had never been delivered! How could that be? That would explain why Elizabeth's family never came to get her, never sent a response to his letters. How had he not considered this possibility? Darcy pocketed the letter and called for his horse to be saddled and requested that Timothy prepare to accompany him on his chase to London.

Georgiana went to tell Mrs. Annesley about the trip and to pack. She had Emma pack the remainder of Miss Elizabeth's belongings and they would be ready to depart soon. Her brother had sent his steward to the resale shop in Lambton to buy back what Miss Elizabeth had sold off. Later they found that the items had only brought her one pound; no wonder she had to ride on top of the coach! Darcy reminded his sister, and his valet, that if all goes well, they might be attending a wedding, and to pack accordingly.

Her brother hugged her tightly before he swung up onto his horse. His valet would see that his luggage, and clothing for Timothy would be added to the coach before it left shortly. The coach would travel much more slowly than he could. He figured if they pushed themselves, they could catch up to the mail coach before sundown today. They would push hard to catch up with them, but horses can only travel so fast and must be watered and rested if they are to continue. Mr. Darcy had never been so frustrated in his life, even counting all that had happened in the past fortnight.

Mr. Bingley and Mr. Gardiner were working their way back to London with very little hope of finding Elizabeth. Only one lead had had any chance of truth, but they felt they must dismiss it. There was a porter, in the little town of Lambton, in Derbyshire, who thought he remembered a young lady who might have matched the miniature, but she was getting on the mail coach, on the top no less, not a posting coach and she had a splint on her arm. He said the lady had stopped earlier that evening, that was about two days ago, asking where the resale shop was and when she returned she did not have her portmanteau with her anymore. Certainly Miss Elizabeth would not be selling her clothing to buy a ticket for a mail coach, and to ride on top at that! They thought that it was unlikely to have been Miss Elizabeth since this young lady was traveling on a mail coach, in the middle of the night, and had no luggage with her. One more disappointing lead run to ground. They continued southward in what was beginning to feel like a hopeless quest.

Mr. Darcy had a lot of time to think on his long ride. Miss Elizabeth was a conundrum. She was beautiful, not in a tall, blonde, willowy way, like his friend Bingley preferred. No, she was short, and womanly and had beautiful chestnut curls that he would like to have seen tumbling down her back.

Where had that thought come from? How ungentlemanly could he be? Elizabeth had been a guest in his house. She was a friend to his sister. She was, or rather should still be, under his protection, and if he had his way she would be again, soon. His mind was unsettled. No woman had ever unsettled him this way before. Surely, it could mean nothing. She was a gentlewoman, yes, but she lived in a small, insignificant town, had never been presented at court and by her own admission, had no dowry.

His mind would not settle. He found himself daydreaming when he should have been paying attention to his riding. His horse was his best stallion for long distances, easily able to travel further than any mail coach nag would be able to. He knew they stopped at prescribed stops to water or to change the horses. That would slow down the mail coach, but in the long run, the mail was able to make it to London in good time. But he would be faster, moving faster and riding without needing to stop as often. Timothy was his best rider and he would have no trouble riding all the way to Leichester without stopping.

Meanwhile, eighty miles south of Lambton…

Elizabeth was very glad when the sun rose above the hills of Derbyshire, or were they already in Leicestershire? She hoped it would bring some heat with it. Her blue travel cloak was her warmest one, but it was not thick enough to ward off the cold wind, sitting exposed on the top of the coach. Luckily, her back was to the front of the coach and she could bury her bonnet in her chest to help cut the wind. They had stopped three times during the night to water or change the horses. She did not get down from the coach because she was afraid she would have trouble getting back up the steps to regain her seat, with her arm still in the splint; it had been hard enough in Lambton when the apothecary's willow bark tea was still affecting her. She had eaten two of her apples once the sun rose, but hunger started to gnaw at her regardless. She was not sure she could survive two more days of this, but she was still determined to try.

