Page 34 of Bitten By Mr. Darcy
“You have seen it, I think,” he said. “You have seen people heal from heartache.”
“Yes, but they were not bonded to the man who broke their hearts,” she said.
He sighed.
“Take me with you,” she said.
“I shall not do such a thing.”
“Please,” she said. “I cannot fathom never seeing you again.” Tears were streaming out of her eyes now, because she was begging him, because he was so set on it, because it was all madness.
“It does not please me either,” he said. “And I… I shall be quite jealous of the man who marries you, you know. It will be torment, feeling you in the bond with someone else.”
“Then don’t do it!” she cried.
“You are so very young, Elizabeth,” he said, shaking his head. “This thing with us is perverse. I cannot rob you of your verylife.” He touched her face. “I have been at you too much as it is. You likely know that you are not as strong as you should be.”
“But Mr. Hurst,” said Elizabeth. “How often is his wife at him?”
“He gets weakened as well,” said Mr. Darcy. “It is a difficult path for a human with a vampire.”
“So, then… turn me.”
He shook his head.
She was sobbing at this point. “If you will not agree to take me with you, or to stay here with me, then I shan’t agree to let you taste me this last time.”
His expression went hungry.
“There,” she said. “You cannot bear to give me up either.”
“I…” He tugged her against him. “If I wish to taste you, Elizabeth, I shall, and you cannot stop me.”
She sagged against him, unable to protest, because it was true.
“But no, I won’t have it that way between us,” he breathed. “No, no, not by force.” He let go of her. “Very well. Goodbye, then, my sweet sirensong, my exquisite Elizabeth.”
She wavered, realizing she had denied herself one last time in his arms. She reached for him. “I take it back. You can do whatever you wish with me. You may drink as much as you want. Please.”
He shook his head one last time. His expression was pained as he leaned in and kissed her forehead. “I have loved you in my way,” he murmured into her skin. “I am sorry for the pain I have caused you.”
And then, he was gone.
She wandered in the garden for some time, and then she took off in the darkness and walked all the way to Netherfield, only to find that they were gone already, but she supposed thatmade sense because it wasn’t as if they could travel during the daylight, so, yes, they would have gone.
She went back home and crawled into bed just before the sun rose.
She had barely slept when she was roused in the morning, and she barely registered it when Mr. Collins asked if he could speak to her alone, acquiescing blankly.
Nothing mattered.
It was only after everyone else had cleared the room that she realized what it meant.
But she was numb.
He was odious. Mr. Collins was the last man in the world she wished to marry. However, she did not think it was likely she would ever get another offer of marriage. And she thought… she didn’t know… maybe it would pain Mr. Darcy to feelthisthrough the bond, her surrendering her virtue tothis.
Maybe it was all she had, some sick sense of revenge.
