A Life Apart: A Darcy and Elizabeth Pride and Prejudice Variation Read online

  Darcy’s name had not been mentioned, but he knew that as soon as the Bennet family rejoined society, his own name would be made public.

  He frowned, the Bingley family would then appear in London, the ladies would be curious and impertinent. He dreaded it. London would know he was involved and the Darcy name would get talked about at the highest levels.

  His uncle would call, drop heavily into a chair, puff furiously on his pipe and call him foolish.

  Darcy had never been so happy to reach the Heath. He pushed away all thoughts and set the horse to gallop along the deserted paths.

  He rode slowly home on the tired horse. He’d missed his lunch, but his appetite had not been good for many days now.

  He handed the reins to his groom and climbed the steps to Darcy House. His butler took his hat, gloves and stick.

  “Thank you, Mr. Jones.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Darcy.” The butler bowed. “A gentleman called to see you, I told him you were out and he said he would wait. He has been here some time.” Jones handed him a visiting card.

  Darcy’s throat tightened as he read the card.

  Mr. Thomas Bennet

  Longbourn, Herts.

  It had come back. The nightmare was not going to end.

  Chapter 9

  He stood for some minutes, trying to take in the reality of what had happened. All the good his ride had done him had been undone in that moment.

  He shook his head. “Very well. Show Mr. Bennet into the library.” He strode through to wait.

  He turned away from the fire when he heard the door open.

  “Mr. Bennet, sir.” The butler showed in his guest and withdrew, closing the great door silently behind him.

  Darcy bowed. “I am sorry you have had to wait, Mr. Bennet. I was not expecting your call.”

  Miss Bennet’s father was not much changed from the previous week. He bowed.

  “Thank you for seeing me so soon after returning home, Mr. Darcy.”

  Darcy nodded at him. He did not think this was going to be a pleasant meeting, he did not offer a chair.

  There were a few moments where both men remained silent. If he did not ask the reason for his call, maybe, somehow, this nightmare would yet be averted.

  Mr. Bennet sighed. “I am sure you know the reason for my call, Mr. Darcy. And I am sure it is as unpleasant for you as it is for me.”

  Darcy kept his face impassive as he gazed at the man. He doubted very much that the other was as troubled as he was.

  “I am here about my daughter Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy. I must demand that you behave honourably and make an offer of marriage to her.” He looked hopefully at the leather chair beside the fire. “As I said to you at Longbourn, I know from what Lizzy said that you behaved honourably when you assisted her in the woods that day. I thank you for that.” He turned to face Darcy.

  “But society has judged you. Lizzy is ruined. I am demanding that you are again honourable and make her an offer.”

  He smiled sadly. “She is a good girl and she will make a dutiful and loyal wife.”

  Darcy turned to the decanter and glasses. “Whisky?”

  The man certainly had courage — now. But if he had stood up to his wife and prevented her spreading rumours, had put aside the gossip and been a more active member of the town, all this might have been avoided.

  He turned and gave him the glass, and leaned against the mantel. “Mr. Bennet, I don’t know what Miss Bennet told you of our meeting in your home. But I have already made her an offer. She refused me, and I cannot do more.” He took a gulp of his drink. “I am relieved of my obligation by her refusal.”

  Bennet shook his head. “Lizzy told me you had made her an offer.” He met his Darcy’s eyes. “I respect your honourable behaviour then. But you offered too soon for her to have understood the enormity of her situation. I have had to send her away. There is no position she can take to earn a living because of her ruin. She cannot remain with these relations long.”

  He bent a stern gaze on his host, made slightly comical by Darcy’s superior height.

  “I must demand that you renew your offer to her, Mr. Darcy. The townspeople are saying that the whole family will share in her ruin and I have four other daughters unmarried. I have a duty to them.”

  Darcy turned away. His nightmares had returned in daylight and his future had gone dark again.

  He shrugged. “Your daughter is a strong-minded young lady. She will refuse me again. I see no benefit in causing her any further distress.”

