Elizabeth was a little disappointed to hear that the devil she had created in her mind was actually a very handsome man.
“He is quite tall, as I said,” her mother continued. “And he dresses elegantly. I believe he has brown hair and eyes. He is slender with broad shoulders.”
“You got a very detailed description of him, Mother!” Lydia said, a bit of surprise in her voice. “Who could possibly have described him to you in such a way?”
“I came across Miss Bingley in town a few days ago. She filled me in on everything going on at Netherfield. I did not even have to ask. It appeared as if she were boasting about Darcy…perhaps in a way that would imply she had plans to marry him herself. However, before she ended the conversation, she made sure to mention that he was merely a friend of her brother’s and there was no relationship developing between them.”
“You certainly received a great deal of information from Miss Bingley,” Lydia confirmed, nodding as she took a cookie and bit off half of it. She spoke through the chewing, allowing a few crumbs to escape her mouth. “She does like to talk, does she not?”
“She does,” Mrs. Bennet confirmed. “However, I am willing to bet she knows not to take a bite of food and continue speaking. Lydia, dear, you must be more ladylike. How gauche.”
Lydia’s cheeks turned a deep red. “I am sorry, Mother, I was not thinking.”
“I do not want to have to deal with this man, Mother,” Elizabeth said, though her curiosity to meet him was burning inside her like the beginning of a forest blaze. “I do not think I can without laughing. I will not describe how I was picturing him before you enlightened me and now I am afraid I will never be able to see him without bursting out in laughter.”
“He will be at the masquerade ball, Lizzie,” Lydia said. “You may just meet up with him and not even know it.”
“I suppose that is a possibility. And he would not know who I am, either.”
“Exactly. That is the way to observe someone. When they do not know who you are.” Lydia nodded firmly.
Jane rubbed her hands together, as she often did when she was nervous. “If we do not know who they are, we cannot observe them, can we?”
“It creates more objectivity, actually,” Lydia countered. “You simply find out who they are at the end of the night. If you have been observing everyone, you will know what they are really like once they take off their masks.”
“I do not think I want to find out about people that way,” Kitty said. “It sounds like too much work.”
“Observing people is too much work?” Lydia giggled. “Oh, Kitty, you are quite lazy, are you not?”
“I am not…” Kitty stopped speaking when her mother put up one hand.
“There will be no quarreling while we are visiting my sister and her husband. Kitty, Lydia, you girls will cease this discussion. Am I clear?”
The two girls quietly nodded and the women continued their conversation.
Chapter 3
As the girls were readying themselves for bed that night, they stayed together in the bigger bedroom, where Jane and Mary slept. They sat on the two beds in their nightgowns. Elizabeth and Jane were both brushing their hair while Lydia and Kitty braided each other’s.
“I think it is very interesting that we have a past where an actual duel took place and someone was killed,” Lydia said, twisting her hair up onto her head and pinning it there.
“I think it is gruesome,” Kitty said, shuddering. “I cannot imagine being close to someone who was killed that way. How very painful.”
“I imagine it was painful.” Jane nodded. “After all, it caused a feud between the families that has lasted these many generations.”
“Did Mother say how long ago it happened?” Lydia asked.
“I did not hear her say anything about when it happened,” Jane shook her head. She looked at Elizabeth. “Do you recall anything about that, Lizzie?”
Elizabeth responded by also shaking her head. “No. But I believe it was quite a long time ago. I agree with Kitty. Imagine if it was Papa in a duel and he lost his life because of a land deal going wrong or a business deal. I would simply die.”
“I cannot think of such things,” Lydia stated firmly. “Papa is going to live a very long time.”
Elizabeth was somewhat surprised that Lydia held that belief. She was a cynical girl, and often looked at the negative side of events. She responded with silly arguments of fairy-tale proportion. “I do hope he does.” It was all she could think of to say.
“You do realize we are going to meet up with him someday. After all, I cannot imagine he would not attend the balls and dances and other events with the rest of the Ton.”
