Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart (27 page)

The joy began to drain out of his face, so I rushed headlong into the final part of my speech.

“Then, when I met James in Oxford, I thought he was the man I’d been waiting for. A hero right out of Austen. The one who would finally make everything okay. Only he wasn’t real.” I wiped away the tears that swam in my eyes. “Like Austen’s characters, he was just fiction. Mr. Darcy broke my heart.”

Neil took a step toward me, but I held up a hand to stop him.

“I didn’t know love could be soft and subtle and still be strong as steel,” I said. “I kept waiting for the grand entrance, the fireworks, and the trumpet fanfare. I didn’t know it could be like this.” And then I stepped toward him. I placed my hands
gently on either side of his face. He hadn’t shaved in a while, and his cheeks were rough beneath my fingers.

I kissed him and held my breath at the same time. The combination of his lips and my lack of oxygen weakened my knees. I swayed. His arms came up to catch me and then enfolded me.

“Claire—”

“I know you can’t forgive me.” I sagged against him, grateful for that one last moment of his body pressed against mine. “I wouldn’t expect you to. I just wanted you to know that… well, that I
know
. Now. That I figured out the difference. Even if it is too late.”

I pushed against his chest, eager to make my getaway now that I’d delivered my speech. But his arms tightened, and suddenly I couldn’t catch my breath even when I was trying.

“What makes you think it’s too late?” He practically growled the words in my ear. I closed my eyes and tried to pretend that I hadn’t heard them.

“But you said—”

“You’re not the only one who can be a fool.”

He kissed me then. A kiss worthy of every incarnation of Mr. Darcy that ever existed, whether on the page, stage, or screen. If he hadn’t been holding me up, I would have melted into a puddle right there in the departure lounge.

“June 3,” I murmured against his lips. He drew his head back.

“What?”

“June 3. It was my parents’ anniversary.”

He eyed me with caution. “So?”

“I think it should be our anniversary too.”

He was silent for a long time, and my heart rate, which had slowed a little, now accelerated again. Maybe I had misunderstood. Maybe he couldn’t forgive me after all. Maybe—

“Do you even know what day of the week it falls on next summer?”

“It’s on a Saturday. I checked. Although that gives me less than a year to plan the wedding.”

“You already looked at a calendar?”

I nodded.

I stepped back and glanced down at the engagement ring, the box still cupped in my hand. “Unless, of course, you want this back.”

He nodded. “I do want it back.”

My stomach tightened in a knot, but then he took the box from me, took the ring out of it, and reached for my left hand. “Claire, will you marry me?”

At my tearful nod, he slid the ring on my finger.

“I’m no Mr. Darcy,” he whispered, and he pulled me back into his arms. “I’ll still watch way too many ball games and feed you takeout.”

I laughed. “I know. And I’ll still run sometimes, at the drop of a hat, when Missy needs me.”

He smoothed back the strands of hair that had fallen across my cheek. “The most important thing is that I’ll be here. I’m not going anywhere.”

I chuckled. “Actually, you are.” I am?

“Yes,” I said, and I kissed him again. “You’re going home with me.”

He laughed. “I think it’s about time.” And he was right. It was.

Jane Austen wrote the original version of
Pride and Prejudice
, called
First Impressions
, by the time she was twenty-one. It was only years later, when she finally settled at Chawton with her mother and sister, that she returned to the manuscript and rewrote it in the form we have today. That much is true.

The Formidables and their secrets are entirely a product of my imagination, but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Austen’s lost manuscript might one day come to light. The version of
First Impressions
in this novel is, of course, entirely fictional.

1. Claire Prescott realizes that she has put her sister first in everything because she has been afraid to live her own life. At what point does sacrificing for the people we love become more hurtful than helpful? How do we know when we have crossed that line? How can we restore those relationships to a healthier balance?
   

2. The plot of the novel revolves around the keeping of secrets. How do you know when to keep a secret and when to share it? What are the risks of keeping secrets? What are the benefits?
   

3. When she arrives in Oxford, Claire decides to recreate herself. To do so, though, she must deceive the people she meets. Do you think it’s understandable that she would fall prey to this temptation? What price does she pay for her duplicity?
   

4. In the end, do you think Claire gave Harriet the right advice about what to do with the manuscript? Why or why not? If you had been in Harriet’s place, what decision would you have made?
   

5. In recent years, Mr. Darcy has truly become an iconic romantic hero. Do you think he is a true hero? Why or why not? If you had been Claire, would you have chosen James or Neil? In your estimation, what makes a man a hero?