Steady to His Purpose, a pride and prejudice fanfic

Steady to His Purpose

Summary: What if Elizabeth was compromised during that unchaperoned half-hour in the Netherfield library with Darcy? Would they still have their HEA?

Premise: According to social customs of the Regency era, a young unmarried woman was never to be alone in the company of a gentleman without the presence of a chaperone.

Jane Austen Quote: "Steady to his purpose, he scarcely spoke ten words to her through the whole of Saturday, and though they were at one time left by themselves for half-an-hour, he adhered most conscientiously to his book, and would not even look at her." (Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 12.)

Chapter 1: Home Again

After spending five days at Netherfield, Jane and Elizabeth Bennet arrived home at Longbourn on Sunday, much to the displeasure of their Mama. "Why have you come home? You were to have stayed the full week!" Mrs. Bennet reprimanded her daughters, quite despairing at the sight of them. No amount of reasoning that Jane had recovered well enough from her illness or explaining that they feared overstaying their welcome would convince her to abandon her scheme of throwing her eldest daughter into the path of the handsome and wealthy bachelor, Mr. Charles Bingley. "You were far better off at Netherfield. Now I am quite sure that Jane will suffer a relapse; Mr. Bingley will be unable to visit her if she is sick in bed!" she lamented.

"I, on the other hand, am vastly pleased to have you home again, my dear girls," their father dryly announced. "There was no sensible conversation to be had in this house for the last five days," he told them, embracing them and placing a kiss on each forehead.

"Oh Mr. Bennet, must you be so disagreeable?" his wife scoffed at him.

Mrs. Bennet could not be blamed for her schemes to match her daughters to marriageable men, in her own estimation; she had five daughters, after all, and it was her parental duty to see them all suitably matched. Her latest scheme had been carried out reasonably well, she thought. Jane had received an invitation to dine at Netherfield from Caroline Bingley, a sister of the eligible gentleman. Jane was sent on her way, just as a storm approached, ensuring that she would have to spend the night under Mr. Bingley's roof. Unfortunately, Jane was soaked to the skin in the rain and caught a miserable cold which fortunately required her to stay on a few more days. The plan to stay the full week had not been carried through to Mrs. Bennet's satisfaction but the effort was quite successful, in her opinion; she was certain that Mr. Bingley was half in love with Jane already.

Jane had enjoyed being in company with the charming Mr. Bingley last evening but was relieved to be back in her own home and looked forward to sleeping in her own bed that evening. She had indeed been taken quite ill and had only recently recovered well enough to be out of bed but was hesitant to take advantage of Mr. Bingley's generous hospitality.

Elizabeth's relief, however, came from being away from Netherfield's disagreeable occupants. Of course, Mr. Bingley was in every way agreeable; he was a kind and generous host who made Elizabeth and her sister feel welcome during their stay and was quite disappointed when they announced their intentions to return home. Mr. Bingley's sisters, however, were quite the opposite; their caustic remarks and constant sarcasm were rather tiresome, to say the least. Miss Caroline Bingley and Mrs. Louisa Hurst were fashionable ladies, quite used to the excitement of London and had little patience for the slower pace of the country – or its occupants. How two such unpleasant ladies could come from the same family as the amiable Mr. Bingley was a mystery that Elizabeth was unable to fathom. Mr. Henry Hurst had been mostly harmless, preferring to keep his opinions to himself; his main concern throughout the course of the visit had been his next meal. Then there was Mr. Darcy, the disagreeable friend of Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth had never met a more disagreeable, disapproving man in her life. It seemed as though his only purpose was to cast derision on everyone he met; Elizabeth most assuredly felt the weight of his scorn-filled glances. Certainly he was wealthy with his ten thousand a year but his pride and arrogant disdain did nothing to recommend him. No, Elizabeth would not lament the loss of that connection.

After she had gone to bed that evening, Elizabeth recalled her brief interaction with Mr. Darcy in the library on the last day of her stay at Netherfield. How it had vexed her that he refused to acknowledge her presence. She had attempted several times to distract him from his book; a cough here and a sigh there; but every attempt went unanswered, as if she did not exist! How infuriating! Such disregard for common courtesy! "Well, if I do not exist in his eyes, then neither shall he exist in mine!" she thought. "Even if he does have rather handsome and intriguing eyes, the intensity of which have given me pause on many occasions but… Oh, why do I contemplate his eyes in such a frivolous manner?" she chided herself. "I shall spend not another moment thinking about him! Mr. Darcy, you are hereby banished from my thoughts!" she silently declared. However, try as she might to banish the gentleman, he invaded her dreams that night, scowling and disapproving of her in his usual manner.

