Thanks everyone, I appreciate the comments so far, today you are getting two chapters (as they are ready and go well together I think) - and yes, Darcy finally turns up. I will also be re-posting chapter 1 with a couple of spelling mistakes corrected - please note, I use British English...
Chapter 2 – Leaving Longbourn
Less than an hour after leaving her unfinished breakfast behind, Elizabeth was called to her father's room by her younger sisters. Lydia was laughing and snickering, which was not very encouraging.
As she entered the library, which already contained both her parents and Mr Collins, Mrs Bennet started talking.
"Miss Lizzy, your father and I insist that you marry Mr Collins, as soon as the bans have been called. And I insist that you immediately apologise to your betrothed for leaving the breakfast room before he could finish his declaration and before you could properly accept his proposals."
Elizabeth breathed deeply, held her hands together at the front of her dress to hide their shaking and replied with as steady a voice as she could: "Mama, I did hear Mr Collins' proposals, and I declined them as I do not believe we would be happy as husband and wife. I am grateful of his consideration and offers, but I will not be marrying him."
"Lizzy, dear," started her father, raising a hand to silence his wife's reply, "as you are not of age, as you very well know, it is my responsibility as your father to decide what you and your sisters must do. You will marry Mr Collins; this is final and not open for discussions."
The last threads of Elizabeth's composure snapped at this speech. "As our father, sir, you had responsibility for our safety and up-bringing, yet my younger sisters are ignorant, vulgar and unchecked, as is your own wife, your estate is neglected and you have not provided money for dowries, despite Longbourn having the potential to be very prosperous, and despite my uncle Gardiner's pleas over the years, and his offer of assistance in investing. I will not be sacrificed to atone for your negligence and mistakes. No clergyman will complete a ceremony where the bride objects and refuses to repeat any vow, as you also very well know." Her voice was low and strained, and even her mother, who was never attuned to Elizabeth's feelings, could feel her anger. She had managed to remain in control of her temper enough to stop before openly berating her mother for the years of verbal abuse she, Isabella and to an extent Mary, had suffered. There was no point in raising Mrs Bennet's ire further, and it could be dangerous for Mary as well.
Mr Bennet stood up, his face now an unhealthy shade of red and growled: "If you do not marry Mr Collins, and if you do not apologise to your mother and I immediately, you will have no home in Longbourn, and I will ensure your uncle Gardiner does not offer you any more help than to help you find a place in service. You will be disgraced and destitute. Do not try me, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth stared at him, then nodded and turned to the door. "Very well, I will be gone from your estate within the hour."
When she opened the door, she could see her sisters and quite a few of the servants in the hallway. Jane looked angry, Kitty surprised, and Lydia amused. Only Mary looked sad as her next older sister addressed them with a calm "Good-bye, sisters, have a good future," while she closed the library door on her screeching mother, furious and scared father and confused former suitor.
Elizabeth gave Annie a barely perceptible nod, walked up to her room, picked her valise up, left the manor house for the last time and started the walk toward the main gate of the estate, a walk she had happily done so many times previously.
Elizabeth met Annie on the main road to Meryton. Annie was more clever than her former employers had believed her, and she had correctly read the situation over the past few weeks, with the Hunsford parson in the house; as soon as Elizabeth was called into her father's library, she had grabbed her own bag and coat and placed them behind a bush at the back of the house, so that once Elizabeth confirmed they were leaving, she could discreetly escape and wait on the main road for her mistress. She was smiling and quite chatty, which greatly relieved the nauseating feeling of loss Elizabeth felt. The way had been decided for them by Mr and Mrs Bennet's demands, and now that they had started on their journey – with the activities of the morning, it was not too long past noon when they left the estate – it seemed a little more daunting than when they were planning in the garden. Still, it was not the first time Elizabeth travelled with only a maid, even if usually they were much older and more experienced than Annie.
Barely three miles away, Charles Bingley was preparing to leave Netherfield on the morning following the ball as previously planned. As he was a young, enthusiastic and carefree-looking young man, few people realised that Bingley had inherited his father's business acumen and skills, not just his fortune. And while he did indeed plan to fulfil his parents' ambition and join the gentry, he had no intention of fully leaving his roots in trade behind. Charles Bingley would buy an estate, and for all appearances become a landed gentleman, but, like many gentlemen and like his friend Darcy, he would keep diverse investments. And of course, he would remain a silent partner in the Bingley's Carriage Works, his father's life work that his uncle and cousins ran, now his father had passed away.
