Page 32 of The Cherry Trees of Rosings
Tears continued to roll down her cheeks.
Mr. Darcy searched her eyes.
“I thought you did not hold me in any esteem.”
Heat flooded Elizabeth’s face. She swiped roughly at her tears. The lump in her throat had grown to the size of a giant boulder.
“I did not…” she said, hoarsely. “It is true.”
More tears overflowed from her eyes.
“But I do now.”
Her heart was weighed down, as if full of lead. As if it would sink through the earth and all the waters, and never stop sinking.“How could I not after spending so much time with you?”
Raw anguish suddenly spread through Mr. Darcy’s features. He disappeared.One moment there. The next moment, not.
Elizabeth covered her head with her arms once more and continued to cry.
Chapter 21:
Charlotte’s Confession
That night, after dinner, Charlotte drew Elizabeth aside. She had that look in her eyes. The one that said she had just discovered something big.
“Is it true, Eliza?”
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in question.
“Can you see…” Charlotte paused and looked behind them. The corridor was in no danger of suddenly hosting any more people other than them.She turned back to Elizabeth, but lowered her voice some more.
“Mr. Darcy’s spirit? Do you see him?”
Elizabeth froze. She could feel the blood draining from her face. But she tried to strike nonchalance as best as she could.
“What do you mean, Charlotte?”
It was Charlotte’s turn to raise her brows. And she did so quite decisively.
“Colonel Fitzwilliam told me.”
Of course!
Elizabeth grit her teeth as blood rushed back to her face.
“If I could, that would be a tale for the ages, would it not?” she said lightly, even as her hands clenched her skirts to compose herself. She huffed. “I cannot fathom why the Colonel would say such a thing!”
“Yes, it did sound odd to me at first,” Charlotte said. But there was thatother lookin her eyes that Elizabeth knew all too well. The two stared at each other for a long moment. Neither willing to back down.
And then—all of a sudden—Charlotte reached between them and took Elizabeth’s hands in hers. “I believe you.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened in surprise.
But she quickly hid it behind her usual pleasantness.
“I truly do not know what you mean. Surely you do not believe such a thing!”She drew her hands out of Charlotte’s grasp, even as the latter fixed her with a look of exasperation.
“Eliza, I believe we have been friends long enough that I know when you are lying.”
