The storyline, new character development, new events, and new characters are my intellectual property. Glorioux

Mr. Darcy's Folly and Sharp Teeth.

Stephen, who was 21, liked Kitty. He was considering visiting her later. However, he also liked Georgiana, who called him a baby, irking him. Nonetheless, he was almost sure Georgiana would be his choice for a wife; he had thought so since he saw her last Yuletide. Though he heard she liked someone who was 30 or so, he could not find out who the gentleman was. His valet said there were rumors that the gentleman was a rake and a fortune hunter, and there might be a scandal. But nothing else was forthcoming. Stephen wanted to find out who the man was and would have a word or two with him and more; he could care less about Polite Society's scandals.

Tobias said his goodbyes. He told Mary he would return as soon as possible and hoped they could walk and talk then. He said he might bring his sisters since he was concerned, considering a fever had taken his parents the year before. He also explained his father was much older than his mom, so his mother's passing was unexpected. Mary agreed, saying it would be better if they came with him, and she would love to meet them.

Tobias made up his mind; she was perfect: a little shy, smart, very pretty, well-mannered, and not pretentious. He had liked Miss Elisabeth, but she would not stop talking about William, and he wanted someone who did not want someone else. He made a perfect choice. He would bring her a ring; if something happened to him, Mary would be a good mother and a delectable wife. He had waited for a wife and was ready for one. Her plump lips looked delicious. Hopefully, he would taste them before long. Kissing he had done, but he did not want diseases, and his father told him the best way not to get them was to wait till you were married. He told him that waiting had not killed anyone, but diseases had. His cousins were like him. So many called them Cold Fishes, but they did not care.

Albert asked Jane if he could visit later. He would get his carriage and would be back within a few days. They had an aunt, his mother's sister, who lived near Meryton, and he would prefer to stay there, away from the Bingley. Thirty-year-old Albert Hurst knew he had found the one he had searched for long, so he was beyond happy. He was glad that Miss Bingley had ignored him, lucky him. As for Jane, she had forgotten about Mr. Bingley. Albert's looks appealed to her; even better, Miss Bingley was not his sister. She was sure she could love him with time.

The Foiled Dog-Rescue

Mt. Darcy was fuming and blaming Lizzie for his dog's escape. He would get his alleged stolen dog back. He kept mumbling, sounding like a madman, until he fell asleep. It was near teatime when he arrived. Luckily, he did not see when the Hurst carriages passed them since he was sleeping when they went by.

At Longbourn, he jumped out of the carriage, walking with long strides, nearly running. Mr. Bennet had heard a carriage and went outside to greet whoever was there. He would bet that it was Mr. Darcy, though it was early.

Darcy had decided that if Jasmine were there, he would take her and leave immediately; this was not a social call. Why not, he thought? Yes, I will tell Miss Elizabeth what I think about her trying to steal my dog.

Mr. Bennet greeted him and at once related the extraordinary story, laughing. He said Jasmine might be naughty, but she was the cleverest dog ever.

Mr. Darcy nodded, not one bit friendly. Mr. Bennet, who did not expect otherwise, tried to distract him, "Mr. Darcy, my second brother, knew your father. We all enjoyed his delightful story about your father's proposal."

He could not finish because Lizzie, who also heard the carriage and recognized it when she looked out her window, decided to pick up Jasmine and wait at the door. "Jasmine, missy, Mr. Darcy is here to take you home. Let's go and wait for your daddy." The second she said Mr. Darcy, Jasmine went under the wardrobe. Jasmine wanted to stay with Lizzie, not to go away, and could hear a carriage that sounded familiar.

Lizzie saw her going under the wardrobe, got a pillow, to lie on the ground, trying to get the disobedient, willful dog. "You are being a bad dog, come here right this minute missy." No, her command did not work, so Lizzie stuck her arm under the wardrobe to pull Jasmine out.

After her failed attempt, she was fuming, put a salve, bandaged her hand, and went to the drawing room. When Lizzie saw Mr. Darcy, she smiled brightly. Her heart raced, thinking nobody look like him, though he looked angry, and she wondered why.

Unfortunately, he lost his temper after she explained that Jasmine was under a wardrobe. "I see, I think you." He was about to say she was a thief. Luckily, he felt a painful pinch and tried to grab the hand, looking as if he were out of his mind. Though he saw that nobody was close to him, the hand felt like his grandmother's, with all her rings. It was not the first time he felt such a pinch, so he said, "Hmm, I will get Jasmine myself. I do not." He was going to say he did not believe her. Predictably, again, he got another pinch, harder this time.

