A/N
So, I had started the story 'Just friends or something more (JFOSM)'. It is story of Lydia from my first book 'Of Silver Linings...' To my consternation I found that just as feedback motivates me to finish my stories faster, its lack can also become an impediment! So, as of now I have shelved 'JFOSM' as I was just not getting up to speed. But to all those who had shown interest in that story – Thank you so very much, and I will definitely try to finish it and bring it for your perusal sometime in the future 😊
In the meantime, a comment from a JAFF aficionado in one of the Facebook groups that it is always Darcy who does the running for the ODC's happiness and never Elizabethmade me think of this story tentatively titled as 'Like the gentleman he was...' Hope you all enjoy!
Initial frequency of posting will be once a week on every Wednesday. I might increase the frequency as and when I get more chapters done. Please do share your feedback if you want me to quicken my pace of writing as your feedback is an automatic accelerator 😊
Also, please not that as with my previous stories I will remove this one too for publishing quite quickly once I finish posting.
Cheers
N
Like the Gentleman He WasChapter 1November 1811, Meryton
It was a very cold day, and the wind whipping her pelisse made her shiver involuntarily. However, the storm brewing within made Elizabeth Bennet oblivious to the cold as she hurried away from her home. A home that no longer felt like the sanctuary it was.
'That dowdy Charlotte Lucas will be the mistress of Longbourn! Oh! The very thought is insupportable. Now it is certain that we are all destined for the hedgerows, for I am sure that when the time comes, she will take pleasure in throwing us out of our home. It will happen only because Lizzy is an obstinate and wicked girl who would not do her duty, and you, Mr Bennet, could not... nay... would not prevail over her! I honestly do not know what I have done to deserve such a thankless and selfish child...'
Elizabeth shivered as she remembered her mother's scathing words. There had been more–much more–in the same vein, but Elizabeth had been too heartsore to continue listening to the tirade. Although she had always known that she was not her mother's favourite, she had never imagined that Mama could resort to such cruel words. Feeling distressed at the unkind words, she had exited the morning room, only to come face to face with Mr Collins in the hallway. Their cousin was following a footman carrying his trunk to the carriage waiting on the Longbourn portico. The knowing smirk on Mr Collins' pudgy face had been the last straw; she had hurried outside, eager to get away from all the negativity and hurt. Unfortunately, she carried the hurt inside of her.
Elizabeth walked on unmindfully, scarcely aware of her surroundings or the tears running down her cheeks. Fortunately, her feet involuntarily carried her to the place she visited whenever she sought comfort from pain or answers to a dilemma. It was a serene place inside the woods that surrounded the back boundary of Longbourn. A place where the swiftly running Meryton stream gentled to a meander and widened into a pool.
Only when the hem of her gown touched the cold waters of the stream did Elizabeth come out of her stupor and look around her. Her gaze came to rest on a large boulder inside the pool, bathed in watery sunshine. It was not far from the ground and over the years she had spent many a happy hour sitting on it. All of a sudden, feeling in dire need of the warmth that the sunrays represented, Elizabeth hitched up her gown and started making her way towards the boulder. She walked on the steps formed by a series of flat rocks lining up to her destination.
It was a path she had taken innumerable times without mishap. But today, she was not her usual, careful self, and disaster struck just as she was about to reach her goal. In her hurry, she took her eyes off the last stone step, and her left foot twisted as it landed on a slippery patch of moss deposited on it. The next instant, with a distressed cry of alarm, she fell face-down in the frigid waters of the pool.
The fall and the freezing water stunned her even as she righted herself reflexively. It was only as uncontrollable shivers wracked her body and the cold started to numb her limbs that a semblance of consciousness returned. The water was not deep enough for her to float, but she could easily wade her way through to the boulder, or so she thought. It was a tedious business to bring herself upright when her sodden clothes did their best to drag her down. Somehow, she managed to stand up, but as soon as she put her weight on her feet she fell down with a whimper of pain. Her left foot appeared to have suffered some damage when she fell, and now it would not take her weight.
'Oh Lord! What am I to do?' Elizabeth closed her eyes in despair as she realized the extent of her troubles. For one wild moment she wondered if she would die here... all alone.
"Miss Elizabeth? Are you well?"
Her eyes flew open at the very unexpected but familiar voice, raised in concern.
"M... Mr Darcy!" she exclaimed through chattering teeth as she observed him purposefully navigating his way towards her.
Do I look well?' The churlish thought came unbidden, but she immediately felt ashamed of it. Help was at hand, miraculously, and she was being snide. Perhaps it was because she was miserable and heartsore?
"Uh... I am a... afraid I am n... not all that w... well, Mr Darcy. My l... left foot..."
