SORRY FOR THE WAIT
I HOPE YOU LIKE HARRIET
Saturday came far too quickly for Alice Fitzwilliam's liking. Since the evening she had first confronted her daughter, she had hardly spoken to Juliana. Her husband on the other hand was doing nothing but talking. When he finally did gather up the courage to introduce himself to Miss Bennet, he did not stop apologising for at least half an hour before Lady Matlock deemed it wise to interrupt him.
The meeting of the Earl of Matlock and Miss Elizabeth Bennet was a surprisingly less than awkward affair. Elizabeth, who had always seen the follies of others as humorous, found it very difficult to remain angry at the Earl as he stammered his way through his sixth apology. His wife, who at first was rather anxious as she knew that her knew niece-to-be was not one to keep her opinions to herself, had relaxed as she saw Elizabeth welcome her husband without menace or ill humour.
"I cannot blame you," she had laughed, "if I had been asked to find him a wife when I has first met him, I imagine I would of chosen a woman not too different from Miss Taylor."
The Earl who was not yet completely appeased continued, "but I have known him his whole life and you seem to know him better than I do. I simply cannot understand how you can forgive me so easily."
"Well, I have learnt that we must all try and see things from another's perspective." Elizabeth turned to look at her fiancée who was looking at his boots in an effort to hide the small smile on his face. "It seems that we all deserve a second chance." She took Darcy's hand from where it had been resting on the back of her chair before turning to once again look at the Earl.
Although her words may of at least partly reassured the Earl that she did not hold what he had done against him, her actions rested heavily upon his mind. They were so obviously in love, in much the same way that he and the Countess were when they had been engaged. He had ruined what should have been a somewhat peaceful trip to town where they could simply enjoy each other's company before their wedding.
So on Saturday evening, when Alice Fitzwilliam was stood in front of the mirror in her dressing room, her husband could not help but match her expression. "I cannot help but feel that this is a mistake," she began. "It is as if we are asking for a confrontation."
Her husband looked up from the letter he was reading to distract himself and sighed. Moving towards her to rest his head on top of hers and to wrap his arms around her waist, he replied solemnly, "from how unyielding Lord Taylor was when I attempted to speak with him, I think that a confrontation is all that will work."
The countess turned her head into into his shoulder and mumble against his dark grey jacket, "have you asked Henry if he will be attending with Harriet?"
"Yes they will be, much to Juliana's disappointment." The Earl tried to bury his face into his wife's blond curls but was playfully pushed away.
"It took my maid almost an hour to do this and I will not have you mess it up before we even leave," she giggled backing away from her husband and towards the door. The Earl shook his head and followed her out.
In Cheapside, Elizabeth was feeling oddly calm considering what she was about to do. Her sister on the other hand was biting her bottom lip and could not help but glance at her sister in worry. Noticing the looks that Jane was sending her way she asked, "What is it?"
"Are you sure Lizzie. I do not think your Mr Darcy would think it completely unreasonable if you decided that you did not wish to attend."
Elizabeth snorted in a rather unladylike fashion and went back to checking her appearance. "I am serious Lizzie. Although this Miss Taylor may not be the greatest wit in the world, she is wealthy and her parents titled. There is very little to snort about in my opinion."
"Relax Jane."
"Just promise me that you will stay close to Mr Darcy. Very few people will dare say something with him so close."
"I cannot promise you anything, but I will be careful." There was a moment of silence between the sisters. "Anyway, I am not the lonely one steeping out into society with my fiancée for the first time." Jane and Elizabeth continued to giggle until their aunt called up the stairs that they must leave now or risk being late.
Word travels fast in London, so naturally the entire ton had chosen that particular Saturday to go to the theatre. Upon arrival, Darcy noticed that there was an oddly large group of people standing outside. Most likely to be the first person to see the country chit who had stolen the great Mr Darcy from the darling Miss Taylor.
It was not long after he arrived that his betrothed's carriage rolled up in front of the grand building. Both he and Mr Bingley were quick to help the respective fiancées out of the carriage and into the warmth of the theatre foyer, without paying too much attention to the people craning their necks try and see around Darcy's tall frame to glance at Miss Elizabeth.
The Earl and his wife were already inside and waiting to greet them. They were accompanied by both their sons and their eldest sons wife Harriet. She was obviously nervous in large crowds, staying close to her husband who was murmuring comforting words into her ear. When she was finally comfortable enough to utter a few words in greeting to the newcomers, it became clear that her social anxiety was caused by a harsh stutter which she struggled to control. As a result, she did not speak much and when she did it was only a quiet whisper to her husband.
Harriet reminded Elizabeth of her fiancée when she had first been introduced to him and therefore was determined to try and bring her out of her shell. They had not been speaking for ten minutes before their pleasant conversation was invaded by Miss Taylor and Lady Juliana Fitzwilliam, who seemed a little surprised that Elizabeth had not run off back to Hertfordshire after their first encounter.
But it seemed that Elizabeth was not the first to have been on the receiving end of Lady Juliana's hateful stares and schemes to end happy engagements. The Viscount pulled his wife closer to his body as he glanced cautiously towards his younger sister. Ignoring the less than gracious welcome from her friends family, Allison Taylor exclaimed, "Mr Darcy, how glad i am to see you again. I was tremendously excited when my father informed me that you would be joining me in our family box tonight." She giggled in a supposedly attractive way and laid her hand on Darcy's arm.
Both Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam glanced down at the claw like hand grasping the sleeve of Darcy's jacket. He pulled his arm sharply out of her reach and turned to look accusingly at his uncle. The Earl shook his head before saying, "I did not inform your father of any seating arrangements."
There was a brief moment when the resolve of both young women weakened, before they simultaneously lifted their noses in the air and shifted their attention back towards the Viscount's wife who was now almost completely hidden by her husband. "Your quiet tonight Harriet." Both her husband and the Colonel stepped forward as if to confront their sister, but a sharp glance from their mother told them that now was not the time for another shouting match. "Well, we'll be going then." With a final smirk she turned on her heal and strode away from the group, her friend trailing behind her.
The group stood in shocked silence for almost a full minute before Henry took his small wife by the hand and said, "We'll meet you in the box."
"Of course darling," his mother replied with a smile.
It was not long after their departure that the group moved towards their own boxes. Jane and Mr Bingley were to join Elizabeth and Darcy in his family box. From their viewpoint, they could see the Fitzwilliam's box. The Countess and the Viscount were kneeling in front of Harriet as she wiped her eyes on a handkerchief. "Has it always been like that?" Elizabeth askedk her fiancée.
"Yes. Juliana was never a great supporter of Harriet. Actually I was not her first choice for Allison."
"Is that why she's so quiet then, apart from the stutter."
"She still doesn't believe that she is what her husband needs." Mr Darcy turned towards his love and taking her hand said quietly, "never think that your not enough."
Jane, who had previously been speaking softly with Mr Bingley, suddenly caught sight of a blur of orange from the corner of her eye. Realising who was about to impose on their peace, she lent forward to speak to her younger sister. "It seems our issues are not over yet."
"What on earth do you..." Elizabeth started before locking eyes with Miss Caroline Bingley who was sat in the stalls below them with Mr and Mrs Hurst. "Well that's wonderful."
The lights dimmed and the music started as both sisters sat back into their seats and tried to avoid catching the eye of Miss Bingley below them and Juliana Fitzwilliam sat in the box across from them.
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