That's What Makes It Love by Iris Lim

Author:Iris Lim [Lim, Iris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Iris Lim
Published: 2019-12-05T05:00:00+00:00

• • •

“Thank you, Miss Elizabeth,” he told her gallantly when she assisted him upon his feet an hour hence.

“It is no hardship, sir.” She smiled.

She knew their current exchange was unusual. She keenly felt the uncommon thrill of her hand pressed between his arm and his body.

She tried to speak evenly, nonetheless. “It is my honor to aid a man so kind.”

His free hand flew to cover her entangled fingers. She leaned closer.

“My sister had no such praise for me.”

“Georgiana?” Elizabeth split her mind between attending to his words and supporting his body.

“I apologized to her – last night.” He gripped her hand tighter as they moved over a large rock. His admission caught her entirely by surprise. He continued, unperturbed, “She did not welcome the sentiment overly much.”

A sadness sprung within Elizabeth – compassion for this broken, unlikely man.

“She shall discover your kindness when she finds her true love,” Elizabeth professed. Their feet landed in unison upon the smoother path.

“True love,” he muttered. His limitations caused their steps to progress slowly. A small, grim smile crept onto his lips. “It is not too mythical a hope?”

“It is – entirely possible.” Elizabeth felt her own skin warm. The crook in the path demanded that she walk closer to her tall, intriguing companion. “There are stories –”

“In novels and legends?” His smile relaxed. “Life does not promise the epic for the ordinary man.”

“Or woman, perhaps,” she conceded. They strolled leisurely down the familiar path, meandering slowly towards Netherfield.

Their conversation lulled for a few moments. The birds’ morning song framed their steps.

“Are you a believer of destiny, Miss Elizabeth?” The question he uttered did not insult, nor offend. He spoke in a manner so calm that he might just as well have been mentioning the inevitable onset of winter.

“I trust Providence – and its hand of wisdom.” She pondered as she spoke. “I suppose one could refer to such sovereignty as destiny.”

He nodded wordlessly. She wondered if he was pleased with her reply.

“Is it as much an act of destiny that Richard wed Miss Lucas as his not wedding my sister?”

Now, he sounded as if he only talked to himself.

Elizabeth looked towards the ground for a moment. Was Providence as kind as it was cruel?

“Miss Elizabeth.”

“Yes, I believe,” Elizabeth answered. “For destiny cannot contradict itself.”

“And it is upon those ground that you believe a love greater than Richard’s would come to my sister.” He stopped walking and turned to face her. Her arm, previously linked in his, fell to her side. Then, his hand rose and reached tentatively for her cheek. She let him find it.

Elizabeth looked directly upon his face, and her heart began to run amok.

“And what of you, Miss Elizabeth?” He looked at her as if he saw her. His breath kissed the skin on her nose.

“Of me?”

“Has destiny – will destiny – be as kind to you as you believe it shall be to Georgiana?”

His lips hovered close – so close to hers that one small sway would rest them upon each other.

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