At this morning's stop, two more people joined her on the roof at some forgotten town. She sat next to a farmer's wife who smelled of the farm, but only nodded at her when she climbed aboard. She was determined to keep to herself and assure that no one took notice of her, even if she had to be a bit rude to accomplish that. She worried about her reputation and could not allow anyone to know her identity. She was still a gentlewoman after all.

The following two stops followed the same pattern. She still refused to descend from the coach and the driver just shrugged and let her be. She thought that she might descend when they got to the busy coach stop in Leichester, where there would be more people to get lost in the crowd and maybe she would be able to buy something to eat with some of the last five shillings she had. She was happy that the sun was bright and warm and she relaxed a bit as the roads improved the closer to London they were. The turnpikes were well maintained and the coach did not sway as badly as it had in the more rural parts of their journey. She was beginning to hope that she might make it to London afterall.

Darcy and the groom kept traveling as fast as they safely could. He would not push the horses more than he knew they could handle. As much as he was keen to get to Elizabeth quickly, he knew if his horse went lame, the journey would be much delayed as he would have to lease, or buy another horse. By the time they passed into Leicestershire, the sun was high and the roads were in good shape.

They stopped at the next coach stop to find out how long ago the mail coach from the north had stopped. It seemed that his estimation was correct and they were catching up to the mail coach throughout the day. He was in a hurry to continue as he hoped he was getting closer to the young lady who held his attention so firmly. If only he had noticed the Bingley coach sitting in the shade, at the Norton coaching inn, the horses resting while their master and his friend were inside, asking anyone who would listen about a young lady who had traveled post more than a week ago.

No one from the coach stops remembered a young woman traveling with the mail coach. He thought it strange when at one of the coaching stops they stopped at, one of the porters said "There were two fancy gents askin' the same question last week. They had a miniature of a right pretty lady they were chasing. Ya know 'em?"

Darcy hoped he was still on the right trail, but was afraid that she might have gotten off the coach for some reason. He realized that he might be chasing a spirit, but was determined to stay the course and press on to Leichester.

At the next coach stop, late in the afternoon, the attendant did remember a young lady who refused to descend from the coach as they changed horses. The driver had said she had gotten on in some small town in Derbyshire, he could not remember which one, but she had not gotten down at any of the stops so far. Her ticket was to London, but he did not see her face as she kept it hidden from him. That mail coach had only left about an hour ago. Darcy was finally beginning to feel that his plan to rescue Elizabeth might actually work.

Now he turned his attention to what would happen when he finally caught up with her, a thought he had not previously allowed his mind to turn to. His coach would be hours behind them and it would be nearly dark by the time he caught up with her. He figured that he would catch up with the mail coach shortly before they reached the coach stop at Leichester. There was a reasonably decent inn at the coaching stop, if he remembered correctly. He needed to get her to come down from the top of the coach, get her a meal and get her a room at the inn, all without risking her reputation. How was he to accomplish this?

As the miles passed, he formulated a plan. If they caught up with the coach outside of Leichester, he could ascertain if Miss Elizabeth was seated on the roof of the coach. He would have Timothy follow the coach from a distance - he was sure Elizabeth had never met him and would not be alarmed by a lone groom on a horse. He would ride ahead to the coach stop, secure a private dining room and rooms for him, his sister, Miss Elizabeth, Mrs. Annesley and accommodations for Timothy and his driver and footman who traveled with his sister. Once he had Miss Elizabeth safe again, he would send Timothy back to meet up with his coach and accompany them to this inn. His plan was starting to come together and he explained it to his companion as they rode along.

They were about four miles from Leichester when he spotted a mail coach ahead of them. He saw passengers on the roof and tried to remember what Elizabeth's travel cloak looked like. Dark blue, he thought. And she had worn a blue bonnet when she was rescued from the post coach. From this distance, he thought he saw her riding in the rearward facing seat on top of the mail coach. He pointed her out to Timothy and told him that he was going to ride past the mail coach quickly, hoping that Miss Elizabeth, if that was indeed her, would not recognize him. He did not want to scare her while she was riding atop a moving coach. He would take his chances at the coach stop.

