Fate and Consequences

by Linda Wells

  “Yes, that is true.” He smiled slightly. “She has agreed to begin a friendly correspondence with Georgiana. They have already exchanged one letter, and Georgiana was thrilled to have befriended someone at this painful time.”

  “Well done!” Bingley smiled. “And through their letters you can at least know how she is, and perhaps Miss Darcy could tell her of you.” Darcy nodded, knowing he could not tell anyone of his writing her himself. “Good, then it seems this time apart will not be as difficult. And Darcy, I think it will give you something pleasant to think about.” He nodded to the approaching bustle of London. “You are escaping the censure of town for the peace of Pemberley, but I doubt the situation will be far from your mind.”

  “No, it seems to have taken up a leaden residence in my heart.” He looked over to Bingley again. “You have given me much to consider. I must decide my behaviour towards Miss Elizabeth, and think over how I might have felt about her before. You have opened my eyes to consider my treatment of others, in a way that I never felt necessary before.” He looked at him thoughtfully. “Do you think that I behave with disdain towards those lower than me?”

  Bingley considered it. “You treat your staff well, which is why they are so loyal, but as to individuals of a lower status? I do not know. You must think on this yourself.”

  Darcy nodded, and the men separated near Hyde Park to approach their separate homes. Bingley thanked him profusely for his assistance that day, and they agreed to meet again before the Darcys took their leave for Pemberley.

  When Darcy arrived home he found a note waiting for him, asking that he come to Matlock House on a matter of some urgency. He thought with a sinking feeling that Lady Catherine was somehow involved.

  Chapter 5

  Elizabeth slowly wandered back to Longbourn after watching Darcy’s handsome figure, so straight and tall on his fine horse, disappear from view. He was handsome; she thought and smiled, spinning with a little squeal. Imagine such a man paying her any attention at all! She began to wonder about him. He was certainly older than she, surely he was a “man of the world” as her Aunt Gardiner had put it, but Elizabeth thought, he was behaving as if he was unsure of just how to court a woman. He seemed as inexperienced in what to do as she was, and it absolutely delighted her. He completely confused her. His face was inexpressive; it was all in his eyes. The stare that he bore upon her might have disconcerted her, made her feel as if she was failing, if it were not for the undeniable fact that he had written that wonderful, playful, barely concealed love note. How could a man who wrote such a note not be able to speak when in the presence of his object? He must be terribly shy and insecure. But he had his own estate! Or at least his father does? “Oh you are a puzzle, Fitzwilliam Darcy!” She cried out loud. Then she smiled to herself. “A puzzle that I very much wish to understand.”

  She thought of that little smile that grew as he relaxed and they talked more. Coaxing out that smile would be something she would enjoy very much. And to make him laugh! Oh, that would be a joy! She sensed his intelligence, and already knew he was kind. And reserved and worried about propriety, and … Oh so challenging! Whatever had happened with his sister obviously worried him, and after witnessing the girl’s distress, she hoped that her friendship would cheer her. She could not wait to tell Jane that they had met, and hoped so much that the letter from his sister would include one from him. She did not understand this sudden and overwhelming feeling for a virtual stranger, but she felt something, a connection, and a need to know more. It was going to be a very long wait for autumn to arrive.

  Upon entering Longbourn she was greeted by the unwelcome sight of her mother bearing down upon her. “Lizzy! Where have you been? Out walking all of this time! What am I going to do with you? I am sure your wildness will be the death of me! As sure as your father will leave us starving in the hedgerows when he soon dies, you will fail to secure a husband when a perfectly good suitor is awaiting you. Now get upstairs and make yourself presentable for Mr. Lucas!”

  “Mama, there is plenty of time; we will not leave for hours!” She protested as her mother began pushing her to the landing.

  “Never you mind, you know there is one maid to dress all of you, and for whatever reason, Mr. Lucas favours you over your sisters. You must be ready first. Now go!” She pushed her again.

  Elizabeth held her ground. “But Mama, I have news!”

  That stopped her. “News? What sort of news?”