~~oo~~

Mr. William Collins, a parson with four thousand a year and the generous patronage of the Right Honorable Lady Catherine de Bourgh of Rosings in Kent, arrived at Longbourn on Monday with the purpose of selecting a wife. Since he was the only living male heir to the estate, it made perfect sense that he should choose one of his lovely cousins as his bride, keeping the estate in the Bennet family. It was a perfectly amicable solution, in his opinion. He had written to his cousin, Thomas Bennet, in an effort to extend an olive branch and heal a longstanding disagreement between his dear departed father and Cousin Bennet. As a clergyman, it was his responsibility and duty to promote the blessing of peace within all families and where better to establish such peace than within his own family? When he arrived at Longbourn, he was well pleased by the warm welcome offered by Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. He had heard reports of the beauty and amiability of their daughters but found that such reports fell short of the truth; the Bennet sisters were far and away more beautiful than he had previously imagined.

Soon after his arrival, Elizabeth determined that Collins was a petty little man and hoped that once the visit was over, she would not be required to endure his presence again until her father's death which was, hopefully, some years hence. His propensity to compliment everyone and everything in sight had been amusing at first but had quickly become tiresome. He had droned on endlessly about his esteemed patroness and her enviable estate that it had been impossible to get a word in edgewise; the attempt was quickly abandoned. Elizabeth had made a game of counting the number of times he had said 'Lady Catherine'; however, after the twentieth reference to the esteemed Lady, she stopped counting. He truly was a dull man, indeed.

Mr. Collins, on the other hand, was quite impressed with his cousins and used the opportunity to draw each of them into conversation; one of them would be his wife, after all, and what better time than the present to make his selection? After speaking to each daughter, the first choice for his wife was angelic Jane, whose beauty far outshone any woman of his acquaintance. However, upon being advised by Mrs. Bennet of Jane's imminent engagement, he settled then on Elizabeth; she had not her elder sister's beauty but was quite an acceptable alternative and would most assuredly receive the approval of his patroness, whose opinion he valued above all others. Elizabeth was a lively, intelligent woman with sparkling eyes and a charming wit. Hopefully, with thoughtful guidance and instruction, she would learn to curb her tendency for impulsiveness and outspokenness and become the perfect parson's wife.

~~oo~~

Meanwhile at Netherfield, an undercurrent flowed through the house amongst the servants; the latest news was too terrible to believe regarding someone that most of the staff had known for many years and with whom they harbored a tender kinship. While in the course of carrying out their duties, the local servants whispered to each other: "Did you hear?"

"It cannot be true!"

"Has an outsider harmed our own dear one?"

"Certainly it must not be true!"

"What can one expect from those city dwellers? They have no proper upbringing!"

"I dearly hope there is no truth to it!"

"You must not breathe a word of it outside this house! We must do our best to protect our own!"

Many of the servants had been born and raised in Hertfordshire and mistrusted anyone from the city, including the servants brought in from Town. They agreed that two such servants, the valets who served the master and his friend seemed trustworthy enough; however, the same could not be said for the ladies maid who served the mistresses. She sought every opportunity to spread malicious gossip about one or the other of the servants; usually resulting in bitter arguments or resentments. During the past two months since the servants had been employed at Netherfield, they observed that even though her stories usually held no merit, the ladies maid was quite successful at causing a stir each time. She had an affinity for creating a storm and calmly observing the chaos that ensued. Due to her callous disregard for the feelings of others, the local servants avoided her whenever possible.

