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A Pride and Prejudice Song-Fic

Chapter Three

This was an easy resolution to make, but Darcy overestimated his resolve to keep it. Bingley, he was sure, had been offended, and our poor dear Darcy, though he could easily admit so to himself, was still disinclined towards confessing so to his friend, peer, and---as Darcy felt--- considerably happier fellow creature. Mr. Darcy also fancied that Mr. Bingley's happiness would oppress him, and didn't like to think what he would feel on seeing a sister of Mrs. Follows. Small Anne was saying complete sentences before Darcy met Bingley again.

The morning had started like many others. Mr. Darcy had, after breakfasting, took Anne up in his arms and taken her out to the front of the house. After consulting with her, it was decided that they would drive four miles (Anne pronounced it "miwth") eastward. Anne was fond of the cool summer morning air, and Mr. Darcy was fond of indulging her. That day, however, he found it essential to disappoint his young darling. Their outing was put off by the arrival of some guests.

Darcy had been playing with Anne while they were waiting for the phaeton when they were shown in. He looked up; his eyes grew wide and he put Anne down.

"Bingley!" He heartily shook his friend's hand.

"How d'ye do, Darcy? Been a long time! You know my wife of course," Bingley smiled fondly, "Mrs. Jane Bingley, and her sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Follows, widow of Mr. Richard Follows."

Darcy faltered. Widow... He instantly recollected himself and produced a stately bow.

Elizabeth looked at her former acquaintance with mild disdain as she curtseyed; she had seen his color change. Jane was Mr. Bingley's wife, in spite of all his efforts to keep them apart. He had said once that he was resentful. She fell to musings involving Mr. Darcy. Before that long ago day that the regiment had left Meryton for Brighton, she harbored a strong dislike for him, as the man who ruined Wickham. The several weeks following the departure of the militia, however, soon put an end to that strain of her ill feelings. Mr. Wickham's extensive misconduct was brought to light, and then she only hated Mr. Darcy for separating her sister and Mr. Bingley. This contempt reduced after their marriage to cool indifference and a haughty feeling of knowing she had been right, and he had been wrong.

Darcy observed her closely out of the corner of his eye. This was not the same woman he remembered. Distant, cold, not displaying her ready charm and wit as she had so unconsciously done before. "How came you to Derbyshire, Bingley?" said Mr. Darcy finally, thus interrupting his fair companion's thoughts.

"I live in Derbyshire, quite to the east, but I have just come to Lambton for visiting purposes. Mrs. Follows has friends there she keeps correspondence with…she was invited to visit. Jane found from her sister that they were her uncle and aunt Gardiner's friends, and expressed the amiable wish of knowing them also, and so it became our general scheme to come to Lambton for some weeks."

"Gardiner…why does the name sound familiar to me?" Darcy pondered intently for a few moments, then looked up at Elizabeth suddenly. "Mrs. Follows, did you not travel through here with them, several years ago?

Elizabeth, startled, replied, "Why, yes, but how did you come to know, to remember something so trivial as that from so long ago?"

Darcy inwardly kicked himself. Mrs. Reynolds had filled his ear the next morning with reports of the young lady, and the gentleman, and his wife, and all their praise of Pemberley. He had treasured Elizabeth's approval for years.

"Sometimes my memory astounds me also," he murmured. There was a silent pause for some moments, before Mr. Bingley inquired after Mr. Darcy's sister.

"She is married, and resides in this neighborhood. Mr. Hawthorne is a very good sort of man, and they quite dote on their children, Darcy and Georgiana. Darcy is a few months younger than my daughter."

"So it will be a few years before you shall have music like you once did. Mrs. ---Hawthorne, you said? --- will be playing for her own family rather than you."

"Very true. She has always been so very accomplished that I cannot imagine her giving up her instrument in spite of being married."

Anne had crept shyly up to Elizabeth, after much coaxing. Elizabeth took the little girl's hand. "And what is your name, my dear?"

"Anne Elizabeth Darcy," said the bearer of that name, only with a strong lisp.

 "My name is Elizabeth too! And 'Anne' is very pretty. Your father named you well."

Anne immediately asserted that her father did everything well; Mrs. Follows laughed delightedly. Anne became quite good friends with her by the end of the visit. She asked "Mithith Fowowth" if she was going to come again, to which Elizabeth replied, looking at Mr. Darcy, "If your father invites me and my friends, I certainly shall."

