Copyright 2023 Elizabeth Frerichs

Cross-posted on elizabethfrerichs dot com and wattpad

Throughout the day, whenever one of Elizabeth's predictions proved accurate, Jane turned wondering eyes upon her. Elizabeth did her best not to draw attention to the situation. She did inform Mr. Darcy that she had decided to tell Jane that afternoon, and his understanding had soothed the lingering ache from Jane's earlier disbelief.

Finally, they returned home, and Elizabeth pulled Jane into the music room.

"How did you know what would happen, Lizzy?" Jane asked, a slight furrow between her brows.

Elizabeth's lips quirked up. "Magic."

"Lizzy, do be serious."

"I am sorry, Jane. As I told you, I have lived this day many times over, and the events seldom vary much." Despite the temptation to go off and do something entirely different, she still worried that time might resume one of these Tuesdays—of course, now that they knew that Mr. Darcy's connections to Mr. Wickham were only one piece of the puzzle, that eventuality was less likely. Still, who knew when someone might remember the repetitions? Or what if everyone remembered all the repetitions once Wednesday arrived? Much as she had. They simply did not have enough information to take such a chance.

"But—that does not make any sense. What do you mean by living the day more than once?"

"This day, November 19th, 1811, has happened many times already. I believe Mr. Darcy said he has experienced it 77 times now—"

"Mr. Darcy?"

She nodded. Sitting down at the pianoforte, she chose one of the more complicated pieces she had been working on and began playing it. "I believe it would be most useful were I to begin at the beginning."

Jane made her way over to the pianoforte, staring at Elizabeth. "I have never heard you play so."

"I have never had occasion to practise as much as I have lately. Seventy-seven days ago, Mr. Darcy encountered an old woman in Meryton. After that encounter, he awoke the next morning to find that it was, yet again, November 19th. Mr. Darcy lived through several November 19ths. before he eventually realised that the old woman, Miss Engel, was the source of the repetitions. She revealed that she had looped time on itself for the purpose of allowing Mr. Darcy to free himself from his childhood tormentor and to avoid becoming related to that gentleman. Mr. Darcy spent several more Tuesdays trying to speak to his sister and to everyone else he believed would assist in his goals. Eventually, however, he requested further assistance from Miss Engel."

Elizabeth took a deep breath and then began explaining how she had been drawn into the loop, how she had remembered previous repetitions, and how she had begun trying to assist Mr. Darcy.

"But you dislike Mr. Darcy," Jane put in.

Elizabeth shook her head, amused by how much had changed. "I disliked Mr. Darcy's pride; however, I have learned that his pride was nothing more than a mask. He was—ill-at-ease among strangers, but he has changed." She smiled widely. "Truly, his willingness to change is one of his best qualities. Once convinced that he is in the wrong, he embarks upon a program of change that is—breathtaking." She stopped playing and turned to face Jane fully. "He is one of my dearest friends now; circumstances forced us to bond, and we discovered much about each other that we had overlooked."

Jane studied her. "I almost believe your story based upon that evidence alone. I cannot believe that you would ever speak so highly of him. It was less than a week ago that you discoursed at length about his flaws and how unpleasant he had been at Netherfield."

"He does take delight in a good debate, rather like Papa, and his pride was certainly pronounced. However, I have learned to see beyond his facade and he has learned to let others see him." She raised one eyebrow. "Besides, were you not one of his staunchest supporters? You were right: he was not at his best the night of the Assembly; he has since apologised for his behaviour."

"He apologised?" Jane asked, incredulity threading her tone.

Elizabeth nodded.

"So do we—do we have this conversation every day then, if you have repeated it so many times?"

Elizabeth sobered, her gaze dropping to where her hands were clasped in her lap. "I have—" She took a deep breath. "This is only the second time I have disclosed the repetitions."

"Why?"

Elizabeth forced herself to meet Jane's eyes and took one of her sister's hands in hers. "You are my dearest friend, Jane—more than a friend, you are my sister. To tell you what was happening and gain your support, and then to lose it again the next day; I was not strong enough to bear it. Once I—once I learned the repetitions were real and why they were occurring, I stopped telling anyone about them."

"You tried telling someone else?"

Elizabeth studied her sister's face, trying to decipher Jane's emotions. Hints of hurt and confusion peeked through Jane's serene countenance. "No. I did not think anyone else would believe me—nor did I wish to take the trouble to convince them."

"Why are you telling me today then?"

