I do not own Pride and Prejudice.
Elizabeth sat in one of the back parlors of the townhouse sitting with both Georgiana and Kitty, waiting to hear from her aunt Gardiner on when would be a good time to go shopping with them. She had hoped to take the girls to her uncle's warehouse to pick out fabrics for new dresses, and wanted to make sure they wouldn't be in the way, while also having the added benefit of her aunt's company and good sense.
She was going over her notes she had taken while with Mrs Wilkes, explaining to the girls what she had been taught by her mother and Mrs Hill about running a house. They were interrupted by a commotion at the front door, and within seconds an older couple was bursting into the room. It was clear by their dress they were of the top circles of society, and Elizabeth knew they were likely her husband's relatives. Judging by their sour expressions, they were here to voice their displeasure with his choice of bride.
"Where is our nephew?" The gentleman demanded, and Elizabeth watch as Georgiana sank into herself in response to his obvious anger.
"I would suspect he will be here in a minute or two, his study is not far from here, and I doubt he did not hear your arrival." She said with a raised eye brow.
"Uncle Arthur, Aunt Eleanor, I was not expecting you today." Likely because they had not put the knocker out. "Please allow me to introduce you to my new wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy, and my new sister, Miss Catherine Bennet."
"We don't care to know them." His aunt cut in, making Kitty shrink back, and Elizabeth stand straighter. "We came here to talk some sense into you and have this sham of a marriage annulled as soon as possible."
"We've been to see your uncle, the bishop, he said he would annul the marriage today if you came and spoke with him." His uncle spoke up, and he knew the reason the Bishop made the requirement that they talk to him was because he was also the one to give him the special license.
"I do not find that necessary, it may not be the marriage I imagined, but I am happy with my chosen partner." Her heart fluttered as he came to stand next to her, taking her hand and placing a kiss upon the back of it.
"She is very pretty I grant you, but she is not the type of girl someone from our circles marries. If you really must have her you set her up in her own establishment and visit her whenever you want, AFTER your wife has given you an heir."
"Georgiana, Kitty, I think the two of you should retire to the music room. Your brother and I join you once we've shown Lord and Lady Matlock out." Elizabeth's eyes were alight with a fire she had never known before.
"Do as your sister says." Fitzwilliam said, when the girls were too petrified to move. This woke Kitty from her stupor, and she grabbed the younger girls hand, pulling her along out of the room.
"How dare you say something so crass in front of a couple of impressionable young ladies." Elizabeth started in on the couple, her husband's look of surprise not even registering. "It is our duty to protect those girls, and I will not allow you to harm either of them in any way."
"Let me be very clear on one thing," Fitzwilliam began, closing the door after the two younger girls had left. "Elizabeth is my wife and will continue to be so until one of us passes from this world. You don't have to like that fact, but you damn well respect it, or I will have no issue withdrawing any support you have gained from me."
"Don't threaten me young man," His uncle's face was almost purple. "Do you forget that we have an understanding with Lord Creston for you to marry his youngest daughter Lady Margaret."
"I never had an understanding with her, nor was there ever likely to be one. I may have danced with her at a few balls, but I never paid her more attention than I paid any other young lady." Fitzwilliam was furious, and Lizzy wished she knew enough about him to know what it was he took issue with.
"Now you have both insulted my wife and myself quite enough. You are no longer welcome in my homes, and while I will not cut you publicly yet, if you say anything to anyone that disparages my wife, I will have no issue cutting you publicly. Now, you know where the door is, I believe you should see yourselves out." He turned his back on the couple, but only until he heard them make their way to the door. "Oh, and you may want to pay closer attention to your spending habits, as well as the ones of your children, as I will no longer be clearing any of your debts. It is time you learn to live within your means."
The couple left in a huff, and she moved to go find the girls, only for her husband to yank her by the hand he was still holding, spinning her toward him and kissing her soundly. "Forgive me, I know we said we would wait a month before we did anything, but..." he spoke breathlessly while resting his forehead against hers.
"I understand, our emotions were high, and they just got the better of us." She responded, just as breathless, and this time was unsure of which one initiated the kiss.
"We really should go find the girls." She said as she forced the two of them apart. One thing was certain, even if they did not manage to fall in love each other, there would definitely be passion between the two of them.
"Yes, of course, lead the way." He finally said, once he had gotten his wits about him.
"Please tell me Lizzy and Kitty aren't going anywhere!" A tearful Georgiana threw herself into Lizzy's arms, as if thinking if she held on tight enough she wouldn't go anywhere.
"It is going to take more than a couple of pompous, self entitled, people to scare me away." Elizabeth wiped the tears from Georgiana's eyes. "You are stuck with us as long as you and your brother want us." She smiled when she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist.
"Is that what everyone in the Ton is like?" Kitty's voice was quivering. "If that is how they will be I do not want to come out at all." The poor girl looked terrified, and Lizzy watched as her husband pulled the girl into a comforting embrace.
"You don't have to come out to the Ton this season, if you would rather you can wait till next season and come out with Georgiana." He assured the younger girl.
"But I am already out..."
"Not here, and not in Derbyshire, no one needs to know you were out in Hertfordshire, amongst friends and family." Lizzy was quick to sooth her sister. "When we go shopping with aunt Gardiner we will just get you clothes more appropriate for a girl on the cusp of coming out."
"And should you decide you never want to come out then you shall always have a home with us." Fitzwilliam was quick to reassure.
"Both of you will." She reassured the young girl in her arms as well.
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It was just a few hours later that another guest showed up uninvited to their home. Though this time had the decency to wait to be announced by the footman. The family had returned to the sitting room, this time Mr Darcy bringing some work with him, so he could be close to the women to make sure there was no lasting damage.
"Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam" the footman announced, and allowed the man entrance once the approval was given by Mr Darcy.
"Richard." Her husband's greeting was cold, and Georgiana moves to sit closer to Kitty, the two girls grasping each other's hands.
"Come now, is that the best greeting you can offer your favorite cousin?" The jovial man laughed, "The least you can do is introduce me to these two enchanting women who have joined your household."
Fitzwilliam relaxed immediately, "Forgive me, allow me to introduce my wife, Mrs Elizabeth Darcy, and my new sister Miss Catherine Bennet."
"Hearing about the woman who took my parents to task, I expected you to be bigger." Richard laughed, looking her up and down.
"Maybe next time you will learn not to judge a book by it's cover." She responded with a raised eyebrow.
"I can't wait to see your entrance into the Ton, they won't know what hit them." He grinned, seeing she was not intimidated by him. "Now, why is my littlest cousin ignoring me, have I not been a good guardian to you, do I not deserve a proper hello?"
Georgiana relaxed, seeing him being friendly with Elizabeth, and rushed across the room to hug him. He sat and visited with the ladies for roughly 15 minutes before he and Darcy retired to the latter man's study.
"Are you and Georgie truly happy with your choice in bride?" He asked once they were behind closed doors.
"I truly believe we are." Darcy looked his cousin in they eye as he spoke, "You know I have always sought to find a woman as caring and devoted to their family as my mother was."
"Your mother was a truly wonderful lady, I can understand your sentiments."
"I believe I may have found her equal, but also, one who has the liveliness the Darcys have lacked for generations." He couldn't help but smile when he thought of the nights in Hertfordshire, watching her laugh and converse with her friends and neighbors.
"You my friend, are in a great deal of trouble." The colonel said with a smile, "A man who falls in love with his wife before she with him, will forever be ruled by her."
"Lucky for me then, I believe I may have found a truly kind woman, who would not misuse that power." He didn't know if it was love he felt, but he knew it had the potential to be.