Believing in Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Page 18
The room went silent. Mrs. Wickham looked about at them, obviously expecting someone to offer her a home. The servant setting out her tableware hesitated, a fork halfway to the tablecloth.
“Oh my sweet girl,” Mrs. Bennet cried. “How terrible this has been for you, but it’s worked out for the best. You can come and live with me at Pine Cottage until Jane gets married. Then you can live at Netherfield Park.”
“No.” Bingley’s tone was firm. “Mrs. Wickham will never live here.”
“But, that’s--” Mrs. Bennet began.
“I will not turn you out tonight,” Bingley said to Mrs. Wickham, ignoring Mrs. Bennet. “Miss Kitty should not have the night before her wedding disrupted by your presence. After that, you can move to Pine Cottage with your mother. Even if your mother moves here, you will not be welcome.”
“Why?” Mrs. Wickham jutted out her chin. “Because I worked in a tavern? You are such a snob. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Living with Mr. Wickham before you were married was wrong. Leaving the protection of Colonel Forster was wrong. Not notifying your family where you were, was wrong,” Bingley said, his words clipped and hard. “I don’t want my wife and sisters to be required to explain your presence to their guests. You apparently have an annuity, so you won’t starve.” He nodded toward Darcy.
Darcy was impressed with Bingley’s firm stance, and relieved his friend was taking it. For Bingley’s sake and his own. He did wish Bingley hadn’t revisited the money he’d given Mrs. Wickham, drawing everyone’s attention back to Darcy. He risked a glance, finding Elizabeth staring at him with wide eyes.
“The annuity is only fifty pounds a year,” Mrs. Wickham said. “Mr. Darcy should have paid more than Wickham’s debts. He owed Wickham for the living he stole from him, and he gets enough money from his mill to support us a dozen times over. Wickham told me all of Mr. Darcy’s dirty secrets.”
“Mrs. Wickham, Mr. Darcy’s mill is not what you think,” Mr. Collins said.
“You paid his debts?” Mr. Gardiner addressed Darcy. “I wondered who did. Between his debts at Brighton and his debts in Meryton, and Mrs. Wickham’s annuity, it must have cost you three thousand pounds.”
“Then it was another three thousand pounds,” Elizabeth said. She glared around the table, ending by pinning her mother with her gaze. “You all thought Mr. Wickham was deprived of the living he should have inherited, but he asked for, and received, three thousand pounds for it.”
“Miss Elizabeth, there is no need to defend me,” Darcy said, feeling awkward at having his deeds aired. He realized his argument of last time, that she shouldn’t disparage her sister’s husband, held little weight in view of Wickham’s desertion.
“Yes there is, since you won’t defend yourself.” Her gaze softened as it came to rest on him. “You may not care if people malign you, but I do. You have been consistently kind and good, but no one seems to know it.”
“I do,” said Bingley. Collins and Hurst echoed the sentiment. The others joined in, all save Bingley’s shocked looking sisters, Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Wickham.
“But his mill,” Mrs. Wickham said. “He employs children.”
“I’m sure the children are better off at his mill than they would be if he didn’t employ them,” Elizabeth said, her words and look warming Darcy. “Can’t you see how good a man he is? Everywhere he goes, he does good things. Mr. Wickham leaves behind chaos and debt.”
“Lies,” Mrs. Bennet cried. “Why are you lying for him, Elizabeth? What has he done to you?” She swung back to Darcy. “You’ve put your hands on her, haven’t you? You’ve ruined my daughter.”
Several people surged to their feet, Darcy and Elizabeth among them.
“Mama, stop that this instance,” Elizabeth ordered. “Mr. Darcy is too good a man to ever do such a thing.”
Bingley, standing, gestured toward the door. “I must ask you to leave, madam. You are no longer welcome in Netherfield, ever, and I rescind my offer to let Mrs. Wickham stay here tonight.”
Mrs. Bennet started crying.
