OK, change in plans.
While I came up with this scene in response to Wade's 'Till death us do part' I have no intention of writing the same story. (I did threaten to write this scene in my review of chapter 2) - Sorry, no blue thread.
But for it to work, I had to use a similar starting point - Darcy behaving like an A$$hole after Mrs Bennet stages a compromise and the whole family jumping on the bandwagon, leaving Elizabeth out in the cold. But Darcy behaving like a jerk is par for the course anyway. š
But Elizabeth does not attempt to run away before the wedding. She uses the law to get her way.
btw I made a few changes to this chapter to fit in with the longer story I have in mind.
I hope you enjoy.
PS: you do realise that, if I write this story, book 3 of Unconventional will go on holdā¦
~~~oo00oo~~~
NO
Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy was in a foul mood. He was standing in the church at Meryton, awaiting his bride. A bride he did not wish for. Although he might have wished for her if she and her family had not conspired to force his hand.
When Mrs Bennet screamed that he had compromised her daughter, his first impulse had been to leave for London. But a Darcy never ran out on his responsibilities. Instead, he had gone to see Mr Bennet and informed him that despite his better judgement, he would do the honourable thing and he would marry Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
Darcy's second impulse had been to marry the chit, and then banish her to his remote estate in Scotland. But he decided against that option, because, if he was going to marry, he would at least get an heir and a spare out of the arrangement.
The third impulse was to be as stingy as possible in his settlement, to ensure that neither his bride nor her family would benefit by the arrangement. But instead he had been generous to a fault, to prove to everyone that he was a better man.
Now he was second and third guessing himself while he waited at the altar. Should he just have walked away, and left the family to deal with the disaster of their own making? Was a settlement of fifty-thousand pounds excessive? He could easily afford it, but stillā¦
His musings were interrupted as Mrs Bennet and her other four daughters entered the church and settled in their pew.
Darcy wondered about the number of daughters. He would have expected at least one of them to be standing up with Miss Elizabeth as bridesmaid.
He did not have much time to ponder the situation as the church doors opened and Mr Bennet escorted his daughter down the aisle towards the waiting Darcy.
Seeing the expression on his bride's face caused confusion in Darcy. He expected her to be beaming, having achieved her purpose of snaring a wealthy and exceedingly eligible man.
Instead Miss Elizabeth walked down the aisle with her head held high, and a stony expression on her countenance. Mr Bennet, walking beside her kept casting furious glances at his daughter.
Eventually they reached the front of the church, and Mr Bennet placed Elizabeth's hand in Mr Darcy's. Without a word Mr Bennet turned and walked to his pew, where he seated himself.
Miss Elizabeth Bennet had not spared a single glace at her husband to be. She kept her eyes firmly fixed on the altar, and stood like a statue during the whole ceremony. She did not even look at Darcy when he spoke his vows, to take her as his wife.
Then it was her turn and the parson addressed his question to her. 'Do you, Elizabeth Beatrice Bennet, take Fitzwilliam Andrew Darcy to be your lawfully wedded husband?'
For the first time Miss Elizabeth became animated, as she answered in ringing tones, which could be clearly heard in the whole church.
'NO. My parents can force me to attend this sham of a ceremony, but according to the law, I have the right to reject a man whom I despise. Therefore, I repeat, NO, I will NOT marry Mr Darcy. I would rather accept my family's alternative demand, and starve in the hedgerows.'
She pulled her hand free from Darcy's grip, nodded at the parson, and turning on her heel, stalked out of the church, leaving behind a stunned congregation.
~~~oo00oo~~~
Darcy was too stunned by Miss Elizabeth's response to stop her from leaving.
When he recovered enough to look at the Bennet family, he discovered identical looks on five faces. Except for Miss Lydia, who looked vastly amused, the family sported expressions of fury and chagrin in equal proportion. The fury he could understand. That a lucrative prize had just slipped through their fingers, must be infuriating. But the chagrin indicated that the family must have been aware of Miss Elizabeth's feelings about the matter, but had thought her cowed enough to go along with their plans.
But that could only meanā¦
Darcy could hardly believe that he had been so very wrong. He had been completely certain that Miss Elizabeth had been party to the compromise.
But, by declaring herself unwilling to marry him, she had just rejected an exceptionally generous settlement and a financially secure future.
Based on her words, it was now obvious to him that Miss Elizabeth had been coerced into attending her wedding. Presumably by being threatened with expulsion from the Bennet family home.
He came to a decision and turned to Colonel Fitzwilliam, who was standing up with him, and quietly instructed his cousin. 'Go after her. Use my carriage and take her wherever she wants to go, but hire a woman to go with you, to ensure the safety of her person and her reputation. I will take your horse to London.'
