Elizabeth was more than glad to make her escape without having to endure any lengthy questioning. She hoped Jane was awake.
* * *
As Darcy rode towards Netherfield House he found his mind constantly straying to the image of Elizabeth sprawled in the mud. The unbridled laughter and sheer delight on her face at her predicament had caught him off guard. The women he encountered were always so pretentious and false, Elizabeth was like a breath of fresh air. He smiled to himself.
“Darcy you seem to be in an unusually good mood today despite your appearance!” Bingley stated as he caught sight of his friend Darcy.
“Yes indeed Bingley, it was a pleasant day for a ride. However, I did have a minor incident on the way, hence my appearance.”
Charles Bingley was his closest friend and Darcy greatly enjoyed that man’s company. Bingley’s sister however, was another matter. Of late she had been rather clingy, and always did her best to be the centre of attention when Darcy was around. He was beginning to feel quite suffocated with the attention that she constantly showered on him.
“Oh you poor man!” Caroline Bingley exclaimed as she came hurrying out. She had seen Darcy approaching the house and had rushed out to meet him.
“It is nothing,” he said, waving her away.
“Nothing! It is anything but! You are soaked through, you poor man. Your fine clothing is ruined and that is not the half of it—you must change at once before you fall ill. How long have you been out there?”
“A minor incident I assure you, Miss Bingley, but your suggestion is a good one. You must excuse me while I change into clean clothing and attempt to remove this blasted mud from my hair.” He hurried past and rushed up the stairs, glad to have an excuse to get away from her.
Darcy was changed and down for breakfast in a short while. He had cleaned up as best he could using the jug of water in his bedroom and would as for the bath to be filled just as soon as they had all eaten.
He was surprised that Miss Elizabeth Bennet still occupied a large part of his thoughts.
“Ah, there you are Mr. Darcy. Now, come and tell us exactly what happened.”
“Oh yes Darcy, do tell us how you managed to end up with so much mud all over you,” Bingley said, clapping his hands together.
Darcy proceeded to fill them in on all the details of the morning. Bingley burst out laughing when he began to describe the unpleasantness of having mud kicked all over his face by a horse! He was soon talking about his saviour, Elizabeth Bennet, and his eyes seemed to light up when he mentioned her. This did not go undetected by Caroline Bingley.
“Well, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like it! What kind of young lady sees fit to stomp around in the mud with such abandon?” She shook her head as she thought about it. “Perhaps the poor thing is mad. Yes, that is the only explanation I can think of. If it had happened to me I would have been devastated.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “Especially in the company of a gentleman like yourself, Mr. Darcy.”
“On the contrary, Miss Bingley, she was quite a delight,” Darcy immediately retorted. “I wish more women acted in the same way. Instead of shrinking away, she was good enough to help me. Now, I have never had trouble managing a horse before but on this occasion with the ground so muddy and the animal in such distress, I was thoroughly glad of the assistance.” He smiled at the memory—he could see the humour in it now he was dress in warm, dry clothes again. “And far from being angry when she too fell in the mud, all she did was laugh and laugh. I have never seen anything like it.”
“Mad,” Miss Bingley declared, pursing her lips. “The girl should be in a sanatorium not roaming free in the woods.”
“It seems to me that Miss Bennet has made quite an impression,” Bingley cut in with a smile.
Darcy was quite astonished now that he reflected on what he had just said. He wondered why he had jumped to Elizabeth’s defence when he hardly knew her. He had been intrigued by her total lack of self-consciousness but that was not reason enough for him to jump so sharply to her defence. It wasn’t like she was his social equal.
Caroline Bingley was deeply disturbed by the way Darcy had defended Elizabeth. She had been trying so hard to get Darcy to notice her and now this unruly young woman seemed to be undoing all the effort that she had put in over the past few weeks. Although it would be unpleasant for her, she looked forward to meeting the young lady who had made such an impression on Darcy at their first meeting. Darcy would not look so favourably on her by the time Caroline was finished with her, that was something she was sure of.
