My Beginning With Mr. Darcy - Book Two

by Lauren King

  “Lucky man, indeed, Darcy!” Both gentlemen laugh cheerfully as Morgan exuberantly claps Darcy’s arm, again; the two sisters turn back at the sound of their laughter. Darcy winks at Elizabeth, and she blushes as she smiles shyly before turning back to Jane.

  “I did not say a thing, Morgan.” Darcy feigns his innocence.

  “Oh, ho! You do not have to say anything, you lucky, lucky man!” Morgan releases another round of laughter.

  Once the sisters continue their walk, Morgan reveals to Darcy that he has spoken with Mrs. Crawford and told her that he will not tolerate her actions towards Miss Bennet. Mrs. Crawford claims that she has always liked him and wants to be with him.

  “I told her that I was not interested in anything with her; she is only a friend. I will not allow her to ruin this courtship with Miss Bennet. My goodness, she started to cry after I said that I no longer wish to associate with her.” Morgan tells Darcy the rest of the encounter.

  “So what is the end result, then?” Darcy is unsympathetic with Mrs. Crawford’s conduct.

  “I told her that if she was repentant for what she did to Miss Bennet and discontinued her claims, then she and I will stay friends from afar; we will not be like we have been. If she tries to do anything else in regards to this, then I will no longer associate with her, at all. Once again, she cried. I had to remain firm and left after I relayed my dissatisfaction with her actions.” Morgan explains frankly.

  “Did you never know that she was interested in you? Did she not ever reveal her inclinations?” Darcy asks candidly. He is surprised that Morgan would not have known anything about Mrs. Crawford’s partiality since they have been friends since childhood.

  “I did not pay attention to her in that way, especially after I left for university. She and I always talked, but I never showed any preference towards her. Maybe that is why I did not see anything.” Morgan explains forthrightly.

  “Well, it sounds like you have made yourself clear with her. I am glad because Jane was hurt by Mrs. Crawford’s words. She thought that it might have been your wishes but you were too gentlemanly to inform her. You are certain that Mrs. Crawford understands your wishes are not towards her in any way whatsoever?” Darcy tries to ascertain the truth.

  “Yes, I do not know how to speak plainer. There is no other way of saying that I am not interested in her in a romantic way. I told her that I am courting Miss Bennet, and I intend to further my relationship with Miss Bennet.” Morgan answers assuredly.

  “Good. I am glad this situation is contained and is over.” Darcy definitely does not want Jane hurt anymore.

  “I am as well. I was shocked when Miss Bennet informed me of it.” Morgan discloses truthfully.

  Suddenly a man in a footman’s uniform approaches Morgan and says, “Pardon me, Mr. Morgan.”

  Morgan recognizes his family’s footman. “Yes, Davidson?”

  “Sir, Mrs. Morgan wishes for your attendance at home. She has an urgent message for you, sir.” The footman bows and then awaits Morgan’s response.

  “What is the urgent message, Davidson?” Morgan is very surprised by his family’s footman appearing in the park seeking him out.

  “Sir, I was not told anything else except to relay to you the importance of your attendance at home, sir.”

  “This is highly irregular.” Morgan frowns and then looks at Darcy. “Darcy, I have no idea what this could be pertaining to, thus may I trouble you and Mrs. Darcy to escort Miss Bennet home? It may be inappropriate or bothersome for Miss Bennet if she came with me to my home.” Morgan states straightforwardly.

  “It will be no trouble at all. Do not worry; attend to your situation.” Darcy answers immediately as he looks over at Elizabeth.

  Elizabeth and Jane stops walking when she hears William and Mr. Morgan speak to another man. She sees William look over at her; therefore, she and Jane walk towards him and Mr. Morgan. Darcy makes his way towards his wife and extends his arm to her. Once she has his arm, they wait for Morgan to reach them. Morgan explains to Jane about him having to leave for his home immediately due to some urgent situation at his home.

