WARNING – This is a really, REALLY nasty story in places.

If you are squeamish, I advise caution.

~O~

Elizabeth Bennet was walking down the aisle on her father's arm to meet her fate.

The groom waiting at the altar was not a man she would have chosen.

Mr William Collins, the parson of Hunsford in Kent and heir presumptive to Longbourn was the choice Mrs Bennet was forcing on Elizabeth.

As she was walking towards her intended on her father's arm, she cast her mind back over the last few weeks. She remembered the scene after Mr Collins had proposed and she had rejected his suit, when her mother had taken her aside.

Mrs Bennet berated her, 'You will marry him, Lizzy, do you hear. That way, when your father dies, I will not have to leave my home.'

'But, mama, I do not love Mr Collins. I do not even like him. He has cruel eyes,' Elizabeth had protested.

'Never mind that. All men are cruel in their own ways. And no other man would offer for an overeducated hoyden like you. You should be grateful that I have convinced Mr Collins that you would be a good wife to him.'

'But he is stupid and pompous, and he smells bad.' Even to Elizabeth's own ears she sounded whiney. To reinforce her objection, she added, 'The very thought of him touching me makes me want to cast up my accounts.'

'That happens to all women. Why should you be exempt? Not one more word, you will accept Mr Collins.'

'No, I will not. I will die before I marry that man,' cried Elizabeth. With those words she rushed from the room to beg her father to put a stop to her mother's plans.

Mr Bennet had initially supported Elizabeth, but Mrs Bennet had worn him down and in the end, he agreed that Elizabeth must marry Mr Collins.

From the moment when her fate was decided, until the wedding, Elizabeth was guarded at all times during the day and at night she was locked in her room. At least the footman who was guarding her did not complain when she wanted to rummage around the attic for keepsakes from her childhood to take with her. Elizabeth was grateful when he missed the special dagger she secreted amongst her treasures.

The night before the wedding, Mrs Bennet came to Elizabeth's room to instruct her on her duties as a wife.

When Mrs Bennet finished her discourse, Elizabeth accused, 'You do know that you are condemning me to a fate worse than death. I would rather die than marry that man.'

'Don't be so dramatic. Death is forever while marital relations only last five minutes at the most.' With those encouraging words the matron exited, leaving her daughter to contemplate her future and making plans.

Elizabeth had at least managed to get two concessions from her mother. She was allowed to prepare her wedding dress in privacy, and she was allowed to get dressed on her own, as Elizabeth had no wish to see any of her family before the wedding.

Mr Collins, accompanied by Mrs Bennet and her four daughters had gone to the church to await the arrival of the bride and her father by the time Elizabeth exited her room.

Mr Bennet smirked when he saw the old, rather ill-fitting, grey dress which Elizabeth had trimmed in black and the black ribbons holding her hair. 'You are certainly making a point,' he commented.

'Why should I pretend that I am happy about this wedding.'

'Especially as your mother has invited the whole town to witness her triumph of seeing you married to the heir of Longbourn.'

'Indeed.' Elizabeth sighed and looked at her father with pleading eyes. 'Are you sure that I cannot change your mind?' she begged.

'The marriage articles have been signed. I cannot afford a lawsuit for breach of promise.'

Mr Bennet took her hand and patted it. 'All will be well. You shall see.'

They did not speak further, not even when Mr Bennet walked his favourite daughter down the aisle, looking like she was going to her execution.

When they entered the church, the neighbours gasped or tittered according to their temperament when they saw Elizabeth dressed in mourning clothes.

Mrs Bennet looked furious when she saw her least favourite daughter making a wordless statement about her feelings about the circumstances. But rather than holding up the ceremony or making the situation worse by chiding Elizabeth about her choice of outfit, she held her peace. She was certain that Mr Collins would soon take his wife in hand.

Arriving at the altar, Mr Bennet attempted to place Elizabeht's hand into that of Mr Collins only to have her snatch it back and put it in her pocket, while glaring at both men. Bennet sighed and confined himself to saying, 'Good luck.'

