Only Mr. Darcy Will Do by Kara Louise Read Free Book Online Page B

attended a ball that Mr. Bingley hosted at Netherfield.”
    “Oh, Elizabeth! I am simply beside myself! But you must promise me to never mention a word of this to anyone!” Her blue eyes deepened in intensity.
    Elizabeth was now wide awake and most attentive to Rosalyn’s words. She watched as Rosalyn took in a deep breath and looked around as if to make sure that there was no one listening.
    “ He is the one, Elizabeth! Mr. Darcy is the one!”
    Elizabeth found it difficult to swallow as her mouth became inexplicably dry. “You mean that Mr. Darcy is…”
    “Yes! The gentleman of whom I spoke the other day!” Rosalyn clasped her hands together. “I cannot believe I am telling you this!”
    Elizabeth shuddered. I cannot believe I am hearing this , she thought to herself.
    “His family lived on just the other side of a neighbouring village when I was growing up. Because of my mother’s poor connections, we only occasionally frequented the elite circles that the Darcys did. From the first moment I saw him, though, I knew he was the one I wished to marry.”
    Elizabeth hoped that the shock of hearing this was not displayed on her face. “I thought I understood that your family was from Staffordshire, whereas Mr. Darcy is from Derbyshire.”
    Rosalyn sat down on the edge of the bed. “We were in different but neighbouring counties. Pemberley is situated on the Derbyshire side a few miles from where we lived.”
    “I see,” Elizabeth said, really never expecting Mr. Darcy to be the one of whom Rosalyn spoke. She tried to grasp all that her friend was saying.
    “Unfortunately, the manor near Pemberley in which I grew up was only let by my parents. When I was fourteen, my father was able to purchase the home in which they now live, which is in Northamptonshire. I was so disappointed when we moved away. I truly believed I would never see him again. As a young girl, I was quite devastated.”
    “And have you seen much of him since then?” Elizabeth pensively asked.
    “I have seen him on a few occasions in Town; our families have spoken occasionally, but I have always been too nervous to say anything to him.” Rosalyn appealed to Elizabeth with wide eyes as she earnestly asked, “Would you please tell me something about him?” Pausing to take a deep breath, she then asked, “What is your opinion of him from the time he spent at Netherfield?”
    “What… what would you have me tell you?”
    Rosalyn stood up and twirled about, as if she were a ballerina on a stage, her hands clasped tightly together. “Tell me whether you believe he is not the handsomest man you have ever met… and kind… and generous…” She stopped twirling and looked intently at Elizabeth. “Well?”
    Elizabeth immediately felt the increase in her heartbeat. “I cannot speak on all those things, but yes, Rosalyn. I suppose… he is basically a good man.” How could she say otherwise? She had come to recognize over the past year that he was, in essentials, a good man. In her eyes his greatest fault was his interference between Jane and Bingley, but she could never speak of that to Rosalyn.
    Rosalyn collapsed upon the bed again and looked at Elizabeth with wide, eager eyes. “Tell me everything you remember, please.”
    Elizabeth knew she could never disclose everything to her. “He is a very intelligent man, somewhat reserved…”
    “Oh, yes! That makes him such a mystery to every lady in the ton ! They often talk amongst themselves about what he must be thinking when he stands so silently!”
    Elizabeth paused to consider how she persistently and quite wrongly assumed he had been quietly assessing her faults when he had his eye upon her. Little did she know then that he was admiring her.
    Rosalyn leaned in toward her. “And for the past year, it is said that he has been most formidable. Almost as if…”
    Elizabeth tilted her head and leaned in, waiting for Rosalyn to finish.
    Rosalyn whispered fervently. “Almost as if he had