“Are you speaking of Mr. Darcy?” Jane asked, twisting her hair so that it was piled up on top of her head. She covered her hair with a night cap and tucked the remaining strands into it.
Lydia nodded. “Yes, of course. Who else would I be talking about?”
“What are we to do when we do meet him?” Kitty asked, her voice hushed as though she was telling a secret.
Elizabeth shook her head at her younger sister. “Oh, Kitty, you are tilting at windmills. We must judge people on their own individual merits and not our preconceived notions.”
Kitty nodded. “I know, Lizzie. I will not judge a man by what his ancestors did. But what about Mother and Papa? I do not want them angry at me because of this feud.”
“I am sure Mother and Papa understand that we will have no choice if we are to meet Mr. Darcy but to treat him with the utmost respect. He is a wealthy man and a bachelor.”
“Goodness.” Lydia covered mouth with her hand and looked at Elizabeth through wide eyes. “You do not suppose he will ask for one of us to marry him, do you?”
Elizabeth snorted softly, shaking her head. “That is highly unlikely.”
“Why?” Mary, in her soft-spoken voice, looked up from the book she had laid out on her lap. “It is completely possible that he will take an interest in one of you and ask to court you.”
“I cannot see that happening,” Elizabeth said while Jane spoke up at the same time.
“Why do you not include yourself in that grouping?”
Elizabeth looked at Jane, who continued with her light-hearted interrogation. “Are you implying he would not have an interest in you? You are as comely as the rest of us. However, you do persist in holding up the walls.”
Mary giggled. “I have no interest in the man.”
“You have not even met him.” Kitty turned from Lydia, who had finished her sister’s braid, and got on all fours, smiling at Mary. “You never know how you will feel about someone else until you actually meet them. You are judging him sight unseen! He could be the most handsome man on Earth! You cannot dismiss him so casually.”
“This is a silly conversation,” Mary responded, picking up her book and staring at the page in front of her, even though it was clear she was not reading the words. “I refuse to be a part of it any longer.” Her cheeks were burning and she knew it.
Her sisters grinned all around her.
“We shall see what happens when we come to it,” Elizabeth said soundly, fitting her night cap neatly on her head. “It’s time for bed. Good night, sisters.” She gave each of her sisters an air kiss on the cheek, to which they responded with one of their own. She left the room and headed toward her own but soon caught sight of movement downstairs. She glanced down the stairwell. At the bottom, where the stairs curved slightly to the right, she saw the glimmer of candlelight.
Curious, she made her way softly down the stairs and followed the light of the lantern. Someone had gone into the library. The door was still cracked open.
She moved as close as she could to peek through the crack with one eye and see who was inside.
Suddenly, the door was pulled open and she gasped.
“Oh!”
Her father placed a hand on her shoulder. “I did not mean to startle you, Lizzie,” he whispered. “I was returni
ng a book to the shelf. Are you all right?”
Elizabeth placed one hand on her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart. “Oh yes, Papa, I am sorry. I… I did see the candlelight moving about.”
“And you decided to follow it to see if someone unwanted had come into Longbourn?”
Elizabeth nodded.
Her father grinned at her. “And what would you have done if someone had come in and was stealing from us?” He purposefully gazed from her stocking feet to her night cap. “Slap them silly?”
Elizabeth giggled. “Oh Papa. You are the one who is silly.”
His grin widened slightly. “I am not very tired. Would you like to have a cup of tea before bed?”
“I would like that, Papa. I wanted to ask you something, too.”
Mr. Bennet nodded. “You want to ask about the feud, I must assume.”
She looked up at him. “Yes! How did you know?”
“You are a curious girl. Since news came out that Mr. Darcy had returned to Hertfordshire, I have been waiting for you to ask me for more details. Of all my daughters, you are the most inquisitive.”
“That is not a bad thing, is it, Papa?”