She smiled sweetly and clicked her fingers for the footman. “More tea, Mr. Darcy?”
Chapter Four
Ever since the missed assembly at Meryton, Longbourn House had been a subdued place. Lydia and Kitty, while not exactly repentant for their role in the affair, were going to great lengths to be as inconspicuous as possible since it seemed their mother would never forgive them for Lydia’s carelessness. Jane was the only one who was in a remotely good mood during that time and arguably she had been worst affected.
“I wonder if Mr. Bingley is of the same temperament as his friend, Mr. Darcy,” she mused as the two sisters sat sewing by the window.
“I hope he isn’t.” Elizabeth replied. “I don’t think Mr. Darcy knows how to smile. “In that case, I shall be on my way,” she mimicked.
Jane laughed, but soon after shook her head. She looked around before speaking to make sure their mother was not listening. “In his defence, Lizzy, what was he supposed to do? He could hardly walk you back here—papa would have set the hounds on him!”
“Yes, I know that.” Elizabeth sighed heavily. And that wasn’t the only thing. As dour as he had been, she was sure she had seen a twinkle of sorts in his eyes. She tried not to think about that. For all she knew, he was married.
“Do you think we’ll ever get to Netherfield House, Lizzy?” Jane asked her sister. “Mama has been trying so hard to get papa to call on Mr. Bingley but with no luck. I do not understand why he is so reluctant to do it.”
“I’m sure when the time is right we will meet Mr. Bingley and he will be so taken with you, you’ll be Mrs. Bingley before you know it!” Elizabeth smiled.
“Really?” Jane frowned. “I heard Mr. Bingley is quite taken by Maria Long.”
Elizabeth looked around quickly and was relieved to see they were still alone in the room. It would not do to say such things in front of their mother—she was already in a foul enough mood as it was.
“Nonsense,” she murmured. “Yes, it was a setback that we could not attend, but I’m sure you shall meet him soon. It is better this way. Can you imagine how he would have reacted on seeing you in a dress stained with wine? He might have jumped to the conclusion that you were a drunk!”
Jane laughed politely but it was clear there was little enthusiasm in it.
* * *
Despite his initial reluctance, Mr. Bennet had been trying to meet with Mr. Bingley but his attempts were repeatedly frustrated. Mr. Bingley was either not home or else Mr. Bennet was called away to deal with an issue on the estate. It went on like this until Mr. Bennet was finally able to meet with his neighbour. He wasted no time in inviting the man to join his family for dinner… but by then Jane had fallen ill with a cold and was confined to her bed.
“Oh Mr. Bennet. This is so infuriating!” his wife lamented. “We cannot let Mr. Bingley see Jane in this state. She is too pale and weak.”
“You’re right Mrs. Bennet, but there is no cause for panic. I shall send a note and ask if he will be so kind as to wait and join us on Tuesday instead.”
His wife was still not happy. “What if his head has been turned by Maria Long in the meantime? My dear it is hopeless!”
“Ah but it is not,” Thomas Bennet said with a heavy sigh. “Besides, there is nothing we can do. I agree that he cannot meet Jane in her current state—if nothing else, it would be unfair on her to drag her from her sickbed. Let us hope she reco
vers soon.”
Jane’s condition did not improve as the days progressed. Instead she seemed to be getting worse. She was delirious and feverish all the time. The doctor had visited her several times already and he did not seem too optimistic.
“You will need to monitor her around the clock.” He informed Elizabeth who sat by her sister’s bedside. “If the fever does not break soon she could get worse,” he said very gravely.
“Oh my poor Jane!” Mrs. Bennet cried. “Whatever are we going to do?”
“Don’t worry mama. The fever will break soon. It must.”