~~oo~~

On Tuesday morning, Fitzwilliam Darcy donned his riding clothes with the assistance of his valet, Hobbs. Darcy was visiting his good friend Charles Bingley, who had recently leased an estate in Hertfordshire with the purpose of reviewing the property and considering a possible purchase. Bingley had frequently requested Darcy's advice on matters of business and Darcy was pleased to offer his expertise. Having been the owner of his own estate these past five years, he was well experienced in all aspects of estate ownership and upon Bingley's solicitation for advice, had not hesitated to provide it. Darcy had been an upper-classman at Cambridge when Bingley arrived for his first term and while their backgrounds were vastly different, the two fell into a comfortable friendship. Darcy was a son of a gentleman and Bingley was the son of a tradesman, but Bingley's amiable demeanor and inquisitive mind did much to recommend him and the friendship had been forged. That morning, the two men had planned to ride into Meryton to order a few supplies and then survey the estate. Prior to their departure, Darcy walked to the Netherfield stable to retrieve his horse. He was well pleased with the care of his horse and wished to compliment the groom for his special attention to Gunther. The groom saw him approach and quickly brought Gunther out of the stable for the gentleman's inspection. Darcy ran his hand over the horse's flesh and nodded his head. "Well done, young man," he said in his usual grave manner.

"He's in fine fettle today, Sir," the groom told him as Gunther shook his head and snorted. Darcy nodded his agreement and was about to reply when the groom spoke up: "I know I ain't s'posed to, and Mr. Bingley will prob'ly thrash me but I don't care! I got to tell you somethin'," he boldly stated.

Darcy was surprised to be thusly addressed by a servant but decided to allow it. "Well then, speak your mind, boy," he said impatiently.

"Folks in this county don't take well to some dandy takin' 'vantage of our Miss Lizzy," the groom told him.

Darcy was started by this announcement. "Taking advantage of her?" he asked. "What could the boy mean?" he wondered.

"Yes Sir, you and Miss Lizzy in the library without no chaperone. It ain't right for such a lovely lady like her to have folks talkin' 'bout her in such a way," the groom told him, standing his ground.

"In what way?" Darcy asked.

"That she's… she's….," he hesitated, stammering and kicking the ground with his boot.

Darcy was losing patience with the boy. "Out with it, boy!" he demanded.

"Wanton," he whispered as he hung his head.

Darcy was incredulous. "Wanton?" He paced back and forth in front of the stable, muttering to himself: "Of all the foolish things I have ever heard." He stopped in front of the groom: "Let me tell you that despite my short acquaintance with Miss Elizabeth, she is not wanton!"

"No Sir," the boy quietly replied, still hanging his head.

"She is a fine, well-mannered gentlewoman and in no way deserves to be the subject of such idle gossip," Darcy insisted.

"Yes, Sir, I known Miss Lizzy my whole life and there ain't none better. I don't believe a word of it but figured you oughta know what's bein' said 'round town," the boy told him, still hanging his head.

Darcy observed the boy and was undecided if he was more concerned about the possible loss of his job or Miss Elizabeth's reputation: "I thank you for telling me," he told the groom, who bowed in acknowledgement but kept his eyes averted. "I shall not tell Mr. Bingley who informed me of the gossip," he said, reaching into his pocket and tossing him a coin. The groom accepted the coin and looked into his eyes; Darcy observed the boy's quivering lip and realized the gravity of the situation. The boy truly believed that Miss Elizabeth had been harmed. When Bingley arrived at the stables, they mounted their horses and rode off towards Meryton. Darcy's thoughts were only of the distasteful news; he would no doubt need to explain himself to Mr. Bennet. This type of manipulation is exactly what he would have expected from Caroline Bingley but never from Miss Elizabeth. Certainly Caroline would have no difficulty claiming compromise as a method of forcing his hand, but Elizabeth? No, he would think her incapable of such a scheme. How she could invent such a story was beyond his imaginings. "Yes, she is quite beautiful and her eyes are like nothing I have ever beheld; but is there a mercenary behind those sparkling eyes?" he wondered.

While they rode, his mind lingered on Miss Elizabeth. The few days that she had spent at Netherfield during her sister's convalescence had been so pleasantly spent that it was not until she was gone that he realized how much he missed her company. Her intelligence and the liveliness of her mind were unlike any other woman of his acquaintance; however, her circumstances and connections were decidedly beneath his own and offering her any encouragement would have been inappropriate and cruel. He could never consider her as a suitable match; his responsibilities to his family forbade it. Once he sensed that he was in some danger from the lovely Miss Elizabeth, he had set his mind to pay her as little attention as possible until she and her sister returned home. They had been alone in the library for a short period on Saturday and he had longed to gaze at her or perhaps even spar with her as they had previously done but he held to his resolve and kept his eyes averted from her until she left the library. However, now with the loss of her company, he found his mind drifting back to her with disturbing frequency; more to the point, her understated beauty and sparkling eyes had crept into his dreams since her departure. Her creamy skin and lithe form had made repeated appearances during his sleeping hours and those memories haunted him during his waking hours. Had he misjudged her?-he wondered. Had she invented a scheme to trap him into marriage with a claim of compromise? Certainly, he never would have suspected her of such devious intentions. Had he been completely deceived?

