Lady Alexandra's Hunt Chapter 17, a pride and prejudice fanfic

~~H~~

Conversations

Marcus and Daphne arrived just in time to meet their neighbour, Mr Harper, who had offered to take the gentlemen shooting, which most of the gentlemen accepted with pleasure.

One of the gentlemen, who had chosen to remain behind, was the Right Honourable Mr Cedric Clifford. He had been one of the first guests to arrive and had almost immediately singled out Lady Daphne as his perfect companion in life. She was young, beautiful, and most importantly, was sure to have an excellent dowry.

Admittedly, Lady Herne had all these qualities and more, but the rumour was that when she married, she would remain in control of her fortune. Initially he had thought that the right man, one such as himself, could charm the lady into being a compliant wife, who could be persuaded to hand over control to her husband; an hour in her company had disabused him of that notion. Therefore, Lady Daphne was a better choice.

He had been most put out, when on the previous evening, the lady had completely ignored him in favour of Sir Marcus. Now that the other gentlemen had gone to enjoy their sport, he saw his opportunity to hunt fairer game.

He found his prey on the terrace, in the company of Lady Theresa and the Mornington sisters. The ladies rose as they exchanged greetings. He bowed to Daphne and requested, 'Lady Daphne, would you care to stroll about the gardens?'

'I thank you for the offer, Mr Clifford, but I prefer to stay here.'

'Come, Lady Daphne, it is a beautiful day, which is simply made to be enjoyed by a stroll about the gardens.'

'I can enjoy it just as well from the terrace, Mr Clifford.'

'But I was hoping that you could tell me about the delightful flowers you have in the garden. There are some which I have never seen before.'

'If you are interested in botany, I would be pleased to send for the gardener to tell you all about them.'

'Ah, but the explanations would be much more memorable if they came from your lips.'

'But therein lies the rub, Mr Clifford. I have no interest in flowers, and would be unable to satisfy your thirst for knowledge.'

'My apologies, Lady Daphne, I should have realised that a gentle lady like yourself would not wish to clutter her mind with such esoterica. I shall be content to simply enjoy the beauty of those blooms, even though your own beauty outshines them all.'

'Mr Clifford, are you saying that you believe me to be incapable of learning, what you call, esoteric subjects?'

'My dear Lady Daphne, there is no shame in not being an intellectual giant. It is a well known fact that ladies are simply not made to understand the intricacies of natural philosophy.

'Mr Clifford, tu es intellectualis pumilio. Quoniam in novissimo tempore non sum interest in est cum ducitur per viam horti vel huc atque illuc, a te. (Mr Clifford, you are the intellectual midget. For the last time. I have no interest in being led up the garden path, or anywhere else, by you.'

'I beg your pardon? What did you say?' Clifford spluttered. The last thing he had expected was to be insulted and told off in Latin.

'I thought that all gentlemen were supposed to have at least a basic understanding of Latin. You are obviously incapable of grasping even basic concepts, such as, when a lady is not interested in your company.' Daphne dipped a minimal curtsy. 'Now if you will excuse me, I have better things to do than argue with you.'

Clifford reached out to grab Daphne's arm, when a cold voice stopped him. 'I recommend that you do not lay a hand on my sister, otherwise you will be incapable of ever using it again.'

He whirled around to be confronted by Lady Alexandra, flanked by two large footmen. As Clifford gaped at her, Alexandra added with a sardonic smile, 'it is such a shame that you have to cut short your visit, Mr Clifford. You may be sure that I will pass on your apologies to my other guests.'

After their guest was escorted to his room to pack by the footmen, Daphne hugged her sister. 'Thank you. But how did you know that I needed help?'

'When Clifford would not take no for an answer, Theresa raised the alarm,' Alexandra explained.

'The nerve of that man, to think I could be interested in him.' Daphne was still angry as she huffed, 'ladies are simply not made to understand the intricacies of natural philosophy.'

She took a deep breath to calm herself. 'I think I had better go and thank Theresa.'

~~H~~

The atmosphere improved significantly for the Hunt sisters, after the departure of Mr Clifford.

'Aunt Beatrice, why did you want to invite Mr Clifford? Did you not know how persistent that man could be?' Alexandra enquired when she had a chance, during the separation of the sexes, after dinner.

'I am sorry, my dear. That aspect of his character must be a new development. He always had a reputation for being urbane.'

'I might be able to shed some light on the subject,' offered Mrs Mornington. 'I heard a rumour that his family has made a bad investment, and lost a significant amount of money. Mind you, that is only a rumour.'

'If he is desperate for funds, that would explain his new persistence, I suppose.' Lady Beatrice eyed her old friend with amusement. 'You always had exceptional sources. Do you know if any of our other guests might be as persistent?'

'No more than is usual for second sons, since most of them are rarely well provided for by their parents.' Mrs Mornington gave her hostesses an impish smile. 'I must say though, your family seems to have snared the most eligible bachelor amongst your guests. Not only is he the only son, but he reputedly has quite a significant fortune.'

