Yours truly, Mr. Darcy
A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Denise O’Hara
Yours truly, Mr. Darcy
A Pride and Prejudice Variation
By Denise O’Hara
Copyright 2015
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover: Original Artwork by: Denise O’Hara – Copyright 8/8/2015 - All rights reserved
[email protected]
Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to Betty Campbell Madden for all your help!
And the loving support of my family during the writing and editing process!
Table of Contents:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Thank You!
About the Author
Chapter One
Elizabeth Bennet had not known Mr. Darcy for a month before she felt that he was the last man she could ever marry. From almost the first moment of her acquaintance with him…. in truth from the very first moment she heard his voice calling her ‘‘tolerable, but not enough to tempt me,’’ she began to think of him as arrogant, conceited, and selfish. Her estimation of him had not changed after having recently been forced to keep company with Mr. Darcy when Jane was ill at Netherfield.
She could not reconcile how such a man was friends with the sweet natured and gregarious Mr. Bingley, whom she found she liked very much. She was happy that it appeared Charles Bingley was well on his way to being very much in love with her sister, Jane.
She could, however, reconcile the account she had heard from her new acquaintance, Mr. Wickham, with her own judgement and observations of Mr. Darcy. She had been able to speak at length with Mr. Wickham while both dined at her Aunt Philips. She had never liked Darcy, but she did not go so far as to think of him descending to such malicious revenge, such injustice, such inhumanity as he was depicted in Mr. Wickham’s account of his own dealings with the man. She was shocked when she learned of Darcy’s behavior to the amiable Mr. Wickham, whose easy manners and good humor she found very appealing.
He accompanied them out when the Bennet sisters and their visiting cousin, Mr. Collins, left Mrs. Philip’s gathering. “May I call on you at your family home tomorrow, Miss Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth’s face colored because of his nearness and the implication of his request. “Yes, you may, Mr. Wickham. I would very much like to introduce you to my family.”
She went away with her head full of him. She could think of nothing but Mr. Wickham. Whatever he said was said well; and whatever he did was done gracefully.
His manners recommended him to everybody. As a case in point, after he said goodbye to the Bennets he offered to escort Miss King and her companion, Miss Mathis, home. This he did happily and as he said to the obviously smitten Miss King, duty and honor would not allow for any less. He was the epitome of what a gentleman should be.
Elizabeth revealed to Jane the next day what had passed between Mr. Wickham and her. She recounted the full version of what transpired between Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy from the beginning to the present.
“They must both have been deceived,” she replied. “It is a difficult situation and distressing! One does not know what to think!”
“I beg your pardon. One knows exactly what to think. It would be unbelievable that Mr. Wickham should invent such a history of himself as he gave me last night; names, facts, everything, all mentioned without ceremony. Besides, there was truth in his looks.”
The two young ladies were interrupted by the arrival of Mr. Bingley and his sisters. They came to deliver their personal invitation for the long -expected ball at Netherfield, which was fixed for the Tuesday a fortnight from that very day.
The prospect of the Netherfield ball was extremely agreeable to every female of the family. Mrs. Bennet was particularly flattered to have received an invitation in person from the host himself. Jane pictured to herself a happy evening in the society of her two new friends and the attentions of their brother. Elizabeth thought with pleasure of dancing a great deal with Mr. Wickham, and the youngest girls were certain they would enjoy nothing more than dancing every dance with an array of partners. Even Mary agreed she thought it would be an enjoyable evening out.
Soon after their guest returned to Netherfield, Mr. Wickham paid his call to Longbourn. Immediately Mrs. Bennet was most impressed by his manners and expressions. He reminded her of a red coat she once liked very much. Mr. Wickham lowered his eyes and smiled in embarrassment at the lady’s comparison. He charmed them all with his compliments and agreeable views of the neighborhood.
Mr. Collins, Mr. Bennet’s foolish nephew and heir, had just arrived a day before to visit his relations. He was most displeased by the procession of morning callers. He had planned on expressing his interest in courting his cousin Jane, but Mr. Bingley’s visit and the looks exchanged by the two of them aroused his suspicions that perhaps her heart was already taken. He then turned his attention to Elizabeth and decided rather quickly that she was a good alternative to his first choice. The arrival and subsequent interaction between Mr. Wickham and Miss Elizabeth dashed his hopes in that direction as well. He considered the three other daughters. The youngest was a pretty little thing, but she was certainly much too young and excitable for his preference. He had been given instructions from his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, to marry a pleasant genteel woman. The oldest of the three was very plain and severe in her expressions and observations. He rarely saw her smile. That left Miss Catherine, who talked rather too much and too loudly for his long term contentment.
As Mr. Wickham was departing, Miss Charlotte Lucas came to call. Mr. Collins mind was set on finding a wife and he considered every eligible female he met. Miss Lucas was the eldest daughter of Sir William Lucas. He liked the thought and distinction of being related to such a family. He noted that she was plain but not in the somber way of his cousin Mary.
