Alone with Mr. Darcy: A Pride & Prejudice Variation Read Online Free PDF

the
flickering firelight.
    If she was too tired for this argument, he
must be at the end of his endurance. The simplest thing would be to agree with
his plan, then once he was asleep, she could escape to the safety of the chair.
Yes, that was the best solution. “Very well.” She did not look him in the eye.
    “Thank you.” He dropped to sit on the edge
of the hearth, his exhaustion obvious, and gestured toward the pallet.
“Whenever you please.”
    The sooner he rested, the better, so
Elizabeth began slowly unlacing her boots. It was a struggle to remove them, as
they were tight over her bulky borrowed stockings, but finally her feet were
free. Her hair was a more difficult problem. She could not lie down even for a
few minutes while it was up, at least not unless she wished to have sharp
hairpins jabbing her scalp. It would be a terrible mess by morning in any case.
Resolutely she turned her back on Mr. Darcy, then removed the hairpins and
plaited her hair in record time, without bothering to remove the ribbons
braided through it. That was as much preparation for bed as she could manage
without stripping down to her shift, and that was not going to happen. 
    She padded back to the pallet, pausing
beside it to remove a piece of straw which poked through her stocking. “I
promise I will never again take the smooth floors at Longbourn for granted!” she
said, but when she looked up, her mouth grew dry.
    Mr. Darcy sat on a corner of the pallet in
his shirtsleeves, only his waistcoat covering the fine linen. Frowning, no
doubt at her shocked expression, he said brusquely, “My apologies, Miss
Elizabeth. The current fashion in tailcoats favors style over comfort, and to
be practical, it will be more useful as an extra layer to go over the quilt.”
    Elizabeth swallowed hard. “Of course.” It
was not as if her appearance were proper, either; she no doubt looked quite
disreputable without shoes and with her hair in a plait. At least she need not
worry about attracting the wrong sort of interest from him in her current
disheveled state! “Perhaps I should check your injury once more before you
sleep.”
    To her surprise, he smiled. “I shall not
waste my energy arguing, since you will no doubt insist in any case.” He turned
his face away so the wound faced her.
    “I am glad to know you are educable,” she
said tartly, but she breathed easier without his dark eyes on her. Parting his
hair with her fingers, she peered at the lesion by the dim firelight. “It
appears to have crusted over, and no more blood is oozing out.”
    “I hope you are satisfied,” he said dryly.
    His hair was silky against her fingers as
she released it. “I would hate to leave bloodstains on our absent host’s
bedding.”
    “Indeed.” He gestured to the side of the
pallet between him and the fire.
    Of course he would insist on her taking
the warmer spot. Unfortunately, his gentlemanly act made it difficult to hide
her flaming cheeks as she lowered herself into that space. This was without
question the most shocking thing she had ever done, and with him in his
shirtsleeves! It made her painfully aware of how near her own low neckline was
to him, and she hastily tugged the quilt over her and up to her chin.
    The scent of musk mingled with smoke as he
spread his topcoat over her. It was an almost indecent intimacy, lying beneath
his clothing. Squeezing her eyes shut, Elizabeth muttered, “I thank you.”
    She felt his weight settling on the pallet
beside her. How many inches lay between them? Despite his bold assertion that
there was plenty of room for both of them, she knew it had been said only to
ease her concerns. Like everything else in this hut, the pallet was no bigger than
it needed to be. She tried to still her breathing, not wishing to expose her
embarrassment. If only he would fall asleep, she could escape this position.
    “Sleep well, Miss Elizabeth.” His voice
was unusually gentle.
    “A quiet night to you as well,” she