Pride and Prejudice

AU not canon

No Common Lady

A/N Since Jane Austen often had the oldest daughter bearing the name of the mother, I have Mr. Bennet's first wife referred to as Jane also.

Pride and Prejudice

Previously News

That is until Elizabeth saw Mrs. Fletcher's face pale as Lady Catherine had had the nerve to return - along with Mr. Collins - and then watched in horror as Aurelia fled the room followed shortly by Lydia. She hurried to go find her father who, unfortunately, had not returned yet with Mr. Gardiner.

Accident

Ch. 18

The night was dark and silent, except for the occasional sound of thunder and rain off in the distant. A storm the men hoped would hold off until morning, or at least until people arrived safety home. Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner stepped up into the same corridor Elizabeth and Jane came barreling around with looks of worry in their eyes. "What is going on?" Mr. Bennet asked, his voice echoing in the empty hall. He was quickly filled in and both men were appalled to hear what had occurred.

"Where did Mrs. Fletcher and Lydia go?" Mr. Gardiner inquired; his brow furrowed.

"We are not sure." Elizabeth told them which door they had been seen to have made their exit and why, when told, she had quickly become concerned. "I thought they would have gone out the door where all the carriages were parked. I had no idea they would have headed towards where all our construction has been going on." She gestured towards the window, where a faint glow of lanterns could be seen in the distance.

Thomas was furious at both Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins. Normally, Mrs. Fletcher was extremely a level-headed, clear-thinking, adult. She had to have been extremely upset to have made such an unplanned exit. He wondered what danger they might face in the unfinished part of the estate, where scaffolding, tools, and debris were scattered around.

"I am grabbing a torch and men." Mr. Bennet declared, his face set in determination to find his daughter and he hoped, as stated earlier, his future wife. He did not have to ask Mr. Gardiner to do the same as the gentleman was already one step ahead of him. Soon enough more than one adult male was on horseback, holding a torch and heading towards the area of the estate where all the construction was going on. They hoped to find Mrs. Fletcher and Lydia safe and sound, before it was too late.

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Aurelia Fletcher had not been able to tolerate listening to another word of Mr. Collins's slanderous speech. He had accused her one too many times of being a fortune hunter who had tried to seduce Mr. Bennet and his family simply out of a desire to have Thomas leave his estate to her. Good heavens, she had only ever had Lydia's best interest at heart; love for Mr. Bennet had come unexpectedly. It had not been part of any 'plan or scheme'. Mr. Collins had also claimed that read in a a letter, from a very reliable source, of her true wicked intentions. If that was not bad enough, the sorry excuse of a man had demanded that Mrs. Fletcher be expelled from the house immediately, and that everyone shun her as a disgrace to her sex and her station.

Mrs. Fletcher had finally felt mortified and enraged by the false accusations. She had known full well who had written the letter, but thought for sure by now even Mr. Collins would have acknowledged Mr. Preston's lies, and the fact Lady Catherine was not standing up and speaking out made it even worse when she too now knew the truth. Lydia's friend felt betrayed and hurt by the injustice and looked around for Mr. Bennet but could not see him; all of sudden she could not think clearly and ran out of the ballroom.

The astonished and pitying looks of the other guests were left behind as Mrs. Fletcher grabbed her cloak from the cloakroom and fled out of the back door. Her feet had taken her into the cold and dark night. She did not care where she was going, as long as she could get away from the cruel eyes and whispers of those who believed Mr. Collins without question.

Aurelia had not noticed that someone was following her. It was Miss Lydia Bennet, who had witnessed the whole scene and felt sorry for all the lies Mr. Collins was spouting.

Mrs. Fletcher ran blindly through the gardens, not caring where she was going. She only wanted to put some distance between herself and the house, where she felt humiliated and betrayed. She did not hear the footsteps behind her, or the voice calling her name.

"Aurelia! Aurelia, wait!" Lydia continued to call. She was worried about her friend and wanted to comfort her. She kept running, trying to catch up with her. But Mrs. Fletcher was too fast and upset to notice her. She ran across the lawn but did not see a dimly lit sign that warned of danger or the low fence that separated the garden from the deep water of the pond Elizabeth had wanted on the estate. She tripped over it and fell headlong into the lake, hitting her head on a rock in the process.

Miss Bennet saw what happened and gasped. She ran towards the fence, hoping to save her friend. But she also tripped over it and fell on the hard ground, breaking her leg. She screamed in pain, but no one heard her as they were too far from Pemberly. She crawled towards the edge of the water, looking for Aurelia. She saw a glimpse of her cloak floating on the surface. She reached out with her hand and grabbed it, pulling Mrs. Fletcher towards her. She managed to drag her out of the water and onto the shore, but she was exhausted and in pain. She breathed a sigh of relief, but she knew they were both in danger. They needed help, she tried to call for help, but her voice was faint and hoarse. She hoped that someone would notice their absence and come looking for them. Lydia reached out and held Mrs. Fletcher's hand. She did not know how long they lay there, shivering and bleeding, before passing out from cold and shock herself.