Title: Dare to Refuse Such a Man
Rating: T (PG-13) – Most of this story is turbulent, but relatively innocent. However, going forward, there are some scenes which hint at/depict domestic violence.
Disclaimer: Though I write stories based on the novels and characters of Jane Austen, this work belongs to ME and no one else. Unless given express permission, no one besides myself has the right to distribute or profit from my intellectual property. All rights reserved.
Setting: Regency
PSA: I hope that you and yours are safe and healthy during the COVID-19 crisis. Take precautions for yourself and others and please don't hoard any goods that your family doesn't need; we're all in this together, even while we remain physically apart.

Summary: It had never occurred to Fitzwilliam Darcy that, once he had chosen a bride, her father might dare to refuse his consent. However, a woman worthy of being pleased is also worth fighting for. DE, Regency, clean romance.

"He is the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse anything which he condescended to ask."

Mr Bennet, Pride and Prejudice Volume III, Chapter 17

!WARNING! A scene featuring domestic violence is ahead. Do not continue if you are sensitive to this issue.

Chapter Thirty-One

"Are you ready to go, Mama?"

Fanny looked away from her fretful expression in the mirror to find Lizzy standing in her doorway, pelisse and gloves donned, bonnet dangling from her fingers. She looked just as she had every morning that she had ventured out for a rendezvous with Mr Darcy, save the distinct lack of cheerfulness on her face. Lizzy might not be caught up in a tizzy of panic over his departure, but she was still pining in her own way over his absence.

"I shall only be a moment more, my love. Go on downstairs to wait for me," Fanny replied, flicking her fingers at Lizzy in a shooing motion. "Your sisters are all down at breakfast, I believe. Save Jane; poor lamb is still resting." As she should! That cold had not been as trifling as they usually were.

Lizzy affected a limp smile and shook her head slightly. "I am not especially hungry this morning. I believe I shall take a walk round the gardens while I wait."

An admonishment for allowing herself to waste away was on the tip of Fanny's tongue, but she swallowed it back; Lizzy's appetite would return with Mr Darcy. In the meantime, she ate well enough at other meals, so there was little harm in indulging her wish to walk instead of breakfasting. Besides, now that Fanny thought of it, that horrid Mr Collins – who had lost favor even with Mary due to his self-satisfied behavior regarding Mr Darcy's sudden removal to London – would likely be at table and it was perhaps best for Lizzy to avoid him. "Very well, I shall be down directly and then we will be off. Do me a favor and pop your head into the breakfast room – just for a second – to tell your sisters to be ready in a quarter hour."

"Yes, Mama."

Lizzy's skirts swished around her ankles as she turned sharply and disappeared from sight. Fanny was glad that Lizzy, at least, could be so strong in the face of their potential ruin and disgrace. If Mr Darcy did not return from town...well, Mr Bennet and Mr Collins might just get their way. There was little else to do, even if it would all look a shabby, patched up business to wed Lizzy to a man who, by common report, was a simpleton. But then, perhaps Fanny could send Lizzy to her Brother Gardiner in London where she might put herself in Mr Darcy's way again. Mr Bennet likely would not allow it, but it was a thought worth considering should the worst come to pass. In the meantime, Fanny could promote Mary to Mr Collins, in spite of their apparent mutual distaste of one another, in the hopes that his head could be turned to a more practical match.

Oh, but if Mr Darcy would just return to Netherfield...Lizzy seemed positive that he would, not fearful at all that she had been jilted, and her confidence had been a great comfort to Fanny in the past four-and-twenty hours. Without it, she would have simply fallen to pieces and likely made herself quite ill, indeed. It had been a near thing yesterday morning when Fanny had first heard the news from Mr Bingley; she had taken immediately to her bed from the shock and only Lizzy's reassurances had assuaged her poor nerves. And perhaps a little extra something in her tea.

Well, if Lizzy was so convinced of Mr Darcy's fidelity, then Fanny would be the same. She straightened up in her vanity chair and perused her face in the looking glass again; her jaw was set, her head high and her spine straight. She nodded to herself and then devoted her mind to finishing the last small pieces of her toilette; all would be well.

While Mr Darcy was out of the area, it would be absolutely necessary to craft a story to cover his sudden disappearance. According to her Sister Philips, who had come rushing to Longbourn an hour or so after Mr Bingley had departed, it was all around the village that he had left. Far worse, however, were the erroneous explanations which seemed to be blooming from his unexpected departure; few of them were at all favorable toward Lizzy's engagement.

The most popular rumor had originated at Netherfield Park itself, possibly accounting for how easily believed it was. That nasty cat Miss Bingley had apparently paid some visits yesterday morning to put about her doubts that Mr Darcy intended to return. She had played the role of an "intimate friend" with particular knowledge of Mr Darcy's motives and claimed that as soon as he was in Town he would be in no hurry to leave it again, that he surely would not wish to leave his sister so close to the Christmas season. If he had...other reasons to stay away, Miss Bingley had coyly refused to speculate. It would have been almost better if she had explicitly accused Mr Darcy of favoring another young woman for being so vague only incited the imagination of her listeners. Which was, perhaps, her goal, now that Fanny considered it. Scheming, jealous witch.

