Page 43 of Elizabeth Bennet Says Yes to Mr. Darcy

His eyes darkened.

“No.”

The answer sent a deep warmth through my belly.

“Then why?”

“Because you have not yet decided to marry me. Because I refuse to let a moment of desire become another form of constraint. And because if you touch me like that again, I cannot promise how easily I will pull away.”

I slowly withdrew my hands.

“You answer very well for yourself thus far.”

“You have no idea of the effort.”

The rain began to let up.

We remained separated by a few steps, breathing too quickly in the small pavilion. My body felt different, more awake, almost impatient. I had long believed that love must precede desire or that the two arose together in a natural order. I discovered that the body could choose before the mind declared itself ready.

“This kiss does not constitute a promise,” I said.

Darcy closed his eyes for a second.

“I know.”

“But it was not gratitude.”

He looked at me.

“That is enough for today.”

On the way back, we walked without touching. His coat stayed around my shoulders, and his scent wrapped around me with every step.

When Longbourn came back into view, I knew nothing would be simple anymore.

I still hadn’t decided to marry Mr. Darcy.

But now I knew exactly what I would lose by refusing him.

Chapter 14

Elizabeth

After our kiss, Mr. Darcy became unbearably correct.

He no longer suggested solitary walks. He didn’t reach for my hand under the pretense of a difficult path. He sat at a proper distance and spoke to me with irreproachable politeness. This conduct should have reassured me. Instead, it irritated me so much that I had to remind myself several times that a respectful man was not obliged to guess that his restraint offended the very woman who had demanded it.

Three days passed in this manner.

On the fourth, I found him in Longbourn’s library with my father. They were examining accounts. Darcy rose as soon as I entered.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” I said.

“You’re not interrupting,” my father replied. “Mr. Darcy is endeavoring to explain that a budget should contain figures corresponding to reality. I find this notion very limiting.”

“It certainly deprives expenses of all poetry.”

Darcy closed the ledger.