Author's Note: I hope you all don't mind when I post these little ideas that strike. This is a scene that occurred to me for a story where Elizabeth has been living in London with Gardiners for years. I don't have all the other details worked out in my mind, but the general idea is this: E is cast out of Longbourn for some yet undetermined reason. D met in Lambton before the elder Mr. Darcy's death. Darcy remained in contact with the Gardiners, seeing them occasionally through the years. The elder Mr. Darcy likes Elizabeth, but she is only 14 at the time. I've probably fudged the original story's timeline a bit since I mentioned this except (can it be an except if it's not written yet) that he was 20 to her 14. Regardless, this may or may not eventually evolve into a full story. But I had to write it.
Hope you enjoy!
3/21 - updated a little to remove the bit about Gardiner sending a letter to inform Bennet of the marriage.
A Summons from Longbourn
"Fitzwilliam," Elizabeth breathed, her voice tremulous as she saw her fiancè standing in the doorway.
He stepped toward her and was immediately concerned; it was apparent she was upset. He could see the tracks of the tears on her face, and her eyes were puffy and red. When he considered that they had been left alone, he knew it must be serious. Quickly, he took the seat beside her, capturing her hand with his own and bringing it to his lips for a kiss. "What is it, my darling Elizabeth? What is wrong?"
"Fitzwilliam," she repeated, sighing heavily as she leaned into him. "My … my uncle received a letter yesterday demanding my presence at home within the next fortnight. He gave no other details but implied that I was expected to stay."
His hands held hers, squeezing tightly. "Will you go?"
"I do not want to. He has ignored me for nearly eight years, ever since he sent me to live here. Uncle said he signed a document surrendering all rights to me, giving me to the Gardiners permanently. While legally, he does not have the right to demand my presence, I feel I ought to go. If there is a possibility of being restored to my family, I ought to take it, should I not? I have not spoken to them in so many years that I cannot understand this demand for me to return now."
Darcy pulled him toward her and embraced her tightly. "You have a fortnight before you are expected ?"
She sniffed. "Yes. It is my hope that he wants to apologise and restore the relationship, but I cannot help but shake this niggling feeling that it is for another reason. I am concerned he has somehow learned of our engagement and may intend to interfere with or prevent our wedding. I should not think such things, but still ..."
"I have an idea," he murmured, lifting her chin so he could look her in the eyes. "The final banns will be read on Sunday, in just two days. Your father's summons home is a valid reason to move our wedding date forward; we can simply marry on Monday instead of waiting a further month. Then, after a week of honeymooning," he gave her a lascivious grin that made her giggle, "we can go together to Meryton. I believe I told you my friend had taken a house near there — Netherfield, I believe it is."
"The Bingleys," Elizabeth replied, her voice flat.
"I know you do not care for Miss Bingley, dearest, but her brother is my best friend. Besides, with us wed, she will no longer have the same need to fawn over me."
Elizabeth laughed lightly. "You may be right about that, but I have little faith that she will not continue to treat me poorly, regardless of your marital status. She does not like me, not that she knows me. It is simply that I took your attention away from her, she believed, and 'stole' you away."
Darcy shook his head, smiling softly at his intended. "You can not steal what she never had. I was intrigued by you the moment I first spoke to you, and I have appreciated your friendship in the years following my father's death. You were young when we first met and became friends that first summer. Then, when I saw you again at Easter, well, you quite stole my heart."
"You had mine far longer," she whispered. "You stole my heart as a girl and never surrendered it. I was worried you would find someone else and was stunned when you began to court me in earnest this year."
"Did you know my father approved of you as my wife? It was not long before he died, and despite the fact that you were only fourteen at the time, he told me I should consider you when it came time for me to marry. He remembered how you visited the tenants at Pemberley with Mrs. Reynolds during that visit and how interested you were in reading and learning. You were quite forceful in expressing your opinions and debated with me on many occasions. It was at his recommendation that the Gardiners sent you to school; did you know that?"
"I knew he suggested it, and my uncle also told me he had left me a bequest to pay for it. I was rather stunned when I learned the 'bequest' was fifteen thousand pounds, and the interest paid for my schooling. My uncle reinvested whatever was left over each year. I was shocked when you showed me the settlement and learned my dowry was nearly twenty-five thousand pounds."
"Your uncle has been quite successful in his investments, and I would say that has aided you. I hope you know, my darling girl, I would have taken you with nothing. Your dowry soothed my uncle's concern about my choice, though knowing my father approved of you was enough for me. I remember laughing at my father when he said it, but after I saw you as a woman instead of the girl you had been, I was inordinately pleased to recall his words."
