Elizabeth and Darcy: A Romeo and Juliet Twist: A Pride & Prejudice Regency Variation

by Rebecca Preston

  “You will sponsor the program and allow me to run it? Will I have free reign?”

  “Within reason. And I certainly hope you have learned your lessons in front.”

  “Lessons, sir?”

  “Yes, lessons. On not being an arrogant cad to everyone around you. On being one with God and with Jesus. If I find out that you have swindled any money from anyone, there will be consequences.

  “Mr. Bennet, you must know this feud between our families was all a mistake. There were extenuating circumstances all those years ago, and they stemmed from the current Mr. Wickham’s great-uncle gambling with money he did not have. It cost our family dearly.”

  Mr. Bennet frowned. “Wickham? He was the cause of everything?”

  Darcy bristled. “I know how it sounds, sir, but it is the truth. The current Mr. Wickham is just as untrustworthy and I do hope that you will not judge me based on his actions. Nor the actions of my ancestors. We have always tried to make amends with your family, and so I do hope you will allow me to prove to you that the Darcys are honorable people.”

  Mr. Bennet looked at him directly. He paused before asking, “Why do you feel this need?”

  Darcy also hesitated, gathering his thoughts before he answered.

  “In the time I have spent in the presence of your daughters, Elizabeth and Jane,” he looked over at Elizabeth, “I have become aware that you and your family are quite honorable and respectable. There has never been a foul word spoken against you. I feel the only way to prove that we can be compatible partners is to prove to you that I am not a swindler.”

  “Are there any other reasons why you feel the need to do this, son? Because I think there might be.”

  Darcy was quiet, not willing to look at Elizabeth. “Yes, sir, your intuition is right. There is something else on my mind.”

  “Tell me what it is and we shall see what we can do about it.”

  Darcy pressed his lips together. He was a confident man and did not like the nervousness he felt when speaking to Mr. Bennet. It was understandable, since he wanted to ask for Elizabeth’s hand in marriage. But he still did not like the feeling.

  “As I mentioned I have grown quite fond of Elizabeth.”

  * * *

  By this time, Elizabeth was staring at him intently. Would he say what she wanted him to say? Could he possibly be asking for her hand right there and then? He had not even discussed it with her. Was this to save her from being forced to marry Mr. Collins? To take her “off the market” so to speak?

  She hoped so.

  “I have found her to be a most intriguing and delightful woman. She is intelligent and beautiful. I would like your permission, sir, to have her hand in marriage.”

  Mr. Bennet made a face that looked like he was trying to hide a smile.

  “You have fallen in love with my daughter?”

  Darcy nodded. “I have.”

  “And you wish to be devoted to her for the rest of her life?”

  Again, he nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  Mr. Bennet said nothing. He stared at Darcy for a moment before turning his eyes and attention to Elizabeth. “Is this what you wish, my dear?”

  Elizabeth almost choked on her answer. She had tears in her throat and she knew they would quickly reach her eyes. “Yes, Papa. It is what I want.”

  Her father sighed. “I suppose there is no way to stop two young hearts from joining as one. You have my blessing to marry my daughter. But I still warn you. It will not take place until after this venture is finalized. Perhaps that will give you motivation to keep your baser instincts at bay.”

  Darcy appeared offended, but tried not to show it.

  His baser instincts? Elizabeth knew he wanted badly to say something, but Elizabeth did it for him.

  “Papa, you shouldn’t say things like that,” she chided him gently, remaining respectful. “He should not be judged by his past. It is not his ‘baser instinct’ to swindle someone out of their money. By that logic, Papa, he could easily suspect that your baser instinct is to kill someone if they cheat you out of money. Would you ever do that, Papa?”

  Mr. Bennet’s cheeks flushed and he shook his head. “I would not.” He gave Darcy a sheepish look. “I do apologize for that statement, Darcy. It was rude and unacceptable.”

  “I am not offended, sir.”

  She knew he was but would not let it ruin the moment.

  “I feel blessed that you have agreed to let me have your daughter in marriage.”

  “Do you have a date for the wedding?”

  Elizabeth giggled. “He has not even spoken to me about this, Papa. I do not think he has a date in mind.”

  Darcy looked at her with amusement. “I do, actually. But if the date I have chosen does not suit you, I will be glad to change it to accommodate anything else you have going on.”

  Elizabeth’s giggling continued. “I do not have anything else going on, Darcy. You know that.”

  “I would not know. I have told her, Mr. Bennet, that she should avoid keeping company with George Wickham. He is extremely untrustworthy and I do not wish to see him involved in this family in any way. He is the kind of swindler you abhor.”

  Mr. Bennet nodded. “I will take your advice. With your knowledge of him as a person and my knowledge of his past bad dealings, I think it best to keep him away from the family.”

  Chapter 31

  Elizabeth spent the next few months in a cloud of blissful happiness. Her relationship with Darcy was out in the open and she was free to speak of him in the loving terms she wished. She visited Pemberley House and met the servants, who had known Darcy since he was a boy. Her sisters were envious, but they had all dodged a cannon ball when it was announced that Mr. Collins had asked Charlotte Lucas to marry him and she had accepted.

