Chapter 5
Darcy retired to his chamber as soon as Miss Bennet and Fass left. Lying on the bed, he recalled her intense blush after unintentionally declaring her love. She was so lovely, 'tis as if she were a normal woman. Would her skin feel warm under my lips? I could have started kissing that charming freckle on her left cheek. Darcy thoughts began to drift to dangerous places. Maybe I would trail my way down from her lips to her collarbone. . . For god's sake, Darcy! Stop it! It was becoming more and more difficult to suppress the attraction he felt for the doctor. He knew imagining those situations was absolutely improper, but it was impossible for him to stop. Oh, her clothes. Her full bosom so shaped by the overcoat's fabric. And the trousers! Outlining her legs so sensually. It certainly leaves little to one's imagination. . . Jesus, Darcy! What are you doing?
Sleep would be impossible. He rose to splash his face with cold water, trying to quell his arousal. He had never encountered a lady who had affected him so. Darcy sat on the bed and considered again the hasty departure of Miss Bennet. Although everyone had implored her for an explanation as to why she was so agitated and must leave so suddenly, she had not seemed disoriented and incapable of giving one.
"I do not fully understand what is happening. I will leave now and think about it. Maybe tomorrow my mind will be clearer." She turned to Darcy before leaving, "I am sorry, Mr. Darcy, what I said. . . I did not mean. . ."
"Do not trouble yourself, Miss Bennet. I can see something has happened to cause your present discomfort. I will use your own words now and advise you to 'let it go'." Darcy bowed and Lizzy and her assistant left the Bingleys' house.
"Oh, husband, Lizzy seemed to be in such turmoil, I am concerned! We should have offered for her to stay the night!" Emma was preoccupied with her friend's safety. It was not right to allow her to leave in such a state of mind.
"I do not think she would have agreed with that, dearest. I am sure she will be fine tomorrow and will explain what happened." Bingley took his wife's arm. "We should make an early night, Emma. Please excuse us, Darcy, Miss Darcy. This has been quite emotional; I must confess I am so very tired."
"I do feel the same, Mr. Bingley," stated Georgiana. She continued to find herself admiring Miss Bennet immensely. All she wanted to do was think about those million questions she had yet to ask her. "I am going to my chamber, Brother." She kissed her brother on the cheek and climbed the staircase.
Certainly tomorrow, I will have a response from Tilney, and then I will have an excuse to see how she is.With this resolution in mind, Darcy found sleep. Not that his sleep was a peaceful one that night considering the explicit nature of his previous night's dreams.
"Look, Darcy, an express has just arrived for you," Bingley said handing his friend the letter over the breakfast table.
"This must be from Tilney; I was expecting it to arrive this morning. If you will excuse me, I would like to read it right away." Darcy opened the letter while still seated at the table.
London, 31 March 1811
Darcy
You cannot imagine my tutors' reaction upon your announcement. I feared that I would need to fetch their salts! Please, do introduce us to this woman. She will be welcome at the Royal Society anytime she might wish to come. Sooner is better. And you should also plan to be here when the time for her visit arrives.
Your thankful friend,
Henry Tilney
"Good news, Darcy?" Bingley was amused; it was a rare occasion to see the always-taciturn Darcy smiling.
"Good news, indeed, Bingley! Miss Bennet will be very pleased to learn that she has been invited to visit the Royal Society.
"Do you refer to the Royal Society of London for Improvement of Natural Knowledge, Brother?" exclaimed Georgiana. "This is such an honour!"
"Indeed, Georgiana! I dare say that Lizzy should be elected to the Royal Society." Emma said proudly. "She would be the first woman to be so!"[1] She laughed out loud. "I recalled one silly argument your sister, Caroline, tried to engage Lizzy in, about women's accomplishments. Oh dear god, if Lizzy is not accomplished, how are the rest of us, mere ladies, to be regarded?" she tittered.
Darcy raised his fingers to his lips, trying , in vain, to suppress a smile while he pictured the most bizarre scene where Caroline, a woman he thought might never had read an entire book in her life, began an argument with a person like Miss Bennet. Oh, that must have been most entertaining.
"How do you know what this Royal Society is, Emma? And in so many details, it seems." Bingley eyed his wife suspiciously.
"I do read, Husband!" Emma feigned a shock. "But Lizzy may also have told me about this so called Society."
"I am sure she did, wife."
"I would like to visit Miss Bennet, Bingley. Would you mind accompanying me?" Darcy was glad that his bedtime musings from the previous evening of a reason to visit the doctor had come to fruition.
"Of course, Darcy, let me ready the horses. We should not waste any more time. I would like to see Lizzy myself too; I am a little concerned with last night's events."
The gentlemen took their leave and rode straight for the doctor's cottage.
"Why did it take so long for me to realize I was in a Jane Austen book, Fass?" Lizzy had just entered the cottage after the emotional evening.
