Page 8 of He Taught Me to Hope (Darcy and the Young Knight’s Quest #1)

Darcy could not have known there would be a lull in music at the time of his speech.

Nor could he have known how far his voice might carry.

Had he known any of that, or had he looked about to see who was in his close vicinity, he would have espied the change of countenance of the object of his ardent admiration all evening.

Elizabeth was left with the feeling that the voice she found so wonderfully arousing and pleasing a while earlier was, in truth, rather haughty and disdainful.

Suddenly, she did not feel much like enjoying the rest of the evening.

She was glad she had the foresight to have her own carriage bring her to the assembly.

She sought out Jane and bid her good night.

Darcy was infuriated with himself. He could not believe he had failed to secure a proper introduction to his goddess the evening before.

He wondered if he ever again would have another chance to meet her.

The more he reflected upon the night before, the more he replayed every moment of the evening as he watched her, the more he convinced himself she was not from those parts.

He considered she must be a visitor temporarily staying with that ridiculous Bennet family.

He would not even allow that she was a distant relative.

It was likely she was a very dear friend of Bingley’s angel, Miss Bennet.

Perhaps, he thought, if he made more of an effort to participate in the local society, he might actually encounter her again.

Elizabeth was just as angry with herself, upon awakening.

She felt as though she had spent the entire night dreaming of him .

Unlike every night before, since her return to Longbourn, the last thing that had crossed her mind before she succumbed to sleep was how it was just as well Prince Charming turned out to be a toad.

He might be the most pleasant man in the world, and there would be nothing I can do about it, seeing as how I am engaged to Mr. Collins.

Darcy arrived to espy Ben teetering atop the fence railing with a long stick to serve as a balancer.

“I caution you against such dangerous feats, young man. What if you should fall and break an arm or a leg?” Darcy asked once he had dismounted and secured his horse to the opposite end of the fence.

Ben continued his perilous journey for another foot or so until he reached a point where he could safely climb down to the ground.

“Do you often engage in such folly, outside the supervision of one of your elders?” Darcy gently scolded.

Ben cast Darcy a befuddled look. “You sound just like my mama!”

“Your mother is very wise, no doubt.”

“Yes, she is the smartest person I know,” young Ben boasted.

“Tell me something else about your mother.”

“What would you most like to know?”

“Anything,” he began, “what is she like?”

“Well, my mama says I am just like her. So in turn, she must be just like me!”

“Then I should expect she is kind, she is witty, and she is charming.” Darcy immediately brought to mind his enchanting goddess. “Is she pretty?”

“I do not know.” The child’s face reflected his puzzlement. “Do you think I am pretty?”

Darcy nearly bowled over with laughter! “Men would rather think of themselves as handsome. ”

“In that case, my mama always tells me I am very handsome. So yes, I would say my mama is very handsome.”

Darcy smiled to himself at his young friend’s forthrightness. Wondering if the lad trusted him enough to be more forthcoming about his entire family, Darcy asked the next logical question. “Will you tell me more of the rest of your family? What was your father’s name?”

“I have told you already all there is to know, my King!” Ben raced over to Darcy’s horse, clearly disinterested in the current line of discussion. “King Arthur, I have noticed you do not have a sword. What happened to it?”

Darcy surmised his young friend was not yet ready to open up to him. Rather than press his point, he joined little Sir Lancelot. “A sword! Why, I have never owned a sword. Sword fighting is not my forte. I prefer fencing.”

“Fencing? Is it anything like sword fighting?”

“Yes, to a very large extent. Fencing involves the use of a special type of sword as a weapon, as well as the utmost focus and skill.”

“Do brave knights fence?”

“I suppose a brave knight can do whatever he chooses. Shall I teach you to fence? Would you like that?”

“Indeed! But what exactly is fencing?”

“I suppose it will be easier to show you than to explain it to you. But first, we shall require foils, the weapon of choice for a beginner such as you.”

“Perhaps I shall fence with my sword. I am already an excellent swordsman!”

“What would be the fun in that? If we are going to do this, we must start by doing it the right way. What say you we commence by crafting ourselves two proper foils?”

In no time at all, Darcy and Ben had managed to search the nearby trees to procure branches best suited to their purposes. Ben waited patiently as Darcy carved and smoothed the rough edges. With makeshift weapons in hand, Darcy and Ben stood facing opposite each other .

