Reader,
Sorry for the delay in posting. I'm writing this as I post so you are basically reading in real time (which for me is slooow). When we last left off, Darcy and Elizabeth were flummoxed to be in each other's bodies at Netherfield, and Elizabeth (as Darcy) had gone out riding with Bingley when he took an impromptu swim in a lake. Now let's see what Darcy is up to. Hee. Thanks for reading.
GS
When the clock struck two o'clock and the carriage arrived, Darcy reluctantly changed into Elizabeth's original plain dress and joined Jane to descend downstairs to say goodbye to their hosts.
Bingley, as always, was kind and solicitous to both Bennet sisters, which Darcy appreciated. Caroline and Mrs. Hurst said the right words and expressed warmth to Jane, but eyed Elizabeth coolly in their goodbyes. Darcy, frankly, was not surprised.
The skies on the ride home were gloomy, the roads rougher than Darcy remembered, but then he was in a far older–and less luxurious carriage–this time. He wished to complain but realized it would be futile. The Bennet girls would be accustomed to their carriage and likely not find it particularly uncomfortable. Also, this explained why Elizabeth Bennet often preferred to walk places on foot.
From the other side of the carriage, Jane Bennet eyes Darcy carefully.
"You are in a quiet mood," Jane said finally.
"I still have a bit of a headache," He said truthfully.
Jane nodded and stared outside the window. "Do you think Mr. Bingley will have a ball as he said?"
Darcy took in Jane's doe-eyed expression: hope mixed with trepidation. He wondered if he should discourage the connection between Bingley and the girl, as he thought so earlier. But her sweet face looked so purely excited and he knew Bingley would have a party if he promised. "Yes, I suspect he will. He seems eager to please."
Jane blushed prettily and glanced out the window again. She was a charming girl, he realized. But Bingley's sisters would eat her alive.
There were many aspects that Darcy feared in their return back to Longbourn, but truly, there was one of which he had forgotten: Mrs. Bennet.
"My girls! Home, finally!" Darcy heard a shriek before he had even alighted from the carriage and was immediately thrust into the soft bosom by a heavily lavender-scented woman.
Ah, yes, Elizabeth's Mama. How could he have forgotten?
"Jane, how was Netherfield? I have even missed you, Lizzy." He could barely breathe. Finally she let him go.
"Jane, are you engaged? Will you be Mrs. Bingley?" One of the sisters stood nearby while the other fiddled with a ribbon on her bonnet.
"Don't be daft, Kitty." The other sister said. "She has only been there a few days. Unless you and Bingley have a secret understanding. Do you, Jane?"
Darcy pulled away from the lady's ample bosom and nearly coughed.
Jane Bennet laughed and brushed her younger sister's hair. "Don't be silly. I was ill. I was in bed nearly the whole time. What has occurred while I've been gone? I have missed you all. Thankfully, dear Lizzy kept me company." Jane squeezed Darcy's arm.
"Finally, the invalid returns!" a male voice boomed, and soon he was being squeezed again by Mr. Bennet. "Well, what tidings from Netherfield?"
"Yes, how are our dear friends, the Bingleys? I do not ask about Mr. Darcy because I do know care a whit if he catches consumption and dies. He was very rude," Mrs. Bennet said.
"Mama, that is unkind! Mr. Darcy was very kind to me," Jane said sweetly.
"He was very a unpleasant sort of man, Jane. I cannot help my opinion. You know how much I value kindness. Lady Lucas agreed that he has turned all the people of Meryton against him with his haughty airs."
"I'm sure he suffers greatly for it," Darcy said under his breath.
"Lizzy?" Mrs. Bennet's mouth set. "I am against him almost entirely for you because he has insulted you in such a mortifying way. Standing you up during a dance! The shame of it! We are most fortunate no one else heard his comment or you might be labeled as an on-the-shelf spinster at only one and twenty!"
Mr. Bennet laughed and crossed his arms. "Mrs. Bennet, you are too rash. No one thinks Lizzy is in danger of being on-the-shelf," Mr. Bennet said and patted Darcy's arm. "Am I not correct?"
