Page 113 of A Matter of Murder

“Now, calm down. Nothing has happened yet.”

“But it could, and that’s the most wonderful thing.” Lizzie wanted nothing more than to see her friend happy, and she couldn’t remember the last time anything had made Charlotte smile as much as Mr. Thomas’s letters. It was a good thing that she’d never been taken in by the awful Mr. Collins.

Just then, the doors to the courthouse opened and people began pouring out, spreading the news of the guilty verdict. Charlotte and Lizzie watched as the people went by, giddy with excitement. Lizzie couldn’t bring herself to feel more than intense relief—despite everything that had transpired, she didn’t delight in Lady Catherine’s sentence.

Just then, a familiar figure emerged from the crowd, looking about. Lizzie smiled and raised a hand to wave. “Darcy!”

He turned and strode toward them, and Charlotte said, “I’ll leave you to it. See you back at the office?”

“Yes,” she said. “Tell Papa I won’t be long!”

Charlotte took her leave as Darcy reached her and took her arm.

“Well,” Darcy said. “It’s finished.”

“And?”

He grimaced. “It seems as though they’re unwilling to transport or execute the wife of a peer, so it’s prison. Indefinitely.”

Lizzie shuddered, remembering the stench from within Newgate, which sat just a short distance away. “That is a punishment.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “And still probably not all she deserves.”

There was a hollow tone to his voice, and Lizzie knew that the past three months had taken a toll on Darcy. He’d served as his father’s junior counsel in bringing the case against Lady Catherine, and they’d uncovered more about Lady Catherine’s misdeeds than they’d even suspected. Lizzie squeezed his arm. “You did very well today.”

“Do you wish it had been you, before the judge?”

She shook her head, then stopped. “All right, maybe a little. But this was too risky a case to leave to chance and some judge’s ill-conceived opinions on my capabilities when it comes to the law. Besides, I was too close to the case. I was happy to give my testimony and leave it that.” She looked to the blue sky and then back at him. “You know, this is an important spot.”

“Outside the courthouse?”

“No, this precise spot,” Lizzie said, lips quirking into a teasing smile. “Don’t you recall?”

He looked about them, and at the many people streaming past. “Did we have an argument here or something?”

She laughed. “No! But something very important did occur here. After another trial...”

He understood her then. “You mean, when we kissed for the first time?”

“Exactly.”

“Well, shall I kiss you again? For tradition’s sake?”

“You could.” She stepped closer to him and took his hand, threading her fingers in his. “Or we could mark another memorable occasion here.”

“What’s that?”

“You could... ask me something.”

His eyes widened and she tried not to laugh. “Really?”

“Only if it’s really, really significant,” she teased.

“Oh, I have just the thing,” he said, turning so that they were facing each other. He gazed down at her and swallowed hard, then said, “Miss Elizabeth Bennet, would you do me the tremendous honor of... going into business with me?”

Her eyes widened and she laughed. “What?”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, but I wasn’t sure about the timing,” he said. “I don’t want to work for my father anymore—we’ve been getting along a little better, but the types of cases he wants me to pursue and the types of cases I want to take on areentirely different. You and I have been consulting on cases for over a year now. Why not combine forces officially?”