  He heard his visitor sigh. “Mr. Darcy, Lizzy has already lost everything. The whole town has shunned her, including those she counted as her intimate friends. Her mother has disowned her, her sisters are ruined, and she is miserable and unhappy.”

  Mr. Bennet joined him by the fire. “I am sorry it has come to this, but your duty to her is absolute. You must renew your offer. I will ensure she accepts.”

  Darcy gazed down at him. He could see no way out. It was not Miss Bennet’s fault, but it was not his, either, and he was bitterly resentful.

  “You must, you know.” Mr. Bennet’s voice had changed. It sounded softer, more understanding. “The sooner it is settled, the sooner you can rebuild your life. I know about having to do that.” He turned away and Darcy’s eyebrows went up. What mistake had Bennet made?

  He remembered the coarse shriek of Mrs. Bennet at Longbourn. If Bennet had erred, he had certainly paid for it.

  He sighed, he didn’t consider he had made an error that needed this to be his penance.

  “She is staying with my brother-in-law and his wife in London. Here is the direction.” Bennet pushed a card into Darcy’s hand.

  “I am staying at my club because I did not want Lizzy to know what I was about. But I will go there tomorrow morning early and ensure she understands the gravity of her situation.” He turned and picked up his hat and gloves. “You may call in the afternoon and do your duty by her.” He went to the door.

  “Please could you arrange for a cab to be called?”

  Darcy turned towards him with an effort. The air was poison to him. His fate was sealed.

  He rang the bell and ordered the carriage to be readied.

  “Thank you, Mr. Darcy. I will wait in the hall.” Bennet bowed and took his leave.

  For the first time ever, Darcy neglected his duties as host and did not see Bennet out, leaving that to his butler. He shut the library door and sank into the chair, remembering the mood in which he had sat there that morning. He had known something was wrong even then.

  Chapter 10

  Elizabeth brushed her hair in front of the glass in the bedchamber she had often shared with Jane in happier times.

  But now, it was a prison to her. The only people who had been happy to see her were the children, but they had soon realised that something was wrong and crept around quietly.

  Another day. She sighed, and turned to dress. The joy and happiness she had always had when she was here were no more. Aunt Gardiner was kind, as she always had been, but she was cool and had made it obvious that she was disappointed that Elizabeth had refused Mr. Darcy’s offer.

  Elizabeth’s lips twitched. Aunt Gardiner hadn’t previously heard the name Mr. Darcy, and when she had finally heard it she had been horrified all over again.

  “Mr. Darcy! Mr. Darcy!” She had paced the room in agitation. “Lizzy, my dear! You should not have refused him! He is the master of Pemberley! It is an enormous estate in Derbyshire and he has a large fortune.”

  Elizabeth had tossed her head. “It doesn’t make it any more right that I should take advantage of his gentlemanly behaviour, Aunt.”

  And she still thought that, she told herself rebelliously. She stood beside the window in her chamber, not looking forward to going downstairs to breakfast and the feeling of disapproval from her aunt and uncle.

  Wistfully, she remembered happier times, and wondered if they would ever return for her.

  There was a knock on the door
and Grace, the upstairs maid, looked timidly in.

  “Excuse me, Miss Bennet, but Mrs. Gardiner hopes you will join them downstairs.”

  Elizabeth was surprised. They’d not called her early before. “Thank you, Grace. Is there a reason I should know about?”

  The maid bobbed. “Mr. Bennet has called, Miss Bennet.”

  Papa! An unreasonable hope filled Elizabeth. He had come and everything would be better.

  She compressed her lips and scowled at her reflection in the glass. She was grown-up now. Parents could not solve everything, it was only small children who thought they could.

  “Thank you, Grace. Please tell my aunt I will join her shortly.”

  She turned back to the window. Papa must have come to London to see Mr. Darcy. She wished she would be allowed to go too. She must go downstairs and persuade him not to go. She knew society had judged her unfairly and she would pay the price now. But she did not believe she should make him pay the price as well.

