Darcy received Elizabeth’s letter with a mixture of confusion and trepidation. He had been working on his own letter to her, wondering what he should say and how they should proceed. He was even considering a trip to Margate to spend time with her. Slightly appalled at how desperately he wanted to know what was written, and more importantly the tone of her letter and whether or not she was jilting him, he broke the seal and began to read. He scanned through it quickly, looking for words like “break,” “engagement,” and “sorry.” Happily, he found none and leaned back to read it more slowly.

It was obvious that she was unsure what she should say to him, but she did seem to be keeping her word in regards to not talking about her attempt to end their betrothal. He was pleased and happy she was enjoying a season of relaxation with her family before he carried her off to Derbyshire. He recognized a bit of her liveliness in her words and thought she simply needed to accustom herself to the idea of their being wed. It probably hadn’t helped that immediately following their engagement they’d separated. If they had been able to stay together, even for just a few days, she probably would have felt less odd about it all.

He picked up his pen to reply to her.

Dearest Elizabeth,

Dear Elizabeth,

I am pleased to hear you are enjoying the seaside. I have many fond memories of visiting the shore with my family as a lad. (Great, Darcy, bore her to tears why don’t you?) I am glad you have this time with your family prior to the wedding. Derbyshire is a great distance from Hertfordshire and you aren’t likely to see them often. (Seriously, old man? Are you trying to frighten her? “Come away to my dungeon in the north. You’ll never see anyone you love again.” Stupid man!)

As regards the Lake District, I thought we might take our wedding trip there. I remember you saying you’d always wanted to see the area and thought it would be an ideal location. We can spend the first few days in London, then begin the journey north. We can return to Pemberley afterward and remain there until the spring. I spoke of it to your father and he thought it a good plan. Mayhap your family will join us in the autumn or perhaps for the festive season. I shall leave that to you and your father to decide.

Georgiana was asking about you again—you are one of her favorite topics of conversation—and I realized I do not know when your birthday is. Nor do I know precisely how old you are. Please oblige me with these details as well as what sort of gifts you prefer and whether you favor Mozart over Saleiri.