Pride and Prescience by Carrie Bebris

Author:Carrie Bebris
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A Tom Doherty Associates Book

Sixteen

“Nothing was to be done that he did not do himself.”

Mrs. Gardiner, writing to Elizabeth,

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 52

It seemed she had just settled back into slumber when Darcy’s urgent voice penetrated her consciousness. “Elizabeth!”

She burrowed further into the bedclothes.

“Elizabeth!”

This had better be important. “What?” she whispered without opening her eyes.

No response. She rolled to face him and forced her lids open. He lay fast asleep.

She held perfectly still, listening for the voice again. Had she only imagined it? Had Darcy uttered her name in his sleep? Had someone called from the hall? She would have testified under oath that a voice had come from within their chamber—indeed, from right beside her. An unsettling thought gripped her: Was someone else in the room?

She held her breath and peered wide-eyed into the shadows. The wan firelight revealed no other person. Only the sound of sleet yet pelting against the glass disturbed the night.

The voice must have come in a dream. She sighed and curled into a ball, wondering what time it was and whether she was destined to get any rest before dawn. At this rate, she’d appear a sorry sight in the morning. The wind howled, mocking her sleeplessness.

Despite the heavy counterpane and her husband’s proximity, a shiver seized her. The fire sputtered. She lay in bed, the knowledge that she should add a log to the hearth battling reluctance to leave her cocoon to do so.

She forced herself from beneath the blankets. To delay would only permit the room to grow colder. The floor chilled her toes as she neared the fireplace. For a dying flame, the smell of smoke hung strong.

A basket of extra wood stood beside the hearth. As she reached for a log, she blinked back the sleepy haze that clouded her vision. Or at least she tried. But she could not clear her gaze.

Because the smog wasn’t in her head. Nor, a glance revealed, did it come from the fireplace.

Smoky tendrils snaked in beneath the door.

She dropped the log. “Darcy!”

She rushed to the door, tested its panels for heat. Mercifully, her touch met cool wood. “Darcy! I think the house is on fire!”

He was at her side before she finished the words. She tried to yank the door open but he restrained her panicked movements. “Slowly!” Though his command suggested composure, his tone revealed alarm that matched her own.

Together, they cautiously opened the door. Smoke swirled in the hallway. It seemed to come from the room across the hall. Jane and Bingley’s room.

Elizabeth started forward. Darcy stopped her. “Rouse the others and the servants. Send someone to help me but do not follow me in there yourself. Get out of the house.”

Every instinct urged her to run straight to Jane. But she realized it would take stronger arms than hers to help Darcy get the couple to safety, and many hands to keep the blaze from engulfing the house.

She sprinted down the hall and pounded on the next door. “Fire! Wake up! Fire!” Mr. Hurst answered with greater speed than she would ever have thought he possessed.

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.