Title: Pride
Author: rooster dawn
Alternative Universe
Summary: Harm and Mac act out Pride and Prejudice
Disclaimer: JAG is property of Belisarius productions, no copyright infringement intended.
Pride & Prejudice is the property of Jane Austen
(First known as First Impressions)
: Warner Brothers 1940
: BBC 1979
: Arts and Entertainment Network/BBC co-production 1995
: Universal Studio 2005
no copyright infringement intended.
Please let me know what you think, it's the only way I can write better stories for you.
Author's note: Due to a computer glich, several chapters weren't posted in their entirely. I have made the corrections. Sorry for the inconveniences I have imposed upon you.
part nine What Does it All Mean
Sarah headed back to the dance floor where she found Mr. Darcy waiting for her. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Why was she so nervous? It was only Mr. Darcy. She had danced with him every night when she stayed here a few weeks ago. She wasn't looking to gain his attention or his approval.
This set of dances will last twenty minutes and then it will be over. You will have met your obligation to Mr. Darcy and to Mr. Keeter for dancing with Mr. Darcy. Relax, everything will be alright.
During the first dance with Mr. Darcy, Sarah decided to converse with him. She figured it would be a good way to pay him back for asking her to dance. She hoped to teased him enough to make him miserable hoping he wouldn't asked her to dance again.
But why was that? Hadn't she wanted him to dance with her the first night at the Assembly Ball? He was a good looking fellow. He was a man of good breeding. Surely he would be a good partner. He wouldn't embarrass himself in front of her acquaintances.
When she took her place opposite Mr. Darcy, she noticed the quizzical looks of those around her. She could only imagine what they were thinking. They probably thought she was insane to be standing there with Mr. Darcy because she thought so too.
Or were they envious that she, Sarah Mackenzie, had gained Mr. Darcy's favor and fancy. Everyone here knew of his position in life. Surely everyone wondered if there was anyone here in Meryton who gain his attention.
"I love this dance." she began expecting him to reply. She gave him a smile of satisfaction.
"It's your turn to say something now Mr. Darcy. I have talked about the dance, you should make some remark about the number of couples that are here or the size of the room." continued Sarah in her effort to get him to talk.
"I will talk about anything you wish to talk about." he replied with a small smile.
"Very well, that should do for now, perhaps later we can talk about something else, such as I think private balls are much better than public ones. There, now we can be silent." she concluded.
"Do you generally talk while you dance?" he asked curiously.
"Sometimes I do, one must speak a little you know otherwise it would be quite odd if two people who are together were quiet for a half hour. One could arrange one's conversation to say as little as possible if one had difficulty conversing." teased Sarah.
"Are you consulting your own feelings on this matter or are you trying to placate mine." he asked knowing the real answer to his question. It amazed him how quickly her mind worked.
Though as a rule he disliked talking while he danced because it took away from the pleasure one had of looking at one partner and enjoying the music. But somehow Sarah's sharp wit tonight was invigorating to him.
He didn't know whether she was testing his resolve or teasing him. Then again maybe she was trying to draw him out of his shell. It certainly was much easier to converse with her if she was supplying the topic of conversation and forcing him to respond.
He had to admit her mind was sharp. She was certainly quite intelligent. She seemed to always be thinking. She was someone he could picture spending the rest of his life with. Stop! Stop! Stop thinking about her in that manner. Her social status doesn't permit her to be with you.
"Both!" she replied smiling. "For I have seen a great similarity in how our minds work. We are both unsociable, have a reserved nature, and are quite unwilling to say anything unless we have something amazing to say that will delight everyone in the room and will be remember for all prosperity."
"I know that is not true of your character Ms Sarah for you are anything but unsociable and reserve. While you may believe that to be true about me, I'm not sure that it is true. I can't make that decision for you." he replied.
They were quiet for awhile as they dance. It wasn't until they started the second dance of the set when they spoke again.
"Do you and your sisters often walk to Meryton?" he asked.
"Yes we do. It's a good way to meet new people. The day you met us by the lake we had found ourselves fortunate to make a new acquaintance." she replied.
Her original intent was to tease him about his reaction to Mr. Turner, but she saw in his face the subject of her new friend wasn't a pleasant one for Mr. Darcy.
Perfect he thought, she was right about one thing, they were capable of being of one mind when one of them wanted to talk about a particular subject. At least he wouldn't have to try and introduced it into their conversation.
"Mr. Turner has been blessed to have such happy manners that he can easily make friends. His difficulty has been in trying to maintain their friendship after they have gotten to know him better." replied Harm.
"He has been unfortunate to lose your friendship Mr. Darcy." she replied. "He's apt to suffer from it for the rest of his life."
"The only one who has cause Mr. Turner's suffering is he himself. His lot in life was determined by his own actions, not mine." he corrected her.