“No, my dear. It is wise to keep your eyes open and your brain ready for new interpretations and explanations. In this case, however, there is little to tell. Your mother mentioned that you all discussed it in Meryton with her sister. I do not know what more I can tell you. There was a duel because of a land deal where one party felt the other party owed them. The result of the duel was the death of Mr. Darcy’s ancestor. It put a huge rift between our families.”
“But Papa, it was so long ago. Why are there still bad feelings? Is it merely because your father and his father and the rest of our ancestors felt the Darcy family could not be trusted?”
“It is no mere thing, my dear.” Mr. Bennet placed one hand on his daughter’s back and allowed her to step into parlor before him. He moved to the fireplace and set about heating up a kettle of water for tea. She went to the couch and sat down, watching him. “Trust is a most important factor in business dealings. It is not unlike a marriage, where one person must put their trust in another, without knowing whether they deserve that trust or not. When that trust is broken, it can take many years for the trust to be rebuilt.”
“But it’s never been rebuilt.”
Mr. Bennet shrugged. “That is true. But the result of that broken trust was – you remember – the death of someone who was beloved in his family. It may never be repaired. And why, I might ask, should it be? We do not need the Darcy family to survive and they certainly do not need us to survive.”
“But there must be more to it, Papa. I do not think this is the end of the story. I understand why the Darcy’s might be bitter, considering it was their family member who was killed. But surely our ancestors would have done something to make amends?”
Mr. Bennet shook his head, coming to sit next to her on the couch. “There was too much anger and bitterness at the time.”
“Then why not now?”
“I see no reason why I must ever deal with the Darcy’s.”
Elizabeth wanted to ply him with more questions but she felt as if she was going around in a circle. The story seemed so simple, but she knew there was more to it. There had been many duels in the past. Why had this one affected her family for generations?
“It just does not make sense to me why this is still going on after so many years,” she said softly. “I think it is time it should be repaired.”
Mr. Bennet looked at his daughter sternly. “Do not get involved with this, Lizzie. It has nothing to do with you. If any reparations are made, they will be done among the men. We do not need any help.”
Elizabeth nodded, knowing she was going to investigate it anyway.
Chapter 4
Elizabeth stretched out her arms, reaching high above her head and pulling in a deep breath. The sun was sending a bright beam of light through the drapes. She slid out of bed, excited for the day. It was the evening of the masquerade ball and it would take most of the afternoon just to get ready. Her morning would be filled with making preparations with her sisters for their costumes. Charlotte, Elizabeth’s best friend, would be visiting. After lunch, they planned to take a walk around the garden. She always had a good time chatting with Charlotte. The girl was older than Elizabeth was by a few years and had experienced just enough in her lifetime to give Elizabeth sound advice.
She was different from Elizabeth in many ways, but also highly compatible with Elizabeth’s personality. Her friend’s presence gave her a sense of comfort.
She pulled on her dressing gown and moved quietly across the floor to grasp both drapes in her hands and fling them to the side. The sun’s rays burst through the window and covered Elizabeth in chills of warmth. She smiled and breathed in deep, pulling the night cap from her head and shaking out her long hair.
“It’s going to be a good day,” she murmured. “I can feel it.”
She turned away from the window to grab her slippers. She would see if her sisters were awake first before dressing and going down to get a cup of tea before breakfast. It felt like it would be hours before breakfast, even though she knew their cook would have it ready and waiting whenever they descended.
She went to the door of her room and glanced down the hallway toward their rooms. From her doorway, she could see down the stairs. Mary and Jane’s door was closed but Lydia and Kitty’s was open slightly. She could hear the sound of their voices coming through the crack.
“Lydia, Kitty…” she crossed the floor to their door and pushed it open gently. Her sisters were sitting on Lydia’s bed. Lydia’s face was very excited. They both looked up at Elizabeth when she entered. Elizabeth was slightly alarmed. “Is everything all right, Lydia?”
