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W hen Mr. Darcy returned, he shocked Elizabeth yet again with another proposal.

“Mr. Gardiner, I have a suggestion,” said he the moment he appeared from the house.

His gait, hurried as if impatient to return to their company, matched the expression of interest and pleasure, which suggested he did not consider it nothing more than a duty to guests.

Then again, if he had said nothing, bidding them a good day and leaving them to their devices, that would have been the usual mode, and no one would have thought it odd.

“What did you have in mind?” said Mr. Gardiner.

“The park is extensive.” Mr. Darcy paused and grinned at Mrs. Gardiner. “If you have been here before, you know that it takes several hours to walk its entirety.”

“It is ten miles around, from what I recall,” said Mrs. Gardiner, returning his gesture.

“That it is. Thus, in deference to the limited time available and Miss Bennet’s love of nature, I suggest we ride about the grounds. I have a curricle and a phaeton we may use for the purpose.”

“That is generous, indeed,” said Mr. Gardiner. “Are you certain we will not be trespassing on your time? Do you not expect your visitors to arrive soon?”

This time, Mr. Darcy turned his amusement on Elizabeth.

“Miss Bennet knows something of my visitors—among their number is one who subscribes to the theory of fashionable tardiness. I do not suppose that my guests will arrive before at least ninety minutes have passed, and perhaps longer. In that time, we may see much of the park and return in time for me to greet my guests, and you to make your way back to your lodgings in Lambton.”

Both Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle looked to her, and Elizabeth could not but confess that Mr. Darcy suggested the activity for her pleasure. Though Elizabeth regarded him with no little uncertainty, she did not answer at once. Thus, her uncle assumed the task for himself.

“If it is no trouble, then we should be delighted to accept.”

“Excellent,” said Mr. Darcy.

The gentleman pivoted to the side and gestured toward the stables. “Please follow me, for I have given orders for the carriages to be made ready anticipating your acceptance. If it is agreeable, I shall ride with Miss Bennet in the curricle, and you may follow behind in the phaeton.”

“It is well that you chose the curricle, Mr. Darcy,” said Mr. Gardiner in his usual jovial tones. “I have never learned to drive one—I hear they can be persnickety when one is not familiar with them.”

“Only if one tries their hand at racing, Mr. Gardiner. I have never driven a curricle in such a manner, but they are fine for an outing on a beautiful summer day.”

Mr. Gardiner nodded and continued to speak with Mr. Darcy as they made their way toward the stables, where Elizabeth could see the two conveyances sitting outside as the stable hands prepared to attach the horses to their traces.

By her side, Mrs. Gardiner walked in silence, though she did not hide her interest in Elizabeth or her suspicions of Mr. Darcy’s actions toward her.

For her part, Elizabeth could not but own to a hint of suspicion herself, though she had no notion of how it had come about.

Mr. Darcy in Meryton had not been a genial man, and every indication he had given her had been that of a man who was displeased with what he saw, whose approval was dearly bought.

Try though she might, Elizabeth could not recall a single instance when he had given even the impression of admiration for her—even at the ball when he had asked her and no other to dance, their exchange had been testy, especially when they had spoken of Mr. Wickham.

Whatever the gentleman’s intentions, the estate he called home was no less than breathtaking.

Within moments after leading them to the stable, the carriages were ready, and the four set off, Mr. Darcy handing Elizabeth onto the curricle and leading the way with the phaeton following behind.

For the first part of their journey together, Mr. Darcy spoke of his home, pointing out the picturesque views and offering details that one unfamiliar with the property would find interesting.

Several times on their excursion, he pulled the curricle to a halt and assisted her down long enough to view a fine scene or to explore a bit of wilderness.

Once or twice, they even set off down a path to another vantage, treating Elizabeth to the breathtaking beauties he seemed to know intimately.

Though the matter of Mr. Darcy’s behavior, Mr. Bingley’s imminent arrival, and the events of the previous autumn were foremost in Elizabeth’s mind when they departed, such extraneous considerations soon gave way to the demands of the moment.

The gentleman was so attentive and his comments informative that he caught Elizabeth’s imagination such that she could spare no consideration for anything else.