"Darcy!" Bingley was staring at him with an air of frustration. "Have you heard a word I said since we left Netherfield?" he asked.

Darcy looked up and observed that they had arrived in Meryton and were sitting in front of the dry goods store. He quickly made his apologies as they dismounted and entered the store together. He waited patiently while Bingley conducted his business and made arrangements to have his supplies delivered to Netherfield. He was too distracted to notice the scowl put forth by the proprietor and his wife; when Bingley was finished with his business, he followed him out the door. They returned to their horses and were about to return to the estate when Bingley noticed the Bennet sisters in front of the millinery shop. They approached the group and Darcy fixed his eyes on Miss Elizabeth; she seemed to behave in her usual pleasant manner; not as someone who was in disgrace or was suffering from the loss of her reputation. She wore a pleasing smile and her eyes still held their usual sparkle. She turned her head in his direction and acknowledged him with a smile and a quick curtsy. He responded with a nod of his head and kept his eyes fixed on her. She blushed at his attentions and averted her eyes; he found her just as beguiling as ever. Perhaps she was unaware of the rumors concerning them or the groom had exaggerated his tale.

It was then that Darcy noticed someone that he had hoped never to encounter again; George Wickham! "That blackguard! That scoundrel! That squanderer! That womanizer! What is he doing here in Meryton? Why is Miss Elizabeth speaking to him?" he wondered, seething with anger. He recalled his sister's despair when she realized that Wickham meant to marry her only for her inheritance; how she had cried for weeks after he had abandoned her. The cruel deception had occurred months ago but it was so burned into Darcy's memory that it may as well have been last week. He observed Wickham touch his hat in acknowledgement and Darcy was forced to acknowledge the blackguard with a nod of his head. Being in public required the observance of social pleasantries; however, if he had his preference, he would have refused any such acknowledgment. He abruptly turned his horse away and rode off, unable to bear the sight of his worst enemy enjoying the company of the fair Miss Elizabeth. As he rode, his thoughts were only for his beloved Georgiana; his young sister who had been so mercilessly abused by the despicable Wickham. He pushed Gunther as fast as he could with the memory of his sister's uncontrolled sobs pounding in his ears.

~~oo~~

Elizabeth had noticed the strange encounter between the two men; Mr. Darcy appeared to be angry and Mr. Wickham appeared to be intimidated. "What could be the meaning of it?" she wondered. They were obviously acquainted, she realized from their brief acknowledgment of each other but neither seemed pleased by the encounter. She could not imagine the reason as Mr. Wickham had all the appearances of a perfectly amiable and proper gentleman. When Mr. Darcy made his abrupt departure, Mr. Bingley was forced to quickly take his leave and rush after his friend. "How very strange, indeed!" thought she.

~~oo~~

Darcy rode up to a stream and dismounted, allowing Gunther to take a well-deserved drink while he paced wildly along the water's edge. He grabbed a stone from the ground and hurled it into the stream. Bingley finally caught up to him. "Darcy, whatever was that about?" he asked.

Darcy took a moment to compose himself and faced his friend. "Do you recall that I had a family emergency last summer?" he began, to which Bingley nodded. "That man was the cause of the emergency," he said calmly, gesturing in the direction from which they had just come and attempting to keep his emotions under control.

"Wickham?" Bingley asked.

Darcy nodded gravely. "He nearly convinced my sister to elope but I intervened and prevented it," he explained, attempting to remain calm.

Bingley was shocked upon hearing this story. "Georgiana? Good God, Darcy! I had no idea!" he exclaimed.

