Read A Pemberley Medley (A Pride & Prejudice Variation) for Free Online Page B

wanted to see you. I realized that the only reason to delay was so that I could court you without bringing it to public notice, and I decided to risk the possible embarrassment of having you refuse me publicly if it meant I did not need to wait out two very long months.”
     
    “And you decided to begin with my father?” she asked mischievously.
     
    He looked slightly embarrassed. “I thought that if I was to be open about this, I might as well do it properly; so I asked his permission to call on you. He seemed ... quite stunned.”
     
    She coloured at the implied question. “I thought it best not to mention the possibility, in case you were to change your mind.”
     
    “I, change my mind?” he said in a surprised voice. “I cannot imagine why you would think that.”
     
    She looked down. “What may occur in the heat of the moment may not always be what might be wished for in a moment of more sober reflection.”
     
    This comment was met by silence. Finally, in a carefully neutral voice, Darcy said, “What is it that you have wished for in your moments of sober reflection?”
     
    She gave him a sidelong glance with a smile. “Surely, Mr. Darcy, you cannot expect me to answer that question!”
     
    “You have not regretted it?”
     
    With a teasing look, she said, “No, I have not; but I believe I have already told you that, sir.”
     
    His relief was so great that he acted without thought, catching her face in his hand and caressing her lips with his for a mere moment. “Then do not say such things!” He had clearly startled her with his behaviour, and he cursed himself and his lack of self-control.
     
    Elizabeth was experiencing the shock of sensation that came with his touch. It had been all too brief, yet she knew she should not have allowed it in the first place. “What should I say, then?” she asked archly.
     
    Darcy drew in a quick breath. Was she flirting with him? If so, he would need to be very careful indeed; he was by no means certain of his self-control when she looked at him like that. Choosing his words with care, he said, “While there are a great number of things I should like to hear you say, I think that we both know what you should say, and it involves reproaching me for my behaviour.”
     
    She smiled as if at some inner joke. “I cannot disagree, though I would have to admit that I am a few weeks late in saying it.”
     
    He was beginning to see that there were flaws in his earlier reasoning that a gradual wooing, giving her time to truly get to know him, was the best option. “Be careful, Elizabeth,” he said softly. “You do not know how you tempt me.”
     
    Elizabeth had a strong impulse to ask him to tell her just how she did tempt him, but she checked herself, reminding herself of how her liveliness had led her astray with him in the past. She wished she knew what was in his mind; he evidently did not intend to propose to her yet, though he must know from her behaviour that she would not refuse - could not, after allowing him to kiss her, not just once, but several times without protest. Perhaps he was not as certain of his choice as he appeared. He had spoken of the possibility of his embarrassment if she refused him - but was there anything to stop him from changing his mind, leaving her to face the humiliation of being jilted? The very thought was painful enough; she resolved to be less forward, and to remember that he had by no means made a commitment.
     
    Darcy saw her smile fade somewhat, and berated himself anew, realizing that once again he had gone too far. He reminded himself yet again that the behaviour she had permitted during a moment of distress was likely to be unacceptable in a calmer frame of mind. Unfortunately, his desperate desire to taste her lips again was such as to keep countering his rational mind, and that slight contact had not been enough to do more than to whet his need for her.
     
    He was a man torn; he wanted a return of her teasing