Her Last Words Chapter 9, a pride and prejudice fanfic

A/N

HLW - Chapter 9, hope you enjoy.

Her Last Words

Chapter 9

The next morning, Darcy woke up with a general sense of wellbeing and decided to begin his day by walking to the summit of Oakham Mount. On his previous visit to Netherfield Park he had heard a lot about the beautiful sunrise that could be seen from up there, but somehow had never gotten around to visiting the place. It was time to rectify that neglect.

As he stepped out of Netherfield, his mind dwelt on the previous evening. Dinner with the Bennets had been a restful affair, except for the few times he had caught Miss Lydia staring angrily at him. That young woman still seemed to be in a fractious mood, but he was hopeful that Elizabeth would be able to gain her trust sooner or later. The most encouraging thing last evening was to see Bingley and Miss Bennet conversing much more easily than the day before.

After returning from Longbourn, he and Bingley sat in his study for a while and enjoyed a few drinks before calling it a day. Conscious of Mrs Bennet's concerns about Jane Bennet's change of heart, he had enquired from his friend about his progress with her. Bingley confirmed what he had observed at dinner time. While no commitment had been made, it appeared that he and Miss Bennet had decided to give each other some more time and another chance. Bingley had asked him then if he had any objections to extending their stay until the matter reached its logical conclusion. Darcy had answered truthfully enough that he would be delighted to do so!

'At least I have something encouraging to report to Mrs Bennet.'

"Good morning, Mr Darcy." He almost seemed to have conjured her up with the power of his thoughts. He was relieved to observe that her demeanour did not reflect her despondency of the day before.

"Good morning, Mrs Bennet. I did not see you at Longbourn yestereve?"

"I thought I would let you have your dinner in peace." Mrs Bennet smiled; she did not tell him that she had been present in the dining room but had chosen not to show herself.

"Where are you going so early in the morning?" she asked Darcy.

"I have heard a lot about the beauty of Oakham Mount. Today, I decided to go and see it for myself."

"Lizzy also loves to climb her way to the top of the mount. But since she returned from London, she has not gone out once," Mrs Bennet said regretfully.

Darcy was still considering how to respond when she exclaimed, "And to think, I used to chastise her for always tramping around without a care in the world. How I wish that she would start doing that again."

"I hope so as well. I have seen how much she enjoys nature. Some time spent in her favourite surroundings would give her the strength she needs to cope better with these trying times."

Mrs Bennet nodded quietly, it pleased her to note Mr Darcy's continued concern for Lizzy. She hoped that her obstinate daughter would soon see the truth about him. But... today she had come to discuss another matter – she wanted confirmation of what she had heard and seen the day before.

"So, do you know if Mr Bingley was able to finally talk to Jane?"

"Yes, Mrs Bennet, he did, and from what he has told me, Miss Bennet has agreed that they get to know each other better. Of course, she has not made any commitments, but I believe it is a step in the right direction."

"Hmm... It appears all is not lost yet," Mrs Bennet murmured in satisfaction. "Now that you have put my mind at ease, I will take my leave. of you. You have been very kind to me, I would not want that..." Mrs Bennet paused delicately.

"You would not want...?" Darcy prompted her.

"I would not want the good folk of Meryton to think that you are an eccentric who talks to himself on top of everything else," Mrs Bennet retorted with a mischievous smile before quickly disappearing.

"Definitely an odd sense of humour, she...," he began to mutter, then to his chagrin immediately caught himself even though there was no one around to see him.

~§§§~

Darcy took a sharp breath as he crested the summit of Oakham Mount. The sun, which had just begun to peak out from behind thick curtains of pink and grey clouds, had turned the sky into an artist's masterpiece. He stood for a long moment, taking in the breathtaking splendour of the giant natural canvas spread out before him. Finally, he was willing to concede that those who had told him about the beauty of this place had not been exaggerating. He sighed contentedly and looked around, until his eyes met a pair of lovely grey-green ones gazing back at him solemnly.

"Miss Elizabeth!" he exclaimed, and without volition began walking towards the natural stone bench on which she was seated. Even in her plain, black outfit, she was a sight for sore eyes. It gladdened his heart to see her for more reasons than one. He was pleased that she had resumed an activity that was bound to bring her inner peace.

"No, please do not get up," he protested, as he noticed her making an attempt in that direction. He had just begun to wonder whether he should leave her to her solitude when she solved his dilemma by shifting and making room for him on the makeshift bench.

"Mr Darcy, good morning. Do you come here often, sir?"

"Good morning, Miss Elizabeth. I am ashamed to say that I am visiting this beautiful place for the first time," Darcy admitted with a rueful smile. "Although now that I have seen it, I am certain that I will be making quite a few trips during my stay at Netherfield," he added.

Elizabeth smiled faintly. "Yes... magnificent is it not? Especially at this time of the day," she said as she glanced around her. "Weather and other things permitting, I usually come here at least once a se'nnight. After all, where else in Meryton would you find a gallery seat to witness nature slowly and surely coming up with its own Gainsborough or a Constable - every single time with a different palette?"

Darcy stared speechlessly at her soft, meditative face as he listened to her whimsical speech. That fact that she had given words to his musings of a few moments ago, filled him with a nameless feeling that made it difficult for him to breath normally. He swallowed hard to remove the sudden constriction in his throat and murmured, "I can but only agree with you wholeheartedly."

For a while they sat together in a restful silence, then Elizabeth turned to face him. "Mr Darcy?"

He looked at her and waited expectantly. "I... I have been wanting to speak to you for a while... in fact ever since I read your letter..." She paused hesitantly.

"Oh..." There was an awkward silence, finally broken by Darcy. "So... what it is you want to say, Miss Elizabeth," he asked, even though the subject she had mentioned was hardly something that inspired enthusiasm in him.