  Elizabeth did not know how to feel about that. Her conversations with Charlotte had given her no indication that she was unhappy with her decision. “I am happy for you, Charlotte,” she had said. “I truly am. But I am surprised that you feel you will be happy with him. Are you in love with him?”

  Charlotte had shaken her head, and given Elizabeth a soft look. “I know you do not care for him. But he is a gentle soul when he loves. I do not know if you ever had the opportunity to really speak to him in depth.”

  Elizabeth realized any time Mr. Collins had tried to speak to her in a friendly way, she was repulsed by him. She did not want to marry a second cousin and she found Mr. Collins completely unattractive.

  “You will be happy with Darcy,” Charlotte had said. “I know you will. I have only seen him a few times but when he is with you, he seems to glow, as if he is a new person. You have changed his attitude in many ways, my dear.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  She had sighed. “I do. And you must not worry about me and mine. I will take care of myself and I will be happy and content in a secure home with a clergyman. I will be happy.”

  “We will all be happy,” Elizabeth had said, smiling.

  A walk in the park was on the schedule for today and so she set off with Catherine in tow. The spring season was just coming around and Darby was anxious to get out into the warm weather. It was never terribly warm in England, but it was warm enough to walk around without an overcoat.

  Elizabeth was anxious to see Darby. They would be married in two short months. She wanted to speak to him about plans they had made and other events that had happened recently.

  When she saw him approaching from the other side of the park as she sat on a bench waiting for him, topics raced through her mind. She wanted to share everything with him, emotionally, spiritually, mentally and even physically. She wondered what it would be like to be a wife. She had never experienced a relationship that even came close to engagement. Now she was betrothed to a man she never would have thought she could have.

  He got closer and she noticed that he was dressed quite nicely for the warm day. He was so handsome, she got butterflies in her stomach and her heartbeat quicken
ed.

  Catherine stood and moved to the opposite bench so she could keep an eye upon the betrothed couple. Elizabeth shot her a grateful smile and then turned her attention back to Darcy.

  “You look stunning today, my dear,” he said as he approached her.

  “Thank you, you do, as well.”

  “Thank you. Shall we walk or would you like to sit here on the bench for a while?”

  “I have been walking a bit while I waited for you. Let us sit for a moment and then we can walk.”

  “If that is your wish.” He sat down next to her on the bench, spreading one long arm over the back and stretching his long legs out in front of him.

  “Have you heard what occurred with Jane and Bingley?”

  Darcy gave her a look. “Of course I know. Bingley and I are close.”

  “It is a shame. She was in a lot of pain before, thinking that something was off about him and his family. But she fell in love with him and could not control her feelings. Now…with him leaving that way.” She shook her head. “Such a shame.”

  “I agree. Though I must say, my dear, it is not unexpected.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I had a feeling early on that the two of them would not remain together. Charles sometimes bends to his family’s will and though his intentions are never bad, he always backs away when things with a woman get too serious.”

  Elizabeth sighed, shaking her head. “I wish he had never approached Jane to begin with. I do not wish to think badly of him, but when Jane came home with her heart shattered in pieces, my mother was so upset. She was bashing Mr. Bingley over the head with her words. It was a good thing he was not there or she may have thrown a piece of furniture at his head.”

  “She was that upset, was she?”

  “Oh yes. She does not wish to see any of her daughters hurting that way. I will not when I have a child either. But it is a part of life to have your heart broken, I suppose. Has it ever happened to you?”

  Darcy nodded. “Unfortunately, I cannot say that I have not been burned by love. That is something that I wish I could have avoided. But the heart dictates sometimes and the brain is too weak to combat that feeling.”

  “I know. I have not experienced it. You…you are my first true…love.”

  Darcy looked at her. “I feel blessed. I was not lying when I told your father that. We are going to have a big family and fill the house with beautiful children and furnishings and portraits, anything you choose, my dear. I want you to be happy at Pemberley House.”

  “I will miss my family.” She looked away from him for a moment. “I truly will.”

  “We all do when we move away from those we have spent our whole life with up that point. But everyone must make the change. It is simply a part of becoming an adult.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “That is true, dear, I suppose it is true.”

  She looked up at him when she noticed he was gazing at her with a gleam of love in his eye.

  “What? What did I say?”

  He grinned. “You called me dear. I like that better than Darcy. I like that better than I like anything I have been called in my past.”

  Elizabeth got a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. She bit her bottom lip and smiled.

  “Oh, Darcy.” She wanted to kiss him, but they were in the middle of the park and that would have been highly inappropriate. She pushed down her carnal desires and enjoyed the handsome man she was going to marry sitting next to her talking.

  “I am sorry about Jane and the fact that her heart aches. Hopefully she will find another man to love soon.”

  “I hope so,” Elizabeth said. “I cannot bear to see her in so much pain.”

  “I understand.”

  “There’s something else we should discuss. You probably know what it is.”

  As always, Darcy’s eyes narrowed and his face darkened. “Wickham.”

  “Yes. Do you know what he has done?”

  “I heard that he has been keeping time with your sister, Lydia.”

