Hi all, this is part 2 of a double chapter drop today. Followers, if this is the first link you've clicked on please go back and read chapter ten first.
This is the part where Darcy finally gets to speak to Elizabeth and they will discuss the carriage accident, if you are easily upset I have included a summary of the chapter at the bottom of this page so that you can ready that instead.
Chapter Eleven
Darcy watched from his seat on a bench along the boundary wall as the eldest Miss Bennet's walked towards their destination. After some minutes, Miss Bennet embraced her younger sister and left Longbourn churchyard in the direction of her home.
When she thought she was alone, Miss Elizabeth lowered herself to the ground in a tangle of limbs that could definitely not be described as graceful, though Darcy found the sight of her in such a pose endearing all the same. Darcy knew he could not intrude upon her private grief to satisfy his own honour, so he let her sit quietly for a time as he observed her. He was not sure how much time had passed but eventually Miss Elizabeth rose to her feet once more, righted her bonnet and turned around.
Elizabeth gasped when she looked up to find Mr Darcy sat on a bench a short distance away from her, she could not control the blush of embarrassment which subsequently crept over her face. She was horrified to have been caught in such an unladylike fashion but her indignation soon found a new outlet when she realised that Mr Darcy had been spying on her.
"Do you make a habit of watching young ladies grieve, sir?" Elizabeth asked without preamble.
Darcy stood and bowed before he replied, "No, Miss Elizabeth, and it was far from my intention to trespass upon your solitude. I had been absorbed in my own reflections before your arrival and I did not wish to make yourself or your sister uncomfortable by disclosing my presence here."
That was when Lizzie noticed the beautiful bouquet of flowers laid on the bench next to where Mr Darcy had just been seated. Following the line of her curious gaze, Darcy turned to look at them also.
"I learned recently that my mother brought flowers here sometimes."
Elizabeth's eyes snapped to the gentleman's face to scrutinise the look she saw there. Over the years she had pieced together enough to infer that Lady Anne and her mother had been friends, but she had never known of this ritual. She understood all too well the conflicted feelings which abounded when she discovered some long forgotten habit of her mother's. Longing and pain, joy and approval; they were all present in the torn expression she saw etched on the face of Mr Darcy and it cause her heart to break a little for him.
The aloof gentleman was human after all.
The pair stood in a silence that was surprisingly not awkward, before Elizabeth indicated to Mr Darcy that he should complete his task and lay the flowers he had brought. It was clearly an expensive bouquet, probably ordered from a hothouse in Town for they were far grander than anything which could be easily procured at Meryton.
"I have many tasks which I intend to complete today, Miss Elizabeth, but I believe I must accomplish the most important one first."
"And what would that be, sir?" Elizabeth could not help the intrigue which crept into her voice.
"I am a man who abhors disguise, Miss Elizabeth, but I confess to having been guilty of masking my true opinions using lies and deceit. More specifically, a single lie. Which I understand you to have overheard the night of the Meryton assembly." Darcy confessed.
"Are you addressing the fact that you said it, sir, or my having overheard you speak so?"
"I have no excuses to give. My description of you that night was ungentlemanly and entirely inaccurate. I allowed my poor mood to get the better of me when I should have kept myself under better regulation. Please allow me to apologise for all of my conduct. From the mistruth I spoke, to you having heard it, to my wretched manners at all of our meeting since."
Elizabeth was dumbstruck as she stood with her mouth agape staring at the man before her. Mr Darcy pressed on before she could find her voice.
"It has never been my intention to offend you, Miss Elizabeth."
Lizzie desperately wanted to ask what his true opinion of her was but she did not think she could bear to hear it. He would have to be completely truthful after such a declaration and she knew, even if he did not find her simply tolerable, there were plenty of other flaws and faults he must have found in her over recent weeks. So all she could do then was nod.
"Is there a chance we may become friends, Miss Elizabeth?" Darcy asked cautiously. The young lady's forehead wrinkled in confusion and Darcy simply smiled. He was enchanted by her and so far she was willing to listen to what he had to say.
"I admit to being," she hesitated, "surprised by such a request, Mr Darcy. Before my stay at Netherfield Park and the unexpected arrival of our mutual cousin, I could have sworn to your disapproval of me, and now you seek friendship, sir?"
"I have never disapproved of you. I should probably not admit to you that the behaviour of your father and step-mother have inspired some disapprobation, but not you. Never you." Darcy's admission was as surprising to him and it was to the lady opposite him. He had never meant to be quite so candid with her, but she was looking at him with those beautiful eyes. He could not see that same anger in them he had witnessed in the past and he was thankful for that. Not only did it mean his speech was being believed, it also meant he was less likely to lose his ability to continue to speak.