Bingley stalked from the room, likely to get footmen and a carriage.
Mrs. Wickham came slowly to her feet, looking about at them. “Fine. I understand I’m not wanted.” She turned to Elizabeth. “Lizzy, I don’t know the truth about the mill or the living, but I do know you’re right, Wickham is a liar and a cad. I hope, for your sake, your Mr. Darcy isn’t.” She marched from the room.
Darcy was aware everyone was looking at him again, but his focus was on Elizabeth.
“He’s not my Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth said, though Mrs. Wickham was already gone.
Darcy stepped around his chair. Behind him, he heard Miss Bingley gasp, loud enough to be discernable over Mrs. Bennet’s sobs. Darcy walked the length of the table and around the end, stopping beside Elizabeth. He held out a hand. She took it, coming to stand before him. Her fingers were warm in his.
Darcy looked down at her, trying to read her face. The others in the room fell away. For him, there was only Elizabeth. “I could be your Mr. Darcy, if you would have me. Elizabeth Bennet, say you will be my wife.”
A radiant smile turned up her lips. Happiness seeming to fill her from the inside until it spilled out, washing over him. “Yes. I will be your wife. There is nothing I want more in the entire world.”
***
Kitty ended up staying the night in Longbourn. Elizabeth managed to contain her happiness enough to behave properly at Kitty’s wedding, her joy at learning Mr. Darcy still wanted her not even overshadowed by her mother and Lydia. Lydia, who’d spent the night at Pine Cottage, behaved as if nothing had happened. Mrs. Bennet spent the wedding and wedding breakfast not deigning to speak with anyone, the best gift she could have given the new couple.
Afterward, Charlotte suggested to Mr. Darcy that he call on Elizabeth at Longbourn. He agreed, appearing very promptly on their return. The moment the three of them were seated, Charlotte arose.
“I believe Willy needs me,” she said. Giving Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy a smile, she left.
“I didn’t hear him cry,” Mr. Darcy said, his expression amused.
“I don’t think Charlotte did either,” Elizabeth replied. She eyed the space beside him on the couch, wondering if she dared move from her chair to sit there. Smiling, she decided she did dare.
Mr. Darcy answered her smile with his own as she came to sit beside him. He held out a hand, which Elizabeth took. His was warm and large, wrapped securely around her own.
Elizabeth bit her lip. She didn’t want to ruin the moment, but she owed him an apology. She’d wasted too much of their time together not giving them. It was best to have done with it. “I’m sorry for revealing your financial dealings with Wickham.”
“I don’t mind,” Mr. Darcy said, applying reassuring pressure to her fingers. “I don’t defend myself, I know. It isn’t truly that I don’t care. I would prefer to be thought well of, of course. Who wouldn’t? But I would always be defending my behavior. I’m wealthy enough so that I’m a target for judging how I should have behaved or what I should have spent. I’m glad your relatives have been told the truth.”
“I want them to think well of you. You are such a good man.” She inched closer, looking up at him. She traced his strong, beloved features with her gaze.
Mr. Darcy withdrew his hand. Before she could protest, he wrapped an arm about her. Elizabeth’s heart fluttered as he pulled her close.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he murmured. “I’ve arranged for a special license. We don’t have to use it. We could wait for the banns to be read or even wait until your period of mourning has passed.”
“Do you wish to wait?” she asked, the words coming out a bit breathless.
His gaze lingered on her lips. “No. I’ve already waited too long. If I could marry you and carry you off to Pemberley today, I would do so.”
Elizabeth’s mind filled with an image of him doing just that. She tilted her head back, bringing her l
ips nearer to his. “Then I just want to wait for one thing.”
“What is that?”
“The special license.”
As she hoped he would, dreamed of him doing, Mr. Darcy kissed her.
Epilogue: Almost Seven Years Later
“I do believe I am the happiest woman in all the world.”
