by Kate Speck
“I think not, papa,” Elizabeth firmly answered. “Mr. Wickham was likely scared off already and Mr. Darcy could have given Georgie a quarter hour to say her goodbyes to Jane and me. He was rude and unfeeling and thought I was going to use poor Georgie’s situation to blackmail him for money. No; he is heartless and I have no wish to think better of him.” She looked at her three younger sisters who were in the parlour together. “I will remind you once again, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, that Miss Darcy’s personal business is her own and do not dare say a word about her or of her experience in Ramsgate to another living soul. Do you understand me? I told you about her troubles so that we could learn from it and although she was completely innocent and nothing happened, we would be spreading gossip about a person completely undeserving of rumours and you will mind your tongue. I might despise Mr. Darcy but certainly understand his concerns that a lady’s reputation can be ruined by the simplest of rumours.” She turned to her mother and smiled, “I appreciate that you have not shared the story, even with your own sister, mama. I would hate for Miss Darcy to be embarrassed if she should visit us in the future.”
Mrs. Bennet patted Elizabeth’s hand, “It was terrible that a man of Mr. Wickham’s age attempted to trick such a young girl for her dowry and it taught us all a good lesson about keeping my daughters safe. I could never fault Miss Darcy for being deceived at her age and if it were Lydia, with only a tiny fraction of the dowry that Miss Darcy has, I am somehow certain that Lydia would have been fooled into eloping with such a scoundrel.”
“But, mama, I would not! I would have known better!” Lydia whined.
Mrs. Bennet laughed seeing her youngest daughter crossing her arms in vexation. “You know I am right, Lydia Bennet, since you are silly like I had been at your age, and although your father did not trick me into marrying him and we were wed honourably when I was but sixteen, you would have thought it terribly romantic to travel to Gretna Green and not given it another consideration. You might be out in society still but you will not think of marriage until well after your elder sisters are married first. Our dear Jane will marry Mr. Bingley first, IF he is deserving of her hand, and Jane will make sure to throw all of her sisters in the paths of rich men!”
Everyone laughed heartily at the matron’s declaration and they continued to enjoy the evening together before retiring for bed.
~*~
A week later, Elizabeth sat at her desk in her room to write in her journal of the day, when suddenly she saw her words disappear into the pages again. Her old chronicles remained in the prior pages but the last page became blank and a pool of black ink rose up from the paper to write to her after months of silence.
You will rise early tomorrow morning and head towards the west side of Netherfield to save another life.
Elizabeth quickly wrote back:
Anne! Where have you been? Why have you not spoken to me earlier? Was I successful in saving Georgiana?
The diary responded:
I will speak to you through the book only when there is a need, and another life depends on you tomorrow. Go to the west fields and you will see small mounds of hay. Flatten them down so that the rider will not be tempted to jump over them. A great danger lies for him if the horse leaps over them.
Elizabeth scribbled down:
Who is the man? How will saving him make a difference? What of Georgiana? Is she safe?
After a long minute, the diary finally wrote back:
You must follow my directions without question. The time will come soon enough when I will complete my task here and move to another. This life is important, just as much as Georgiana’s.
Immediately, all of Anne’s words disappeared and the page became blank again.
Elizabeth sighed deeply. She had shown Jane and her father the diary and they could not understand what was happening but she could not prove to them that something incredible was being revealed to her through her book. Her father attempted to trace the faint crest on the front of the book without success but advised to his favourite daughter that perhaps it was divine intervention that she was being used to help people and that as long as the book’s commands were not hurting anyone, to keep it a secret and do what she could to help someone. With determination to awake early and walk to the Netherfield border, Elizabeth fell asleep with excitement for the morning to arrive.
Chapter 5
Elizabeth took her usual path towards Oakham Mount the next morning, but this time turned to the road that would lead her to the fences that divided her father’s estate and Netherfield. The mansion itself was three miles from her own home but the estate’s boundary was a little more than a mile away, where the diary had told her to go.