  “I am very sorry, Miss Bennet; I have to leave directly, but Darcy has agreed to escort you home. I apologize that I cannot escort you myself. Please, pardon me.” Morgan states sincerely; he hopes no one is hurt. The footman would have been made aware of any injuries to relay to Morgan if that was the case. Morgan is extremely curious about this urgency.

  “Not at all, Mr. Morgan. Please, do not worry about me. I hope that the urgent situation is not too grave.” Jane responds with genuine concern.

  “I do too, Miss Bennet. May I call upon you tomorrow morning, Miss Bennet?”

  “Yes, you may, sir. Will eleven o’clock suit you, Mr. Morgan?”

  “I think that will be fine. I will leave now. Good day to you Miss Bennet, Mrs. Darcy, Darcy.” Morgan reaches for Miss Bennet’s hand to bow over it. His and her eyes lock quickly to relay their mutual admiration before he walks the opposite direction for home.

  “Do you know what that was all about, darling?” Elizabeth asks with some concern.

  “No, I do not. Morgan’s footman did not seem to know either. He was only told to fetch Morgan immediately.” Darcy answers promptly.

  “I hope it is not anything too dire.” Jane expresses her worry. “I am glad that we saw you both here; otherwise, Mr. Morgan would have had to take more time out to deliver me home before he could attend to his family emergency.”

  “I will send Morgan a note later to offer my assistance if he needs it. Do not worry too much, Jane.” Darcy proposes thoughtfully.

  “Thank you, William. I am sorry that I am disturbing your honeymoon.” Jane is very glad to hear William’s offer. She prays that no one is hurt in Mr. Morgan’s family.

  “We are glad that we could help.” Darcy answers honestly.

  “Jane, you are not disturbing us.” Elizabeth pats Jane’s arm, and then she asks William, “Darling, when do you think you will send a note to Mr. Morgan?”

  “If you two ladies are done with your walk then let us head back to Darcy House, and then I can send him a note.”

  “Are we done walking, Jane?” Elizabeth asks considerately.

  “Yes, I am done, but if you would like to walk a little longer, Lizzy, then we can walk some more.” Jane responds thoughtfully; she knows that Elizabeth likes to walk daily.

  “No, I am fine for today. Let us go to Darcy House, then.” Elizabeth knows that Jane is anxious to find out about Mr. Morgan’s situation. Elizabeth is glad that William volunteered to contact Mr. Morgan. It just solidifies what a good person he is.

  An hour later, Darcy receives a note back from Morgan:

  Darcy,

  No one in my family is hurt or is directly involved in this emergency. It is too delicate and complicated a matter to relay in this note. There is a problem with someone I know, but I do not wish for Miss Bennet to be alarmed, so I will tell her about it once I have figured out what exactly is going on. I am thankful to have a true friend such as you offering your assistance. I would be glad to accept it in this matter if it is not too troublesome for you to come to Morgan House. However, I understand that it is a burden, especially when you are still on your honeymoon. Please, do not feel obligated to come. I will explain everything to you after I find out and resolve things. Thank you for your concern, Darcy.

  Sincerely,

  Albert Morgan, Esq.

  “Dearest, I do not want you to be home alone while I assist Morgan at his home. Will Jane stay with you while I am out? Morgan said that it is not urgent that I help him. He says that he understands that we are still on our honeymoon.”

  “Darling, of course, Jane is staying here for now.” Elizabeth turns to Jane and asks, “Will you not, Jane?”

  “Certainly, I will, Lizzy. I will keep Lizzy company while you are out, William. I appreciate your kindness very much in offering to assist Mr. Morgan. Lizzy and I will talk like we used to; it will b
e fun.” Jane volunteers. “Do not worry, William.”

  “See, darling; I will be fine here with Jane. We will wait for you to come home. Is anyone hurt?”

  “He says that no one in his family is hurt. The note is concise; it does not say much else other than that he will gladly accept my offer of assistance.” Darcy thinks that it must be a close friend of Morgan’s for him to feel so worried about the situation.

  “Darling, you should go; I will be fine, alright? Will you send us a note if you will be away very long?” Elizabeth stands right in front of William and she holds one of his hands while her other hand is placed against his chest. She likes to touch his chest even though she is not touching his bare skin all the time; it feels and looks very intimate. They do not do that in anyone else’s presence except family.

