Chapter 1.6 #4
“Why did you not tell me? Why did you allow me to speak as if it were a secret just revealed?”
“Because I felt you needed to free yourself of this burden. Then, during your confession, I could not find the proper moment or the proper way to tell you what I already knew.”
“I see…” she repeated, a stern expression on her face.
Miss Darcy seemed sadly to have aged several years in a few minutes.
“Elizabeth, you said you cannot tell me much about your disagreement with my brother, but I confess that, after everything you told me, I have strong suspicions about the nature of your quarrel. May I ask you another question? I know it is highly improper, and you may feel free not to answer; I would not mind.”
“Of course, please ask me. I would not mind either.”
“What is your opinion of my brother now?”
Elizabeth needed a few moments before she felt comfortable enough to answer. “I think he is among the best men I have ever known.”
Miss Darcy smiled meaningfully. “Well, that is what I would say about my brother. I was wondering if you could say something more.”
A deafening thunderclap startled them and made them both scream. Only then did they notice the dark clouds that had covered the sky and the wind that started to blow furiously.
Suddenly, a cold darkness and fierce rain fell all around them.
Georgiana shouted something, but another clap of thunder muffled her voice.
Instantly, Elizabeth grabbed the blanket and took Georgiana’s hand, forcing her to move under a bushy tree.
Elizabeth pulled the girl close to her, trying to find a poor shelter under the soaked blanket, watching with horror as the rain violently turned to hail.
The sky was streaked with flashes while the sound of hail and thunder made Georgiana tremble.
“Elizabeth, what can we do?” she cried, her voice barely audible.
Elizabeth knew not what to answer; the tree offered them some protection against the hail, but not for long. Branches began to fall, breaking around them, and Elizabeth lifted her eyes, desperately trying to see something—to discover a new place or a new shelter—with no success.
She was certain her senses betrayed her a few moments later when the silhouettes of two horses moved through the curtain of rain and Mr Darcy’s voice called to them.
Less than a moment later, Mr Darcy dismounted together with Lady Cassandra and moved toward them.
“We must leave immediately,” cried Lady Cassandra.
“We have to go on horseback around the lake,” added Mr Darcy, and Elizabeth struggled to understand his meaning.
With little patience, Lady Cassandra grabbed Georgiana’s hand. “Pull your dress up, and let us go, now!”
Elizabeth watched as Georgiana lifted her dress and mounted straight, as a man, with Lady Cassandra behind her in the same manner.
A moment later, their horse disappeared from sight, and Elizabeth turned her eyes, frightened and mortified, to the gentleman.
Surely, he could not ask her to do the same.
He suddenly unsaddled the horse, keeping only the bridle.
Then he leaned toward Elizabeth and spoke in her ear so she could hear him.
“Now we can go, too. Miss Bennet; we must hurry.” She looked at him wide-eyed and tried to explain she could not possibly ride in such weather on an unsaddled horse.
“We must leave now,” he repeated, as another thunderclap made the animal nervous and restless.
She remembered little of the next moments.
She was only aware of being lifted and placed on the back of the horse, both legs dangling over one side, with Darcy’s body close behind her.
She felt she was sliding down and unable to stop her fall, but his right hand embraced and supported her back while his left hand rested on her thighs around her waist, pulling her forcefully and protectively against him as he grabbed the reins.
His hands seemed to burn her though the thin, soaked fabric, and she felt herself quivering.
Lightning and thunder frightened the horse; he bucked and then ran wildly; she cried and her hands entwined desperately around Darcy’s waist, her legs pressed against his inner thighs.
He somehow managed to calm the animal, which continued to run steadily.
The rain was whipping Elizabeth’s face, but she was too scared and overwhelmed by the novelty of her sensations to feel the cold.
Suddenly, he removed her hands from him, opened his large gray coat and pulled Elizabeth closer as her arms found their own way back around his waist. Then he gathered the side of his coat together to protect her from the rain as much as possible.
Without thinking, she allowed her head to rest on his chest. She sensed him breathing deeply, and then his hands tightened their grip around her, almost crushing her against him.
Instantly the storm around them lost significance and vanished from her mind. Elizabeth was no longer frightened or cold; she felt safer and warmer than ever before.