The Question of Consent
By DJ Clawson
A sequel to "A Bit of Advice"
Author's notes: This is where, at almost 60K, I go on for a bit, as I generally don't leave author's notes in the regular chapters unless I think they're important. I wrote this in about a month, which included during a trip to Israel, so I apologize for spelling and grammatic mistakes. I have three important points to make.
1. I'm going to attempt to publish my last two stories - the first one and this one - as a novel. As I work in publishing, this will be slightly less difficult an endeavor than if I didn't work in publishing, but it will be insanely difficult noneneless, so if anyone reading this is a legitimate author - either of an Austen sequel, another random fiction novel that wasn't self-published, or has some serious authorial credit, and you want to give me a couple lines of recommendation that I could put in a letter, please email me or PM me. Thanks.
2. The challenge of this story, now that I had a grip on the characters, was quite obviously making Miss Bingley likeable without betraying her character, as she does say things that make her thoroughly dislikable in the book and various adaptations and I really would be just a bad writer if I wrote her all rosy and nice. The basic premise is that she has a nice side, which comes out, and her vicious side was largely a result of being trained to catch a good husband in a competitive marriage market, and in the first half of the story she remains relatively vicious. Kudos to those who saw Dr. Maddox immediately as a significant character, because I gave a hint in Chapter 2 by naming him, describing him, and having the main characters discuss him. I never name the servants, or rarely name the servants, and I never describe them, so that was my "neon lights". With Kincaid, the difficulty was making him worse than just a money-hungry suitor, so I made him a bigamist as well, mainly because I had just that week written a paper on the bigamy novels of the mid-nineteenth century. I hope I was successful, at least somewhat, on all fronts.
3. I am planning on a sequel. That certain characters were not mentioned or only mentioned in passing (Mary and Kitty Bennet, Lady Catherine, Mr. Wickham) doesn't mean I forgot about them; it means they were doing other things that weren't relevant to this plot and might well be relevant to the next. The sequel will focus more immediately on Darcy and Elizabeth, though everyone makes their appearances and the Maddoxes get a significant subplot, because I like Dr. Maddox. He started out as basically nothing and grew as a character into someone likeable (I hope) but so thoroughly different from Bingley and Darcy, so it'll be interesting to see him join their little boy's club. Boy's? Whoops, I meant men. Yup, I sure did. So put my on author alert or story alert for this story because I'll post that a new one is up here. Or you could just look for it. It'll be up whenever it's up, as I think I deserve a vacation. But then again, I do love writing these things.
Onto the final chaper! Please leave your comments, as I do take them into huge consideration in my writing, and sometimes respond directly to questions by PM, especially if they're to clarify some historical thing.
Chapter 18 – Epilogue
The matter of who was to be the best man became a severely complicated issue, at least among those who were inclined to chat about it behind Doctor Maddox's back, as apparently he was to have no say in the matter. Darcy was the obvious choice, but it took Bingley to admit over billiards that even he would find Darcy best man at Caroline's wedding a bit strange. Mr. Hurst could barely stand up through a whole ceremony, and Bingley of course had the task of giving his sister away. Brian Maddox, despite being an amiable and very repentant fellow, was nobody's favorite for obvious reasons, and was a most inappropriate choice.
"It is a shame that I have not yet developed a horrid disease and therefore do not know him better," he said. "Though perhaps we could consult the groom before assigning the position?"
"It's not our fault he cares more for the library than for pool," Mr. Hurst said.
"Or in Miss Bingley's sitting room."
"Elizabeth is a bad influence on you," Bingley spat back at Darcy. "I think I liked you better when you just stared out the window during these conversations."
The snow stopped and melted, causing the roads to flood, and it was almost April before the last Bingley sibling was married off, to a man of relatively small fortune but an outstanding reputation in his profession. He was offered a sizable position in Scotland by a certain earl, but turned it down, saying he preferred his work in London and his wife liked the social life, and he would forever be at the mercy of his wife's wants and wishes. Lord William Kincaid, who returned to England for the wedding, smiled and shook his hand and said that he understood.
To everyone's chagrin, at least privately, he did (undoubtedly with full awareness of the irony) ask Darcy to stand as his best man, and aside from a few associates from Town and University, had few guests of his own beyond his brother, who was to depart from England as soon as the amnesty granted to him until the wedding ended was up. Brian Maddox had recovered, but walked with a limp, having had a particular nerve severed near his spine, and this was somehow deemed enough of a punishment by his sibling and sister-in-law. Not that anyone beyond the doctor himself felt compelled to be nice to him, but he did attend the ceremony, and whatever understanding had transpired between brothers in the weeks up to the wedding, they kept to themselves.
"If my brother is poor in character, it is not my place to judge," Dr. Maddox finally said when cornered, and then would say no more on the matter.
But aside from being the receptor of many cold stares in the church, Brian Maddox bothered no one and smiled awkwardly to the guests who didn't know him as they arrived.
It seemed the last people to actually arrive were the two people the ceremony concerned. Caroline had all of the usual delays of fittings and women doing whatever it was when a woman was getting married, which Charles Bingley avoided assiduously and instead stood in the church with Darcy, despite this was the last day he would see his sister for some time, as the couple was taking their honeymoon on the Continent. Once again, Bingley found himself in the office of the local pastor with Darcy.
"Your wedding gift?" Darcy said. "If I may inquire."
