Random Acts of Kindness

A moving sermon and a random act of kindness impacts the lives of the Darcys and changes the course of their story. What will be the final result for Elizabeth and Darcy?

Chapter 11 – Joyous Announcements and Evil Schemes

Elizabeth and Darcy returned to Longbourn to find Georgianna and the entire Bingley family paying a call. Georgiana and Kitty had watched from the window as the mounted pair crested the rise and rode into the circular drive. They had seen the expressions on both Darcy and Elizabeth and they were all grins as the pair dismounted, handed over their mounts, and entered the house.

Lydia was visiting Maria Lucas at Lucas Lodge. They had heard that an entire regiment of militia was to be quartered in Meryton for the winter and it was all that they could talk or think about.

Mrs. Bennet was focused across the room where Mr. Bingley was deep in conversation with Jane. She could tell that the man was completely besotted and she was thrilled, but she remained controlled. She was repeating the mantra "calmness and serenity," over and over again. She might not be highly intelligent. She might be somewhat mercenary. But she loved her daughters in her own way and it was her self-appointed task to see each of them happily married. It was odd therefore, that she hadn't noticed the newly arrived couple yet.

Caroline and the Hursts did notice. Many might look at Mr. Hurst and question his intelligence. First impressions labelled him as corpulent and dull. But his was actually a very sharp mind with keen observational skills. He had noticed Mr. Darcy's distraction before the assembly. He had seen the man's instant fixation on the beautiful young woman across the long assembly hall. And he had witnessed their dance. Therefore he was not at all surprised to see the glowing joy on the couple's face, nor their slightly disheveled appearance. Caroline is not going to like this at all.

Louisa Hurst, though she was the older sister, had long ago given up on influencing Caroline. The best that she could hope for was to dampen some of her younger sister's more aggressive habits. She had long ago concluded that Caroline had no chance of catching Mr. Darcy, but was honestly too afraid to voice her conclusions. She saw the same details as her husband… and it made her flinch. There will be no peace at Netherfield for a while. Perhaps Geoffrey and I could return to our townhouse now, before the explosion. She involuntarily touched her stomach.

Caroline could barely think at all. All of her dreams, schemes, and public declarations as the next Mistress of Pemberley were slipping through her hands. I will kill that little tart! Pemberley is mine! I will never let her have it!

The imminent outburst was stalled when Louisa suddenly clutched her stomach and paled. Mrs. Bennet and Mary both saw her. They instantly stepped forward to help. "I need to get outdoors… or a chamberpot!" Louisa whispered urgently. The two ladies were able to help her up and out of the room. Mr. Hurst looked pale and worried. The others watched with concern. Caroline neither noticed or cared as she glared at Elizabeth balefully.

In the downstairs water closet, Louisa heaved until nothing remained of her breakfast*. Mrs. Bennet kindly rubbed her back. Mary offered a cold, wet cloth for Louisa to wipe her face. Then Fanny asked, "Will this be your first?"

Mary's eyes widened, but Louisa only smiled slightly, "Yes. We've been married for four years. I had begun to despair."

Fanny Bennet gave Louisa a motherly hug, "I'm happy for you. Now, we must get Mr. Jones and Mrs. Crabtree to come and examine you. Mr. Jones is only an apothecary, but Mrs. Crabtree is our most experienced midwife. Together they delivered most of the children in the neighborhood. Mrs. Crabtree was there for all but one of my daughters' births."

Mary watched her mother gently lead Mrs. Hurst back towards the drawing room. It was in moments like this that Mary liked and respected the woman who so often exasperated and annoyed her. When she isn't trying to marry us off or ranting about hedgerows, she is a good mother.

It was necessary for the comfort of Mr. Hurst for Louisa to explain her malady. His face became instantly joyous and he couldn't restrain the urge to announce that joy to the world. Everyone was pleased to express congratulations and best wishes. Everyone with the exception of Caroline.

After the din subsided, Mrs. Bennet announced an impromptu dinner party and solicited the Netherfield Party to stay. Caroline, breathing fire, claimed a headache and demanded to be taken back to Netherfield. Her intention was to take her whole party, but her brother Charles escorted her instead. She ranted and raved, but Charles ignored her. As soon as she was safely in the house, he had the carriage take him back to Longbourn.

The servants at Netherfield had been hired locally and not averse about gossip. By the next morning the story of Caroline's fit was the stuff of legend. There was not a breakable object in her room, the sitting room, or the drawing room intact when she was finished. The housekeeper had wisely locked the door leading to the kitchens for fear of the madwoman gaining possession of the cutlery.

