A Perilous Match

Chapter 17

D arcy slipped into the house with uncharacteristic haste, hoping to avoid being seen by Elizabeth. This was not his custom. Since their wedding, he had made a point of seeking her out the moment he returned home to greet her, and over the past few days, this attentiveness had seemed to soften her disposition towards their union. Indeed, she had more than once stepped out of the drawing-room to meet him, her smile warm and genuine, a sight that had touched his heart.

Today, however, as he returned from Angelo’s Fencing Academy, he was keen to bypass her. Yet, as he passed the drawing-room, Elizabeth turned at the sound of his footsteps.

“Fitzwilliam,” she called. He could not help but smile at the sound of his name on her lips, though his hand instinctively moved to his neck.

“Elizabeth, I did not mean to disturb you. Please, return to your reading. I shall join you presently.”

“I have finished my chapter and—Fitzwilliam!” she exclaimed, her voice laced with concern as she approached him. Her gaze immediately fell upon his neck. “What on earth has happened? You are hurt!”

Darcy offered a small, reassuring smile, attempting to soothe her evident worry. “It is nothing to be troubled over, my dear. A minor incident during fencing, nothing more. The physician has already tended to it.” He had hoped to change and don one of his wider cravats to conceal the conspicuous cut where Phillip’s foil had grazed him.

Elizabeth was not so easily reassured. Her eyes, wide with concern, searched his face. “Minor, you say? Yet you return with a wound and a bandage at your neck. How did this come about?”

Darcy hesitated briefly, as though considering how best to allay her fears. “I was fencing with Phillip,” he explained with measured calm. “He was momentarily distracted by a noise outside, and the tip of his foil caught me. It is but a mere scratch, I assure you.”

“Distracted, you say?” she repeated, her brow furrowing. “Does Phillip often display such carelessness in his fencing?”

“No, not at all,” Darcy replied, shaking his head slightly as if to dismiss her concern. “Phillip is usually quite adept. It was an unfortunate moment of inattention, nothing more. There is no cause for alarm.”

Yet, despite his reassurances, Darcy saw Elizabeth’s disquiet deepen.

“You have encountered much misfortune these past few days. First the robbery and now this,” she said, her tone suggesting a lingering suspicion, though of what, Darcy could not discern.

“Please, there is no need for concern. I am unhurt, and living in Town brings with it such challenges. That is why I had a proposition for you. Parliament will be in recess for the summer, and I thought I might take you to Ashburn, the Marquess of Dorset’s seat. What say you?”

Elizabeth regarded him, her head tilted slightly as if she were not entirely certain what to make of this suggestion. In truth, he had wished to take her to Pemberley, but time was pressing, and it was necessary that he visit Ashburn sooner rather than later.

“We could bring Jane with us. Georgiana could join us for a time, though she will have to be dispatched back to town within a fortnight as she is to travel to Matlock with my uncle and aunt, but I should like to show you the estate, and later in the year, we might visit Pemberley.”

He waited, hopeful that his distraction might succeed, and to his relief, she nodded.

“I suppose it would be well for us to see Ashburn and for the servants there to become acquainted with us. I shall speak to Jane,” she said, but then she drew a deep breath. “You must take greater care, can you promise me that? I worry.”

Darcy felt a rush of warmth and smiled. “I am glad to hear that you care.”

“I am your wife, am I not?” she replied, though a smile played about her lips, and Darcy could not help but wonder if, perhaps, a little light of affection had ignited in her heart for him as well.