  “Netherfield is let. I met the young man and his friend when Mr. Morris was showing them the line between the estates.” She purposely implied Mr. Bingley’s marital status to stop her mother’s frenzy.

  “Netherfield let?? Well tell me all, Lizzy! Who is this young man, and his friend?”

  Mrs. Bennet’s squeals drew forward the other four daughters who gathered to listen in rapt attention. Elizabeth sent a significant look to Jane, who wrinkled her brow. “The young man is named Bingley. He is not married,” Mrs. Bennet screeched and clapped her hand to her mouth, “and he is to sign a lease to begin at Michaelmas.”

  “Is he handsome, Lizzy?” Lydia asked, giggling to Kitty.

  She smiled. “Yes, he is. He is about Papa’s height, with blonde hair and green eyes. He was very friendly and was looking forward to meeting everyone in the neighbourhood.”

  “How old is he?” Mrs. Bennet asked.

  “I would say he is no more than five and twenty. He will be coming along with his sister.”

  Mrs. Bennet nodded. “Yes, his sister will act as his hostess, so he can hold parties and dinners.” She nodded again, already scanning her daughters to decide which she would choose for him, and her eyes settled on Jane. “Yes, Jane, you shall marry him.”

  “Mama!” Jane cried.

  “Of course he will want you, dear Jane, for you are by far the beauty of Hertfordshire. Even a blind man would know that!” She patted her cheek. “Yes, you are far more beautiful than Lizzy, I have always said so.” Elizabeth, used to this particular insult, just closed her eyes. Her mother was forever telling her how inadequate she was, whether it was her beauty, or her behaviour. It did not matter. Of all of her daughters, Mrs. Bennet made it quite clear that Elizabeth was her least favourite. Mrs. Bennet returned her attention to Elizabeth. “Did you say he had a friend there, as well? What do you know of him?”

  Elizabeth looked up at her with a smile. “His friend’s name is Mr. Darcy.” Jane barely hid her gasp behind her hand. Elizabeth gave her a tiny nod. “He plans to come and stay at Netherfield along with his sister for a visit. As it turns out, his sister is the girl I lent my handkerchief to, so if our correspondence is successful, I will be well on my way to being good friends with her before they even arrive.” She looked straight into her mother’s eyes, and could see her mind working the information.

  “Does Mr. Darcy have a wife, or an estate?” She said steadily.

  “He is not married, but yes, he has an estate. I had the impression that he was coming to help Mr. Bingley with purchasing one of his own.”

  “And … did you get on well with Mr. Darcy?”

  Elizabeth maintained her gaze. “I did.”

  “Well then, that changes everything! You must write very good letters to Miss Darcy, Lizzy. You must make her fond of you and wish for your company. If you win her good opinion, she will encourage her brother your way.” She nodded, her scheme was perfect. “Mark my words; I will have both of you engaged by Christmas!”

  Elizabeth shot a look at Jane, who shook her head in exasperation. Elizabeth started up the stairs, but her mother stopped her. “There is no hurry Lizzy, let the other girls dress first. Tonight’s company is not important to you!” She took hold of Kitty and Lydia and shooed them up the stairs. “Just like that girl, trying to get in the way of my plans!” She continued talking to herself and Elizabeth watched as Mary melted into the shadows, away to read her book. Jane grabbed her hand and the girls rushed out to the garden.

  When they achieved a fair dista
nce from the house, Jane pulled Elizabeth down on a bench. “Lizzy, was it really Mr. Darcy? The man who … him?”

  Elizabeth grasped her hands and beamed at her. “Yes!! Oh yes Jane. He and Mr. Bingley and Mr. Morris were riding, and Mr. Morris called to me as I walked. I did not look at the other men, as they were strangers, but Mr. Darcy immediately jumped down from his horse, so the other men did as well. Mr. Morris introduced Mr. Bingley, and then Mr. Darcy. That was when I first realized who he was. Oh Jane! He was so shy!”

  “Shy? After that note?” She stared at her.

  “Yes! He was all nerves and stuttering, but then Mr. Morris said it was time to go and Mr. Darcy said he wished to speak to me for a moment, and then he apologized for taking my handkerchief and offered it back. Jane, he keeps it in his breast pocket!”