In time, the thoughts she had espoused while inside the house returned with ever greater force.

Though he had ever been a disagreeable acquaintance to her, she began to consider how fortunate the woman who became the mistress of this place would be with such scenes of beauty before her eyes coupled with an attentive husband.

That last thought prompted Elizabeth to regard Mr. Darcy as they rode, the gentleman speaking of his home in tones leaving no doubt of his love for the place.

In time, Elizabeth acknowledged her thought as correct, for if she still wondered about Mr. Darcy’s excess of pride, she suspected he would be an attentive husband.

After perhaps ninety minutes had passed since they departed, Mr. Darcy turned the curricle back toward the manor house in the distance, though Elizabeth noted a hesitancy in his manner.

Were she to guess, she thought he was rather regretful at the necessity, though she could not say whether that was because he did not wish to lose her society, or he regretted the coming of Miss Bingley.

Elizabeth stifled a laugh, for it would not do to allow him a window to her thoughts.

“I hope you enjoyed our little impromptu tour, Miss Bennet,” said Mr. Darcy. The gentleman handled the horse with little evident attention, the reins held in one negligent hand, his eyes on her rather than the road ahead.

“As you know, I am a lover of nature, I cannot suppose you suspect me of a lack of pleasure.”

Mr. Darcy offered a chuckle, but he did not disagree. “You have caught me, Miss Bennet, for I did not suppose you were anything other than enthralled with it.”

A quizzical feeling welled up in Elizabeth’s heart, and she looked at the gentleman with uncertainty. “Tell me, Mr. Darcy, all this aside, did you know me so well as to predict my reaction?”

“With some parts of your character, I claim an intimate familiarity, and one of those facets is your love of nature, a subject of which I heard several of your neighbors in Meryton speak. Did not an intrepid lady walk three miles the day after inclement weather to attend to an ailing sister?”

Elizabeth regarded him, wondering if he would reveal anything further if she pushed him. “What else do you know about me?”

“Is there something of which you wish me to speak?”

The way the gentleman’s lips curled, Elizabeth knew he was teasing her, though she thought two could play that game, and she was the better player by far. It was too simple a punishment for him, so she resisted the urge.

“I am not asking for you to flatter me, Mr. Darcy. It is nothing more than my curiosity speaking, for I did not think our acquaintance was of adequate familiarity for you to understand such things about me.”

“Do you call it so distant?” asked Mr. Darcy, appearing surprised. “My residence at Netherfield was almost two months, and we interacted often. You stayed at Netherfield for a few days, did you not?”

Days that were filled with argument and wishes from the Netherfield family—other than the excellent Mr. Bingley—for her absence. Again, Elizabeth elected to refrain from raising such subjects; she watched him instead, wondering if he would answer her question.

Mr. Darcy shrugged. “There are several things I know about you, Miss Bennet. You are a devotee of the written word, as you proved when we spoke at Netherfield. You play the pianoforte ill by your admission, though to own the truth, I enjoy your performance. You love to dance, you are concerned with your neighbors and have their best interests at heart, and you share a close relationship with your elder sister.”

Surprised though she was that Mr. Darcy compiled such a list about her—all positive, she noted, though she did not suppose he would level criticism to her face—the mention of Jane recalled to Elizabeth’s mind her sister’s current situation along with her suspected reasons for Mr. Bingley’s failure to return.

While Elizabeth had no injuries to resent given Jane’s current happiness, she wondered if she ought to inform him of it.

Two thoughts held her back. The first was that she did not feel the need, for she was only to stay for a short time longer, after which she would return to Lambton with the Gardiners, unlikely to return thereafter.

As she would not meet Mr. Bingley, there was no reason to bring up the subject, especially when he had declined to pursue Jane.

The second reason was that it might be called improper to offer such information without a by your leave.

“That is an exhaustive list for an acquaintance of only two months, Mr. Darcy. I had not thought you paid as much attention to me as all this.”

The way the gentleman regarded her showed a measure of confusion. “As observant as you are, I might have thought you would understand something of my interest.”