"I... I want to apologize for accusing you of cheating a rogue like Mr Wickham. For... for being a prejudiced, gullible fool, who believed everything a stranger told me, just because I disliked you at the time. I hope you will find it in your heart to accept my apology," she said slowly.

Darcy gazed at her openmouthed. He was not sure what he had expected her to say, but it had certainly not been an apology. She had not taken him up on his suggestion to confirm with Richard regarding Wickham's lies. So, he had not known whether she had believed his account on the matter. Well, today he knew – she did believe him! It left him feeling ecstatic, as did her statement that she had disliked him 'at the time'. It obviously meant that she no longer disliked him, did it not?

He came out of his reverie to see her staring at him in a puzzled fashion.

He had been so busy in his ruminations that he had not even responded to her apology! He hurried to reassure her, "You have no reason to apologize, Miss Elizabeth. Wickham is a skilled liar who has an excellent knack of weaving few threads of truths and half-truths with yarn full of lies to spin a very plausible story. Unfortunately, I had not given you any reason to doubt such an expertly woven tale."

He released a deep sigh. "So... please... do not feel bad about being deceived by a master of his art. He has duped people much more worldly-wise than you," he added with a rueful smile.

Elizabeth stared at him in silence. 'And I accused him of possessing a resentful temperament!' The unbidden thought left her feeling very discomfited.

"It is very generous of you to say so, Mr Darcy," she said and decided to inform about Mr Wickham's continued chicanery. "I want to tell you something else... about Mr Wickham," she said and immediately saw him tense.

"We never got around to discussing it yesterday, but a few militia officers had called on us in the morning, Mr Wickham amongst them."

"Oh... Did... did Miss Lydia become upset again?" Darcy remembered the youngest Bennet's tantrum from the first day.

"No, no... nothing like that, Mr Darcy. I only wanted to let you know that as soon as Mr Wickham heard about your presence at Netherfield, he was up to his old tricks of maligning you."

"Hmm... That is how he normally behaves, Miss Elizabeth. I suppose I would have been more worried had he not indulged in his favourite pastime," Darcy said dryly.

"Oh... I just thought that you should be made aware of his nefarious intentions. Although, I believe he will lie low for a while after the manner in which Jane tackled him yesterday," Elizabeth said with satisfaction.

"Uh... would you mind telling me how Miss Bennet handled him?" Darcy asked curiously.

With a mischievous smile playing on her lips, Elizabeth narrated the conversation from yesterday.

"How strange. I aways considered Miss Bennet to be very sweet natured and gentle. Had you not been the one to tell me this tale, I would have found it very difficult to believe that she could be so ruthless!" he said with a chuckle.

"You and me both, Mr Darcy," Elizabeth said with an answering smile. For a few moments they sat smiling at each other, until the silence lengthened and a blush stole over her cheeks.

She looked away and cleared her throat self-consciously. "I... it is getting late, I should be going," she said, although she made no move to get up.

"I would like to accompany you, if I may?"

Elizabeth nodded, but still did not get up. Darcy who was in no hurry to go, sat waiting patiently. He felt that she wanted to say something more and was proved correct in a short while.

"Mr Darcy, before we go... I would like to thank you for... for bringing Mr Bingley back... into Jane's life.

"Oh... I only informed Bingley of the sad event that took place in London in his absence. Once he knew about it, he himself was very keen to come here and convey his sympathies to Miss Bennet and... all of you," Darcy protested self-deprecatingly.

"If I am not wrong, you also made him aware of Jane's visit to their home earlier this year," she said quietly.

Darcy flushed as he remembered their heated argument on the topic from Hunsford parsonage.

"I believe I already confessed to you how uncomfortable I am with deceit of any kind. It was with a lot of difficulty I had convinced myself that keeping Miss Bennet's visit from Bingley was for his own good."

Feeling uncomfortable, he paused for a brief moment, then continued with resigned sigh, "I had been in a dilemma ever since I came to know my understanding of Miss Bennet's feelings was faulty. I wanted to confess my mistake to Bingley... but was worried how the revelation would impact our friendship. I cravenly decided to wait until Bingley was back in London when I could explain everything to him face to face..."

He gave her shamefaced look and added, "But when tragedy struck... and I was writing to apprise Bingley of it, I decided to... to make a clean breast of it."

Elizabeth listened to him with something akin to wonder. This was a man who had all the reason to dislike her, and yet here he was confessing his thoughts and emotions as if... as if to a cherished friend? It further surprised her that she rather liked listening to him and the assumption that he might consider her a friend.

Did he... still have some remnants of... those... ardent feelings he had confessed to earlier? The sudden thought made her glance at him inadvertently. She flushed when she found him looking back at her with a rueful smile.

"Not everyone can accept their mistake, let alone make amends for them at the risk of suffering personal loss," she said, and finally got up from the bench. Darcy followed her with alacrity.

"One can only hope that after all your efforts, Jane and Mr Bingley will finally find their happiness," she added, as they started their way down.

"From what Bingley said yesterday, there are reasons to hope for that particular outcome," Darcy replied.

"Hmm..." Elizabeth turned her head to smile at him and he smiled back.

Darcy noticed the smiling appreciation in her eyes. The utter contentment he felt at the sight was definitely disproportionate to the appreciation she had bestowed on him. He found that he did not care, choosing rather to consider it another small step in his journey to redemption.

The homeward journey was somehow much quicker than the one in the opposite direction and all too soon he was taking a reluctant leave of her at the Longbourn gate. The couple had been so engrossed in their conversation that they had not noticed that for quite a while on their to Longbourn, they were observed by malevolent pair of eyes.

~§§§~

Her Last Words