by Lauren King
After Elizabeth’s glare at her Mother, she leaves the room in disgust with Mrs. Gardiner following her. The door is slightly opened, so they can hear Jane addressing Mrs. Bennet.
“Oh God, Mama!”
If they had stayed longer, they would have heard Jane stand up to Mrs. Bennet.
“You are creating bad memories for me! This is my wedding day! I do not want anymore arguments!” Jane’s voice is raised because she cannot seem to get through to her Mother; she is extremely tired of it all. She breathes heavily and sadly.
“How dare she say such things?! Is it not true that Lizzy forced you not to include Lydia and Sergeant Denny? Did they threaten you that they would not attend your wedding if Lydia and Sergeant Denny attended?” Mrs. Bennet insists; she is angry that her favorite daughter is not included all because Elizabeth thinks she is high and mighty now with her rich husband.
“No, Mama!” Jane responds instantaneously and with extreme frustration. “Once and for all, I will tell you the truth. No one forced me; I am the one that does not want to include the Dennys. I do not like Sergeant Denny for what he did to our family; therefore, I do not want to associate with him. I also do not like Lydia for what she did to our family; she caused one problem after another. Even though she was told, she has never recognized what she did was wrong; she never apologized for what she did; she never learned to be better; she never tried to fix her problems; she only made things worse! She remains the ignorant, unrepentant girl that she has always been. However, she takes the prize when she steals from her own family and blames it on two innocent people – one of whom is her other sister! She is mean, ill-mannered, unscrupulous, immoral, rude, conniving, and unkind. I never thought I would have to describe any of my sisters with such awful language, but there it is, Mama. Of course, I do not want such people at my wedding! I am ashamed of them! I am not dumb and dense! I do not want to be laughed at behind my back or be ridiculed for being low-born or be cut due to having such relations. My life includes Albert now, and anything unseemly from me affects him, too. I will not allow Lydia or Sergeant Denny or anyone to compromise or to disgrace or to adversely affect me and Albert’s reputation. You did not help, either, Mama. Is that what you want to hear, Mama? It is all the truth of how I feel.” Jane sighs heavily before continuing. “And now, you have managed to put very bad memories into my wedding day. You do not care about anyone except yourself and Lydia!”
Jane did not think she could be so blatant to her Mother, but there was no way to avoid it anymore. Her Mother would have continued to blame Elizabeth; she would have disclaimed any wrong-doing by Lydia and Sergeant Denny, and she would not have taken any responsibility for what she contributed, herself. Now, Jane will be forced to remember this awful incident for the rest of her life.
Mrs. Bennet is agape with shock once more. She is angry that Jane has dared to speak to her in such a manner. Once again, Jane is sounding more like Elizabeth; it must be Elizabeth’s influence. Jane was never like this before.
“I am greatly disappointed in you, Jane. You have learned all this from Lizzy and, now, have become an unpleasant girl. I have always coddled you and praised you for your beauty, and this is what I get now that you are marrying a decent gentleman. This is the thanks I get. You have turned against me and Lydia when we have done nothing to you. Have you become so close to Lizzy that you would be mean to me and Lydia in order to protect Lizzy?” Mrs. Bennet does not let Jane answer. “Well, I am still glad that I was able to get you to this point to marry a decent gentleman. After today, I suspect that you will not want to visit Longbourn much – well, that is your decision. I would not want you there if you have become this mean daughter in front of me today. At least I can see you well settled – that was my intent. Mr. Morgan may not be as rich as Mr. Darcy, but you will do fine in London.” Mrs. Bennet turns to walk out of the room, but Jane speaks up, so Mrs. Bennet stops to look at Jane with angry, disappointed eyes.
“Mama, I never wanted to ever voice these thoughts to you. However, you leave me no choice when you continue to think the way you think. Your behavior and comportment has almost ruined all of your daughters. You think you helped me secure Albert? You definitely did not. Did you know that you chased Mr. Bingley and William away from us? They were appalled by your behavior and manners. William pursued Lizzy because without you around he saw what a genuinely and truly good person she was. Her own merits were what secured William. As for Mr. Bingley, he and his family could not handle Lydia’s shame. Both gentlemen were ashamed to be associated with a family with such a mother and my two youngest sisters. Yes, Mama; that is the whole truth of it.” Jane takes a deep breath but ploughs through; she does not want to revisit this subject ever again.
“Just for once, I would like for you to be able to hear yourself – hear what you are saying to your daughters. You hurt Lizzy and Mary by putting them down and discriminating against them in multiple ways their entire lives. You hurt Kitty by ignoring her. You hurt Lydia by improperly indulging her and inappropriately encouraging her to be an outright flirt to catch a man. Look at what kind of a man she caught. Sergeant Denny is a despicable humiliation, and now, we are related to him. Mama, look where it has gotten Lydia and look what damage it has caused our family. She does not even know how close she came to being completely ruined and in turn ruining all of her sisters, too. Is that what you are so proud of Lydia for? We were only lucky that the damage was not worse because William was able to control Sergeant Denny’s greed and contemptible conduct. Yes, thanks to William! Yet, you still accept the Dennys’ behavior and conduct, and you continue to treat all of us like you have always treated us. I am NOT sorry to tell you that I think it is wrong. I think you are wrong, Mama.”
Mrs. Bennet, Mary, and Kitty are stunned and speechless.
After a couple of seconds of heavy breathing and fluttering, Mrs. Bennet leaves the room, but not before saying, “I will not listen to you anymore. I am truly disappointed in you, Jane.”
Jane expresses herself calmly, frankly, and openly towards her Mother one last time before sighing heavily. “I am disappointed in you, Mama.”