“ En Garde! ” Darcy advised his opponent upon assuming an offensive posture.

Even though Ben did likewise, his curiosity begged for an explanation. “ En Garde , my King? What does that mean?”

“I mean to warn you to assume the proper stance in preparation for our match. En Garde simply means on guard in French!”

“Well, sir, if it is as simple as that, then—on guard!”

The next morning, Elizabeth sat upon the steps reading a missive from her eldest sister.

Jane had been invited to dine with Caroline Bingley the day before and apparently had fallen ill.

She had been caught in a violent storm whilst on her way to Netherfield Park, foolishly on horseback at the behest of her scheming mother.

She had been obliged to spend the night.

Judging from the sound of her letter, she suffered a fever, a sore throat, and a harsh cough.

Elizabeth decided to go to her sister’s side.

Despite the very amiable Mr. Bingley’s presence, Elizabeth doubted her sister would receive much comfort from Caroline Bingley.

Elizabeth suspected the dinner invitation was merely a poor excuse on Caroline’s part to find fault in her eldest sister and thereby discourage her brother’s affections.

Elizabeth did not intend to leave Longbourn without first speaking to Ben to tell him of her plans. Elizabeth feared she might have to spend the night at Netherfield Park with Jane. She and her son had never spent a night apart. She set out along the path he was known to take nearly every morning.

She breathed a deep sigh of relief when she finally came upon him. He sat perched upon the fence. He seemed to be waiting for someone.

“There you are,” said she. “I have been looking everywhere for you. I did not expect to find you so far out. Do you come here often ?

“Yes, Mama, I must come here, for this is the spot where I first came across King Arthur!”

“King Arthur? Where is he then?”

“I expect him very shortly. He has started to teach me how to fence properly. We are to resume our lessons this morning.”

Paying little heed to his fanciful tales, Elizabeth knelt to his eye level. “Ben, I need for you to return to Longbourn House with me, at once. Your Aunt Jane has fallen ill whilst visiting the neighbouring estate. I must go to her, and I may very likely spend the night.”

Ben uncharacteristically clung to his mother. “Do not leave me alone at Longbourn, Mama! Who shall look after me if you are gone?”

It tore at Elizabeth’s heart to witness her young son’s anxiety.

She sought to reassure him. “Ben, I shall not be very far away. Netherfield Park is but a few miles from Longbourn Village. I will only stay the night if your Aunt Jane truly needs me. Your Aunt Mary will watch over you until I return. She is very kind. Do you not agree?”

“Yes, Mama, she is kind. I like her very much. But she never reads anything of interest to me. She only reads Fordyce’s sermons to me. I am not a girl! Will you ask her to read something else to me this evening?”

“I have spoken to her earlier. She agrees to read whatever you should like to hear. How does that sound, my little brave knight?”

“That sounds very agreeable. Thank you, Mama. I shall be happy to be cared for by Aunt Mary whilst you look after Aunt Jane.” Ben reassured his mother with a hug, and the two walked off, hand in hand, towards Longbourn.

Darcy stood at the window of his apartment and watched as the young woman with whom he had spent the past two days alone, at least inside his mind, approached the house.

He knew it was she, even from a distance.

He ought to have made his way downstairs and perhaps walked outside to greet her.

However, despite the thousand times he had kissed her lips in his dreams, they had yet to be introduced formally.

He could not have torn himself away from his fortuitous over-looking view, had he even tried. He was mesmerised.

Darcy joined Bingley, Caroline, and their guest in the drawing room some quarter of an hour after her arrival.

In spite of his ardent avowal just moments earlier not to seem too eager to make her acquaintance, the emotional intensity and unmasked adulation evidenced on his face captured Elizabeth’s attention from the moment he entered the room.

Without giving much thought to the words uttered by his friend Bingley, Darcy stood immediately before her. He then encouraged the offer of her hand by unconsciously reaching for it with his own. He thereupon raised her delicate hand and brushed his lips softly across her pale skin.

Elizabeth. What a fitting name for my goddess divine. Elizabeth—dearest, loveliest Elizabeth! Darcy silently waxed.

Mrs. Elizabeth— Darcy snapped from his trance-like state. Did he say Mrs? My God—she is married!