Elizabeth really did not know how to respond to such a declaration. It was completely at odds with her previous beliefs but she had always prided herself on her intelligence. Part of that was reading characters, and as wrong as she may have been about him in the past, in that moment Mr Darcy seemed sincere.
"Well you are forgiven for your transgression last month. You are now free to proceed with the rest of your tasks." She said as she waved a hand in the direction of the plot where her mother and brother lay. Lizzie felt a twinge of regret as she pictured her small bunch of wildflowers on the ground next to Mr Darcy's impressive offering.
Darcy completed objective number two and returned quickly to Miss Elizabeth's side. "Will you walk with me a while? There is something else I wish to discuss with you."
Immediately feeling nervous about what it was he wished to say but all the while feeling secure in his presence, Elizabeth agreed and the pair left the churchyard in the direction of some woodland. As they walked past the trees where his mare had been tied, Mr Darcy unhooked the reins from a branch and brought the horse along too; 'Maybe he sees her as a chaperone of sorts' thought Lizzie to herself.
Darcy caught the glimpse of the slight smile which graced Miss Elizabeth's face and felt himself relax alongside her.
"So, Mr Darcy, is what you wish to discuss with me a part of the list of activities requiring your attention today?"
"It is. Although the extent to which this task in particular in completed is entirely at your discretion." Elizabeth nodded for him to continue. "Well, you see, I know something which I think you would like to know yourself, but I do not know for certain if you wish to know it so I am yet to make it known. Do you know what I mean?" Darcy was rather rapidly losing his eloquence once more and tried to take some steadying breaths to right himself.
"I'm afraid I do not follow."
Darcy guided Miss Elizabeth to a fallen log before continuing; he believed it would be best for her to be sat down before he spoke his next. "My cousin informed me a few days ago that you have only been given very basic information about what happened all those years ago."
"That is correct." Elizabeth confirmed, feeling more uncertain and even more befuddled.
"I am able to fill in the details for you if you wish to hear them. I recollect what happened that day. I was there."
Elizabeth felt herself go pale as she stretched out a hand to reach for Mr Darcy's arm to steady herself. She was thankful he had directed them to some seating for she would have surely lost her footing had they still been walking.
"How? Jane and I were the only survivors, I am certain of it. Somebody would have told me if it was otherwise, surely?"
"I have already admitted to you that I do not think too highly of your father, and this is a contributing factor to that. It was his decision, I believe, to keep the truth from you. When I realised I had the means to answer some of the questions that you no doubt you have, I could not go along with the crowd and allow you to be kept in the dark. I respect you too much to deny you the choice for yourself."
The pair sat quietly on the log, amongst the birdsong, whilst Elizabeth thought on what had just been said. Eventually, she replied, "I wish to know what you remember. I have no memories of them of my own, I can never change that, but I have always gladly gathered up any half reminiscence that others have had to offer. This may not be a pleasant event to add to my collection but I would like to have it nonetheless."
Darcy nodded and took a few more breaths before beginning.
"We had taken trips together many times before that day. Day trips for picnics or holidays to the lakes. We, being myself, my mother, your mother, your siblings and yourself, had just spent two or three weeks at the Matlock estate in Lincolnshire. Miss Bennet, she must have only been three years of age at the time but you could see the proper young lady she would become. You may have looked more like your mother, but she copied her every move." Elizabeth felt herself smiling at the warm affection with which Mr Darcy was commencing his tale
"We had been in the carriage a while when it happened. I'm not sure which day of our journey it was but all of us children were getting restless with being confined for so long. Baby Thomas had taken a while to go down but was finally sleeping in a travelling basket, and I was given the job of keeping you two young ladies entertained. A role I threw myself into, to our mothers' delight. They mostly left me to it so long as we were all getting along, thought they did join in when we tried to make pictures out of the clouds."
Both Darcy and Miss Elizabeth looked up to the sky automatically and laughed when they noticed the clouds were hidden from them by the canopy of the woods they were sat in. Elizabeth could see Mr Darcy's face grow sombre as he remembered where about in the recollection he was.
"It was all so ordinary, so normal. Until the carriage started to speed up. I could see that our mothers were trying to hide their concern but you and Jane were – oh, forgive me, you were always Janie and Lizzie to me back then. You and Miss Bennet were clearly frightened. So I sat between you and started to make up a story. It was about three knights going to slay a dragon if I remember correctly.
"It started to calm you down, but we were still picking up speed. We heard shouts coming from some way off but nothing from the driver or footman up top.
