Author's Note:
First of all, thank you so much for all the love and support you all have given to this story's prologue! I am glad the plot intrigued you enough to check it out and I hope that this chapter will not disappoint. I was asked some questions in the reviews I got and I will do my best to answer them here without spoiling anything,
First, someone asked if the story will be HEA. Yes. Yes, it will be. I cannot stand unnecessary tragedy and angst and I refuse to write a story where our dear couple do not get together.
Second, why was Clarke mad at the Gardiners? Well, while the Gardiners did look sufficiently surprised and shocked at the compromise, from Mr Clarke's perspective there is always a chance that the couple deliberately invited him to their sister's house so as to help her entrap her daughter into marriage with him.
Why was Clarke not warned about Mrs Bennet's matchmaking tendencies? Simply because she's never put her plans into action before. Jane is the eldest and she has only recently been introduced to society as an eligible lady. Mr Clarke is the first 'eligible' man Mrs Bennet encounters. You can think of this incident as the start of Mrs Bennet's infamous reputation as a fortune hunter.
Removing floorboards is dangerous. Why not compromise him in a different way? It is true, removing floorboards could have led to far more serious injuries, but Mrs Bennet is not known for her smarts or her forward thinking. She needed Mr Clark to trip on a particular spot, and the easiest way to achieve that was to remove a part of the flooring and cover it with carpet. We see more of this type of Mrs Bennet's carelessness once again in this chapter.
Anyway, I hope this cleared things up! Thank you so much for all the feedback and encouragement! J hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
xoxo
Elizabeth Bennet had turned fifteen two weeks ago, and had had her come out at the night of a local assembly a week after that. She was not a beautiful woman- indeed, unlike her sister at that age, she was barely a woman at fifteen- but she had a rather pretty face for a child that showed much promise for when she eventually grew into her features. She was a petite little thing with bright brown doe eyes, blowsy brown hair and gangly limbs that John Lucas and the rest of the neighbourhood children often commented made her look like a newborn fawn. The analogy worked well, for Elizabeth loved the great outdoors, spent most of her time out in the woods, and was universally loved by any and all animals she encountered. If you were to ask Mrs Bennet, her second oldest was a wild little thing and hardly a lady for she regularly came home with her hems inches deep in mud and twigs in her hair,
and yet, by all except her mother, Elizabeth was well loved and much admired. She had a bright smile for anyone she met, teased in such a sweet and charming manner that even her elders could take no offence, and was so intelligent at such a young an age that people could not help but be impressed.
Above all the children in the neighbourhood, Elizabeth had one friend she was closest to, granddaughter of the elderly couple that owned Netherfield, Mallory Harper. Mallory reminded Elizabeth a lot of her eldest sister, Jane, who had married two years ago to a very serious, and rather old looking Mr Clark. Lizzy did not like Mr Clark. She had only been acquainted with him for a few days, and though in the beginning, he was a nice enough man, if a little cranky, after he had proposed to Jane, Mr Clark had stopped smiling altogether. Even during their wedding, not once did Mr Clark look at Jane with anything but a frown.
He had taken Jane away with him to London and in the two years since, Lizzy had never seen her sister again.
But Mallory helped. Just like Jane, Mallory was all serenity and loveliness. Only a few months older than Lizzy herself, she was a perfect counterbalance to Elizabeth's excessive energy and laughter. The two of them were inseparable, and it was only because of this reason that the Harpers had invited the Bennets to a dinner and an overnight stay that was to be the conclusion of a house party they had been having for the past three weeks.
At Netherfield, apart from Mr and Mrs Harper and their granddaughter, there were three other gentlemen in attendance, two of whom had come with their wives. The Mr and Mrs Andersons, Mr and Mrs Stablers and Lord Fairfax were all around their hosts in age and so well in their sixties. Lord Fairfax had also been part of a couple until sometime last year, when he'd lost his wife to a chronic ailment and a sickly disposition. He had only recently gotten out of his mourning, and this trip to Netherfield was his first venture out in society as an unattached gentleman.
The idea of tying your fifteen year old daughter to a man old enough to be her grandfather would've been abhorrent to some, but in Lord Fairfax, Mrs Bennet only saw a rich (and titled!) eligible gentleman. Lord Fairfax only had one son and was known to have multiple properties through England and a couple even in Scotland. His was said to have been a love match, and though the late Lady Fairfax, even with her weak constitution, had managed to beget him an heir, Mrs Bennet was convinced that no man that powerful and wealthy could be happy with just one child.
Prior to the night of the dinner, Mrs Bennet, conspiring with her trusty servant Mrs Hill, concocted a plan.
xoxo
Elizabeth was bored.
