Chapter 12
On the drive back to the library, Stella’s emotions ping-ponged between irrational fear at what she might have left behind
and guilt over how she’d treated Jack before she left. Those feelings were compounded by Arnie’s admission of the magic and
what the ink pad and stamp were capable of.
The library parking lot was full of cars when Stella drove by on her way to her spot in the back lot. As soon as she turned
off the ignition, dark gray words swirling like tornadoes flew out of the air vents and around her head. She swatted at them,
causing them to twist around the steering wheel. Escape. Warning. Panic mode. The words rushed toward the car’s ceiling and then dive-bombed the dashboard, smashing into pieces. The trembling letters
rejoined into broken words and limped across the lower portion of the windshield.
Stella’s cell phone rang and startled her. She dug in her purse as she opened the car door, and a wave of summer heat stole
her breath. She withdrew the phone and answered. “Ariel, hey—”
“Finally! I’ve been texting you! Are you okay?”
“I was at the hospital with Arnie, and I didn’t check my phone before I left. Listen, I can’t talk right now, but I’ll call later.”
Squeals erupted from the lawn area just off to the side of the library’s back steps. Stella walked around a parked car to
get a better look at who was squealing.
“What’s going on?” Ariel asked. “Talk to me. My stomach feels all weird and unsettled.”
Stella squinted in the bright sunlight, shielding her eyes from the blaze. “What did you eat?”
“Stella,” Ariel said, sounding exasperated, “it’s not food. It’s you. What’s going on with you and that guy at the library?”
As Stella speed walked toward the back door, she saw a group of young women dancing in a lopsided circle with unbridled excitement.
Their giggles and high-pitched voices bounced toward Stella.
A man wearing a top hat and riding attire stood on the back steps, looking slightly embarrassed by the surrounding women.
Sunlight beamed off his striking face, casting light in every direction. His baritone rumbled, and the young women seemed
hypnotized.
Stella’s skin tingled in an entirely unpleasant way. Is that Darcy? Outside the library? “Ariel, I have to go.” She disconnected the call as she heard the start of Ariel’s protest. Stella’s brain and legs kicked
into gear and she sprinted across the parking lot.
The idea that Fitzwilliam Darcy could be lost to readers everywhere sent her into full-blown panic mode. Where had he come
from? She hadn’t seen him earlier that day, but now he had groupies mesmerized by his dashing smile and British accent. She
wheezed as she leaped onto the steps and gripped his arm.
Darcy released an oomph as Stella slammed into him and jerked his arm toward the library doors.
“I beg your pardon,” he said as he snatched his arm out of her grip. His tall shadow cast an imposing silhouette. “That is no way for a lady to behave.” He straightened his coat.
Stella struggled to catch her breath. “You can’t be outside the library. Get back inside.”
He tilted his head and studied her. “I don’t recall being asked to obey the whims of a young woman. And if you can’t see for
yourself, I have guests assembled. It would be rude to leave them when they have specifically asked for my attendance.”
Stella glanced at the women on the grass. More than half of them cradled books and notepads in their arms. The Jane Austen Readers.
“Perfect timing,” she grumbled as she recognized the women who enjoyed meeting every other week to discuss their love and
devotion to all things Jane Austen.
“Stella,” Carrie Lincoln said, stepping forward from the group. “I can’t believe you and Arnie came up with this idea.”
“What idea?”
Carrie pointed at Darcy, her cheeks flushed with delight. Her eyes had gone all dewy, and her dilated pupils seemed to pull
sunbeams toward her face. Carrie sighed audibly as she twirled a lock of her long blond hair around her finger.
Darcy straightened his shoulders. “The pleasure is all mine, I assure you.”
Stella narrowed her eyes. “Turn it off for a second, will you?”
“Turn what off?” he asked. “I don’t understand your meaning.”
Stella looked at Carrie as her mind quickly created plausible explanations. “You mean the look-alike?”
Carrie and the rest of the group nodded like bobblehead dolls. “He’s superb. It was such a fun surprise for us this morning,
even though he didn’t show up until the end of our meeting, just as we decided to go to the coffee shop. Then—poof—he was there, and we had to ask him to join us.”
“Oh no, you don’t,” Stella said, shaking her head and grabbing Darcy’s arm again. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Carrie, but
that’s not going to happen. Mr. Darcy has to stay here with me because . . . we have other plans.”
Darcy looked at Stella, questioning her with his expression. She squeezed her fingers tighter on his arm. When she spoke,
her voice was a whispered warning. “Mr. Darcy, get back inside the library or I am going to lose it.”
