by Lauren King
My Beginning with Mr. Darcy
Book Two
Lauren King
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. This book is the copyrighted property of the author and may not be reproduced, copied, or distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form.
Copyright © 2014 by Lauren King
All rights reserved.
Dear Readers,
This is a variation of Pride and Prejudice written with creative imaginings of scenarios that the main characters could experience. This book uses a simple mode of writing to relay its story; it has no intentions of duplicating anyone else’s style of writing. I have taken a couple of liberties with a few things that may not have been prevalent in the Regency Era. I hope I do not offend anyone.
Enjoy!
Lauren King
My Beginning with Mr. Darcy
Book Two
Table of Contents
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Chapter 1 - Thursday, January 15th
Chapter 2 - Friday, January 16th
Chapter 3 - Saturday, January 24th
Chapter 4 - Wednesday, January 28th
Chapter 5 - Thursday, January 29th
Chapter 6 - Saturday, January 31st – The Wedding Day
Chapter 7 - Sunday, February 1st
Chapter 8 - Monday, February 2nd
Chapter 9 - Monday, February 9th
Chapter 10 - Sunday, February 22nd
Chapter 11 - Sunday, March 1st
Chapter 12 - Wednesday, April 1st
Chapter 13 - Thursday, April 30th – Jane’s Wedding Day
My Beginning with Mr. Darcy
Book Two
CHAPTER 1
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 15th
What horrid day is this? Once again, Elizabeth is stunned into silence.
“Miss Elizabeth, I have grown up expecting to marry Darcy. He has always been a very nice cousin; he cared that I was sick. He wanted me to get better so that I could go places or come out in society. He was always considerate of me. He is an incomparable man and I…I love him. I do not mind telling you because I want you to know the depths of my feelings for him. He is the only man that I could imagine myself marrying because he did not make fun of my illness, and he cared for me. Other men will just try to marry me to get to my fortune and not care for me, at all. I know Darcy will not do that. I have known Darcy all my life, and he is the only man I want to marry. Please, Miss Elizabeth, just take the six thousand pounds that my Mother has offered you, and I will give you an additional four thousand pounds. You will be an independent woman with ten thousand pounds to live comfortably for the rest of your life. You are young and pretty; you can attract any number of men. Please, leave me my cousin. He is my cousin; I loved him first. Do not take him away from me. I cannot trust any other man with my fortune.” Anne says brokenheartedly, despondently, and sorrowfully.
This time it is the daughter that has come to offer Elizabeth money to leave William. No wonder these two are mother and daughter! Elizabeth is amazed. She has no words, but she must say what is on her mind to dispel Miss de Bourgh’s delusional dreams of William – Elizabeth’s William. No one can make her leave William – never!
“Miss de Bourgh, I am completely surprised and shocked by your revelation. I am sorry for your predicament, but I will never leave Mr. Darcy. I will never accept yours and your Mother’s money. I love him more than anyone can fathom, and I will not give him up for anything or anyone. He genuinely loves me, and we will be happily married in sixteen days. I have nothing more to say to you, Miss de Bourgh.” Elizabeth expresses calmly and gravely.
“I will not be with another man because I have already had relations with Darcy.” Anne blurts out rapidly.
Elizabeth gasps with her eyes almost popping out of their sockets, and then she covers her gaping mouth in horror. THIS CANNOT BE TRUE! Miss de Bourgh is lying to force her to give up William. THIS CANNOT BE TRUE! Elizabeth’s tears want to appear, but she will not allow it; her anger rises to protect her. Miss de Bourgh is lying about her and William having relations! Elizabeth breathes rapidly as her heart is racing out of her chest. She tries to calm down her spurts of hurt and anxiety about losing William. This cannot be happening to her. Is it true? No young lady would admit to such a thing, much less claim it openly to another stranger. No, no – she just wants to trap Elizabeth into giving up William. That is it; that is what she is doing. Elizabeth does not believe her. NO, IT IS NOT TRUE!