"No, I have endeavored most strenuously to keep the story private to protect her reputation. Wickham is the son of my father's late steward. We were raised together as children and my father gave him every advantage. But he has given himself over to idleness and depravity. I was very fortunate to have stumbled upon them for he would have taken Georgiana to Gretna Green and made off with her fortune," Darcy told him.

"The blackguard! What is to be done?" Bingley inquired.

Darcy shook his head. "I know not." They rode back to Netherfield in silence; their plan to survey the estate was delayed for some other day.

Chapter 2: Idle Chatter

Ladies maid to the butcher's wife: "Poor Eliza Bennet was taken advantage of by that scurrilous Mr. Darcy! The poor dear!"

Butcher's wife to the baker's wife: "Poor Miss Lizzy had her virtue stolen by that dandy, Mr. Darcy!"

Baker's wife to a customer, Mrs. Grace Philips: "What is to become of your dear niece?"

Baker's wife to milliner's wife: "Who knew that Lizzy Bennet was so fast and loose?"

Milliner's wife to the milliner: "I always knew Miss Lizzy's impulsive nature would get her into trouble!"

Milliner to a customer, Mrs. Long: "Mrs. Bennet never controlled those girls properly!"

Mrs. Long to the Butcher: "I shall not mourn the loss of that connection!"

Butcher to the farrier: "Mr. Darcy had his way with Lizzy Bennet right there in the library!"

~~oo~~

After taking their leave of Mr. Wickham, the Bennet sisters walked a short distance to their Aunt's house. Mrs. Grace Philips, the sister of Mrs. Francis Bennet, was married to Mr. Stuart Philips, an attorney by trade, who had inherited the practice from his father-in-law, the elder Mr. Gardiner. Grace Gardiner had been a lively, stunning girl with pale blue eyes and an outspoken manner. Now at the age of forty years, all efforts to hold her tongue had long since been forgotten and she considered herself a plain-spoken woman. Upon the entrance of her nieces, she rushed to embrace Elizabeth: "Oh my poor Lizzy-girl! Ruined by that rapscallion!" she cried, crushing Elizabeth into her embrace.

Elizabeth was startled by such a greeting. "What are you speaking of, Aunt?" she asked.

Aunt Grace pulled her to the side and whispered into her ear: "Well, it is all over town, my girl! That Mr. Darcy forced himself on you!" she told her niece.

Elizabeth laughed. "He did no such thing!" she advised her aunt.

"Oh, Lizzy, even if you enjoyed it, how noble of you to defend him. He is quite undeserving. No Lizzy, he must marry you!" she insisted.

Elizabeth was perplexed by her aunt's assertions. "Marry me? What are you talking about?"

Aunt Grace pulled her down to a sofa in the corner of the room. "Were you not alone with him in the Netherfield library?" she asked.

Elizabeth thought back to that last evening that she had spent at Netherfield; Saturday he had ignored her the entire day. But yes, there was a brief period of time when it was just the two of them in the library. "Yes Aunt," she replied.

"Then was there no chaperone?" Aunt Grace further inquired.

"No, but…," Elizabeth began.

"There, it is true then! Now fret not, my Lizzy-girl, he may be a rapscallion but he is a rich rapscallion and you shall have many fine gowns and jewels," her Aunt advised.

"No, Aunt! I shall have nothing of the sort! I was not compromised and I shall certainly never marry Mr. Darcy! More to the point, Mr. Darcy would never marry me!" she insisted.

Aunt Grace was unconvinced. "We shall see if your father agrees with you," she replied.

"There has been a misunderstanding that will be set to rights. I will explain everything and make Papa understand," Elizabeth assured her.

~~oo~~

Later that evening when she and Jane were alone in her chamber, she was finally able to discuss the latest development in private: "What was Aunt Grace speaking of Lizzy?" Jane asked her. When Elizabeth explained their conversation, Jane reacted with astonishment: "Certainly no one believes that Mr. Darcy compromised you," she insisted.

"The very idea is absurd," Lizzy replied.

"Aunt Grace does love to chat with her neighbors. Perhaps one of them heard something about you and simply exaggerated the story," Jane suggested.

"Of course it is an invented story; there is not a morsel of truth in it!" Elizabeth agreed.

"Well then we shall not worry; all will be well," Jane assured her sister.

