Hi everyone! I have decided to update this story once a week, more if I have time. At the moment, I have exams (and tomorrow's my birthday :)) but as soon as they're over I should be able to post at least twice a week. I hope you're all enjoying my story, and please leave a review! If you have any suggestions, please PM me drop a review. Hope you enjoy the story!
Darcy sighed. His little sister was monopolising all of Miss Bennet's time. All of it. And if he was being honest, he would admit that the true reason for his friendliness with the Gardiner's, at the beginning at least, was because of his urge to know her better. But now, even with her staying in the same house as him, he saw her even less for it. Darcy would never tell her so, but his little sister was finally beginning to grate on his nerves, and he finally understood Richard's constant annoyance at his sister and Darcy's cousin, Lady Eleanor Fitzwilliam. Darcy never had disliked her; Lady Eleanor was in fact one of Darcy's favourite family members, due to her constant monopolisation of those who tried to attach themselves to him. She would move them away from him and Richard, which was always a great source of amusement for Darcy and the Viscount, but not so much to the sociable creature that was Richard Fitzwilliam.
The first day had gone seemingly wonderfully. The Gardiners were asked to stay over at Pemberley, which was quickly arranged and seen to almost immediately, with their trunks being sent from the inn within the hour. Darcy was pleased with the company of Edward Gardiner for the duration of their fishing, however was pleased to return to the picnic that his sister had organised for their small party. He looked around at the people surrounding him. Edward and Madeline Gardiner reminded Fitzwilliam of his parents; of their relationship, which was one founded of mutual love and respect for each other. His parents wanted him to marry for love, and he realised that he certainly held Miss Elizabeth Bennet in high regard. But surely, he could never marry someone with connections in trade, could he? After all, it could certainly harm Georgiana's chances of making a good match, although anyone worthy of his little sister should not care about her sister-in-law. And Miss Bennet was clearly good for his little sister; he could see a clear smile on both of their faces as they laughed together.
Yes, Fitzwilliam Darcy realised, looking at Elizabeth, I will marry her. He continued to survey her profile; her face was not symmetrical, yet it was still pretty. Her chocolate eyes sparkled with laughter, and a smile was almost always pulled across her delightful pink lips. Lord, he could not wait to kiss... Fitzwilliam Darcy groaned, trying to shut out such inappropriate thoughts from his mind. Thankfully, no one was paying enough attention to him to see his slightly pink cheeks and eyes full of desire. A small brown curl escaped her bonnet, falling in front of her eyes. Without even realising his actions, he reached out, however she had impatiently brushed it out of the way before he got there. He realised what he had been about to do, and the impropriety of the act. What was wrong with him? What was this woman doing to him. Avoiding meeting her eyes, he sat back, leaning with his back against the tree, carefully thumbing through the pages of a book. He must stop such thoughts of her, until he had received permission to marry her, otherwise he may not be able to prevent such an action, which could never be taken well with her aunt and uncle, and his sister, only a short distance from them.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth was discussing painting with her new friend, who was telling her of all the times she had made her brother sit whilst she painted him. "I will show you the pictures tomorrow!" Georgiana Darcy exclaimed enthusiastically to her new friend. "Although, you must not tell Fitzwilliam; some of those paintings do him very little justice, and he was most displeased when I showed them to his friend! He threatened to lock away my watercolours for a month, although I do think he was jesting."
"I would love to see them, no matter what the standard. I have never been able to paint as well as I wished I could, however my sister, Kitty, has always been an excellent painter." Lizzy replied.
"My brother too is an excellent painter... when we were younger we would sit together in the gardens with our mother for a whole day, painting. Fitzwilliam once did a wonderful portrait of Pemberley, but he misplaced it, and it was found ruined in the stables three days later. He was dreadfully upset at the time." Georgie gushed.
As she spoke, Lizzy glanced over at the enigma that was Fitzwilliam Darcy. From her aunt and uncle, she had gathered that the Master of Pemberley had a reputation for being aloof to the point of vain, and for being an extremely proud man who would give no consequence to those whom he considered beneath him. But his solicitous treatment of her and her relatives indicated the complete opposite. She looked at him, relaxed against the tree with the sun shining on his slightly tanned face. Who was the true Mr Darcy, Lizzy wondered. But of course, she already knew who it was. It was both; the beautiful man before her was painfully shy and socially awkward, which was made obvious when they first met. And of course, at large social events, it would easily be mistaken for arrogance and haughtiness when he refused to speak with people. Not that Lizzy could comprehend why a man with so much to recommend himself could be shy. Nevertheless, it had to be true, for lack of any other possible explanation.