After silently composing herself, she says, “Miss de Bourgh, in the beginning I pitied you because of your unrequited love for Mr. Darcy. However, now, I despise you for lying in order to trap a good man. You are just as despicable as your Mother.” Elizabeth glares unflinchingly at Anne as she moves further away from her. “I thought that since your mother was so aggressive, this was all her fault. Now, I know that it is just as much your fault at being a wicked person as your mother’s fault. You claim to love Mr. Darcy yet you would put his reputation in jeopardy to trap him? You are worse than despicable. You are a lying, contemptible, shameful, disgraceful, loathsome woman. You are no lady. Do you not know that God is watching you? Are you not worried about your evil lies? I do not believe your words! You will leave my home, now.” Elizabeth glares angrily at this frail, pale young lady who looks older than her five and twenty years.
Elizabeth no longer feels any pity for Miss de Bourgh’s illness. If she can lie about such an intimate and damaging subject, then that shows how evil she can be. Her lies have overshadowed any sympathy or understanding that Elizabeth had for her. No amount of illness can persuade Elizabeth to look well upon Miss de Bourgh now. Only if Miss de Bourgh is officially declared demented could Elizabeth fathom forgiving her for this outrageous lie.
Anne’s demeanor changes into smugness. “Do not believe me, then, but it is true. We have had intimate relations.” Anne looks very casual as she claims this for the second time. “It happened a few years ago so that is why I thought that he would always come back to marry me. I thought that he was just having some fun with the seasons; he had to sow his oats as many men do. I allowed it because I knew that I would have him in the end, and it was no harm anyways. All men have known other women before their wife.” Anne says nonchalantly. “Give him up voluntarily, Miss Elizabeth or else I will let my Mother and all of my families know how he took advantage of me and now he will not do his honorable duty to marry me.”
Elizabeth gasps again, and her ire is about to burst out violently. This is too incredible. Elizabeth gently shakes her head in disbelief as she sits silently in amazement. She has to think.
“I will get you the ten thousand pounds by this evening. Just tell him something that is believable and leave him completely. I do not want you to ever contact him in any way again. Do we have an understanding, Miss Elizabeth? You would not want his reputation to be entirely ruined, would you?”
Elizabeth processes her options quickly. She can take care of this. She will protect William and their future together. She will never leave him. She must think of a plan, fast. She will expose Anne and her Mother for the dreadful human beings that they are.
“You must leave now because Mr. Darcy will be visiting me soon. I do not want him to see you here. He will be very angry, and I will not be able to go through with this.” Elizabeth breathes calmly and then continues with her pl
an. “Have the money ready and come back here at four o’clock by yourself. Your Mother can wait in the carriage; I do not want to see her. My family will be out during that time, so there will not be any problems with you coming back to give me the money. However, if our servants see your Mother, then it will be relayed back to my family and that will not work. Do you understand, Miss de Bourgh?” Elizabeth asks boldly. She could be one of those actresses in Mr. Shakespeare’s plays with how well and confident she is acting. God, she hopes her plan will work.
“Yes, that is fine; I will come inside by myself. My armed coachman and footmen will be waiting outside like they are right now.” Anne says with clear warning.
“Good, so we understand each other.” After a slight pause, Elizabeth continues, “Once I receive your money then I will meet with Mr. Darcy to break our engagement. Since you know where I live, I am certain that you are not afraid of approaching me if I take your money and not do the deed.” Without wavering, Elizabeth gazes contemptuously at Anne.
“I will do more than approach you, Miss Elizabeth. I will demand my pound of flesh – literally.” Anne says threateningly. “It is also best that you know not to cross my Mother, either. She will make you suffer.” She may be frail, but she wants Darcy! She has waited a long time. She is not about to let some poor, country girl steal Darcy from her. She loves him!
