Free Alone with Mr. Darcy: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Abigail Reynolds

at a loss for how to
respond to her refusal, but he had no hesitation when it came to answering her
distress. His arms closed around her, holding her to his chest. She should have
pushed him away, but the comfort he offered was too tempting and she felt
warmer in his embrace than she had all day. She swallowed a sob.
    “Shh, Elizabeth. All is well. I truly do
not mean to distress you,” he said softly.
    “I know that,” she whispered into his
chest, rising and falling with each breath. “It is just too much, the storm
going on and on, and the cold, the lack of food, nowhere to go and nothing to
do.”
    “I can do nothing about the storm or being
trapped here, but perhaps I can at least help you be warm for a time. Come.”
Taking her hand, he led her back to the hearth, where he added two more logs to
the fire, poking it to make it burn hotter. 

“Will there be enough
wood left for the night?” Elizabeth crouched down on the pallet and held her
cold fingers out to the blaze. At least one side of her would be warm.
    “I can always bring in more, since now I
know where to find the woodpile.” Darcy sat beside her, and a heavy weight came
around her shoulders. It was his many-caped greatcoat, and he had wrapped it
around both of them. His arm encircled her shoulders as well, and he urged her
closer to him until her side pressed against his. She still felt the cold deep
in her bones, but there was no doubt this was the warmest she had been. 
    She should not permit this intimacy,
though. Reluctantly she said, “But if someone discovers us…”
    “If someone discovers us now, it does not
matter whether you are across the room or in my arms. Either way you would be
hopelessly compromised. The question is whether you would rather be warm or
cold when you are compromised.”
    She giggled. “Warm. Definitely warm. I
adore your greatcoat. Why do they never make pelisses out of such lovely heavy
wool? I suppose it would look too unfashionable.” She snuggled deeper into the
coat and Mr. Darcy’s arm.
    “In summer, I envy the ladies in their
light muslins and short sleeves, while we gentlemen must suffer with shirt,
waistcoat and topcoat, no matter how hot it may be. But in winter, I am
thankful for all the layers men must wear, and wonder how ladies keep from
freezing.”
    “It is difficult for me even to imagine
the warmth of a summer day right now.” And a few minutes earlier, she could
never have imagined that being encircled by Mr. Darcy’s arm could be so
comforting – or pleasurable. “Or even to imagine the snow stopping. I
think I will hear the wind howling in my dreams for weeks!”
    His chest vibrated with a rumble of
laughter. “It has been rather constant.” 
    Something poked at the greatcoat, and a
furry face appeared inside it. How could she have forgotten the cat? “Hello,
Snowball,” she said as the cat stretched out across both Darcy’s leg and
hers. 
    “Snowball?”
    “It seems appropriate, does it not?”
    He scratched the cat’s head. “Indeed.”
    Snowball began to purr. Elizabeth was
tempted to share the sentiment. This position was altogether too pleasant, but
what must Darcy think of her? “I hope you know I do not usually behave in this
manner.”
    “I could hardly miss that fact, since it
took you this long to realize the best way to stay warm,” he teased. “I know it
is unlike you, and unlike me as well. But this is a time out of time, and the
usual rules do not apply.”
    “Most of those rules would have been
impossible to follow.” Somehow that gave her permission to rest her head
against his shoulder. What would she think in a few days when she looked back
on this moment? Would she be horrified with herself, or wonder why she had not
enjoyed it more while she could?
    “Under normal circumstances, we do not
have to worry about freezing to death or starving. The reason we can have so
many rules about propriety is because our servants take care of those