Mr. Darcy and the Island by Lennox Valerie

Author:Lennox, Valerie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Punk Rawk Books
Published: 2022-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

THE STORM APPROACHED quickly, but then—in the late afternoon—it seemed to slow and simply hover out on the ocean, not coming any closer, though close enough they could see the lightning and the chaotic waves.

To the south, from where the storm came, it was dark, but to the north, it was still bright and cheery. The air felt stagnant and too humid. There was only the promise of the storm, nothing else.

They did close the shutters on the inn, and when night fell, their upstairs bedroom was a miserable oven. Neither Elizabeth nor Darcy was the slightest bit tempted to kiss. It was too hot, for one thing, and the impending storm made them both too nervous. Neither could they concentrate on their books.

Eventually, they ended up leaving their rooms and going downstairs.

They found Mr. Green and Mr. Yellow outside the inn, watching the storm as it slowly approached.

When the winds first came, they howled like a wild animal and were so frightening that it was enough to send Elizabeth indoors. Darcy might have gone inside too, but he found he did not want to appear too weak in front of the other men, so he stayed for a while.

But when the rain began to lash their faces sideways, like the pinpricks of cold needles against their skin, they all retired indoors and barred the door shut.

Inside, the wind sounded worse, and Elizabeth clung to him in such a manner that he felt they should retire, so they went upstairs.

It was still too hot here, however. There was no clinging.

He lay down on the bed.

She paced.

He thought that he should offer to sleep on the floor, but what did it matter at this point? They had already slept close, and there had been a number of liberties given and taken and they were both simply frightened now.

Elizabeth began to speak, telling him of a storm she remembered from when she was a girl, one that had damaged a neighbor’s house, picking up a carriage and rolling it directly into their front room.

“I was so terrified of that as a child,” she said. “I had thought of my house as sacred and inviolable, that it was epitome of safety. To think that my house could be knocked into in such a fashion, it was the most horrid thing in the world.”

“They likely left the carriage doors open?” said Darcy, having trouble picturing this.

“I don’t know,” she said, glaring at him in the candlelight. “Why are you fixating on that?”

“I’m only wondering if it was the storm or that horses were spooked and dragged the carriage to the house.”

“Horses rushing a house?” She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Perhaps not,” he said. “I found storms frightening as a child too. I think we all do. It’s frightening to think of the world being so much bigger than we are, so many things that could destroy us. It’s really too bad that we humans also kill each other, when nature is quite willing to do the job for us.

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