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 wehadto 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 SkyValley. 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.