“Going to?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “I think you’ve already gone round that bend, Miss Parker.”
Stella clenched her jaw, and Darcy relented. He removed his hat and bowed gracefully to the women.
“I do hope you’ll accept my sincerest apologies, but it appears I have a previous engagement that I cannot miss.”
The women swooned like dandelions bending in the breeze, and Stella groaned. But then she remembered what it felt like to
feel weak in the knees at seeing a man’s smile.
“Thanks for understanding, Carrie. We really appreciate y’all being a part of the library. Next time we’ll make sure Mr. Darcy
shows up on time for your meeting.”
The smiles on the women’s faces reminded Stella of a dental commercial. Bright yellow words fluttered around their feet like
butterflies surfing over the blades of grass. Next time. Dreams do come true. Single.
As Stella dragged Darcy back into the library, Carrie called out, “Thanks, Stella! We’ll see you both next time. We can’t
wait!” The door clicked closed and shut out the rest of Carrie’s excited, hopeful words.
Stella pulled Darcy down a deserted aisle before she released her grip on him.
“What are you doing? Are you trying to get us all thrown into the loony bin? You can’t just walk around Blue Sky Valley.
You don’t exactly blend in with the townsfolk, and you know you’re not supposed to leave the library. You do know that, don’t you?”
Did he know the rules? How did Arnie handle characters when they arrived? Did he explain the rules of their short-term stay?
Stella wondered if there was a how-to manual somewhere.
Darcy’s cheek dimpled. “I had no intention of going with them.”
Stella tilted her head. “You didn’t?”
“Certainly not,” he said. “Conversing easily with those I have never seen before is not a talent I possess.” He gripped the
breast of his coat.
“You seemed to be handling it well,” Stella said. “They were enamored.”
Darcy spun his hat around in his fingers. “They quickly would have realized that I am not the most enjoyable company. I do
not have the ability to appear interested in their conversation, which I fear would have been intensely focused on me.”
Stella laughed. “Most definitely. So you know about Arnie’s rules?”
He nodded.
Stella felt her shoulders relaxing from her ears. She softened her tone. “We can’t lose you.”
“Do I sense affection in your voice?” he asked.
Stella’s cell phone dinged with a text and startled both of them. “It’s Vicki. She typed Emergency 911 in all caps.” Darcy met Stella’s gaze before slipping down an aisle. Stella hurried toward the circulation desk, trying to
calm her rapidly beating heart. Vicki stood at the desk with a frantic expression, shoving papers around on the countertop
and opening and closing drawers at random. Stella called out to her, and Vicki’s head popped up.
“Oh, Stella, finally! I can’t do this without you,” Vicki said, running straight at her. Anxiety filled her wide eyes. “Dan had to leave unexpectedly. His cat got loose, and the neighbor was having trouble catching it, and Dan was having a fit to get home. He may or may not come back.”
Stella hesitated before asking, “Is that all?”
“No! It’s a circus here,” Vicki said, tugging her unruly frizz into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. “I’ve been looking
for a note, a memo, anything that would let me know what’s going on because this is definitely not on the calendar. There are no emails about it and no
one called ahead to confirm the appearances. I wanted to call Arnie, but I didn’t want to bother him. I knew you’d be back
soon and could handle it, but then you took longer than I thought, and I’m freaking out. I have no idea what to do, but one
of the guys is a real weirdo. Frankly, he scares the bejesus outa me.”
Stella blinked a few times, struggling to understand. “Pause. Go back, please. None of that makes any sense.”
“I know!” Vicki said in exasperation. “It’s a complete mess. I have no idea what to do.”
“Let’s start at the beginning. What appearances?” Stella asked. Please don’t say Captain Hook and Robinson Crusoe.
“The impersonators,” Vicki said. “There is a man who looks like he washed ashore a hundred years ago, a charming Englishman,
and a man I’m pretty sure is a pirate.”
Stella’s knees wobbled, and the blueberry muffin she’d eaten with Arnie churned in her stomach. She tried to focus.
Jack rushed down the main stairs accompanied by a man wearing ragged clothing and a coiled rope looped over his neck and hooked
under one arm. Stella felt a surge of relief that Jack hadn’t listened to her and left.
“Jack,” Vicki said as she stepped toward him. “Did you find him? He was really terrifying the children and me.”
Stella passed a glance between Jack and Vicki. “You didn’t leave, and . . . you’re helping Vicki? Who’s terrifying the children?”
“We didn’t find him,” Jack said to Vicki, “but Mr. Crusoe and I will be ready when he reappears.”