An Alternate Perspective

by Wynne Mabry

  She smiled slightly. “It would be rather odd to talk to you about how much I miss him.”

  “And probably not very comforting,” he acknowledged. “I can understand how difficult my presence must be for you, but other than Mr. Hurst, who will be busy building his machine, there is nobody else in whom you can confide, unless you wish to share the truth with Miss Bennet, and I am guessing that you do not.”

  “No, absolutely not. She would worry dreadfully about her sister. I would not want to cause her that pain in any state, but especially not when she is recovering from an illness.”

  “It is good of you to treat her like she is your own sister.”

  “Who could not be thoughtful to somebody as good as Jane? She is the sweetest, most deserving person. Even if she were not, I would feel an obligation to care for her while her real sister is in my world, but in fact, it has not felt like a duty at all. When I am with her, I feel almost as though I am with my own sister.”

  “I hope that is of some comfort in this situation.”

  “It is indeed.”

  “I am glad of that, but if you need anything, I hope you will feel that you can talk to me.”

  “I shall,” she promised. “And I am just as willing to listen to you if you wish it. I can see that you are worried about her. It may be of some comfort to know that I am certain my friends are treating her with great kindness.

  “I wonder if she has become friends with them,” he mused. “You said this morning that she must have been surprised by how much nicer your Mr. Darcy is.”

  “I do not think I was being fair to you at the time. You are nicer than I first thought.”

  “It is kind of you to say so, but she is probably thinking that he is a great deal more pleasant. His friendship might be quite welcome to her, but I doubt that she would really care for mine.”

  “It is not too late to change that, you know. Do you really want to put the values of society ahead of your personal feelings?”

  “I no longer know what I want.”

  “Then perhaps you should take some time to think about it and come to a decision before it is too late for you to make a fresh impression upon her. But I am interfering again. I do not even belong in this reality. I should not be giving you any advice in the first place, and certainly not advice upon this subject. Not when I have such a great prejudice.”

  “It is not unwelcome advice,” he admitted. “She has frequently been on my mind in the past few weeks. I have been trying to persuade myself that this is nothing significant, but that is not true. I have never felt such an interest in any lady. You are right. I have to decide what it is that I want and then act accordingly. Well, it seems that I will have the perfect opportunity to examine my feelings and wishes over the next few days. I may be able to give Mr. Hurst some assistance, but mostly I expect to be sitting out of his way. That will give me plenty of time for thinking.”

  “I hope that it will be of use to you.”

  “I am sure it will. But please do not hesitate to interrupt if I can be of any use to you. I shall have more than enough time to spare. Just knock on the library door at any time that you need me.”

  She promised to do so, and he then unlocked the door. On the other side, Miss Bingley removed the ear that was pressed against the door and hurried into the nearest room with a great deal to think about.

  She could not understand what on earth they had been referring to, but it had been made clear to her that this was not the Eliza Bennet she thought she knew. That Miss Bennet was not very friendly with Mr. Darcy at all, a circumstance which had always pleased Miss Bingley.

  This one seemed quite comfortable in having intimate discussions with him. Even worse, she appeared to be encouraging him to propose to the real Eliza Bennet, who was apparently in some other reality at the moment. It was the most absurd notion. Normally she would be inclined to think that anybody who spoke such nonsense was either mad or making a feeble sort of joke. But when one of those people was Mr. Darcy she felt compelled to believe him. It was impossible that he could be mad or make a feeble joke. Mr. Darcy was all perfection.

  One thing was certain. The sooner this lady went back to wherever it was that she belonged, the better. Miss Bingley had never liked the other version of her, but she was infinitely preferable. She had never offered Mr. Darcy any encouragement, which was one redeeming feature.

  Unfortunately, there was no telling what she might do if he suddenly started being charming to her. She might well see the advantage of accepting him. Indeed, anybody in her position would be a fool not to turn down such an opportunity.