She had thought, when she and her parents had been invited to Netherfield, that she would be able to spend time with her dear friend Mallory. Perhaps, they could've practised music together. Lizzy had gotten quite good at it in the past year since she'd been sharing lessons with Mallory. The master who taught the both of them, a gentleman by the name of Mr Montague, had remarked that though Elizabeth played the pianoforte quite well, she was much better with the harp. There was no harp at Longbourn, however, so Lizzy tried to spend as much time as possible at Netherfield without becoming a pest to improve her skills.
But Mallory was fifteen just like Elizabeth, and was not yet out. Lizzy had spent the entire dinner surrounded by old people as they talked politics, agriculture, and London Town gossip. She had behaved herself impeccably. Mrs Harper had given her an approving smile after dinner had been completed, but Lizzy was dying to fidget in her seat. To do something.
When the sexes separated and the women made their way over to the parlour room, Lizzy almost cried in relief at the sight of the instruments. She was sure Mrs Harper would not say no to a performance, for Lizzy had only just mastered a piece yesterday and Mrs Harper had given her very pretty compliments at the end of it, but before she could go over to the lady, she felt her mother place a hand heavily on her shoulder and direct her to the settee instead.
Elizabeth huffed, but obeyed, taking a seat next to the kindly looking Mrs Anderson. In short order, Mrs Harper, with the help of Mrs Bennet, passed everyone their tea and biscuits and the ladies settled in for another half hour of gossip while they waited for the gentlemen to arrive.
Lizzy sat quietly in the corner and drank her tea. It was a very fine Oolong, she knew, but there was also a very bitter taste to it that almost made her gag before she controlled herself. Her eyes searched her mother's, but Mrs Bennet was already looking at her and silently urging her to continue drinking. Elizabeth, thinking that perhaps Mrs Harper had reused the tea leaves one too many times, continued to drink quietly so as to not bring forth any attention to it.
"Lizzy." Mrs Bennet suddenly said when her daughter placed her empty cup back on the tray, "My dear girl, I seem to have forgotten my fan in the dining room. Would you be a darling and get it for me, love?"
"Of course, mama." Elizabeth's tongue felt heavy, and when she stood up, so did her limbs. She performed a very ill curtsey and walked out of the room, her vision swimming in front of her. The door closed behind her with a quiet swoosh and Lizzy turned right to the dining room, took another step, and then fell onto someone's waiting arms, her vision going black.
xoxo
Gentlemen came back to join the ladies, and together the party spent another hour in each other's company. Cards had been brought out for entertainment and Mrs Stabler was performing a very cheery piece on the pianoforte. Subtly, Mrs Harper approached Mrs Bennet, and quietly asked after her daughter,
"Oh." Mrs Bennet affected a concerned frown, "I hope you will forgive her rudeness, Mrs Harper. Lizzy had been feeling quite ill since this morning, but she did not want to miss an opportunity to spend time with her friend and so came to dinner despite my giving her permission to stay home. I fear she might have retired to the room you assigned her before dinner."
"Oh dear. She did look quite pale when she left." Mrs Harper murmured, concerned for the sweet girl who had been such a good companion to her own grandchild, "Should I have someone check on her?"
"Oh no, no, Mrs Harper, you must not trouble yourself!" Mrs Bennet protested, "Lizzy has a robust constitution, and even the severest of colds does not bother her for more than a few days." She held Mrs Harper's hand in hers and pressed it in gratitude, "You will see, come daytime and Lizzy will be right as rain."
Mrs Harper nodded, "Very well then, Mrs Bennet."
The Harpers had only a year ago bought the Netherfield estate, and so they were quite unaware of the backstory behind the marriage of the Bennets' first daughter. Even had they been aware of their mercenary ways, they could not have expected that a member of their own party, who were all well above marriageable age, would be a target.
Lord Albert Fairfax had never been a handsome man, but in his prime he had been deemed a very pleasant-looking fellow. Age had further softened his features, and though powerful and wealthy, to most of his acquaintances and friends, he was a very gentle and agreeable man. During the Harper's house party, he had seen Elizabeth Bennet quite a few times playing on the grounds with his hosts' granddaughter Mallory Harper. The two girls always seemed to be in the midst of an adventure, with Miss Bennet leading the duo with a stick in her hand held like a sword and a crown on her head made of wildflowers.
It was not until the Bennets were invited to dinner and they showed up with their daughter did Albert even realise that Miss Bennet was out in society. She certainly acted like a child when with her friend. But then during the course of the evening, the girl had acted like a demure little lady with such grace and sometimes elegance that even the first circles of society could find nothing to reproach in her manner. She was a study in contradictions, able to change her behaviour on a whim, though Albert thought Miss Bennet looked far happier when she was playing in the woods than when she was sitting down to eat a formal dinner thirteen courses long.
In moments of weakness, he found himself jealous of the Bennets. Albert loved his son and heir, Archibald. But he could admit he had also always wished for a pretty, lively daughter. Miss Bennet was all that was charming and delightful. He could not understand the Bennets' hurry to bring her out into society when they should be enjoying her innocence and girlhood.
