Thank you for the reviews. Sorry for any grammatical errors.
Okay story time enjoy...
Elizabeth stepped down from the carriage to stand in front of her Uncle Gardiners home. Her aunt and uncle were already in the doorway alongside their four children, all bouncing on the balls of their feet waiting for her and Jane. Happy greetings were exchanged before they retired to the drawing room for tea.
Meanwhile Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley were settling into the Darcy townhouse and being warmly greeted by Miss Darcy who had traveled south from Derbyshire. They had only been in London for an hour before the housekeeper announced the Earl of Matlock and his wife were requesting to see their nephew. When they entered the room, Darcy could immediately tell that something was wrong. They were both pale and tired looking, very much unlike the outgoing couple they had been for as long as he could remember.
"I have made a mistake," his uncle started, reluctant to tell his nephew of what he had done. "Do you remember a Miss Taylor?"
"Vaguely. She is a friend of Juliana if I am not misinformed."
"Yes that's the girl," the earl continued, "well you see you cousin Juliana, thought it would be a good idea for the two of you to become... well closer in a way."
Interrupting her husband, Lady Matlock said, "your uncle has been talking to Lord and Lady Taylor and given them reason to believe that you are interested in their daughter and should be expecting a proposal in the near future."
Darcy was now gripping his brandy glass a lot tighter than he was before this conversation. "I am guessing that the entire ton is aware of my predicament before I am."
"Naturally," Colonel Fitzwilliam drawled as he sauntered into Darcy's study moving to lean on the edge of his cousins desk.
"And tell me uncle, what am I meant to tell Elizabeth?" Darcy questioned only sparing the military man a glance. "Am I meant to tell her that I can't marry her? That I am leaving her for a woman I have never so much as had a single conversation with?"
"We'll fix this Fitzwilliam. Miss Taylor seems like a reasonable woman," Lord Matlock said, desperately trying to appease his now fuming nephew.
Richard scoffed and said, "She's friends with my sister. I think you need to reevaluate what you see as reasonable father." This earns him a pointed look from his mother. "Why don't we go break the news to Miss Bennet now so she doesn't hear it from somewhere else first," he continued shrugging.
"No, I want to see if I can sort this before she becomes aware," Darcy replied, reluctant to risk angering his fiery fiancée.
"Darcy!" Bingley called from the foyer apparently having returned from visiting his sisters. Footsteps could be heard as the man made his way up the staircase and towards the study. As he rounded the corner into the study he yelled, "Would you care to explain why you are engaged to two different women at once. One of whom is soon to become my sister."
"I am not engaged to Miss Taylor."
"Then is my sister lying?"
"No, she has simply been misinformed."
By now Mr Darcy was too tired to explain his unusual situation so left it to his uncle and cousin. His aunt on the other hand never took her eyes off her nephew, deeply worried for him. She knew that he was struggling to get his head around the situation which he is in. "Has anyone spoken to Juliana lately?" Alice called over her husband's ranting.
"She has been staying with Miss Taylor to 'help her with preparations for the wedding,'" the colonel said, his voice raising several octaves as he imitated his sister. "I don't know why though, she knows that Darcy is engaged to Miss Bennet. She does still believe that her friend is a better choice for you than your Elizabeth by the way." He turned towards his cousin for the last part.
"So there's no way that we can convince her to tell her friend that I will never marry her and therefore save me the awkward conversation," Darcy muttered with his head in his hands. His newly perfect world was crumbling by the second. The wonderful life he had envisioned for himself and his Lizzy was floating just out of his reach, becoming more and more impossible. "I need to speak to Elizabeth. Tell her before she hears it from somewhere else. Bingley will you accompany me?"
"Of course," Bingley said, putting on his coat.
"I will join you," Lady Matlock said, "she'll want to know that at least someone in this family approves of her."
"When did I say that I don't approve of her?" The earl questioned, confused at his wife's words.
"Well you did practically engage her fiancée to another woman because you thought his choice wouldn't be the right one."
"That is technically true but I..."
"But nothing. This conversation has finished, sir," Alice Fitzwilliam snapped at her husband.
The three made their way out of the house and into the carriage, making their way to Cheapside. Still standing in the foyer waiting for the Fitzwilliam carriage to be brought round, the earl turned to his son and said, "I'm going to speak with Lord Taylor. Will you join me?"
