Master of Longbourn Chapter 17 - Wishes and Whimseys, a pride and prejudice fanfic

I hope you enjoy a whimsical Darcy 😊

~MoL~

Wishes and Whimseys

The party from Netherfield made the journey with hardly any conversation as the occupants of the carriage were content to consider the events of the evening.

Upon arrival at the manor, Darcy immediately excused himself, truthfully claiming tiredness. Mr Bingley's sisters had spent enough time in each other's company for one evening and also chose to retire, while the remaining men opted for a nightcap in the library where Bingley kept a decanter of brandy.

After pouring drinks for his companions and leaving the decanter in easy reach, Bingley collapsed into a chair with a contented sigh.

'I must say, that was a most pleasant evening,' he said.

'The food and drink were surprisingly good and plentiful,' agreed Hurst with a blissful smile as he raised the glass to his lips. Food and drink were his main passions, although when he sobered up, he also enjoyed shooting. That his sport also supplied the table was an added bonus.

Henry in turn commented, 'I must congratulate you, Bingley. You chose an estate with excellent neighbours. I have rarely seen so many pretty girls in one location. While they may not be as fashionable as the ladies in town, they were all exceedingly friendly.'

Bingley could not help but say dreamily, 'I think Miss Bennet is an absolute angel.'

Henry raised his glass as if in a toast as he said, 'You are welcome to her. I prefer women with more fire.'

Bingley was startled at this dismissal of the beautiful lady, but was pleased he would not have a rival in his friend for the lady's affection. 'If you think Miss Bennet too reserved, what did you think of Miss Harriet Roberts? She seemed quite lively,' he suggested.

'Good heavens, no. She is still a child. You know that I have not the slightest interest in girls who are too young to know their minds. At least when you dally with an adult woman, both parties know what they are about.'

Bingley shook his head in confusion. 'You know, Henry. I can never make you out. One minute you sound like a rake, and yet, in the next moment you sound almost like a prig.'

Henry struck a proud pose and placed his right hand on his heart. 'I would call myself a rake with standards.'

Hurst, who had been about to swallow when Fitzwilliam made his pronouncement, had a coughing fit as the brandy went down the wrong way.

After Hurst stopped coughing, Henry added with a smirk, 'Admittedly it is much more satisfying making an ice-queen melt than kicking a stray kitten. And of course, once the ice melts, you will often find a volcano underneath.'

Bingley looked thoughtful. 'Perhaps Miss Bennet hides a volcano under her placid exterior?'

'You are welcome to try and find out. I think I prefer to try my luck with her younger sister.'

~MoL~

When Collins and the Bennet ladies returned to Longbourn, they were all too tired for conversation other than to assure each other that they had thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

It was not until after breakfast, when Collins hat gone to his study to catch up on business, that the ladies had a chance to compare notes on the previous evening, as well as give a report to the younger girls who were eager to hear about the ball.

As Catherine and Lydia were not yet allowed to attend assemblies, they received a special dispensation from Mrs Taylor for the day after to experience the entertainment vicariously.

Mrs Bennet and the older sisters described the gentlemen and what they had learnt of their backgrounds.

'Jane immediately attracted the attention of the young gentlemen and they both asked her for dances,' Mrs Bennet reported. 'Mr Fitzwilliam also asked Mary for a set. Just imagine, all my girls danced with the son of an Earl.'

'I noticed that Mr Bingley was very attentive to you, Jane,' Mary added her own comment with a smile. 'What did you think of him?'

'He is just what a young man ought to be,' gushed Jane, 'sensible, good-humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners! so much ease, with such perfect good breeding!'

'He is also handsome,' teased Elizabeth with good humour, 'which a young man ought likewise to be if he possibly can. His character is thereby complete.'

'I was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second time. I did not expect such a compliment.'

'He asked you for a second set? When was that? I did not notice.' Elizabeth was chagrined by her lapse.

'You were too focused on Mr Darcy to pay attention to anyone else,' Jane teased in return, causing Elizabeth to blush.