Darcy brought the letter from his foreman at the second mill over for Elizabeth to read, wanting her opinion. She was engaged in a letter from Jane Bingley. From Elizabeth’s smile, the pages were full of tales of the Bingley’s three children.
Bingley had purchased an estate not thirty miles from Pemberley, probably finding it was too much of a strain for his wife to live so close to her mother. Darcy never admitted to Elizabeth how glad he was that when they visited her relatives in Meryton, they stayed with Charlotte, spent time with Mary, the Phillips and the Lucases, but only briefly visited her mother.
Darcy didn’t interrupt, happy to take a seat beside his wife, watching her while she read. If anything, Elizabeth was more beautiful than the day they’d married. He relished these quiet moments with her, though he loved their own children and the work they both did.
He dropped his eyes back to the page. He was a good man, the foreman, and the mill was doing well. It had taken some time to find a suitable spot, but Collins had been tireless in his efforts assisting Darcy’s man, Mr. McIntyre, in locating one. Then had come the building, funded in large part by the profits from the first mill. Darcy could have thrown money into it, but part of his goal was to show others it could be done in a financially sound manner. Now, the mill was up and running, fully staffed.
The letter reported that George Wickham was still at the mill, working hard. He even took turns teaching the children their letters. He didn’t complain, ask for special treatment, or act out.
Darcy could hardly credit it. When his foreman had written, six months ago, that Wickham asked for a job and said the foreman should consult Darcy, Darcy had almost turned him away. Strictly speaking, the mills were only for Darcy’s tenants and their children. Darcy had found, and Collins agreed, that providing a man, woman or child with the opportunity to pull themselves out of poor circumstance was a more valuable gift than simply handing out charity, and more enduring.
Elizabeth looked up from her letter. “You’re very patient.”
“I’d wait for you forever,” he said, offering a smile.
“Which would be quite boring for both of us. What have you there?”
“It’s from the mill.”
Elizabeth searched his face. “Mr. Wickham is still there?” she guessed, apparently able to read Darcy more easily than a letter.
“He is. It’s been six months.” Darcy almost hated to voice his next though, as if saying it would doom the notion. “Maybe he’s changed.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “Maybe.”
“We should tell your sister. She has a right to know we’ve found her husband.” Darcy thought she had that right even though she’d repeatedly said she believed him to be dead and didn’t want to hear from him if he was alive. Since Wickham didn’t try to get in contact with his wife, it seemed like a good idea to let it be, but Lydia had started talking about having Wickham declared legally dead, making her a widow and allowing her to remarry. Darcy had no notion of the legality of it, but he felt obligated to let Lydia know her husband was alive.
“Kitty will be relieved. It upsets her not to tell,” Elizabeth said, her expression thoughtful.
“But?” Darcy prompted, knowing that look.
“We can’t allow him to be declared dead, but Lydia and Mother are doing well of late. They used the money you and Mr. Bingley gave them to decorate several rooms at the cottage, hire two more servants, and buy a gig and a horse.” Elizabeth smiled. “I hear Lydia has become quite the expert with it. They go out almost daily, making the rounds.”
Her expression clouded. Darcy knew she was thinking about how few people her mother and sister actually visited, no matter how often they went out or how far they went. There were many who wouldn’t permit Mrs. Wickham into their homes. Would having Wickham back, assuming he’d go back, change that?
“We don’t have the right to keep his presence secret from her,” Darcy said, although he could have expressed it stronger. Considering Lydia’s proposed actions, they might be said to have an obligation to tell Lydia about her husband.
Elizabeth sighed. “They seem so content of late.” She smiled up at him. “You are right, though. It is not for us to decide. What Lydia wishes to do about her husband is up to her, but she must have the facts. Who knows, maybe he will go live with them, and be the man he could have been. Maybe more people will once more invite her into their homes and all will be well, the past forgotten.”
“Maybe,” Darcy agreed, dubiously. “Will you write her?”
