A Peculiar Connection by Jan Hahn Read Free Book Online

Slowly, I walked into the deserted sanctuary and down the aisle Jane had trod a few hours earlier. I sank down upon a polished wooden pew close to the altar. Once again, I gazed at the stained glass window, but the sun no longer beamed in approval. Snow clouds darkened the coloured panes, and the old building suddenly seemed filled with shadows.
    “Dear God,” I prayed silently, “favour me with your grace. Help me honour the vow I made earlier. From this day forward, may I truly see Mr. Darcy as my brother and nothing more. Blot out those feelings I harbour for him. You know my thoughts, Lord; rid my mind of them. Oh, God, I entreat thee. Have mercy, I pray.”
    “Miss Elizabeth?”
    I shuddered at the sound, aware that I was not alone. Turning, I saw the stooped figure of Mr. Fawcett standing in the aisle outside the pew. The old man had long ago retired as Longbourn’s vicar, but he remained in his house, a legacy granted by my father for the years he had served the parish. He still looked after the church building as former habits could not be denied.
    “I thought that was you,” he said, “although my eyes are not as proficient as they once were. What causes you to seek refuge here, my child? I thought you would be a participant in the happy event.”
    “They made their departure a short while ago, Mr. Fawcett.”
    “And you tired of a house full of guests? I am surprised. For one my age, that would be natural, but you are a young woman, and do not the young enjoy a good party?”
    I smiled. “I confess I strayed from the house without a wrap, and the warmth of the church drew me in.”
    “Do you miss your sister already?”
    I nodded. “I am very happy for her, though.”
    “Yes, but not so happy for yourself. Am I right?”
    “Sir?”
    He sat down beside me, his eyes a cloudy blue beneath their overgrown brows. “Your father told me of the recent revelation, and you may recall I had a most unpleasant call from Lady Catherine. I trust you do not remain despondent.”
    I was surprised at his boldness until the knowledge came flooding back that he had been vicar when Lady Catherine’s husband delivered me to the church at Hertfordshire twenty-one years earlier. “I hope I am not, sir.”
    “I always thought Mr. Bennet in error to keep the truth from you. But then, I do not have children, so it was not for me to say.”
    “How did you know Sir Lewis de Bourgh, Mr. Fawcett?”
    He looked away with a grimace. “As a young curate, I served at Hunsford parish. Unfortunately, I incurred the disapproval of Lady Catherine, so much so that she insisted on my removal from the living. If not for Sir Lewis’s intervention, I might have been forced from service to the church altogether. It was due to his kindness that I received the living here at Longbourn. He was a friend of a friend of Mr. Bennet’s, so when the gentleman came calling in the middle of the night, asking for my assistance, I could do nothing less.”
    “Sir Lewis himself delivered me to Hertfordshire?”
    “With the help of a serving woman who cared for you on the journey. ’Twas a difficult beginning, my dear, but one that turned out well after all, would you not agree?”
    “Mmm…I am indebted to the Bennets for taking me in.”
    “Child, they did not just take you in. You are truly their daughter.”
    I shivered slightly.
    With difficulty, he rose from the pew. “The fire has gone out. Perhaps you should return home.”
    I stood, but before stepping out into the aisle, I placed my hand on his arm. “Mr. Fawcett, did Sir Lewis ever tell you anything of my mother…my real mother?”
    He shook his head. “Only that you were given her Christian name and that she died giving birth. He did not say who she was, but I sensed that your mother was not a servant, that she might have been of noble birth.”
    “Whatever gave you cause to think that?”
    “Sir Lewis said neither family—that of your father nor your mother—could bear the