She saw dozens of piles of haystacks on Netherfield’s property and sighed. The workers seemed to had begun to gather small mounds to form larger ones later in the day and she felt awful that she would have to destroy their work. Although enjoying her daily walks through her father’s fields and to Oakham Mount, she was a petite woman and not very strong, and seeing that there were many heaps of dried grass, she wondered how long it would take to flatten the stacks and how angry the workers would be if she were discovered ruining their efforts.
She lifted her skirts to walk up the stile to pass over the fence and then began her duty after finding a pitch fork that had been left behind, thankful that the field workers must be on the other side of the property as to not witness her infraction. She started to push the top of the stacks of hay to make them into flattened heaps instead and continued with her weary arms, having never laboured like this before. She was already exhausted but continued her efforts by pushing off the seventh one, when she could see the hay fall to the other side, and she noticed that instead of falling flat on the ground, there was a large puddle of mud instead, and the strands fell into the thick sludge and bubbled up before sinking instead of floating.
Elizabeth walked around to observe it closer then poked her pitch fork into the thick muck, which was a larger area than expected, and was surprised that the mud was like quicksand and the fork began to sink slowly, and even with all of her strength, she could not pull it back out, until the handle was sticking up straight in the vat, with half of the length of the tool now buried and unmoving. She surmised that if a person had fallen into it, it might have been nearly waist-deep, and if a horse jumped over and landed in that large area, she had no doubt that the rider would have been thrown off and the horse severely injured. Leaving the pitch fork standing straight up in the mud, Elizabeth slowly arose from behind the small mound that she had been working on and wondered how she could continue with the rest of her task without a tool now, when she was suddenly aware of the loud gallops of a horse approaching her.
Elizabeth screamed as the horse came dangerously close to running her down and she fell backwards onto her bottom, nearly falling into the mud pool while completely ruining her gloves and skirts.
“DAMNATION!” She heard a shout, then the horse stopped next to her and she saw a gentleman’s back as he dismounted. Still sitting on her bottom, she attempted to appear graceful as she began to rise but looked down and found her gloves and dress completely soiled and her boots deep in the wet muck. Elizabeth laughed at herself as she took off her gloves, knowing how her mother would fuss when she saw her, and began to stand upright to face the man whose life she might have saved. She felt the man’s hand on her elbow to assist her up and gasped when she looked up to see his face.
“Mr. Darcy!” She exclaimed as she swayed on her feet, not understanding how in the world this man could be here of all places, and felt faint when he wrapped his other hand around her waist.
Recognising her immediately, Mr. Darcy eyed her carefully and spoke in a low tone, “Miss Bennet, how is it that you appear without warning twice in a row before me? What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” Elizabeth quickly retorted, “I live in the next estate only a few miles from here. What are you doing here? Where is Geo
rgie?”
Mr. Darcy released his hold and stepped back but continued to glare at the woman who was considerably smaller than himself. “I am here with my friend Bingley and Georgiana is perfectly safe with my family. Does everyone know of her disgrace in this backwater country? What have you said about my sister?”
Elizabeth huffed, “No one knows about her except for my family and they have sworn their secrecy to keep your sister safe. No one blames her and there was no disgrace. I wrote to her in Derbyshire and she had not replied to me and I am only concerned for her.” She glowered at the tall man for a moment and then curtsied, “Good day, sir.” She turned away to return home.
“Wait!” Mr. Darcy shouted and reached for her shoulder to stop her quick steps. He released it as soon as she turned to squint her eyes at him and slowly walked with her towards the fences. “I am glad to hear that my sister’s... experience has not been made public. What are you doing here? I mean, here at Netherfield? I was riding my stallion to take my exercise this morning but saw several of these haystacks fallen and did not see you until my horse frightened you.” He reached for her waist again as she tripped on the uneven grounds, “Are you well? Did you do that yourself? Why?”
