A/N
A smallish chapter that contains whatever I had missed out in the previously planned chapter 9
Thank you all for the engagement with my story, for all the encouraging reviews, follows and the favorites, much appreciated as always. I am glad that almost all of you found Mrs Webster's story interesting enough :-)
To reader JSL – Regarding Darcy as Alex… First and foremost, I truly appreciate your concern.. even in variations we do not want certain things to change. I can confess that when sometimes authors change the name of Colonel Fitzwilliam..or even Lord Matlock, I too find it somewhat disconcerting and here we are talking about Darcy! But.. I have tried to explain why E likes Alex…and I thought to let it remain a name by which only she will call him in future :) Changing it would require changes at many places.. including the incident where Darcy confesses that there is nothing fictional in his name (Alexander being his middle name..) William Fitzwilliam sounds a little odd.. at least to me… If you continue to find it totally annoying do let me know or pls suggest another more palatable fictional name!
What about other readers do you folks also find 'Alex' totally unbearable?
To reader Lisa – As always, thank you once again for spending time on my story with a discerning eye, I really appreciate your kind help.
A Chance EncounterCopyright © 2021 by S. Neha
All rights reserved.
Chapter 10It was only after they went to sit after a rousing game of hide and seek that was played amidst much laughter and noise, that Darcy remembered that Mrs Dawson's trunk had also been brought back from The Red Lion yesterday. 'Something in her effects just might shed some light on Millie's parentage,' hethought.
"Elizabeth?"
"Yes?"
"Yesterday, we also brought back Mrs Dawson's belongings from The Red Lion. I did not bring them up to our room, but Martha would know where they are kept. Ah… whenever you feel well enough to do so, would you like to have a look at them? We might get a clue to Millie's identity."
"Oh! Of course, why did I not think of this before? I will do so as soon as we go back inside," Elizabeth exclaimed.
"There is no need for such a hurry, Elizabeth. Please do not overdo things, remember what Mr Talbot told you."
For a moment, Elizabeth felt aggrieved at being treated like a child. She opened her mouth to tell him so but gave up the idea after one look at his concerned eyes. Instead, she said placatingly, "Although I feel as fit as a fiddle, I will take due care not to tire myself, I promise." To prevent further argument, she asked, "Regarding that letter to Charlotte, shall I send it to her from here?"
"If Cooper, the blacksmith, keeps his promise and you, ma'am, continue to feel like this fiddle that you just now mentioned," He quirked his brows at her and continued. "Then we can travel to London as early as tomorrow. Anyhow, latest by the day after. I believe it would be for the best if you send the letter from there. That way, you can choose what information you want to disclose in it." Darcy was talking about exerting caution as he was keen to quell any possibility of rumours regarding them. He was quite determined to win Elizabeth through fair means, not by forcing her hand in any manner.
"Oh, I trust Charlotte completely…"Elizabeth began, then paused. "But then, I guess you can never be cautious enough in a situation like ours. I think you are right; I should send the letter from London," she added after a while, as she finally took his meaning and recollected the consequences of their sojourn at Bassingtonstoke being generally known. Their conversation was soon interrupted by the two children.
"Gran Pa would be needing a hand with Pegasus, sir. I… I would like to go to him now," Tom said a little diffidently.
"Of course, you should go to your grandfather if he needs you, Tom. You run along now, child," Darcy replied with a smile. Once Tom had disappeared down the path to the stables, Millie caught hold of Elizabeth's arm and said urgently, "Millie got to go."
Darcy was thoroughly enjoying his time with Elizabeth in these beautiful surroundings and was justifiably reluctant for the picnic to end just yet. He smilingly replied to the little girl, "In a little while, poppet."
"Millie go now," the child replied, and to Darcy's consternation, she seemed ready to burst into tears. "Uh…" He looked at Elizabeth in puzzlement, unable to understand the sudden change in the little girl's disposition.
"Umm… Alex… I think Millie has to use the necessary, and I am afraid that we do not have enough time to go back to the house." Elizabeth said wryly.
"Oh!" Darcy said as he flushed red. It should not have amused Elizabeth so much to see the suave man in front of her blushing like a schoolboy, but it did. Worse still was the satisfaction to see him doing so and consider it a reparation for the foolish manner she had embarrassed herself in front of him over that braiding incident. Ideally, she should have felt ashamed of her meanness, alas! She was not. Instead, she found herself rubbing it in as she got up to lead Millie away. "It would appear, sir, that there are a few things about little girls that you do not remember after all those years!" She grinned at him cheekily as she and Millie walked past him without giving him a chance to reply. She was not sure of it, but she believed she heard him huff out an exasperated "Minx!"
When she and Millie came back after a visit behind a thick shrubbery, Elizabeth found Mr Darcy in the process of picking up the ball with which the children had been playing earlier. Millie immediately hurried forward. "Dawcy! Play ball with Millie."
Elizabeth once again noted the ease with which Millie had changed her preference from her to Mr Darcy. For a moment, it hurt a little, but then she saw the smile he gave the child as he gently threw the ball towards her. Elizabeth's heart gave an odd flip, and she came to a sudden halt as a realization pierced through her with a sharpness of an arrow. 'Why to blame Millie when I too would rush forward and follow him - even to the end of the world, if I was assured of the love and care that smile revealed.' She thought as she hurriedly sat down on the rug, feeling shocked at her reckless thoughts and the depth of feelings they signalled! 'How… how could it have happened that in a span of two days I have gone and fallen in love with a man I so thoroughly disliked! It was impossible, really. Maybe it is a delayed reaction to that blow to my head. Perhaps I should ask Mr Talbot if he has heard of madness resulting from the kind of injury I sustained that day?" She thought with a wry quirk to her lips, then lowered her head on her knees in despair. She might try and tell herself it was madness afflicting her. She might also pretend that it was just infatuation resulting from a strange mixture of proximity and gratitude. Unfortunately, her heart told her differently. 'Oh, Lord! How could I have been so stupid!' She groaned inwardly.
