Read Online Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Pattillo - Free Book Online
Authors: Beth Pattillo
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ou do understand, don’t you, why it’s best to avoid her for the rest of your stay?” Eleanor gave me a stern look. “She’s far more forgetful when she ’s agitated.” She waved the letter in her hand. “Meeting you seems to have set her off again.”
Remorse flooded through me. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.” However strangely Eleanor might be acting, I would never do anything to harm Harriet.
Eleanor nodded. “Of course you didn’t. But now you know and can act accordingly.”
She took a step along the pavement, and I followed her automatically. “Is it”—I wasn’t even sure what to ask—“is it a permanent condition?” It sounded odd, but I meant well.
Eleanor hesitated. “She’ll continue to have gradual memory loss. At some point, we’ll have to make a change in herliving situation. Find a place where she can be given the proper care.”
I thought of Harriet’s cottage in all its chaotic charm. “That will be difficult for her.”
“Yes, it will.” We had reached the gate beneath Tom Tower. “Thank you again for understanding. I know you’ll abide by my wishes.”
“But—” I would have liked to visit Harriet once more, at least to say good-bye.
Eleanor glanced at her watch. “Sorry, but I’ve got to rush. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Before I could ask any more questions or make a more formal plea to pay Harriet a farewell visit, Eleanor was gone.
I stood there for a moment, bewildered and unsure, and then I looked around the quad. It was surprisingly empty, except for James now standing nearby, hands in his pocket. He must have passed by me when Eleanor and I were talking at the gate. I flushed, since he had to have overheard our conversation.
“I’ll see you at lunch,” I said as I slid by him, embarrassed and intent on making a beeline for my room to freshen up and collect my thoughts.
“Claire, wait.”
Surprise froze me in my tracks. I turned slowly back to him. “Yes?”
He paused and then colored—or at least I think he did. I found it difficult to tell given the heat.
“I wanted to ask you—” He obviously wasn’t a manaccustomed to awkwardness, and I almost felt sorry for him. From the resigned look on his face, I thought he must need a favor. And he certainly didn’t appear to be a man who liked to ask for help. “Yes?”
“I’d like to take you to dinner tonight.”
I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder and make sure he wasn’t talking to someone standing just behind me.
“Dinner?” Not a very clever reply, but it was all I could manage at the time. Surprise—and abject fear—clogged my throat.
“The dining hall leaves a lot to be desired,” he said, as if that were sufficient explanation for his unexpected offer. But I had actually enjoyed my meal the night before. Then again, I’d been rather distracted by my encounter with Harriet Dalrymple.
“Aren’t we supposed to eat all our meals there?” I wondered if we were allowed “off campus.”
“We’re all adults,” James said with a frown. “I don’t think they take attendance or expel you. Besides”—he paused to grimace—“I’ve got to get out of here before I start using words like
prodigiously
in normal conversation.”
I laughed.
“So will you go to dinner with me? I can have a taxi waiting at seven outside Tom Tower.”
Well, I had come to Oxford for a little adventure, hadn’t I?
“Seven o’clock,” I repeated and he nodded, but the firm set of his mouth showed he ’d never doubted my agreement. “I’ll see you then.”
“Okay.”
He was gone before I’d barely formed the word, striding off across the quad with a great sense of purpose. One minute he was, well, very Darcy-like, to tell the truth. Proud and haughty to the core. And the next moment he was reaching out and trying to establish a connection between us. No wonder Elizabeth Bennet had been so confused.
No wonder I was, too.
The Cherwell Boathouse could have been any
Remorse flooded through me. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.” However strangely Eleanor might be acting, I would never do anything to harm Harriet.
Eleanor nodded. “Of course you didn’t. But now you know and can act accordingly.”
She took a step along the pavement, and I followed her automatically. “Is it”—I wasn’t even sure what to ask—“is it a permanent condition?” It sounded odd, but I meant well.
Eleanor hesitated. “She’ll continue to have gradual memory loss. At some point, we’ll have to make a change in herliving situation. Find a place where she can be given the proper care.”
I thought of Harriet’s cottage in all its chaotic charm. “That will be difficult for her.”
“Yes, it will.” We had reached the gate beneath Tom Tower. “Thank you again for understanding. I know you’ll abide by my wishes.”
“But—” I would have liked to visit Harriet once more, at least to say good-bye.
Eleanor glanced at her watch. “Sorry, but I’ve got to rush. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Before I could ask any more questions or make a more formal plea to pay Harriet a farewell visit, Eleanor was gone.
I stood there for a moment, bewildered and unsure, and then I looked around the quad. It was surprisingly empty, except for James now standing nearby, hands in his pocket. He must have passed by me when Eleanor and I were talking at the gate. I flushed, since he had to have overheard our conversation.
“I’ll see you at lunch,” I said as I slid by him, embarrassed and intent on making a beeline for my room to freshen up and collect my thoughts.
“Claire, wait.”
Surprise froze me in my tracks. I turned slowly back to him. “Yes?”
He paused and then colored—or at least I think he did. I found it difficult to tell given the heat.
“I wanted to ask you—” He obviously wasn’t a manaccustomed to awkwardness, and I almost felt sorry for him. From the resigned look on his face, I thought he must need a favor. And he certainly didn’t appear to be a man who liked to ask for help. “Yes?”
“I’d like to take you to dinner tonight.”
I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder and make sure he wasn’t talking to someone standing just behind me.
“Dinner?” Not a very clever reply, but it was all I could manage at the time. Surprise—and abject fear—clogged my throat.
“The dining hall leaves a lot to be desired,” he said, as if that were sufficient explanation for his unexpected offer. But I had actually enjoyed my meal the night before. Then again, I’d been rather distracted by my encounter with Harriet Dalrymple.
“Aren’t we supposed to eat all our meals there?” I wondered if we were allowed “off campus.”
“We’re all adults,” James said with a frown. “I don’t think they take attendance or expel you. Besides”—he paused to grimace—“I’ve got to get out of here before I start using words like
prodigiously
in normal conversation.”
I laughed.
“So will you go to dinner with me? I can have a taxi waiting at seven outside Tom Tower.”
Well, I had come to Oxford for a little adventure, hadn’t I?
“Seven o’clock,” I repeated and he nodded, but the firm set of his mouth showed he ’d never doubted my agreement. “I’ll see you then.”
“Okay.”
He was gone before I’d barely formed the word, striding off across the quad with a great sense of purpose. One minute he was, well, very Darcy-like, to tell the truth. Proud and haughty to the core. And the next moment he was reaching out and trying to establish a connection between us. No wonder Elizabeth Bennet had been so confused.
No wonder I was, too.
The Cherwell Boathouse could have been any
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