'In that case you must have danced the last set with Mr Bingley. No wonder you are all in a dither.'

Jane tried to change the subject. 'I noticed that Cousin William danced the last set with Charlotte.'

'I suppose he did so to make up for missing the first set,' Lydia interjected. When her sisters gave her astonished looks, she said, 'What? Maria told me that Charlotte was ever so excited that our cousin had asked for that set in advance.'

On hearing that snippet of information, Mrs Bennet could barely contain her glee. Could it be possible that Mr Collins was developing an affection for Charlotte Lucas? Could her days of being mistress of Longbourn truly be numbered? She determined that she would watch their interaction closely.

But in the meantime, she had better focus on her daughters and their potential suitors. It would not do to lose sight of the fact that she still had to find husbands for five daughters.

She mused aloud, 'I wonder if Mr Fitzwilliam would do for Mary?'

Mrs Bennet was shocked when her daydreams were interrupted by Elizabeth. 'According to our cousin, Mr Fitzwilliam has an eye for the ladies,' she said delicately but with an emphasis which Mrs Bennet could not mistake.

'You think then that he would not make a suitable husband?'

'Not for the foreseeable future. But do not forget that he and Mr Bingley are both barely three and twenty. Once they grow up, I expect they would do quite nicely.'

Jane, who had overhead that comment asked, 'Are you saying that Mr Bingley might only be dallying with my affections?'

'I do not know,' replied Elizabeth with a sigh. 'I would simply recommend caution in case he is not constant.'

Lydia exchanged glances with her next older sister and said, 'I used to think that flirting with men would be fun. But listening to our sisters makes it seem like hard work. I think I shall not come out until I am at least eighteen… and mayhap not even then.'

~MoL~

Breakfast at Netherfield occurred much later than at Longbourn, as all, but Darcy, were accustomed to town hours.

Unwilling to remain confined in the house, Darcy went for a ride in the early hours. As always when he was in the country, the fresh air, open skies and the company of his favourite stallion, Hermes, lifted his spirits. They started off with a good run before settling into a leisurely walk, allowing Darcy time to think.

After that disastrous season, he had fled London and spent a quiet but very enjoyable summer with his much younger sister at Pemberley. If it had not been for his promise to Henry, he would have remained there.

'You know, Hermes, I was not sanguine about coming here to spend weeks in company with these… children,' he confided to his stallion, who twitched his ears at the sound of Darcy's voice. But since the voice was merely a rambling monologue, the horse ignored the sounds as he ambled across a recently harvested field.

Darcy chuckled and patted his horse's neck. 'I know I should not call them children, but Henry and Bingley seem so incredibly young still. Neither has grown up and taken responsibility for their lives.'

Darcy huffed and continued to address his silent audience. 'But the point I was getting to is that if I had not come here, I would not have met Miss Elizabeth Bennet.' He smiled slightly and added, 'The very fascinating Miss Elizabeth.'

'I wonder what my parents would have made of her? I think mother would have loved her. She is intelligent, well-educated and witty. But she is also kind. I did not show myself to good advantage, but she forgave my lapses in courtesy.'

'I suppose I have Collins to thank. She mentioned that he had told her about me. If I did not know better, I would think that that man is too good to be true. I discovered that he calls my lack of tact and manners honesty.'

Darcy chuckled again. 'Most people call me reserved or haughty. The truth is that my reserve is mostly to give me time to choose my words carefully otherwise I might tell the unvarnished truth, which would be considered rude. So, I suppose he may not be far wrong.'

'But to get back to Miss Elizabeth… she is uncommonly pretty you know and has a most delightfully light and pleasing figure.' After a moment of daydreaming about the lady's physical attributes, he continued, 'I am fascinated by those sparkling eyes.'

He leaned forward and said in a conspiratorial whisper, 'And if you promise to keep my secret, I will tell you that I think I may be falling in love with her.'

Darcy patted Hermes again as he gathered his thoughts. 'It is ridiculous. I have met her exactly once. But during our dance, I found it incredibly easy to talk to her… once we got past that blasted crop rotation.'