Elizabeth sat by Jane’s bedside for the next few days. She would often put a damp cloth on her sister’s forehead whenever the fever rose and would sit holding her hand and talking to her. Jane drifted in and out of consciousness. Everyone was worried about her to the extent that they forgot all about less important things like marriage matches.
Although she was distraught by her sister’s continued illness, Elizabeth often found her mind wandering to the early morning walk and her encounter with Mr. Darcy. She could not understand why she thought of him so often. He was hardly likeable with his curt manner, but she could not deny that there was something about him that had found its way into her heart.
* * *
A few days later, Jane was showing signs of improving and Longbourn House was abuzz with the news that they would soon have a visitor, albeit not the one that many of them had prayed for.
“We are going to have a visitor tomorrow.” Mr. Bennet informed the family when they were seated at the dinner table. ”I suppose with Jane’s condition I did not think to mention it.”
“Is it someone we know, Mr. Bennet?” The hope in Mrs. Bennet’s voice was unmistakable.
“We have not yet had the pleasure,” Mr. Bennet said wryly. “It is my cousin, Mr. Collins.” He said this carefully because even though they had not met him, they knew him by name. Mrs. Bennet had often cursed that name at the top of her voice, but now she gave no indication of resenting him. Her husband knew her well enough to know that she was thinking—and plotting. He smiled.
“Yes, my dear. I expect he is coming here with strong hopes of forming an alliance.”
“An alliance, papa? What do you mean?”
“He means, Lydia,” Elizabeth said, after she had struggled to swallow her corned beef. She’d been hungry, but her father’s announcement had removed her appetite entirely, “that the man is coming here to find a bride from among our number.”
“No!” Lydia shrieked.
“Now, now,” Mrs. Bennet said thoughtfully. “He is a man of God. And he is to inherit Longbourn. Perhaps he feels the need to make amends for this and this is his way of doing so. It is generous of him.”
From that moment, Mrs. Bennet brightened up and appeared in better humour than she had been ever since the incident with the ballgowns.
* * *
Mr. Collins arrived the next afternoon just as his letter had announced. He did not waste any time in making everyone aware of how important he was or his intentions for being there.
“I am so glad to make the acquaintance of your delightful daughters,” he said with a great flourish and an exaggerated bow to Mr. Bennet as he entered the house.
“My patroness Lady Catherine De Bourgh will approve of them too, I’m sure.” He said that with a wide smile that seemed to imply he was doing them a very great service indeed.
Lydia and Kitty began giggling and were immediately shushed into silence by a stern look from their father. Mary remained impassive, her mind deep in the book that she was currently reading. Elizabeth too stood silently by her side trying to make sense of the visitor. Jane’s fever had finally broken and she was gradually gaining in health but was still too weak to leave her bed.
“Is this the lovely Jane?” Mr. Collins enquired as he caught sight of Elizabeth.
“No, this is Elizabeth, my second daughter.” Mr. Bennet corrected him. “Jane is ill in bed. She has been quite sick this past fortnight but is recovering now.”
Mr. Collins smiled broadly at Elizabeth. Though well-meaning, there was nonetheless something comical about the gesture. She smiled back out of politeness.
“Miss Elizabeth. It will be a pleasure to get to know you better.”
Elizabeth looked quite alarmed by this sudden interest in her. She did not particularly wish to know him better than she did now. In fact, there was only one man in the county whom she wished to know better and he had been frustratingly absent since the day she met him. Oh how she wished Jane would recover faster, not just for her sister’s sake but for her own as well!
But it might now be too late for that. It was quickly becoming clear that Mr. Collins had set his sights on Elizabeth now that her sister was indisposed. And her mother was doing everything in her power to cast the two of them together.
Chapter Five
Darcy was infuriated. Nothing seemed to be going according to plan for him these past few days. The Bennet’s name had often cropped up in conversation and he had been looking forward to meeting Elizabeth again, but for some reason or the other, this had not happened—something to do with her father’s inability to call on Bingley. Typically when he stayed at friends’ country houses he cared more about immersing himself in nature than he did about getting to know the locals, so he was surprised by how much this grated on him.
