An Alternate Perspective

by Wynne Mabry

  At the same time, Elizabeth came to Netherfield surreptitiously and was let in by Mr. Darcy, who was waiting at the side door. They hurried to the library, where she saw the machine that was now standing in the middle of the room.

  “It looks exactly the same,” she cried to Mr. Hurst.

  “It should be,” he said. “Indeed, I was confident that I had built everything the same, but we have encountered a difficulty.”

  “A difficulty?” she asked, with her heart sinking.

  “I tested the machine last night, and the portal which opened was extremely small. There was no possibility of a person fitting into it. I have been trying to make some more adjustments this morning, but so far nothing works.”

  “Is it the cylinder?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I believe it must be. I am just about to try one more thing, but to be honest, I am not very hopeful.”

  There was steam coming from the machine, and he turned about to carry on with his test. Elizabeth watched as a portal formed, and she kept willing it to grow larger, but its size did not increase beyond about eight inches.

  “It is as I feared,” Mr. Hurst said. “I do not think there is anything else that I can do with this cylinder. I thought it was close enough to the other one, but obviously not.”

  “We can go to London again and bring back as many cylinders as you like,” Mr. Darcy said.

  “I suppose we must,” Mr. Hurst said. He looked at Elizabeth. “I am sorry you walked here for nothing.”

  “You know that I never mind a walk,” she reminded him. “And I would have wanted to know what was happening anyway.”

  Mr. Hurst put his hand up to the lever to cut the power to the machine, but at the same moment a distant and very anxious-sounding voice came from the portal. “Are you there?” it cried.

  “Fitzwilliam,” Elizabeth called back. “We are here, but the portal is not big enough.”

  “I need to make some changes to this machine,” Mr. Hurst shouted. “It is going to take another couple of days.”

  “We can leave for London straight away,” Mr. Darcy said to him.

  “No, never mind that. I have a better idea,” Mr. Hurst replied. “Darcy,” he shouted into the portal. “I need the cylinder from that machine. Can you detach it carefully and send it through to us?”

  Elizabeth held her breath for a second, hoping he would not reply that the cylinder was broken.

  “Yes, I can do that,” he replied to her relief.

  “It will take you some time,” Mr. Hurst shouted. “You will have to dismantle the surrounding pieces to get it, and you will probably need to look at my diagrams first. When you are done, wrap the cylinder as well as you can, please. I will open another portal in about six hours. That should give you plenty of time, but do not rush anything. Take as long as you need to do this carefully.”

  With this arranged, Mr. Hurst stepped away.

  “I shall close the portal now,” he said, giving Elizabeth a moment to say goodbye before he lowered the lever.

  “How long will it take you to put the other cylinder in?” Elizabeth asked.

  “The better part of a day, unfortunately. I shall also have to do some dismantling to take this one out, and then I will need to rebuild those parts around the new cylinder. I should be able to finish tomorrow, but probably at a late hour. If you come back on Saturday morning, we should be able to go home then. I am sorry for the delay.”

  “It is only another two days,” Elizabeth said, trying to contain her disappointment. “And at least the machine did work. We know that we can go home, which is a great deal.”

  Mr. Darcy accompanied her back to the side door, through which she had not thought to walk again.

  “I know this must have been a terrible disappointment. Would you like me to walk with you,” he asked?

  “No,” she replied. “I will be fine. Two days is not so very long, and at least we know that the machine works. And I was able to talk to Fitzwilliam, which was wonderful. I could not have done that if I were at home and he was in London.”

  “Perhaps Mr. Hurst might invent some sort of device for that too. Imagine talking to your friends though a long tube no matter how far apart you might be.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “That is a delightful idea,” she said. “I can picture tubes for travelling and tubes for conversing covering the countryside and running through towns. Well, you have given me something amusing to occupy my thoughts on my walk home. You are a good friend, Mr. Darcy.”

  An Unusual Proposal

  Mr. Darcy had gone into the library at Netherfield at the right moment to see one of Mr. Hurst’s portals just before it closed. After that, he had sat for there for a while, waiting and hoping.

  When another portal opened, he had expected it to grow larger. When that did not happen, he had gone up to it and shouted. Hearing Elizabeth’s voice, even for a short time, had given him great joy. After hearing what Mr. Hurst wanted, he had been especially glad that he had come into the library. The delay would otherwise have been longer.

  After saying goodbye, he rushed away to find Mr. Bingley and Mrs. Hurst.

  “They are coming home,” he cried, bursting into the drawing room. “Not just yet, but soon.”

  After explaining everything to them, he returned to the library, and set to work on removing the cylinder. It was a lengthy process, but the task was done within the six hours.

  Mrs. Hurst came into the library to wait for the next portal. When it appeared, Mr. Darcy put the carefully-wrapped cylinder into it and confirmed that this delivery had been safely received. In return, they were sent a letter, which was addressed to Elizabeth.

  He then left Mrs. Hurst to have a short conversation with her husband.

  “I did not tell him about Caroline,” she said to Mr. Darcy afterwards. “That can wait until he is safely home, but I do feel a great deal better for having talked to him.”