For her part, Charlotte Lucas could tell that her good friend, Elizabeth, was very taken with Mr. Wickham, and everyone knew of Mr. Bingley’s preference for Jane. On having met the heir to Longbourn, the respectable Mr. Collins, at the Philips’ just the night before and hearing from his cousin Elizabeth that he was looking to marry, she at once put herself forward to attract his attention. She had on one occasion told Lizzy that Jane should make the most of every half hour’s opportunity of securing Mr. Bingley’s affections. She took her own advice to heart.
On her call to Longbourn, she made sure she showed Mr. Collins due attention. It did not take a long acquaintance to discover what was on Mr. Collin’s mind and how much he valued, and consequently enjoyed discussing, his patroness, Lady Catherine. Charlotte focused on the areas he liked to talk about, and when she returned home that afternoon, he had a high opinion of the amusing woman. As the days went by, he began to call at her home, Lucas Lodge. He found her to have mature and composed viewpoints, which happened to agree with all of his own mo
st sensible beliefs. It was easy to ascertain that she thought very highly of him in return. He was beginning to believe they were designed for each other. He found himself quite satisfied with how his mission, to find a suitable wife of whom Lady Catherine would approve, was evolving.
Mr. Wickham, for his part, began calling nearly every day at Longbourn. When he was not able to because of his duties, Elizabeth joined her younger sisters on their trips into town, affording her an opportunity to spend much time with Mr. Wickham. They often talked of his misfortunes, and he described in detail the living he should have had, such as the most delightful cottage that was large enough in which to raise a family rather happily. He talked of how he would like a family, and his portrayal of them was so detailed that Elizabeth blushed at the daughter he would wish for, as she could not escape noticing that he was describing the woman who stood before him. He talked about every aspect of his life, and Elizabeth found she always wanted more information.
The day before the Netherfield ball, Mr. Wickham payed his usual call to Longbourn. In the sitting room before all who could hear, he asked Elizabeth if he might have the first two dances with her. Lizzy accepted immediately, as she had hoped for and been dreaming of nothing else all week. Mrs. Bennet was obviously pleased to have two daughters soon to be engaged. Though Mr. Bingley had the better circumstance, Mr. Wickham’s dashing looks and appealing manners would be a very nice addition to the family. She felt sure that on becoming brothers, Mr. Bingley would assist in elevating Mr. Wickham’s situation in life.
Chapter Two
The evening of the Netherfield Ball arrived and as Elizabeth entered the drawing room she looked in vain for Mr. Wickham. She was eager to see him and for him to see her. She had dressed with more than usual care and knew she had likely never looked better. Soon after arriving, she was informed by Mr. Denny that Mr. Wickham had been obliged to go to town the day before on business and had not yet returned. He added with a significant smile, “I do not imagine his business would have called him away just now if he had not wished to avoid a certain gentleman here.”
Elizabeth’s feelings against Mr. Darcy were so sharpened immediately on hearing that he was to blame for Mr. Wickham’s absence that when he approached her with a greeting shortly after, she could hardly reply with tolerable civility. Any attention or patience with Darcy was injury to Wickham.
The first two dances had been saved for Wickham, but to her great misery, Elizabeth had to settle for dancing the first with her cousin instead. He felt it was his duty to dance with each of his five cousins before he danced with Charlotte. Elizabeth’s distress was heightened by Mr. Collin’s awkward and solemn movements. As soon as she was released from him, she went to Charlotte to pour out her griefs.
Next she danced with an officer and had the refreshment of talking of Wickham and hearing that he was universally liked. When that dance was over, she returned to Charlotte Lucas. The two women were in conversation when she found herself suddenly being addressed by Mr. Darcy. She was taken by surprise and before she knew what she did, she had accepted his request for the next set of dances.
They took their places opposite each other and stood for some time without speaking. She contemplated that she would make him most uncomfortable by engaging him in conversation about Mr. Wickham.
The effect of bringing up that man’s name had an immediate effect on Mr. Darcy’s features, but he did not speak for several minutes. When they had made their way around to each other again, he said in a constrained manner, “Mr. Wickham is blessed with making friends; being capable of retaining them is less certain.”
“I suppose we cannot all have as loyal and steadfast a friend as you have found in Mr. Bingley.”
Darcy made no answer. At that moment, Sir William Lucas appeared close to them to congratulate them on their superior dancing. “I hope the pleasure of seeing you two dancing together will be repeated often when a certain desirable event takes place,” he said meaningfully as he glanced and nodded in the direction of Mr. Bingley and Jane Bennet, who were dancing together.
The obvious allusion to a certain event being a marriage between his friend and a Bennet seemed to strike Mr. Darcy forcefully.
On Sir William’s removing himself from their company, Mr. Darcy said, “I forget what we were talking of when Sir William interrupted.”
Unfortunately for the gentleman, his partner remembered exactly what they had been speaking of. She immediately reminded him by once again beginning to speak in glowing terms of Mr. Wickham. As every turn of the dance brought them together, she relayed something she had heard from the officers who knew him and spoke with such warmth and good humor of the man until Darcy finally said, “You take an eager interest in that gentleman’s concerns.”