As he was riding into town, he was thinking about the planned meetings with his solicitor, the bank, and his cousin Edmond Bingley, who needed him to review and sign documents for his uncle. After methodically sorting his thoughts and planning the key points he wanted to discuss with these people over the next three days, he let his mind drift back to Hertfordshire. The estate – he liked the experience of being a landowner so far, the neighbours – very friendly folks, if not quite refined or polished, at least not to his sisters' standards, but mostly his thoughts circled back regularly to Jane Bennet.
Bingley had known Jane for about than two months. He had been in company regularly of course, having met at an assembly, then at several gatherings in different neighbouring households, he had called at Longbourn, she had stayed at Netherfield after falling ill, they had walked through Meryton together and last night, at his own ball, he had danced twice with her. She was an angel, pretty, very pretty in fact, good-natured, kind, soft-spoken, gentle. He had really enjoyed their time together, however, no matter what the locals thought, he was not yet ready to commit and propose. No, he would complete his business in town, and in a week or ten days, go back to his leased estate and decide whether to start courting her properly. Caution had served him well before, with previous ladies he had been attracted to, and it would serve this time too, even though he hoped he had finally found his perfect mate. He would take the time to really get to know her, take the time to guarantee his marriage was not a mistake like so many of his peers, or even like his parents.
Arthur Bingley had fallen in love with his own angel, Martha, and had married after a mere three months of courtship and engagement. And Arthur had discovered only another two months later that Martha was not an angel at all. Her display of gentleness and kindness was just that, a display, an act she put together to get a decent husband, and he had fallen for it. By the time she was expecting his first child, Louisa, he had already grown distant and tired of her constant demands for money and baubles. After Louisa came Caroline and only a year later Charles. Once she had the son, she felt she owed her husband, her demands increased, she wanted to be a leader of society, she wanted to only dress in the latest fashions, and the house became uncomfortable and expensive. Arthur spent more and more of his time in his office, his business grew, in fact it grew so fast that he took his brother James as a partner, and later James' two sons, Edmond and Joseph, also joined the family firm. The business was thriving, but Arthur's family life was not. Worse, before she passed, two years before her husband, Martha had managed to transfer all her values to her daughters. The expensive seminary Arthur paid for only made his daughters worse, in his opinion, and he was glad to see Louisa married before he died. If only Hurst would separate Louisa from Caroline, they would have a chance at happiness. Perhaps Bingley could help his brother-in-law there, he mused idlily.
Charles had been close to his father, and he knew far too well how bad his parents' marriage had been. He wanted better for himself, so he would take his time, take advice – although not from his sisters, as they only wanted status and riches, not happiness. And he would observe, ensure that he would not assume qualities, but see and experience acts reflecting these qualities. So far he felt confident that Jane was indeed gentle and soft-spoken, but their acquaintance had not given him any chance to see kindness or genuine good nature in action – he had seen that her sister, Elizabeth, was devoted and kind when she came to nurse Jane, but there had been no opportunity to test the reverse yet.
But Charles had time after he concluded his business in town. Bingley's journey into London was very enjoyable.
What Charles Bingley did not know was that later that day, once his sister Caroline finally descended to break her fast – close to noon as she kept town-hours no matter where she was – the conversation between the remaining inhabitants of Netherfield Park was also pointing towards town.
"Mr Darcy," cloyed Caroline after dismissing the servants in the breakfast room, "we will be closing Netherfield Park and depart for London today. I cannot bear to remain in this uncivilised neighbourhood any longer. I do, however, have a favour to ask of you once we are all in London. Louisa and I will be talking to Charles to persuade him to abandon his pursuit of Jane Bennet, and we would appreciate your support."
The posture and facial expression she had so obviously rehearsed in front of her looking glass were, Darcy believed, meant to convey innocent sincerity while being alluring. The result was disturbing and unappealing, but Darcy was too much of a gentleman to recoil in disgust, or at least recoil too much.
"Your brother has leased the estate for a twelve-months, it will be difficult for him to manage his duty to Netherfield while avoiding Miss Bennet, as Longbourn is the closest estate." Darcy replied non-committedly. He felt sure that Caroline was planning some way of getting closer to himself but could not yet work out her plan.
"Oh, I think Charles should relinquish the rest of the lease, and join a friend on his estate, he would learn much more by spending the spring and planting season on a larger estate than he could ever learn here." She replied, batting her eyelids. And there it was, she was angling for an invite to Pemberley for the whole of the planting season. Well, she would continue waiting, after spending so many weeks here with her as hostess, Darcy was desperate to put some distance between the woman and himself.
"If you are closing Netherfield, I will get my valet to pack and depart soon after a light luncheon, so that I can meet with my man of business in London before the day is out. You will not need me for the required visits to take your leave of the neighbours," declared Darcy, leaving Caroline Bingley unable to answer – she had hoped to travel in his luxurious carriage but knew full well it would take her longer to close the house up. Still, she thought smugly, once in London we can visit daily, Charles will require more advice to give up the lease. As for taking leave of the neighbours, well, she had no intention of wasting so much time on these country nobodies.
