The storyline, new character development, new events, and new characters are my intellectual property. Glorioux
A story with a twist, be patient, we all make mistakes.
A lonely life
Thirty, nearly thirty one-year old, William Darcy sat in front of the fire; he was 30 years old. He slouched on a chair; his messy hair stood up from running his fingers through it, nervously. He had taken his cravat and jacket off; he wasn't his usual proper self; not that he cared how he looked. He wasn't well, his handsome face was marred with despair.
He drank the fine cognac, tasting like nothing; if any, it tasted bitter. It should, after the mess he had made of things. William Darcy sat recollecting his idiotic, ill advised actions, leading to this night…
The Past - Marriage and Falling from Grace
His wife, Elizabeth, had reconsidered his marriage offer the next day of the awful Kent proposal. That morning she received the news her father was sick and in risk of dying; so, she had left to visit her family after accepting his proposal. She was honest, telling him she would be his wife because she wanted to save her mother and sisters from poverty. Her friend's husband, the Vicar Collins, already making plans to move into the entailed Longbourn, helped Elizabeth decide to accept his proposal. Of course, Darcy never apologized for telling her he was lowering himself.
Mr. Bennet didn't die, but he didn't get better until weeks after the wedding. Mr. Bennet survived, and besides a horrendous wedding night, Elizabeth couldn't stand his touch. It was bad enough until he made it worse, as he recalled.
He didn't blame Elizabeth for the current state of affairs, not whatsoever; first he insulted her by telling her he was lowering himself by loving her; if that were not bad enough, Fate intervened, not in his favor.
After several months, he went to London, tired of her rejections. Elizabeth deciding to have a marriage with him, followed him five days after he left Pemberley. When she arrived, early morning, he was in bed with the mistress he neglected to let go after he married.
Lizzie ran up the steps, looking happy, as others would later tell him; she had reconsidered as her father had advised her. "William, darling, I am here. We stopped just outside of London because it was getting very dark. I woke up this morning at the crack of dawn and here we are; William wake up lazy bones." She was smiling and skipping steps like a young girl, the footmen recalled.
His valet watched horrified when she opened the door to William's bedroom. He couldn't stop her, all the valet could do was watch.
In William Darcy's bedroom, Elizabeth saw William's mistress with her legs over his naked shoulders, no sense in pretending otherwise. Lizzie stood, looking at him. His mistress, a statuesque blond, smiled triumphantly when she saw her and moved back, a little, to let Lizzie see what was happening. William had his eyes closed, deep inside his lover, but not where Elizabeth thought he should be. She didn't know he didn't want to risk a pregnancy.
"Excuse me, oh dear me. Oh." William heard Lizzie's shaky voice; she was by the door, paralyzed by shock. He felt as if he were having a heart attack. It always seemed as a nightmare; he often dreamed about it.
Darcy tried to push his lover away, but she wouldn't move, she held him with her legs. Elizabeth ran down the steps, going straight to her uncle. By the time he could go after her, Elizabeth was long gone.
Less than an hour later, William arrived at Cheapside to take her home, but she refused to see him. Her uncle Gardiner came to the drawing room where William waited. Her uncle didn't greet him; he informed him, sounding cold and hard, not an ounce of courtesy, "You will hear from her solicitor, please leave her alone."
With his usual pride, Darcy arrogantly answered, "No wife of mine should be residing on Cheapside; this is not a place for her. Let me leave you funds for her to..." He wasn't able to finish because her uncle had already left the drawing room; one minute later the maid came with his hat. Though the uncle didn't kick him out, Darcy was let know he wasn't welcomed no matter how much wealth he had. At that moment, William Darcy understood this was the worse day of his life.
As soon as he arrived home, he blamed the valet, not assigning the fault to himself; he screamed and docked the faithful valet's pay. He was unfair, and everyone knew it.
Richard came that afternoon after receiving an express from his cousin. Richard found William pacing his office like a caged beast, "What is the urgency, is Elizabeth sick?" Richard grinned, wanting to know.
William Darcy explained, "I never had a mistress at his townhouse but my mistress came over; I hardly remember, I was drunk." He told Richard the events starting the night before.
