Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World by Abigail Reynolds

dinner."
    Despite
the housekeeper's reassuring words, Elizabeth was certain Mrs.
    Reynolds
was worried as well. She herself knew an anxiety verging on panic.
    She
had never mentioned to Darcy that the man she saw fall from horseback all those
years ago had not survived the incident. She could still remember the whole
episode as if it were yesterday--the arc his body made flying through the air,
the horrible cracking sound when he struck the ground, and the blood gushing
from a wound in his skull, then slowing to a standstill a few minutes later as
the life left his body. She had been terrified and ran home in a panic. Unable
to stop crying, she had been sent to bed where Hill brought her a posset;
Elizabeth had never been able to abide the taste of one since.
    What
if Darcy were lying out in the hills, bleeding out his last? Wrapping her arms
around herself, she began to pace. The mere idea she might never speak to him
again, never see his smile or the warmth his eyes sometimes held when he looked
at her, made her heart pound. The fear was exactly calculated to make her
recognize her own wishes.
    She
did not want to forget the last three months; she wanted to start them over
again with the knowledge she now possessed. What might this time have been
like, had she loved Darcy from the first? If he never returned, she might never
even have a chance to tell him. Oh, the opportunities she had wasted!
    She
crossed to the window again, but the glare of the setting sun made it
impossible to see anything on the steep hills surrounding Pemberley.

    Chapter 10

    It
was more to avoid the appearance of impropriety than any desire for food that
caused Elizabeth to join Georgiana for supper. It was difficult to make
conversation when her thoughts were occupied by Darcy's continued absence.
    "Elizabeth,
there is no cause for alarm. Fitzwilliam is an excellent horseman and knows
what he is about." Georgiana's voice was cool.
    Elizabeth
pushed her meat around on her plate with her fork. "I hope you are
correct. I cannot help but worry."
    "Why?"
    Somehow
she knew the question did not refer to why she felt he was in danger, but
rather why it would trouble her if something happened to him. Was this some of
the same sort of odd frankness Darcy possessed, or Georgiana's own bitterness?
She would never have said such a thing were her brother present. Elizabeth took
a sip of wine to give herself time to formulate a response. "Appearances
are sometimes deceptive, Georgiana. I care about your brother a great
deal."
    Georgiana's
face expressed her skepticism. "If it is any consolation, Fitzwilliam
would have made certain you were well provided for."
    After
hours of worry over Darcy, Elizabeth was roused to an unusual resentment.
Without a word, she rang the bell. When one of the maids entered, Elizabeth
said, "Would you ask Mr. Dunstan to attend me?"
    The
maid curtsied and departed. Elizabeth ate a few bites of food she could barely
taste until the steward arrived.
    Mr.
Dunstan was young for his position, only a year or two older than Mr. Darcy,
though at the moment his visage was lined with anxiety. "Mrs.
    Darcy,
Miss Darcy. I regret to inform you we have not yet located Mr.
    Darcy.
I have men searching the estate and the roads to Lambton and Matlock."
    "Than
you, Mr. Dunstan." Elizabeth, her breath catching in her chest at his
words, had almost forgotten why she had asked for him. "Please let me know
the moment you hear anything."
    "Of
course, madam."
    Elizabeth
glanced at Georgiana. "While you are here, Mr. Dunstan, perhaps you could
reassure Miss Darcy on a much more minor matter. She seems concerned that my
pin money might be inadequate to my needs, although I have assured her this is
not the case."
    "By
no means, Miss Darcy. Mrs. Darcy's pin money is quite generous, and she spends
almost none of it, apart from her charitable work. Even that need not come from
her personal funds, and I have often told her, for it is an estate expense.
Still, she