  Elizabeth pulled down the sides of her lips. “Yes. And now it appears they have run away together.”

  Darcy grunted. “He makes me so angry. If we were to duel, I would have no trouble stabbing him through the heart or shooting him through the heart if that is the weapon of choice. I am sick to my stomach thinking that he seduced your sister like he did mine but that Lydia fell for it and went along with him.”

  “I suppose it is because she did not have a wonderful older brother to take care of her and look after her. Georgianna is so shy and vulnerable.”

  “She is a beautiful woman who is vulnerable. I would not have that happen. If I could have interfered with this even with your sister, I would have. But the two of them leaving together, well, this is the first time I have heard of it. I could have done nothing to prevent it.”

  “You must not take that burden on yourself. It would have been nice if one of us had been a boy. It would have fixed a lot of problems for our family.”

  “Well, God is the one who decides whether boys or girls are born. So this must be what He wants. Daily lessons to teach us to survive and continue on and be successful.”

  “I hope that my life is considered a success when it is over.”

  “Of course it will be. You and I together will make a terrific team. We are going to make everything perfect for us. I promise.”

  “You do?”

  “My lady, of course I do.”

  Elizabeth grinned. “You are a good man, Mr. Darcy. I am glad I have gotten to know you.”

  “I feel the same way about you, my dear. You are beautiful, kind, gentle. You will make a wonderful mother. And there’s something I want to show you.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes.” He reached inside his jacket and lifted the lapel so that she could see what was attached to the inside pocket.

  It was a tiny gold monkey pin tipping his hat. Elizabeth felt chills cover her body. She had known he was the man in the mask, but they had never discussed it. He was the one she had fallen in love with almost a year ago and was glad things had turned out the way they had.

  That seemed to be the way God worked.

  “I love you, Mr. Darcy,” she whispered.

  “I love you, Miss Bennet, soon to be Darcy.”

  Elizabeth like the sound of that so much she repeated it out loud, “Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy.”

  “I like the sound of that.” He smiled at her.

  “So do I.”

  About Rebecca Preston

  Rebecca lives in New York City with her dog. She loves sweet love stories with great characters. She loves traveling the world and experiencing new cities and cultures. Jane Austen is her favorite author.

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  Chapter 1

  Elizabeth sighed as once again the stain of blood appeared on the square of linen she had just used to clean herself with after using the privy. Once again her cycle had returned, indicating that she had not yet achieved her potent desire to be with child. Was she never to present Darcy with the child they both yearned for?

  She rearranged her clothing and then went to the library where she closed the door softly behind her. Even though it was somewhat of a deviation from convention, in the Darcy home the library was Elizabeth’s private domain. She loved books, and here she could shut out the world and whatever was troubling her at that moment.

  It had taken Darcy a while to adjust to this quirk of Elizabeth’s, but had soon taken another room of the house as his private haven. He had decorated it with the things that interested hi
m: paintings of fishermen on the verdant banks of streams; a portrait of his mother; several model sailing ships, a ship’s wheel, and Piri Reis map. A few chosen books rested on a shelf near his favorite chair. Books about sailing, explorers and adventurers who had traveled the world, and one that dared to divulge some secrets of Atlantis.

  The couple had made a pact upon the first day of marriage in their home together that neither one would enter the other’s private domain without a direct invitation. They agreed that each was entitled to that bit of privacy that neither would intrude upon unasked. So when Elizabeth needed to weep in solitude, as was happening more and more of late, she retreated to the library where she knew she could weep apart from the prying eyes of Mrs. Reynolds, the housekeeper, and Darcy, should he come in unexpectedly from inspecting the livestock, or upon returning from town.

  Whatever could be wrong with me? Elizabeth thought as tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. It has to be me. It cannot be Fitzie, she moaned silently. Fitzie was her pet name for her husband. His full name was Fitzwilliam Darcy, but everyone called him Darcy. Everyone, that is, except Elizabeth. It seemed strange to her to call him by his surname that was now also hers, but he hated the name Fitzwilliam. So they compromised with him allowing her to call him Fitzie, but only when no one else (except the servants) was around.

  After Elizabeth had gotten past her initial dislike of Darcy and had finally fallen completely in love with him, she had come to nearly idolize him. Surely, a man such as Darcy could have no physical defects that would prevent him from fathering a child. He was in top physical condition, well-muscled, healthy, and without visible flaws. So it had to be her. Something was wrong with her. But what? What can I do about it, she wondered to herself. Maybe I should ask Mother. Maybe she will know what I can do.

  After indulging in a good cry, Elizabeth dabbed her eyes and cheeks with the ever-present delicate lace-trimmed hankie that was attached to her dress sleeve. She rose from the settee and went over to the window that looked out on the garden at the rear of the house and out onto the rolling, tree-dotted meadows that lay beyond. It was a lovely view, and one she never tired of looking at. Just gazing at the red of the geraniums that bloomed just outside the window, and resting her bloodshot eyes on the pink blossoms of the cherry tree growing at the edge of the manicured lawn that stretched from the back of the house a full half acre to the stone fence that separated lawn from meadow, was enough to revive her spirit.