Richard was no longer smiling, "Being drunk? That is no excuse." After all, Richard held Elizabeth in deep affection, so he added, "Your pride blinds you; my parents said so. Bartlett married to the duke's daughter, a harpy, told me how he wishes he had seen your wife first. I agree, you don't deserve your wife. My parents also said so; they wish that Elizabeth was their daughter. Everyone sees how you look down on her. If you were drunk the night before, why were you with the woman in the morning time? Explain to me why you kept a mistress when you were already married? Why did you when you had Elizabeth?"
William Darcy had no answer, although, to be fair, he sort of forgot to let his mistress go after marrying Elizabeth. His excuse was that he had paid her a whole year right before Kent. As to why was she still on his bed, just because she hadn't left yet. He realized the magnitude of his misdeeds. Richard left, saying he needed time before they could be friends again; he was angry and disappointed. Richard went straight to see Elizabeth and told her he would stand by her.
When Georgiana came later that day, following Elizabeth, she heard a version about what happened. Since that time, she stopped talking to William. She always looked at him with contempt. Now she stayed with the Fitzwilliams, getting ready for her presentation.
Elizabeth didn't scream, didn't cry, didn't say a word. Her solicitor came to see Darcy; she wanted an annulment. He refused, demanding she came home. He couldn't eat or sleep; he found no solace from his family. He was afraid he was going to die like his father.
Georgiana went to stay with the Fitzwilliams, blaming her brother; she missed Elizabeth. To this day Georgiana still wasn't talking to him; neither was his aunt Fitzwilliams, nor his cousin Bartlett. Even Mrs. Reynolds was unhappy with him; though she was polite and curt.
One day, Mr. Bennet came with his brother Gardiner; they needed his help to find Lydia. She had run away with George Wickham. After finding out where he probably was, William went with Richard and Mr. Gardiner to look for Wickham. They didn't find him, instead they found a tragedy; Lydia lay on a pool of blood on the floor. A drunk who came into the cheap room, where Wickham had taken her, gravely injured Lydia.
William carried Lydia on his arms after bandaging her head. They went to his house where Mr. Bennet awaited. "Dear me, Lydia, my girl, my darling, what is wrong? Talk to me." Her father cried, but Lydia was unresponsive. William brought his physician, who stayed by Lydia's side. Elizabeth came with Jane, now engaged to the new tenant at Netherfield, a widower with two young children. It was a marriage of convenience. When Mr. Bennet left to bring his wife and other daughters, he couldn't stop crying.
The sisters stayed by Lydia, day and night; William sat with them. Lydia never regained consciousness after hitting her head during the fight. Richard and the Gardiner kept vigil with them. When her parents arrived, the loud Mrs. Bennet was quiet and subdued. Mr. Bennet was another story; his half-brother had died with his family, including two sons with their families, in a shipwreck. He heard the news when he went to pick up his family; he'd inherited the title, property, and enough wealth.
Mr. Bennet looked at Darcy with disdain. He had taken his beloved Elizabeth and treated her poorly. Jane and Elizabeth were from his first marriage to a foreign beauty. When she died giving birth to Lizzie, Fanny was his choice. He needed a wife. Fanny had a short marriage, her husband, an officer, was killed, and she had a stillborn. They married quickly. Since Fanny didn't believe in wet nurses, she fed baby Elizabeth. He learned to care for Fanny, who wasn't his first choice; she was a good wife but for her silliness with the officers.
Fanny had loved his daughters though she didn't understand Lizzie; regardless, she was also crossed with Darcy. She might not understand Lizzie's strange ways, but she loved her daughter because Lizzie was hers. She had fed her and raised her, and he had hurt Lizzie deeply.
Lydia didn't survive. Before she died, William had a cousin marry her in order to protect her sisters' reputations. The true story emerged, George had tried to prostitute her, and Lydia fought the man George sent to her. George went into hiding, afraid of William. His days were numbered, William vowed it on Lydia's death bed. Richard went out looking for George, but the coward ran away.
Lizzie stayed with him out of gratitude, but she refused to share his bed; it hurt too much. He tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't listen; he wished to apologize, but it was too late.
Things went from bad to worse, her mother's relatives showed up weeks later. Obviously wealthy and secretive, they came from Russia, near the Baltic Sea.
William remembered the day, Lizzie and he were called to the drawing room, "Sir, foreigners claiming to be Mrs. Darcy's grandparents would like to see you."
The relatives were an older couple, hardly old enough to be grandparents, and their older son, who looked as old as William, perhaps younger. Lizzie took to them right away. Her uncle kissed her a few time, "My sweet dove, you are your mother, her exact replica. You are as beautiful as her. " He declared.
