A / N: Thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter, I loved reading your thoughts on it. This chapter is coming a little earlier than I originally said it would but I've had a lot of free time on my hands and a lot of determination to write over the last few days.
Chapter 30 will hopefully be ready to post by the 20th August, if not then apologies in advance as it's my son's birthday in two weeks so that will be my reason as to why the post might be a little late but I hope that won't be the case. Just a little something to look forward to, Reginald will get to know little Rosie in the next chapter.
As always, please continue to read and review and enjoy this chapter.
She could have sworn it was supposed to be a bad dream, sitting on a bench outside her home with the man she had spent the last four and half years hating for what he had done to her. Elizabeth was still feeling nervous about what Reginald wanted to say to her, she also felt slightly curious because the man had revealed that it was something that Jane had said to him that had caused him to come to Longbourn to talk to her.
"If I were you, I'd get talking. You don't have a lot of time." Elizabeth said impatiently.
Reginald cleared his throat.
"Your sister gave me a little insight into how things were with you after I sent you away with the cheque, she said that your father considered getting you psychological help because what I did caused you such pain that you weren't the person you are. She said that you had to work quite hard in order to provide for the child-"
"The child is called Rose. She's a person, living and breathing and she has feelings just as much as you and I do. If you want me to carry on listening to whatever it is you want to say to me, you'll acknowledge that she's your son's daughter." Elizabeth shrieked.
Reginald nodded.
"I apologise, that was insensitive of me to refer to Rose as 'the child', it won't happen again."
"Continue, you've got four minutes." Elizabeth urged impatiently.
"Your sister made it clear how much you suffered, that you had to face bringing up Rose on your own because of what I did and I think I understand now that I isolated you. My first impression of you was that you were only with my son for our money, that you would scam him and then run and when I found out that you were carrying his baby, I thought it was a trap set for Fitzwilliam and the future that I wanted him to have, the things that I wanted him to achieve were threatened by this discovery. So I made the decision to separate the two of you, at the time I thought that I was doing the right thing." Reginald explained calmly.
Elizabeth scoffed in disbelief.
"The money never bothered me. If you had gotten to know me like any normal person would have done, then you'd know that I always put the money back in Will's pockets whenever he decided to pay for our dates in Spain and that was because he refused to take my money whenever I offered to pay for my half of the date."
"My children's futures were the main focus point of my life after my wife died. In those days, I shut myself away from my children and got so drunk that I would pass out. If it weren't for Alice, my children would have lost their father when Georgiana was only a little bit older than Rose is now. When I finally sobered up, their futures became my one focus. I had dreams for them, Fitzwilliam had finished his bachelor's degree and was going to do a two-year master's after his summer in Spain. I was hoping that he would see sense after he had broken up with Eleanor for the millionth time and get back together with her. I liked Eleanor, I thought that she was a suitable choice for a future wife for my son and when he returned home for August with you, that vision of the future that I had for Fitzwilliam was vanishing." Reginald explained.
"I understand that parents have certain hopes for their children, my own mother wasn't exactly pleased when I returned home pregnant and unmarried. She always wanted her daughters to be married before they had children and wanted me to consider have an abortion which I refused. Once my father and sister agreed to help me when the baby came, she eventually got used to the idea that I wasn't following her hopes for me, but that's not to say that she's still not disappointed with my choice but she's never forced me to do anything like you forced William to move on after you sent me away." Elizabeth said.
"I was very determined not to let you interfere with what I wanted, I believed that my son was meant to be with Eleanor and I saw you as an obstacle, as I did with Rose."
"Speaking of Eleanor, did you know that after she revealed to Will about her part in your schemes, she tried to plot to get him back; going as far as to recruit a rapist to try and seduce me away and when that failed, she plotted to kidnap my daughter with Caroline Bingley? Is that really someone that you want your son to be with?" Elizabeth asked.
This revelation took Reginald by surprise, just the way his eyes widened in shock made her realise that he hadn't known about Eleanor's plans to try and win back Will.
"I didn't know. When she left Pemberley after Fitzwilliam cut all ties with me, we didn't stay in contact." Reginald replied.
Elizabeth nodded but said nothing and for a few seconds there was a brief silence until Elizabeth looked around to see that Lydia was picking up the shopping bags before heading back towards the house.