“I think we should permit Kitty to. She’s wanted to do so.”
Darcy knew Elizabeth avoided adding that Mrs. Bennet was as apt to tear up a letter from her as give it to Lydia. Darcy could write, of course. Mrs. Bennet always accepts his mail, hoping for money. This seemed something that should come from one of Mrs. Wickham’s sister, though.
“I will write to Kitty, telling her it’s time, or perhaps go for a visit,” Elizabeth said. “She’s so large right now, she can’t come round to see us.”
“And Collins can’t be budged from her side. Not that I begrudge him. He’s indispensable to me and his parish most of the time. I don’t know how the man does so much, and raises all those children.”
“They’re very happy.” Elizabeth held up Mrs. Bingley’s letter. “Jane and Bingley are happy. Mary and Mr. Mitchel are happy.”
Taking her letter, Darcy set it and the one he held on a low table beside the couch. “I am very happy.” He slid an arm about Elizabeth’s shoulder, pulling her close. “Are you happy, Elizabeth Darcy?”
She smiled, snuggling against him. “I do believe I am the happiest woman in all the world.”
~ The End ~
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By Renata McMann and Summer Hanford
The Second Mrs. Darcy
Georgiana's Folly (The Wickham Coin Book I)
Elizabeth's Plight (The Wickham Coin Book II)
The above two books have been published in a single volume as:
Georgiana's Folly & Elizabeth's Plight: Wickham Coin Series, Volumes I & II
The Scandalous Stepmother
Poor Mr. Darcy
A Death at Rosings
Caroline and the Footman
Mr. Collins’ Deception
Mary Younge
Lady Catherine Regrets
The above four stories (and two additional stories) are collected in:
Pride and Prejudice Villains Revisited – Redeemed – Reimagined A Collection of Six Short Stories
Entanglements of Honor
From Ashes to Heiresses
The Fire at Netherfield Park
Courting Elizabeth
Epiphany with Tea
Miss Bingley’s Christmas
Her Final Wish
Believing in Darcy
By Renata McMann
Heiress to Longbourn
Anne de Bough Manages
Three Daughters Married
The Inconsistency of Caroline Bingley
Pemberley Weddings
The above five stories are collected in:
Pride and Prejudice Variations: A collection of Short Stories
By Summer Hanford
Ladies Always Shoot First Half Hour Reads Series Page
Included are:
Captured by a Duke
To Save a Lord
One Shot for a Gentleman
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From Ashes to Heiresses
In the wake of a devastating fire at Longbourn, Elizabeth and Jane are taken in by their aunt and uncle in Meryton. Concerned about their situation, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley come to Hertfordshire, but not before Mr. Wickham attempts to use Jane’s heartache to his advantage.
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About the Authors
Renata McMann
Renata McMann is the pen name of Teresa McCullough, someone who likes to rewrite public domain works. She is fond of thinking "What if?" To learn more about Renata's work and collaborations, visit www.renatamcmann.com.
Summer Hanford
Summer Hanford writes Regency, fantasy and Pride and Prejudice variations. In May of 2017, her half-hour reads series, Ladies Always Shoot First, was released by Scarsdale Publishing. The first four books in her five book Thrice Born series are: Gift of the Aluien, Hawks of Sorga, Throne of Wheylia and Plains of Tybrunn. Book five is forthcoming in 2017. Shorter works appear in various magazines and anthologies, including Aoife's Kiss, Something Wicked Anthology Vol. II, Daughter of Icarus, The Ampersand Review and Nightmare Walkers and Dream Stalkers Vol. II.
Starting in 2014, Summer was offered the privilege of partnering with fan fiction author Renata McMann on her well-loved Pride and Prejudice variations. More information on these works is available at www.renatamcmann.com. Additionally, in 2016, Summer was lucky enough to be asked to join Austen Authors, a great place for fans to get more Jane Austen. To explore Austen Authors, visit www.austenauthors.net.