Page 88 of Midnight at Pemberley

“Immediately, Sir.”

“Is my husband in his room?” Elizabeth now felt the anticipation of finding Darcy and knowing he was well.

The man looked about for a servant to retrieve their baggage. “I do not believe so, Ma’am. Mr. Darcy walked through the village earlier today, and then he took a light meal in the private dining room. I believe he was going to enjoy the evening at the assembly hall. It is an acknowledgment of our Viking influence in these parts. Our village is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles as the site that saw the beginning of the Viking Age. We take our heritage very seriously. St. Cuthbert’s body was once entombed on Lindisfarne Island, and we do not forget it.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam looked amused. He turned his head to the side to whisper in her ear, “Did he just use the words enjoy and assembly hall in the same sentence with Darcy’s name?”

Elizabeth laughed lightly. “They seem incongruous terms,” she said without moving her lips.

“It appears, Cousin, we will be attending an assembly in the good village of Stanwick.” The colonel brought her gloved hand to his lips. “I will meet you here as quickly as you freshen your clothing.”

“I suppose we must attend the dance to determine my husband’s motives.” Elizabeth reached for his arm.

The colonel patted her hand. “Let us be about it, Mrs. Darcy. We did not travel this far to falter now.”

Elizabeth rushed after the boy toting her baggage to Darcy’s room. She shook out one of the clean gowns, working the wrinkles free. In less than thirty minutes, she rejoined the colonel in the inn’s entranceway. “Do you suppose Mr. Darcy will be surprised by our appearance?” For some reason, Elizabeth’s courage wavered.

“If Darcy is surprised by the fact the woman who loves him traveled halfway across England to find him, I am certain it will be pleasantly so.” The colonel placed her hand on his arm. “To the next adventure, Mrs. Darcy.”

They walked the quarter mile to the village assembly hall. Light filtered through every window, and the sound of instruments, sometimes poorly played, filled the chilly night air.

“Do you see him?” Elizabeth stood on tiptoes, hoping to spy Darcy.

Although the colonel was not as tall as her husband, he still cut a fine figure. “I have a better idea. In a crush such as this one, we could circle each other for hours. Darcy despises cards, so we will not find him in the game rooms. I suggest we take to the dance floor and permit him to discover us.”

“Will it work? I do not see Wickham either, although he can change his appearance. I could be looking right at him and not know it to be him.” Elizabeth took the colonel’s proffered arm.

“If our efforts fail, we will discover another means,” he guaranteed.

The music changed suddenly to a waltz, and Elizabeth looked about in surprise. “A waltz? At a country assembly?”

“Mayhap the Scottish are more progressive than the English,” he teased. “Will you still honor me with a dance, Elizabeth?”

“My wife waltzes only with me, Cousin.” Darcy stood in his usual haughty stance, waiting for the colonel to relinquish Elizabeth’s hand while smiling down at her.

The colonel chuckled. “You always claimed the pretty ones for yourself, Darcy. Where am I to find another partner who knows the steps?”

“I fear I do not care, oh cousin of mine.” Darcy took Elizabeth’s hand and led her around the edge of the floor and brought her close, resting his hand on the small of her back.

When the music began, only six couples dared the dance, but all eyes remained on them. Darcy held Elizabeth to him, but she arched her back so she could see his eyes, and then they stepped into the dance, and magic happened. They were in each other’s arms once more. “I missed you,” he murmured close to her ear as they swirled around the floor’s corner.

“I feared I had lost you.” Elizabeth’s eyes drank in his features.

“You are mine, Elizabeth Darcy.” He spoke softly, but there was no doubting his words. “When you waltz, you waltz with me. When you love, you love only me.”

Elizabeth’s face lit up with delight. She played with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Our love binds us across time.” She tilted her head to accept his kiss. Darcy lowered his head and …

The coach jostled her awake. Elizabeth shot a quick glance at her husband’s cousin. Although he appeared to sleep, his was not the relaxed face of someone truly in slumber. Belatedly, she realized she had spoken the words of her dream aloud, and the colonel had heard her declaration of love, but he pretended ignorance of it. She had waited three hours for the wheel’s repair, but not before she attempted to let or even purchase a horse of her own. Without an alternative, she reluctantly yielded to the only choice available.

Ignoring the colonel’s pretense, Elizabeth asked, “When shall we reach Stanwick?”

The man sat up immediately, overlooking how they chose not to speak to her discomforting intimacy. “I estimate it will be several hours after dark. Mr. Peters is a skilled coachman, but even he must exercise caution on unfamiliar roads after nightfall.”

“Will William be there?” Elizabeth bit her bottom lip in distress.

“I am incontestable in my belief of my cousin’s speedy arrival in Stanwick. Even so, I cannot warrant his safety in doing so.”

Elizabeth looked out the window at the passing countryside. “This land has a savageness about it. Definitely a harsh, unbroken fierceness.”