"What I want to say is that when I sent you away, I never once considered how much damage it would do to you. All I was concerned about was getting my son back on track with his life and convinced him that you were a temporary distraction from all of that but I now know that I was wrong to act in the manner that I did. I should have gotten to know you instead of imagining you to be someone that you aren't and I should have stayed out of something that wasn't my concern and allowed my son to make his own choices, especially when it came down to the fact that you were having his baby. For the way that I treated you, I'm sorry."
Elizabeth's mouth dropped open a little in shock, she certainly hadn't expected him to apologise for what he had done to her and William. She didn't know how she was supposed to react to the man, it was evident that he wanted to make amends; he was completely different to the man she had met four and a half years ago.
But while she appreciated Reginald's efforts, she knew that she couldn't just forgive him straight away. Because of Reginald's actions, Rose had gone three and half years without a father in her life and despite the fact that Rose and William had formed a very close, very affectionate bond and relationship, she knew that her daughter and her boyfriend would never get that time back. William would always have missed out on the first three years of Rose's life.
"I appreciate your apology, it's long overdue. But if you think that I can just forgive you after everything you've done, I can't. Rose missed out on having a father in her life and William missed out on seeing and experiencing so many firsts with her and we'll never get that back. Nothing can make up for that." Elizabeth stated.
Reginald nodded his understanding.
"I don't expect you to forgive me for what I've done, I just wanted to apologise and start making amends for my behaviour and my actions. My son has made it clear that you and Rose are his future and I won't get in the way of that, but if I want to be in my son's life then I needed to make amends with you and I'll try for the rest of my life, however long I have left, to ensure that I try." Reginald promised.
Elizabeth stood up from the bench, wanting to part ways with Reginald now.
"You can try and maybe someday I won't feel all these negative feelings towards you. But I can't just forgive and forget because you didn't just hurt me; you also hurt Rose, even if she doesn't know what you've done."
Reginald seemed surprised by those words.
"You haven't painted me in a bad way to my granddaughter?" he asked.
Elizabeth shook her head.
"She's only your granddaughter by blood and no I haven't, the difference between us, Reginald Darcy, is that I want my daughter to make her own choices about what she wants to do with her life and that includes the people she wants in it. I won't force her to have a relationship with you and neither would I prevent her from wanting one if she does want one with you; but it's all down to Rose. I wouldn't want to influence Rose's decision in any way by letting her know of my feelings about you." Elizabeth replied.
Reginald nodded and got up from the bench, slowly walking to the passenger side of the car and climbed back in; leaving Elizabeth standing at the entrance to the driveway. She watched as Alice drove off and when they were out of sight, she headed back up the gravel driveway and into the house; trying to take in everything that Reginald had said to her.
ooOoo
"I've brought you something to eat, the staff said that you haven't eaten since breakfast." Charles announced as the bedroom door opened.
Jane opened her eyes and sat up in the bed, not realising that she had been asleep for the majority of the afternoon. Charles set a tray across her lap and she smiled, she was feeling quite hungry now after her nap.
"You need to make sure that you eat, there's two of you that need to be looked after."
"I know Charles! But I lost my appetite after I had a little run in with Reginald Darcy." Jane snapped.
Charles blinked, "What do you mean? What happened?" he asked.
Jane took a sip of tomato soup and swallowed. She hadn't meant to snap at her husband, she felt that's all she had been doing since Charles hadn't consulted her about Will's father staying at Netherfield whilst he needed to be at the liver treatment centre, but pregnancy was throwing her mood levels all over the place.
"He thanked me for letting him stay here and I told him that I didn't want him here because of what he did to Lizzy." Jane answered, eating more of her soup like she hadn't eaten in days.
Charles frowned, "I should have asked you before I agreed to let him stay here, I'm sorry." He whispered.
"He can't stay here, Charles, he has to go."
"I get how you feel about him-"
"Do you?!"
"Jane, what he did to Lizzy was unforgivable. But he's a very ill man and I can't just kick him out." Charles pointed out.
"Well either he goes or I do." Jane snapped.
