"Jane, wake up. We have a visitor."
Jane Bennet startled out of a deep sleep and stared uncomprehendingly at her aunt.
She had been enjoying the first truly good night's sleep in some time because she had come to a decision and accepted it wholeheartedly. With some reluctance, she finally admitted to herself that she had been acting like a wilful child for months. She had, for the first time in her life, well earned her father's caustic assertion that she was silly and ignorant like other girls.
She had been abandoned by an amiable gentleman, but with a belated recognition of the blisteringly obvious, she concluded he was not only NOT an amiable gentleman—he was not a gentleman at all! No gentleman would leave for town for a few days, never to return, with naught but a letter from his nasty sister.
He was no gentleman by definition!
With that realization, and the subsequent thought that she was as likely to succeed in any courtship in her family's proximity as she was to become queen; she had decided to fully embrace her uncle's acquaintances. Since, of the three people she loved most in the world, two were in trade and one was a parson's wife, it seemed that being in trade had much to recommend it.
Revelling in the power of a clear and unambiguous decision, she went to bed early, ready to get a good night's sleep and tackle the world anew on the morrow.
Unfortunately, she was apparently scheduled to tackle the world in the middle of the night.
She quickly put on slippers and a dressing gown, then followed her aunt down to the parlour, entirely dispensing with such irrelevant questions as who she was to meet.
She was still dazed and confused when she entered the room, but stopped so abruptly her aunt nearly ran into her, as several scattered images registered so quickly as to clear the sleep from her eyes like an explosion.
With one eye she noted that the grandfather clock indicated it was about two o'clock, and with the other she recognized the visitor with absolute startlement.
"MR DARCY!" she said with a squeak worthy of Lydia.
"Miss Bennet," he replied with a respectful bow that somehow looked both out of and in character at the same time. She wondered if she and Lizzy had understood the man at all.
The gentleman certainly looked nothing like the haughty dandy they had known in Hertfordshire. His clothes looked more like hunting or working wear than the suits she had seen previously, and he appeared to have rooted around in the dust and mud, then slept in them. His cravat was a muddled mess, his jacket was wrinkled, his hair was untidy (though she had to admit it made him even more handsome), and he had what she guessed would be a day's beard (also not a degradation).
She idly wondered what her sister would think of this Mr Darcy. Lizzy loved nothing more than a first impression, and having to rethink a gentleman might cause her to have palpitations.
Fortunately, she was Jane Bennet, whose manners never failed.
"Mr Darcy, may I present my uncle and aunt, Mr and Mrs Edward Gardiner. Uncle, Aunt, Mr Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire."
"Well met, sir, madam," the man said as appropriate bows and curtsies were exchanged. The fact that the gentleman looked like a ragamuffin, the ladies were all decked out in braided hair and dressing gowns, and the master was in his robe did not negate the proprieties.
"May I present my sister, Miss Georgiana Darcy and her companion, Mrs Annesley," he said, and Jane was ashamed to admit that she had not even noticed the sister and companion hiding in the shadows.
"Welcome, Miss Darcy, Mrs Annesley" she replied.
She noticed that the young lady both looked both half-petrified and looked far more like her own sister than Mr Darcy's. Mrs Annesley seemed at first glance to be just the sort of matron she especially favoured, which meant she looked and acted like her aunt.
"You look tired, sir. Please be seated. Shall I wake cook to ask for refreshments," Mrs Gardiner asked politely while Jane just stared in wonder.
"I thank you, no," he said, but sat with a sigh after assisting his sister to her own chair.
Jane controlled her countenance while Miss Darcy looked both uncomfortable and confused.
"How may I assist you, sir," Uncle Gardiner asked grimly.
Jane judged that both her aunt and uncle had come to the same conclusion she had. A man appearing in the middle of the night from the same location her sister presently occupied, almost certainly came bearing bad tidings, and more likely terrible. Merely bad could wait for morning. Why he brought his sister was a complete mystery, though.
He took a deep breath, looked around, and took his sister's hand. Jane appreciated that he looked to her comfort and did not mind that he was taking his time—or at least, she would not if the bloody man got on with it.
"There is no easy way to say this, so pray, forgive my bluntness," he said grimly.
"My cousin, Anne de Bourgh, attempted to murder your sister and niece, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, by running her over with a phaeton. Anne was killed a minute or two later, while Miss Elizabeth dove down a steep ravine to escape and is gravely injured. The doctor gives her about an even chance of survival, and her state is precarious. She is under the care of my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, an apothecary, and a surgeon. I am here to beg Miss Bennet or Mrs Gardiner to attend her as soon as may be."
Jane felt the breath whoosh out of her lungs and her heart start hammering in what she thought might be the closest she had ever come to what her mother claimed she felt; and she mightily hoped she would not become a nervous woman in her own right. Her vision shrunk down until she could only see the clock behind Mr Darcy and may well have swooned for the first time in her life had her aunt not started rubbing her back gently, while speaking in her ear not gently!
"BREATHE, Jane! Breathe! Breeeeeeeaaaaaaaatttttthhhhhhheeeeee! You will do Lizzy no favours if you become your mother."
The absurdity of her aunt combining Jane's greatest fear with her eminently sensible advice and warm comfort broke through like nothing else might have, and she took a ragged breath. A moment later, she noticed her fists were balled tightly and stuffed against her mouth while her throat wanted to scream in agony.
As she calmed down, she saw Mr Darcy rubbing his own sister's back soothingly, and her entire vision of the man changed in an instant. She had previously thought less badly of the man than her sister had, mostly because she had not been exposed to his less admirable episodes personally. Now though… now… now, she did not know what she thought, but the idea that he was more awkward than haughty seemed to have some merit, though she could not for the life of her work out why the thought occurred to her, or why it mattered in the least.