Fitzwilliam, who had come to the same conclusion as Darcy, took off at a run.
~~~oo00oo~~~
Darcy looked back at Mrs Bennet, when he could hear her declare in shrill tones, 'that ungrateful little chit. Running out, after I went to all the trouble to snare her a rich husband. That is all your fault, Mr Bennet. Teaching her to be headstrong. You should have been firmer with her.'
'I was very firm with her. But it seems that, since Jane had no problems with Elizabeth being forced to marry a man she despises, Elizabeth felt no compunction about the same fate befalling her sister.'
Mr Bennet addressed his oldest daughter. 'Jane, my dear, it seems that you will have to marry Mr Collins after all. Mayhap you should have been more supportive to your sister. If you had, she might have sacrificed herself for your sake.' The smirk on the gentleman's face was sardonic. 'What did you say to your favourite sister that she chose to remove her protection from you?'
'I told her that being married to Mr Darcy would be easy, compared to what our mother has to endure being married to you.'
Mr Bennet's eyes widened in shock, as he realised that Jane had just accused him of being a bad husband. While he had meant his statement about Jane marrying Collins as a tease, now he decided that would be a fit punishment for his daughter's impertinence.
'That was a bad choice of words. Lizzy would have no sympathy for a woman who berated her all her life for not being pretty enough. Especially when that woman is trying force Lizzy into a marriage with a man, who publicly stated that she was not handsome enough to tempt himā¦' Mr Bennet shook his head in disgust. 'And here I had thought that you were sensible. But instead you are just as stupid as Collins. I think you two will be well matched.'
Jane paled at that statement before turning green.
Darcy listened with growing disgust to the argument between the members of the family.
It became ever clearer that Miss Elizabeth had indeed been an innocent victim of her family's machinations. It seemed that Mr Bennet had given her three choices. Marry, be thrown out of the house to fend for herself, or watch her favourite sister being forced to marry that toad Collins. She had obviously chosen to be homeless. Although it now seemed like that had been an unnecessary sacrifice. Even with Elizabeth leaving, Mr Bennet seemed determined to marry one of his daughters off to Collins.
Although he initially struggled to understand why she would consider marrying him to be a worse fate than being homeless and having to work for a living.
Darcy knew that he was exceedingly eligible. He was not only wealthy and well connected, but also intelligent, handsome, even if he said so himself, and a gentleman with impeccable manners. Miss Elizabeth's rejection simply did not make sense.
Until Mr Bennet reiterated that Elizabeth despised him. He had heard Elizabeth state that fact during her rejection of her wedding vows, but Darcy had been too stunned by the rejection itself to pay heed to the rest of her words. But when Mr Bennet repeated that statement, he remembered Elizabeth's declaration, although he still could not understand why a daughter of a minor gentleman would not only not be thrilled at the match, but would have any reason to despise him.
Then Mr Bennet mentioned that Mrs Bennet had always denigrated Elizabeth's looks, and that his comment to Bingley had obviously been overheard by the lady. He could not imagine how hurt Miss Elizabeth must have felt.
Darcy suddenly despised himself. How could he have been so rude. It had been excessively ungentlemanly to say such a thing, especially as it was untrue.
While not classically beautiful like her older sister, Miss Elizabeth's vivacity lit up her features and made her one of the most handsome women Darcy had ever encountered. The intelligence in her fine eyes, as well as her wit and her kindness had captivated him. He had been half in love with her already, by the time Mrs Bennet had engineered the compromise.
Darcy, of course, had assumed that Miss Elizabeth, like so many other young ladies, wanted to be the Mistress of Pemberley, and had not believed her protestations of innocence. Not that he had given her much chance to say anything.
He had stormed off, and then arranged matters with her father.
Now, Darcy kicked himself for having been so lost in anger and pride, that he refused to listen. If he had listened, and more importantly, if he had believed her, they could have found a way out of this debacle.
Now that he was starting to think rather than fume, he realised that, considering how well-known Mrs Bennets proclivities were in the area, her neighbours would not believe that he had compromised Miss Elizabeth. Especially not in public.
If only he had listened to Miss Elizabeth, he could have offered to provide her with an escape route of her choice, in case Mr Bennet was serious about evicting her.
But his abominable pride had prevented him. Having felt a strong attraction to the lady, when it appeared that she had duped him, that attraction had turned to disgust and fuelled his anger. Anger at her, but even more at himself for being stupid enough to fall for the charms of an insignificant country chit, who had now proven herself to be duplicitous.
Except of course, he had been wrong.
Instead, he now stood in a church, having been publicly rejected and humiliated. And he had no one to blame, but himself.
~~~oo00oo~~~
'No, Mr Darcy' by Sydney Salier - Copyright Ā© 2020