I found this one-shot as I was going through an old notebook, I am not entirely sure when I wrote it but by other notes, I would guess around 2013.

I wrote this with the 2005 movie adaptation in mind, and as always, all the characters belong to Jane Austen and not me!

The Letter

Part One

Fitzwilliam Darcy was at a loss, he found himself in a situation unlike any other in his short twenty-seven years. He had been encouraged to be proud of his heritage and his name. He was raised to be of the same standard of his peers; taught that there were obligations that he must keep and laws of propriety to abide to. He was expected to behave in a manner that befit a gentleman that belonged to the house of Darcy.

He was educated at the finest of schools and was adept at many skills; but the one trait that he was not exemplary at, was relating to people he did not know. At best, he was shy and at worst, he was distrustful. He considered neither a character flaw, as circumstances had trained him to be so, but now, both character traits had led him to his current predicament.

As he paced his room at Rosings, he could not help but remember the utter rejection he had experienced from Elizabeth Bennett. Over and over, it played in his mind, her cutting words, her look of disdain.

Anger rose in him, 'Who did she think she was? Did she not know what she had tossed away?'

He laughed bitterly at the realization that the one time he fell in love, it would be with someone so wholly unimpressed with him.

His mood threatened to shift from anger to sadness and he would not have it! He refused to be pathetic and inwardly cringed to think that he might have already appeared that way to her at their last encounter. He knew he must put it behind him, she had given her answer, and he would accept it.

Still, he felt much maligned and knowing that he would never have another opportunity to explain himself, and more importantly, explain why she needed to separate herself from George Wickham, he set forth to write her a letter. Normally, he was quite proficient at correspondence, but this took more attempts than he would care to admit. Finally, when he was satisfied that it was straightforward and with as little emotion as possible, all that was needed was a proper salutation and his signature. As he fully expected that these would be the last words, he would ever express to her; on this or any other subject, he could not help but experience a bit of melancholy at the finality of such action. He purposed in his heart to learn from this situation and become a better person because of it.

Part two

Elizabeth Bennett had not expected a letter, in truth, had not desired any further communication to pass between she and Mr. Darcy, if truth be told. But just as she had accepted his request to dance at the Netherfield ball, she found herself accepting his correspondence. In some small way, she was grateful that he had handed it to her, himself, as she would not have wanted anyone else in the household to have seen it. 'If Mr. Collin's had taken it, there was no telling who might have read it!' she thought ruefully.

As it was, when she herself opened it, she was still reeling from the harsh words spoken between both she and Mr. Darcy. She recalled the conversation that had begun with words of affection from him and escalated with words of accusation from her. So it was with trepidation that she began to read his letter. Her relief was palpable at his not expressing the sentiments which he had spoken of the day before. When she got to the paragraph that mentioned her sister's name and Mr. Bingley, she found her anger growing once again and she put the letter down, refusing to read further. But from time to time, she would glance over at it, until finally, after some inward fighting, she took it up again and read it to its end.

His explanation of history with Mr. Wickham slowly seeped into her train of thought, at first, she doubted its authenticity, but then she remembered George's mercenary tendencies towards Miss King, and all began to fall into place.

Elizabeth's thoughts also began to center on Mr. Wickham's actions when they had first made their acquaintance. He had laid all the blame on Mr. Darcy, yet if he had truly been innocent, why had he stayed away from the Ball? And why had he been so forthright with subjects that were none of her business, were those the actions of a gentleman? Then, a more unwelcome thought crept into her mind, one that told her she had been far too interested in the account that brought the man from Derbyshire down a peg or two.

She shuddered as she read of Wickham's attempt to whisk Georgianna away into what would have been a disastrous marriage and felt a spark of sympathy for Mr. Darcy, who had worked only to protect his fifteen-year-old sister.

In Lizzy's mind, however, it did not excuse him for all he had done to Jane and Mr. Bingley, and it did not make up for berating her family to her face, but it did explain his actions and she appreciated his honesty.

Lizzy was not sure what his purpose had been in writing the letter, short of throwing it in her face of how wrong she had been about befriending George—if that had been his purpose, it had the desired effect. Lizzy was mortified that she had not only trusted this man but took part in his negative portrayal of Mr. Darcy. Her own behavior in this matter so shocked her that she took to her bed and refused food and drink for a time. Lizzy was not so much grieving the loss of who she thought Mr. Wickham to be as she was the realization that she was not the great judge of character she fancied herself to be. She knew that this experience had changed her, and she hoped, for the better.

The End