Elizabeth ignores the threat; she presents her detached appearance and then says, “One more thing, Miss de Bourgh; if Mr. Darcy sues my Father for compensation due to the breakup of our engagement, then I expect you to pay for whatever he may ask for. Think of it as another expense so that you can catch your rich cousin who you love so much. Agreed, Miss de Bourgh? Either that or else you will have to convince him not to sue. You would not want your reputation to be completely ruined, would you?” Elizabeth stares intently and scornfully at Anne as she mimics Anne’s comment earlier. In the meanwhile, her mind runs rapidly to formulate her plan.
Anne frowns and then answers immediately. “Agreed; I knew you were a clever girl, Miss Elizabeth. I will see you here at four o’clock. Good day to you.” Anne smirks while getting up and leaving without further ado. She is so very happy that she will get Darcy once and for all. She will be a married woman with a most handsome husband very soon. She will not want a long engagement so that he can possibly change his mind – no, no, no.
Elizabeth sits on the sofa fuming and unmoving. Her heart beats wildly and she can hear the swooshing of her blood in her ears. She is hot with fury. She will make Anne de Bourgh and Lady Catherine pay for what they are doing to her. They stupidly discount her astuteness and ingenuity. They have pushed her too far; she will always protect William and their future. William is her life; she will protect her life.
When William comes, Elizabeth has to trust that he will agree with her plan. She cannot keep this from him. She will explain every detail of her plan and insist that he do it her way to minimize the potential catastrophe that this could become especially with Anne claiming that he had relations with her already. Her plan will get rid of this problem once and for all; they will never have to associate with Anne or Lady Catherine ever again.
“Good morning dearest, did you sleep well?” Darcy asks warmly with some worry for his betrothed because of the offensive occurrence with Lady Catherine yesterday.
“I slept sufficiently, darling. Did you?” Elizabeth counters fondly as she holds his hand.
“I did, thank you. I just finished talking to my Uncle and Aunt. They did not know anything about what Lady Catherine did. Can you believe that Lady Catherine and my cousin Anne stayed over at Matlock House until earlier this morning? They left for Kent this morning before I arrived at Matlock House. Unthinkable! Lady Catherine told my Uncle that she had some business to attend. She is detestable!” Darcy exclaims.
Elizabeth knows that William will have one of the biggest shocks of his life after she tells him what Miss de Bourgh has done. This is even worse than Lady Catherine’s offer of money. Elizabeth calmly sits with William on their sofa; she holds his left hand tightly when she starts to tell him what just occurred with Anne.
“WHAT?!!” As expected, Darcy is completely staggered, aghast, and revolted. He is beyond enraged; he will destroy Lady Catherine and Anne. Oh my God! Did Lady Catherine put Anne up to this? This is too atrocious to believe!
“I am sorry, William. That is what occurred an hour ago – right here in this room, in that chair over there.” Elizabeth points to the chair where Anne sat earlier.
“OH MY GOD! This is beyond unimaginable. I have a crazy Aunt and a crazy cousin. No wonder they are mother and daughter.”
“Oh my goodness; while she was here, that was my exact thought with your exact words.” Elizabeth chuckles not because the situation is funny but because William and she are so similar that they used the exact same words for this situation.
Darcy grasps both of Elizabeth’s hands tightly and then says, “Lizzy, you know that she is lying, do you not? I did not have any relations with Anne – none! I have never touched her intimately, at all. I have kissed the back of her hand chastely when she was very sick because I felt so sorry for her. She almost died from a fever once, and I felt so bad for her. I only kissed the back of her hand; that was all. She is lying. I have never been intimate or even close to being intimate with her, EVER.” Darcy emphasizes his point because he knows how these types of thoughts plague Elizabeth.
Elizabeth reaches out to cup and caress William’s cheek affectionately. “Darling, I believe you. I am just incredulous that as an unmarried, young lady she would dare to claim such a thing. She could ruin her own reputation in the process. If a bad person got a hold of this information, they could extort her for money to keep her secret. She is very desperate, and I do not think she will stop until she gets you. She sounded obsessed with you.” Elizabeth states worriedly.
