The footman descended from the back, warily eyeing Darcy.
“My lady—”
“Drive.”
The driver flicked the reins, and the phaeton lurched forward. The footman hesitated only a moment before climbing back on.
Darcy stood, stunned, the snow falling thickly around him now.
A soft voice behind him broke the silence.
“Mr. Darcy.”
He turned to see Elizabeth—his Elizabeth—standing right behind him.
“You ought not have done that,” she told him.
He opened his mouth, closed it again. “She… she did not know me.”
“I know.” Elizabeth’s voice was low. “She did not appear to recognize me, either.” Her eyes searched his face, then flicked up the lane after the retreating carriage.
“I hesitated at first,” she continued. “I was afraid to be seen. What if she thought I was the other… me?” She swallowed. “But you looked so… I was afraid she might call someone to arrest you.”
“She thinks I do not exist,” he said bitterly. “And Georgiana. Dear God in heaven…”
Elizabeth was quiet for a moment. Then she reached out and laid a gloved hand on his sleeve.
“I know you exist,” she said.
He looked down at her hand, the only warm thing in the world, and rested his own hand over top. “This is madness.”
“Well, at least there is onlyoneof you in this reality,” she said lightly. “I am not entirely certain about having a twin, even if no one recognizes me. Especially if she is resigned to that… fate.”
“Apparently, my absence from Netherfield compelled Mr. Collins to offer for you.”
She laughed, and he looked at her in confusion. “Oh, he offered for me even with you there. Did you not hear the story?” she said, her eyes dancing with mirth. “I simply refused him.”
Darcy winced. “Ah, yes. I had forgotten.”Well, she clearly did not make the refusal because she was waiting on me. I wonder why my presence altered her decision, then.
His musings were interrupted when she shivered violently. He looked around, startled to realize that the sun was already beginning to set. “It will be dark soon, and then we will be in very real danger of freezing to death.”
“But where can we go?” she asked
Darcy pondered a moment, then said, “There is an abandoned hunting lodge further into the woods. It is never used… at least, no one ever went there when I… when I existed. That would be the best place for solitude while we consider our next steps.”
Elizabeth gave a weary nod, tugging her shawl closer around her shoulders. “Lead the way, then. Unless your mysterious stranger appears again to offer directions.”
Darcy’s mouth twitched despite himself. “He seems to prefer dramatic exits. I doubt he will be of much help.”
They stepped cautiously from the edge of the trees, careful to keep well away from the parsonage. The light was fading fast now, the low winter sun casting everything in silvery blue. Elizabeth’s skirts dragged through the snow, the hem heavy with the damp, and Darcy noted again how pale she looked.
The couple did not speak for several minutes. The path through the woods was barely visible under the fresh fall, but he remembered it well. He had walked it dozens of times during his previous visits to Rosings—always alone, always when he needed to clear his mind. It was odd to tread it now with someone beside him. Even more odd that it should be her.
“Do you think… do you think that Jane is dead? Or my father?”
He startled. “I beg your pardon?”
“I simply cannot imagine a scenario in which I would have accepted Mr. Collins’s proposal, unless there was a danger to my family. But if my father were dead, why would Mr. Collins be at Hunsford instead of Longbourn?”
