A thought that lasted precisely three minutes.
As soon as I heard the window creak open, my body tensed, the splash of water shifting in response. The gust of cold air that followed sealed my fate.
“Yer lookin’ quite... soft, laddie. And pink like a wee piglet.”
I sat up with a start, the water sloshing over the edge of the tub, and turned to find Ewan perched casually on the windowsill. He grinned, swinging his legs as if he hadn’t just burst in on a very private moment.
“Ewan!” I sputtered, grabbing for the nearest towel to cover myself.
He only raised an eyebrow. “Aye, ye missed me, then?”
“This is hardly the time!” I hissed, trying—and failing—to keep the water from soaking the towel as I struggled to shield myself from his amused gaze.
Ewan chuckled, hopping down from the window. “Oh, I’d say it’s the perfect time, lad. Ye’re all nice an’ relaxed, open tae a wee bit o’ conversation, aye?”
“I’ll be open to tossing you out that window,” I muttered under my breath, hastily trying to gather my dignity. “Where have you been?”
Ewan ignored my question, sauntering over to the desk as if he owned the place. “It’s a fine thing, isn’t it? A wee break from me fer a few days?” He paused, looking me up and down with that insufferable smirk still plastered across his face. “But I knew ye’d come crawling back.”
“I did no such thing!” I snapped, water dripping from the towel as I tried to wrap it around my waist before standing. “You’ve been scarce for three days, and I have questions. I need answers.”
He sauntered over to the fireplace, ignoring me entirely as if my current predicament was of no consequence to him. “Aye, aye, now ye’re wantin’ answers, eh? Funny how that works.”
I was too furious to care anymore about my current lack of clothes, stepping out of the tub as I pointed an accusatory finger at him. “I found my grandmother’s journals.”
That stopped him in his tracks. His face flickered with something I hadn’t seen before—guilt, perhaps? Annoyance?
“Aye,” he finally muttered. “Thought ye might.”
My patience was running thin, and I grabbed for my robe, securing it around myself. “You’ve known me since I was a boy, Ewan. Since Isobel—your sister—was at Pemberley. You’ve been tied to my family for years. Why? What is your game?”
Ewan, for once, didn’t crack a joke. Instead, he stared at the flames, silent. The playfulness was gone, and for a moment, I saw something darker lurking behind his eyes.
Finally, he sighed, his voice losing its usual edge. “It was never aboot ye, Darcy.”
I blinked, not understanding. “What?”
“It’s notye, lad,” Ewan repeated, turning toward me. “It’sher.”
“Her?” My heart thudded in my chest as I tried to make sense of his words. “Miss Bennet?”
Ewan’s lips twitched into something resembling a sad smile. “Aye. It’s always been aboot her.”
“What does Elizabeth Bennet have to do with any of this?”
He rubbed a hand over his face, and for the first time, I saw something almost... regretful in his expression. “’Cause she’s got the same spirit as Elspeth. The love o’ my life.”
My head swam, my hands gripping the edges of my robe to keep my composure. “Elizabeth... is Elspeth?”
“Nah, not exactly. But they’ve the same... light,” he said softly. “Same soul, ye might say. The moment I clapped eyes on her, I kent.”
I folded my arms as the thin garment soaked more water from my skin. I was already dripping all over the floor, but this was amatter beyond niceties, beyond modesty and manners and good breeding. “What, exactly, did you know?”
Ewan leaned against the desk, his gaze far away for a moment, as if seeing something I couldn’t. “It’s in the way she moves, lad, the way she laughs. A fire in her, same as Elspeth had. Hard tae put in words, but soon as I laid eyes on her, I kent it. Her soul’s bound tae mine. Like the auld stories say—two souls yoked, no matter the time nor space between.”
I stared at him, still trying to make sense of it. “You think Elizabeth is... what? A reincarnation?”
He shook his head, his expression softening, almost reverent. “Nay, lad, not that. It’s deeper than that. It’s as though my Elspeth’s spirit lives on through her—no’ in flesh, but in essence. There are some bonds that dinnae break. Fate’s seen fit tae bring her tae me... and tae ye.”