Miss Bingley by herself might have been ignored (she was not especially popular in the area since she openly disdained them all), but one of her visits had been paid to Lady Lucas who had championed Miss Bingley's theory wholeheartedly. That artful, envious shrew! That she would endanger Lizzy's reputation was disgusting to Fanny; it was an unspoken rule between them that the children should be left out of their little feud and Lady Lucas had broken it to pieces. Well, she would get her comeuppance. Fanny would make sure of it, as would her Sister Philips.

Added to all of Miss Bingley's and Lady Lucas' machinations were Mr Collins' pretensions to marrying Lizzy himself. He had not been believed at first, but since Mr Darcy's removal Mr Collins' claims – so improperly aired at Purvis Lodge the evening prior to that black event – had gained greater favor in the rumor mill. The story Mrs Philips had circulated regarding Mr Collins' simple mindedness, for all its plausibility, was now being questioned and people were beginning to wonder if anyone could be quite that deluded. Oddly, Mr Collins was so ridiculous that the populace of Meryton was beginning to think it was an act! Fanny's opinion of her neighbors' intelligence had plummeted.

Well, she and Sister Philips would put it all to rights. There would necessarily be whispers until Mr Darcy's return – he would return, Lizzy was sure of it – reasserted the status quo and reaffirmed his devotion to Lizzy. Until then, it would be simple enough to put about that he was in London for the sake of their marriage, attending to necessary business such as visiting his solicitor, ordering a new carriage, fetching an engagement gift and the like. Or perhaps obtaining a special license! Yes, that would turn them all green with envy. And it made perfect sense that a fabulously wealthy groom such as Mr Darcy would need to put his affairs in order before he wed. If he just so happened to return with any of these things, all the better! For all Fanny knew, that was entirely his purpose in leaving Hertfordshire, even if the speed and suddenness of his departure had been alarming. But then, the very rich were often rather odd in their ways and it would be nothing to imply such to her neighbors.

Fanny stood from her vanity and, with a last quick glance to check her appearance – quite lovely, if she did say so herself, considering her age especially – she walked over to her wardrobe and removed her outerwear. Once she had donned it, she was ready to leave.

Before she left her chambers entirely, Fanny wandered over to the window in hopes of spotting Lizzy somewhere on the lawn; it would be more expedient to locate her now than to circle the house later. Fanny sighed when it became apparent that Lizzy was not within sight of her view and drew away. With any luck, she would be returned to the house and Fanny would not have to send out one of the other girls to find her.

As Fanny descended the stairs, her two youngest sped past her and shouted promises to make themselves ready in a trice. Behind them, Mary was also ascending, more sedately, and vowed the same before she disappeared into her room. Fanny continued on her way, huffing at the inconvenience of being forced to wait upon three young women before they could go on their outing.

Well, if she was forced to wait, she might as well do so in comfort. Fanny proceeded down the last few steps and emerged into the vestibule and took an immediate right into the hallway which led deeper into the house. To either side of her was a number of doors which would open up to various rooms – the breakfast room, music room, dining room, parlors for both day and evening activities and so on – and she intended to speed past them to her favorite at the very end. However, as she was directly in front of the breakfast parlor, whose door had been left ajar, a sound from within halted Fanny in place. It sounded like the crack of a leather strap followed immediately by a heavy thump.

Baffled and curious in equal measure, Fanny pivoted slightly and changed course, her palm held out to push the door open wider. The hinges squeaked lightly as the scene inside the breakfast room was revealed to her. The shock of it caused Fanny to inhale a sharp gasp.

Just inside, no more than a few feet away, was Mr Collins standing over Lizzy with his hand raised as if to give her the back of it, his face nearly purple and contorted in what Fanny divined as rage. Lizzy, her precious child, lay sprawled at his feet, though she was making an effort to elevate herself by an elbow. The hand which was not occupied in assisting her upward was cradled against the side of her face, only partially covering a redness which spread across greater surface than she could adequately hide. The way she cringed told Fanny that the spot where she had obviously been struck was tender to the touch.

Neither party within the breakfast room seemed to have noticed Fanny's entrance and she stared at this horrible tableau for what felt like an eon. Mr Collins was shouting something at Lizzy, what Fanny could not hear over the pounding in her head and the rapid beating of her heart, and Lizzy was flinching away from him as he stepped forward. As Mr Collins made to lash out again, he was startled out of his purpose by a shrill, high-pitched wail of anguish – one which Fanny realized only belatedly had come from her. Mr Collins stumbled backwards and his widened eyes met hers.

Then, without any forethought at all, Fanny was on the attack.

Author's Note: Oh no he DIDN'T! Except he definitely did and he's crossed the line. Mr Bennet now has an excellent excuse to change his mind (and it's about time, right?). In all seriousness, this was a difficult chapter to write, especially from a mother's POV.

Up next we find out what Darcy's been up to! I know you want to know what happened with Lizzy, but that's coming up, too. At least we're now on an accelerated posting schedule. :)

Next Update: July 3, 2020 (FRIDAY – And Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans)
Expected Completion: July 31 2020

- MrsMarySmythe