At that moment, the Kingsbridge party returned, and Lottie and Maria made their way to the beach. They were much surprised to see Lizzy and Darcy there alone, and Darcy made haste to leave.
“Lizzy! What is the meaning of this?” cried Charlotte as soon as he was gone.
“He loves ya! He loves ya!” chanted Maria, who stopped only when Lizzy, laughing and denying any such thing, picked up the screaming Maria and dumped her in the sea.
Chapter 33
It seemed strange to Lizzy that in her ramblings over the next few days Darcy always seemed to pop up by some remarkable coincidence: while she was drinking Pinot Grigio with Lottie in the secret garden of the Victoria Inn, Darcy was sitting at the next table, nursing a Bells; as she walked over to Bolt Head, he appeared in a gorse bush; on a cliff-side walk to the Pigs Nose Inn at East Prawle, Lizzy was followed not only by Parsnip, the inn’s friendly little dog, but also by Darcy; as she watched the boats sail by from the sun-kissed terrace of the Dick and Wills waterside bar and brasserie, he could be spotted, also out on the terrace, hidden behind Yachting World; during her fishing trip off the coast of Hope Cove, he happened to swim by. Even whilst Lizzy scrambled over the rocks at Mill Bay, Darcy seemed busy with his net in the very next rock pool.
On one occasion, however, it was Colin that Lizzy happened upon when skimming out at The Bar, the stretch of sand at the mouth of the estuary, only exposed at low tide, at which time it becomes a great favourite with those who like to skim along the wet surface on their surfboards. Lizzy, looking most athletic in her wetsuit, happened to pass Colin as he whizzed in the opposite direction. They stopped for a chat, which soon turned to the topic of Mr Darcy and his sister Georgiana. Lizzy did not wish the opportunity to pass without gleaning a little more information on behalf of Jane.
“I have heard only good things of Georgiana. She is a favourite of Caroline Bingley, I understand.”
“Yes. Her brother is good mates with Darcy.”
“Oh yes! Darcy is good mates with Bingley and takes great care of him.”
“You are right there. I do believe Darcy does take care of Bingley. Why, I have heard that Darcy managed to save Bingley from a most disastrous marriage! Apparently he nearly married into a ghastly family. The girl had the most hideous mother and outrageous sisters. Near escape, so they say. Cheers.” And with that, Colin skimmed away, unwittingly leaving Lizzy in a state of great anxiety, her heart bursting in fury against the detestable Darcy.
Chapter 34
Moments later, another figure in black skimmed towards her. To her horror, it was the detestable Darcy himself. He skidded to a halt before her, his taut, muscular body trapped within a black, rubbery wetsuit, and with a strange, manic look in his eye, stared at her for a full two minutes before speaking, whereupon he blurted out,
“It’s no good, Lizzy. I love you deeply and desperately.”
Now it was Lizzy’s turn to stare back with a strange, manic look in
“I realise your family is odious, your mother quite hideous, and your sisters outrageous, but for some nonsensical reason, I can’t help loving you deeply and desperately. What do you have to say?”
Lizzy’s astonishment was beyond expression. Despite her dislike of Darcy, she could not help to be a little flattered by such attentions. But then her anger rose.
He had made it quite clear that he liked her against his better judgement. Was this a compliment or an insult, she challenged.
“But even if my feelings had been favourable to you,” she continued, growing in fury, “do you think I could be tempted by the man who has ruined the happiness of a beloved sister, perhaps forever? And what is more, you have reduced another, Mr Wickham, to comparative poverty, withheld advantages designed for him, and deprived him of independence which was his due.”
Darcy grew pale.
“And this is your opinion of me?”
“I have no qualms in expressing my opinion. You have saved me the concern I might have felt in refusing you, if you had behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner.”
Lizzy saw Darcy start at this and, feeling there was little more to be said, took the only course available to her and slapped him across the face. The force of her action caught Darcy off guard and he fell backwards into the water. Lizzy, not knowing what to do next, skimmed away as fast as she possibly could.
Chapter 35
An hour later, Lizzy, now back at Little Rosings on the Rocks, found herself restless and unable to settle at any useful occupation. Her surprise at what had just passed could not be greater. Her heart and soul were in turmoil, so she resolved to indulge in air and exercise. Slipping the wooden sailing dinghy that came with Rosings on the Rocks from its mooring, she hoisted the white mainsail and jib and set sail for the open seas.
The breeze was strong, and white horses broke threateningly over the top of the waves as she left the safety of the estuary. But Lizzy was in no mood to be cautious. The more the spray threw itself over the bows, the more reckless she felt. Feelings of fury, insult, and humiliation lashed her as cruelly as the bite of the wind. It was only as she passed Prawle Point she became aware of another sailing boat coming up fast to her starboard. It cut suddenly across her bow.
“Hey, you idiot!” yelled Lizzy, when to her surprise, the boat tacked and drew up alongside her. It was Darcy!
“Miss Elizabeth!” he called.
Lizzy was furious and gybed to escape him. It was a dangerous move, and she nearly capsized, but righting the boat just in time, found he had tacked and was sailing along her port side, whereupon he handed her a bottle with a screw top, within which was a letter.
“Miss Elizabeth,” he shouted above the wind and the waves. “I have been sailing back and forth around Prawle Point some time in the hope of meeting you. Will you do me the honour of reading that letter?”
And with a slight bow, Darcy himself gybed and was soon out of sight.
With no expectation of pleasure but with the strongest curiosity, Lizzy turned into the wind and allowed the sails to flap wildly whilst she tried to extricate the said letter from the bottle. It was not an easy task, as the sea was choppy and she was constantly rocked from side to side, but Lizzy persisted, and at last she had the letter freed and in her hand. Spray caused the ink to splodge in many places, but huddling over and constantly wiping water away, she endeavoured to read through the two sheets of letter paper written quite through in a very close hand.
Lizzy