Darcy stepped back from the family as they collected around him like a flock of chickens, scratching and ceaselessly chirping.
"Er, yes. Thank you, Father," Darcy said awkwardly.
Mrs. Bennet clapped her hands. "Cook has made roast game hen and potatoes, Jane, your favorite! What do you say to that? We will fatten you up yet, Jane. But I do need parsley. Kitty and Lydia were going to walk to Meryton to get some, but you two must be too tired to accompany them."
A walk–-particularly away from this family–-sounded like heaven. "I will accompany them to Meryton. Besides, it is unseemly for them to walk alone," Darcy said quickly. He decided he would walk to Paris if it would provide him some peace and space from Mrs. Bennet.
"La, Lizzy! You know we walk to Meryton at least twice a week. And we never meet more than the Lucases a stray fox. What is unseemly about that?"
Darcy swallowed his urge to respond. "I just mean that you should all be careful so we will not be the source of gossip by the townspeople."
"When did you care what Meryton thinks of us? You have always been impervious to gossip, Lizzy."
Darcy thought quickly. "I am only thinking of my dear sisters' reputations. I would not wish them sullied necessarily," he said.
"Dear, sweet sisters? Who can you mean?" Lydia asked, stifling a yawn.
Mr. Bennet chuckled. "That is prudent of you, Lizzy. Your mother and I appreciate your foresight. But walking to Meryton is hardly a threat."
Darcy fidgeted with a button on his sleeve. It was more difficult to approximate Miss Bennet's behavior than he had thought. He was clearly not getting it right. He vowed to speak less and to observe more. "I am happy to walk to Meryton after the long carriage ride," he said.
After a moment, the sister named Lydia said something about a bonnet and the other one joined it, contradicting her. The mother spoke up to stop their argument but only succeeded in joining it. It all made Darcy very exhausted and wished for nothing more than a drink and his library. Alas, neither was available to him.
Thankfully, once inside the house, the women moved away, still chattering, and Darcy was eager for solitude. He drifted to a window that looked out over a long fallow field. How was he going to get out of this situation? He hoped a miracle might occur and he'd wake up in his rightful body. Otherwise, what might he do? Spend the rest of his life as a female? He shuddered. How a sensible creature like Elizabeth, or Jane, for that matter, survived in his family was beyond his understanding.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Mr. Bennet standing behind him, smiling fondly.
"I am glad you are home, Lizzy. I have missed our talks."
Darcy's hand again fidgeted with the lace on his sleeve. "Thank you, I am pleased to be back," he said, which was a boldfaced untruth.
"Were the residents of Netherfield kind to you? Even the odious Mr. Darcy?" He flashed a mischievous grin.
"He is not so terrible," Darcy said quickly but stopped when he saw the gentlemen's eyebrows rise with surprise.
"I promise you he is not all bad when you get to know him," Darcy said.
Mr. Bennet laughed. "Are you sure you are my daughter?" He patted her arm again. "I am only teasing. Is Mr. Bingley very much in love with Jane?"
"Yes, probably, but his sisters discourage the match."
Mr. Bennet shrugged. "True love's course never did run smooth, eh?"
"I supposed that is true," Darcy said, surprised Mr. Bennet was not more concerned with his daughter's happiness. He would be upset if a suitor's sisters were against a match for his sister, Georgiana. "But Jane may have her heart broken yet."
"If so, she will recover, I dare say."
Darcy was startled. Did he care so little if his daughters were the source of gossip? Darcy would be concerned if Jane were his sister, but then, of course, Georigana's match would be expected to be much grander than that of the Bennet girls.
"I have saved the last few day's newsprint for you, if you wish to read it," Mr. Bennet said.
Darcy stood awkwardly. "I believe I will go change so that we might walk to Meryton."
"Very well," Mr. Bennet said. "Far be it for me to know the workings of the female mind. I shall adjourn to my library."
