Page 21 of Her Brother's Keeper
Neddy, unsurprisingly, grew excited at the sight of his hero on horseback, his little body bouncing with unrestrained joy.
Mr Darcy smiled at her brother, but when he looked at her, his expression grew impassive and she suddenly felt entirely awkward. She disguised it with what she hoped was a warm smile.
“Good afternoon, Mr Darcy. We were about to take a walk, since the weather is so fine. Have you brought me good news of my sister?”
The weather was bitingly cold, and he smiled faintly in acknowledgement of her little joke before replying. “Yes, I have. She passed a restless night, but this morning’s reports were improved, and she is comfortable enough now to sleep more peacefully. Jones says her fever is lessened; she is certainly recovering.”
Elizabeth’s heart lifted at this intelligence. “That is wonderful! Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“You need not thank me, I assure you, I had nothing to do with her progress.”
She smiled at him, hoping that this was a little bit of answering humour; it was difficult to say, since he did not return her smile. Neddy tugged on her hand, wanting to reach the horse; she knew better than to let him go.
It occurred to her that here was her test—she would give Mr Darcy every excuse and opportunity to leave at once. If he stayed…well, it would be a sign, would it not? An indication that he might want to be more than a messenger?
“Neddy is impatient to be moving, and he may bother your horse if I do not distract him away from it. Thank you, Mr Darcy, for delivering the news of Jane’s improvement. It was a kindness that is much appreciated.” She added a little curtsey, making it obvious that she must now be on her way.
“To where do you walk?” he asked.
Well, he had not raced for his horse and a speedy departure, but she did not assume he meant anything more than politeness. There was no real need to go to Longbourn now that she knew of Jane’s recuperation, so she made a quick decision. “We will probably go to Oakham Mount. It is a long enough journey to use up some of Neddy’s energy, but close enough that I can get us back to Fox Hollow if the weather worsens.”
“Perhaps he would like a brief ride first? Any child who holds such a fierce interest in horses surely deserves one.”
Surprised, Elizabeth was yet unsure about what it meant. “It is very kind of you, when you have already been so generous with your time. I fear that he will not give up his seat easily when you decide it ought to be solely yours again.”
“Edward,” Darcy said, kneeling so he was face to face with her brother, “I will allow you to ride, but when I say we are finished, you must be good, if you are ever to ride again.”
Oh, certainly, tell him not to misbehave. Because reasoning with him always works so well.Nevertheless, riding that horse was the thing Neddy wanted most in the world. She would deal with the consequences.
Neddy practically leapt into Mr Darcy’s arms. He had notarrived on that enormous black beast he usually rode, she finally noticed, but on a smaller grey horse. Had he come with the idea of giving Neddy a ride? He truly might be only thinking of the child.
Once again, she was made unsure.
Mr Darcy placed Neddy carefully on the saddle. There was nothing for him to hang onto besides the horse’s mane, as he was of course not given the reins; Elizabeth feared aloud that he would hurt the creature.
“No, he will not,” Mr Darcy assured. “I will watch his hands. Mabel is as gentle a mare as you will ever see, and I brought a leading rope.” When he had the rope affixed, he looked at Elizabeth. “Shall we?” he asked.
Her heart sang. He had arranged this outing for Neddy, but he specifically asked her to come along! He had brought along a lead rope, so that he could walk along beside the animal. He had thought out this encounter! Wasthisnot a clue to his feelings?
It was naturally a possibility that amusing Neddy was his single object, but there were surely easier ways to do so. He might have brought him a puzzle or a ball, for instance.
Still, she had heard all the rumours; he was Mr Darcy, of an estate in Derbyshire that made Netherfield look like a cottage. Ten thousand a year, some said. Earls in his blood, said others. So wealthy, of such a high sphere, that Miss Bingley was not eligible enough for him, said most. It was ridiculous to think that Elizabeth Bennet, of no particular fortune, of such a disarranged family, was more of a candidate than Miss Bingley, despite her better birth.
Did I not consider Mr Morris, a land agent, as my likeliest possibility for a husband?
For several minutes, they walked beside an exhilaratedNeddy. Mr Darcy said little, but then, he was never a prattle-mouth. Neddy, however, found the ride itself extremely exciting, every inch of passing scenery a thrill. He chattered away in his nonsense language, expressing his rapture in it with his whole body, tensing so acutely and bouncing so joyously, that a few times, she thought he might fall off. Mr Darcy was there, though, the second he needed to be rearranged on the saddle, helping him straighten his form, urging him to look ahead, and such was Neddy’s interest that occasionally he even obeyed.
He is simply so good with my brother, so caring.And yes, he was the handsomest man she had ever seen, but it was the kindness in his voice, the way he tried to instruct a little boy whose own family members had often rejected as stupid and incapable, that melted her heart. When Neddy did not understand or even seem to listen, he physically took his hands and placed them correctly, modelling the appropriate placement for him repeatedly, his patience seeming endless.
And of course there was that time, when he had—possibly—almost kissed her. That time when she had—possibly—wanted him to.
“Tuck-a tuck-a-tuck-a!” Neddy exulted, his dimples showing, his eyes crinkling with wonder and delight. “’Orse!”
Mr Darcy glanced over at Elizabeth; they shared a smile at his sheer joy that, to Elizabeth, seemed almost intimate. “Yes. She is a horse,” he agreed.
Mr Darcy led him via a different path back, even, which Elizabeth was thankful for, because Neddy’s sense of direction was very acute for his age, and it would take him that much longer to figure out that they were heading back to Fox Hollow. She knew, however, that any minute hewouldrealise it.
He would be furious; he would believe that he never, ever would ride a horse again, and he would demonstrate every poor behaviour that he had ever exhibited. She knew it; she had known it when she had allowed this ride in the first place. He would not understand or be reasoned with. Mr Darcy had seen it before, and he had not acted as though Neddy was some kind of feral animal. Instead, he had helped. Perhaps she had fallen in love with him then, back in that instant.