Elizabeth blushed brightly at her clumsiness and separated herself from the imposing man, “I was... I am well. There was... There was a large ditch that was not quite obvious after the rain last night and I... I wanted to make sure it was discovered.”
Mr. Darcy looked behind and saw a tall stick in the mud which was sinking very slowly. The ditch appeared wide enough that if he had jumped over the mound with his horse as his wont, it was in the exact spot where his stallion’s legs would have landed and he would have surely been thrown off and gravely injured. His brows rose in surprise, “How did you...?” He looked down at the small woman next to him and chuckled quietly to see her clothes completely muddied from below her waist and her face red, with her bonnet sitting askew on her head and sweat rolling from her temples. He whistled for his horse, which came towards him immediately and held the reins. “Come now, young lady. You are in no shape to walk home and I will deliver you on Pegasus. If you would like to take a moment at Netherfield and call for a carriage or have mine take you home, that can be arranged also.” He reached for her arm and began to nudge her towards the horse.
“It is not necessary.” Elizabeth quickly replied to the commanding gentleman while shaking off his hand. “I do not need to be coddled and even if it offends you to see me completely dishevelled, it is only a little bit of mud and I am perfectly capable of walking home.” Having always loved horses, she turned and patted the white stallion’s nose. “He is a beautiful beast. Does he fly like in the myth? Do you think of yourself as Bellerophon when you ride him?”
Mr. Darcy replied with merriment in his eyes, “Perhaps I defeated Chimera already and have been banned to the wilderness of Hertfordshire for my arrogance to dare go into Mount Olympus. Do you know the Greek mythology?”
Elizabeth smirked, “I do, sir. I am no longer surprised at your banishment to our backwater country, as you have already called it, but I would not wish for you to fall off Pegasus, leaving you crippled and blind. I have a feeling this mighty beast will protect you well, though. He is a very fine horse.” She saw the corner of his lips rise, which disappeared as soon as she turned around. “I will take my leave now.”
“May I walk you home?” Mr. Darcy smoothly enquired. “Is it a far distance? I certainly do not mind and would not wish to be accused of being ungentlemanly.”
Elizabeth shook her head rapidly with a smile, “It is not far; only a mile from here, sir.” She faced him again and curtsied, “I bid you good day.” She promptly walked away from the condescending gentleman, attempting to hide her pain of falling on her backside as well as the shoulder pains from labouring too hard this morning. She could hear Mr. Darcy quietly chuckle but return to his horse and gallop away towards Netherfield Park.
~*~
Elizabeth was utterly embarrassed to be caught by Mr. Darcy in such a disgraceful manner and kept herself within her home for the next two days. She could not believe that the arrogant man was Mr. Bingley’s friend and wondered if he had recently married one of Mr. Bingley’s sisters, as Aunt Philips had reported that their new neighbour was arriving with two sisters and their husbands. It made sense that Georgiana would be too busy to have gone home to Derbyshire if her brother married, and she would have stayed with her family instead of travelling north and had yet to receive her letter. Her diary was silent and provided no further details but Elizabeth was relieved to hear from the gentleman that Miss Darcy was safe and at least satisfied with herself, that she had done her duty to save Mr. Darcy from injury and hoped to face him with civility if he should attend the monthly assembly this week.
Her father, who had called on their new neighbour already, reported to his wife and daughters that Mr. Bingley was indeed young and single and a very amiable gentleman who would be a good match for Jane if only she liked him, and described very little of Mr. Hurst and nothing of the ladies, as he had not made Mr. Bingley’s sisters’ acquaintance on his visit. Her father did explain that Mr. Darcy was a man of very few words and how he could comprehend Lizzy’s impression of the gentleman as one of arrogance and aloofness, but stated that further study was needed, since Mr. Darcy did not seem condescending or malicious during their brief interaction. Elizabeth wondered what kind of a woman Mr. Darcy would have married and was excited to meet the Netherfield party to assess Mrs. Darcy for herself and to see if she might be equally faulty in her character.
