you . ”
William closed his eyes and uttered softly—almost desperately , “ Was everyone aware of this but me? ” He sighed deeply and went on with great feeling, “ Never the less, at some time in the future, Elizabeth will become my wife, and I will protect her as if she already were. ”
After a few moments of silence, Lord Reginald vowed, “ Well, then , so shall we all. ”
The sound of the others’ concurrence followed.
“ Thank you for your support, gentlemen. I am sorry, Bingley, but no matter how difficult it may prove to be, we must keep all of this from Hurst and your sisters. ”
Bingley nodded.
Noticing the time, the new arrivals decided they had best freshen up before it was time for dinner. Bingley showed them to their rooms.
C hapter 3
November 2 , 1811
The gentlemen arrived at Elizabeth’s meadow , as William had come to think of it , at the break of day. The sight that met their eyes when entering the clearing made them halt their approach . Five beautiful ladies , hair bound in long braids, stood watching the display of colo u rs advance across the sky . Shocking the gentlemen, but also capturing the ir attention fully , the lad ies were dressed in tightly f itt ed trousers and lawn shirts.
Even from this distance, William could barely tear his eyes away from the way that Elizabeth’s face shone with appreciation as she watched a new day dawning , but t he vision of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen dressed in trousers was too tempting to resist drinking in as well.
After a minute or two , William recalled his surroundings . He became more than a little rankled , realizing that the other ge ntlemen w ould sur e ly look at his future wife in the same manner , al though he doubted that Bingley had eyes for anyone other than Miss Jane Bennet.
T his should not be happening! It went against all he had been taught about propriety . Elizabeth was his , and even though her skin was covered with material , perhaps even m ore so than the usual afternoon or evening gown would conceal on top — for which he was grateful at the moment — no other man should ever have had the opportunity to see the outline of her legs! And neither should he for that matter— at least not until they were married. These differing sets of rules of propriety were going to take a great deal of effort to accept .
“ Having them near by wearing trousers will be very distracting! ” observed Lord Reginald .
Richard replied, “ I am certain that is intentional. It is not only the trousers… ” his voice trailed off.
“ Not only the trousers? ” William ’s question went unanswered. E lizabeth turned around , and he noticed her shirt was not buttoned up to her neck, as he had hoped . Gentleman or not, he was still a man, and he knew his eyes would be drawn to her charms to see if he could catch a glimpse as she moved . “ None of you are allowed to even think about looking at Miss Elizabeth! ” he growled.
“ Or Miss Bennet ! ” Bingley added forcefully.
“ Make a point of indicating which sister is which during introductions ; as the y are all very beautiful, I will be content with fi nding something to admire in the other three , I am certain , ” Lord Reginald replied.
“ Mr. Bennet is quite the strategist! ” Richard observed.
“ I have never seen wooden swords like those the ladies are holding, have you? ” asked Bingley.
“ Those are wasters—a sort of training sword. Un cle Darcy had us use them when h e was conductin g our lessons . There are also shields on the ground near them . W ill we be learning shie ld fighting ? ” Lord Reginald inquired .
Richard ’s eyes widened when he noticed how many weapons there were . “ Are the ladies training with us , Darcy ? ”
William was still having some difficulty looking away from Elizabeth. “ Mr. Bennet said they would be here , but I d o not know that th e ladies will be training with us. ”
“ It is not possible. I will not
William closed his eyes and uttered softly—almost desperately , “ Was everyone aware of this but me? ” He sighed deeply and went on with great feeling, “ Never the less, at some time in the future, Elizabeth will become my wife, and I will protect her as if she already were. ”
After a few moments of silence, Lord Reginald vowed, “ Well, then , so shall we all. ”
The sound of the others’ concurrence followed.
“ Thank you for your support, gentlemen. I am sorry, Bingley, but no matter how difficult it may prove to be, we must keep all of this from Hurst and your sisters. ”
Bingley nodded.
Noticing the time, the new arrivals decided they had best freshen up before it was time for dinner. Bingley showed them to their rooms.
C hapter 3
November 2 , 1811
The gentlemen arrived at Elizabeth’s meadow , as William had come to think of it , at the break of day. The sight that met their eyes when entering the clearing made them halt their approach . Five beautiful ladies , hair bound in long braids, stood watching the display of colo u rs advance across the sky . Shocking the gentlemen, but also capturing the ir attention fully , the lad ies were dressed in tightly f itt ed trousers and lawn shirts.
Even from this distance, William could barely tear his eyes away from the way that Elizabeth’s face shone with appreciation as she watched a new day dawning , but t he vision of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen dressed in trousers was too tempting to resist drinking in as well.
After a minute or two , William recalled his surroundings . He became more than a little rankled , realizing that the other ge ntlemen w ould sur e ly look at his future wife in the same manner , al though he doubted that Bingley had eyes for anyone other than Miss Jane Bennet.
T his should not be happening! It went against all he had been taught about propriety . Elizabeth was his , and even though her skin was covered with material , perhaps even m ore so than the usual afternoon or evening gown would conceal on top — for which he was grateful at the moment — no other man should ever have had the opportunity to see the outline of her legs! And neither should he for that matter— at least not until they were married. These differing sets of rules of propriety were going to take a great deal of effort to accept .
“ Having them near by wearing trousers will be very distracting! ” observed Lord Reginald .
Richard replied, “ I am certain that is intentional. It is not only the trousers… ” his voice trailed off.
“ Not only the trousers? ” William ’s question went unanswered. E lizabeth turned around , and he noticed her shirt was not buttoned up to her neck, as he had hoped . Gentleman or not, he was still a man, and he knew his eyes would be drawn to her charms to see if he could catch a glimpse as she moved . “ None of you are allowed to even think about looking at Miss Elizabeth! ” he growled.
“ Or Miss Bennet ! ” Bingley added forcefully.
“ Make a point of indicating which sister is which during introductions ; as the y are all very beautiful, I will be content with fi nding something to admire in the other three , I am certain , ” Lord Reginald replied.
“ Mr. Bennet is quite the strategist! ” Richard observed.
“ I have never seen wooden swords like those the ladies are holding, have you? ” asked Bingley.
“ Those are wasters—a sort of training sword. Un cle Darcy had us use them when h e was conductin g our lessons . There are also shields on the ground near them . W ill we be learning shie ld fighting ? ” Lord Reginald inquired .
Richard ’s eyes widened when he noticed how many weapons there were . “ Are the ladies training with us , Darcy ? ”
William was still having some difficulty looking away from Elizabeth. “ Mr. Bennet said they would be here , but I d o not know that th e ladies will be training with us. ”
“ It is not possible. I will not
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