The Mr Bennet, he had deduced, was a very strange sort of man. They had conversed on very intelligent topics for quite a bit while the gentlemen drank their port, but there was a sort of vacant absenteeism in his eyes and manner that Albert wouldn't have expected from a man who was comparatively younger than him. Aside from books and thoughts on philosophy, Bennet had opinions on little else and when Albert had tried to politely ask more about his family or his estate, the man had just rolled his eyes and redirected the conversation back to his scholarly pursuits.
His wife, from what Albert had observed, had very little in common with her husband. Mrs Bennet was a very beautiful woman, but she was also very loud, very flighty, and very shallow in conversation. She very tactlessly remarked on the fineness and cost of the furniture and trinkets around her and did not seem at all concerned about her daughter who had apparently taken ill. She also seemed to stare at him alot when there was no reason to, with a very strange sort of glint in her eyes that he could not understand.
It was well past midnight when the party dispersed and people began to make their way to their rooms. Lord Fairfax entered his dressing room where his valet, Lipton, was waiting for him. Albert stripped off his evening clothes, then shrugged on his nightshirt and silk knit sleeping cap. His usual nightcap of brandy waited for him and he took it from Lipton with a nod for dismissal as he walked over to the door connecting to the guest bedchamber he had been assigned.
It took him a while to adjust to the unlit room. The summer heat in the south was strong and so no fires had been lit. Instead, the windows were thrown open and a light breeze filtered through the sheer white drapes and into the room. The only source of light was the half moon shining in the otherwise starless sky and it was not until Albert was almost at the foot of his bed that he noticed it- her.
Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Stripped down to her chemise and with her hair unbound, sleeping soundly on his bed.
"Good Lord!" Albert swore loudly before he even knew it, for he was so shocked at the scene before him, he knew not it was better to be quiet. In the next moments, not only did Miss Bennet started stirring slightly at his shout, but the door to his bedchamber burst open, Mrs Bennet and a servant girl entering with a candelabra in both their hands,
" Compromise!" Mrs Bennet screeched, and Albert froze, suddenly understanding everything, "You have compromised my daughter! My Lizzy!"
The harridan's screeches were waking up the whole house, and already Albert could see servants trying to sneak a look at what was going on. More than feeling dismay at having been tricked, however, Albert was confused. What in the world was the woman thinking? Trying to marry off her very young daughter to a man more than thrice her age?
Mr and Mrs Harper rushed up towards the commotion, their eyes wide as they took in the scene in front of them.
"Lizzy!" Mrs Harper gasped, but rather than a very slight twitch, Miss Bennet did not wake. Mrs Bennet bustled further into the room and grabbed her daughter by the arm, shaking her vigorously and screeching her name over and over while the little girl flailed like a rag doll. Eventually, Miss Bennet's heavy lids blinked open, her eyes glassy and unseeing. Albert almost took a step back at that vacant expression on her face. She-
The girl had been drugged.
Mrs Bennet pulled the girl off the bed and tried to make her stand, but Elizabeth just lolled onto her mother's side, her chemise hanging indecently off one shoulder. Albert averted his eyes from the horrifying scene only to see Mr Bennet's paling face as he looked at his child. The man looked disturbed and disconcerted but not surprised and Albert wondered if this wasn't the first time they'd done something like this.
The Bennets had five girls, Albert remembered hearing from someone earlier this evening, and the eldest had married two years ago, the same year as she came out when she was fifteen.
"Mr Bennet!" Mrs Bennet cried out, "Mr Bennet, you must make this man marry our Lizzy! She has been thoroughly compromised!"
"Mama…" Miss Bennet slurred uncomprehendingly, her eyes opening and closing shut. Her mother jostled her again, causing Elizabeth to almost fall on her knees before she was hauled back up again. In that moment, Albert was sure he had never pitied a person more than he pitied that little girl. He was incensed, offended, humiliated, and furious both for himself and for the girl who had done nothing wrong except for being born into a family of vipers. It was insupportable.
"I will marry her."
The commotion stopped.
"Albert-" Mr Harper started to speak but Albert raised his hand and silenced him with nary a word. He was glaring daggers at Mrs Bennet, and perhaps only for a moment, the woman quivered under his gaze before once again matching his stare with shameless insolence.
Albert turned to Mr Bennet, "Come. We will talk in Harper's study." Then, to Mrs Harper he asked in a softer voice, "Madam, I will ask you to take my betrothed to another room so that she can recover from the laudanum she's been no doubt given." Then, after sparing the witch of a mother another glare, he continued, "Make sure none of her previous family is allowed to visit."
Mrs Harper's throat moved soundlessly for a moment before she nodded. Signalling to one of the footmen, she took Miss Bennet from her mother's harsh grip and wrapped the shawl she'd still been wearing with her evening dress around the girl before having the man carry her out of the room. Albert didn't tarry a moment, and turned around to go to his dressing room to once again switch into his evening clothes.