There was a moment of silence and in that instant, Jane felt guilty for giving her husband the ultimatum the way she did. She hadn't meant for it to come out as harshly as it did but she meant it all the same. Whilst the man who had nearly destroyed her sister was staying at Netherfield, she didn't want to be.
"Alright. I can't allow you to get stressed out about this anymore. You're carrying our baby and your health and our child's health is what's important right now." Charles conceded.
"I can't tolerate living with that man, I'm sorry but I can't."
"I understand, you're just being protective of Lizzy and Rose."
Jane took hold of his hand and gave it a light squeeze whilst his other hand moved the tray of food off her lap and then placed his free hand over her growing stomach lovingly.
"Are we going to find out what we're having when we go for the scan next week?" Charles asked.
"I haven't thought about it. Do you want to know?"
Charles nodded, "A part of me is curious and these days, we have that option. Wouldn't it be easier to know what we're having so we can pick out clothes and colours for the nursery, as well as a name?" he asked.
"I suppose so, I'd quite like to know if we're having a boy or a girl."
"So…we're going to find out?" Charles asked.
Jane smiled and nodded.
"Yes, we're going to find out." She replied.
For a brief moment, it didn't matter that the matter with Reginald was making her uncomfortable, they were caught up in the excitement of becoming parents for the first time. Despite the pain she had seen Lizzy try to hide as her pregnancy with Rose progressed, she knew that the first time her sister had held her little girl in her arms it was love at first sight; she knew that Lizzy knew that her life had more purpose when she had given birth to Rose. In her whole experience of pregnancy so far, the thing she looked forward to the most was being able to see her child in the flesh for the first time.
Charles retracted his hands from Jane and placed the tray back over her lap.
"You need to finish eating, I'll be downstairs. I need to talk to Will about a few things." He said softly.
Jane nodded and went back to eating her soup as Charles left the room, she hoped that Will wouldn't think less of her for asking her husband to make a choice.
ooOoo
Elizabeth entered the entrance hall and took off her coat as Jane led her into the living room at Netherfield. She had asked her father to put Rose to bed so that she could head over to speak to Jane, ever since her sister had returned from her honeymoon in Greece, they hadn't really had much of a chance to talk properly.
"I'd offer you a glass of wine, but we're all out of alcohol." Jane said, sitting down on the sofa.
Elizabeth sat next to her sister and smiled.
"It's fine, besides I don't really fancy enjoying a glass of wine on my own."
"After the day I've had, I could really use a glass. Right now, it sucks to be pregnant." Jane grumbled.
Elizabeth laughed slightly.
"I get how you're feeling. The inability to consume certain things, the lack of sleep because you get uncomfortable…"
"The morning sickness, the weird cravings…" Jane mused.
"The mood swings that make you act out of character?" Elizabeth suggested.
Jane's smile faded, with her blue eyes catching on to where Elizabeth was steering the conversation.
"Have you spoken to Will?" Jane asked.
Elizabeth shook her head.
"He's been busy today so no I haven't. I actually had a visitor earlier this afternoon." She replied.
Jane frowned but said nothing, indicating for Elizabeth to explain further.
"Reginald Darcy showed up at Longbourn asking to talk to me. He told me that you told him off for his actions and hurtful deceit towards me and Rose."
"I did. The nerve of him to thank me for allowing him to stay under my roof when I don't want him here after what he did to you."
"What did you say to him?" Elizabeth asked.
"I told him that he makes me sick, I told him how you broke down and struggled to raise Rose and how a normal family helps each other out when they need the help instead of sticking their nose in where it doesn't belong basically." Jane replied.
Elizabeth smiled gratefully, "I appreciate you sticking up for me and telling him off, he came over to Longbourn and gave me a much needed apology." She said.
Jane's eyes widened, "You haven't forgiven him have you? You can't get back those lost years." Her sister said.
"No, I haven't. He still did all of those things, even if he realises that he was wrong to do that to me and Will." Elizabeth stated.
Jane nodded.
"So now you've told me what's happened with Reginald, can we move on?" Jane asked.
"Of course, tell me all about Greece." Elizabeth replied.
