An Encounter at Brighton: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Emily Russell

Author:Emily Russell [Russell, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-08-12T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

She cried in deep, shuddering sobs as Darcy rested his chin on her head and stroked her hair in silence, allowing her to purge her shock against him. When she mastered herself again, she raised her face to look at him with a shaky laugh.

“That is a fine way to thank you, is it not? Crying into you.”

“Considering what you have just been through, I would say you are allowed a little indulgence,” he said with a smile. He raised a hand to brush a tear away.

Elizabeth felt a flush of embarrassment. She eased herself away from him, and he did not move to prevent her.

“Mama told me I am a very ugly crier,” she sniffed through her remaining tears.

“Oh, hideous. I am struggling to hide my terror as I look on you.”

“Am I that fearsome?”

“Absolutely. It is, without a doubt, the scariest thing that has happened to me this evening.”

Elizabeth felt a laugh bubble up within her. She wiped her wet face.

“I am trying to get dry. All this crying is defeating the purpose.”

“Do you recall what happened?” Darcy asked.

“I was…” Elizabeth blushed as she remembered Turner surging through the crowd towards her as she ducked and weaved to escape him and the proposal she knew was coming. It was not the sort of thing she could confide in a man she had so recently rejected. “I was moving about the boat,” she said. “I was near the railing when a wave must have made the boat lift. Some men crashed into me and the next thing I knew, I was in the water.” She traced a finger in the sand, trying to maintain her courage as she recalled the horror of that moment and all that had happened since.

“How did you see me?” she asked suddenly. “It was so crowded I am sure no one else did.”

“They could not have, or they would have stopped the boat and turned around. I saw you trying to get through the crowd. I thought you seemed…” His voice trailed off, and he shook his head. “Well, I wished to see if all was well. I felt the boat move, and I saw you disappear over…” He broke off. Elizabeth looked at him in surprise. He was staring into the fire. He moistened his lips and swallowed. He took a moment before he could continue speaking, though his voice was unsteady.

“I saw you fall,” he said. “Perhaps I should have called attention to it, but I did not think. I saw you go over and I dived in after you. I was terrified you would disappear below the waves. I saw it happen when you did. I thought you were…” Again, he broke off. His forearms rested on his knees, and he clutched his hands between them. He dropped his head for a moment as he struggled to master himself before he continued again. “I jumped, and to my blessed relief, I felt you. When I pulled you up, and you took a breath, I was… I had never been…” He drew another breath.

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