  “As I did, when I talked to Elizabeth earlier,” he agreed. “It was only a brief moment, but it meant a great deal to me.”

  “Our other Elizabeth will be pleased to hear about this. It is a lucky thing that she is coming here this evening. We can tell her to be ready for Saturday.”

  “And give her this letter, which appears to be addressed in my handwriting,” Mr. Darcy said.

  They both looked at it with curiosity.

  At dinner, they met Mr. Collins. He had a great deal to say once he discovered the connection between himself and Mr. Darcy, who afterwards said to Elizabeth, “He does have the ability to talk the hind leg off a donkey. But perhaps that is because he is used to having little chance for speaking in the presence of my aunt. A man must take his opportunities where he can.”

  Mr. Darcy also heard Mrs. Bennet’s thoughts on going to London to shop for wedding clothes as soon as possible. At least she did not seem to be thinking of anything so sudden as the next day. With the expectation of having his Elizabeth back soon, he was able to listen to these plans without feeling any more doubts or worries.

  He passed the letter on to Elizabeth, who was also very curious. She read it in her bedchamber at the end of the evening. When she unfolded the paper, which had not been sealed, she thought that this showed a great deal of trust on Mr. Darcy’s part. Evidently, he expected his counterpart to be a principled man, which must be a reflection of his own character.

  “Dear Miss Bennet,” she read. “I am writing to inform you of an event which I know will give you great happiness. Your sister has recently become engaged to Mr. Bingley.”

  Elizabeth gasped with delight. Jane engaged! It was just what she had been hoping for.

  “In your place, the Miss Bennet who is currently in this reality offered the same congratulations which she knew you would wish to express, but she felt sorry that you missed out on that special moment, as do I. Indeed, I feel some small guilt for my part in encouraging this event to take place so soon. Mr. Bingley confided in me that he was intending to propose, and knowing ho
w much you would want to share in your sister’s initial joy, I considered suggesting that he might wait a little longer, but there was no easy excuse for it.”

  Elizabeth read this with astonishment. Mr. Darcy had encouraged his friend? She had not thought him in favour of the connection at all.

  “In addition to that, I thought it best for him not to wait. You may be aware that his sisters do not care for the match. In all honesty, I did not trust them. If they could have thwarted his intentions, they would have done so. With that in mind, I chose to encourage him to speak at once instead of waiting, even though I hated to deprive you of that moment.”

  This was astounding. In all her concerns for Jane, his expected disapproval had figured as greatly as that of Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. She would have thought him more likely to join them in speaking out against the match.

  “I hope that it will be of some consolation to know that your sister’s future is settled and now secure from any meddling. She and my friend are both in a state of exceptional happiness. It is a delight to see that upon their faces. I heartily wish that you could be here to observe it for yourself, but perhaps you can imagine how it is.”

  Elizabeth could imagine this, which made her smile with the happiness which Mr. Darcy had assumed that she would feel. What she found incredible was his thoughtfulness and understanding of how much the happiness of her sister meant to her. This seemed to be a very different Mr. Darcy from the one she had known in that reality just a few days ago.

  She wondered how much her other self might have to do with his sudden change of attitude. Perhaps he had heard from her how happy Jane and Bingley were in this reality.

  It was very likely that he also knew about that engagement. She wondered what he had thought of that at first. Had the very idea been repulsive to him? She had her answer in a moment when she read the rest of her letter.

  “I have been keeping Mr. Hurst company while he is working on his machine, and that has given me plenty of time to sit and think about my own situation, which has not been very different from Mr. Bingley’s. Early in our acquaintance, I began to admire you, and that admiration increased with each meeting. For the most foolish reasons, I have been endeavouring to conceal my interest from you, as well as from my friends. The truth is that I considered myself to be very much above you. I deplored the inferiority of your connections and had no intention of acting upon my feelings.”

  Well, that was honest, Elizabeth thought, although disappointingly insulting. But at least he had not tried to conceal anything. There was integrity in that.

  “You are probably thinking that this is not a good way for me to recommend myself to you, but I have always preferred complete honesty over deception. I will not lie or conceal facts for my own benefit. I have been an arrogant fool, which I regret.”

  She could admire a man who admitted his faults and regretted past errors. Such a man could be trusted to do the right thing even if he erred in the beginning. This was a testament to Mr. Darcy’s character.

  “I am aware that you do not share my feelings. Miss Bennet has revealed to me that she heard this opinion from your own sister, and before that, there was sufficient evidence for my own eyes, although I paid little attention to it. It is understandable that my efforts to keep you at length have given you an aversion to me. You would also be right to deplore the arrogance of my manners and opinions.”

  Elizabeth was feeling a great many things, but deploring Mr. Darcy was not one of them.

  “I have not admitted my true feelings in prelude to offering myself to you. It is not my intention to encumber you with an unwanted proposal, but I do hope that the day may come when my offer will be welcome. All I ask for now is that you give me the chance to be the friend that I would like to be. Maybe we could learn together how far that friendship might go.”

  I believe we could, Elizabeth thought. She could not say where it might go, but she did not feel averse to knowing him better.