The two sisters settled back on the sofa, with Jane telling Elizabeth about the time that she and Charles spent in Greece; deliberately leaving out the parts where they had disagreed about Reginald staying at Netherfield. Then Elizabeth updated her sister about life in general, all the while wondering when she and Will would hear back from the owners of the house that they wanted to buy.
ooOoo
Since his best friend had told him earlier that afternoon that his father needed to leave Netherfield, Will had been calling the local estate agents to ask for quick viewings on any suitable properties they had to rent that would suit Reginald and Alice. He could understand Charles's point of view. He didn't hold a grudge even though he knew his best friend was finding it hard to evict his father. But Charles was right, Jane was his wife now and she couldn't handle staying under the same roof as the man who had hurt her sister and the thought of doing so was starting to stress her out and also the baby; and Will agreed that Jane didn't need this kind of stress at the moment.
The estate agent had shown them three properties which he didn't think was suitable. The previous three had been two houses with everything upstairs and a top floor flat in a three story converted house which wouldn't suit his father in his current condition. Reginald needed everything on the ground floor because he didn't have enough strength to walk up flights of stairs. So the current property they were viewing was perfect for his father to live in temporarily. It was a ground floor flat located on the outskirts of Meryton, two bedrooms and a bathroom with an open lounge/kitchen area available to rent.
"I'll take it." Will said to the estate agent.
The estate agent smiled, "If you come to the office tomorrow, we can sort out all the paperwork for you then, Mr. Darcy." She said.
They left the flat, saying goodbye to the estate agent as he and Alice climbed back into his car where his father was sat reading the local paper.
"How was the property?" his father asked, folding the newspaper.
"It's just what you need, it has two bedrooms of good sizes and it's fully furnished. I'll sign the contract tomorrow and then you and Alice can move in as soon as possible." Will replied.
"How long will the contract be?" Reginald asked.
"I'll be getting it on a rolling one month so we aren't tied in to a commitment longer than we need it."
But before Will could start the car, the estate agent was tapping on the driver's side window; breathing heavily having just ran from her own car. Will wound down the window, and faced the estate agent.
"What's the matter? Has someone already taken the flat?" he asked.
The estate agent shook her head.
"Mr. Darcy, I've just called the office to inform them of your interest in the flat to rent and my boss informed me that your offer on the house that you and Miss Bennet have put in to buy, has been accepted."
William grinned in excitement as he thanked the estate agent and told her that he would bring Elizabeth with him to sign the deeds to their new house. As he started the car and began to pull out into the main road, he felt his father staring at him.
"What is it dad?" Will asked.
"You've bought a house?" Reginald questioned.
"I have. Well me and Elizabeth have." Will confirmed.
"Elizabeth bought it as well?"
Will nodded, focusing on the road.
"She put in her savings towards the cost of the house, I didn't want her to but she was insistent. It's what we want and Rose loved the back garden."
"I'm happy for you son."
Will stopped at the traffic lights and turned to face his father, a little surprised that his father had sounded genuine.
"You are?" Will asked.
Reginald nodded, "I'm starting to accept that you have to live your own life." His father replied.
Will didn't know how to respond to what his father had said, the traffic lights were changing from red to green so he took the hand brake off and started to head back to Netherfield. The rest of the journey was a quiet one with Reginald nearly falling asleep with his head against the window, he knew that the day's events of looking at properties for his father to live in was tiring for Reginald.
When they finally got back to Netherfield, Alice said that she would get Reginald settled in for the night and began to help him up the stairs, just as Elizabeth came out of the living room with a surprised look on her face.
"I wasn't expecting to see you today." She said happily, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Will smiled, "I was about to head over to Longbourn actually, but seeing as you're here, I have some really great news." He replied.
Raising an eyebrow, Elizabeth looked at him as if to say that she was waiting to hear what his news was.
"Our offer on the house has been accepted!" Will said happily.
Elizabeth squealed with excitement as he lifted her off her feet and spun her round before placing a kiss to her lips. As the happy couple shared a tender moment together, Reginald looked over his shoulder and smiled a little, seeing that his son was truly happy just as he had been with his own wife all those years ago, it was as if he was watching a love story not so different to his own and he knew that he really had been wrong to push Eleanor Clarence upon his son; because now he knew, just the way Fitzwilliam broke the kiss and looked into Elizabeth's eyes with such adoration, such warmth and such longing, his son was deeply in love with the person he was supposed to spend his life with.
