Page 26 of The Difference of a Darcy
Darcy instinctively took a step back.
“I did not call for you,” he said stiffly.
“You did not need to. Wishes are louder than prayers, and much easier to grant.”
The man’s eyes glittered.
Darcy’s breath misted in the cold air. “What is your name?”
The stranger smiled. “Names are very powerful things. But for your sake, let us say I am—hmm…” He tapped a finger to his lips. “A courier. A guide. A... seasonal gift.”
“You are mad.”
“I hear that often,” he said, entirely unbothered. “But you, Mr. Darcy—you areobsolete. Or will be, shortly.”
Darcy’s stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” the man said lightly, “that you wished to have never been born. And so I have removed you.”
“Removed—?”
“From the story. From the equation. From everything.” The man’s smile widened, but his eyes turned sharp. “You shall walk for a time, but none shall know you. No one will remember you. No one will miss you. You will see the world as it would be… without Fitzwilliam Darcy.”
Darcy stared. “You cannot possibly—”
“Oh, but I have,” the man said simply. With that, he looked past Darcy—just over his shoulder—and winked.
Darcy stiffened. He turned, confused, following the line of the stranger’s gaze.
Elizabeth.
She stood half-concealed by the trees, her eyes wide in disbelief, her breath forming clouds in the cold morning air. Her hands were clutched in the folds of her cloak, her bonnet askew as if she had come in haste.
She had heard.
He opened his mouth to speak—but before he could form a word, something shifted behind him.
He spun back.
The stream was empty. The ice untouched. Snowflakes fell in silence, and the woods were still.
The man was gone.
Not a trace. Not a footprint.
Darcy stood frozen, heart pounding in his ears, the world suddenly too quiet.
Elizabeth remained motionless beneath the trees, staring not at him—but at the empty space where the stranger had stood.
She had seen him too.
So it hadnotbeen madness.
It had beenreal.
Darcy turned fully toward her. “Miss Bennet—” he began saying, but the expression on her face caused him to pause.
Not anger.