  She took a deep breath and smoothed down her gown. As she went down the two flights of stairs, she wondered that her father had arrived so early in the day. He must have started from Longbourn before dawn.

  She went quietly into the breakfast room and curtsied at her father and aunt and uncle. Her father acknowledged her.

  “Good morning, Lizzy.”

  “Good morning, Papa. You must have begun your journey very early to have arrived for breakfast.” She tried to smile, to pretend everything was all right, even while she knew that it was far from that.

  He glanced at her. “I have been staying in London, Lizzy; at my club. This has been a great trouble to everyone.”

  She felt herself flush at his rebuke. Had he forgotten how much he had once cared for her? How he had once told her to marry for love and to make sure her chosen partner in life was one with whom there was mutual respect?

  She sat down silently. There was nothing to say. Of course he had been staying in London. Doubtless her mother was full of her nerves and dramas about Mr. Bennet’s failure to make amends for Lizzy’s ruin.

  She took a cup of tea, but had no appetite for anything else.

  Her aunt’s look was sympathetic, but she knew she was expected to comply with whatever decision had been made.

  After a few moments, when it was obvious no one was going to eat anything more, Aunt Gardiner rose.

  “I think we should all repair to the drawing room. We can speak plainly then.”

  As she followed her father, Elizabeth wondered how she could make him understand her views, that Mr. Darcy should not be made to suffer for being so gentlemanly as to have come to her rescue.

  But she had no opportunity to talk. Her father at once began pacing around the room. “All right, Lizzy. This matter has gone on long enough. I called on Mr. Darcy yesterday …”

  She gasped, and he stopped pacing and looked at her. He frowned.

  “Yes. I called on him yesterday. He will be calling on you later today.” He bent a stern look at her. “You are to accept his offer, Lizzy. There is nothing else for it. Nothing!”

  She stared at him, wondering if the darkening of her vision presaged a faint. She clenched her jaw, she would not faint! She took some deep breaths, wondering what to say.

  Aunt Gardiner came and sat beside her. She took one of Elizabeth’s hands in her own. “Dear Lizzy. No one is blaming you that this has happened. But you know what society expects of you and you must comply. You know that, don’t you?”

  Her voice was gentle enough to make Elizabeth want to weep. But it was too late, she’d heard her aunt’s condemnation of her earlier refusal. She turned to her. “Even if I must be punished, why must Mr. Darcy suffer as well?”

  Her aunt smiled, and tucked an errant curl back behind Elizabeth’s ear.

  “Because it will mean that Jane — and Mary, Kitty and Lydia will not be punished for what happened, Lizzy. They are your family, surely you care about what happens to them?”

  Elizabeth shrugged and looked down. “But you want me to marry Mr. Darcy. He would then be my family and I would owe my loyalty to him, having punished him. How can that make either of us happy?”

  Aunt Gardiner patted her hand and her voice became sharper. “Lizzy, listen to me. At that level of society, people do not marry for love. Marriages are arranged for expediency and family convenience. It is perfectly possible to marry someone you have barely met before and make a successful marriage. And that is what you must do.” She squeezed Elizabeth’s hand again.

  “You are a lively and generous soul, Lizzy. I expect you to make him a good wife and have a successful marriage. He is wealthy and can provide well for you and the rest of the family.”

  Elizabeth stared at her. If she did have to marry Mr. Darcy, her family would soon find out they had no claim on her — or him — ever again!

  Her aunt smiled. “You have to accept him, Lizzy. Your father is right. I’m sorry, but that is the way of the world and the sooner you accept it, the better.”

  Chapter 11

  It was time. With a heavy heart, Darcy climbed into his coach to drive to Cheapside. Cheapside! What was he getting into?

  He turned to the coachman. “Go down St James’ and take me along by the river.”

  “Yes, sir.” The man lifted the step and closed the door before climbing up beside the driver.

  Darcy heard the crack of the whip and the coach jerked forward.

