An Endeavour to be Worthy by Diamond L.L

Author:Diamond, L.L.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Darcy was in heaven and hell all at the same time. How was he supposed to sit so close to Miss Elizabeth, soaking in her orange blossom scent, and remain sane? When they shared the hymnal, his arm brushed against hers, which added to the exquisite torture. He could not so much as give one thought to the kiss last night under the kissing bough. Miss Elizabeth had tilted her face so as to press her lips to his. Had she done so intentionally? He could only assume she had. His heart screamed she had. His aim at her cheek was true, so how else could his lips have ended upon hers?

“Have you noticed the Bingleys are here?” she whispered near his ear when the parson instructed the congregation to take their seats. She gave an almost imperceptible dip of her chin to two pews in front of them on the opposite side of the church. Miss Bingley glared at them, and from beside her, Bingley stared at Miss Jane Montford, who by her countenance was well aware of the scrutiny. She sat primly with her hands clasped in her lap, her attention fixed upon the service, her jaw tight.

With the distraction of Miss Elizabeth beside him, he was not shocked he missed the Bingley’s presence. When he looked back in their direction, Miss Bingley attended the service, but Bingley still watched Miss Montford.

An elbow to Darcy’s side alerted him to the congregation standing for the final hymn. He joined them, though Georgiana placed a hand upon his arm. “Brother, why does Mr. Bingley stare so?” Thankfully, she asked in soft enough tones to be drowned out by the entire church joined in song.

“Later,” he said softly. After one last glance at Bingley, his sister shifted closer to his side and joined in singing the hymn.

When the parson released them, Darcy glanced at the earl, who pointed towards the far side of the church, so they would avoid happening upon Bingley in the centre aisle. He took Georgiana’s hand and followed Nicholas and Miss Elizabeth to the end of the pew where they hastened down the side aisle. At the rear of the chapel, Georgiana took his arm, and he offered the other to Miss Elizabeth, allowing Nicholas to await his grandmother and sister who were to the rear of their party and attend them from the church. The earl had Miss Jane on his arm nestled between the rest of their party where she was shielded from Bingley should he wish to make a scene.

Without difficulty, they reached the portico, started down the steps, and crossed the street. St. George’s of Hanover square was on the corner of St. George’s and Maddox Streets, and the earl had given specific instructions for the carriages to await them on Maddox to facilitate their departure. As expected, both equipages were near the corner. The servant popped to attention and opened the carriage door as they approached.

“Get Georgiana inside first,” said Miss Elizabeth.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.