Page 9 of A Quiet Affection

That and her annoyance at having been tossed into the carriage without letting her climb in on her own.

She felt physically tired. After the enforced lack of exercise for weeks, she had little reserves.

When they reached the post station and stopped to change the horses, for the first time Lizzy lit up. The wide smile was clear, and she immediately reached her hand out to try finding the handle to the carriage to open it.

“Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy said solemnly, “it would likely be best if you were to stay in the carriage.”

Her hand stilled. She turned to look towards him, though it was quite odd with the scarf wrapped around her face, since he could not tell how the girl was looking at him.

Then Lizzy banged on the door of the carriage angrily exclaiming, “Let me out! Letmeout!”

“You might fall and—”

“Don’t care! Don’t care! I am tired! God! God! God! Let me walk! I--”

“There are--”

She banged on the door until she found the latch and hurled it open. She took a big step out that would have led to her tumbling to the ground if Darcy had not reacted quickly enough to grab Lizzy’s arm.

So, she was not struckdumbby her suffering.

She wriggled away, desperately throwing herself to the side, rather like Georgiana occasionally did when Papa picked her up when she was very upset. Darcy did not like to see it, because on most such occasions Papa spanked Georgiana, and it seemed unfair to Darcy.

Lizzy was acting like a child.

“You’ll hurt yourself,” Darcy insisted.

The reply was a primal scream.

The postillions and some of the persons moving about in the inn yard stared at them.

“Miss Elizabeth, you are acting in an unseemly manner,” Darcy said stiffly, “and as your behavior shall reflect upon me, and upon my family, I beg you to settle yourself, and accept the—”

“I am going for a walk,” she said in a cold voice, the child rage suddenly gone. “I have not been allowed to walk once, and I do not care if I shall be run over or break my neck in a ditch while walking. Iwillwalk. And I’m not going to let Fitzy Billy stop me.”

With a sudden move she wrenched herself out of his grip, jumped out of the carriage, and tumbled to the ground.

Darcy leaped down next to her and immediately helped the sobbing girl to her feet. She helplessly wiped her scraped and bleeding hands onto her too small black mourning dress.

Darcy took her hand and shouted to one of the lounging fellows who had watched the whole set of events, “A bottle of strong brandy and some bandages.” When the man hesitated, Darcy spoke with his best imitation of his father’s command voice, “Immediately.”

The fellow rushed inside. Darcy pulled up Lizzy’s hands so that he could examine them.

The scarf had fallen down displaying the scarred and cloudy eyes. Darcy felt a pang in his stomach to see it.

She sobbed.

“Do not worry. There, there. No need to worry,” Darcy said softly, speaking like he would to a startled horse. “There, there. It is not so bad; your hands will be all healed in a week.”

“I don’t mean to be so difficult,” she wailed. “I don’t. I just want to walk. I just want a walk.”

The fellow who’d been sent for the alcohol and bandages came back with an older man who held a cheap looking bottle of fortified wine and some white linen. He looked like he was the proprietor of the inn. At seeing a blind girl with bleeding hands, he immediately soaked the tow linen and gave it to Darcy for him to wipe Lizzy’s hands off.

“I apologize,” Darcy said. “This may sting.”

“I only wanted a walk. Why can’t I walk anywhere?”

He wiped the scrapes off her hand carefully with the linen. “Because you are likely to fall and hurt yourself, and we care for your wellbeing.”