Maggie stared at me, her face twisted with concern. Then she nodded. “OK. You go and talk to him, and Nick and I will go back to Longbourn and see if we can cause a diversion to hold Elizabeth off from accepting Mr. Collins’s proposal. Let’s meet back here at two o’clock. But please be careful, Zoe. This story could go up in flames at any moment; don’t be the one to strike the match.”
I hurried out of the bedroom and downstairs. The house was quiet, still sleeping off its hangover from the night before, and I managed to get outside without seeing anyone. Maggie had said Darcy was at the stables, and as I made my way down there, I saw the sky was a muted gray color and the grass under my feet looked unnaturally pale, as if some of the color had been washed out of it. I picked up my pace to a run.
When I got to the stables, I found Darcy wearing his riding clothes and standing by one of the stalls, stroking the nose of a beautiful black horse. He didn’t notice me as I approached.
“Mr. Darcy?”
He started at his name and turned to look at me, and I saw confusion in his eyes as he took in the jeans and T-shirt I’d changed into late last night.
He ducked his head in a bow. “Miss Knight.”
“Darcy, I’m sorry about running off at the ball.”
“I am the one who should be apologizing. I should not have accosted you and been so forceful with my questioning.”
“No, it’s OK. You’re confused about these memories you keep having, and you want answers. I get it.”
He frowned. “I have been certain I am going quite mad, for themost peculiar thoughts have plagued me since your arrival. Last night, at the ball, I found myself looking at a lady in a dress and thinking that it was not nearly so fine as anything RuPaul’s Queens would wear. Yet I do not for the life of me know who RuPaul is, and the only queen I can name is Queen Charlotte.”
He looked so worried that I stepped forward and placed my hand on his arm.
“I owe you an explanation, Darcy.” He jerked at the physical contact, and I pulled my hand back. “A few weeks ago, you traveled to the year 2026. We met there and you stayed with me in my apartment.”
His frown deepened. “Time travel? But how?”
“I sort of summoned you there by accident. You spent ten days in London, which is what you keep having memories about. You’re not going mad: Those are real things you saw and experienced.”
“So traveling in a subterranean monster is not a fevered nightmare?”
“No, that’s an underground train, and you really did ride one.”
“The Queens?”
“A form of entertainment you enjoyed watching.”
He paused. “I have feelings of affectionate regard for a small, profane woman from the Levant, but I fear she cannot be real?”
I smiled. “That’s Mrs. Atallah, and yes, she’s very real. She’s my landlady, and the two of you became close.”
He smiled, too, and then grew serious again, looking almost nervous. “And you, Miss Knight? I recall feelings of the most passionate admiration for you too. Did we become close to each other in your world?”
I swallowed. “We did, Darcy, although I wasn’t honest with you and lost your trust. We didn’t part on the best of terms.”
Darcy shook his head and I heard him sigh. “I must admit to some relief, for I had truly thought I was losing my mind.”
“No, you’re not, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I made the same mistake in 2026 by not telling you the truth about your situation at the start, and it caused huge problems. And yet I’ve done the same thing here.”
“Well, I am grateful for you being truthful with me now, Miss Knight. Although I do not fully understand what has happened, at least I am returned to my home and no harm has been done.”
“But there has been, I’m afraid,” I said. “I’m not meant to be here in your world, Darcy, and my being here has caused all sorts of problems. Last night, at the ball, you should have danced with Elizabeth Bennet, but you talked to me instead.”
Darcy scowled. “Miss Bennet did not wish to dance with me. In fact, she has already rejected invitations I made to her on two prior occasions.”
“I know, but this time it would have been different.”
“How are you cognizant of such a fact?”
I swallowed. It was clear that although Darcy remembered a few things from his time in my world, there was lots he didn’t remember, including the fact that he was a fictional character. And something told me that as much as I’d vowed to be completely honest with him, knowing his entire existence was created by a woman named Jane Austen might be the spark that started the fire Maggie had warned me about. So I had to find a way of explaining the situation to Darcy without lying to him outright, but also without causing him so much distress that he’d become completely distracted again.