When he was sure it was Miss Elizabeth riding atop the coach, it took all his will power to continue riding ahead. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest. He dared not call out to her as he wished. He still could not understand why she seemed determined to avoid him and he was afraid that she might try to elude him if she knew he was near. He rode ahead to the coaching inn, The White Gull Inn was the name he could not remember, and talked to the innkeeper to arrange the required rooms. He decided to wait out of sight until the coach came to a stop and Miss Elizabeth had descended from the coach. He did not want to risk frightening her before she was on solid ground.

The wait seemed interminable. It had only been a half hour since he had arrived at the White Gull Inn, the only coaching stop in Leichester, when he saw the mail coach approach and slow down. Timothy came into the coaching yard soon after and nodded to Mr. Darcy before he dismounted and handed the reins to a waiting stable boy. He waited until Mr. Darcy approached the coach before he moved nearby to be of assistance if necessary.

At first, Elizabeth did not climb down from the coach. The driver called up to her. "Miss! You, up top there." That got her attention. "You have to climb down at this stop. You have time for a meal at the White Gull Inn, as we have to change horses. Get down here now!" he said less than politely. Mr. Darcy almost stepped up to the man, but decided it was better to wait to see what Elizabeth did.

"I am sorry sir, but I am afraid that if I climb down, I will not be able to climb up again," and she showed the man her splint. He just guffawed, threw up his hands and turned away. "Women! Never did understand them," and he walked away to get a meal and give orders for the care of the horses.

That was all Mr. Darcy could take. He climbed up the ladder to the rooftop. As Miss Elizabeth felt the coach shift with his weight, she looked up at who would be climbing aboard at this time. When she saw Mr. Darcy, she was speechless. She could only stare at him as if she saw a ghost.

He sat down on the seat opposite her and gently reached out and took her hand. "Miss Elizabeth, you will never have to climb up to the top of another mail coach. I will not allow it. Please, let me help you." She just stared at him.

At last she softly spoke, "You are here."

He let out a little laugh. "Where else would I be? You chose to flee, to ride a mail coach, on the top no less, when I am responsible for you. I promised the coach driver when you were injured that I would see you safely home to your family. How could I not come? How could I be anywhere else but here? I had to come."

"No, sir, you did not. I was on the way back to my family by whatever means were at my disposal. I could not ask you for any further kindnesses. You have already taken care of me, fed me, called a doctor for me. I could not owe you more. I had to leave. I had to get home."

"Yes, Jane and Charles' wedding." She looked up at him, confused. He continued. "Your sister Jane is to marry my best friend, Charles Bingley. I just received a letter from him, telling me that the wedding had been postponed while he and your family tried to locate you. He asked that if I had heard anything, since the post coach passed through Derbyshire, could I please let him know. I think I have plenty to tell him now. Come, let us get you off this coach. I have a private dining room reserved. Georgiana and Mrs. Annesley are on their way in my coach and should be here in a few hours. We will spend the night here and make our way towards Hertfordshire tomorrow."

He gently helped her down from the coach, being careful to not jostle her arm with the splint. She could barely walk after nearly 18 hours sitting on the top of a swaying coach. He was tempted to pick her up and carry her to the dining room, but he knew that would risk her reputation. They walked slowly, not talking at all until he asked a maid to show her to the ladies retiring room and then to bring her to the reserved dining room.

He sent Timothy back the way they came to direct his coach to this inn. After she refreshed herself, he escorted her to the private dining room and asked a maid to bring in dinner and then to stay as a chaperone. The maid brought in dinner, then took a seat near the door and started to work on some mending she had brought along.

When the food arrived, Mr. Darcy frowned. Beef roast and vegetables. He silently took Miss Elizabeth's plate and without saying a word, cut up her meat and vegetables and set the plate in front of her. She very quietly said "Thank you Mr. Darcy. You are a true gentleman."

After eating for a while, Elizabeth asked, "How did you know where to find me?"