They asked about Jane and were irate. They left that same day with Lizzie to get Jane. They stopped Jane's wedding; moreover, they were upset with Lord Bennet, who had refused their offers to raise the girls. To them he was a pauper who had not accepted their financial backing. They had initially accepted him because their daughter loved hi, but see how their granddaughters grew up, filled them with anger. They told him they should have grown like princesses not like country maidens.
They were direct, they wanted a Elizabeth and Jane to go with them. They looked down on Darcy, calling him common stock. By then, he was regretful of his horrendous proposal. He thought how ironic it was that that she was the one 'lowering herself,' when she married him. Darcy learned that Bennet married a Russian princess, who was visiting her twin brother in Cambridge at the time. Apparently the brother was Bennet's friend.
Finally, Jane and Lizzie left for a visit; they just returned a few weeks ago with their Russian uncle, after staying gone for more than a year. This night they were visiting her Fitzwilliams relatives; Lizzie wanted Georgiana at home, she missed her.
Jane and Elizabeth were changed when they came back. Little remained of the Lizzie he knew; it wasn't just the clothes, but also her demeanor; it didn't matter, he thought she was prettier than ever. Jane was to marry a diplomat living in London. He was eight years older than William, but she seemed happy enough. Personally, he found the man not his liking. The grandparents bought a mansion and a large estate, planning to be around as often as possible. The uncle stayed in the imposing home.
Several people came with Lizzie; Countess Mari, a noble, whose father was a General for the crown, came as a lady's companion. A lady's maid also came; she was an Amazon, not a common maid, more like a guard. Lizzie also brought a large domesticated wild cat, a small and unfriendly fluffy dog, and a giant wolfhound. If that were not enough, she had three giant footmen. The latter looked like professional military as Richard pointed out. Richard, who never came around after Lizzie went away, was now a frequent visitor. William though it was because of petite Lady Mari.
During a ball, a few days after their return, Jane saw Charles. Charles was no longer talking to William, blaming him for him for a bad marriage. Seeing Jane made an old wound bleed; his rich heiress wife, a Baron's daughter, was a blond angel, beautiful but most disagreeable and was now with child. His sisters, after reading about Jane, were also cold and blamed William for Charles' missing a chance to a princess. They forgot how they treated the Bennet sisters before.
Lizzie, now surrounded by servants and companions, was as cold as ice. Tutors came daily to teach Lizzie and Jane. They needed to improve their French, and keep learning German and Russian. Jane, staying with her uncle, came for the day. When done with lessons, their uncle picked them up; but he never came into the townhouse. Same when the now Lord Bennet came to pick up his favorite child, his Lizzie, he stayed outside. Apparently, Lizzie was a replica of her mother; since Lizzie had been raised as a son, they were very close, so he came often to pick her up…
The present
Sitting in front of the fire, recalling the last couple of years, William Darcy thought it seemed as if the world were against him. After deciding on something stronger, he downed a generous serving of scotch, neat. He had never felt so lonely, Elizabeth was now but an impossible dream.
His mind often replayed Kent over and over, making feel worse; he had been an arse, no doubt. As Bartlett had said, what kind of man in love hurts his beloved like he had. Elizabeth had confided in Richard, telling him about Kent. Now the Fitzwilliams knew about it. Whatever they thought was true, he had allowed his foolish pride to ruin everything. Richard was right; he hadn't dismissed the mistress, because he was careless; he had believed his wealth allowed him to do as he wished. Thinking about it, a few bitter tears ran down his cheeks.
He heard Lizzie and Lady Mari were back; they were laughing, but they didn't say goodnight. He went up to bed, undressed helped by his valet, put the candles out, and got in bed, ready for another sleepless night. Thinking about the last two years had made him see the lonely life ahead of him. He was now more aware than ever of all his mistakes. If there were miracles, he prayed for one; he prayed Lizzie would forgive him.
Seconds after, he sensed Elizabeth; her light perfume smelled of heaven. He reached for the candle, lit it, and saw her. Her menagerie followed her; he could hear them. The wild cat, maybe a lynx although smaller, the Russian Wolfhound, and the disagreeable small dog that tried to bite William more than once, all sat around the bed.
When he lit the oil lamp to see her better; he saw her on his bed. Her eyes were closed. She was asleep and naked, her tick braid went down her back. He blinked, was he dreaming?
A/N Is he dreaming? Has he suffered enough?