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“Your home is lovely, Mr. Darcy.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Drury. But there is so much more of it to admire than just this view.” He watched Elizabeth. “I hope you both will be very happy here.”

Smiling at the way his gaze never left Elizabeth as he spoke, Mrs. Drury responded, “I am sure we will, sir.”

For a moment, William thought Elizabeth might say something, but in the end, the only sign of her approval was a very slight upturn of her lips. His heart sang. This was the first sign of a smile since he had found her that night in the rain, and he could not tear his eyes away.

You are home, my love, and I hope to make you smile for the rest of your life. You will never be unhappy again, if it is in my power to make it so.

Chapter 10

Pemberley

“Mr. Darcy! I was hoping to find you out early today!”

Cecile Preston’s greeting caused William to turn Onyx around from the view at the top of the mountain and watch her manoeuvre her mare up the steep trail behind him. He frowned to think she might have followed him to Derbyshire. Her appearance at this place, sacred to him since he had come here first alongside his father, raised his ire.

He wondered whatever had possessed him to show it to her. This outlook was his destination each time he rode out seeking sanctuary, and now she knew just where to look for him. Seeing the unnatural smile on her face, he wondered at her presence on his property at all. He had assumed that Cecile had been sufficiently offended by his actions that he would never see her again by her own choice.

Fears of a compromising situation intruded on William’s thoughts as well as the realisation that she must still be hopeful of gaining his admiration. If that were true, she would likely want to follow him back to the manor. Trying not to raise her suspicions, he summoned his best manners and assumed a pleasant mien.

“Mrs. Preston, I am surprised to see you! I thought you were enjoying the advantages of Town.”

“Oh, I decided to leave London shortly after…” She coloured and looked down demurely. “I decided I simply must apologize for what I said at your aunt’s ball. I do not know where my manners were, but I assure you that I did not mean a word of my,” she looked up through her pale eyelashes, with what she believed was a most seductive expression before continuing, “my little show of temper.”

William showed no emotion, so she quickly continued, “I still want for us to be friends and maybe, when you have all your responsibilities well in hand—”

“Speaking of those responsibilities, I am supposed to meet with my steward in a half-hour, so I must beg your leave and return to the house. I wish you a very pleasant day.” He pulled the reins and nudged Onyx to turn, but at the dejected look on her face, felt somewhat sorry and added, “You understand that I have been gone a great deal lately, and I have much to do.”

“I understand completely. You have much resting on your broad shoulders. However, I wonder if I might ride back to Pemberley with you? I need to rest my horse for a bit before I return to Rosewood Manor, and surely you would not deny a thirsty lady a cup of tea.”

At the sight of a frown appearing on his handsome face, she continued pleadingly. “You will not even know I am there, as I know you have a meeting to attend, and I must return to Rosewood shortly or Georgiana will worry.” She tried to be more cheerful. “I cannot wait to inform her that you are already home. She mentioned your return to me, and from the intended date of departure, we believed that you would arrive tomorrow.”

He wondered at Georgiana’s discussing his letters with her and that she rode all the way to Pemberley this morning if she believed he was to arrive tomorrow, but he kept those thoughts to himself.

“Of course. You are welcome to rest and have some refreshments.”

They rode back to the stables in silence, and he was able to keep a short distance ahead the entire way. His thoughts were occupied with planning how best to keep Cecile from seeing Elizabeth. Once they attained the paddocks, William dismounted, throwing the reins to a groom, and began surveying the house to see if he could espy Elizabeth on the balcony outside her room.

“Mr. Darcy?”

William looked over his shoulder to see Cecile holding out her arms, obviously waiting for his assistance in dismounting. She had never required his help before, and he stood transfixed until suddenly remembering his manners and moving to lift her down. The smile she bestowed as she slid down, purposefully trying to move closer to his person caused him to shiver in disgust. It was the exact smile he had seen on innumerable ladies of the ton throughout the years. How wrong he had been to ever think she was not one of them!

After setting her on the ground, he offered her his arm, and they walked swiftly towards the manor. It was all Cecile could do to keep pace with his long legs, as William wished to gain the house as soon as possible and be done with her company. He cut across the lawn to enter the house via the portico. The French doors in the parlour already stood open, letting in the morning air.

As they entered, William startled to see a flustered Mrs. Drury walk hurriedly past the door in the direction of the front of the house. Forgetting about Cecile, his only thought was that something might have happened to Elizabeth, as her companion rarely left her alone.

“Mrs. Drury?” he called, leaving Cecile behind as he stepped briskly ahead. Mrs. Drury’s footsteps stopped and became louder as she hurried back toward him. Upon reaching the door, she timidly peered inside, and seeing Mr. Darcy, sighed audibly.

“Mr. Darcy, I am so glad you are here. Elizabeth—” She stopped, as he held up his hand to silence her, and Cecile materialized from behind him. In his concern, William had almost forgotten his unwanted guest was right behind, so now he sought to isolate her.

“I am sorry, Mrs. Preston. Would you excuse me? If you will continue to the dining room, I am sure cook has set out breakfast and will see to it that you have your tea and perhaps something more filling.”

Although she must have realised from the way Mr. Darcy quieted the woman that something had to be amiss, Cecile’s face showed no disquiet.

“Oh, do not concern yourself about me, Mr. Darcy. I know just how to make myself at home here.” She started out of the room, a simpering smile on her face that caused his stomach to turn. With Mrs. Drury’s sudden appearance, he was beginning to regret allowing the woman to visit.

William followed her to the doors, closing them and turning to Mrs. Drury. He had no way of knowing that Cecile had quickly moved down the hall and through the music room next door, then out onto the portico, where she inched towards the still open doors of the parlour they had entered just moments ago. She was able to hear their entire conversation from her hiding place.