"In my evaluation, Lizzy, you could not associate their names with the books because you had not met a main character."
"But Emma is a main character, for Christ's sake! And my favourite Austen heroine, no less! I know her last name is different now, but her personality is the same! How many times has she tried to match me with some poor unsuspecting soul?!"
Lizzy was still mortified for saying she loved Mr. Darcy out loud. It was true, but how can any woman from her world not love Mr. Darcy? "Fass, do you think some events from the books may be true?"
"If you are asking this regarding Georgiana, I have to say yes, it is possible. The reason why Mr. Bingley came to Netherfield is the same as in the book."
"Do you think I should warn Mr. Darcy? It may not have happened yet!"
"It may be a good thing to tell him."
"I will do it," Lizzy sighed. I did bring with me real copies of 'Emma' and 'Pride & Prejudice'. Maybe I could give them those to read. Everything would be explained that way.
Lizzy put on her pyjamas, made a cup of tea and sat down on her couch. "Fass, did I upload any film version of Pride & Prejudice in you?"
"You did, Lizzy, I have the Joe Wright movie from 2005 in my database."
"Oh, that is such a lovely version! Please project it will you?" Lizzy smiled through the whole movie. Oh my god, Matthew Macfadyen is so handsome. . . But this Mr. Darcy here is even more. . . "Look at that!" The movie was showing the second proposal scene. The one where every woman watching immediately wanted their own tall, dark, and handsome man to come striding out of the mist towards them in his loose shirt, no cravat, his banyan billowing around his very nice legs and to tell them that they had bewitched him body and soul. "This is such a panty dropping scene!" Damn you, Jane Austen, for skewing my expectations of men.
Lizzy's cottage was a singular thing. Since her arrival, she had tried to make the place functional for their use, the closest thing possible to home. Because of the rustic construction and the remote location, she could not do much.
With Fass, she had built a basic external bathroom; she could not stand this chamber pot stuff, it was disgusting. Fass found in his database simple instructions for a septic tank [2] plan and they worked to replicate it almost from day one. Sadly, Lizzy was not capable of building an energy supply large enough to support a water pump. So it was decided that Fass would pump the water manually when Lizzy wished to take a shower.
Lizzy was concerned about the limitations imposed by the land surrounding Netherfield. It was too mountainous, which precluded the installation of an eolic energy[3] plant, and she was having a hard time trying to build a photovoltaic system[4]; she did not have the necessary ways to produce crystalline silicon and using copper and gold were impossibly expensive. Lizzy already knew that the key to her success all began with large-scale electric energy production. She needed to find a place where power could be easily produced, therefore she knew her days at Netherfield were coming to an end.
Just behind the house was her biggest secret. Here Lizzy and Fass concealed their ship. It was still working, but did not have much fuel left, just enough for one location change, and not a far distance one. She used the ship as her laboratory. She was able to buy several items on this Earth; they were quite advanced here, especially regarding lab ware and reagents [5].
Inside, the cottage was simple and cosy. She had a refrigerator; Fass used some ship parts to make the external case and Lizzy synthesized an HFC gas[6], there was no way in hell she was going to destroy this world's ozone layer. Lizzy had a great sound system for she loved to listen to music while reading, cooking, or just resting. She decorated the place with what few items from home she was allowed to carry with her, it was not much; just some books, pictures, and her Pop![7] collection from Guardians of the Galaxy[8] and Once Upon a Time[9]. Despite everything, she has been through, Lizzy was happy; of course, there were times where she felt incredibly lonely, but she was well aware that all of this was the result of her own life choices.
Bingley and Darcy approached the cottage. Such strange sounds were coming from the background. "What is that sound? It seems like an unusual music performance," asked Darcy.
"This must be some of Lizzy's music from her home. It is quite different from ours."
They reached the door and Darcy could hear someone, a girl, singing. He did not fully understand what was being said, but he did catch some strange phrases '. . . I kissed a girl . . .' [10] What on Earth could that mean?he thought.
"Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy," greeted Fass. "Lizzy is working at the laboratory. Do you wish me to call her?"
"Hello, Fass, please do so!" Bingley looked at Darcy, who was completely distracted by the music being played, while Fass was announcing the gentlemen.
The music ceased and Fass soon returned. "Lizzy asked you to wait for her in the parlour."
Bingley had been at her cottage previously so was not fascinated by it like Darcy seemed to be. He took a seat and watched his friend carefully. These last few days had shown a very different side of Darcy.
"Those are incredibly realistic paintings, Bingley!" He took a small frame with a smiling Miss Bennet at it. "Look, the rendering is so life-like."