"A townhouse in West London. Caroline should have her own place."
"Now I feel cheap," Darcy said. "All I got them was a book."
"Well, you are only a – Darcy! That's my sister we're talking about!"
"I didn't say what kind of book. You have a foul mind, Bingley."
"Don't mock me on my sister's wedding day!"
"I mocked you on yours; I hardly see how this is as bad," was Darcy's reply.
"I'm buying Georgiana a copy on her wedding day!"
"You must be referring to your daughter, because Georgiana Darcy is never getting married. She's taking the veil," he said. "And if it isn't the man of the hour."
Doctor Maddox had finally arrived, looking more nervous than he normally looked – not the Bingley sort of "I can't stay still" nervous, but more of the skittish terrified nervousness, which was not entirely unexpected. "Hello."
"Doctor," Bingley said, slapping him on the shoulder. "Best of luck. If you have any questions on how to entice Caroline, ask Darcy here." And with that, he left to meet his sister.
"Bastard," Darcy said. "Got out of here before I could say anything."
"You don't ... have any advice?"
Darcy shrugged. "You don't seem to need any. And I assume you are quite acquainted with feminine biology."
"Am I going to have to return this witty brotherly repertoire?"
"To last in this family, yes," he said. "A small price to pay, all things considered."
"And I even made it in without a mother-in-law."
"Mrs. Bennet will happily fill the role if you find yourself lacking one," Darcy said. "She may even do it without your formal request."
"I may then just have to go deaf as well as blind," the doctor replied.
"See? Not so hard, is it? And if you ever need an insult to hurl at a Bennet, former Bennet, or your illustrious brother, just ask your wife, as she always seems to have one at the ready."
"I have no wish to insult my family."
"I fear you are too good to your family." But Darcy finished it with a more meaningful look.
"Brian will not bother you again. Not unless you travel to Bulgaria and gamble with him. And even then, I hear he is a terrible gambler and you will just take whatever money he has from him."
"And he is entirely untrustworthy, and will attempt to take from you whatever income you receive."
Doctor Maddox would not be cowed – not on this subject. "He lacks judgment in all matters of money and assessing people, but he raised me since I was barely more than a boy, Mr. Darcy. Surely you can imagine how this would inspire some lingering affection. He is my brother and I will love him until the day he is killed by one of his creditors and I am not there to try and save him. That does not mean I did not imply to him that I would not love him more if he was very, very far away from all of you."
"A wise implication." If he had anything else to say, it was interrupted by the music starting up. "Best of luck."
"I think you mean that a little too much, Mr. Darcy."
Darcy did not contradict him as they entered the chapel.
Darcy's claim that his wedding present was merely literary was not entirely accurate. When the Maddoxes returned from Vienna, the doctor was called to sit for an eye examination so the proper lenses could be prepared for him for his own personal microscope, which took another month to complete. Its worth incalculable, he kept it in his laboratory and Caroline Maddox was being constantly called in and asked if she wanted to see something up close, which she did not, especially because it was usually a bug or a sample of some noxious liquid. She assured him that while she did love him very much and thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Daniel Maddox, that did not mean she had any desire to see the insides of a flea, however fascinating they might be.
They were also back in time for the Season. The Bingleys did not attend because of their infants, and the Darcys did not attend because Mr. Darcy did not attend unless he absolutely had to, and now he had not only Caroline but Dr. Maddox's promise to keep an eye on the very eligible Georgiana Darcy, who dined often with them (as well as the Hursts at the Bingley townhouse) and sent letters to Derbyshire about the happy couple, and what the inside of a flea looked like (which she admitted to being a little disgusting, and thoroughly blamed her brother for it).
"She was not this way before I married you," Darcy said to his wife, now just barely showing her pregnancy.
"Yes, I suppose I am thoroughly to blame for this, of having two women assaulting your personal honor," Elizabeth replied, handing him back the letter. "And once Geoffrey says proper sentences ... well, who knows."
"Yeffrey!" Geoffrey said, standing on his father's lap and banging the ink pot he had somehow gotten up and down on the writing pad.
"So close, and yet so far," he said.
"Just like his father."
"I can pronounce my own name now," he said. "I just don't want to."
"So our second son is not to be named Fitzwilliam?"
"I would not subject that to him," he replied. "But the other two, if they are girls, you may name them as you like, as I have no objections to any female names."
"I am not having triplets, Darcy."
"I believe you have no say in the matter."
"And I believe the same can be said of you."
"I was thinking very ... triplet-y... thoughts when we ...," he looked up at his wife, then turned his son properly around to face her. "Son, memorize this look, as it is very important to understanding your mother. It is the look of someone who is very annoyed and wants me to stop talking and start apologizing. I should probably do that."
"You probably should," said Elizabeth.
"If only she would come over here, and then I could kiss her, without getting up, because are getting a bit big to be carried about, and then maybe – " But he did not have to say anymore, because Elizabeth did cover over to his side of the desk and let him kiss her on the cheek, and then took their son in her arms.
"Oof! You are getting heavy, darling," she said.
"Mama!" Geoffrey said, because saying anything seemed to excite him.
"Mo-ther," his father corrected very patiently.
Geoffrey squealed and pointed. "Fisser!"
Elizabeth laughed so hard she nearly dropped her own son. Darcy put his head down face-first on the desk and started banging his skull against the wood.
Finis