Chapter 1: They Meet
Mr. Bennet and his five daughters were at home enjoying their afternoon at Longbourn. Mr. Bennet was sitting in his study with his favorite daughter, Lizzy, playing a game of chess. His eldest daughter, Jane, was with his youngest daughter, Lydia, decorating bonnets. Finally, his middle children, Kitty and Mary, were in the garden. This peaceful autumn day was out of the ordinary for the family whose home was usually quite loud. The tranquility was attributed the fact that Mrs. Bennet had gone out for the day to visit her sister Mrs. Philips. However, it was not long before Mrs. Bennet returned bringing gossip and chaos with her.
"My dear Mr. Bennet! Have you heard the news!" cried Mrs. Bennet upon entering Longbourn.
Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth had heard the woman's cries but hoped she would not find them in the study. Upon her entering the study they then hoped instead she would be content to continue on without needing a reply.
"Mr. Bennet!" she said again impatiently. After not receiving a reply from Mr. Bennet his wife entered the study and told him, "My dear Mr. Bennet, Netherfield Park is let at last."
Mr. Bennet replied that he had not heard such news.
"Oh but it is!" replied his wife. "Mrs. Long has just been to Mrs. Philips's, and she told us all about it."
Lizzy and Mr. Bennet made no answer. Mr. Bennet used his wife's presence as an opportunity to take his daughter's queen. Perhaps such a distraction was a good thing he thought to smiling to himself. While Mr. Bennet usually pretended to lose to Elizabeth on purpose, she beats him fairly every time. This silence was not a deterrent to Mrs. Bennet, and she continued.
"Lizzy do you not want to know who has taken it? Why you may not be a pretty as Jane nor as tall as Lydia, but you should still be interested in who will be our neighbors!"
Lizzy tried not to frown at her mother's words. Despite knowing she was pretty in her own way, her mother's words still stung.
"Yes mama, I am interested. Pray who has let Netherfield?" she replied in defeat. Coincidentally this was the moment she noticed her father had taken her queen. This time she did not hide her frown.
"Well, what a fine thing for you girls! A young man from the North of England! Mrs. Long says he has a large fortune and that he came down on Monday to see the place and that he was delighted with it. He is to take possession of it shortly. His name is Bingley."
"Does he have a wife?" asked Mr. Bennet.
"Oh! Mr. Bennet, he is single and has five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!" Mrs. Bennet replied eagerly.
"For our girls?" Questioned Mr. Bennet "how so?"
"Do not be so tiresome Mr. Bennet; you must know that I am hoping he will marry one of them. A single man in possession of a good fortune is surely in want of a wife."
"Is that so Mrs. Bennet" said her husband.
"However little is known the feelings or views of such a man upon entering a neighborhood," Lizzy said to her father with a smile.
"Right you are my dear, as this truth is not only universally acknowledged but it is also so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families that he is considered as the rightful property of someone or other of their daughters" replied Mr. Bennet. He and Lizzy shared a laugh while Mrs. Bennet grew displeased with how her news was being taken.
The next day the very same man who Mrs. Bennet was talking of was looking out over Netherfield Park with his friend Mr. Darcy. Both men had recently arrived in Hertfordshire. They came from Town before the rest of their party to inspect the grounds of Netherfield. Mr. Bingley had just closed with his attorney and was eager to show his friend his new country manor. They rode their horses up onto a hill that supplied a beautiful view of the estate.
"So, what do you think of it? Is it not delightful?" asked Mr. Bingley to his friend.
"It is quite charming, not as fine as Pemberley to be sure, but the land looks prosperous indeed" replied Mr. Darcy.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Mr. Bingley. "I will ride forth to the house to instruct the staff of my sister's arrival. Caroline will be here on the morrow, and I wish to prepare my new staff about her...personality" Mr. Bingley told his friend.
Personality indeed thought Mr. Darcy as he rolled his eyes. He knew how demanding and difficult Caroline could be and did not look forward to living in the same house as her for the next little while. Although he considered her a friend, he was not unaware of her treatment of those she felt beneath her. Such treatment of the staff would not be tolerated at any of his homes.
Mr. Bingley turned to ride back toward the estate while Mr. Darcy decided not to follow his friend but to explore the surrounding forest instead. It was not as beautiful as the woods around Pemberley, but they were still quite pretty. He stopped by a small pond to rest his horse when he heard a rustling noise and the sound of feet fast approaching. As he looked toward where the noise was coming from, he saw a blur of light pink muslin and dark brown curls run past him in the woods. He was concerned that perhaps the young lady was in danger and he followed her.
"Hello there!" Called Mr. Darcy "Miss are you alright?" he continued.
Elizabeth Bennet had woken up early as usual and decided to leave the house before the rest of her family rose. She knew she must leave the house to avoid her mother who had recently learned that the neighboring estate Netherfield had just be let to a young man of a good fortune. While she knew her mother expected Mr. Bingley to marry Jane, all of the girls are supposed to be prepared on the off chance he chooses one of them.
Elizabeth decided to walk through the woods that bordered her father's estate and Netherfield. As she approached one of her favourite hills, she noticed two young men on horseback on top of a it. She saw them for a moment before they galloped off and assumed they were Mr. Bingley and a man from his "large party" that Lydia talked about the evening before.
Both men were handsome she thought. One man had soft features, a pleasant smile, light complexion, and curly reddish or maybe light brown hair — the other man, on the other hand, she thought very handsome. He had dark curly hair, though not as curly as his friend's, he had strong features, he seemed to be taller than his friend too even though they were on horses and he had broad shoulders. Looking at him made her blush to her mortification.
They are not for me she thought, they will fall in love with Jane.