'So, we are assured that at least one of the gentlemen is not a fortune-hunter,' Alexandra laughed at the ladies comment.

'Please, my dear, no gentleman of the first circles is a fortune-hunter. They are simply conserving the wealth in their families.'

'Of course. How cynical of me to think anything else.'

'I am glad that you understand.'

~~H~~

On her way to bed, Alexandra was passing her aunt's sitting room when she heard the murmur of voices followed by laughter. She was pleased that her aunt had invited her oldest friend to be a part of the house-party. It seemed that Mrs Lucinda Mornington was just the tonic Lady Beatrice needed for a full recovery from her attack.

Alexandra might have been amazed, or possibly amused by the topic of conversation between the ladies.

Lady Beatrice and Mrs Mornington were reminiscing about their childhood.

'Lucy, do you remember that summer when we found that slow worm and put it in your governess' bed?'

Mrs Mornington laughed at the reminder. 'I do indeed, Trixie. She was most put out. She claimed that we were devil's spawn, planning to kill her with a death adder.'

'For a woman who was supposedly so very educated, she could not even tell the difference between a lizard and a snake.' Lady Beatrice chuckled. 'Although she did give us the opportunity to discover new shades of red, as she went from pale all the way to a lovely shade of puce.'

'At least mother was prepared to accept that I needed a governess who could teach more than just how to walk elegantly and pour tea. Miss Finch, who replaced her, was a great improvement.'

The ladies continued their walk down memory lane until the early hours. Lady Beatrice might have missed out on sleep, but was compensated by a feeling of contentment.

~~H~~

Alexandra also had a late night. In her case the initial cause was her sister who came to ask a question.

'What do you look for in a man? What will it take for you to fall in love?'

'What brought on that question?'

'I just wondered. Since it is impossible to measure love, how do you know that you are in love.'

'Are you trying to determine if you are in love with Sir Marcus?'

'Sir Marcus? No, of course not. He is wonderful to talk to, but falling in love with him? I am sorry, Alexandra, but whatever gave you such a ridiculous idea?'

'You and he seemed to take great pleasure in each other's conversation and company.'

'Oh. That. It is simply that, for a man, he is reasonably intelligent.' Daphne shrugged off the suggestion.

'Reasonably intelligent?'

'Well… he is not my equal, but he is quite bright.'

'I suppose from you that is high praise indeed.'

'It certainly is. But you did not answer my question. What will it take for you to fall in love?'

Alexandra was thoughtful for a minute, as she tried to put her feelings into words. 'I suppose I want a man who accepts me as I am. A man, who is not intimidated by my rank, but also does not expect me to become a good little wife. You know, the kind that most men seem to want, obedient to their every whim and without an opinion of her own.'

'Are you not a little harsh?'

'Perhaps. But think of Mr Clifford. What kind of a wife do you think he wants?'

'One who is obedient to his every whim and has no opinions of her own.' Daphne sighed. 'I must admit, I only ever really thought about it in the abstract, but that man has made it personal for me. I really do not wish to marry.'

'Do you not want children? Most women do.'

'I like puppies and kittens, but babies… no thank you. You know, when you have to go away, I visit the tenants on your behalf. Every time one of the women has a baby, they all expect me to want to hold them, but I can never get out of the house fast enough. What about you, Alex? Do you want children? I mean children for the sake of having children, not because you need an heir.'

Alexandra smiled softly. 'Yes, I do want children, and no, not because I need an heir.'

Daphne hugged her sister. 'Well I hope you find the right kind of man to give you those children, as well as the respect and acceptance which you need.'

~~H~~

After Daphne said good night, Alexandra lay awake for a long time.

She acknowledged to herself that she was in love with Marcus. While she thought that he had become attached to her sister, and the feeling seemed mutual, Alexandra was determined not to interfere.

But now that she knew that Daphne had no interest in the gentleman, it left the field open for herself.

Had not Aunt Beatrice said that friendship was the best basis for a marriage? She was now determined to see if friendship could be turned to love.

Perhaps the love she felt for Marcus would be enough for both of them, she thought for a moment. The next moment she chided herself. That was not a good premise for a marriage. She was not some desperate female who needed a husband on those conditions.

Alexandra wanted an equal. Not necessarily in the eyes of society, but an equal in character and in love.

She thought about how Marcus always treated her with simple respect. He did not fawn or flatter, and he did not try to appear superior to herself. He was a good conversationalist, who listened to her opinions, and when he disagreed with them, he was prepared to discuss their differences.

She had once seen him when he was out riding. His horse had spooked, nearly throwing him. Instead of disciplining the horse, as many would have done, he had gently soothed it.

The housemaids all reported how polite and considerate he was, and once Alexandra accidentally overheard them comment on his physical appearance in quite inappropriate, but most flattering, terms.

Thinking about it, in the privacy of her chambers, Alexandra was prepared to agree with them, even compliment them on their excellent taste.

No, she would not settle for second best. But if she could change their friendship to love, she would have the man, who she thought would be her ideal partner.

She gave a soft chuckle. Her family names were most appropriate, and she would live up to them.

The hunt was on.

~~H~~