Free Truth about Mr. Darcy by Susan Adriani Page A

trust you are well today?” she asked with a touch of her usual archness.
    Darcy did not relinquish her hand and quietly replied, “I find I am very well this morning, Miss Bennet… now that you are come.”
    She broke into a beautiful smile. “Why, Mr. Darcy, I remember a time when I had not believed you capable of such pretty compliments.”
    He was immensely pleased by her teasing and so answered honestly, “There was a time, Miss Bennet, when I will admit I had not the proper inducement, nor the desire, to bestow such heartfelt sentiments, but it seems my existence needed only the addition of a particular lady of my acquaintance, whose intelligent eyes have bewitched me, along with her wit, her vivacity, and her unrivalled beauty.”
    A lovely blush colored Elizabeth’s cheeks, and she said merrily, “Well then, sir, I should very much like some day to meet this lady of whom you speak. Certainly she must be a rather remarkable creature to inspire such a proper gentleman as you to boldly profess such feelings!”
    Darcy’s eyes gleamed, and he said in a low voice, “Truly, for it is she, and she alone, who has taught me how to be alive and not just merely to endure. Now I know such a woman exists for me, here, on this earth, and not just in my dreams; I shall never again be the same as I once was, nor would I ever wish it. I wish only for her…always for her.” His voice was now hardly more than a whisper. “Elizabeth, what you have done to me?”
    Elizabeth could not help but be affected by his words and his emotion, and stood entranced, unable to tear her gaze from his. As Darcy held her in thrall, drawing ever closer, one hand sliding up her arm to rest upon her shoulder, the other still grasping her hand, she felt his warm breath against the coolness of her skin and shivered in anticipation of what she knew was surely to follow. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and her lips parted. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. It was but a moment later when she felt the exquisite sensation of his lips as they tenderly pressed upon her own. She returned the gentle pressure with feeling, and Darcy deepened the kiss. Elizabeth could not prevent the soft sigh of pleasure she breathed into his mouth as Darcy’s fingers made their way from her shoulder to the delicate flesh of her neck. She felt her knees begin to grow weak, and before she knew what she was about, she found her hands slipping to his broad shoulders. She was beginning to understand what he meant.

Chapter 7
    The two unmarried gentlemen from Netherfield were prevented from meeting with the two eldest Miss Bennets until the very evening of the Netherfield ball. In addition to a seemingly endless succession of cold rain, which had lasted a full four days, both households were thrown into somewhat of an uproar—Netherfield with final preparations for food and flowers, decorations and dancing; and Longbourn with the preoccupation of gowns and gloves, slippers and silk.
    Darcy, who had long been in the habit of riding out nearly every morning for the sheer enjoyment of the exercise and, lately, to meet with Elizabeth—to say nothing of the added means of escaping Caroline Bingley’s effusive attentions—instead found himself imprisoned by the inclement weather. Unable to take any pleasure while indoors at Netherfield so long as Elizabeth was, likewise, confined to Longbourn, he spent the bulk of his time avoiding his friend’s shamefully persistent sister, seeking refuge in the library or the billiard room, where he was able to commiserate with Bingley in relative safety.
    Elizabeth had never derived enjoyment from remaining indoors for prolonged periods of time, particularly in the trying company of her mother and younger sisters, and found herself longing for the solitude and opportunity for quiet reflection her early morning rambles often afforded her. She sighed with frustration every time her mother scolded her for hiding herself away in her room,