But then he staggered against her from the wind battering the door.
“If you are able, for your protection and that of others, please sit. Stay as close to the floor as possible. I do not know how long this door will hold. Colonel Fitzwilliam, if you will make your way towards me? With your help, we may be able to keep the destruction from the room.”
Cook said, “If you are a praying sort, I beg you to do so now in hopes that the wind will turn again. I need back in my kitchen.”
The colonel’s arrival would separate them. Boldly placing a hand on his chest, she guessed the vicinity of his own ear. She needed to apologize to him for believing Mr. Wickham’s lies. She needed to tell him that she forgave him for his insults. And she needed to thank him for all he was doing for their safety.
Except, it was not his ear she reached. In the total darkness of the confined space, her mouth brushed his cheek. Instead ofleaning his ear toward her, he turned his face until his lips were on hers.
He smelled of spice and tasted of sweet…something. He…was everything, and…the storm hit the door again, ripping his lips away from hers, almost knocking them off balance, reminding Elizabeth that, although no others could see what she and Mr. Darcy were doing, their conduct was far from proper.
His free hand lightly touched her cheek before he moved away from her. Breathing her name, he started to kiss her a second time with a thoroughness that robbed her of thought and reason. She…oh,good heavens!She floated on clouds and…was her heart singing?
Someone bumped her from behind, bringing her to the few senses she had remaining.
“Darcy, where are you?” The colonel’s voice rang in her ear.
“Here.” He released her arm and pulled his cousin next to him.
She was bereft. Elizabeth had just experienced the most wonderful moment in her lifetime, which ended far too soon. Was it shameful that passion wreaked havoc on her emotions until she yearned for more while a tempest raged outside the house? For one more embrace or caress?
Mr. Darcy softened his tone.“Pray be seated, Miss Elizabeth, for your safety and mine,” he whispered.
The breeze coming in around the door carried his words to her and beyond. Quickly, she did as he asked, feeling the wall behind her, the burning of her fingers constant but insignificant in comparison to the chaos around her. She would do nothing to endanger him further.
“Let us wedge ourselves against the door.” Mr. Darcy directed.
Both men were fighting a battle no individual could win. Nor two men.
There were six Bennet females in the immediate area, along with three Lucas ladies, three Longs, several maids, the housekeeper, Mrs. Hammond, and Cook, who was a giant of a woman with massive arms from kneading dough daily. Their total weight could assist the men.
She shouted. “Cook, please help. Any others who are willing, pray join me in aiding these men.”
“Outta my way, miss.” Cook almost thrust Elizabeth aside as she moved next to Mr. Darcy, placing Colonel Fitzwilliam at Elizabeth’s side. Within moments and with only a few complaints, bodies surged against Elizabeth’s back, pushing her closer to Mr. Darcy than she had ever been to any man other than her father. Reaching around him, she placed her hands on the door. Whoever stood behind her did the same to her, pushing against Mr. Darcy’s back.The pressure was tremendous.
Elizabeth’s heart rejoiced as they fought the beast until the muscles in their arms throbbed. Although it felt like her spine was being pressed past her lungs to the front of her rib cage, the pressure served to remind her that this was her family, her community, who struggled as one.
One second, she feared they could not possibly succeed. The next second, the wind shifted again, bringing immediate relief.
Mr. Darcy and the colonel directed the ladies toward the cellar. When Cook began sifting through the damage in the kitchen and pantry for food items, Mr. Darcy, the colonel, and several footmen assisted her. They shook broken glass and a dusting of flour from the blankets before handing them down the stairs. Glassware that was still intact was also handed down.Baked loaves of bread protected in metal bread boxes, as well as two hams and a bowl of fruit, were amazingly spared in the chaos.
Elizabeth used the light from the opened doorway to count heads, making sure that her mother and sisters were all safe. Only then did she help Mrs. Hammond down the stairs. Once she reached the bottom, she was appalled by the condition of most of the men. Unconcerned or unable due to the amount of spirits they consumed, they were blindly unaware of the danger their loved ones and neighbors were in.
Glancing between the shelves, she noted that Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst were missing. Trying to recall the last time she noticed their presence, all she could remember was Miss Bingley’s accident with the ashes. Her tired brain was rather muddled, so her thinking was not clear. Had they gone back into the stillroom? Were they well?
On her way back up the stairs, she heard enough to know the answer.
“Mr. Darcy, I am trying, but you must allow me to return to my room and the others to return to their houses. I am in no state to have company. I am wet, filthy, and miserable. I am simply exhausted and weary from the wind and company that have stayed too long. Where is Charles? Tell him that we need to leave as soon as I am refreshed. I simply insist.”
She wondered how Mr. Darcy would respond.
Elizabeth could hear the sneer in Mr. Darcy’s voice. “Where is your neighborly concern and your human compassion, Miss Bingley? While you search for it, I suggest you join the others in the cellar where it is safer. There, you may consult with your brother and Mr. Hurst to see what they have planned. Or you may return to the stillroom, as you please.”
Grinning at the set down, Elizabeth returned to the sorry state of the cellar where her mother, Lady Lucas, and Mrs. Longwere rousing the men out of their stupor to give up their chairs situated tightly between rows of shelving to the matrons. Once they had a blanket to cover them, the ladies, along with Mrs. Hammond, slept.
Elizabeth took up a position as far away from Mr. Collins as possible. He loudly voiced his opinion that Lady Catherine de Bourgh would never countenance having the ladies in a cellar. According to Elizabeth, not one person listened to him, including herself.
Elizabeth watched with bated breath until the others descended the stairs. Once her eyes settled on Mr. Darcy, tension eased from her heart and mind. She had been waiting for him.