  “Without a doubt, I will.” Darcy leans in to kiss Elizabeth’s cheek while they hug each other. He knows that she does not want to be away from him for long but since this involves Jane, Elizabeth is bearing it better. He does not want to part from Elizabeth either, but he must do this for her who, in turn, wants to do this for Jane.

  Several streets over at Morgan House, Darcy arrives to be eagerly greeted by Morgan who looks very disturbed. “I truly appreciate you coming, Darcy. Please, come in to my study. I want to get your opinion.”

  “Certainly; this must be very grave. You look very troubled.” Darcy expresses evenly; he does not want to add to the current tension.

  “I cannot believe what has happened. I cannot believe it!” Morgan shakes his head and sighs heavily before continuing. “Mrs. Crawford has hurt herself because I refused her.” Morgan holds his head in his hands and runs his fingers through his hair before looking up at Darcy again. He does not know how Darcy will take this disclosure; will Darcy or Miss Bennet think that he has been trifling with Mrs. Crawford’s feelings? He did not do any such thing! He was only helping Mrs. Crawford, upon her request, in regards to her gentleman friend – that was all!

  “What?!” Darcy is sincerely stunned. Goodness, gracious – Mrs. Crawford loves Morgan that much?

  “Can you fathom that? Oh my Lord; I still cannot believe it.” Morgan is still in shock; it has been two hours now, but he is still staggered by this revelation. He cannot wrap his head around this incident.

  “What has she said? What has been said by her family?” Darcy asks straight away.

  “Her Mother frantically contacted my Mother saying that Mrs. Crawford was not responding fully when her maid went to wake her earlier this morning. Mrs. Crawford groaned and then vomited after the maid came to coax her to wake. A physician and an apothecary was called, and they assessed that she drank some mixed potion that is known to be used for aches and pains. It relaxes you but if you take too much, then you may not wake from it. It is not as strong as laudanum, but it can have similar effects. Lord, she was trying to harm herself just because I refused to be romantically involved with her?” Morgan’s voice is raised at the incredulity of this situation. He never imagined that Mrs. Crawford cared for him this much.

  “Is that what she claimed?” Darcy asks swiftly and objectively.

  “Her Mother said that she was moaning and crying out my name saying that I do not love her. I never said that I loved her or anything close to that. I do not even want anything more than friendship with her, much less express love to her. How can she proclaim such things to her Mother? Now, her family thinks that I was a rake to her. Damn it to hell! I never showed her any romantic inclination. This is all from her side; it is unrequited by me. I never did anything ungentlemanly towards her.”

  “So what is happening now?”

  “Her parents are staying at her house until she is over all of this. Her Father told my Father that he is angry at me for leading her on. Blasted! I did no such thing! I am going to go over there and tell all of them that, forthrightly. I will tell them of my assistance to Mrs. Crawford regarding her gentleman friend, and then they will see how shrewd their daughter is. I never thought that she could think to do this to me, but if she does not explain and refute all pertaining to me, then I will clearly explain her plan to entice her gentleman friend. Let us see how that sounds on her part as a lady. I am infuriated, Darcy!” Morgan paces back and forth.

  Darcy exhales and then shares his opinion. “I can understand your anger if Mrs. Crawford planned all this out. Retrospectively, I think her needing your help with a gentleman friend was a ruse to get you to be with her more and eventually for you to become partial to her. I think that is what she was hoping for. That is the only reason why she acted so close to you, and she warned Jane off like that. Her warnings were from the perspective of someone who loves you or is obsessed with you not from a childhood friend. When you agreed to pretend to be with her, she probably thought that you were not involved with anyone, thus she continued to pursue you slowly. Since you were attentive to her too, she thought her plan was working. She did not think that you would refuse her since you have known her for so many years, and you both got along well with each other. It all adds up now. She planned this out rather well, and when you did not relay your preference for Jane, she thought she could convince you towards herself. I think this was her last effort at securing you. Mrs. Crawford is a sly lady, indeed.” Darcy admits.