"Georgiana concluded that you were riding on the top of the mail coach to London when you wrote to her that you could get to London with fifteen shillings. She showed me the list of stops on the mail coach route and we, Timothy and I, traced the route, stopping at each stop to see if you had been noticed. We found out that you had not gotten off the coach at all. How could that be? You have not eaten since yesterday?"

"No, I ate a few apples that I picked up under the tree I could see from my window. I hoped you would not mind." she said sheepishly. "I was afraid that if I got off the coach, I would not be able to get back on with my hand in a splint. With no willow bark tea, it had become painful. It was hard enough the first time."

Mr. Darcy asked the maid to have willow bark tea brewed and brought to the dining room. She curtsied and left. He turned back to Elizabeth.

"You have nothing to worry about Miss Elizabeth. I would have given you the entire apple orchard if you had asked. I still do not know why you felt you needed to run away. I would have driven you to Hertfordshire myself, if you had but asked." He wanted to say more, but felt this was not the time nor the place to address anything further.

"Your note mentioned your sister's wedding to a Mr. Bingley and one of your letters that Mrs. Annesley had read, trying to find your identity, mentioned she was marrying a man named Charles. Charles Bingley is one of my closest friends. I am sure he would have asked me to stand up with him if the wedding had not been postponed. As it is, I suspect he will be forever in my debt when I return his soon to be sister to him so they can set a new date for the wedding."

They both sat and ate quietly for a few minutes. The silence was uncomfortable. They both had questions that they were afraid to ask.

"Mr. Darcy," she started, "I am sorry that I left without telling you, forcing you on this long journey. I must apologize that I can not properly explain why I needed to leave so quickly. Everyone at Pemberley had treated me so kindly, but I was afraid to stay longer. To get to know the place better. It is best if I return to where I belong and you can go on with your life without the annoyance of a stranger in your home. I am truly sorry that you felt you had to come after me. I never would have left if I thought that it would bring you such trouble. Please forgive me."

"I could not understand why you were so afraid of me. Had someone told you something ill of me? Had any of my staff told you something that scared you? You were so friendly and open with my sister, with Mrs. Annesley, even with my physician. What have I done to scare you so that you would journey like this halfway across England? Why Miss Elizabeth? Why?" He had allowed his voice to raise as his emotions got stronger. She looked at him with her eyes wide. When he saw this, he felt ashamed.

"I am sorry, Miss Elizabeth. Please forgive me for speaking so. I did not mean to alarm you. I was just so frustrated that you seemed to be afraid of me and I still do not understand why." He stopped and closed his eyes. "You do not need to answer my rants. Please forgive me. I will go see that your room is ready," and he stood to leave.

"Mr. Darcy," she began quietly. He stopped and turned around. "I am not afraid of you. You have never been anything but an absolute gentleman to me. Your sister and your staff all speak highly of you." She stopped and looked up at him with sadness in her eyes. "I am not afraid of you, sir." She paused. "I am afraid of myself. I am afraid of my thoughts, my wishes. I was becoming too comfortable at Pemberley and I knew I could not stay. I had to go before I felt like I belonged there. I had to get away. I do not belong in such surroundings. I barely belong among the lower gentry, certainly not in the halls of Pemberley. I am sorry that you have had to go through such hardships because I could not be honest with you. Please forgive me." She put her head in her hands and started to cry softly.

He walked over to her and sat down next to her. He took her hands in his and spoke to her gently. "Elizabeth, why do you think I came chasing after you? Why did I not just send a coach and a maid and have them escort you to Meryton?" She would not look at him. He continued. "It is because I truly believe that you DO belong in the halls of Pemberley. I have never been as happy as the little time we spent together there. Now I know why you kept me at arm's length, but I must say that I do not agree. I see no impediments to you and I exploring our feelings for each other. I would be the happiest man in England if you were to decide that we would suit. I see no reason why we would not. Please, Elizabeth, give me a chance. Give us a chance."

