“I am not much inclined to socialise, but to receive an invitation from your mother was always a pleasure. I had never been so well-fed in my life.”
Her laugh was faint. “To have provided a good meal to a young man of your size would have been a genuine pleasure for Mama. She would not have allowed you to refuse in any case.”
“True. Your father chose well.”
“I wondered, at times,” Elizabeth confessed tiredly. “As long as Mama had active employment, she was happy. Whenever she was idle, she fretted and complained of her nerves. I do not know how she would have done here.”
“She treated the men under your father’s command as though we were her own. She would have thrown herself into the role of mistress with equal fervour and equal gratitude from your father’s neighbours and tenants, I am sure.”
Elizabeth forced her eyelids to remain open. “Perhaps. Papa said it was her joy to dote upon them all. I wonder, at times, what would have become of her had she only her daughters to raise?”
“Had you marching in perfect formation, I imagine.”
Her laugh was breathy. “She was not perfect,” she said, considering of her own actions that night, defying Mrs. Quimby and her father, "but then, none of us are.”
They rode for a time in silence.
“Is Papa very angry with me?” she inquired in the quiet of the night.
Mr. Darcy did not reply at first. “Your father was very concerned for your safety,” he said at last.
“Oh dear.”
“Miss Elizabeth,” Mr. Darcy said solemnly, “what you did tonight was rash. You ought to have allowed the men to retrieve your sister. They were better prepared for the elements, and they are stronger than you.”
“They were all too heavy,” Elizabeth muttered. “The slope was already collapsing. Trees were half uprooted. Could not take the risk.” Her head drooped, but she stirred and lifted her head. “And Papa was not there with a better plan.”
“It was foolhardy nonetheless,” Mr. Darcy repeated. After a moment, he added, “However, it was also very brave.”
“I was not brave,” she replied disbelievingly. “I was frightened out of my wits.”
He laughed again, and Elizabeth relished the soft rumbling in his chest. “What do you think being brave is, Miss Elizabeth?” Mr. Darcy asked. “If a soldier heading into battle says he is not afraid, he is either a fool or a liar. Bravery is being frightened out of your wits and doing what you must despite it.”
Mr. Darcy was being extraordinarily kind. Her family would chastise her, but because the result was Jane safe and at home, she would endure it. “Thank you, sir,” she said. Shivers wracked her body. Elizabeth tried to hold herself still, but they would not stop.
Mr. Darcy pulled the sides of his greatcoat over the blanket, further warming her with his body. “Hold on, Miss Elizabeth,” he said. “We will arrive at Longbourn shortly.”
Darcy did his best to keep Miss Elizabeth warm and awake on their ride back to the estate, but she was shaking and exhausted. He approved of her oilcloth coat, but she had no hat. Her hair, her gloves, her boots, and the skirt of her gown were soaked with rain and mud. The temperature had dipped since they first left Meryton, and his breath froze in the air when he exhaled. He held Miss Elizabeth a little tighter and urged the horse to a faster trot.
His stomach lurched when he recalled the horrible moment he believed both she and her sister had disappeared over the ledge. Bennet said it was thirty feet to the river below, and in the rain and the dark it would have been near impossible to mount a rescue until first light. If a rescue had even been possible. He shook the thought away.
Longbourn was just ahead now, the windows alight with candles and lamps. When they at last reached the front of the house on the drive, he dismounted quickly and reached up to help Miss Elizabeth.
“I will walk, Mr. Darcy,” she told him, though she was still shaking. “I do not wish to frighten Mary or Mrs. Quimby.” She took an unsteady step.
Stubborn woman. This was beyond enough. “You have given your final order this night,” Darcy said sternly. He swept her up into his arms without further conversation and carried her inside.
“Rude man,” Miss Elizabeth said, but there was no sharpness in it. She tucked her head into the space between his neck and his shoulder, and he had to keep himself from instinctively dropping a kiss on her crown.
Miss Mary was awaiting them at the door. “We have arranged hot baths in the rooms behind the kitchen,” she told him. “Follow me.”
“Excellent idea,” Miss Elizabeth said faintly. “Silly to tote water up and down the stairs when so many will need it tonight.”
“Papa was very firm about how best to arrange things. We are to tend to you and Jane first,” Miss Mary said. “Honestly, Lizzy, what were you thinking?”
“Miss Mary,” Darcy said calmly, “although well-deserved, perhaps your scolding could wait until after your sister is warm?”
“Let her scold me now,” Miss Elizabeth mumbled. “I shall soon fall asleep and miss the worst of it.”