"By all means, all of you must come again, and next time stay to tea," Darcy said, too quickly perhaps. Another, longer visit was arranged for three days afterward, and another and another. Darcy had possessed some hopes of conversation with Eliz---with Mrs. Follows, but no opportunity occurred until a week after the first renewal of the acquaintance.

On the first truly fine day, the party expressed the general with of taking a turn about the grounds. The Bingleys, as Jane was not such a great walker as Elizabeth, soon lagged behind the widow and widower.

"I notice you watch Anne with a sad face, Mrs. Follows. May I inquire why?"

Elizabeth sighed. "I have long enjoyed the company of Jane's dear children, but cannot be satisfied with their companionship, for it has only strengthened the wish for my own children. Your little Anne reminded me of that wish again."

"I never thought much of children, once I was married, but I am sincerely grateful to Heaven for Anne Elizabeth," replied Darcy, surprised delighted to have received such an open and confiding answer.

Truly, Elizabeth was surprised at her answer herself. She sought after a different tangent of conversation. "Why did you call her Elizabeth? Anne, I know, was her mother's name, and your own mother's, if I am not mistaken, but I cannot attribute Elizabeth to anything."

Darcy thought frantically for a moment for a reasonable explanation. "I am merely partial to the name." Well, it's true. She just doesn't have to know why I'm partial to it.

Elizabeth was satisfied.  A moment later she turned to him, smiling wryly. It was an expression he recognized from long ago, the one that made her eyes sparkle and prepared him to be teased and to enjoy the wit that was to come. "Once, Mr. Darcy, we tried to talk of books, but to no avail. Perhaps we might undertake it again?"

Darcy smiled good-naturedly. "I see I am not the only one whose memory reaches the trifling."

"Actually, Mr. Darcy, I can recall much of our conversations," Elizabeth looked away with artificial loftiness. She met his eyes again, "I really was rather rude to you, I realize. But then perhaps I was provoked: you slighted me, and didn't like my sister." Darcy looked appalled, and Elizabeth laughed at him. "I beg your pardon; I have never outlived the habit of 'professing opinions which are not my own', nor of 'willfully misunderstanding' everybody."

Darcy shook his head. "Mrs. Follows, this shall never do. We ought not recollect past conversations and past feelings that cannot possibly forward it, since it would not do to be at odds when we are so closely connected."

"Past feelings, you say?" Suddenly realizing that he did not dislike her, Elizabeth was struck by how much his customary gravity became him when slightly blended with gallantry, though the feeling she was struck with had nothing at all to do with their conversation. Then she remembered that this must mean that he did not dislike her sister, either. "Then you are sorry you disapproved the match between your friend and Jane?"

"Even after Bingley and your sister were married, I found my reasons behind the disapprobation to be correct, but you must understand that I genuinely rejoiced that Bingley thought nothing of them after all, and had become quite happy. Now, however, I wonder if my reasons…the lacking fortune, inferiority of connections… really had any relevance." He added pensively, looking into the distance.

Elizabeth turned her face away, blushing. There was something in his gaze that made her wonder regarding his meaning. Not looking at him, she abruptly said, "Shall we turn around and meet the others? Your daughter may be wanting you, and Jane will likely be ready to return to the house."

"Would you like the service of my arm? You look as though you are growing fatigued."

In truth, the exercise had not tired Elizabeth; the new sensations she felt were wearing her mind. Nevertheless, she accepted his arm. Darcy smiled to himself as they walked back.

So, Elizabeth, we meet again.

A/N:

-I am SO glad that I am getting such enthusiastic feedback! I really, truly appreciate your opinion and am delighted to have your support!

-I have been working on getting these to HTML format so that italic, etc. will work, and have done that, except that it's not working how I told it to on Ch. 2 and I have to idea why. So I'm just going to pretend it's hunky dory and leave it, before I get irritated.

-Oh, and I did some editing of Ch. 1 and Mrs. Follows and the Bingleys are NOT living in Lambton, like it says there. Error/typo kind of thing, I'm very sorry. Also, chapter 2 says in the text that it is chapter one. Feel free to ignore it until I get it fixed.

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