"Yes, you'll need the support," the colonel said chuckling.
Juliana Fitzwilliam was no longer as consumed with guilt as she was at the beginning of last week. Now she was completely focused on keeping her dreams of a marriage between her stoic cousin and closest friend alive. She had heard from her mother that the woman who had somehow tricked her cousin into thinking himself in love, was residing in Cheapside with relatives. Along with her friend, she endeavoured to be the first to call upon the Bennet sisters upon their arrival in London.
When the two friends arrived at the household that they had been directed to, the knocked on the blue painted door, sneering at the size of the house and its less than desirable location. They were directed into the front sitting room, where the two sisters were sat with their aunt. "I do not believe that we have been introduced," Miss Elizabeth began with a smile and an open expression.
"My name is Lady Juliana Fitzwilliam, you have been introduced to my brother the colonel and are supposedly engaged to my cousin," she said rather snidely. Elizabeth furrowed her brow in confusion at why this woman would question her engagement to William.
"Well then I am glad to make your acquaintance," she replied trying to keep an accusatory tone out of her voice.
"This is a good family friend, Miss Allison Taylor, daughter of Lord and Lady Taylor."
So this is the game she's playing, Elizabeth thought, trying to intimidate me.
"It is wonderful to meet you. Fitzwilliam..." Here Miss Taylor gasped and put a dainty hand to her mouth. "Oh I'm sorry. I mean Mr Darcy was so complimentary of your family when we saw him after he first returned from Hertfordshire."
Mrs Gardiner, quickly glancing towards her niece who's eyes were wide as she listened to the woman staking her claim on her fiancée, said "I take it you are intimate with him then."
"Oh yes, we have been for many years. I must tell you he was in raptures over Hertfordshire and your little society." After hearing Miss Taylor say this, both Jane and Elizabeth's heads snapped to look at the woman speaking and then quickly glanced at each other.
When the two women left, Elizabeth lasted a total of thirty seconds before dissolving into giggles and was quickly joined by her sister. Mrs Gardiner glanced towards the doorway, and upon seeing her husband with a look of confusion on his face, quickly said, "we have just entertained the most intriguing young women in London."
Neither of her nieces were yet to stop laughing as they relished in the young woman's failed attempt to make Elizabeth doubt her engagement. It was at this point that a maid announced that a Mr Darcy, Mr Bingley and Lady Matlock were here. They were shown into the living room to find Jane and Elizabeth still trying to control themselves.
"What has made you so happy this morning?" Mr Darcy asked as he placed a quick kiss on the back of Elizabeth's hand.
Upon seeing that her niece would be unable to explain the situation Mrs Gardiner answered for her. "We have just received a call from your cousin and her friend." Hearing her words, all three newcomers paled and looked at each other nervously.
Looking at her fiancée and seeing his distress, Jane questioned, "What is it Charles? What's happened?"
No one answered her as they had now got over their panic and were now rather bewildered over the woman's reaction to the conversation. Her fiancées reaction to her own reaction, caused Elizabeth to chuckle and pull him by the hand to sit beside her. "I see that my reaction has confused you. You expected me to be upset, and if they had not made some rather large errors when claiming an intimacy between the two of you, I most likely would of been."
"What did she say?" Lady Matlock asked, speaking for the first time since arriving. "Oh. I do apologise for not introducing myself. I am Fitzwilliam's Aunt Alice. My nephew informs him that he has told you of me."
"Of course he has. Your his favourite relative, other than his sister, and he is constantly talking about your herb garden and your teas."
Darcy blushed as his praise of his dear aunt was uncovered. "I would be delighted to here of what he has told you some other time but right now I am most intrigued in what my daughter and her friend had to say."
"They tried to tell us, that Darcy was 'in raptures over Hertfordshire,'" Miss Elizabeth said smirking. Mr Bingley began laughing as he recalled his friends less than pleased expression which was permanently plastered onto his face while they were in Netherfield.
"So everything's solved then,"said Charles, "everything is as it was."
"If only," Lady Matlock said, without taking her eyes of her nephew and his fiancée looking at each other tenderly. "If only it was that simple." She had promised her sister-in-law that she would make sure that he was happy, and she couldn't bare the though of failing her.