Lydia nodded, though the look on her face was one of pure excitement.
“Oh yes, Lizzie, I am more than all right!”
“Tell me what has happened,” Elizabeth insisted, taking a place at the foot end of the bed and staring at her sister intently.
“I was just telling Kitty about my dream last night. Oh, Lizzie, it was so real! So vivid! It was like I was really living it!”
Elizabeth’s shoulders sagged. She felt somewhat depleted. All of this excitement over a dream. “Oh. I am sure it was a very good dream, Lydia.” She began to stand up, but Lydia jumped forward, placing both hands on Elizabeth’s arm.
“Do not go! You must listen! It was terribly exciting!”
“It really was, Lizzie. And you were in it!” Kitty exclaimed.
Elizabeth sat back, politely and nodded. “All right. Tell me what it was about.”
“Well, it was a little strange because…well, I kept seeing a little monkey.”
Elizabeth blanched and furrowed her brow. “Whatever do you mean?”
“It was a little monkey! He had on a little top hat and he would take it off all the time and tip it to people who passed by. But that was just too strange and it made little sense with everything else that was going on. But in my dream, it was acceptable and appropriate. Am I clear?”
“Yes, I understand. I know the nature of dreams. Go ahead.” By that time, Elizabeth’s interest had been sparked. Her sister’s imagination was keen and she never passed up a bit of entertainment.
“We were all on our way to the ball. The one tonight, the masquerade ball…and we were stopped in the middle of the road by some highwaymen. At least, I think they were highwaymen. When they first stopped our carriage, I remember feeling very afraid, but then, the highwaymen were in the carriage with us and riding to the ball, too. The strangest thing is, I do not remember their faces. I do not know if I even saw them in my dream.”
“If your brain thought you were going to a masquerade ball, you would not have been able to see their faces.”
Lydia stared at Elizabeth for a moment before shaking her head. “You are so smart, Lizzie. I’ll never be as smart as you.”
“So what else
happened? You said it involved me.”
Lydia nodded, her demeanor sparking up again. “Yes, by the time we got to the ball, it had turned into a wedding and you were marrying one of the highwaymen…or whatever they were. Is that not too funny? And it was a beautiful wedding. You looked so beautiful in your gown, Lizzie.”
Lizzie was not prepared for the ending of her sister’s dream and pulled away from her. “I married the highwayman?” After a moment of letting that thought sink in, Lizzie burst out laughing.
Kitty joined her.
“Oh, Lydia! What a dream! I am going to marry a highwayman.”
“Well, they were not really highwaymen! I mean, if they had been, surely we would not have let them ride with us to the ball. They must have been gentlemen of some character. We would not allow anything else.”
“It was a dream,” Kitty pointed out. “Anything can happen in a dream.”
“Oh Lydia, thank you for telling me that dream. I will have to look for my future husband tonight. I will truly kiss your feet if there are any men dressed as highwaymen there.”
“Do not dance with them, if there are,” Kitty said with a laugh. “You might be married by morning!”
“If he was terribly handsome, you would not be able to resist him, would you, Lizzie?” Kitty’s cheeks burned a soft pink.
“I am quite sure I am not looking for the exterior of a man, but what is inside him. His inner core, his intelligence, his compassion.”
“I want a husband I want to stare at all day long,” Lydia sighed. “I am not too proud to admit that I want a handsome husband.”
“I did not say I did not want to marry a handsome husband.” Elizabeth grinned. “I said I do not want to marry a handsome highwayman.”
The three girls laughed. “Oh but would it not be fascinating to be married to a man who has such an adventurous life?”
Kitty gasped. “You cannot be serious, Lydia! Highwaymen are dangerous men with no scruples or morals. You cannot trust a man who robs others for a living. It is important to be married to a man who is trustworthy. Mother says it all the time.”
Elizabeth and Darcy: A Romeo and Juliet Twist: A Pride & Prejudice Regency Variation Page 2