  “Next to his heart?” Jane was melting.

  Elizabeth beamed. “Yes!” She sighed. “Of course I refused to take it back and he admitted he would not give it up without a fight.” She laughed. “He finally relaxed a little and smiled.” She smiled thinking of it. “He will come with Mr. Bingley, but he said that he and his sister were leaving London for his estate in Derbyshire soon. I suppose they will stay there until coming here.”

  “How is his sister?”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “He did not say much, but from his face, I would say she is not at all recovered. He seemed so pained. I asked if he could speak of the trouble, but he said it would wait until we had more time when he returns.” She blushed. “I told him that I like to take long walks everyday.”

  “Lizzy! You did not!” Jane’s eyes were wide.

  Elizabeth nodded. “I do not know what came over me, Jane. I was so bold. He was afraid that he had been alone too long with me, and was very concerned over the propriety of us being seen.” She laughed. “But then he assured me I would soon receive a letter from his sister when they return to Pemberley, his estate. I just know by the way he looked at me, there is bound to be a note from him inside, too.”

  “He seems to be quite enamoured of you.” Jane winked. Elizabeth blushed. “He kissed my hand.”

  Jane gasped. “After he was worried about propriety?”

  Elizabeth giggled. “I do not think he could stop himself!”

  Jane laughed. “Well, I am very happy that you had the opportunity to see him again, especially so soon after his letter. And I am very impressed with your handling of Mama. Now she has you paired with Mr. Darcy and will leave the matchmaking of John Lucas to another sister!”

  “You forget; she has you married off to Mr. Bingley.” She grinned.

  Jane blushed. “What is he like, Lizzy?”

  “He is handsome, very fair, like you. He is friendly; I would think he enjoys everyone and everything. He seemed quite enthusiastic to be coming.”

  “Would I like him?” She said softly.

  Elizabeth squeezed her hand. “Yes Jane, I believe you would.”

  GEORGE WICKHAM sat at the gaming table contemplating his cards. He had won enough, well cheated enough, to have funds to replace the belongings he lost when he fled the inn at Meryton. His face was nearly healed from the beating Colonel Fitzwilliam delivered, but his ribs still ached. His disappointment in failing with Georgiana was great. He knew that Darcy would have given over the dowry, even without his consent, simply to assure the care of his sister. Wickham had no intention of keeping her. Oh, certainly he would take his rights as her husband, but in time, he knew he would tire of the girl and likely put her on a post coach and send her back to her brother, and then take his money and disappear, perhaps to America. But that plan was dashed. What were the odds that Darcy would come to Ramsgate? At least he arrived late enough to prevent the news of Georgiana being compromised from spreading, but what good did that do him? His idea of blackmailing him to remain silent was ruined once the news hit the gossip columns. He took some small satisfaction in seeing Darcy’s name ruined along with his sister’s, but a name was meaningless to Wickham. As far as he was concerned, Darcy was still triumphant because he was still rich, and all the gossip in the world would not take that away.

  He sat and fumed. He had harmed Darcy by ruining his sister, but he had not profited from it. That made him angry. The beating made him vengeful. There must be a way to hurt Darcy, hurt him so badly that everyday for the rest of his life he would wake to misery, and beg for the torture to end. But what could he do? And in the meantime, how would he live? The money he had extracted from Darcy before was rapidly running out. He must find a way to earn a living, and soon.

  “WHAT DID HE MEAN?” Darcy wondered. He lay in his bed, his hands tucked beneath the pillow, staring up at the canopy in the dark. “Would I have rejected Elizabeth before?” He could not possibly imagine not being just as attracted to her then as he was the day that they met. Ah, but Bingley was not speaking of attraction. He was speaking of pursuit. It was a very difficult question. Other than his servants, or perhaps those persons he used for business purposes, he had very little contact with ordinary people who simply inhabited circles below his own. Well, there was Bingley of course, but he was a special case, and was on the rise through his help. That thought sobered him. Perhaps Bingley should seek out a new friend, he could help him no more. But Bingley had already stated his loyalty, although his sisters would likely say something about that!