  Hopefully it was not already too late. This interfering creature had a great deal too much interest in Mr. Darcy’s personal business, which was none of her concern. Hearing her walk across the hall now, Miss Bingley decided that she should be encouraged to leave Netherfield as soon as possible.

  A Bit of Manipulation is Required

  Mr. Darcy had thrown the dust cover off a chair and sat himself down, facing the middle of the room. He had no idea whether or not any rescue could be expected, and he certainly did not think it would happen very soon, but it was practical not to discount the possibility.

  Elizabeth and Mr. Bingley would undoubtedly try to operate the machine, and they might have a lucky success. After that, Mr. Hurst would be in charge, and he might be able to swiftly sort out the problem, whatever it had been.

  Several hours went by, but that was not especially concerning since he was not expecting immediate results. A book of poetry gave him some occupation, and he looked up frequently just in case. The appearance of the first small circle of light was a wondrous moment. It was only brief, and no portal was formed, but this was sufficient to fill him with hope. Presumably Elizabeth and Mr. Bingley had managed to retrieve his own Elizabeth, and Mr. Hurst. Then he had somehow found this reality, which was the most important thing. It would not be much longer before he managed to establish a full portal.

  First it might be necessary to boil more water. Mr. Darcy knew that he had to be patient for a little longer, but it was not easy now that he was so close to being reunited with his Elizabeth. He felt sorry that it would not be possible to thank the other one for her part in this. She would now be back in her reality, but she would understand how grateful he was.

  Unable to focus on any more reading, he put the book away and recovered the chair in readiness for his departure. Another light appeared at about the time he was expecting it. He stood back to let it grow to full size, but instead it also disappeared. That was a little concerning. Mr. Hurst should not be having such problems. It was possible that something had gone wrong with the machine and would have to be repaired. Hopefully it would not take too long. In addition to urgently wanting to be home again, Mr. Darcy would rather not spend the night in this cold, fireless room.

  A few more failed attempts made him grow more dubious. Was Mr. Hurst operating the machine, or somebody with no experience? Perhaps this was the work of Elizabeth and Mr. Bingley, which meant that something had happened to change the settings on the machine. They could only have found this reality if the machine was set for it, but it was hard to understand how that had happened. Surely they had all been extremely careful. Even Miss Bingley, who might not have fully understood things, had been standing well back from the machine.

  Unfortunately, if this was the case, then his Elizabeth and Mr. Hurst were still gone, and now he would now be hard pressed to find them. That concern made him impatient to be back at his Netherfield, but he had to wait through a few more failures. The appearance of the light at a very different height also suggested that an inexpert hand was at work, but he was grateful for any portal at all.

  They seemed to be having some sort of difficulty which kept repeating itself. The fourth time that a vortex opened near the ceiling, he was surprised to see it keep growing. Apparently, whatever was causing this height issue was not an impediment to the formation of a moderately-sized portal. Unfortun
ately, it might be awkward for him to access the rather small opening, and he had doubts about being thrown out on other side, but he dared not miss an opportunity.

  In great haste, he dragged a table over and positioned it under the opening. Then he pulled over a chair as well and used it to climb on the table. The vortex was still above him, but he was able to raise his hands up to it.

  “Is anybody there?” he heard Elizabeth ask in a distant voice.

  “I am here,” he shouted. “I am just trying to get into the portal.”

  “It is very narrow,” she called back apologetically. “It was the best we could manage.”

  “It is narrow, but quite sufficient,” he shouted, knowing that if she had been the one to establish a portal, then his own Elizabeth had definitely not returned.

  He could feel some pressure upon his hands, but that was not enough force to pull him upward.

  Turning about, he quickly lifted the chair onto the table and climbed onto it. Now he was able to put his arms right into the portal and lean his head and shoulders inward. He felt himself being pulled, but still not quite enough. Standing on his toes, he raised himself a few inches higher and leaned a little further.