Mrs. Bennet certainly heard Jane’s last comment.
Jane’s wedding ceremony was touching and the bride and groom had eyes only for each other when they took their vows and became Mr. and Mrs. Albert Morgan. It was a happy day that Jane will never forget. One thing marred her day, but she pushed it aside not wanting to depress her spirits as a new wife. The incident with her Mother was done; she was not going to be able to resolve that situation today. Furthermore, today was not the day to contend with that; it was the worst day for her Mother to continue her bad behavior and inexcusable conduct. Jane was vastly dissatisfied and saddened, but it was over. She has to move on and deal with her Mother as the situation comes along.
Elizabeth and Darcy feel blessed that their lives have led them to each other and now, after some hardships, they are elatedly married. They cannot imagine being married to anyone else; it was their destiny. With their immense love they will make their lives progress into the direction of which they have always dreamed. They are confident that their deep love will show them the way. They cannot wait to experience it with each other.
Elizabeth and Darcy are happy that Jane is well settled in a marriage filled with love. All four sisters will see each other a few times throughout the year and continue to be in each other’s lives through constant letters. Mary and Kitty have shown that they are capable of making their lives better so that they can attain a decent gentleman just as their two elder sisters have. Their desire for a better life drives them to move forward. Elizabeth is proud to see her two next younger sisters advance and develop into two delightful young ladies full of promise.
Before leaving London and after much careful evaluation and examination, Darcy invests in two business endeavors – steam locomotive and automated farming machinery. He is certain these two industries will impact their society significantly as they advance i
nto the future. He has spoken of these investments to Elizabeth, and she was excited that he shared his business information with her. She is glad to learn anything he wants to teach her. She is also very pleased to know that William is always taking care of their family. However, it is not a surprise because it is William’s nature to do his best for his family. Elizabeth can undoubtedly attest to that. It goes without saying that Darcy will do his part to enhance his family name, provide his children with the best possible futures, and leave behind a strong, admirable legacy. He is proud of his family and all that it represents.
With their limited time in town, one of the intimate dinners that they have is with Bingley – just the three of them. They invite him to Pemberley should he want to get away from town for a respite after the season ends. They want to include him for the Christmas holiday celebrations in Pemberley too, but they decide to wait and see who will be coming. They do not want to cause any discomfiture for anyone. They very much hope that he will be over his lost relationship with Jane by then; otherwise, they will have to limit his visits with them while Jane and Morgan are present. Bingley’s joviality has altered, but slowly, he is returning to who he was before. Elizabeth and Darcy are very glad to see that Bingley has taken care of his family situation with Miss Bingley and that he can bounce back from his lost relationship with Jane. They truly hope that he will find love and happiness with a fine young lady; he deserves it.
Darcy and Elizabeth attend two more balls and two more dinner parties before they leave for Pemberley at the end of May. They have several intimate dinners and get-togethers with the Gardiners, the Morgans, and a few of Darcy’s other friends from Oxford. They enjoy their limited season; even though they do not attend many events, any time anyone sees them together, it is evident that they are meant for one another. There are still young ladies and their mothers who still look at Elizabeth with envy and disapproval. They still feel that they would have looked just as well with Mr. Darcy and fulfilled their role as his wife better than Elizabeth because they are richer and are of higher social ranking than the Bennets. Little do they know that Darcy never thought they were interesting to be around for more than a dance set; even that was a chore with some of the young ladies that he had encountered over the past seasons. They will never be in the Darcy’s inner circle; hence, they will not have the privilege to know just how perfect Elizabeth is as his lover. However, word will spread and eventually people will know just how perfect she is as his wife, his partner, his best friend, his supporter, and his advisor – his everything.
The Darcys make it quite clear that they do not care about those who make negative remarks against them, but they will not forget those who are disparaging. Darcy is a fair man, and he has a good, long memory.
Elizabeth is excited to finally go to Pemberley. She has seen the beauty and tranquility of Pemberley depicted on one of the paintings hanging in William’s study, thus she is impatient to experience it for herself. She is certain the reality will be breathtaking. William’s pride in his ancestral home is obvious; she understands his feelings as she has also developed pride and joy for Darcy House. There is no doubt that she will be proud of Pemberley, too – who would not be? She will strive to make him proud by conquering her duties as the new mistress of his beloved home. She longs for days where she can walk to her heart’s delight and not be censured. She longs for her married life to continue with her loving, caring, handsome husband with whom she has been supremely blessed. She could not be any happier at this point in her life. He is her destiny, and she will love him eternally.
Darcy finally gets the wife of whom he has always dreamed, but he knows his married life will exceed his dreams. He is eager to share with Elizabeth all that he owns and all that he is, in every way. His immense and deep love for her is everlasting. She is his destiny.
The last six months were their beginning. Now, they will start their forever.
Dear Readers,
Thank you for reading my book. I hope you enjoyed it because I can write about Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth every day. It was a pleasure to write this variation of Pride and Prejudice and be able to place my two favorite characters into situations that could have torn them apart. However, I could not keep them from their destinies because it would be too sad (especially for me); they deserve to be happy.
I look forward to presenting another variation for you all to enjoy, soon. Please watch for my work. If you would like to share your thoughts, please contact me at: [email protected]
Please look for my other books, currently available:
Captivated – Captivated Trilogy: Book One
Devastated – Captivated Trilogy: Book Two
Devoted – Captivated Trilogy: Book Three
My Courtship with Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice variation)
My Courtship with Mr. Darcy – Conclusion (Pride and Prejudice variation)
My Destiny – Part One
My Destiny – Part Two
My Destiny – Part Three
Enjoy!
Lauren King