Mr. Darcy's Refuge Read Online Free PDF Page B

said pointedly. “You will, of course, have to accompany me. I regret the necessity of exposing you to the elements.” He did not have to add that he regretted exposing her to himself as well; it was clear in his expression.
     
    “I have stayed here without Mr. and Mrs. Collins before, and there is no reason why I cannot do so again,” she said sharply.
     
    “It is not the absence of your cousins but the presence of so many strangers that is the difficulty. Regardless of what you may think of me, I cannot and will not leave you here unprotected, so either we both go to Tunbridge Wells or we both remain here while all these good people go hungry tonight. The choice is yours. I have asked for Mr. Collins’s mare to be saddled for you.”
     
    She swallowed with difficulty. “I am not a horsewoman, sir.”
     
    “You can ride, I assume.”
     
    “A little. I have no particular skill in that regard. Could we not take the cart?”
     
    “The cart is stuck axle deep in the mud less than a mile from here. Horseback seems our only option.”
     
    “Then I had best tend to my own appearance.” Elizabeth touched her half-fallen hair. “I discovered this morning why four-year-old girls are never hired as lady’s maids, but Jenny did enjoy playing the role.” For a moment she thought he was starting to smile, but then it turned into a frown. “Were you able to discover anything about her parents?”
     
    “Her father was last seen trying to free the mill-wheel. Her mother and brother were carried off in the flood. She has an aunt who is in service at Rosings and an older brother, thought to be twelve or thirteen years old, who is apprenticed to a miller near London. One of the women has agreed to take her in until her aunt can be contacted, but until she can be moved, it seems a moot point.”
     
    It was what she had expected, but Elizabeth felt a deep pang for the bright-eyed girl who would never see her parents again. She wondered who would tell her the sad truth.
     
    Mr. Darcy tugged at the loose cuffs of the coat he wore, examining them as if they were of great interest. “In any case, we should leave soon if we are to have food here by nightfall. Can you be ready in half an hour?”
     
    She hesitated, then said, “I do have one question. Why are you doing this? You have no responsibility for these people.”
     
    He gave her an incredulous look. “ Why am I doing this?”
     
    “Yes, why? You cannot possibly wish to ride to Tunbridge Wells in the rain, especially in my company, yet you insist upon it.”
     
    “It is my duty , madam.” His voice was icy. “Did you think I would shirk it? No, please do not answer that. I would rather not know. Even your dear friend, George Wickham, will tell you that I always do my duty. It is a characteristic, I believe, that he holds in some scorn.”
     
    Elizabeth lifted her chin. “I did not mean to imply anything of the sort. I have never seen you show such interest in the welfare of those so far beneath you. That is all.”
     
    He seemed not to have heard her. “Of course, I have many habits he holds in scorn. I pay my debts. I speak the truth, even when I would rather not. I do not gamble more than I can afford to lose. I do not take advantage of young women with no one to protect them. I have no doubt that George Wickham would find an excuse to sit indoors and drink all your cousin’s brandy rather than ride in the rain in search of food, but I will not. These people are my aunt’s tenants, and in her absence, I am responsible for them – and for you. Whether I like it or not is irrelevant.”
     
    Elizabeth felt as if she had stepped off the edge of a precipice with no idea of what lay below. She had never seen Darcy – or anyone, for that matter – in such a cold rage. She would not have been surprised to see icicles forming around him, but she would not let him intimidate her, so she met his eyes steadily.
     
    He had the grace to flush. “I will see