"Good morning, gentlemen." Lizzy said as she walked through the kitchen door. She was wearing a simple gown. Darcy could not decide if it was a good or a bad thing. "And, Mr. Darcy, this is not a painting; it is a photograph. Maybe I will demonstrate what a photograph is for you one day." Lizzy was trying to remain calm, but she was still mortified from her outburst at the conclusion of their previous encounter. Her impertinent mind was also not helping at all. Imagine that shot, a selfie with Mr. Darcy as my Facebook picture!
"I am always eager to learn, Miss Bennet," Darcy replied with an amused look. He could see she was still embarrassed by last night's events.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of having such important gentlemen at my humble abode?"
"Lizzy, stop it! I was worried about you. What happened last evening?" Bingley went straight to the point.
"Oh, Mr. Bingley, I am fine. I had figured out something really important last evening and was quite overwhelmed by it. But I was able to think everything through already, and I am well. Do not worry please." Lizzy was still standing and walked to a bookshelf near the window. "Maybe if you read these novels it will help you understand. This one is for you, Mr. Bingley" Lizzy handed a copy of Emma to Charles who smiled at the title.
"And this one is for you, Mr. Darcy."
Darcy took the copy of Pride & Prejudice from Lizzy's hand. "You should read them first, and then we can discuss my observations."
"If you say this will be able to enlighten us somehow, I will surely read it; as soon as possible even if it is a novel." Mr. Darcy was intrigued by his book. "Miss Bennet, I also came to inform you that I received a reply from my friend in town. He and his tutors are looking forward to meeting you at your earliest convenience. I could arrange a visit to the Royal Society immediately if you wish."
"The Royal Society of London?! Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Darcy."
Lizzy impulsively took a couple of steps closer to Darcy, raised her arms, but stopped abruptly as if reminding herself of something. Darcy did not understand such a reaction but was glad to see she was pleased with his news.
"We will leave you now, Lizzy, for we know you are very busy." Charles stood and bowed.
As they were leaving, Lizzy took hold of Darcy's arm forcing him to turn to her. "Thank you again, Mr. Darcy. This opportunity of meeting such important people means a lot to me."
"There is nothing to thank me for, Miss Bennet. I will make the arrangements straight away. Do you have a date of preference for this excursion to town?"
"As soon as possible, sir." Lizzy bowed as the gentlemen proceeded towards their horses, stowed their reading assignments, and began their return to Netherfield.
As they returned, Bingley commented to his friend, "Lizzy was impossibly happy with your news, Darcy! For a moment I thought she was going to react as if she was on her own home world."
"Whatever are you speaking of, Bingley?"
"When Lizzy becomes very happy, she tends to forget our social rules and act upon hers."
"I still do not understand. . ."
Charles laughed, "On her Earth, they demonstrate gratitude by embracing. . ."
His friend's face remained puzzled.
"I thought she was going to clasp you to her bosom, a hug as she calls it, Darcy."
"Oh." Why, oh why, did she not, god dammit!? It would be another long night.
[1] The first women to be elected to the Royal Society were Kathleen Lonsdale and Marjory Stephenson in 1945.
[2] A septic tank is a key component of the septic system, a small-scale sewage treatment system common in areas that lack connection to main sewage pipes.
[3] Eolic energy is electric power generated from wind using wind turbines, often referred to as wind power. Eolic energy plants are considered one of the best alternatives to currently electric energy sources because it is renewable, widely distributed, clean and produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation.
[4] Photovoltaic Cell is an electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.
[5] Lab ware is glassware used at a laboratory such as beakers. Reagents are chemical products used to make chemical reactions.
[6] HFC (Hydro Fluorocarbon) gasses are used as refrigerants ;made up of hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon atoms; in place of HCFCs (Hydro chlorofluorocarbons) and the great villains, the CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) which are made up of chlorine, fluorine and carbon atoms. HFCs have zero ozone depletion potential but do contribute to global warming.
[7] Funko's POP! Vinyl lines are figures modelled in a Japanese super deformed (chibi) style, from franchises including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Disney, Star Wars, Harry Potter and other pop culture entities. Funko is releasing Pops from almost everything; maybe someday a Darcy and Elizabeth Pop! will join my Baby Groot, Thor, and Iron Man ones.
[8] "Guardians of the Galaxy" is a 2014 Marvel Cinematographic Universe (MCU) movie. It has a baby tree dancing Jacksons 5, check it out! ...h?v=nZR9gggVOLk but come right back here when you are done.
[9] Once Upon a Time is that magnificent ABC series. If you don't watch it, just do it. . . It is perfect! Captain Hook is so damn hot!
[10] You all know what that is I hope so! Sing along with me, you know you want to. ". . . and I liked it. . ." But if you didn't recognize the music playing, it is "I Kissed a Girl" from the wonderful Katy Perry.
So we have covered HFCs, the lovely Japanese chibi figures, septic tanks, Lizzy's loaning library, and kissing girls. Leave suggestions to cool off our hot and bothered dear boy at the comments!