Back at Longbourn, Darcy used the din of congratulations as a distraction as he slipped upstairs to meet with Mr. Bennet again. They talked for half an hour, making Elizabeth quite nervous. She needn't have been concerned. Thomas had expected the request and immediately given his consent. The remainder of the visit was a father telling tales about his most adventurous daughter. When Elizabeth finally snuck upstairs, it was to hear roaring laughter.

She knocked and was asked to enter. Her eyes went first to her smiling father, and then to her beloved. Thomas Bennet said, "Come here, my child." She complied, taking his outstretched hand. He nodded to Darcy, who stepped forward. Thomas gestured for his hand as well, placing Elizabeth's tiny, delicate hand into Darcy's much larger hand. Mr. Bennet's hand held both together, suspicious moisture in his eyes. "I give you both my blessing. May God always bless your union."

Elizabeth threw herself into her father's arms with joy. Thomas patted her hair and raised an eyebrow at the tall man grinning like a fool. "Well Son, I believe that you look strong enough to help me down the stairs for this dinner tonight? It seems that I have another announcement to make. Prepare yourself for my dear wife's joyous pronouncements."

There was surprised pleasure among the family when Mr. Darcy helped Mr. Bennet to descend the stairs. Papa had been carefully walking back and forth in his room, but his limp was, and would always be, quite pronounced and he had not ventured the stairs before now. Nevertheless, Fanny and the girls were overjoyed to see him back at the head of the table.

Oddly enough, though he had been sequestered in his bedchamber, he had actually become closer to each member of his family. The elder three girls had been daily visitors. Their industry and care for their family had convicted him. He began asking Fanny to sit with him for a spell, and then his other two daughters. He quickly discovered unforeseen depths in Kitty, but the other two had been difficult at first. Nevertheless, he persisted. Eventually he found subjects that each person was interested in which he could tolerate.

With Fanny, her daughters were the focus. She might have been selfish and self-centered with her concerns and nerves, but she did care. Thomas found that she had surprising insights into each girl. When he shared his own, they found common ground. Her intellect would never inspire him in the way that Elizabeth's did, but they had a starting point.

With Lydia, he discovered that her liveliness needed direction. Put simply, she was bored. Thomas tentatively broached the topic of a finishing school and was surprised at her positive response. He determined to speak to Kitty as well and was also pleased with her enthusiasm. It didn't hurt that the school in question (recommended by Darcy) was famous for its stables. At that school, the young residents were not only taught etiquette, but also taught how to properly drive a curricle and ride a horse.

Due to these changes in the family interaction, Mr. Bennet's first reappearance at the head of the table after three months was greeted with much enthusiasm and joy. Despite the fact that he would always be pained by his left leg, he could only be thankful for the results. He was resolved from that moment forward that he would be the man, the husband, and the father that his family
deserved.

With the absence of Caroline's poisonous presence, the Bennets, Darcys, Hursts, and Mr. Bingley enjoyed a pleasant meal. Charles Bingley, Fanny Bennet, and Lydia were the only ones surprised when Mr. Bennet tapped his glass with his fork to call for attention, "It is with great pleasure that I announce that Mr. Darcy had asked for Elizabeth's hand in marriage, and she has accepted."

The author will not venture to record the effusions that followed here, except to write that any commitments to "calmness and serenity" were temporarily forgotten. It is noteworthy, however, that the aforementioned "effusions" were uncharacteristically brief. Only Fitzwilliam Darcy noticed when Fanny's hand reached up to brush her brooch or how his future mother-in-law began to transform into a calm and stately matriarch. He made a point to smile warmly at her and nod.

oOoOOoOo

Back at Netherfield, the housekeeper cautiously wrapped a cut in Caroline's palm. The redhead's fit had stilled now, but her new state was actually more frightening.

Caroline was smiling. She had a plan.

* Concerning Louisa's breakfast: Don't worry, I don't mean to discuss the contents of said breakfast, only the concept. Careful readers might note that it should be late-afternoon at this point in the story. Breakfast literally means to "break the fast." A fast is a period of abstinence from eating. When they slept, they were considered to be fasting for eight to twelve hours. Therefore, the first meal was "breakfast," whatever the time of day. Since balls and assemblies often went until one or two in the morning, it was common for attendees to sleep well past noon. Louisa broke her fast in the early afternoon. The stress of Caroline's potential reaction exacerbated the nausea pregnancy had already created.