  The force increased, but he was still standing upon the chair. There was one more thing he could try. Flexing his knees slightly, but keeping his arms in the portal, he jumped off his toes.

  As the portal sucked him in, he felt his legs flail in the air for a second. A moment later, he was thrown out, arms still pointing forward and legs behind. The spiralling motion sent him rolling across the floor.

  “Darcy!” he heard Mr. Bingley cry excitedly. “You have succeeded, Elizabeth. Well done.”

  Mr. Darcy sat up feeling quite dizzy. “Well done, indeed,” he said to both of them.

  “Oh, it was all Elizabeth’s doing,” Mr. Bingley said, holding out a hand to his friend. “She worked out what to do with the knobs. I just filled the water and tended the fire.”

  “Well, apparently you did it very well,” Mr. Darcy said, accepting the assistance in standing up. “I see that nothing has been blown up.”

  They both laughed. Elizabeth looked on in puzzlement. Presumably it was some sort of standing joke between them.

  Mrs. Hurst came forward now. “I did tell you not to take any chances,” she said, with more relief than censure in her voice. “Thank goodness Elizabeth was able to save you from being stranded.”

  Mr. Darcy looked at Elizabeth. “I owe you the greatest debt of gratitude,” he said. “It took some ability to open that portal.”

  “It was not a very good one,” she said with a smile. “But at least it worked. Did you have to crawl into it?”

  “No, I had to jump off a chair on top of a table.”

  “Oh, I see. It was angled downward here and upward for you. That must have been rather awkward.”

  “Fortunately, it all worked out. Somebody is going to wonder what that table and chair are doing stacked in the middle of the room, but they will never be able to guess the reason. I was lucky that version of you shares your disinterest in libraries, Bingley. If not for his indifference to seeing the room, I would have been discovered, which might have caused a great deal of awkwardness.”

  He explained the circumstances, which amused his friend. “I cannot think what might have delayed him in viewing Netherfield,” Mr. Bingley said, “but I can imagine that it was some sudden impulse, just as I am prone to having.”

  “Whatever it was, I am glad of it. It might not have been so easy for me to sit there and wait if the house had been occupied,” Mr. Darcy said. “Well, I am relieved that is over, and now we must get back to our task. After seeing us, Mr. Hurst must be wondering why we have not opened another portal.”

  “You saw him?” Mrs. Hurst asked.

  “Yes. We almost succeeded,” Mr. Darcy told her. “The portal opened to the reality that he is in, and he was waiting in the library. In another moment, he would have been pulled into it, but then something happened to make the portal go to a different reality. I do not know what.”

  “I was wondering if the motion of the machine caused the knobs to move,” Elizabeth said.

  “That seems like the only possible explanation,” Mr. Darcy agreed. “I shall have to try making some very slight adjustments and keep trying until we find the place again.”

  Elizabeth noted that he did not admit to the full of extent of the challenge he now faced while Mrs. Hurst was in the room.

  “You must be more careful this time,” that lady said. “I know that I cannot talk you out of continuing to use this machine, but for goodness sake, take some greater precautions. How were you pulled in anyway?”

  “I stepped closer to look at details.”

  “Which you will probably do again if I know you.”

  “We should not need to,” Elizabeth said. “We only have to check to see if anybody is there waiting, and that should be easy enough to do from a greater distance.”

  “Or we could use a looking glass,” Mr. Bingley suggested. “What if we placed one over there by the wall? Is that far enough away that it would not be pulled in?”

  “It should be,” Mr. Darcy said. “I do not think the force of the vortex extends very far. Besides, we could secure the glass in some way for good measure. This is an excellent suggestion, Bingley. It will be much safer to observe a reflection, which will make your sister happier.”

  “As long as you promise to only look into the looking glass, and not go rushing over to get a closer look through the portal,” Mrs. Hurst said.

  The three of them promised to do so, after which she went back upstairs to keep Jane company again. Miss Bingley stayed though. “It is all becoming quite fascinating,” she said.