'We had the most enjoyable discussion of literature. I wonder if she sometimes voiced opinions not her own just to encourage our debate. But no matter, even if she did not believe everything she said, her arguments were well reasoned. She is a most unusual lady.'

'I wonder what society would think if I were to court her?'

As Hermes refused to answer, Darcy provided his own reply. 'I think quite a few people would be horrified. She is merely the daughter of an insignificant gentleman, probably not wealthy and her only connections as far as I know are to my own family.'

'But for myself, I do not care for society… although I wonder what such a connection would do to Georgiana's chances at making a good match? But then again, I would not want her to marry anyone who only valued her for her dowry and connections rather than herself.'

Darcy mulled the thoughts over for a while as he guided his mount back towards the manor. Coming to a decision, he said, 'I think for the moment I will confine myself to getting to know Miss Elizabeth and perhaps become friends with her. After all, just because she fascinates me, does not mean that she is interested in getting to know me. I will keep an open mind and we will see where it may lead.'

As they approached the manor, Darcy again patted Hermes and said, 'Thank you for listening so patiently. It was a big help being able to speak my mind to clarify my thinking.'

Hermes replied with a toss of his head and a gentle nicker.

~MoL~

Darcy had washed and changed, and he was halfway through his breakfast when the rest of the party put in an appearance.

Darcy was enjoying a final cup of coffee while waiting for Bingley to show signs that he was awake enough to converse. 'Bingley, while I was out on my morning ride, I noticed a few issues which you should investigate with a view to fixing the potential problem.'

'If it is only a potential problem, would it not be just as well to wait and see if it becomes a real problem?'

'No, because real problems happen at the worst time in the worst way, and if you wait until then it will be more expensive to fix it, because then you have to deal with any damage the problem caused as well.'

'Oh, well. I suppose it will not hurt to have a look. A ride will do me good to clear my head,' Bingley agreed. 'Just let me finish my meal.'

While Bingley ate, Miss Bingley thought this was a good time to raise her own question and prove to the gentleman that she was eager to establish herself as an exemplary mistress of the estate.

'Mr Darcy, it has recently been pointed out to me that while the ladies' seminary which I attended was excellent as far as accomplishments are concerned, they did not go into any practical details about the duties of the mistress of an estate. Since you have offered your expertise when it comes to estate matters to my brother, I was hoping that you could enlighten me as well?'

Darcy was surprised that the lady would request instruction in country matters as he had thought she was only interested in town living. But he was happy enough to explain, 'I am afraid that I am not the right person to answer your questions. I have only ever dealt with the master's role. Since my mother's death, my housekeeper, Mrs Reynolds has performed the mistress' duties at Pemberley. Since Netherfield Park is often without a tenant, I expect Mrs Nichols would be able to assist you.

'Who is Mrs Nicholls?' asked Caroline with a puzzled frown.

'Your housekeeper here at Netherfield,' Darcy pointed out quietly.

'I thought her name was Wilson.'

Hurst gave her a disbelieving look and said, 'No, Caroline, that is the name of my housekeeper in London.'

'Oh. Well, I have never been good with names, and who cares about servants,' she replied with a negligent wave of her hand.

'Any good master or mistress of an establishment,' was Darcy's cold reply. 'On second thought, I think you would be better advised to ask one of the local ladies to assist you in your endeavour. Shall I enquire of my friend Mr Collins if one of the ladies in his family is available to guide you?'

'You have a friend in this area? I did not know,' Henry said around a mouthful of ham.

'You met him last night when I introduced you to Miss Elizabeth Bennet. He is her cousin and the master of Longbourn, Netherfield's nearest neighbour.'

The eyes of both Henry and Bingley lit up. 'Perhaps we should all call on him,' suggested Henry.

'By all means,' Bingley enthusiastically agreed.

Darcy kept his face impassive as he sighed internally and, in his mind, he already apologised to Collins. But there was nothing for it. The children wanted to play, and he could do nothing to stop them.

~MoL~