Pride and Prejudice
AU not canon
No Common Lady
Pride and Prejudice
Previously
"Do not let what Lady Catherine says bother you. Someday, if she is not careful, the lady may find herself in a position which—to her—is unimaginable. I would suggest borrowing another person's troubles is very unwise; stick with your own—they are enough.
Unexpected Meeting and Visit to Two Graves
Ch. 16
It had been windy and cold all week, but the weather had cleared up and Mr. Bennet, along with the Darcys and the Bingleys, had opted to make a trip up to West Sussex to allow Mrs. Fletcher to visit her son's grave. First, they would visit the grave, then they would have a picnic nearby, and -hopefully- a meeting of Kitty and Mary would take place.
Mrs. Darcy rode inside her carriage, along with her boys, Jane, and Jane's son, while their husbands had opted to ride on horseback, flanking Mr. Bennet's open carriage. Lydia sat in the back and Mrs. Fletcher next to Thomas.
"Let me guess." Mr. Bennet spoke with no particular emotion when Mrs. Fletcher stiffened and moved closer to him. "Mr. Preston and his wife are out for a joy ride?"
"The Prestons, yes. As to the purpose of the ride, I could not fathom it being for pleasure after the letters he sent." Her answer put all the men on alert.
Ambrose Preston and his wife might not have recognized the men, but they knew full well who Aurelia was. Therefore, they stopped their carriage on the path Mr. Bennet was on. It was not appreciated by Thomas.
"I see, dear cousin, you are still preying on other victims with your parasitic ways." He got no further as Mr. Bennet would not tolerate such lies.
"That is enough. Aurelia Fletcher is no sponge. She is an extremely hard-working, honest lady. It is you, Mr. Preston, who are a disgrace to your family, and I will not stand by and listen to you slander Mrs. Fletcher's name."
"And who are you that you should know my own cousin more than I? She goes around draining people of their wealth and living off their prosperity. I was simply warning you."
"My name is Bennet…Thomas C. Bennet, and these are my sons-in-law, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy." Mr. Bennet probably should not have enjoyed watching the man's face pale as Mr. Darcy rode up next to the side of Mr. Preston's open carriage, wearing a look that would have sent a banshee screaming all the way back to Scotland.
"You are the rogue, parasite, leech, and whatever other name you chose to label Mrs. Fletcher. You should know that I go over the books for Lady Catherine- the money you have been receiving from her has now come to a halt and I happen to know Mr. Collins has no more to send. I have made sure you will not be welcomed in Meryton." Mr. Darcy then leaned in and whispered something that no one could hear, but they all watched Mr. Preston and his wife's face pale even more. "Now…" Darcy straightened himself in the saddle. "I suggest you turn your carriage around and go back to whichever hole you crawled out of, instead of trying to make a new start in Meryton. That is where you were going, was it not?"
Mrs. Fletcher happily watched her cousin turn his carriage around -without saying a word to Mr. Darcy- and head back the way he came. However, not before shooting a glare back her way. It was one that shouted he hated that a source of easy money was now cut off and he blamed it all on her. There was no way Ambrose Preston would ever admit it was his and Mara's own faults.
"Now, shall we continue on?" Mr. Bennet turned with a smile to Aurelia.
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Gray headstones with names and dates met their eyes as Mrs. Fletcher led Mr. Bennet and his family through the cemetery. "He was not even six months old." Aurelia looked up at Thomas. "He could have been saved only…" Her voice grew cold. "Mara purposely kept the doctor at bay, bitter that her own child had died. She was determined that mine would too. It is not something I can prove, but I cannot think of anyone else who had access to the door he would have had to enter, for it was locked when it ought not to have been. Nor have I been able to come up with any name other than hers that would have known the exact hour Dr. Leeds was to come. I suppose I should repent of the thought; it could have been otherwise."
"How horrid." Elizabeth gasped along with the others. She and Mr. Bennet's family headed towards the field where they were to meet Kitty and Mary after Thomas nodded for them to go ahead of Mrs. Fletcher, himself, and Lydia.
"You said, before we left, you had something you wanted to show us?" Mr. Bennet asked when the three of them were alone.
"Follow me." Mrs. Fletcher led them out a back gate to a large tree, where one small gray headstone with the name Caroline engraved on it stood.
"I thought you only had a son?" Lydia asked softly.
"I was never allowed to talk about her. I got used to keeping her locked away." She looked up at Mr. Bennet with tears beginning to slide down her cheeks. "He said Caroline was a female with no strength, did not have the decency to live even two days, why should he bother paying for a grave inside the graveyard, and forbade me to talk - or even mourn for her."
Mr. Bennet said nothing, nor did Lydia. They simply put their arms around Aurelia and let her cry for a daughter who never got a chance to be properly mourned.
Aurelia lifted her head and realized how wet she had gotten Thomas's shirt. Starting to apologize she found a finger of his laid on her mouth. "Shirts dry, Mrs. Fletcher." It was the only thing he said as he led her and Lydia back through the cemetery and helped them back into the carriage. "Let us go meet the others, shall we?"
No one spoke as Mr. Bennet's mind was trying to comprehend a man not allowing his wife to mourn the loss of a child, be what sex it may. Lydia kept silent amazed her friend had been so strong through so much loss. And Aurelia kept quiet as she kept her hands in her lap. Here was a man who had not mocked, or laughed, but let her cry over Caroline; an infant daughter not strong enough to live. He, and the men in his family -with the exception of Mr. Collins- were a league unto themselves.