Darcy's carriage got on the road within the hour, yet by that time, he had few charitable thoughts left regarding Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst and was glad to put some distance between them and was planning to avoid them in future, as much as he could without hurting Bingley.
Darcy was sitting back looking silently at the scenery with his valet sitting on the opposite seat. As they passed the turn off to Longbourn, he could not help thinking about Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
Fitzwilliam Darcy was, surprisingly for a well-educated, intelligent member of the Ton, shy and socially inept, even at the best of times, he frequently, and involuntarily, insulted most of the people he met, by saying bluntly what he really felt at the time. When it came to Miss Elizabeth, he had surpassed even himself at the assembly where he first saw her.
That was his first day at Netherfield Park. He had arrived late morning, already unhappy about leaving his sister in London with his aunt, Lady Susan, and had to sit through lunch with Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst gossiping and chattering non-stop. By the time Charles informed him of the local assembly he planned to attend that evening, Darcy was nursing the start of a headache. He knew he could not stay back, as Miss Bingley would insist on staying too, and that would be worse than attending any gathering. So, to the assembly rooms he went. The evening was dismal, it probably was not really that bad, but his mood did nothing to help, and at some point, while Darcy was enjoying walking – stalking really – around the room on his own, Bingley had cornered him.
"Come, Darcy," said he, "I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance."
"I certainly shall not. You know I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner. At such and assembly as this it would be insupportable. Your sisters are engaged, and there is not another woman in the room whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with."
"I would not be so fastidious as you are," cried Mr Bingley, "for a kingdom! Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty."
"You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room," said Mr Darcy, looking at the eldest Miss Bennet.
"Oh! She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you."
"Which do you mean?" and turning round he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said: "She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me: I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me."
(Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 3)
And yet, at every meeting between them after the assembly, he had notice Miss Elizabeth, her vitality, her smiles, and most particularly, her eyes – her extremely expressive sparkling eyes!
If only she did not have such a reprehensible family, she would be perfect. Although he would not admit it publicly, Darcy was hoping to marry a woman he could love. His parents had fallen in love despite being in an arranged marriage, and he wanted the same. He could accept a bride with a small dowry, as both Pemberley and his investments were quite profitable, but he was not yet ready to give up on adding good connections to his family. And the Bennets, especially the mother and her relatives, the Phillips, were not good connections as far as Darcy was concerned.
Still while the carriage drove past Longbourn, he could indulge in a little daydreaming about the most fascinating young woman he had ever met, and about those eyes!
A little before reaching Meryton, Darcy was pulled out of his reverie by the sight of two women walking swiftly at the side of the road carrying travel bags. He briefly wondered where they were going, before realising that the lady he had been thinking about for the past twenty minutes – or probably for the past six weeks if he was honest with himself – was one of them. Miss Elizabeth was walking to town with a maid, looking as if ready to travel further than Meryton. Darcy rapped on the roof of the carriage to get his coachman to stop and exited the vehicle without waiting for his footman to lower the step.
"Miss Bennet," he said with a polite bow, "can we be of assistance, and convey you to your destination? The day is quite cold, even for November." Really William, he thought to himself, talking of the weather!
"Thank you, Sir, we are on our way to the posting inn, which is less than a mile from here. We should be quite fine." Replied Elizabeth, not meeting his eye.
Darcy looked at her closely; she had been crying recently, he could see the signs – he had seen them often enough in Georgiana's beautiful face since the events of the summer.
"Come Miss Bennet, if you are going to London, then please allow me to convey you to your destination. I am on my way there now, and with your maid and my valet, there will be no impropriety. And you will be far more comfortable than in the mail coach." Darcy pleaded.
Elizabeth hesitated for a moment, travelling with Darcy, even though she did not much like the proud man, would certainly be more convenient, and it would also leave fewer traces for her father to follow, should he decide to come after her, and be faster. In fact, this was the deciding point; Elizabeth would not be one and twenty for several months; her father had sent her away in anger but could force her to come home once he had calmed down and her mother would make her life miserable. With pressure from her sisters, they may even manage to break her resolve and make her marry Mr Collins. No, she could not risk going back to Longbourn so soon, or ever, her heart constricted at that last stray thought.
"Very well, I will accept your offer for now, at least until we are clear of Meryton." Darcy could not quite understand what she meant, but having won his point, decided not to ask further question, and assisted her and the maid into the carriage, while his footman secured their bags to the carriage.