Their conversation was interrupted by Sir Lucas as Sarah and Mr. Darcy were at one end of the dance line. Sir Lucas was waiting for the opportunity to pass through the dancers when he noticed them standing there.
"I want to thank you Sir, it's not often that we see such fine dancing here in Hertfordshire. You are indeed a superb dancer worthy of dancing with Ms Sarah. There aren't many young men capable of matching her charms and dancing skills.
I hope that we will have the pleasure of seeing you both dancing together more often in the future especially when a very special event takes place in the near future Ms Sarah.
Let me not detained you any further Sir from your conversation with your young lady who's beautiful eyes make us all fall in love." smiled Sir Lucas as he saw the obvious attraction between them. Maybe there would be two weddings in the spring.
"What was that all about?" Harm asked Sarah after Sir Lucas had left. He wasn't sure he caught Sir Lucas's true meaning.
"A man who sees things that are not there. I believe he would have you marrying me in the spring when love is all consuming in the weak minded. But we know that can never be since I'm only tolerable." she replied sadly.
"I was mistaken." he rebutted.
For she was more than tolerable whether or not there was a future for them together. Sarah didn't know what hit her. She never expected him to say that for it was the impetus behind her disliking him. For she truly believed that he didn't like her. Had his view of her changed?
The dance was over a few minutes later and Sarah excused herself. She sought out Harriet's company. She needed to talk to someone about what Mr. Darcy had said to her about seeing her again and about her getting to know his character better. What did it all mean?
"I did spend some time with him at Netherfield, but we didn't really do anything special. Half the time I was there he ignored me. It was like he was fighting with himself. I never knew what to expect from him.
Do you know he walked with me a couple of times around the estate? He would never say a word, he was just there. He's a very strange man." sighed Sarah.
"I think he likes you Sarah. I think when he first arrived here he probably swore to himself that he wouldn't like anybody or anything about Hertfordshire. If he didn't like it here, it would make it much easier for him to leave.
But since he has been exposed to the beauty and charms of Ms Sarah Mackenzie, what man could possibly resist her? He's probably afraid to like you because then he would fall madly and deeply in love with you." smiled Harriet in a teasing manner.
"Come on Harriet, be serious. He doesn't even like me never mind love me. He only loves himself. He's the most miserable person I've ever met. It's so much easier to dislike him.
Then I don't have to wonder what he's thinking about or whether or not he likes me. I can forget about him. And when I do have to talk to him, it's much easier to make fun of him. I do love to tease him so." smiled Sarah.
She needed to find a quiet place to think, but before she could Allison stopped her. She wanted to talk to Sarah about Mr. Turner. She had heard Jordan talking to her brother about him.
"My dear Sarah, I heard that you have met Mr. Turner and have taken a fancy to him. Be very careful Sarah, for he is not what he appears to be, he's not to be trusted. Though I do not remember the particulars, the stories that I heard in London ...
well Mr. Turner is not an honorable man (he's a black sheep). Do not believe any stories of ill treatment by Mr. Darcy towards Mr. Turner for they are surely false. Although Mr. Darcy may have his faults, he is an honorable man.
He wouldn't have turned away from Mr. Turner unless he deserved it. If you have to choose one of them to be your friend, let it not be Mr. Turner for he isn't deserving of your kindness and generosity." offered Allison and before Sarah could respond she was gone.
Sarah was confused. She didn't know what to think. What was there to think about? But try as she might, Sarah couldn't stop thinking about him. She looked for an isolated spot to think about what Mr. Darcy had said to her.
Why did he care about what she thought about his character? Was he jealous that she liked and preferred Mr. Turner's company to his own? Was he upset that she thought Mr. Turner had more character than he did?
Was he that proud? Why did he want her to think more of him when he didn't even like her? Her head was spinning. Why was she even thinking about him anyway? Why did she even care what he thought?
She needed to clear her head. She was at a ball. She was there to have fun. She wasn't there to worry about what Mr. Darcy thought about her. Unfortunately for Sarah her night with Mr. Darcy wasn't going to be as short lived as she might have hoped.
Over the next few hours Mr. Darcy asked her to dance a few more times with her. It seemed like to her that she spent the rest of the night after her talk with him, dancing with him.
It was only when she begged for a breather to rest and have a drink that he wasn't there with her. The one good thing about all his attention though was she didn't have to dance or spend any more time with Mr. Collins.
He was a terrible dancer. He always turned the wrong way. He held on too tightly. It was an experience she hoped she would never experience again. She did notice a few times when she wasn't focus solely on Mr. Darcy that Harriet was dancing with Mr. Collins.
She wondered what that was all about. Maybe it was because she was too busy spending time with Mr. Darcy and didn't have any time to be with Harriet. She wondered how Jordan was doing.