“I will destroy Rosings to the ground! They will not get away with doing this to me.” Darcy declares heatedly. “And how dare Anne physically threaten you?! She will be sorry for that.”
Elizabeth squeezes and caresses William’s hands to calm him. He is very angry right now, rightfully so. She kisses his hand tenderly before revealing her thoughts. “Darling, I have a simple plan; I think it will work. I want to hear your opinion on it.”
“What is your plan, dearest?” Darcy instantly calms down with her loving kiss. Goodness, he loves her beyond anything in this world. Anne actually thinks that he would give up Elizabeth to marry her, instead? Anne must be crazy or deluded. What decent young lady would outwardly claim to someone she dislikes, who can ruin her reputation, that she had premarital relations with a man?
“I want to involve Richard, Lord and Lady Matlock, and Archbishop Peters so that there are witnesses to Miss de Bourgh’s…evil ways. At first, I was only going to involve Richard, but with these three additional people, Miss de Bourgh will never be able to weasel her way out of accepting responsibility for this unspeakable act of hers. She would not be able to lie in front of such important people. She and her Mother would be shamed like never before with the Archbishop present. This type of shame will follow them to their graves. I am sorry I sound so severe, but I cannot and will not let anyone hurt you.” Elizabeth sounds grim as her eyes shimmer at the thought of William being hurt by anyone.
Darcy instantaneously caresses Elizabeth’s cheek and kisses her ardently because he is overflowing with love for her. He is very proud that she protects him so vigilantly. “Dearest, thank you for loving me so much; you are not harsh. They are terrible, immoral people. If they are bad and hurtful, then they do not deserve our kindness or goodness in return.”
“I know that we are taught to forgive and still give kindness to those who are unkind so that they are shown the light and the path of goodness, but I cannot seem to get over how terrible Miss de Bourgh and Lady Catherine are. I am not usually this merciless and ruthless, but she threatened you and our future.” Elizabeth explains with distress as h
er eyes continue to shine with tears. She holds them at bay. “I will not let them ruin your reputation. I love you with everything that I am; I will do all I can to prevent their harm of us.” Elizabeth asserts.
Darcy holds Elizabeth’s face in between his palms and with great pride he says, “You mean everything to me. I will never allow anyone to separate us. I love you from the deepest depths of my heart and soul – only you. Thank you for standing by me and protecting me. You are beyond my dreams – beyond anything I could ever fathom.” Darcy kisses her lips tenderly.
“I will love you and protect you with my last breath.” Elizabeth pledges most sincerely. “You are a part of me that I cannot live without.”
“I love you.” Darcy kisses her lips chastely and then says, “You have a great idea with involving my Godfather Nicolas. Once you get Anne to confess that she and I never had any relations while my Godfather is listening then she cannot refute it later. No one would believe that the Archbishop would lie. With my Uncle and Aunt involved and hearing the truth of it all then they can handle Lady Catherine and Anne better.”
“Exactly, she will not be able to contest her confession to me once Archbishop Peters has heard it. Now, this is what I am planning to do. There are two bay windows over there that are big enough for Archbishop Peters to sit on and hide behind. The curtains are thick and they will be drawn closed, so Miss de Bourgh will not be able to see anyone in the room with us.” Elizabeth reveals. “Your Uncle Henry or you can hide behind the other bay window just as Archbishop Peters. Basically, we only need Archbishop Peters and you to hear the confession. Now, a third person could hide behind that large sofa over there if we want more security of Miss de Bourgh’s confession not being able to be disputed. I will be over here with Miss de Bourgh. I do not think that she will care to sit down when she comes, so I will try to keep her as long as possible by counting the money. As I do that, I will try to interest her with my plan to break off our engagement. Afterwards, I will appeal to her overconfidence of winning you and ease her into confessing that she had lied about having relations with you in the past. I will tell her that I need the money more, and then I will trick her and shame her into admitting her lies.” Elizabeth tells William what she will say, specifically, if everything goes well with her conversation with Anne.