Four very short chapters today. Lots of action!
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Darcy swore under his breath. He turned to Elizabeth. "Let's go," he said, nudging his horse with his foot.
The horse took off at a gentle canter.
Darcy waited to see if Elizabeth was coming—she was—before digging his foot in and getting the horse to gallop more quickly.
Elizabeth came right behind him.
The stable hands dove out of the way as they hurried through the door of the stable and into the darkness of the early morning. In the distance, the sky was turning gray with dawn.
Darcy looked over his shoulder, making sure that Elizabeth was coming.
She was behind him, but there was a pinched look on her face.
He was concerned. She had said that the standard saddle was abominable. What if he was wrong? What if she was going to be harmed by riding astride? Perhaps the women of his family were unique in some way?
And as if that weren't bad enough, he heard the crack of a gunshot in the distance.
He slowed his horse, hanging back.
Elizabeth looked alarmed. "What are you doing?" she yelled.
He could barely hear her. The wind was whipping past them because they were going so fast. "Go ahead!" he screamed at her.
Another shot.
He maneuvered his horse until he was in between Elizabeth and the shots.
She was bent down over the horse, her skirts flying out behind her as she rode. The bending down was good.
He followed suit.
A loud crack. More shots were coming after them.
He yelled over his shoulder, "I will repay you for the horses. Tell your master to look for it. You can trust the word of the Darcys of Pemberley. I swear it to you!"
#
"We have to stop!" Elizabeth cried.
She did not know how long they had been galloping, but they had left the estate behind some time ago, and had kept going as fast for what felt like an agonizing eternity.
The saddle was rubbing at the sensitive skin inside her legs, and she was in pain. She had borne it as long as she could stand it, but it was too much for her now, and she could not continue. She tugged on the reins of her horse and slowed it to a walk, then a stop.
Darcy stopped as well. "What?" he said. "What's happened?" He looked worried.
"I… the saddle…"
"Yes?" He swallowed.
"There is nothing between the saddle and my skin," she whispered furiously, and she was blushing again. "It is exceedingly painful, the rub of the saddle. Even if I were riding side saddle, I would normally have a habit with a thicker skirt."
He reddened. "I had not thought that…"
"Well, I don't suppose you have much experience with what a woman wears under her clothes," said Elizabeth.
"Or what you don't wear," he muttered.
And then they were quiet.
"Listen," she said finally, "perhaps we can find an inn or something, and you can leave me behind and continue on after Wickham."
He shook his head. "I cannot leave you alone with no one, Miss Bennet. Not to mention the fact that we have no money for an inn."
Oh, dear, he was right.
He rubbed his forehead. "Perhaps your cloak."
"Oh," she said, nodding. "Yes, that might work. If it could be spread over the saddle to give some sort of barrier."
"Then you'll freeze," he said, shaking his head.
"No, it will be better to be cold than—"
"We could walk," he said. "Perhaps we should just walk."
"No, we don't have time. We must go after Wickham."
"But if you are being injured and it is too much for you—"
"My skin will heal," she said. "But if your sister is tied to Wickham for a lifetime, then…" She shook her head.
"I'll give you my coat," he said.
"You don't have to do that," she said.
"Of course I do," he said. He dismounted from his horse and came over to help her down.
On the ground, she gingerly touched her inner thighs.
"Is it quite bad?" he said. "I'm dreadfully sorry, Miss Bennet."
It hurt, but she gave him a smile anyway. Riding a horse was a bit of a painful enterprise under the best of circumstances. She knew that often after a day on horseback, she would be sore and stiff anyway. She would expect this day of hard riding to be tough on her body. But she could handle it. They were finally in a position to end this. They could stop Wickham.
She unclasped her cloak and began to try to fold it in half.
"Here," said Mr. Darcy. "Let me try to arrange it for you."
She handed it over and then she shivered.
"Oh," said Mr. Darcy, shrugging out of his coat to give it to her.
She busied herself putting on Mr. Darcy's coat while he arranged the cloak. His coat smelled like him and she loved it. She thought she could stand with being wrapped up in Darcy's smell forever. If only all that was between them hadn't arisen from obligation. If only he felt about her the way that she had grown to feel about him.
"All right," said Mr. Darcy. "Would you like to try the saddle now?"
"Yes," she said, reaching for the pommel.
Suddenly, a dirty man emerged from the woods, holding out a knife.
Darcy turned, alarmed.
More men were coming behind the other man, four in all. They were all armed.