Hi all,
sorry for the wait been working a lot lately so not had time to update this thankyou for the continued supoort
sorry if there are any grammar mistakes
if so ill try to fix them
The next day dawned grey and cold, as was the norm in town at that time of year. Is was unusual though, for Elizabeth to be up much after dawn, but after lasts night's excitement, she was quite exhausted.
It wasn't until an hour or so later that Jane awoke, shocked to see her sister still lying next to her, although she was only dozing contentedly. "Lizzy," she whispered, "I fear we may of overslept."
Without opening her eyes, her sister replied, "there is no rush Janey. Our only pending engagement is dinner at the Earl's house tonight." As she said this she rolled over onto her front with her arms stretched out to hit the oak headboard.
"No Lizzy. Surely you have not forgotten. We promised to call on the Viscountess this morning." At this the younger sister's eyes shot open and they both hurriedly got out from under the covers and rushed to get dressed. When they finally made it downstairs and into the breakfast room, they found their aunt sitting at the table with the paper which she had stolen from her husband.
"So the two of you finally decided to get up." The girls only nodded and seated themselves at the table and poured themselves each a cup of hot chocolate. It was a rare treat at home, but due to their uncle's business connections, the Gardiner's had a regular supply which the Bennet girls took full advantage of when visiting.
Once they had both eaten their fill, they went to fetch their coats and bonnets, waved goodbye to their aunt, and were soon on their way to the Viscount's home. They were greeted by Harriet, who offered them a seat and tea, both of which were happily excepted. It was not until the two sisters were settled, that they noticed Harriet's flushed cheeks.
"I do not mean to pry, but are you well Lady Fitzwilliam," Jane began. "It's just, you seem quite frantic."
"Oh, it is nothing Miss Bennet. Only, my husband seems to think that we may have more callers than usual this morning after last night, and I'm slightly nervous is all." After saying this, her eyes darted back towards the door.
Sharing a brief glance with her sister, Elizabeth leant forward to reassure the viscountess. "I'm sure it shall be okay. If anyone is going to be accosted by the gossips of London, it shall be the Darcy's and therefore, I am sure that my antisocial fiancée is currently making his way here or to the Matlock's in an effort to avoid them." At this, Lady Fitzwilliam finally let a smile grace her lips and both sisters sat back in relief.
It was after about ten minutes of amiable conversation, that a rather frazzled footman entered to announce the presence of a Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy. As he entered the room with a dark look on his face, Elizabeth could not help but let out a small chuckle which she quickly muffled behind her hand. "Four!" He exclaimed before collapsing into an armchair facing the fire.
"Four what, my dear?" Elizabeth questioned once she got her mirth under control. She had turned her body away from the other ladies in the room, so she could properly see him.
Mr Darcy shifted in his seat and continued, "Four men at the club this morning, independently approached me, to ask how far along you were."
All three ladies looked up at this statement in shock. Once she regained her composure, Lizzy rose from her seat and moved to place herself on the foot stall in front of her husband-to-be's chair. He still avoided her gaze, choosing instead to stare into the flames. "What did they say?" She asked softly, not wanting to further anger him.
"They think your withy child," he continued.
"I gathered that, but did they give a reason as to why they thought that I was with child?"
As she finished he moved forward to drop his head into his hands. After giving himself a moment to reign in his anger, he said, "They think your pregnant, because why else would I break off my engagement to Miss Taylor to marry a 'a country-nobody'."
Throwing a glance at Jane and Harriet, to check that they were both looking away, Elizabeth raised her hand to run it through his dark curls in comfort. "It's okay darling. It will all be fine." As she spoke in a soft voice into his ear, Fitzwilliam lent further forward, to rest his forehead on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this," he mumbled, "You deserve so much more."
"This is not you fault." Lizzy pressed a soft kiss into his curls and continued to rock him softly. In their moment of quiet companionship, they did not notice both Jane and Harriet leave the room in search of the Viscount.
They returned a short time later to find the couple in the same position they left, with Lord Fitzwilliam. As he set eyes on his cousin, he swore under his breath and moved it the side table to poor himself and Darcy a drink. "So what's happened now?" He questioned walking over to their side of the room.
As he spoke, Darcy lifted his head from his love's shoulder and reached out to take the drink from the older gentleman. When it became clear that his anger was once again rising and was in no mood to explain, Elizabeth turned to face the Viscount and answered his question. "There have been rumours in the gentlemen's clubs that I am with child."
"Well, its not particularly surprising. People are going to find ways to explain why Miss Taylor is suddenly without a fiancée."
"She never had a fiancée," Darcy finally said, unable to keep quiet any longer.
"Actually, she did. A Lord. He broke it off before the wedding."
"Why?" Elizabeth asked, looking up at him.
Edward scoffed and said, "You've met the woman. So what did you say then? After they asked whether Elizabeth was expecting."
"I didn't say anything." At the confused looks he received from the other occupants of the room, "Well what was I meant to say?" Darcy rose from his seat and pored himself another glass before turning to Jane. "Charles said something about a walk at Hyde Park tomorrow when I saw him this morning."
"Thank you for relaying the message, Mr Darcy." Her serene smile, so similar to his own sister's, calmed him somewhat.
Lord and Lady Fitzwilliam were now situated on a loveseat, opposite to the sisters. Turning once again to his cousin, Darcy asked, "Have you heard from your sister?"
"No, not yet." Darcy downed his glass and tried to return to the side table once again but was stopped by his fiancée, who took his glass from him and shot him a less than pleased look.
"It's not even midday Fitzwilliam," she reprimanded, "you are not drinking man entire bottle of brandy." He sighed before returning to his seat, not without shooting his smirking cousin a dirty look on his way.
"Perhaps it's time we took out leave," Jane said. Her sister agreed, and it was not long until both young women were in the Gardiner's carriage heading back to Gracechurch Street.
As they entered their Aunt's sitting room, they were met by the sight of Mr Bingley sat beside his eldest sister, both with cups of tea and being agreeably entertained by the smallest Gardiners. It was Mrs Hurst who noticed them first. "Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, your cousins are simply delightful."
Mr Bingley rose from his seat and approached the newcomers. He made a slight bow to the younger sister, before taking Jane's hand and bringing it to his lips. "I hope you had a pleasant morning."
"Yes we called upon the Viscount and Viscountess."
"Well then, I assume you saw Darcy as well. He said something about hiding at his cousin's house."
Elizabeth smiled at the thought of her recluse of a fiancée. The group passed the next three quarters of an hour discussing everything from the latest fashions (both Mr Bingley and Elizabeth struggled to follow this conversation), to the theatre performance from last night.
They left around one o'clock, and the sisters settled down for a quiet afternoon before preparing for dinner.
Thank you all xxx