Mr. Darcy Forever (33 page)

‘
Mia!’ she began tentatively as they moved across the floor together. Her sister's face was stony and shocked. Her eyes looked empty and haunted and Sarah's own vibrated with tears at the sight of them. It hurt her more than she could ever have imagined that her sister was not pleased to see her. But what had she expected - open arms and all to be forgiven? ‘Mia – talk to me.
Please
.’

They circled around each other, hands locked together but each of them so distant.

‘
I’m sorry,’ Sarah said simply. ‘I can’t tell you how sorry I am. If you knew how many hours I’ve spent regretting what I did.’

Mia said nothing.

‘
I so wanted talk to you,’ Sarah went on, undeterred by the lack of response. ‘You’re my darling little sister and I've always taken care of you and I couldn't bear being apart from you - not knowing where you were or what you were doing.’

Sarah was interrupted as the dance forced them apart for a moment. Sarah panicked, thinking Mia would escape her but, a moment later, they were back together again.

‘
Please
- talk to me,’ Sarah begged her.

‘
What do you expect me to say? Mia asked at last.

‘
Anything. Anything at all.’

‘
What are you doing here?’

‘
I hoped to find you,’ Sarah said, raising her voice above the music. ‘I know how much you loved dancing and I thought you might be here tonight.’

Mia gave a funny little laugh. ‘So you’re both here to try and find me, are you?’

‘
What do you mean?’

The two of them were parted for a brief moment as the dance continued.

‘
Mia? What did you mean?’

‘
Nothing,’ she said abruptly.

‘
Then tell me how you are,’ Sarah tried again once they were linking arms. ‘I’ve tried so hard to find you.’

‘
I didn't want to be found,’ Mia said abruptly.

‘
No, I guessed. But you're okay?’

‘
What do you think? Did you imagine I'd be lying at the bottom of the River Thames by now?’

‘
Mia-’

‘
You did the very worst thing you could possibly do to a sister but I'm a fighter, Sarah. You should know that about me. I don't give up easily.’

‘
I know,’ Sarah said, wounded that Mia thought she knew her so little. ‘I’m glad. I mean – you
know
what I mean, don’t you?’

‘
I don't know anything about you any more,’ Mia said, her voice cold and monotonous. ‘You’re a stranger to me. Worse than a stranger for I never want to become acquainted with you.’

The reference to
Persuasion
cut Sarah to the very bone. It was the cruellest thing her sister could have said to a fellow Jane Austen fan.

The dance came to an end and the two sisters stood opposite one another for a protracted moment and then Sarah watched as Mia turned and disappeared into the crowd.

‘
Mia!’ she shouted after her. Where had she gone? She didn’t want to lose her again. Not when she’d only just found her. ‘MIA!’

‘
Sarah?’ Lloyd was beside her in an instant.

‘
She was here. Lloyd – help me find her.’

‘
Okay, okay!’ he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

‘
Don’t let her get away!’ Sarah said, desperation making her voice high and unnatural.

‘
I won’t let her get away!’ Lloyd said and the two of them separated in search of Mia.

The air outside felt cold and crisp after the claustrophobic atmosphere of Chapel Arts Centre and Mia stood for a few moments breathing deeply. What had just happened? She closed her eyes. It didn't feel real. Had she imagined it?

‘
Mia!’ A voice called her name and Mia turned around to see that it was Shelley. ‘What’s going on?’ she said, handing Mia her coat. She put it on, feeling the eighteenth-century abruptly replaced by the twenty-first.

‘
Why did you leave me?’ Mia cried.

‘
When?’

‘
On the dance floor. Where did you go?’

‘
I’m sorry – some idiot stepped on my foot and, when I looked up, you were gone.’

‘
It's all your fault!’ Mia said.

‘
What’s all my fault?’

‘
Sarah!’

‘
Sarah’s here?’

Mia nodded.

‘
Well, where is she?’

‘
I don't know. I needed to get away from her.’

Shelley frowned. ‘But don’t you think you should talk to her?’

Mia shook her head.

‘
Just say,
hello
. You can't go wrong with
hello
.’

‘
But I did go wrong.’ Mia bit her lip. She couldn’t believe what she’d actually said to Sarah and she was far too embarrassed to confess it to Shelley now.

‘
Let me go and find her for you,’ Shelley said.

‘
No, don't!’

‘
But you might not get another chance like this.’

‘
I don’t want to talk to her.’

‘
She’s your sister, Mia –
please
talk to her.’ Shelley reached out to touch her arm but Mia flinched and then broke into a run. She couldn’t stay there a moment longer. She needed to get away.