The vicar looked dubious at the happenings, but since both bride and groom stood quietly before him, he started the ceremony.

All went well until the vicar asked Elizabeth, 'Do you Elizabeth Bennet take William Collins to be your legally wedded husband?'

The bride's answer rang out clear and loud, 'NO. I would rather die than marry this man.'

Turning towards her parents, Elizabeth said, 'I said it before, and I say it again. Having to marry Mr Collins is a fate worse than death.'

'Then kill yourself. You are of no use to me unless you marry Mr Collins. At least if you are dead, I do not have to find a husband for you and I can focus on my beautiful girls.'

Elizabeth pulled her hand out of her pocket at last, brandishing a dagger. The blade glinted in the weak sunlight and appeared sharp enough to cut anything.

'Madam, do I understand you correctly. You wish for me to kill myself if I do not marry Mr Collins?'

'That is what I said. If you disobey me, you are no daughter of mine and have no right to live, you ungrateful and disobedient girl.' Mrs Bennet sneered, expecting Elizabeth to be all bluster.

'Very well, madam. Let no one say that I am a disobedient daughter,' Elizabeth declared in a strong, clear voice.

Mrs Bennet smirked. 'I knew you would back down,' she declared with satisfaction.

That satisfied look turned to horror as Elizabeth said simply, 'Goodbye,' and plunged the dagger into her chest, right above her heart, where a red stain appeared and started to spread as her daughter collapsed.

'She killed herself,' wailed Mrs Bennet. 'That ungrateful girl killed herself.'

Before their neighbours had a chance to do more than gasp, they were shocked again as Collins kicked the still form of Elizabeth Bennet in the ribs as he shouted, 'How dare you kill yourself. How dare you deny me the pleasure of teaching you to grovel at my feet, begging for crusts. If you were alive, I would beat you to a pulp.' He turned to Mrs Bennet. 'You promised me a plaything. Since this one is dead, I will have your oldest daughter.'

At those words, pandemonium erupted in the church as Sir William Lucas led a group of angry men towards Collins and dragged him from the church.

They were immediately followed by Lady Lucas and several of her cronies, who were just as angry as the men, but at Mrs Bennet, who would try to force her daughter to marry such a brute of a man, knowing what he would do to Elizabeth. And to top it off, she would demand that Elizabeth should kill herself for refusing to accept a fate worse than death. The ladies were not gentle as they dragged Mrs Bennet from the church, pummelling her and shouting, 'You are not fit to set foot onto consecrated ground. You are a monster.'

As they spilled out of the church, the ladies pushed Mrs Bennet, causing her to fall down the steps to the church and sprawling in the mud and slush.

Meanwhile the men were inflicting significant, but non-fatal damage to Collins.

Eventually, having vented their anger at the now cowering man, they pushed him into the carriage which was supposed to take him and his bride to Hunsford.

Sir William gave him a final warning. 'Never set foot into this area again until the last Bennet is dead. You would be well advised to stay away even then because men like you are not welcome in this town. I shall also write to your bishop to tell him of the sort of man you are. I should not be surprised if he had you defrocked and perhaps even excommunicated.'

As he was stepping back and was about to indicate to the coachman to drive off, Bennet intervened. 'Since my wife promised Collins a plaything, perhaps she should be the one to take Lizzy's place. She is still a handsome woman, and Collins does not even have to marry her. If we are lucky, they will kill each other.'

Mrs Bennet heard that callous comment and scrambled to her feet. 'You cannot do this to me. I am your wife.'

'Lizzy was your daughter, and you were quite happy to force her into that situation. You even encouraged that man. You should also remember that as my wife, you must obey me. I order you to accompany our cousin.'

Mrs Phillips who had always loved her nieces and felt protective towards them, was the first to approach her sister, grabbing her by the arm. 'It seems you are going on a little trip,' she said, as, with the help of other ladies she pushed Mrs Bennet into the coach with Collins.

Closing the door, she shouted, 'Drive off.'