Elizabeth stood and began pacing. "When Miss Engel told Mr. Darcy that he would gain his tormentor, Mr. Wickham, as a relation, he believed such an event would require Mr. Wickham to marry Miss Darcy."

"Mr. Wickham? A tormentor?" Jane's brow creased. "But he seemed so gentlemanly. Are you certain there was not some misunderstanding on one side or the other?"

"I am certain. The man is a wretch of the first order," Elizabeth repeated. "It is not my tale to tell, but truly, the man is vile beyond anyone I have ever known. Mr. Darcy was understandably distraught by the idea of Mr. Wickham marrying Miss Darcy, and of gaining a permanent association with Mr. Wickham."

The crease deepened as Jane considered. "What else did Miss Engel tell him?"

Elizabeth tensed. "Mr. Wickham would become Mr. Darcy's brother should he marry Mrs. Darcy's sister."

"I had not heard that Mr. Darcy was married or even engaged."

"He is not. Not yet."

Jane's head tilted to one side as she studied Elizabeth. "This entity included you in the time repetitions?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"Does that mean you will be Mrs. Darcy? It would not make sense to include you if you are not involved in some fashion."

Elizabeth chuckled. "I wish you had been around to tell me that long ago." She came to a halt in front of Jane. "He has proposed, but I have refused."

"You seem as though you esteem him, do you not?"

"I do. Very much. I—I believe I love him." She flashed her sister an arch look. "I even like him better than Mr. Bingley."

Jane refused to rise to the bait. "Yet you refused him?"

"I could not in good conscience agree—not when we are the only two aware of the repetitions, not when he may change his mind once the press of duty returns." She sank into the chair next to Jane. "What if he were promised to me and then he resented me for the rest of his life? I will not trap him in a marriage. If he wishes to marry me once we have returned to our normal courses, I will gladly accept him. I love him too well to accept him now though."

"Mr. Darcy is a grown man; I do not believe he is so inconstant as to change his mind. If he was confident enough to propose, then I am certain he considered the matter thoroughly."

A smile flitted across Elizabeth's face. "He does consider things very thoroughly. Still, it is—I cannot explain to you how desperate one becomes for any sort of interactions that will be remembered the next day. It will break my heart if he changes his mind, but it would be excruciating to watch his care for me turn to resentment." She straightened her shoulders. "I will wait."

"Is that what you wished to discuss?"

"Though I have often wished to speak to you about Mr. Darcy, I believe I will save that conversation for Wednesday; our time is too limited at the moment." She grimaced. "I wished to ask for your assistance with our sisters—as of this moment, one of them is fated to marry that wretch, Mr. Wickham, or someone equally horrid. I do not know how to change it, but change it we must or Wednesday will never arrive."

"How can I assist with our sisters?"

"I do not know. Frankly, I have not the faintest idea of how to begin." Elizabeth held her head in her hands. "Lydia is too wilful to be dissuaded from any man she sets her sights on—though I cannot imagine that she would seriously pursue anyone just now; she is having too much fun flirting. Kitty will go wherever Lydia leads, even if that is into ruin. And she would likely help Lydia to ruin. And Mary is—I cannot conceive how she might end up married to anyone like Mr. Wickham, and I am tempted to simply rule her out, but I do not actually have sufficient information to do so." She gave her sister a wan smile. "In fact, given the paucity of our information, one could conjecture that you might be the sister who marries someone of Mr. Wickham's ilk—of course, knowing you, that is entirely unlikely. But still, you see my dilemma: I do not know on whom to concentrate, nor do I have any idea how to change our sister's mind."

"Miss Engel did not tell you which of our sisters is at risk?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "For all I know, the changes Mr. Darcy and I have already made may result in a plethora of possibilities and any of our sisters may be in danger."

"You said that you have to change the situation before Wednesday will come?"

"Yes."

Jane's brow creased. "How much?"

"What do you mean?"

"How much do you have to change the situation? Does it have to be wholly resolved, or cannot Mr. Darcy simply warn our parents about Mr. Wickham?"

Elizabeth snorted. "I cannot see how that would do any good—and I do not wish for Mama to spread Mr. Darcy's private affairs about the countryside."

"My point stands though: do you have to resolve it entirely?"

"I do not know." Elizabeth huffed. "It is so frustrating trying to move forward with so little information. Not to mention that ensuring none of our sisters ever marries poorly would require facilitating complete character shifts. Lydia will do whatever she wants to do—and neither of our parents will ever check her." Elizabeth's jaw grew tight. "And even if they did, I would not be at all surprised if she climbed out of her window and ran off with an officer the very day that Mama and Papa were to circumscribe her behaviour."