  “Will it really be difficult to find that reality again?” Elizabeth asked Mr. Darcy once Mrs. Hurst was out of the room. At least she could be spared the truth, but this must be agonizing for him.

  “It will probably be extremely difficult,” he said in a grim voice. “I have no idea how to duplicate the original settings, and there are so many possible variations.”

  “Just keep trying every possibility,” Mr. Bingley said with his usual cheerfulness. “Guessing at things worked for us in the end.”

  Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy looked at each other and then the large array of knobs.

  “We had better get started,” he said in voice which lacked confidence.

  Standing behind them, Miss Bingley smiled with satisfaction. If this was as difficult as he had said, then Mr. Darcy was unlikely to succeed, especially since he did not know what had really happened. While the three of them had been looking into the portal, she had quickly turned two of the knobs as far as her wrists could twist.

  Hopefully she had made it impossible for him to retrieve his fiancée, and she was staying in the room to make certain of it. Mr. Darcy would soon be an unengaged man, and then she would have a second chance to gain all that she wanted for herself. All that Miss Elizabeth Bennet had taken away from her.

  Sisterly Confidences

  On returning upstairs after leaving Mr. Hurst and Mr. Darcy in the library, Elizabeth found the invalid alone, but in excellent spirits.

  “Caroline and Louisa were here for a while,” Jane said. “They both wondered where you were.”

  “What did you tell them?” Elizabeth asked, hoping that they had not become too curious about her whereabouts.

  “I did not know what you were doing or whether you wanted anybody to know of it, so I said that you were tired and in need of a rest.”

  “Really? I am astonished. You never tell untruths.”

  “It was not exactly untruthful. I did not say that you were actually resting, only that you needed a rest. Considering how little you have slept lately, that must be true.”

  “Dear Jane,” Elizabeth said fondly, forgetting for a moment that this was not her real sister. “Of course, you would not lie, but you managed that very well. I really do prefer for Miss Bingley
not to know what I was doing.”

  “You were very vague about that. Did it have something to do with Mr. Darcy? She mentioned that he has shut himself in the library to work on some unknown project.”

  “Yes, I was with him,” Elizabeth admitted. “I suppose it will surprise you, but I was helping him with something.”

  “It does surprise me,” Jane said. “I cannot imagine any circumstances in which you would choose to help Mr. Darcy. Not after all that you have said about detesting him.”

  “He is not so unpleasant once one gets to know him better. “I found him quite improved in manner today. Of course,” she added for the benefit of her counterpart, who might desire to repudiate this statement, “there is no saying what he might be like tomorrow. You must not expect us to become friends just because we managed to get along for one afternoon.”

  “No, indeed. I will not have any expectations concerning you and Mr. Darcy. But in what way were you helping him?”

  “He is making a surprise for his sister and wished for the advice of a lady,” Elizabeth said, using the first idea that came to mind. Being untruthful herself did not sit well with her conscience, but some pretence had to be made. “You must not say anything though. I promised to keep it a secret.”

  “And he asked you? Not Caroline?”

  “He said that my taste was more like his sister’s. She sounds like a nice girl. I did not like to refuse just because Mr. Darcy and I are not good friends.”

  “That was kind of you. I shall not say anything about his secret, or your part in it. Actually, Caroline was rather vexed that he did not tell her what it was.”

  “I expect she was also vexed that he has spent a good part of the day inaccessible to her.”

  “She may have been,” Jane acknowledged. “I think that she does have a great liking for Mr. Darcy. Hopefully he returns the feeling. I am sure she will be quite disappointed if he does not.”

  “Very disappointed,” Elizabeth said dryly. It was easy to agree on that, but on the matter of hoping for Miss Bingley’s aspirations to be fulfilled, she was completely at odds with Jane. That was a horrible prospect, but fortunately not one that seemed at all likely. He had not shown any inclination toward it. Besides, she now had great hope that his soul searching would convince him to be honest with her counterpart.