He started to cuss, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he got a small wack on his bum. He rolled his eyes and obeyed. He used to think it was crazy, but he wasn't. He remembered, his father told him that occasionally his mother's ghost would also pinch him, or wack him, softly, often to save him from embarrassment or worse. "When she was dying, she said she would be our guardian angel. A guardian angel does not pinch, but it is her way to keep us out of trouble. Though I have not seen her."

He needed to backtrack and be nicer; he thought so looking at Miss Elizabeth's pursed lips. Goodness, he did not want to hurt her. He still liked her, but his temper was as bad as his father and his uncle's; it ran in the family. He was thinking about what to do when he remembered Mr. Bennet's words and decided to ask about his father.

He could see that Miss Elizabeth had a temper, so he grimaced when she said, "You do Do not believe me, do you? I see. Well, you are welcome to try." She shrugged. "Miss Jasmine already let me know what she thinks. She will bite you if you stick your hand under the wardrobe. Nevertheless, try, and you will have a bandage like mine. She bit me, not hard, though she suspected I wanted to bring her to you. I would like to see if you fare better." Her smile was not friendly, he would say wicked.

Her father grinned, knowing her fiery temper. She was controlling herself, he thought looking at her crossed arms. He also saw she was tapping her foot.

Mrs. Bennet came to see who was there and heard Lizzie. She wanted her daughter to control her temper, though she found Mr. Darcy rude.

Darcy could sense he was in hot water, "Mr. Bennet, I would like to hear the story about my father if you accompany me."

Mr. Bennet had sensed Lizzie and Mr. Darcy liked one another, more than like, but Mr. Darcy was no longer faring well. "Yes, let go. My brother said your father had drunk too much because he was upset with someone or about something. The Fitzwilliam sisters were visiting wherever they were at. Your father loved the younger sister. But that night, your drunk father proposed to the older sister, who told him that she needed to think about it since it was most unexpected, and she should talk to her sister first. The next morning, her brother Richard told your father that he had proposed to his older sister, Lady Catherine, and his other sister was crying brokenhearted. Your father was quite ill that morning not only from drinking, but because of how much he disliked Lady Catherine. Richard helped, but the oldest sister was sore at him and all his friends for a long time because they could not stop laughing."

Darcy laughed, "No wonder she disliked my father." He looked open and friendly when he laughed, Mr. Bennet thought. Darcy, who could not wait to tell his cousins, said, "I believe it; I think my cousins will enjoy the story."

"My brother said the oldest sister did not attend the wedding. Everyone knew she wanted the Darcy fortune and was mad she was not the bride." Mr. Bennet told Darcy, who was a lot nicer. So, he did not mention the disagreeable Mr. Collins who worked for Lady Catherine.

"In confidence, she still wants the Darcy Fortune. She tries to match me to her daughter." Darcy made such a horrible face of disgust making Mr. Bennet smile.

"Yes, I can imagine it. Please call me Thomas. I am not that old. We married when we were 18; I will be 43 years old in a week. In case you are wondering, my brothers are several years my senior; one is six years older, and the other is close to 15 years older."

This cleared the air some. And Darcy understood why Aunt Catherine hated her father and wanted Pemberley. Nevertheless, he was still a little suspicious, mostly because he did not like to be wrong.

Matching Bandages

He felt odd when he went into Lizzie's room with her father. The room was full of books, reams of paper, and a mound of papers with numbers, and he guessed recipes. Her room smelled quite nice and was lovely, like her. The savage, his new name for Tobias, did not deserve her; she might be too good for him. He felt extremely odd. When he saw her dressing gown folded over her bed, he wanted to touch and smell it. He shook his head, feeling drunk and heard Lizzie from faraway.

"Mr. Darcy, hello. Look there, Jasmine is under there," Lizzie pointed at a tall wardrobe in a corner and he saw a pillow on the ground. He thought Miss Elizabeth had used it to lie on the floor.

Mr. Darcy called his dog, "Jasmine come out, right now, and let's go." He ordered her, which Jasmine answered with a bark and a growl, not liking his tone.

Mr. Bennet smiled, wanting to see what would happen. "Maybe offer her a piece of chicken?" He suggested, doubting the dog would come out.

Mary heard her father and ran to get chicken.

"No need, she will come out. She is willful like her grandmother, but she loves me. At least I think she does." He sighed and kneeled, then sat on his calves and bent to look. All he could see were her bright eyes and heard a nasty bark and a snarl. By now the entire Bennet family was in Lizzie's room, wanting to see what would happen.