  Held Back by the Rain

  After walking back from Netherfield, Elizabeth returned to Longbourn to find everybody talking of the ball. Mr. Collins was as excited as any of them, and it appeared that he had been anxiously waiting for her. The reason for this was his desire to ask her for the first dance as soon as possible.

  She had to accept his offer, but she felt quite guilty about agreeing to something which her other self would probably dislike very much.

  On Friday morning, it rained. This continued all day without stopping, and she anticipated that her walk the next morning would be very muddy. It looked as though she would be returning to her reality in a filthy state. But the condition of her clothing did not matter. She knew that her fiancé would not care how she looked. He would only be overjoyed to have her back, and she would feel the same at being with him again.

  But on the next day, it was still raining, and very heavily. It was impossible for her to go out. She was forced to remain indoors, listening to Mr. Collins talk and hoping that a rescue from this torment was imminent.

  Instead she received a note from Mr. Darcy, given to her by a servant who was discrete, but must have been curious.

  “You cannot walk here in this weather. I would fetch you myself if I could, but instead we shall have to wait for this rain to stop,” he had written. “I am so sorry for the delay. Your friends have been told. Having the same sort of weather, they are in agreement that we can only wait.”

  Sunday went by without any cessation in the rain, and so did Monday. Elizabeth kept looking out the window and hating the weather for keeping her from her dear Fitzwilliam. How impatient he must be! And her other self, who was also being kept indoors. At least she was not having to endure the attentions of Mr. Collins, but that might only make her shock the greater when he proposed.

  He had not yet done so, but Elizabeth was certain that he intended to. She thought that he was very likely waiting until after the ball. That would be one less torment for her, but she felt the need of leaving a warning for her other self.

  Another note had come from Mr. Darcy. “As the fields will be impossibly muddy, we have all agreed that the simplest thing now is for you to go return when you come here for the ball.” There followed instructions on what to wear and how to proceed when she arrived. Evidently her friends had been in contact with the other Elizabeth, who would have to be dressed for the ball as well. Identical clothing was a practical idea.

  All the next day, she was impatient for the evening to come. The minutes seemed to tick away excessively slowly, but at last she went upstairs to change into the planned attire. As they went out to the carriage. Mr. Collins reminded her of the first dance.

  As though she could have forgotten! He had mentioned it at least a dozen times in the last few days.

  At Netherfield, she had to elude him in order to slip away to the library, where Mr. Hurst and Mr. Darcy were waiting. He locked the door behind her

  “The water is nearly at a boil,” he said. “We started the fire when we saw your carriage approaching.”

  It was only a few more minutes before Mr. Hurst was able to begin.

  “This really is goodbye this time,” Mr. Darcy said as the portal began to form. “Before you go, I want to thank you for opening my eyes to some important truths.”

  “I was happy to be of assistance. I hope that everything goes well for you.”

  Mr. Hurst joined them in a moment, and they walked around to stand in front of the opening to the portal. At its other end, they could see Mr. Darcy, Mrs. Hurst, and Elizabeth standing in wait.

  It was the second time she had seen her other self in this way, but this time Elizabeth gave a friendly wave. It was returned with a smile, and then they both stepped forward.

  Fond Farewells

  Mrs. Hurst had invited Jane and Elizabeth for dinner that day, and Elizabeth brought with her the clothes which Mr. Darcy had asked her to specify when he had made his way to Longbourn in the middle of the rainy weather.

  Mr. Bing
ley found a moment to say goodbye while they were downstairs.

  “I do hope that your troubles may soon be mended,” she said.

  “Thank-you,” he replied. “I have already had a hopeful report from the doctor. Naturally, we could not tell him the exact circumstances, but we did our best to represent the seriousness of her behaviour. He believes that she is so selfish as to have a complete absence of feelings for others, but he thinks that there is hope for a reasonable improvement in her nature. Enough that she should be able to return to a normal life eventually.”

  “That is good news. I am glad to hear it. I have some good news to share with you as well. My Jane is engaged to her Mr. Bingley.”

  “Well, it is about time,” he said. “I do not know what took him so long.”

  “Perhaps he is more inclined to think things over at length,” she suggested.

  “Then he is quite unlike me,” Mr. Bingley said laughingly. “But I am glad that he has been just as lucky.”

  On the pretext of showing Elizabeth something, Mrs. Hurst took her upstairs after dinner and helped her to change and do her hair for the ball. There, they had one last conversation, and Elizabeth was able to leave feeling that Mrs. Hurst had coped well with her second bout of adversity. She had too much good fortune in her life to dwell upon troubles.

  After sharing a fond embrace, they went down to the library, where Mr. Darcy was already waiting. He had been making arrangements with Mr. Hurst through a portal which had been large enough for him to enter. He had longed to do so and go straight to his Elizabeth, but the rain would have made that pointless. Instead, he had been pacing up and down all day, and looking at the clock over and over.

  But here at last was the appointed time. The portal opened, and as it grew to the necessary size, he watched with great satisfaction. There was his Elizabeth, about to come back to him.

  “Enjoy your ball,” Mrs. Hurst said to the Elizabeth standing beside her. “I hope you will have partners for all the dances. And I wish you every happiness in the future.”