"My brother appears to enjoy your company." Georgie said innocently, noticing her friend staring over at her brother. Lizzy blushed, unsure of what an appropriate response would be, giving Georgie time to continue, "He told me yesterday that he came upon you in the grounds."
"He did?" Elizabeth enquiries, confused as to why he would say such a thing to his little sister.
"Of course!" Georgie replied, and a wide smile crossed her face. "He has always told me everything... I trust my brother with everything, and he trusts me." Suddenly tears welled up in Georgiana's eyes, whilst Elizabeth could only look at her in alarm, "I can hardly believe he still does... after everything I did!" Georgie choked out, before her resolve dissolved, leaving her in Elizabeth's arms with tears pouring down her face.
"Georgie, little one, I'm sure you haven't done anything so bad," Elizabeth said, wrapping her arms around her friend.
Darcy got up and came next to Georgie, gently removing her from Elizabeth's arms and taking her into his own, kissing her gently, speaking into her ear.
"Little one, what's wrong? What upsets you?" She threw her arms around his neck, even more tears spilling from her eyes.
"Fitzwilliam, please may I tell Miss Bennet about George? I... I feel that I must tell someone for you could hardly understand!" He knew he should understand, but he simply did not want to. His little sister needed a female confidante, but he simply was not ready for his place to be taken by another. He nodded at her, also giving a curt nod to Elizabeth, trying to smile, before gently pushing her away from him and walking into the trees..
He swung himself up into the tree, as he had done ever since he was a child. So, now his sister no longer needed him, George Wickham was taken care of, and his estate was thriving. What was he even living for? He looked down at his swinging feet, thinking of his uncle's words.
"Nephew, you must marry. Marry anyone, no matter what their connections and wealth are, but marry someone whom you love and respect, who you could spend all your life with and not be bored." Lord Matlock had told him, only half a year ago. Well, Fitzwilliam Darcy was certainly bored. Lord knew what Elizabeth could entertain him with, but whatever it was, he knew he wanted it. After all, what more was a young, rich, handsome young gentleman to do other than enjoy the company that an intelligent, well-read wife like Elizabeth would be?
He stared down at his swinging feet. He could imagine Elizabeth sitting on the branch next to him, the sun shining on her face, with those big brown eyes looking into his, dancing with amusement. He could picture them spending warm summer days, just wandering through the grounds of Pemberley, simply enjoying each other's company. But could that be the case? After all, she was staying for a mere three days, and to propose marriage after three days would implant the suspicion of compromise in the heads of both of their relations, and that could never do. No, he would have to find someone else like her, preferably someone who wouldn't be constantly monopolised by his rather irritating little sister.
But he never would find anyone like Elizabeth within the ton, and he very well knew it. After all, they all simply wanted him as a husband, for his estate and fortune, not to talk to him. All of them had adhered to the strict rules of polite society; none of them would be able to climb a tree. But Elizabeth would. And all Elizabeth wanted from him was his conversation, and she was talking to her sister as a friend, not just to get through to him via her, unlike every other unmarried woman who tried to call on his little sister at the Darcy townhouse or Pemberley. He would have Elizabeth, no one else could ever satisfy the high expectations Fitzwilliam Darcy now had for his wife. He would find a way to pursue her, and pursue her he would. She already had his heart, all he could do was hope she would accept his hand.
Meanwhile, Georgie was telling the story of George Wickham to her new friend, who was listening attentively with a shocked expression covering her face. Although, when coming to the part of their meeting in Ramsgate, Georgie fell apart into tears yet again, leaving Elizabeth to comfort her and attempt to coax out the rest of the story. At the plan of elopement, Elizabeth gasped, hugging her trembling friend closer to her, realising how terrifying the ordeal must have been to this girl who was only a little older than Lydia.
Elizabeth's heart ached for the pain that the younger girl must have felt. Although she had never been in love, Georgie had believed Wickham to be in love with her, and to discover otherwise through his own words must have been more painful than anything Elizabeth could possibly imagine, particularly when considering the man's history with their family from before even Mr Darcy was born. To think that the man could stoop so low would be unbelievable, had Elizabeth not heard the story from Georgiana herself. After all, the girl would hardly invent a story that would cause her and her respected and revered family name to be ruined, neither would her guardian, the careful and fastidious Mr Darcy, allow such a fabrication to be released as common knowledge. According to her aunt and uncle, the Darcy name had no scandal attached as far as anyone could remember. It had to be true, just as Mr Darcy had to be shy. Elizabeth, despite never having met this 'Wickham' character, was certainly predisposed to despising him.