“Who that knows what his misfortunes have been can help but feel an interest in him?”
“His misfortunes!” Darcy repeated contemptuously. “Oh, yes, his misfortunes have been great indeed.”
Their dance soon came to an end, and they parted in silence, each dissatisfied. Darcy, who already had developed a powerful feeling for the lady, soon pardoned her and directed all his anger against another.
Elizabeth’s countenance remained as it had been during their dance. As she walked back toward where Charlotte had been standing, she was nearly pushed over by Lydia and Kitty as they ran away from an officer, tossing his hat from one to the other as he kept trying to grab for it. Their sister’s reprimand fell on deaf ears as the pair of them ran off. Looking around, she wondered where Charlotte had gone off to before she saw that her friend was all smiles as she danced with Mr. Collins.
As she stood and waited for her friend to return, she could hear from where she stood, which was not an easy distance, her mother and Lady Lucas discussing Jane soon becoming the mistress of Netherfield. She could see from the corner of her eye that Mr. Darcy had been standing even closer to where Mrs. Bennet sat and had no doubt overheard the same. From the first dance with her cousin to this moment, Elizabeth felt like this was to be nothing but a night of awkwardness and mortification. Soon Charlotte was being escorted back by Mr. Collins, who was all smiles, as he left them and went directly to speak with Mr. Darcy. “No!” exclaimed Elizabeth on seeing it. “Please, no, they have not been introduced!” There was no intervening from this distance, and Elizabeth watched Mr. Darcy’s countenance go from unpleasant to indignant at the impropriety of the situation.
As the night wore on, neither her mother’s nor her youngest sisters’ manners showed any improvement. Elizabeth became excruciatingly uncomfortable and wished to be anywhere but where she was. When the family finally returned to Longbourn, Elizabeth was tired and cross, wanting only to go to her bed and sleep.
Before tea was served on the morning after the Ball, Mr. Wickham arrived at Longbourn and asked Elizabeth to take a walk around the property with him. He had come to give his explanation and apologies. He had not been speaking for any longer than ten minutes, before Elizabeth fully understood why he had missed the Ball. He also reluctantly explained that it now seemed they could not expect a future together. As tears formed in her eyes he said, “I cannot bear this! You must allow me to tell you…. I feel I cannot go without telling you…. how much I love you!”
“Please, do not say it! If we cannot be together, I would rather the words remained unspoken,” cried Elizabeth.
“My darling, Lizzy, bestow just one kiss on me before I take my leave. I cannot help but say it again, I love you! I hope that my circumstances will change, and we will have a future together after all. Just let me kiss you in parting,” he said as he pulled her to him.
“I will wait for you! But I could not endure the memory of your kiss if our hopes are not fulfilled. Please, I must go inside now!” she said as she used all her strength to turn from him and ran back into her home.
Seeing her sister run upstairs, Jane anxiously followed. “Lizzy, what is the matter?”
“Oh, Jane! Last night did not turn ou
t like I thought it would. Not only was I greatly disappointment that Mr. Wickham was not in attendance at the ball, but I was just informed of the reason why. He had to help a sick friend,” was all she managed before her feelings got the better of her, and tears formed in her eyes.
“Oh, my dear Lizzy! Does it have something to do with the business Mr. Denny said Mr. Wickham had been called away on?”
“Mr. Wickham gave his friend all the money he had been saving up to keep his friend’s family, including six children, out of debtor’s prison. His friend has been very ill and has not been able to work because of it. Mr. Wickham has no hope of ever being repaid, and this event has set him so far back financially that he might never recover. He certainly cannot afford to take a wife or start a family! Oh, how I wish I had never gone to the Netherfeild Ball last night and had to suffer even more by dancing with his enemy, and mine, Mr. Darcy! ”
Elizabeth Bennet had never felt this way before. This was by far the unhappiest time of her life.
As Mr. Wickham walked away from Longbourn, he sighed deeply. He had been so close! He knew he was not likely to get another opportunity to be so near Elizabeth Bennet again. He expected her sympathy for his helping his “sick friend” would make him irresistible to her. Instead, now that she realized they had no future together, she had practically fled from him. But…. he thought, one never knows how these things will turn out. After all, she had said that she would wait for him. If, before his militia moved on, he could just come up with a way to make her believe his fortunes had changed, he bet he could get that kiss. Oh well, he would not let his disappointment ruin his day. He had another young lady to call on that might be more obliging. Miss King had just returned from a relative’s funeral and would surely need consoling.
Chapter Three
Mr. Darcy opened his still tired eyes and his mind immediately went to the events two nights prior. The Netherfield Ball had been enlightening in several ways. He had been so distracted of late with his thoughts of Elizabeth Bennet that he had not realized that his friend was forming a serious attachment to Miss Jane Bennet. The unmannered Mrs. Bennet had made two things very clear during the course of the evening. Loud and clear was more like it.
Yours truly, Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Page 1