"Elizabeth?" "Beth?"
She raised her head on hearing both voices simultaneously and encountered two pairs of concerned eyes peering down at her.
"What is it, Elizabeth? Are you unwell?" Darcy asked worriedly.
"No… no… Alex, I am…"
"I should never have agreed to this picnic!"
"Alex, it is…"
"I knew it would be too much in your condition. I…"
"Alex!" Elizabeth interrupted sharply, and Darcy paused and looked at her in surprise.
"I am well, truly. It is just that I am feeling the beginning of a headache."
"Then we should go back now, and you should take rest."
Feeling the need to be alone for a while to make sense of her recent, momentous discovery, Elizabeth nodded mutely. Relieved to have her agree to the suggestion without argument, Darcy held out his hand. "Come, then." The child in his arms immediately parroted the action and the words. "Come, Beth"
Elizabeth smiled involuntarily at that, gently caught both the hands being offered in support, and got up. "Thank you, Alex, Millie sweetheart," She offered an exaggerated curtesy to both her self-appointed saviours, then asked. "Shall we?"
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Mr Darcy had agreed to go and talk to Jones only after he had extracted a promise from her that she will try and sleep. And she did try, but with the thoughts churning in her mind, it was difficult to even lie down, let alone sleep. Realizing that it was a lost battle, she got up and went to sit on the couch by the window. She looked out and saw him riding away on Poseidon.
'I really cannot be in love with him, can I?' She asked herself and closed her eyes in agitation. Suddenly, myriad images of the last couple of days started passing through her mind in quick succession. Mr Darcy crooning to Millie, Mr Darcy cajoling Millie out of the carriage, Mr Darcy teasing her out of her sulks to eat the broth, Mr Darcy hurrying out of the room to give her privacy, Mr Darcy reassuring Mrs Webster about Pegasus, Mr Darcy setting back Smith's shoulder, Mr Darcy laughing with John, Mr Darcy… Alex… carrying her upstairs in his arms… and her eyes sprang open as she once again experienced the strong pull of attraction she had felt that very first day. "How could I not love him?" She whispered as she leaned her forehead on the window glass and closed her eyes once again. The cool glass soothed her anxiety, but only for a little while as an annoying inner voice sarcastically asked soon enough. "Have you forgotten, Lizzy Bennet, that it is not even a week since you told 'Alex' that he was the last man on earth you would ever be prevailed upon to marry? Have you?"
"But that man was not Alex."
"Ha! Just listen to yourself! Have you really gone mad? And what of the reasons you disliked Alex… Er… Mr Darcy?"
Elizabeth opened her eyes and stared out of the window unseeingly. "Yes… what about the reasons for my dislike … earlier dislike of him?" She asked herself, knowing full well that she no longer disliked him. She settled back on the couch and once again went over their acrimonious exchange on the day he had proposed to her - his insulting words and her own angry tirade about the injustice meted out to Mr Wickham and her gentle, sweet Jane. Now, as she thought about it all once more, one thing she was very sure of – the man she had come to know in the last few days could not have cheated anyone out of their inheritance. Either there had been a justifiable reason to deny Mr Wickham the living, or there had been some misunderstanding between the two men. She truly wanted it to be the latter but had a lowering suspicion that it was the former, and that … Mr Wickham had deliberately lied to her for reasons best known to him. Once she came to the conclusion, she decided to think no more on it.
But then, what about Jane and Mr Bingley? On that fateful day, Mr Darcy had proudly claimed that what he had done had been in the service of his friend. That he had been kinder to Mr Bingley than he had been to himself! Once again, she felt the stirrings of anger which she immediately tried to tamp down… to allow herself to think without letting her anger run away with her. 'Oh Lord, where has this love brought me – I am now trying to find justification for his hateful meddling!" She thought in amazement. 'Even if it all was in the service of a friend, what right had he, to interfere in such a personal matter of a friend? Would I ever presume to advise even someone as close as Charlotte in matters pertaining to her marriage…' Elizabeth's eyes widened as she suddenly recollected her first words to Charlotte when she had informed her about her engagement to Mr Collins. "Engaged to Mr Collins! my dear Charlotte- impossible!" Only the realization that Charlotte would not appreciate any further remonstrances from her had made her pretend to be happy for her friend. 'What if Charlotte had come to me for advice before her engagement?' Elizabeth thought, then closed her eyes in mortification, knowing full well what her advice would have been considering her opinion about Mr Collins' stupidity. Suddenly feeling too anxious to sit still, she got up and started to pace. In her agitation, she did not look where she was going and collided with the small table holding Mr Darcy's valise. She jumped forward to catch hold of it but failed. She watched in horrified fascination as some of the contents of the valise fell out. There was a handkerchief, few cravats and a book. As she bent to pick up the items, she saw that a paper had fallen out of the book. She reached out a hand towards it then froze. The paper appeared to be a letter- addressed to Miss Elizabeth Bennet!
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