  He wondered what Georgiana was thinking. She had been distressed at his mood this morning, but he’d been unable to bring himself to tell her what was happening. Richard had been good enough to call in and Darcy had taken him to one side and suggested that he might take Georgiana to stay at Matlock House for a few days.

  “I can’t tell you what it is about, Richard. But I will be back in London before the end of next week and will call you both back and explain then.”

  His cousin had given him a long, thoughtful look. “Would you not feel better if you could talk about the matter, Darcy? You have not been yourself for some time. Georgiana is very anxious about you.”

  “Thank you, no. I would most certainly like to talk to you about it, but my lips are sealed at present. I will tell you as soon as I am back in London.”

  “So why do you wish us to go to Matlock House, then? We could stay here, if you are out of London?” Richard was clearly puzzled.

  Darcy sighed and turned away. “I am not at liberty to explain, Richard. I am sorry. I only ask that you stay close to Georgiana and ensure her protection.”

  His cousin frowned. “Is she in any danger?”

  “No. Not physically, at least.” Darcy glanced at him. “But I will be easier in my mind if I know she is safe with you.”

  Richard clapped him on the shoulder. “I can at least relieve you of that worry, Darcy. But remember I am here when you are able to talk.”

  Darcy had nodded and glanced at the clock. It was time.

  He stared moodily out at the wide, grey river as he drove east. The most damnable thing about it all was that he could feel no particular animosity towards Miss Bennet. None of this was of her making, in fact he could see that she had made every effort to avoid ensnaring him in her troubles.

  But her family? He could feel no goodwill towards them at all. He scowled at the turgid flowing waters. He was prepared to bet that his wealth had made them more determined to force a marriage with him than if he had been an impecunious local youth.

  He was there much sooner than he’d wished to be.

  “Wait for me,” he growled to the coachman, and turned towards the house. He saw the movement of a curtain and wondered if it was Miss Bennet or the aunt watching for him.

  He gave his hat and gloves to the butler, and presented his card. Then, while he waited, he looked around him disinterestedly. If the uncle was the brother of Mrs. Bennet, he’d been prepared to see a home of similar chaos to Longbourn. But this seemed at least, to be a calm and orderly household.

  The butler
returned and bowed him through to the drawing room, where he was greeted by an elegant lady.

  Miss Bennet sat quietly and demurely after she had curtsied in return to his bow. It seemed very unlike the determined young lady he remembered from Hertfordshire, and his lips tightened. The family pressure must have been enormous.

  After a few pleasantries, he decided not to waste time. He turned to Mrs. Gardiner.

  “I would like a few words with Miss Bennet, if you please.”

  Mrs. Gardiner blushed, muttered a few words and made her escape with alacrity. Miss Bennet sat quietly, but as the door shut behind her aunt, she looked up, resignation in her expression.

  “I have to say that I am sorry to see you here today, Mr. Darcy. I expect it is not a call which you would wish to be making.”

  He smiled thinly. “You are correct, Miss Bennet. But I believe you know why I am here.”

  She nodded. “Would you care to sit down, Mr. Darcy? My father called this morning and told me he had been to see you. I had asked him not to, and I apologise most sincerely for not being able to prevent this.”

  Darcy nodded, but did not take a seat. He could not comfort her, he was too angry for that. Even though his anger was not against her, she was the embodiment of her family and he was unable to separate her from his own predicament.

  “Yes. I am here to renew my offer of marriage to preserve your honour, Miss Bennet. Your father tells me I was premature to have accepted your earlier refusal.”

  She nodded, her head bent. “Yes, sir. I have been told that I must accept. I have nowhere else to go, no way of making my own way in life.” She sounded sad and resigned.

  “Very well. I shall obtain a special licence.” Darcy hesitated. “You do accept? You will not refuse during the service?”

  She looked up at him. “I will not. I do not see that I have any choice in the matter. But I do want to say again that I am so very sorry that my family has forced you into this.”