Welcome back to Austen Promises! Today, you’re getting another short little Regency tidbit, totally unrelated to the previous story. I hope you enjoy it! <3

Merry Christmas, Mr. Darcy! is now live on Google Play Books! I’m so excited about this! It still is not up on Gumroad, however, and I’m a bit embarrassed about that. It’s getting there. 🙂 By the time this goes live, I will have taken down all but the first post here on the blog.

Did you know that for a monthly pledge of as little as $1 at Patreon, you can have early access to all my blog posts, including my Thursday ones? Patrons also get a free copy of each of my books once it is complete.

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Elizabeth Darcy finished the last of her correspondence, a reply to one of her husband’s aunts, with a flourish. She had always enjoyed writing letters, but after her marriage, the amount of them had increased dramatically, and she relished signing the last bit of paper for the day. She sanded her letter and then folded it, sealing it with a drip of wax from the red candle purchased expressly for that purpose, and pressing her seal into the red blob. Then, she added the note to the pile of missives to her left and stood, stretching out her back.

Elizabeth strolled to the door, a smile on her face. She was done with her duties for the day and had hours of free time stretching out before her. Her husband was out on the estate, touring the tenant farms with the steward, and would not be home until nearly dark. She paused at a window, looking out at the blue sky and green grass. A smile spread over her face as she hastened up the stairs to her chambers to change her clothes.

A quarter hour later, Elizabeth was strolling through the gardens, heading for the path along the river. She had exchanged her morning gown for a walking dress and her satin slippers for leather half-boots. She smiled, lifting her face to allow the sun to warm her skin. Spring was one of her favorite times of the year, when it was warm but not too much so, and the sun made the flowers, leaves, and grasses grow.

Elizabeth tramped happily along the path, through the woods that bordered the river on one side, and out into a meadow that opened up where the ribbon of water veered off toward the farms. She wandered field, picking flowers and humming to herself. Finally, she strolled back toward the path.

Suddenly, Elizabeth realized that it was far later than she thought it was. The sun was much further down in the sky than she liked to see. She was at least a quarter mile from the river, and then had a further four-mile walk back to the house. It would be dark before she reached it. Sighing, she shrugged her shoulders and walked faster.

It was not that Elizabeth was afraid of the dark. She was not. It was simply that she had only been a Darcy since just before Christmas, and the weather had only been good enough for her to walk for a month. This was her third walk without Darcy escorting her.

She did not like walking in the dark in an unfamiliar place, especially when there were two or three spots where the path dropped off at the river’s edge. Still, there was nothing for it. She would walk as quickly as she could and hope for the best. I will keep to this side of the path, she thought. I will be in no danger over here.

Elizabeth’s quick pace did get her back to Pemberley House a few minutes earlier than they might have otherwise, but it was nearly full dark by the time she was within sight of the front door. She could just make out a horse being led toward the stables, and knew her husband was within the house and probably looking for her. She kept up her pace until she saw the door open again. There, framed within the portal, was Darcy. She picked up her skirts and ran the last few yards.

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What do you think? Feel free to leave a comment for me! <3

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