Adieu
EB
He droppedthe letter on his desk, leaned back in his chair, untied his cravat, and stared up at the ceiling, brooding about what would never be.
* * *
With Jane’sdeparture for her wedding tour, and Charlotte’s return to Hunsford, Elizabeth could find little that interested her. She had walked through the grounds of Longbourn, made numerous errands into the village to visit her aunt Phillips, buy ribbons, and go to the book seller. She had even contemplated taking up a new hobby such as riding.
One would know how truly distracted I am to consider such an extreme sport,she chuckled to herself and kicked a stone out of the road. On this morning, her exercise had brought her to a prettyish kind of little wilderness leading to Oakham Mount. She rested on a bench underneath a large oak tree and pulled out her book of Wordsworth when she heard a footstep behind her. Turning, she was surprised at the presence of Mr. Hamilton.
“James. What are you doing at Longbourn again so soon? I believed you to be at Ashby Park through Christmas.”
“Yes, well, as it is only a few days away, and I had finished all matters of business, Elizabeth. I need to speak to you.” He clasped his hands behind his back and cleared his throat.
“To speak to me? Since Pemberley, I believed you had lost the ability.” The teasing lilt in her voice could not be missed nor could the biting tone.
“Yes. Let us discuss Pemberley.”
“Very well. What do you wish to speak of?”
He sat beside her for a few moments, and then getting up, paced before her. Lizzy was surprised but said not a word. After a silence of several minutes, he came toward her in an agitated manner, and thus began.
“Elizabeth, it has been brought to my attention that, please forgive me, you…have participated in some behavior that if discovered would lead to your ruin.”
The cold fingers of a memory from the hunting lodge began to crawl up her back and neck while she attempted a level of control.
“When your parents and I were at Pemberley, I was made aware of the possibility that you and Darcy inhabited the same cabin the night you were lost in the storm. Do you deny this?”
She was fearful to respond.
“Elizabeth, answer me. Is this true?”
“If I might ask, where did this information come from?”
He looked down and began to fiddle with his hands. “Two stable hands…”
“And sir,” she cried, standing to face him, “did you not roar them down?”
“No, I did not. I… but Elizabeth, you have not answered me. Did you stay alone in the same lodgings as Darcy?”
“It was not what you think.”
He sank into the bench. “Then you did! Then, you were not faithful to me. He defiled you!”
“James Hamilton.Ifyou truly believe that it was my intent…”
He sprang to his feet. “He forced himself upon you? Is that what happened? I will call him out.”
“No,” she said putting her hand on his arm to calm him. “He did not force himself on me. Mr. Darcy was a complete gentleman. I was trapped in the storm. He also needed shelter. We could not get back to Pemberley in the storm. There has been a misunderstanding…”
He swallowed and cleared his throat. “Elizabeth, please respect me enough to answer this question… Did you kiss him?”
Her eyes lowering, she quietly whispered, “Yes.”
He snorted and gave a guttural laugh. “Of course, you did,” he said raising his head to the clouds. “Of course, she did. Who can refuse the master of Pemberley over the master of Ashby Park?”
“James. It was not like that. Do not make this nothing into something.”
