Of Plots and Lightning Bugs

Lizzie ducked her way through the crowd as she searched for Lord Darcy. She couldn't let Lydia force a marriage. Even after only knowing him for a few minutes, she knew that he didn't deserve that. She stopped when she saw him and laughed lightly. There he was, stuck between Lydia Bennet, Viscountess Caroline Bingley, and a wall. He was trying to refuse both their attempts to get him to dance, and neither were seeming to notice. He spotted Lizzie and tried even harder to break free from his imprisonment. She snuck into a good eavesdropping position and waited to be entertained.

"Lord Darcy promised me a walk and a dance." Lydia whined.

"Well he promised me a set of dances." Viscountess Bingley countered.

"He promised me first." Lydia stomped her foot.

"I am of higher birth than you, so I am more important." Viscountess held her head high snootily.

"Well he has never met me before. So I am more exciting. And since I am more fun than you, you will have to wait your turn." Lydia struggled to create a decent reply.

Lizzie took this as the perfect moment to intervene and humiliate her sister in a slight way. "Lydia," she stepped out of the shadows, "he did not promise you a walk. He promised me a walk. And if he does not want to walk. I would be more than happy to dance. Viscountess," she curtsied, "I apologize for my youngest sister. I don't know what gets into her head sometimes. If indeed, Lord Darcy did promise you a set, I will let him say so to me and the two of you can make your way to the floor." Little did Lizzie know that Darcy did not promise either anything from a glass of punch to an entire night of dances.

"I would be happy to dance with you, Miss Elizabeth." He pushed past the other two ladies and Elizabeth took his arm. "Thank you." He said softly.

"You are welcome. I actually came to warn you." Lizzie and Darcy skipped lining up for the dance and went out to the field where Lizzie's siblings, Bingley, and Georgiana were now catching lighting bugs.

"Warn me about what?" Darcy stopped her at the edge of the stone path and the grass.

"My sisters Lydia and Jane." Lizzie sighed. "Are you married or engaged. Lord Darcy?" Darcy said nothing. "Because if you are, you had best produce her, and if you aren't you will be soon if you do not take cautions. For both you and the Viscount."

"I still don't understand."

"My sister Lydia intends to compromise herself to you so you will be forced to marry her. And if Lydia does it and it works, then Jane will do it to Viscount Bingley."

"Why are you telling me this? Certainly one sister, let alone two sisters, married to upper ranking members of the court are good for your own prospects?" Darcy was shocked. A woman who does not want to be a princess?

"I do not believe that anyone should be marry someone they don't love, Lord Darcy. Especially if they are forced to do it." Lizzie drew her hand off his arm. "And I apologize once again for my honesty, but I am offended that you would think that of me. I only sought to do you a favor and keep you away from an awkward and awful situation. I also look out for my sister Mary and her wants, as myself and my brother are the only two who do. If your friend the Viscount wants something from Mary that is more than just friendship, encourage him. I can tell Mary would enjoy his company. If he wants something dishonorable, dissuade him. Mary is not that type of lady. And I will not stand for her to be dishonored in that way."

"Pardon me. Miss Elizabeth. I was only confused. Things here are very different from that of the town. And Bingley, is not that type of man. I guarantee it."

"Then he has nothing to be afraid of." They stood in silence, watching the group of those younger of them. The quartet ran around, obviously enjoying themselves. Their laughter carried across the field, towards the hall. Lizzie wished she could be that care free at times. But she was always worried. Worried that one day her father would not be there to protect her and Mary from their mother. Worried that Carter would not be able to save their home from ruin because of their mother and siblings. Worried that her sisters would get what they wanted. But at the same time, she wondered if that would be such a bad thing. They would leave her, Mary, and Carter and go live in their big fancy houses with all their money and their mother would probably flit between the two new residences for the rest of her life. So why did that give Lizzie the sense of dread that it always did. Maybe it was because her sisters had always gotten everything they wanted and she wanted them to experience what it felt like to not have. Maybe it was because she was afraid that when that happened, she would be forgotten and become a spinster, like Charlotte Lucas was becoming. Yes, Charlotte was a friend of hers. Yes, Charlotte was a kind and good person. But at thirty-seven, she was about to be put back on the shelf and forgotten too. And how long after her sisters married, would that become her. Lizzie wanted to marry for love. But if there was a choice between marrying for love and never having a family of her own, she would cast aside marrying for love. She wanted to run her own house. She wanted to have children. She wanted to know what it felt like to have a true home to call her own. Yes, Longbourn would be the home of her childhood, but it haven't felt like a true home for quite a while.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Darcy's deep voice. "Would you like to join them?"

"Pardon, Sir?"

"Would you like to join the hunt for the lightning bugs?"

"I would prefer to watch my siblings be children once again from a distance. You may join them if you wish, though." She wrapped her arms around her once again to drive away the cold.

"I would prefer to stay with you." He said softly.

Lizzie caught her breath. "Why are you being so kind to me?" Her question shocked her as much as it shocked him. "I'm-"

"Because of two things, Miss Elizabeth." Darcy stopped her. "The first is because my sister told me to." He laughed at himself. "And I would never do anything to make her unhappy. The second," he took off his coat and wrapped it around her now shaking shoulders, "is that everyone deserves some kindness. There are some that have lost my ability to be kind to them. But even they deserve some sort of light in the darkness."

"Very poetic, Lord Darcy." She smiled. "And thank you for the coat."

"Excuse me for the interruption." Lizzie heard her father's voice from behind her. "Lizzie, you mother would like to return home. Do you know where Mary and Carter are?"

"In the field, papa." She took off the coat. "I will fetch them and we will meet you out front. It will be hard to drag Lydia away from the dance."

"Actually, both she and Jane are waiting with you mother." He nodded to Darcy and turn back to Lizzie. "I will see the three of you out front shortly." Her father left just as quietly and quickly as he seemed to come.

Lizzie handed Darcy's coat back to him. "Thank you. Lord Darcy. I need to get my brother and sister." She curtsied ad left him standing there. He witnessed her pull her brother and sister away and his sister and friend come back to stand by him. Then as a group, they returned to the ball and waited for something better. He saw a look in Bingley's eyes that he so often possessed. Yes Viscount Charles Bingley was enchanted by another "angel". But this time something was different. The look was deeper and more intense. The look seemed to be permanent. And Georgie, who was so demure in her emotions regarding other, smiled then sighed throughout the night, almost like a long lost and forgotten wish had come to pass. And Darcy, he couldn't forget the olive skinned woman who had instantly become his friend. For when was the last time that had happened to him. The answer; never.

Back at the Bennet house, however, things could not have been more different. And realizations and observations of other sorts were made.