Free A Pemberley Medley (A Pride & Prejudice Variation) by Abigail Reynolds Page A

chickens. Clearly they had escaped the coop and were now making the most of their freedom. The boy’s chasing was only driving them further away.
     
    With a smile at their antics, Elizabeth hurried nearer, shaking her skirts at the chickens to drive them back. She clucked at them, running back and forth as she herded them toward a gate in the fence. The boy, following her lead, pulled the latch to shut the gate behind them, blurting out his thanks, but Elizabeth felt she should be the one to thank him. The adventure had lifted her spirits.
     
    A deep voice spoke behind her. “You seem to have missed one.”
     
    She whirled to see Mr. Darcy, impeccably attired as always, holding a struggling white chicken at arm’s length. She could not help but laugh at the incongruity of the picture.
     
    With an attempt at solemnity, she said, “As a rule, chickens prefer not to be held.”
     
    Mr. Darcy bent over the stone fence and deposited his charge in the yard. “So I have discovered, but unfortunately, she seemed disinclined to listen to me when I told her to go back.”
     
    The image of the proper Mr. Darcy, giving orders to a recalcitrant chicken as if it were a dog, provoked a peal of laughter from her. She clapped her hand over her mouth, recalling her resolve to be kinder with him. “It was good of you to assist.”
     
    “It was my pleasure.” He seemed occupied with picking stray bits of down off his black coat. When it was cleaned to his satisfaction, he looked up at her, his expression unreadable.
     
    It was hard to be anything but amused when he stood there so seriously while a white tail feather dangling from the collar of his coat, despite his meticulous efforts. She stepped closer and took his lapel between her fingers, removing the offending item and offering it to him. “It appears you missed one as well.”
     
    His lips curved slowly into a smile. She had never stood so near to him when he smiled. It was peculiarly consuming, as if his smile somehow possessed the power to draw her in. She had never noticed the light that could dance in his eyes, either.
     
    His fingers closed over hers for a fraction of a second as he took the feather, but it felt longer as warmth penetrated her thin gloves. Suddenly Elizabeth could think of nothing but how astonishing it was that such a man should feel affection for her, of all people.
     
    Instead of letting the feather drift off in the wind, he tucked it into his pocket. “I thank you.”
     
    She bobbed a slight curtsey, not knowing what to make of the strange feelings coursing through her. Quickly she reverted to humour to regain control of the situation. “So, Mr. Darcy, now that we have resolved the pressing problem of the chickens, what shall we quarrel about today? I am feeling generous, so I will allow you to choose the subject.”
     
    He raised an eyebrow. “Why should we quarrel?”
     
    She stepped back, feeling somehow more secure with a little distance between them. “Why, it seems to be our daily habit. We have exhausted the subject of our various sisters, so I thought we should have a new bone of contention. Perhaps my cousin, Mr. Collins? No, perhaps not, it might be difficult to find two different opinions on him.”
     
    Mr. Darcy threw back his head and laughed. “I should be very surprised if our opinions of him differed. I am still amazed that he managed to convince a sensible woman like Mrs. Collins to become his wife. Can you imagine him proposing on bended knee?”
     
    Elizabeth pressed her fingers hard against her lips until she could trust her voice not to express her mirth. “I am sure I could not say.”
     
    His smile disappeared. “Pardon me. I did not mean to trespass on any confidence.”
     
    “No, it is not that.” But she could perceive he was a little offended, and wanted to see his smile again. “I should not say, but will you promise never to tell a soul?”
     
    “You may rely on my discretion.”
     
    She leaned