Page 57 of The Engagement at Longbourn

“Mr. Darcy.”

“One step.”

He took it. Pain sharpened his breathing, but the leg held.

Another step.

Then another. By the time he reached the drawing-room door, the whole household had somehow assembled to watch.

Lydia clapped.

Kitty cried, “He is walking!”

Mrs. Bennet burst into tears. “Oh! I knew you would. Dr. Morrison said you would, but physicians are always so cautious, and I said from the beginning you had a strong constitution.”

Mr. Bennet leaned against the doorway. “Darcy, if you can make it as far as the library, I shall consider charging you rent by the room rather than the day.”

Darcy, breathing hard, managed, “I shall consult my solicitor.”

Elizabeth smiled.

He saw it. The triumph in his face softened into something warmer. He returned to the chair without argument. Two weeks later he walked outside. The snow had melted from the south-facing lawn, leaving the ground wet and brown beneath a pale winter sun. Darcy wore a heavy coat. One crutch supported his right side; Richard walked to his left.

Elizabeth accompanied them because, as she told Darcy, “Someone must prevent the Fitzwilliam cousins from turning recovery into a military contest.”

Richard looked offended. “I am the responsible one.”

Darcy snorted. They made it as far as the old elm halfway down the drive.

Darcy stopped.

Richard studied him. “Enough.”

“I can go farther.”

“You can always go farther. That is why someone must stop you.”

Darcy looked at Elizabeth. She pointed toward a bench.

He obeyed.

Richard grinned. “Remarkable.”

“What?” Elizabeth asked.

“I have ordered him about since we were boys. He never listens.”

Darcy sat. “You enjoy ordering for its own sake.”

“And Miss Elizabeth?”

Darcy looked at her. “She is generally right.”

Elizabeth’s brows rose.

Richard made a show of examining the sky. “I must remember this date.” He wandered tactfully toward the stable.

Elizabeth sat beside Darcy. For a while they watched a pair of rooks pick through the grass. Darcy flexed his gloved hand around the crutch handle. “I have missed this.”