Darcy watched Mr. Bennet's solitary figure move down the hall, jealous of the man's access to privacy in such a busy, bustling household. Overhead, the faint chatterings of Elizabeth's sisters' voices rang through the wall upstairs. He sighed again when Lydia poked her head down from the stairwell.
"Lizzy? Please hurry so that we may away to Meryton!"
Elizabeth's life was different than he'd ever imagined.
The road to Meryton was muddier and rougher than Darcy expected, particularly for the rather cheap boots the Elizabeth Bennet wore. He tried to side-step a puddle, but–thinking his legs were longer than they were and still unused to his new petite frame–stepped splashing into it.
"Lizzy, have a care!" The quieter sister chided him. "You may not mind if you are muddied, but I do not wish to be so!" Her brows drew sharp as she spoke. Mary, he thought her name was. She was the plainer one who wore her hair parted and pulled tight in a less decorative style than the other sisters. He was startled, not used to being spoken to so harshly by a young woman. He considered her momentarily. "I am sorry," and the truly meant it.
He needed to remember he did not have the size or strength he was used to. Also, young women should not jump to avoid puddles but instead walk gracefully around them. The only thing he had in his favor was that Elizabeth Bennet did have a reputation for walking and did not seem to mind stepping in mud. He would not like his sister jumping over puddles either in public. But then, they were in the country on the road and there was no one around to see them.
Walking was terribly slow transportation, he realized as he trudged alongside Elizabeth's sisters, and the roads to Meryton were not as well kept as he was used to. He rode nearly everywhere or took a carriage for longer rides. But Elizabeth Bennet did not ride. As Jane had decided to stay home, the two other sisters-Catherine, Kitty (as she was called) and Lydia-walked together, talking and laughing.
They walked on another quarter of an hour, with the younger girls giggling and talking ahead, Mary trudging behind quietly near their maid and him in between.
"La, Lizzy, I think I am tall enough this year to wear your green dress to the Netherfield ball."
Suddenly, the girl turned to him, her lips pursued in a pout. "Do you hear nothing I say?"
Darcy was flummoxed. "I do apologize. Pray, speak again."
Lydia laughed. "You are so formal after spending two days at Netherfield! Is that how Caroline Bingley speaks?"
Darcy's heart thudded again. At this rate, he would be discovered and he would surely be dragged off to an asylum if he told them the truth. Lydia stopped walking and came to Darcy's side, peering into his eyes.
"You have been very strange since you have returned, but I cannot suss out why."
Darcy swallowed, unnerved to be so close to a young woman, her hazel eyes looking at him frankly. He stepped around her. "Let's not dally. We should return home in time for tea," he said although he was not looking forward to returning to Longbourn at any point in the day.
Finally, they came to Meryton. The buildings were old and suggested the village went back several centuries in this area. A comfortable-looking pub caught his attention and he yearned to go inside, sit down and drink an ale. But, alas, as a young woman he could not.
Lydia shrieked at an ear-splitting level. "Look, there's Denny!" She grasped Kitty's arm, gesturing to a group of soldiers in regimentals on the corner. Darcy rolled his eyes. Such dramatics. Why did their mother allow them to act thusly in public? He remembered their mother and sighed. Oh yes.
"Girls, do behave," he said as Lydia turned back to look at him and laugh rudely before they scrambled across the street to greet the soldiers, who he could only hope they had been properly introduced to.
Thank goodness his sister Georgiana did not behave as the Bennet sisters did. But then, he remembered that despite his sister's more refined exterior, she had actually tried to run away with him. Darcy did not even want to think of his name, so hotly did he detest the man. He still felt he could murder the man with his own hands, even as Elizabeth Bennet.
"Miss Bennet?" A voice called, and this time, he turned to it.
A familiar face smiled warmly down at him. He was staring into the brown eyes of the devil, George Wickham himself!
"How very serious you seem. I hope nothing is the matter on such a fine day." Wickham again took an informal, playful tone with Elizabeth Bennet. Clearly, they knew had been introduced. He bid himself to stay calm.
"I am quite well, thank you," he said coolly. "How have you been faring, Wickham?"