Elizabeth laughed again. "Four years has also made quite a difference in you, Fitzwilliam. You have changed as well."
He shook his head, smiling fondly. "Are you concerned about marrying such an old man?"
Smiling fondly at him, she shook her head and reached up to caress his face. "You are hardly old, sir, at twenty-four, but you are far more serious than the twenty-year-old I first met. I am thankful that I knew you before you became the Master of Pemberley since I sometimes think you would not have found it as easy to fall in love with me had we met now. I know how much these last years have affected you."
"It would have been far worse had I not had your friendship and that of the Gardiners. Bingley has been a good friend, but you and the Gardiners have done far more to help me feel comfortable in my new role. You recognised that large groups of people made me uncomfortable and did not try to force me into company as he so frequently did. Georgiana benefited from your friendship, and I benefited from their advice in raising a much younger sister. I would have been a very different man."
Elizabeth leaned her head against his shoulder. They had had this same conversation many times, but at this moment, it reassured her. He wrapped an arm around her and drew her more tightly to him, and they remained in this attitude for some minutes. Eventually, he let out a sigh and spoke again. "We have drifted from the main concern, my dear. What did you say to marrying on Monday? That way, when you return to Hertfordshire, it will be as my wife. Your father will no longer be able to command you, but you will be honouring his request to visit."
Elizabeth thought for a moment as she firmed her resolve. "My father has chosen to have little to do with me for the last eight years and, before that, refused to prevent his wife from abusing me. My Uncle Gardiner is more of a father to me than he has been, and that is the relationship I chose to honour. Yes, we will marry on Monday, but then I will allow you to decide if we should venture into Hertfordshire and for how long. My father does not have the right to object to our marriage now and should not be permitted to interfere with it in any way."
For a moment, Darcy wondered if the Bennets had somehow learned of Elizabeth's pending nuptials and resolved to go to the Gardiners' church and his own as soon as possible. It was unlikely, but he wanted to ensure Mr. Bennet had not sent any letters objecting to the match if he had somehow learnt of it. Mr. Gardiner did have a written document giving him guardianship of Elizabeth and had provided for her for most of the last decade. Her father's lack of involvement in her life should prevent him from interfering, but he wanted to be certain.
"What do your uncle and aunt say about this letter?" Darcy asked after they had been silent for several more minutes.
"I believe they will agree with your suggestion of moving the date forward. My uncle wanted to reply w stating his refusal to send me since Mr. Bennet had given up that right, but I think your solution will be better. This way, if I must face my father, I will do so with you at my side. As my husband, you will have the right to speak for me, and my father cannot demand that you return me. The settlement has been signed, and all the legalities have been arranged."
Darcy nodded. "They have been generous in giving us so much time to talk privately. Should we call them in so we can share our plans?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "Kiss me," she whispered. "Remind me that you love me."
He could not deny her request. He stood, pulling her along with him, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Hers immediately went around his neck, and her fingers toyed with his hair at his nape. For several moments, they merely stared into each other's eyes. "I love you, Elizabeth. I will always love you, and I will not allow anyone to separate us," he whispered, then lowered his lips to hers.
Lightning seemed to shoot through them both, and the kiss lasted several minutes. Their tongues tangled as they desperately sought to taste the other. They had never kissed like this before, and it felt … wonderful. Finally, panting and breathless, they broke apart. Darcy rested his forehead on Elizabeth's as he sought to catch his breath. "I am glad we will not wait, my darling girl. Monday, it seems, cannot come soon enough. Come, let us find your relations before I embarrass myself or thoroughly ruin you."
"Mmm," was all Elizabeth could manage. "Yes, Monday seems quite far away."
He laughed lightly, dropping a kiss on her nose before separating from her more fully. "I … I need a moment, my darling. Can … will you go find your aunt and uncle and ask them to come here? Slowly?"
Elizabeth's eyes dropped to his waist and slightly below. Her cheeks coloured when she saw the distension in his breeches. She and her aunt had discussed such things before, and Elizabeth knew in general terms what to expect from the marital bed. On occasion, she had felt this … hardness … against her belly when they kissed, but this was the first time she had seen evidence of it. Instead of frightening her, it only made her look more forward to their wedding and all that would follow.
Darcy caught her gaze as she stood transfixed. "Elizabeth," he groaned, "you must go. Staring at it like that, with that look in your eye, does not help it go away." He nearly laughed as he watched the flush, which had started to fade, begin to deepen at once. He noted that it encompassed not only her cheeks but also her chest and decolletage. That image did not help his condition in the least. "Go, Elizabeth," he commanded.
With a giggle, she flashed him an impertinent smile and hastily departed the room.