Elizabeth was determined to put the whole ridiculous story behind her; the less time she spent thinking about the disagreeable man with the haunting eyes, the better she liked it. "Mr. Bingley looked quite well today, did he not?" she teased her sister. Jane agreed wholeheartedly and they diverted their attentions to a much more agreeable topic: the handsome and amiable Mr. Charles Bingley. Jane's budding affection for the gentleman was a far better topic of conversation.

~~oo~~

Dinner at Netherfield that evening had been a somber affair. Darcy and Bingley were morose despite Caroline and Louisa's attempts to draw them into the conversation. The sisters had to content themselves with conversation between the two of them. After dinner, instead of joining the ladies in the drawing room, Darcy and Bingley retired to the study for the evening.

"Should we warn the Bennet sisters about Wickham?" Bingley suggested.

Darcy shook his head. "I am at a loss as to how that is to be accomplished without endangering Georgiana," he replied with a worried brow.

Bingley nodded. "Yes, her reputation must be preserved at all costs. If there was a way to expose Wickham without implicating Georgiana, that would be the best strategy," he suggested.

"Yes, I suppose you are correct. I should discuss it with Mr. Bennet," Darcy gravely replied.

"Indeed, I wish no harm to come to the Bennet sisters," Bingley said thoughtfully.

This brought a particular Bennet sister to Darcy's mind. "That reminds me, Charles, someone in your staff is spreading gossip about Miss Elizabeth. It seems that she and I were observed in the library last week without a chaperone and the prevailing talk is that Miss Elizabeth was compromised," he told his friend.

Bingley was startled. "Compromised? But that is absurd!" he insisted.

"As you and I are well aware however Miss Elizabeth has been branded as 'wanton'," Darcy told him.

"Wanton! Who told you of this?" Bingley asked with no small amount of alarm in his voice.

He recalled his promise to the young groom. "I am not at liberty to say but I suggest you interview your staff and get to the bottom of it. Miss Elizabeth may be in danger of losing her reputation," Darcy warned.

Bingley nodded gravely. "I shall see to it directly," he replied confidently. Darcy retired for the evening. Bingley wasted no time and immediately began to summon his servants to his study. He began by speaking to his housekeeper: "Mrs. Nicholls, has there been any talk among the staff about Miss Elizabeth Bennet?" he asked. Mrs. Nicholls was very ill at ease with this question and hesitated with great discomfort. "Please Mrs. Nicholls, I fear that Miss Elizabeth may be in grave danger and I must discover the truth," he pleaded with her.

"Yes Sir, Mr. Bingley I have heard such talk, but only indirectly," she replied cautiously.

"What have you heard?" he further inquired.

She wrung her hands nervously. "There may have been a brief period of time when Miss Elizabeth was unchaperoned in the library," she replied.

He dismissed Mrs. Nicholls and called for his valet. "Waverly, have you heard any talk among the staff regarding Miss Elizabeth Bennet?" he asked.

Waverly grimaced, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. "Yes Sir, the maid told me that Miss Elizabeth sought to force Mr. Darcy's hand by contriving to be alone with him in the library, on Saturday last. But I told the girl I had no time for her nonsense. I take no part in gossip," he insisted with an air of distaste.

"What maid?" Bingley inquired.

"Barbara Cyrus, the mistress' ladies maid," the valet replied.

He thanked the valet and dismissed him. Caroline had brought her maid with her from London; as far as Bingley could recall, the maid had been in his employ for about six months. Caroline had been through so many maids in recent years that he had thought better of this one, who had managed to stay in Caroline's good favor. Bingley called next for a footman. "Quentin, have you heard any talk amongst the staff regarding Miss Elizabeth Bennet," he inquired. When the footman hesitated, Bingley encouraged him to speak freely.

"Yes Sir, it was the city maid that told me that Miss Lizzy contrived to compromise Mr. Darcy. But I told her that she did no such thing! No Sir, the staff knows better than to believe the likes of that…what I mean to say Sir is that we don't take well to idle chatter about our own local ladies who we know to be above reproach," Quentin told his master.

Bingley next summoned a scullery maid, Marjorie who told him: "Oh that Barbara came to me spoutin' off about our dear Miss Lizzy but I paid no heed to her, that vile creature."

Bingley sensed a disturbing pattern. "What did she say?"