He purposefully did not include Mr. in front of his name.
Wickham threw his head back and laughed. "I am only Wickham now? Not Mr. Wickham, nor Lt. Wickham? Have I been so demoted to you, Miss Bennet?"
"What makes you think you were ever so superior to begin with?"
Wickham's smile grew. Lord, Wickham thought he was flirting with her. How dare he take liberties with a woman so above his character! Darcy clenched his fists tightly to keep from striking him then glanced down and remembered how small his current fists were. He could never strike Wickham, even if he did it would make no difference. Darcy felt his lip curl at the man in front of him.
"Why do you look so sour? You, who are usually all smiles?" Wickham was all charm.
Darcy's mind whirred with insults to hurl at him. But none would suffice. And there were frightfully few things he could say to him as Elizabeth Bennet.
"Perhaps I have only been playing at being all smiles," Darcy hissed.
Wickham cocked his head and leaned toward him. "What an intriguing concept. Is Miss Bennet not all the sunshine she seems?"
Darcy felt Wickham's breath on his cheek. He wished to thrash him.
"I'm sure you'll never know."
"You are very saucy today, what a surprise you are." Wickham's eyes shown back at him.
"More than you'll ever guess."
"And I was under the impression the two eldest Bennets were the 'good' sisters."
Darcy's eyes narrowed at Wickham. "You may as well take your easy smiles charm and elsewhere for I am not fooled by you. I know you are not above trying to seduce young heiresses and that your integrity is as flimsy as your poorly-laundered collar."
Wickham's face lost its smile and he paled noticeably. Then, a moment later, his lips curled upward in a crueler smile. "Where have you heard this? What villain has been filling your head with poison lies? I'll challenge him to a duel."
So he would pretend it was untrue, would he? He supposed he'd lay the blame on Darcy himself as well.
Darcy smiled wryly. "I know what I know. Do you deny it?"
Wickham's smile did not falter, but his eyes lost their twinkle from a few moments ago. "You must tell me who is spreading such slander? Mr. Darcy, the blackguard? He has always been jealous of me."
Now Darcy was amused. "Why yes, I can see just why he would feel jealous of all your NUMEROUS good qualities." As he spoke, he eased a finger to Wickham's chest and pressed it harder and harder so that Wickham had to take a step backward.
"I say," Wickham said, laughing nervously. "You seem very sure of yourself, Miss Bennet."
"I am sure of one thing. I know a liar when I see one. Please take your falsehoods and peddle them somewhere else. They are not wanted here."
Wickham swallowed with distaste. "To think I wished to ask you to dance at the Netherfield ball."
"All the Bennets are better off steering clear of the likes of you at the ball. In fact, I'd not have my mother dance with you!" Wickham frowned and pulled his cape around his shoulders.
"If that is how you feel, I shall be on my way presently."
"Yes, do." Darcy fluttered his hand away. "You are not welcome here." Ha, he watched Wickham's back turn and stride quickly away, feeling immensely satisfied.
"Lizzy, what have you said to scare away poor Wickham?" Lydia called to her as she crossed the street, her brows drawn with confusion.
Darcy shrugged innocently. "I simply said I hoped he would attend the Netherfield ball." Lydia looked back to Wickham's quickly fleeing figure. "Lydia, do have a care around him. He is not an honorable man."
Lydia looked stunned."And you are the best judge of character for I should be friends with? I shall make friends with whom I like, thank you very much." She pursued her lips angrily.
She turned and ran the street toward Wickham. "Wickham, come back!"
Kitty came over and blinked. "Why is she chasing Wickham?"
He'd never understand women. Darcy shook his head. "Because I told her to avoid him. She is a very stubborn girl!" Darcy said.
To his surprise, Kitty laughed. "You are just now discovering that, Lizzy?" For a moment, Darcy flushed at being laughed at by the young girl. Hopefully soon this would not be his problem at all. He would soon be back as himself and not have to think for a moment about the younger Bennet girls. He hoped so very much anyway.