Even more frustratingly, he was not getting as much pleasure from the outdoors as he might usually have done. All he could think about was her!
Even Bingley had noticed.
“Darcy, you are not yourself. Have you grown bored?”
“No of course not.”
“Well then what is it? You have been scowling continuously for as long as I can remember and it is not like you. Are you sure there is nothing I can help with?”
“It is nothing, my friend.” Darcy plastered on as much of a smile as he could muster and got to his feet. It was unthinkable to act so impertinently that his host thought something was the matter with him. It would not do. Besides, he had just thought of something. “I think I shall take a walk to Meryton and see what there is to see there.”
Miss Bingley sniggered. “You are a card, Darcy. I almost believed you were sincere.”
“But I am. I’m sure there is much to see there.” He was sure of the exact opposite, but haphazard shops and country markets were not what drew him to the town. He had been struck with the thought that Miss Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters must surely go to the village from time to time.
“There is not. It is a frightfully dull place,” Miss Bingley sniffed.
“I would not say that, Caroline. Goodness me, you have not even ventured there yourself.”
“I saw all I needed to see from the carriage.”
“You cannot belittle Darcy’s plans like that. It is rude.”
“Really,” Darcy said, holding up his hands. “It is quite alright.” If anything, he was glad that the place held so little interest for Miss Bingley because for a moment he had worried that she might leap at the chance to join him.
Unfortunately for Darcy, that was exactly what she did. She cleared her throat and turned to him with a sweet smile on her face as if she had not said such dismissive things about the place just moments before. “Do you mind if I accompany you?”
Darcy struggled to hide his dismay. Yes, he wanted to say, he minded very much! He wanted to see Miss Bennet again and he did not want to be with Miss Bingley when he did.
Of course, he could have made life far easier for himself if he had just confided in Bingley and pushed that man to finally meet with Mr. Bennet, but he could not bring himself to do that. Not when he could not make head nor tail of his intentions towards the girl. Her background was undeniably inferior to his own and that was something he could not simply ignore, despite all her loveliness.
“Very well,” he said hollowly. “Bingley, will you join us too.”
“Of course!”
Darcy’s moo
d brightened somewhat as soon as they left the house. It was a fine bright day and the air was fresh after a sudden rain shower. He was still downcast, though. As they walked and talked, he could only silently compare Miss Bingley’s attitude to the place to what he had seen of Miss Elizabeth. The two women were total opposites and it continued to frustrate him that he was stuck in the company of the wrong young lady. That was thrown into even starker relief now.
“It is so muddy,” Miss Bingley complained when there was a lull in the conversation.
“Yes,” Darcy said losing patience. “That is to be expected when one walks in the countryside.”
“Well they might have built paths.”
“Built paths? Where do you think you are? London?”
She pouted. “It is different for young ladies. You do not understand.” Her eyes twinkled in a way he found alarming. “Perhaps if you had a special young lady in your life you would know more of this.”
Darcy made a face. “I cannot imagine myself sharing my life with a young lady who is unwilling to sacrifice a pair of shoes for the sake of walking in the grass and enjoying the countryside.” Not that he was enjoying the countryside at that moment. He felt stifled. He glanced at Bingley. His friend was usually so intuitive: why had Charles not thought to put Darcy back in the path of Miss Elizabeth? Darcy had certainly hinted at the prospect more times than he was comfortable with. It dawned on him then—Bingley knew the young lady was unsuitable.
Which she was. Which sent Darcy back to the start of the very frustrating thought process that he had been going through in recent weeks.
“I suppose it is nice enough,” Miss Bingley said.
With that he had had enough. They had made their way to the village and through its unremarkable little streets. There had been no sign of her. And there probably would not be—why had he expected to happen upon her? The place was not that small.
First Comes Marriage: A Darcy & Elizabeth Pride & Prejudice Variation Page 2