“O, that you had feet to walk the land,
To dwell with me beyond this lonely place.”
She smiled and pointed to the waves below:
“My home lies deep, where coral gardens grow;
Yet I will come, if you would have it so,
And give my days to speak with you above.”
He came each dawn, and by her side he dreamed;
They spoke of lives together yet untried,
Of hearth and field where golden sunlight streamed,
And tender vows no sea could ever divide.
But mortal hearts are frail, and vows grow dim;
One dawn she waited, but he came no more.
Her heart grew heavy waiting through the years,
Her tears now mingled with the ocean’s roar.
“Farewell,” she whispered, sinking to the deep,
“Your world is earth, and mine the boundless sea;
No mortal troth is mine to hold or keep
No tide shall bear me back again to thee.”
Long years passed, until he roamed once more
To where first he found her singing on the stone.
He saw her rise, as fair and lovely as before,
She was changeless, but he could not atone.
She turned away and would not meet his eye,
Her heart grown wise through all the silent years.
Then vanished down the paths beneath the sea,
And left him alone with only memory.
Elizabeth closed the journal and looked up. Darcy had turned away; he was looking at the valley below. At length, he said quietly, “I must go, or I shall be late for breakfast. Lady Catherine expects me.”
Elizabeth inclined her head. He bowed and departed, leaving her thoughtful and unsettled. She watched him until the path curved out of sight, then returned to her journal.He is not of my sphere,she reminded herself.I must not think of him.
Chapter 31: Kitty Receives a Request for Courtship
When she came in to breakfast at the parsonage, Kitty was already at the table, her cheeks glowing with excitement.