Darcy interrupted Elizabeth's stammering response. "Oh... Please do not worry, Miss Elizabeth, I will have you out of here in a moment," he said as he bent down to gently pick her up in his arms.
"Y... your clothes will be r...ruined," Elizabeth commented inanely even as she continued to shiver violently.
"A little water would hardly ruin my clothes, also, Banes, my valet is a wonder at getting my apparel back into its pristine form."
"Hmm..." Elizabeth mumbled in response. The sudden realization of her rescue from an uncomfortable if not a downright dangerous situation, made her feel limp with relief. Exhausted, she closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder.
It was not too many moments later that he was setting her down on firm ground.
"Please keep the weight off your injured foot," Darcy said softly and with a nod she leaned back against a tree trunk taking care not to put weight on her left foot. Mr Darcy took off his great coat and snugly wrapped it around her. Then he picked her up once again to place her atop his horse, Poseidon.
"Is there a way we can enter Longbourn from its back boundary?" he enquired as he quickly mounted the beast, after her. And as soon as Elizabeth provided him with the directions, he guided Poseidon out of the woods.
~§§§~
They rode in complete silence as his horse ate the distance to Longbourn. After a while the unnatural stillness made Darcy anxious. To make sure that all was well, he looked down at the woman nestled in his arms. A fierce feeling of protectiveness welled inside him as he observed her white face and felt the shivers wracking her slight frame. He tightened his arms around her in the hope that the warmth from his body would take the edge off the chills plaguing her. He then glanced away from her and released a sigh of relief as the back gate of Longbourn came into view.
Darcy had chosen to take the less frequented and shorter path to the back gate of Longbourn. While getting Elizabeth to a warm, safe environment at the earliest was his primary concern, his decision had also been influenced by his worry about them being observed in such a compromising position. It was therefore a matter of great relief when they entered Longbourn without encountering anyone on their way thither.
He glanced once more at Elizabeth. At the moment she did not appear in a position to bother about such things, but he did not want any sort of scandal to attach to her name that would force her hand in any manner. He felt a twinge of unease as he tried to imagine Mrs Bennet's reaction when he would carry Miss Elizabeth inside her home, then he put the thought away with a philosophical shrug. 'Even if Mrs Bennet tries to take advantage of the situation it cannot be helped now...'
Very soon he was getting down from his horse in front of the Longbourn stables. A couple of grooms came hurrying towards them and one of them caught hold of Poseidon's reins and led him away. Darcy asked the other to alert the household about Miss Elizabeth having suffered a small mishap even as he swiftly carried her towards the front door. The throbbing in her injured foot and the cold permeating her body made a miserable Elizabeth rest her head on her rescuer's shoulder and close her eyes.
As soon as he saw the front door of Longbourn, Darcy felt a sliver of satisfaction for getting Miss Elizabeth to her home without a calamity. Alas! he had celebrated too soon.
He had put his foot on the first of the seven steps leading to the front door of the manor house when it opened, and out came Mrs Bennet with a gaggle of middle-aged matrons of Meryton neighbourhood. Darcy's eyes widened in dismay as he observed Lady Lucas, Mrs Bennet's sister – Mrs Phillips and another woman whose name he was forgetting, crowding behind their hostess. His arms tightened around Elizabeth in reflex and she raised her head from his shoulder with a murmured protest.
"Mr Darcy! What on earth have you done to Lizzy?"
Darcy grimaced at Mrs Bennet's shrill voice and accusatory tone. 'Trust the woman to make an unseemly fuss about an unfortunate accident,' he thought angrily as he felt Miss Elizabeth tense in his arms. Had he been able to see the image he and Elizabeth presented at the moment, perhaps he would not have been so uncharitable to what he considered as Mrs Bennet's theatrics.
Even a mother with considerably more sense and decorum than Mrs Bennet would have suffered the fit of vapours on observing a bedraggled gentleman carrying her bedraggled daughter in his arms. Especially when the said daughter was wrapped in an identifiably masculine garment and her visibly wet hair hung in rat-tails over the young man's arm.
As Darcy opened his mouth to respond, he saw the unknown matron–Mrs Goulding, he remembered suddenly–whisper something in Lady Lucas's ears. It was something that caused Mrs Phillips to purse her lips unhappily and glance at her sister. Fortunately, Mrs Bennet was too busy observing him and Miss Elizabeth to take note of this byplay.
Darcy too ignored the happenings and replied to Mrs Bennet. "Please calm yourself, Mrs Bennet. The only thing I have done is to bring Miss Elizabeth back to Longbourn after she suffered an accident and sprained her ankle. I was out for a ride when I saw her struggles and offered the services of my horse since she was in no position to walk under her own steam," he tried to downplay the whole incident.