"I was later told that the driver had suffered an attack of the heart, at first the footman did not notice. When he finally realised what was happening and tried to take control of the reins, the horses reacted badly; the carriage began to sway. We hit a rut in the road and began to tip. We were thrown about before we started to slide sideways down an embankment. The carriage got caught between two trees and we slammed to a stop. Initially it was so quiet.
"The first movement I noticed was your mother. Aunt Mellie was so dedicated to her children, nothing showed that more than in that moment. She launched herself at you before you even made a sound but you screamed so loudly after that."
"My arm was broken." Elizabeth whispered the contribution unconsciously.
"Your arm was broken." He repeated, "You also had a terrible gash behind your left ear." He said as Lizzie felt the familiar scar behind.
"Once she was satisfied you were not in immediate danger she checked your sister. By this time my mother was fussing over me also. That was when I heard Aunt Mellie make a noise I thought only injured animals could make. She was cradling your brother, making an angry, wailing, sobbing sound. It is a sound I have never been able to forget."
Darcy had to pause to clear his throat and felt Miss Elizabeth's grip on his arm tighten in support.
"Baby Thomas must have died instantly. He had been sleeping just before the carriage flipped and I do not recall him crying." By this point Elizabeth had silent tears streaming down her face and Darcy handed her his handkerchief. In an effort to bring her some margin of relief, he added quietly, "He would not have suffered."
Through her tears Elizabeth pleased, "Go on, I entreat you. I want to hear the rest."
"My mother went into 'Mistress Mode', as Richard used to call it, she got us all out of the carriage and back up to the roadside. A passing wagon had stopped. The driver was the one I had heard calling out before the accident. He was tending to the footman who had been thrown from his seat, he was badly injured.
"I was given the task of keeping yourself and Miss Bennet away from the things that young ladies should not see, especially given how young you both were. The only thing to distract your mother from her immediate grief was noticing the blood pooling on my own mother's skirts. She was a few months pregnant at the time but the incident brought on a miscarriage. Though she was putting the pain aside to be of service to others.
"When Aunt Mellie noticed this, she called me over to help. I instructed you to stay put, but you were a determined child – something I do not think has changed much over the years. Despite your sister's pleas to stay where you were, you dragged her along and followed me to see what help our mothers required.
"I gave instruction to the wagon driver, with as much authority as a nine-year-old boy can muster, to go to the nearest village for help. When he returned, he was the one to notice how pale your mother had become. It had been happening so gradually the rest of us had failed to notice.
"Are you sure you want to hear this next part, it is not really suitable but I shall tell it if you desire it?"
Elizabeth could only nod in reply. Darcy put his arm around her shoulder before he continued.
"The apothecary who had come back with him bid her to sit and within a few more minutes she had grown so weak, could not sit up and was struggling to breathe. We all knew what was happening but nobody said anything. I tried to take you out of view of what was happening but she would not let me.
"She pulled you both close and whispered to you. I am sorry that I cannot tell you the exact words were that she spoke but she got to say goodbye to you and I think that was a huge comfort to her. She hugged you and stroked your hair. When she was done, she told you to both be brave and let me take you away. We sat down a short distance away and you asked if I could carry on with the story, but could I include two warrior princesses too."
"I remember that story," Elizabeth smiled sadly as she stared at her feet through the tears, "I used to be so adamant that it was a book we had been read to from. Papa used to get so frustrated with me when I demanded to be read the tale of the knights, the princesses and the dragon."
"We sat there, I positioned you with your back to all that was going on but I kept it all on view. I told the new story and kept my eye on the scene. I heard them saying she had internal injuries, that's when your mother started to cough a lot. Even from the distance we were at I could see the handkerchiefs turning red.
"My mother held her and then the coughing simply stopped. My mother started to weep and that is when I knew she had passed."
By this point Darcy had Elizabeth wrapped fully in an embrace as she sobbed. They stayed that way until Elizabeth had run out of tears. They stayed that way after she had drifted off to sleep. The both wished they could have stayed that way after she had woken up, but the hour was getting late and Longbourn was expecting a guest.
Darcy and Elizabeth meet alone in the churchyard after the sisters have paid their respects. He apologises for his 'tolerable' comment and after some quizzing Lizzie forgives him. They then go for a walk and take a seat on a fallen log, where Darcy offers to tell her about what happened during the accident.
He tells her that her brother died instantly, baby Thomas would not have suffered. He also explains how her mother died of internal injuries that none of them realised she was suffering from at first. She got to say goodbye to her daughters first though.
By the end of the tale Elizabeth is crying and Darcy embraces her. They sit together for a while and Lizzie falls asleep in his arms. When she wakes they part and she returns to Longbourn where they are expecting a guest.