Marjorie was indignant. "Oh she made up some foolish story that Miss Lizzy forced Mr. Darcy's hand by sendin' her chaperone away! She even said Miss Lizzy is the most connivin' girl she ever met but I known Miss Lizzy for years and there ain't no finer lady than her! No Sir!" the young girl told her master.

Next Bingley summoned a groom from the stable. "It was that city maid what told me, Sir. She told me that Mr. Darcy compromised Elizabeth Bennet in the library, Saturday last. I didn't want t' believe her but she said she saw 'em with her own eyes. That he did the deed and left her without a second thought. I didn't believe her but I heard the same story in town from the farrier," the young groom told him, casting his eyes down to the floor.

"How would the farrier know what happened in the Netherfield library?" Bingley asked incredulously.

The boy looked up at Bingley with sad eyes. "I'm sure I don't know Sir but I truly hope the scoundrel will marry Miss Lizzy; she's a gentle born lady and she don't deserve…"

Bingley interrupted. "No, no – no such thing has happened, I assure you but it seems that the talk cannot be quelled," he concluded.

Finally, Bingley summoned Caroline's maid to his study. "Barbara, as you may know, the discretion of my staff is of utmost importance to me and my sisters," he suggested.

Barbara nodded her head enthusiastically. "Oh yes Sir, when Miss Bingley hired me she told me that I must never discuss her personal business, and I never have Sir," she said with a curtsy,

"Of course Caroline took measures to protect her own privacy," Bingley thought. "Indeed," he replied. "As you know, the Miss Bennets were recently guests in this house. I wonder what you know of them," he inquired.

"Oh Miss Bennet is a darling girl but Miss Bingley told me about the other one," Barbara suggested.

"Miss Elizabeth?" he prompted.

She nodded. "Miss Bingley told me how vulgar she is and how she was always making paltry attempts to win the attentions of Mr. Darcy. She told me that it should be most unfortunate for him if she were to succeed. 'Tis shameful, if you ask me, Sir. No lady should behave in such a manner," she insisted in a haughty tone that reminded Bingley of his sister.

Bingley dismissed the maid; he finally had the information that he had sought - the maid had repeated what she had heard from Caroline and further enhanced the story with speculation. Her vile discourse had spread throughout the town and now threatened to ruin the sister of the woman he admired. Miss Jane Bennet, with her angelic countenance and pleasing manners, had captured his attentions and he had hopes of pursuing her. He had only known her for a short time but he was certain that he had never met anyone as well matched to him in his life. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever beheld; she was modest and shy with a pleasing demeanor. Her angelic sweetness and optimism appealed to him greatly; having lived his entire life with his critical and outspoken sisters, he longed for a match with a woman closer to his own temperament and he could not imagine a more perfect woman than Miss Jane Bennet. He had been planning and organizing a ball to be held at Netherfield for the sole purpose of dancing with his 'angel'. For the last week he had thought of little else but holding her hand and gazing into her eyes as they danced.

But now, by his own sister's design, Miss Elizabeth was in jeopardy, which placed Miss Bennet and her other sisters in jeopardy. He paced the floor of his study overcome with worry. "What is to be done?" he wondered.

~~oo~~

While he was dressing for bed that evening, Darcy asked his valet Hobbs what he knew of Miss Elizabeth. "My impression from the local staff is that Miss Elizabeth is highly regarded in the community and is considered one of the jewels of the county," Hobbs told his master.

Later, while reading in his chamber, Darcy found that he could not concentrate on the printed page; his thoughts lingered on Miss Elizabeth. She was indeed a precious jewel. Her lively mind, her sharp wit, her charming laugh, her pleasing smile, her sparkling eyes, her supple form; he was enchanted by her. He recalled the brief time they had spent together with fondness; without the interference of her family, her bright personality had been fully revealed. How could such a woman come from such a family?-he wondered. Where they are crass, she is tactful; where they are boisterous, she is poised; where they are silly, she is witty; where they are outlandish, she is charming. But how could he entertain thoughts of a woman with such an inadequate family? Certainly such an alliance would be disastrous! He abandoned his book and snuffed out the candle. He resolved to think no more of the Bennets tonight; things are always more clear in the morning.

(Author's Note: This story is now published as an e-book under the pen-name Cassandra B. Leigh. Please check my profile page for more information.)