Enmity & Esteem by Cinnamon Worth

Author:Cinnamon Worth [Worth, Cinnamon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-14T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

“M

iss Bennet? Why are you here?”

His question took her off-guard. Although he had been avoiding her, she never suspected he would be upset if they happened to encounter one another.

“You may be healed, but you should allow your ankle more time to strengthen before walking these paths.”

Elizabeth was grateful. It was concern that colored his tone. He had good reason to worry about her stability. It had been more challenging to navigate this terrain than the well-defined trails coursing through much of Pemberley. The ground near the creek was spongy, and on the surface bits of large, moss-covered rocks peaked out of the earth. Making her way to this spot had not been an easy task.

“I came here because I knew I would be able to find you.” With every passing day, she was growing increasingly distressed at the distance that had formed between them. She had come to understand that she did not hate Mr. Darcy. In fact, whether born of isolation or something else, she found that she relied on his companionship to stave off loneliness, and this rift was causing great distress. “I wanted to talk.”

“If that is why you are here, there is no need to endanger yourself. I am not so difficult to find.” He offered his arm, and they began trekking upward, toward the well-defined path. “We were both at breakfast this morning. If you needed to speak to me, that would have been a more appropriate venue.”

“I wanted to speak to you alone.”

Darcy stopped walking and turned to her. She removed her hand from his arm. One of his hands dragged over his face while the other rested on his waist. “Well? What is it then?”

Elizabeth’s plan had been to corner Mr. Darcy and resolve this. But she had not thought beyond that. She blurted out, “You have been avoiding me for days.”

He took several strides toward the path, leaving her in his wake. “Don’t worry. There is no need to thank me.” There was an edge to his voice, a bitterness.

She rooted her feet in place and put her hands on her hips. He cannot escape so easily!

“I want to know why.”

He slowed his pace but did not stop. “Come now. Why would you care? You find me offensive, and now, your problem is solved.”

She began climbing up the incline, in an attempt to follow him. She was quickly reminded of the difficulty navigating this path. She gasped as her foot slipped. He must have heard her, for he stopped and reached back. “Take my hand. I’ll pull you up.”

“I will accept your help, provided you agree to discuss this once we are on level ground.”

He nodded, and they soon found themselves on the well-worn path which lay above but ran parallel to the creek.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” she again demanded.

“Surely, your need to be adored by all is not so strong that you want to poke the tiger and risk having to again endure my company,” he replied.

My

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