“Mr. Darcy…” I began carefully, “are you quite sure you haven’t—”
“I’mnotmad!” he blurted, his voice high-pitched and frantic. “I’m not! He’s here—I swear, he’s here! He was just—right—”
He froze, his eyes locking onto something just over my shoulder again. His face drained of color, and he took another stumbling step backward.
I swallowed hard, glancing behind me one last time, seeing nothing but trees swaying in the breeze. “Perhaps I should fetch someone for you…”
“No!” Darcy all but shouted, his voice cracking. “No one else can see him, they’ll think I’ve lost my mind! But I swear, he’s—”
And then he threw his hands up in frustration, practically shouting at the sky. “Away with you!”
Once again, I turned to see absolutely no one.
Darcy froze again, his eyes darting wildly to the side as if something—or someone—had just appeared next to him.
“Leave me alone!” he barked, swatting at the empty air beside him. “I said—get off! Unhand me, or I shall… No, I willnotgo to… leave me be!”
I stared, my mouth falling open.Whowas he talking to? And… was he punching something? It looked for all the world like his fist was making contact with a wall of empty air.
He took a step back, eyes widening as if this invisible tormentor were inching closer. “I swear, if you touch me again—”
Darcy staggered, throwing his hands up as though fending off an unseen attacker. “I said get away from me!” he practically howled, his voice strained and high-pitched.
Then, with one final yelp, he spun around and bolted—sprinting across the lawn like a man chased by wolves, his untucked shirt flapping behind him as he disappeared around the side of the house.
I stood frozen, staring at the space where no one had been, watching Darcy’s retreat with utter disbelief.
Six
Darcy
Istumbled around thecorner of the house, barely keeping myself upright as my legs threatened to give out beneath me. My lungs burned from running, my head swam with confusion, and my entire body felt like it was one wrong breath away from expiring completely. I needed to get back to my room—back to safety.
For a moment, Ewan had vanished. That small mercy allowed me to breathe, but just barely. My hands still trembled, and I was fairly certain my legs wouldn’t hold me much longer.
I reached the stairs, my hand gripping the banister like a lifeline, when I heard it—Caroline Bingley’s voice drifting from the hallway. My heart nearly stopped. Of all the people to find me in this state, it had to beher. I pressed myself against thewall, trying to steady my breathing, hoping against hope that she wouldn’t turn the corner.
“Has anyone seen Mr. Darcy this morning?” Her voice echoed closer, and I could hear the scrape of her shoes on the floor. “I haven’t had the pleasure of speaking with him yet today.”
Pleasure. The word made me want to scream again.
My body locked up. I wasn’t sure if I would faint or simply crumble into a heap right there, but I could not—would not—let Caroline Bingley find me. My shirt was still half untucked, mud caked my breeches, and I had the bedraggled look of a man who had been wallowing with the pigs. No doubt my aroma was equally distinguished. If Caroline Bingley saw me like this, the news would reach London by dinner.
I pressed my back to the wall, heart hammering in my chest, every muscle tense. Ewan McLean, thank Heaven, had chosen this moment to disappear. Or maybe he was never really there. A small grace, though I had no illusions it would last.
Miss Bingley’s footsteps paused, and I held my breath, waiting.
After what felt like an eternity, they resumed, fading in the opposite direction.
I exhaled shakily and bolted up the stairs two at a time, stumbling through the door of my room and slamming it shut behind me. I leaned against it, gasping for breath, my hands trembling uncontrollably.
For a brief moment, I allowed myself to relax. I was alone. No Scottish nuisance, no ghostly figures popping up behind me. Just the blessed, quiet solitude of my room.
But then the humiliation of what had just occurred hit me like a blow to the gut.
Elizabeth Bennet.
Of all people to witness my disgraceful flight across the lawn, it had to be her. The one with the razor-sharp wit and speakingeyes that were positively laughing at my discomfiture. I closed my eyes, groaning as I slumped against the door. Of course it was her. It figured that shewouldbe the one to see me unraveling like a lunatic.