Whatever the man was, and whatever Lizzy thought of him, any fool knew Rosings was about the same distance as Longbourn but in the opposite direction. That meant it was two to four hours away, and if he appeared in their parlour at two in the morning, he must have driven through the night. That was in his favour, but his cousin attempting murder was certainly not.
"WHEN can we leave?" she asked emphatically, not caring in the least about the details of the altercation.
Without batting an eye, Darcy said, "My traveling coach awaits with fresh horses. I brought my sister and her companion as chaperones. I have a letter for Mr Bennet and only await your advice about how to best deliver it. I thought to send my second coach to Longbourn, and it can deliver Mr and Mrs Bennet to Kent sometime tomorrow."
Jane nearly panicked. "NOT MAMA!" she practically yelled, but then looked down in embarrassment, wondering if she had the strength of character to be any use to Elizabeth at all.
Mr Darcy seemed unconcerned with her outburst and replied calmly. "I am duty bound to notify your father, Miss Bennet. You are welcome to write to him with your concerns, but in the end, he will have to decide who goes and when."
With a surprising level of bitterness, she said, "Well, if that is the standard, we need not worry overly much about either attending."
"Jane, that is unkind," Mrs Gardiner chided gently, though nobody thought her heart was really in it.
Mr Gardiner stepped in before any more rancour could be dispensed.
"Jane has the right of it. I have a ship arriving this very day and my presence will be demanded this afternoon. I cannot attend you in Kent. My wife is with child again, so I shall not have her exposed to your family. Jane, you are a grown woman and can make your own decisions."
"As I already said, my decision is that I attend Lizzy this very moment if possible, and I humbly request you work out the right words to ensure neither of my parents do so."
Gardiner frowned grimly. "While there is a certain temptation to simply not tell them, or to send your father a note that he will ignore, it is just not right."
"He needs to be prepared for what is to come, sir," Darcy replied emphatically. "While I agree that Mrs Bennet will likely be… unhelpful… I will strongly encourage Mr Bennet's presence. Things …" he said, but then paused meaningfully, before finally finishing morosely, "… will get ugly. Miss Elizabeth is stuck in a fishing shack at the bottom of a steep ravine and has been in the exclusive company of men since the incident. I need not state the obvious vis-à-vis her reputation and its effect on her sisters. My cousin and I are pledged to defend her honour and enact justice, but we will be strongly opposed by a peer and the daughter of one, who will start throwing their weight around."
Jane stared at him unnervingly, showing him that she was capable of expressions far from her usual smiles. "If you are suggesting yourself as the sacrificial lamb, you should know …"
When she paused, he stepped into the breach. "… that she despises me. I have lately become aware. She asked Mr Gardiner to find her a husband, but my cousin would prefer the honours… that is …" then he sighed dejectedly, "… that is to say, if I cannot improve her opinion of me."
Everyone in the room stared at his look of defeat. Mrs Gardiner recognized the look of unrequited love, and wondered if her stubbornest niece might be convinced to relent.
Mr Gardiner asked, "Why bring your sister as chaperone when a maid would do?"
"My uncle, the Earl of Matlock might be… unpleasant. He will oppose my defence of Miss Elizabeth's honour. I want everyone important close to me and far from him."
Jane stared at him in consternation. "Is there any danger to my family?"
"I think not… but…. know that you shall have the full weight of the Darcy family in your defence. Few are willing to challenge me directly, and those that do usually rue the day. I have …" and he stopped to think, before saying, "… let us just say that the Earl should think twice before challenging me."
The grim way he said it sounded like a threat to Jane, and even more so to her uncle who obviously understood men better.
"Can your coaches travel at night?"
"Yes. I have oil lamps and it is a clear night. I left Kent after dark and can return that way."
"Very well. I shall entrust you with Jane's safety. May I also entrust you with her reputation?"
"You have my word as a gentleman, sir."
Jane saw her uncle nod in what she understood to be acknowledgment of an obligation, while wondering if her sister would give his word as a gentleman any weight at all. She was gradually concluding that both she and Lizzy were probably subject to wilful blindness and that she had better grow out of it expeditiously.
Gardiner continued, "Take Jane before she lets her nerves get the best of her. I must be here this afternoon, but I shall go with your coach to Longbourn, appraise my brother of both his family status and his duty, and ensure he returns to Kent alone, unconscious if necessary."
"Tell Mr Bennet to go directly to the parsonage, as he will not be welcome at Rosings," he said grimly.
Gardiner nodded with his own frown.
Darcy continued, "For what it is worth, Miss Elizabeth's location for the foreseeable future is not readily accessible. Georgiana can get there without a second thought because she has more in common with a mountain goat than most."
A glance at Miss Darcy showed she was amused by the assertion, and Jane thought it unlikely it was a new sentiment.
"Miss Elizabeth is probably similar. Miss Bennet can get down with Georgiana's assistance, but there is not the slightest chance of Mrs Bennet or any matron attending. Even if she was capable, I would not allow it."
Gardiner replied, "That is some comfort, but I still believe two counties away is about the right distance for my sister. Whether Bennet decides to enlighten her or not is his business."
"It will be common knowledge within the week, so I recommend he deliver the news himself."
"You obviously do not know my father," Jane said with a frown.
Mrs Gardiner stood. "Time is wasting. Jane, let us pack you a trunk quickly. I do not imagine your coachmen or horses are enjoying their rest. Miss Darcy, you are welcome to join us if you like. Husband, I will see you for luncheon."
With that, Jane stood, took a very confused looking Miss Darcy's hand, and headed up to gather both her clothes and her thoughts.