  “It all makes more sense now. Lord, this all due to me not wanting to reveal my personal business and because I was being nice to a childhood friend. God, what a mistake all this has been!” Morgan is irritated with himself and with this entire aggravating situation.

  “What are you going to do? What do your parents think?”

  “I want to confront her and demand that she inform her family that I did nothing to incite her partiality. I am not a rake, and I will be damned if her family blames this on me! I have a reputation to protect. I have explained everything to my parents and certainly, they believe my innocence in this. They said that they will speak to the Everetts and will straighten this out.” Morgan is angrier. “Damn it! I cannot help it if a lady gets the wrong idea even when I have not spoken of my inclination for her. My God; I acted and spoke to her in a friendly manner because I considered her a childhood, family friend – that was all!” Morgan exclaims adamantly.

  “Do you think it will be wise for you to confront her, confront her parents, or all of them?” Darcy asks sensibly.

  “What do you think?” Morgan values Darcy’s opinion ever since they were at Oxford together.

  “I always want everyone involved to know and to understand what has occurred and why. I want things unambiguous. I would confront them all. If you do not clear this up completely with everyone, then you will always be blamed for this. Mrs. Crawford will be seen as a victim and you as a rogue.” Darcy is straightforward and concise. This is no time to be delicate or beat around the bush.

  “You are right. I also have the opinion that I will speak to them all, bluntly. I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of. It will be Mrs. Crawford’s mistake if I disclose that she is the one that asked me to help her with her gentleman friend; she misled and deceived me. It was all her doing.” Morgan cannot believe he has been duped by a lady.

  Morgan bids the person knocking on his study’s door to come in. Both Morgan and Darcy rise when Mr. Morgan, senior comes in. All greetings are relayed, and then Mr. Morgan asks his son, “What have you decided to do, son?”

  “Father, I am going to confront both Mrs. Crawford and her parents. I will not allow her to ruin my reputation. I did nothing wrong to her; I should not have to suffer this accusation.”

  “I agree with you, and then you should rethink about remaining friends with her.”

  “Yes, I have decided to cut all ties with her. I cannot continue to associate with someone that will lead others to think that I am a rake and that I used her ill. Father, I hope Mr. and Mrs. Everett have not been difficult with you and Mother.” Morgan worries that his parents may have to bear some trouble on his account.

  “I will handle Everett, son; do
not worry about that. He knows you and your reputation as a gentleman; therefore, if he should try to force your hand or ruin your reputation because of this, then he will suffer more from me. Moreover, it will affect his daughter’s reputation worse, even though she is a widow. I do not think that he will make this into a bigger problem than it is.” Mr. Morgan responds firmly.

  “I do not want my visit to be misinterpreted; therefore, I will not visit her until she is back to normal. My visit would only be as a concerned friend, but that will surely be misconstrued for something more, at this point.”

  “I agree.” Certainly, Mr. Morgan will support his son, especially when he is innocent; his son was not raised to be anything other than an upstanding gentleman.

  Morgan gladly accepts Darcy’s invitation to luncheon at Darcy House so he can see Miss Bennet to explain what has happened. He hopes that she will not feel that this is another obstacle to their courtship and will want to end it.

  After Morgan explains his situation to Miss Bennet, she asks, “So, she will recover, Mr. Morgan?”

  “Yes, that is what I have heard from my Mother.”

  “Mr. Morgan, may I be blunt, sir?” Jane asks nicely.

  “Certainly, Miss Bennet, please do.” Morgan hopes that Miss Bennet is not frightened by this revelation.

  When Elizabeth and Darcy hear Jane’s question to Morgan, they both stand from the sofa and excuse themselves to the garden for a little while before luncheon is served.

  “Firstly, I want to say how sorry I am for your friend’s…situation.” Jane expresses genuinely because she has never known of anyone personally committing suicide. In actuality, she has never talked to anyone about such a grave incident before; it is not something that would come up in normal conversation for young ladies. Dying for love sounds romantic in books and poems but to know of someone that actually experienced it, is a frightening thought.