~*~
The Bennets prepared to leave on time to the town assembly but due to a tear on Kitty’s dress when Lydia accidentally tripped over it, they were delayed and arrived late. As the dancing had already begun, Mr. Bennet led his family to where Mr. Bingley was already speaking with their neighbours for introductions, and Mr. Bingley promptly asked Jane for a dance.
Elizabeth smiled broadly as she saw her older sister’s eyes shine with joy and looked to see if she could spot Mr. Bingley’s sisters who were reported to be dancing. She noted two ladies whom she had not met before, the red-haired one dancing with an unknown gentleman and the woman with dark colouring with Mr. Robinson, who was a widower of five and fifty, but she could not locate Mr. Darcy on the dancefloor.
She suddenly heard a cough next to her and looked up to see the man on her mind looking down with his face expressionless, as he nodded his head slightly to acknowledge her. He began, “I do not believe we were ever formally introduced, although we have met twice already and my sister considers you one of her dearest friends. Should we ask someone for introductions or can we forego the formality?”
“Well, since you accused me of being a servant at our first meeting and then you saw me most shockingly filthy the last,” Elizabeth lifted an eyebrow to tease, “we might as well make our own introductions and greet each other as acquaintances.” She curtsied quickly, “Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn.”
He bowed in return, “Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley.”
Elizabeth looked back at the dancing floor and asked, “Have you already danced with your wife, sir? Our family arrived late and we missed welcoming the Netherfield party to the county.”
“Wife?” Mr. Darcy’s brows furrowed, “I have no wife. Who told you I was married?”
Elizabeth blushed, “I thought I had heard that Mr. Bingley had two sisters and that his brothers would be joining him. I thought perhaps the lady there,” she glanced at the tall woman who was dancing with Mr. Robinson, “might be your wife. My apologies.”
Mr. Darcy huffed, “That is Miss Bingley and we are not attached, and certainly not to each other. Never in a thous...” He cleared his throat. “She is Mr. Bingley’s younger sister and the other lady is his older sister Mrs. Hurst, dancing with her husband.” He turned his eyes back to Elizabeth and spoke quietly, “I wished to... I had wished to thank you for your services the other morning. If you had n
ot had the sense to knock down the hay into the mud ditch to make it apparent, I would have jumped right into it and might have been gravely injured or Pegasus suffer a broken limb to need to be put down. He was a gift from my father and is my favourite horse. I do not know how you knew of the danger but I thank you all the same.”
“You are welcome, sir.” Elizabeth answered. “Could you... could you please tell me how your sister fares? You have said she is safe but I am very concerned for her and wish to know if she is well. I wrote to her three times and had not received a reply.” She wrung her hands. “Is she fully recovered?” She looked up and saw the man’s eyes soften at the mention of his sister.
“She is well, Miss Bennet.” He tenderly responded. “She is in London for now after spending the rest of the summer with my cousin in Somerset and has been dedicated to studying music with a new companion by her side. She was uninjured and I believe I must also thank you for helping her. She had nothing but praise for you and your sister after making your friendship in Ramsgate. I have several debts I owe and I never forget my obligations.”
Elizabeth frowned in confusion, as this man seemed almost congenial today compared to the previous impressions that she had assumed to be his character. “You owe me nothing, Mr. Darcy, but since the dance has now ended, will you introduce me to your friends? I have met only Mr. Bingley so far and he already asked my sister for a dance.”
Mr. Darcy nodded and they walked towards Mr. Bingley’s sisters. Miss Bingley had a snobbish look about her face, with her nose in the air to look down on the residents of this shire, while Mrs. Hurst followed after her sister’s attitude but appeared amused by the merry chatter around her. Miss Bingley immediately grabbed Mr. Darcy’s arm and hung onto it as if they were on intimate terms.