It is a truth almost universally ignored that the opinions of society are fickle and subject to change without notice or acknowledgment.
Such was the case in Meryton after the marriage of Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn to Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire.
At the time of the marriage, it was generally considered incredible that the lively and good-natured Miss Bennet, a general favorite in Meryton society, should wed such a sour and disagreeable man. Despite Mrs. Bennet's sudden about-face and declarations of adoration for her new son-in-law, it was not immediately forgotten that he had been the subject of much dislike, even by the bride herself, for so long. Was he not a proud, disagreeable man? Did he not slight their daughters? Did he not do great wrong by their favorite, Mr. Wickham? Would Mr. Wickham not be affronted by having such a brother-in-law?
The new Mrs. Darcy must be sadly to be pitied for being tied to such a ill-tempered and ill-favored man. There could be nothing happy in the match for her except his fortune.
Time and distance, however, muffled the memories of their affection for Mr. Wickham, and if tales of his misconduct were never widely circulated, whispers eventually made their way behind hands and into ears always eager for secrets and scandal, and a full year had not passed after Mr. Darcy's marriage before the town generally believed that they had always thought it probable that Mr. Darcy was in the right, and that they had never been sad to see Mr. Wickham removed from their society. By the time the young couple removed to Pemberley after their first trip back to Hertfordshire, everyone in the surrounding countryside was convinced that they had always adored Mr. Darcy and loathed Wickham for his scandalous libel against the dear young man.
Mr. Darcy himself, though by no overt attempts of his own, helped them come to this conclusion.
Mr. and Mrs. Darcy first returned toe Hertfordshire to spend several weeks at Netherfield at the birth of the first Bingley child, and the village followed their engagements with great interest. Mrs. Darcy was as witty and lovely as ever. Mrs. Bennet enthused over the visit of her very important son-in-law, and Mr. Bingley greeted his friend with great excitement. Sir William was, of course, as disposed to think well of everyone as he always had been.
Mrs. Bennet's adulation was generally taken with a grain of salt, and did little to raise society's opinion of the man, though she was suddenly so fond of him. However, favorable accounts of him soon began to come from Lady Lucas' drawing room and the younger Lucas gentlemen who were included in sporting outings with the gentlemen at Netherfield. It was circulated in Mrs. Phillips' parlour that that lady simply adored her new nephew and that the young man was as agreeable as anyone could wish, and that he worshiped his wife, as was surely her due. Similar accounts came from Mr. Phillips' office and the Netherfield servants and tenants, who praised his kind attention and wise advice.
Mr. Darcy, they all observed, doted on his wife, served his friend wherever possible, and went out of his way to be kind and accommodating to his new sisters. His manners in company were above reproach, except that he perhaps looked at his wife too much and with a little more warmth than was fashionable.
When it came time for the couple to remove to Pemberley at the end of their visit, the whole town grieved to see them go. The ladies all declared that they had always known him to be the most perfect gentleman they had ever known, and the gentlemen pronounced him to have always been their favorite in company. He was pointed out to their sons as the example to follow, and held up to their daughters as the ideal of the gentleman they should wish to marry.
The new Mrs. Darcy was certainly the luckiest lady in the world to have captured such a handsome, agreeable man, and she must have been the happiest lady in the country even if he had no fortune at all.
AN: This is my first foray into P&P fanfic, though I've loved the book for years. This wrote itself in my head as I listened to the audiobook today. I'd love it if you'd leave a review and let me know what you think!