  He considered Caroline Bingley. Her parents were ambitious enough to put her and her sister Louisa in finishing school, but money does not buy breeding or good sense. They were crass, self-important, far too obvious, and unappealing. Caroline did have her moments of wit, but he found her scathing comments on people, who despite her airs were above her in rank, to be rude. There it was; Bingley’s observation. He had thought of Miss Bingley as below him and assigned a tag of dislike to her because of it. He easily rejected all thought of marriage to her for that simple reason even before he knew her enough to dislike her on her own merits. But not Bingley. And decidedly not Elizabeth. What was different about them? Did he really treat people with disdain? He hardly knew.

  His thoughts drifted back to Elizabeth and he smiled. It felt so wonderful to smile in the midst of all of this torment. How could his feelings for her appear so quickly? He barely knew her, had spoken to her only briefly, but there she was smiling at him in his mind. No other woman had ever occupied his thoughts in such a way, and to even think of her as Elizabeth, not even Miss Elizabeth, as if she were his… he did not know what to make of it, or even if he had any business pursuing any sort of relationship with her.

  Bingley’s words wended their way into his musings again. Only a few weeks ago he would have thought himself far above her, but now, she was the one with the untainted background, and he was not worthy of her. But she knew nothing of that, in truth, she knew very little of him. She knew he had a house in town and now knew of his estate, but his income, his property, his reputation, as it was and now is, no, she was ignorant. That gave him comfort somehow, to know that she was smiling at him because she, well, liked him. It was a completely foreign concept for him, to be liked because … well who knows why she liked him, but it was not because of his worth. Surely she realized he was wealthy, but she did not behave as other young ladies did around him, did she? No. Not at all. She was entirely different. But … I should leave her alone. I should not saddle her with my troubles. She is too special. He barely knew her and could sense that. But … Georgiana desperately needed a friend … and so did he … and Georgiana writing to her would not hurt anything, would it? They would go home, perhaps being away from London would help the rumours die for both of them, life would return to normal at Pemberley, and there would be letters, more wonderful letters full of her teasing words. For both of them. She said that she looked forward to his letters, did she not? He could attach a note to Georgiana’s. He just would not sign it, just initials, yes. He continued his hopeful thoughts, and wondered once again if he was being the greatest fool that ever lived.

  REGARDLESS OF Mrs
. Bennet’s change of plans for marrying Elizabeth off to John Lucas, the news had not been spread to him. He stood in beaming anticipation of seeing his pretty neighbour in the parlour of the Philips’ home in Meryton.

  “Eliza!” The young man, not homely, not quite handsome, but certainly friendly and good humoured, greeted her near the doorway of the parlour.

  Elizabeth smiled at him; she certainly had no reason to treat him any differently than she had before, after all, she barely knew Mr. Darcy, and was hardly betrothed to the mysterious stranger. “Mr. Lucas, it is good to see you again. I understand you have just completed your adventure to Ireland?”

  His smile widened and he bounced on his feet, clapping his hands in a mirror of his father’s behaviour. She suppressed a laugh. “Indeed! It was beautiful. I can not possibly describe the colour and landscape. It must be experienced!” He delighted in her sparkling eyes.

  “Well sir, if I am ever so fortunate as to travel there, I hopefully will return with a greater ability to articulate the sights. All you have accomplished is making me jealous!” She teased.

  His face fell, and then he brightened. “Perhaps you will journey there someday, Eliza. I should be glad to hear of your trip.” He would like to accompany her on that trip.

  “I should be pleased to relate it to you. Tell me your plans now that you are finished with University. Will you be staying at Lucas Lodge?” It was a perfectly reasonable question, truly asked in innocence. But to John Lucas, it sounded delightfully like she was asking if he is ready to take a wife.

  He grinned again. “I have not decided as yet, Eliza. I know that I must eventually settle down to learn the ways of running my father’s estate, but I am quite young yet. I would like to perhaps study the law, as your Uncle Philips has done, or maybe travel some more. It will be some time before I will find myself in need of learning the ins and outs of estate management. Father is a young man, yet!”