Lizzie shook her head and covered her eyes, not wanting to see what was coming after he lay on the floor. When he stuck his arm under the wardrobe to pull Jasmine out, her sisters did the same, not wanting to see what would happen next. They were right, a second later, he screamed and cursed, "Damn, bloody girl!" He was so mad and in pain, he did not apologize. But he would later regret it, thinking he had behaved poorly.

He pulled out his hand, bleeding a good bit. Jasmine bit him hard when he grabbed her paw, a little rough. Now, the willful pup was barking like a wild dog.

Mr. Bennet tried not to guffaw. He looked at his wife, who, covered her mouth, about to laugh, both had seen it coming. Their daughters were horrified, commiserating with him, saying oh, no, and poor Mr. Darcy. Lydia and Mary ran with with their mother, and Jane found a clean rag.

Not wanting to sound like a baby, Mr. Darcy said, "It is but a scratch," no it was not, and it hurt like the dickens.

Lizzie said, righteously, "Maybe, you will believe me now." She looked at him, tightening her lips. Though seeing he was obviously in pain, she felt rotten for feeling vindicated after Jasmine bit him, a lot harder than she bit her.

A blushing Mr. Darcy was ashamed and mad at someone, but not sure at whom. It was clear that Jasmine wanted to stay, and he was not going to let her; it would break his heart. However, there was the matter he had wrongly accused Miss Elizabeth. Now, he was unsure what to do since he did not want to hurt Jasmine, which would happen by using force to pull her out. Jasmine was not a big dog, and he loved her. It was clear that he would need to apologize to Miss Elizabeth, because he had behaved worse than Miss Bingley.

Mary brought a chicken leg, and Mrs. Bennet came with a salve to put on the bite. Mary and Lydia stood by her side to help. They also had warm water. Mrs. Bennet cleaned the wound with warm water, then with a liquid that smelled like sage and something else. Finally, she applied a salve with a clean cotton rag and bandaged it. Darcy would not deny it, he was enjoying all the attention, their kind words, and the tender care. It was pleasant to be around the family; they were well-mannered, friendly, and good-looking. Mrs. Bennett was very pretty like her daughters, and the father was also handsome, explaining the beautiful daughters.

Mr. Bennet also left and came back with a glass of brandy, but the smell made Darcy sick. He paled when he smelled the brandy. Mr. Bennet said, "Ah yes, I heard," he grinned and added, "though I also heard you delivered a magnificent speech; I wish I had been there."

Lizzie giggled and nodded, and Mr. Bennet laughed, Darcy had to smile, it was true.

"Yes, I remember. But I had brandy courage. Miss Bingley is, err, nasty. I think, I risked my life when I told her that orange, her favorite color, was not for her, hence, I had wondered if she had not noticed she was a ginger." He chuckled, "She deserved it for being nasty to Miss Elizabeth." He thought about it and would later tell them about the ongoing betting game. They might want to play a variation.

Mrs. Bennet brought him a glass of Sherry, he sipped it, only a little, calming his nerves. Yes, he liked the attention.

Lydia and Kitty kept whispering about Mr. Darcy's good looks; they were boy-crazy, no doubt; Jane heard them and rolled her eyes.

Lizzie sat on the floor, and Mr. Darcy's heart stopped. Goodness, she is a beauty. Right now, she looks like a young girl, so lovely.

"Come sweet girl; I have chicken," Lizzie coaxed Jasmine gently, half-laying on her side with an elbow over the pillow and placed the chicken leg just outside the wardrobe. They heard a woof, but nothing more.

Mr. Darcy tried not to think how pretty Miss Elizabeth was, nevertheless, he thought, sitting on the floor, she looks like a young girl, how sweet. She is natural, lacking artifice and the polite society's affected veneer. What did the crown's assassin say? Ah, he said that she was a rare find, but I would say she is a jewel, a rare gem, and one of the Hurst will get her; of course, they get all the jewels. His mind was reeling with conflicting thoughts, angry the Hursts were getting someone like Lizzie, which was silly because he had not yet seen he had an advantage. His grandmother shook her head, thinking her grandson was hopeless, worse than her son. She hoped Jasmine would not come out too soon. In a way, Jasmine was a Cupid with sharp teeth.

A/N Mr. Darcy doesn't know what he wants. Let's see. I guess he won't be drinking brandy any time soon.