‘
Mia!’ Shelley shouted after her.

But Mia didn’t stop. She just wanted to get away from everyone. It seemed as if the whole world was after her today.

‘
I can’t see her,’ Lloyd said as he and Sarah left the arts centre.

‘
I can’t lose her. We have to find her!’

‘
Who was the girl she was with when she came in?’

‘
Shelley,’ Sarah said. ‘She was at drama school with Mia.’

‘
Do you have her phone number?’

Sarah looked at him and nodded. ‘I’ve got her mobile number but, when I tried to get in touch with Mia before, Shelley didn't know where she was.’

‘
But she does now.’

‘
We don’t need to ring her,’ Sarah said, nodding to where Shelley was standing on the kerb. ‘Shelley!’

Shelley turned around and gasped as she saw Sarah.

‘
Sarah!’

‘
Where’s Mia?’

‘
I don’t know. We were talking and she just ran off. It’s the second time today she’s done that to me.’

‘
Which direction did she go in?’

‘
You won’t catch her and I think it’s best if you don’t try,’ Shelley said.

‘
But I’ve got to talk to her.’

‘
I know,’ Shelley said. ‘I wanted Mia to talk to you too.’

Sarah felt her eyes fill up with tears again and then felt the comforting weight of Lloyd’s hand on her shoulder. ‘We’ll find her,’ he told her. ‘You’ll talk to her and it will be fine.’

‘
How can you say that? How can you know that?’

‘
She’s staying with me,’ Shelley suddenly said.

‘
Then I can see her tonight?’ Sarah asked, desperation in her voice.

‘
I don’t think that’s a very good idea,’ Lloyd said. ‘You’re both so wound up tonight. I think you both need some time to think this through.’

Sarah shook her head. ‘No, no – she’ll run away from me again. I know she will.’

Shelley took a step forward and picked up Sarah’s cold hands. ‘I’ll make sure she stays,’ she told her.

‘
Will you?’

Shelley delved into her handbag for a piece of paper and scribbled her home phone number on it. ‘You’ve got my mobile number, haven’t you?’

Sarah nodded. ‘Don’t let her leave before I’ve seen her.’

‘
I won’t,’ Shelley said. ‘I promise.’

It was cold, dark and late by the time Mia reached Shelley’s home. It had been silly to walk the whole way in her dainty little dancing shoes but she’d needed to clear her head and, although the shoes were probably ruined, the walk had calmed her and given her time to think.

As she climbed the last steep hill and approached Southville Terrace, she saw that the light was on in Gabe’s front room. She paused for a moment and peered inside and spotted him by one of the bookcases. He had his back to the window and was reaching up to take a book down and Mia couldn’t help wondering which book he’d chosen. Was it a dry and dusty book on architecture or a fabulously engaging novel?

Just then, he turned around and Mia gasped, moving along the path quickly so that he wouldn’t spot her staring. Whatever would he think of her?

She rang the bell on Shelley’s door and was almost bowled over by an excited Bingley when it was opened by Shelley a moment later. Her eyes were wide and wild and Mia soon found herself in the tightest embrace of her life.

‘
Don’t keep running away from me like that!’ Shelley said.

‘
I’m sorry,’ Mia said, feeling like a naughty child.

‘
I waited for you for ages. I was so worried!’

‘
I just needed to walk for a bit,’ Mia said. ‘I didn’t mean to worry you.’

‘
Why didn’t you ring me? I thought you’d been abducted by some mad Austen fan who likes a woman in costume.’

Mia shook her head. ‘I was fine.’

‘
Well, come on in and have a hot drink. You must be frozen.’

‘
I must go and apologise to Gabe.’

Shelley frowned. ‘What?’

‘
I was so rude to him earlier and I feel awful. At least I can do one thing right today.’

‘
Can’t it wait until tomorrow? It’s so late.’

‘
His light’s on,’ Mia said. ‘I won’t be long.’

‘
But I want to talk to you!’

But Mia was already retracing her steps down the path.

It felt funny knocking on Gabe’s front door having previously squeezed through the fence and gone in the back door last time. It felt so formal.

When he opened the door, he stood looking at her for a moment.

‘
Hello,’ she said. ‘Can I come in?’

‘
Of course,’ he said. ‘Are you okay?’

‘
I wanted to apologise for earlier. I was so rude.’

‘
Do you want a coffee?’ he asked as he showed her into the front room

‘
No thanks,’ Mia said. ‘Coffee makes me hyper at night and I’m already wound up enough.’