"Lydia is not that bad."

Elizabeth did not reply. There was no use trying to convince her sister—Jane refused to see the bad in anyone. Besides, she wished for advice, not another debate on the likelihood of their sisters behaving badly. "What do you think we ought to do?"

"I do not see how you can effect sufficient change in one day. Honestly, I do not know how you could effect such a change at all. We—none of us—have many prospects. And if Mr. Collins—oh, Lizzy! What will you do if he proposes?"

Elizabeth's eyebrows shot up. She had noticed Mr. Collins's attentions, but how had Jane done so?

"Mama told me this morning that she hinted Mr. Collins towards you, lest he scare off Mr. Bingley."

Elizabeth glowered. She doubted any woman could be content with such a prosy parson. "I shall refuse him."

"But that will give such offence!"

"You cannot be suggesting I marry the man!" Her lips firmed. "I shall just have to do my best to avoid any proposal from that quarter. I wonder if Mr. Darcy might be willing to drop a hint about his aunt's preferences . . . ."

"You would tell Mr. Darcy?" Jane asked incredulously.

"He is Lady Catherine de Bourgh's nephew, as unbelievable as such a connection appears to be, given Mr. Collins's descriptions of that lady. Mr. Collins esteems him as a representative of that family, and if he were to hint that Lady Catherine might be displeased if he married such a headstrong person as myself . . . . or something of that nature." She tucked the thought away. "More importantly, though, what about our sisters? What would convince them to be more—conscientious?"

"Lydia and Kitty are half in love with every redcoat—I do not see that you can convince them that they are all bad."

"I do not wish to convince them that they are all bad, just . . . ." She stared off into the distance. "Jane, that is it! What if we were to convince them that marrying a soldier is tantamount to signing up for a life of privation?"

"And how would you accomplish that in the space of one day?"

Elizabeth frowned. "If they knew how much it costs to run a household—"

"You know that Papa keeps the books. Even Mama does not know how much it costs to run our household."

"Yes, but if we could make them see what a discrepancy there would be between the cost of living and one's income, they might realise how foolish such a step would be."

"Perhaps," Jane said dubiously.

"What other ideas do you have?" Elizabeth asked, leaning forward.

Jane chuckled. "As that was not my idea in the first place—"

Elizabeth waved aside her objection.

"I think you need to ask Miss Engel if the change has to be entirely effected today or if it may be merely begun today. If they are on one path, it would only take a small change for that path to be entirely different a year from now."

"I suppose you are right. The trouble will be in trying to find Miss Engel." She shook herself. The woman would appear or not. In the meantime, they could only do their best. "Jane . . . Mr. Darcy suggested that we establish a way of quickly proving the repetitions."

"What do you mean?"

"It would be nice if I did not have to inform you of the day's events in advance as proof. Mr. Darcy's uncle shared privileged information, and it allowed Mr. Darcy to prove the veracity of his words. I do not know what story or phrase might work, as we have few secrets between us, but perhaps you know of something that would convince you?"

Jane stared at her for a moment. "I see." Her eyes dropped to the rug, studying it as though it held all the answers to the world. After some time, she looked back at Elizabeth. "Mr. Drake kissed me, though I did not invite it and asked him to behave in a more gentlemanlike manner."

Elizabeth stood and hurried to Jane's side. "What? You told me he did not behave improperly in the least!"

"I did not wish to cause trouble, and I knew that you would be distressed. It happened long ago—truly, the memory does not bother me any longer. No one else knows."

Elizabeth took her sister's hands. "Are you certain you are well? Did he hurt you in any other way?"

"No. You made sure I was never alone with him after that," she said with a smile.

"You were so uncomfortable around him, and I did not wish for you to suffer discomfort, despite Mama's matchmaking dreams." Elizabeth sighed. "I wish you had told me."

"I did not need to disclose the full truth for you to still protect me, and no other suitors have been as insistent."

"Well, that is something." Elizabeth smiled. "Mr. Bingley certainly seems amiable. What do you think of him?"

"He is kind."

"And he has the good sense to have Mr. Darcy as his dearest friend—something that speaks well to his character."

Jane chuckled. "Your perspective on the matter has changed a great deal."

"It has. Sit with us tonight, and you will see."

"I believe I shall take you up on that offer."

A/N: Thanks for sticking with me! :) See you on Saturday!