Jane was much prettier than Elizabeth, although Elizabeth was a confident woman, the constant reminder that she was not a beautiful as her older sister or as lively as Lydia had taken its toll. Just this past evening Mrs. Bennet told Elizabeth she was not pretty enough to marry Mr. Bingley. While she kept her composure at the moment, she quietly escaped to her room and cried.
These sad memories caused Elizabeth to feel her anger and resentment build up in her until they were so overpowering, she had to release them from her being somehow before they were released in an unflattering outburst. Likely, towards her mother. She decided that a run through the woods would be just the exercise she needed to express herself. While running was not ladylike, it always cleared her head.
She had been running for a little while when she heard a man yelling.
"Hello there!" cried a deep voice "Miss are you alright?" it called again.
She realized the man was calling to her and she looked back with surprise. Unfortunately, as she looked back, she tripped on a tree root propelling herself to the ground. As she fell, she sliced her cheek on a branch and let out a cry in pain. She had fallen forward and landed on the dirt path in front, bracing her fall with her hands. Immediately her wrist began to throb, her cheek stung, and her thick brown hair had not only fallen out from under her bonnet, but it had also fallen out of her bun and now hung wildly around her neck. However, all of these pains paled in comparison to the utter mortification she felt when she saw the more handsome of the men she had seen on the hill come running toward her.
"Miss, are you injured? Are you alright?" asked Mr. Darcy with great concern as he came running toward the path where he heard her scream. As the lady came into his view, he slowed to a walk and then stopped in his tracks. Mr. Darcy was in a trance from the moment he saw the young woman. He had never seen a more intoxicating sight. She was beautiful he thought. Her skin was flushed and damp from running, her chest was moving up and down from being out of breath, and she had a dusting of dirt on her nose that he thought was adorable. Moreover, her hair, her long thick hair had fallen out, and it now fell seductively around her neck.
"I believe I have sprained my wrist, sir," Elizabeth replied as a rogue tear escaped her eye. Her voice broke Mr. Darcy's trance, and he quickly came to his senses and helped her over to the pond where his horse was. There was a large rock by the water where she could rest while she recovered from her fall.
"Thank you, sir," Elizabeth said, very aware the man she found to be so handsome had not said anything more to her. "I believe I shall be alright" she continued.
"I am glad to hear that ma'am." Replied Mr. Darcy as he realized he had been lost in thought. However, he grew to become more and more uncomfortable with this situation. He noticed a tear on the young lady's cheek that highlighted her scrape. He hated that such a pretty face had been marked in such a way.
"What or who were you running from in the woods? If you are in any danger, pray tell me so I may assist you" asked Mr. Darcy asked with a sense of urgency as he gave her his handkerchief.
"Danger, sir?" replied Elizabeth slightly confused as she took his handkerchief. "I was not running from anything, or anyone, I..."
She hesitated. She realized the impropriety of young woman running alone in the woods, but she could not lie.
"...I" she sighed "I was not running from danger, I was walking in the woods when I decided I would like to run to clear my head and so I began to run when your calls distracted me, and I fell."
Elizabeth noticed the look of guilt on the unknown man's face and quickly added: "but I understand your concern of seeing a lady running in the woods."
"You were running in the forest…alone…to clear your head…" said Mr. Darcy who was in utter shock. How singular this woman was.
"I apologize for causing your fall" said Mr. Darcy. "May I examine your wrist? Perhaps I may help what damage I have caused"
She extended her arm to him and he took it carefully in his grasp. It was swollen and scraped but it did not look like it was broken.
"We should clean the cuts with some water to prevent infection. I do not believe that alcohol is necessary in this situation".
"I think alcohol is very much necessary in this situation, sir." Said Lizzy with a laugh as she slowly shook her head. How ridiculous this entire situation was indeed.
Mr. Darcy who had already stood up to remove his flask from his pocket paused and looked down at her. He pursed is lips in contemplation as he removed the lid. "As you wish" he said as he took her hand a poured the liquid on to her wounds.
"Sir!" she shrieked with anticipated pain. She was frozen with her eyes tightly shut in anticipation for the sting that she knew was coming. But nothing came. Only cool relief. She looked at her wrist that now glistened as fresh cool water dripped off it.
She looked up at the man angrily as he chuckled taking a swig of water from his flask.
"That was not a good joke" she said sharply.
"Neither was yours" he said smiling.
Elizabeth began to laugh. Mr. Darcy's chest swelled with pride that he had made the loveliest woman he knew laugh. He knew from this moment that it would be his mission in life to continue to make her laugh as it was such a sweet sound. With the awkwardness now broken between them they soon fell into delightful conversation. After some time, Mr. Darcy realised that they had been together in the woods for far too long and presumably her family would be looking for her.
"While I have thoroughly enjoyed your perspective on Shakespeare, please let me escort you to your home. I believe your family may be wondering where you are". Elizabeth's heart sank a little. She did not want their discussion to end as they would likely not be able to enjoy such privacy again.
"Thank you, sir, however, I think it is best if I return alone."
"Please miss you are injured, and it would not be an inconvenience to me to see you home safe." Mr. Darcy was growing frustrated that she had little regard for her own safety. "I thank you again sir, but it is not in my nor your best interest to escort me home," She said as she rose to her feet and began to leave. "My mama is already overly excited about the arrival of a new man in the neighborhood, and I do not want to give her the wrong ideas about you and I. And she will chastise me heavily for my unladylike behavior in your company."
"Will your family not be more concerned that you are returned safely? Please, I must apologize to your father and explain my role in causing your injury" asked Mr. Darcy. He understood her concerns about her mother, but he held on to the hope she would let him walk with her.
"No sir, that is not needed. I return home regularly with various injuries!" She said with a smile as she darted off toward home.