~O~

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If you want a HEA, read on…

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~O~

Everyone had left the church to participate in or watch the spectacle of Collins and Fanny Bennet being run out of town.

The only person left was the vicar who sat on the step to the altar, next to where Elizabeth lay.

Eventually he sighed and said, 'Everyone has gone. You can get up now, Lizzy.'

Elizabeth opened her eyes and carefully raised her head. 'I would rather stay here for a little while longer. That kick hurt.'

The vicar looked concerned. 'Did he break any ribs? Should I send for Mr Jones?'

'What? To treat a corpse?' Elizabeth managed a weak chuckle. 'No, he did not break any ribs since I took the precaution of wearing a vest made of thick and very stiff rawhide under my dress.'

'I thought you looked a bit chubbier than your usual svelte self.' He picked up the dagger and tested the blade which retracted into the hilt, except for about a quarter inch which was stained with red. He murmured, 'Clever.'

As the vicar slowly helped Elizabeth to her feet and passed the dagger to her, she asked, 'Is that how you guessed?'

He led her into the vestry and helped her to a chair. 'No, it is not. I know you, Miss Lizzy. You would never do something so horrendous as committing suicide, especially not in my church. But it was effective in showing everyone what kind of people that Collins chap and your mother are.'

'I hope Sir William and the others do not kill him. I would not want them to get into trouble over such scum.'

'I am certain they will show adequate restraint.'

Their conversation was interrupted by a voice from the doorway. Bennet was saying, 'They did indeed show remarkable restraint. Both Collins and Fanny are mostly in one piece… not counting the odd black eye, split lip and a mass of bruises.'

Bennet grinned at his daughter. 'I must congratulate you on your performance. If I had known what you were planning, I could have saved myself putting all those wedding notices in the papers.'

'You put wedding notices in all the papers? Why.'

'I was hoping to encourage an alternate suitor to carry you off before it was too late. If it had not been for your performance, he would have been too late.'

Bennet stepped aside and allowed a companion to enter the room.

Elizabeth was shocked to see Mr Darcy, but in a state which she had never expected to see. He was dusty from the road, slightly dishevelled and somewhat haggard. The circles under his eyes proclaimed that he had not slept in days.

He gave Bennet a cross look as he said, 'If you had not left it to the last minute to put the notice in the paper, I could have been here earlier. I was at Pemberley. It usually takes a few days for the newspapers to be delivered. By the time I found out about the wedding, I only had two days to get here.'

Elizabeth could not resist asking, 'How far is Pemberley from here?'

'About one hundred and fifty miles and the roads at this time of the year are not ideal for travelling.'

'You made it here in only two days?' She was all astonishment.

He sighed and pushed a tired hand through his hair. 'I almost decided not to come because I was certain to be too late.'

'But you came anyway. Why?'

Elizabeth found the expression in Darcy's eyes indecipherable as he said, 'Because I love you and did not want to see you married to someone else. Certainly not a buffoon like Collins.'

Bennet chuckled at the look of abject confusion, not to say horror on Elizabeth's face.

'You love me? That cannot be. I am not handsome enough to dance with, you always s look at me to find fault and you always argue with me… if you speak to me at all.

When Darcy displayed an almost identical expression of confusion and horror, Bennet could not help but laugh. 'It seems that neither of you has the slightest idea about the other. I suggest we leave quietly through the back door and repair to Longbourn. There you can take all the time you need to sort this out.

Darcy nodded at Bennet. 'I am too tired to argue.'

Elizabeth could not resist a quip. 'That makes a nice change.'

~O~

Elizabeth's sisters were unsure whether to be angry or relieved to discover that Elizabeth was alive. They settled for relieved.

Darcy was horrified when he heard the story of the unsuccessful wedding.

His honest appreciation for Elizabeth's cleverness, even if it was ruthless, did much to improve her opinion of him. Apologies and honest conversations cemented their love.

The absence of Fanny Bennet helped to restrain the youngest girls, allowing Darcy to see the family at its best.

It was not long before he made an offer which Elizabeth did not wish to refuse.

~O~