"But sir, you must know that we can never marry. My father owns a small, insignificant estate that is entailed away to a distant cousin. I have four sisters and none of us have a dowry. We have no connections to anyone in the Ton, no Barons, or even Knights in our family tree. Your family would never accept me and I would never make you so unhappy as to require you to decide between me and your family. Surely you must see this sir."

"No, Elizabeth, I do not see this. I do not agree with anything you just said. I do not care if you have no dowry or no connections. I have plenty of money and well connected relations already. What I do not have is someone to love, to cherish, to care for. Someone who loves me in return and cherishes me too. Someone I could see wanting to spend the rest of my life with. Do you think you could ever come to love me? I have come to love you and I truly believe you belong at Pemberley with me. Please tell me what you will think."

"How can this be? When did this come about? We barely spoke to each other. You know nothing about me. How sir? How can you say you love me?"

"I do not know how or when, only that I have come to love you. I love everything about you, your liveliness, your beauty, your spunk, your courage. I know of no other woman who would have, could have, done what you have done today. You are magnificent. I was so frightened when I found out that you had left Pemberley. Please give us a chance. We will travel towards Meryton tomorrow. With your permission, I will speak to your father and ask his permission to court you. I will stay with Bingley at his estate until the wedding. That will give us time to get to know one another." He went quiet and waited for her response.

She did not speak for quite some time. She sat with her head bowed and after taking a large breath, seemed to finally calm herself and looked up at him. "Mr. Darcy, I think I would like to get to know you better. If you truly believe that we might suit, I am willing to see what the future might bring. I accept your request for a courtship, and I believe my father will agree. I would however caution you to keep this secret from my mother. If she hears about this, there will be no peace to be had at Longbourn, or indeed anywhere in Hertfordshire."

He looked at her with a big smile on his face,brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "You have made me a very happy man, Miss Elizabeth." He kissed her hand again. She stifled a yawn. "Let me go make sure your room and a bath are ready. I am sure you are tired and there is no need for you to wait for my sister to arrive. I will make your excuses to her. I will return shortly." He kissed her hand that he was still holding, turned and left the room. She stared after him, unable to believe what had just happened.

A few minutes later, Mr. Darcy returned and the maid escorted Elizabeth to her room and helped her get ready for a bath. Unfortunately, since she had no luggage, she could only sleep in her shift. The maid said that she would return at seven the next morning to help her dress.

Elizabeth was afraid that she would not be able to sleep that night, since she had so much to think about. But, between the willow bark tea and getting no sleep the night before, she fell asleep quickly and was still sound asleep when the maid came to wake her the next day.

Darcy knew he would have several hours to wait until his sister arrived. He passed most of the time by thinking of the lovely young lady asleep upstairs. He let his mind wander to a possible future for them as he had never allowed his mind to do so before. The more he thought, the more he was convinced that his future happiness lay with Miss Elizabeth as his wife. Mrs. Darcy, a phrase he had never allowed to form in his mind before. It was a pleasant thought indeed.

While Elizabeth slept, Darcy's coach with his sister and her companion arrived, escorted by Timothy.

"Fitzwilliam, Timothy says you found her! Is that true? Where is she? Is she alright?" Georgiana fired at him as soon as she stepped down from the coach.

"Calm yourself sister. Yes, I found her, she was alright, albeit tired and hungry when we arrived. She has eaten and is most likely already asleep in a guest room. You will see her in the morning. I have a private room for us to dine in and rooms reserved for you and Mrs. Annesley." He figured he would wait to discuss their courtship with his sister. He had not spoken to Mr. Bennet yet and did not want such talk bandied about where anyone could hear them. "Let us go eat and get a good night's sleep. We will leave early tomorrow for Hertfordshire."

He led them to the private dining room and Mrs. Annesley excused herself to take a tray in her room. As soon as they were through, a maid showed them to their rooms and promised to awaken them at seven the next morning. Darcy went to sleep easily knowing that his love was safe. He had never had such pleasant dreams.