Page 37 of When Elizabeth Said Yes

"Now see here," he said, sitting forward on his seat, his face mere inches from hers.

Why was that so disconcerting?

"I knew Bingley's feelings, and I surmised your sister's from her reactions. No, I am not claiming to know her well enough, but I have seen plenty of women who claim to be in love, and she did not look like any of them."

"She is shy," Elizabeth exclaimed.

"And you cannot deny that your mother was angling for the match merely for monetary sake and not with any notion of love."

Elizabeth paused.

That much was true.

But was she herself simply marrying for money?

No, it wasn't money so much as security, safety, a path through life that seemed acceptable rather than the terrifying unknown.

"My mother might have said those things. My mother might believe those things. But as I'm sure you have noticed in all the time you have spent observing us to report to your friend, Jane is not my mother. She does not hold the same views, the same goals. She was in love, and you broke her heart."

He sat back, rather shocked, it seemed, and blinked rapidly. "I... I will have to ponder what you have said."

And that was it.

She wanted to scream and shout, but how could she if she did not have a willing partner in the argument?

He wanted to think about it. Did that mean he just wished to shut her up? Or that he thought she had a point?

She really did not know this man who was soon to be her husband at all.

Chapter Twenty-One

She was in love.

You broke her heart.

Her words filled the carriage, and he could not think of anything else.

Had he been wrong?

He had not considered it a possibility before now. He had watched Miss Jane Bennet, he had watched Bingley, and he had come to what he thought was a fair conclusion.

But it seemed his intended was telling him that his conclusion was entirely incorrect.

He would have to think on it.

He was glad they were stopping at an inn. The atmosphere in the coach was awkward, and he could not talk about it any longer. He needed time to review his situation and his position. That was just who he was. He couldn't make quick judgments. He needed time to ponder.

In fact, his decision to ask Elizabeth Bennet to marry him was perhaps the quickest, most impulsive decision he had ever made.

◆◆◆

They were to spend the night at the inn, and although Elizabeth was keen to make it home, she knew that this was the most sensible course of action.

It would not be safe to travel after dark, probably even more so in such a fine carriage which could be set upon by highwaymen.

They dined together, although they did not have much to say to one another, and then retired for the night: Elizabeth to the room Darcy had procured for her, which she shared with the maid, and he to his own room somewhere on the other side of the inn.

How strange it was to think that in a few weeks there would be no need for separate rooms.