the girl.
Georgiana nodded and mumbled, “Yes.”
“Where are you going to college?”
Georgiana squeaked something that Elizabeth thought was “Stanford,” but she couldn’t be sure.
This was turning out to be more difficult than Elizabeth expected. With a final effort, she said, “Did I hear you were in Europe with Will recently?”
Georgiana finally made eye contact with Elizabeth and with a tiny smile she nodded.
“Could you tell me about it?”
Slowly Georgiana told her about being in Paris with her brother. Elizabeth soon found that she got the best response when her questions involved Darcy, so she kept to that. Soon the girl was speaking more freely and even told her a funny story about her brother and his passport.
Elizabeth smiled warmly. “He seems very fond of you,” she observed.
Georgiana blushed. “He is very good to me. He was so young when our father died, and he has never complained about taking care of me.”
“He sounds like the perfect big brother.” She wrinkled her nose. “But he can’t be all perfect. Tell me, what does he do when he’s bad?”
“Plays U2,” she said simply, with great solemnity.
Elizabeth laughed until she fell back on the grass. When her chuckles subsided, she asked, “Anything else? Does he tease you or something?”
“No, he would never do that.”
“Wow,” said Elizabeth. “He is perfect.”
Elizabeth was impressed at how much she enjoyed talking to the younger woman. She was startled when Darcy rejoined them to find how quickly the time had passed.
“How did it go?” she asked.
“It was fine,” he assured her. Then he added, with a playful glint, “When you’re giving them money, they’re generally very accommodating.”
Elizabeth matched his smile. “I honestly wouldn’t know, but I can see your point.”
“Can we walk a bit?” Darcy asked.
The ladies stood, and Mary and Georgiana took the lead, giving their siblings some needed privacy.
“Elizabeth,” he waited until her attractive eyes meet his. “I need to apologize. I’m very sorry about what happened before. I’m appalled at my own behavior, and I hope you can forgive me.”
Elizabeth looked at him with undisguised surprise. Her mouth worked for a few seconds before she was able to speak. “I’m sorry,” she whispered earnestly. “I’m so sorry, Will. I shouldn’t have walked out like that.”
Darcy focused on walking and remaining calm in this public setting, when all he wanted to do was snatch her up in his arms and cover her face with kisses.
“You were right, Elizabeth, I was pushing too hard and I wasn’t thinking about your feelings.”
“I don’t think,” she interrupted, “either of us can say we were thinking about the other’s feelings that morning.” Her hand slipped into his.
“You may be right, but you have to admit I really screwed things up at the VMAs.” He looked away and his mouth puckered in disgust, “When I think about what I did, Elizabeth, I’m so ashamed.”
“Don’t think about that,” she admonished gently. “I’d much rather you remembered the good things about me,” she smiled very slightly, “and us.”
He squeezed her hand tightly in a show of what he wanted to do in a less public setting. Elizabeth squeezed back and smiled. “You can call me Lizzy, you know,” she said playfully.
Darcy’s lips curled. “I think I like calling you Elizabeth. It’s something no one else does.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Except my mother, when she’s mad.”
Darcy lost the battle against his self-control and leaned over and kissed her smiling lips. “Perhaps you could call me Fitzwilliam, since no one else does,” he said conversationally, the tone of his voice was greatly relaxed.
She replied in the same easy tone, “Not even your sister, when she’s mad?”
Darcy shook his head. “No, she hits me when she’s mad.”
“That’s because you’re a moron,” Georgiana grumbled from ahead of them.
Elizabeth laughed, her buoyant joy warming Darcy as he watched her, completely bewitched. He was delightfully surprised by Elizabeth’s reaction to him and was forced to conclude that his sister had been correct. Elizabeth had only needed time, and he had been a fool to not talk to her again. He was grateful that he had been given another chance, especially in a setting such as this, which was so different from the tense, tight, rushed experience of touring.
Here, in this open and sunny place, there was no need to hurry. Darcy’s time was not his own, and his chances of being alone with Elizabeth were null. He was resigned to this and in fact, he was somewhat glad of it. He felt safer moving slowly right now, building the comfortable rapport with her that had always eluded him in the past.
Mary was performing in the concert at six o’clock, so the group decided to have an early dinner. Mary had arranged for a large picnic dinner and wouldn’t hear of the Darcys not joining them.
Darcy and Georgiana shared a look but happily agreed. The meal was a lively affair, with everyone taking turns telling family stories. Soon it became apparent that the Darcys and the Bennets had more in common than they thought.
Darcy told the group about his childhood and how he spent many summers there at Tanglewood. “It’s like coming home, being back here.”
“So you said you have a house nearby?” Elizabeth asked.
“My father had it built for my mother as a wedding present, and it was her retreat. We spent all our summers there. It’s called Pemberley.”
“That sounds lovely,” Elizabeth said and laughed softly. “It must hold a lot of special memories for you.”
Darcy was touched by her perceptiveness. “It does.”
“We always spent our summers sweating at home while Dad traveled around doing his research,” Mary interjected.
Elizabeth nodded. “Yeah, and at the community pool. No cottages for us.”
“Would you like to see it?” Darcy offered. “I would love to have you come over after the concert. We could have a late supper.” He was careful to include the whole party in his invitation, but his heart was directed at Elizabeth.
Mary declined, but Elizabeth was all too happy to accept.
They attended Mary’s concert in the Ozawa Concert Hall. Elizabeth and Darcy sat next to each other but were prohibited from talking, so Elizabeth took the time to put her thoughts in order.
She questioned if this was all a dream. During their time apart, Elizabeth had contemplated Darcy and realized that she had misjudged him. But the reality she was finding in him now shook her to the core. Had he always been this wonderful? Had she really been that blind?
It didn’t seem possible. She knew she was at fault for being harshly judgmental of him, but this was a different man than the one she left that night so long ago. She realized that she was a different woman as well.
Remembering the events of the day, Elizabeth was once again surprised by Darcy’s openness. She had never seen him so warm or friendly. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was for her. Could she possibly have affected him so?
She felt the need for comfort and instinctively reached out her hand to him. Without hesitation he took it, lifting it to his lips and kissing it lightly before setting it, still firmly grasped in his, on his lap.
Elizabeth forced herself to be calm. In this setting, she couldn’t do more than what she was doing; she needed to accept that. She longed to talk to him though. She wanted to talk to him and tell him her feelings and hear his reply in kind.
She wanted to know why he hadn’t responded to her email, her song. Despite all the obvious signs of his