Unfortunately, his response did not seem to placate Mrs Bennet in any manner. The only change that did occur was that she directed her ire at Elizabeth instead.
"Now do you understand why I keep asking you not to go traipsing out on your own? But do you ever listen to your mother, obstinate, headstrong, girl that you are..."
Before she could continue her tirade, two things happened simultaneously. Firstly, Lady Lucas's carriage that was to transport the guests to their respective homes arrived at the doorstep. Secondly, alerted by the groom of Elizabeth's mishap, Jane and Mr Bennet came hurrying out the front door.
"Lizzy! What has happened? Are you well?" Jane cried out as she and her father swiftly made their way to where Darcy stood waiting with Elizabeth in his arms.
At the same time, showing great presence of mind, Mrs Phillips herded the other two women towards the waiting carriage. "We will take our leave now, Fanny. Lizzy needs you to look after her." Although Mrs Goulding was very keen to see the details unfold in her presence, the waiting carriage and Mrs Phillips' hand on her back left her with no choice but to leave. Perforce, she left, but not before she threw an all-encompassing glance at Darcy and Elizabeth. She would not want to pass inaccurate information if the conversation veered to this strange incident in her card party today.
"Mr Darcy, please bring Lizzy inside," Jane urged Darcy who followed her gratefully. As he carried Elizabeth to the parlour and set her down on a comfortable sofa, the remaining members of her family members also came inside the room. The Bennet patriarch then asked Darcy to step inside his study and requested information on the happenings which Darcy shared with candour.
Mr Bennet thanked Darcy with suitable gratitude. At the moment, the father in him was too worried to think beyond his daughter's wellbeing. Consequently, he did not contemplate the implications of Darcy bringing Elizabeth back to Longbourn, especially in the presence of the neighbourhood matrons. However, Fitzwilliam Darcy did, and even as he took his leave of Mr Bennet, he knew that if things came to pass as he feared then he might have to come back to Longbourn on the morrow to make an all-important offer to Miss Elizabeth. Strangely, the idea did not perturb he as much as it should have.
~§§§~
As Darcy rode back to Netherfield, he shook his head at the strange vagaries of fate. Only a few hours ago he had been on the verge of leaving this neighbourhood, probably never to return if Miss Bingley had her way. He had decided to go along with Miss Bingley's plans to follow her brother to London because her arguments had resonated with his own. He too believed that Bingley was in danger of being trapped into marriage with an indifferent if pleasant young woman with an avaricious mother and a thoroughly unsuitable family. If truth be told however, he had been only too eager to fall in with Miss Bingley's plans because he was afraid; afraid of his growing fascination with Miss Elizabeth Bennet and his weakening resolve to talk himself out of offering for her despite her unsuitability for the position of Mrs Darcy of Pemberley.
As they had decided the day before, Miss Bingley and the Hursts had already left for London this morning. He had declined to join them in their carriage on the pretext that he would prefer to ride as Poseidon needed the exercise. The true reason, however, was that he had found himself unable to leave Meryton without a last glimpse of Miss Elizabeth, without formally taking his leave off her. Their last meeting two days ago–on the night of the ball–had ended in acrimony over their discussion about that lying cad Wickham. He did not want his last memory of her tainted by acrimony and especially him.
Consequently, as soon as the Hursts' carriage left Netherfield, he had ridden towards Longbourn. However, before he could reach the Bennets' home, he had seen Miss Elizabeth walking away from Longbourn towards a copse of trees running parallel to its boundary. He had been disturbed to observe that she appeared to be weeping. He had debated whether or not to invade her privacy at such a time but only momentarily. Concern for her had won over his inhibitions and he had followed her inside the woods. When he finally found her in that pool, struggling to get up, he could only be glad that he had decided to pursue her.
Darcy came out of his reverie and saw the gates of Netherfield looming before him. He once again shook his head and a rueful smile quirked his lips. When he left for Longbourn this morning he had gone to take his farewell of Elizabeth. But now... if he had read Mrs Goulding's demeanour correctly, he would most probably end up offering his name and protection to Elizabeth and they would be together... forever. He caught himself smiling at the thought. The most shocking aspect of this whole fiasco was that rather than being upset about his hand being forced... he rather wished that things might come to such a pass! He wished that circumstances could make him stop fighting his inclination and offer for the woman he admired with a clear conscience. The inevitable opposition and backlash from his family and friends, and undesirable situation of the Bennet family both were forgotten in the sudden lightening of his spirits!
~§§§~
Like The Gentleman He Was
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