She thought she saw Jordan dancing with Mr. Keeter a few times, but she wasn't too sure. It had been so hard to focus on anyone else when Mr. Darcy was demanding so much of her attention. Why was that?
After he had completed his obligation of dancing with all his cousins, Mr. Collins went looking for Sarah to dance with her again and to be near her for the rest of the evening. He had decided that Sarah was the one he wanted for his wife.
Unfortunately he couldn't find her and when he did, Sarah was dancing with Mr. Darcy. Since Mr. Darcy was the nephew of his benefactor Lady Catherine de Bourgh, he didn't wish to intrude and interrupt them.
He found Harriet after a while and talked to her, even sharing a dance or two with her. Harriet was please to have his attention. To her Mr. Collins was a good man, a man to be respected. One could do worse than Mr. Collins.
During one of his breaks from dancing with Ms Sarah, Allison caught up with Mr. Darcy. It was unusual for her not to spend time with him during an evening. Tonight she was lucky to have gotten ten minutes to spend with him as his attention was diverted elsewhere.
"Ah ... to be in love Mr. Darcy. You and your wife are the talk of the ball. Never in the recent history of Hertfordshire have they seen such fine dancing. They are all talking about a wedding in the spring." teased Allison.
"What is it with you and weddings? Is that all you ever think about? You should find a young man of your own to wed in the spring and leave me alone." replied Harm a bit annoyed with her.
"I remember you asking Ms Sarah a month ago about how one should show their love if not with poetry. She told you that you should dance with her. You have spent most of the evening so far dancing with her. Thus you are in love with her. Marriage is usually what comes next Mr. Darcy." smiled Allison.
Harm sighed in disbelief before leaving to find Ms Sarah. He would ask her to dance again. And why not? She was beautiful and intelligent. She made dancing enjoyable. He was not in love with her. He was not. He was just enjoying the company of a beautiful woman.
2200 hours
Netherfield
Around ten o'clock there was a break in the dancing as the band took a thirty minute break. Mr. Keeter had arranged for a light dinner meal to be served for those who were in need of replacing their energy reserves.
On one side of a long table sat Mr. Darcy with Allison sitting to his left, then the Boones, Mr. Keeter, and finally Jordan. Jordan and Mr. Keeter were in their own little world.
They cooed and whispered about the evening's activities. No one else existed at that moment in time in their little world. They talked about the evening activities and their possible future.
"What's with Mr. Darcy tonight? I thought he didn't like Sarah. Why has he been dancing with her all night?" asked Jordan.
"Not according to my sister, she says Darcy has fallen madly in love with your sister. Not a moment goes by that he's not thinking of her. I did ask him to dance with her. He did say he would only dance with people he knew. He does know your sister quite well now." smiled Jack.
"Is it true? Does he love Sarah?" asked Jordan.
"Only Darcy knows the answer to that question and he's not saying anything. Darcy seldom reveals what he truly believes. He rarely defends himself or his opinions." replied Jack.
On the other side of table a few seats down and not directly in front of Mr. Darcy sat Mrs. Mackenzie, who was busy talking with Mrs. Long on her left. Mr. Mackenzie was on the other side of Mrs. Long. He was getting a headache.
"My Jordan is so lucky, she seems to have captured Mr. Keeter's full attention tonight. I wouldn't be surprise if there was a wedding in the near future." chirped Mrs. Mackenzie.
"I think you're right. They do make such a lovely couple." agreed Mrs. Long.
"Mrs. Mackenzie, could you please explain to me why Sarah has been dancing with Mr. Darcy all night. I thought you told me she didn't like him." moaned Mr. Mackenzie.
"Really? I hadn't noticed." she replied indifferently. She didn't care anything about Mr. Darcy. She had no interest in whatever he did or said. He could be running around the room butt naked and she wouldn't care.
"He's right you know, they have been dancing together quite a bit tonight. Everyone has been talking about them. They make such a beautiful couple. Maybe there will be two weddings in the spring Mrs. Mackenzie." smiled Mrs. Long.
"Impossible, he doesn't even like Sarah. He's just being polite. I believe he's just being a good friend to Mr. Keeter. Mr. Keeter wanted Mr. Darcy to dance more." she argued as her voice grew louder.
"He didn't want Mr. Darcy to be a stick in the mud and ruin the ball."
Mrs. Mackenzie had been drinking and was beginning to lose control of what she was saying. It still pained her that Mr. Darcy had been disrespectful of Sarah at the Assembly Ball more than a month ago.
She didn't forget easily. To her Mr. Darcy was a proud unpleasant sort of man who felt no one was worthy of his company. He seemed to look down on everyone and didn't like anyone either.
Her voice began to rise as she began to talk about Mr. Darcy. When it was pointed out that he could hear her, she declared she didn't care.