If you love misunderstandings and resolution for our dear couple, this chapters is for you.
XOXOXO Elizabeth Ann West
Chapter 6 - A Spring Sentiment, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
The strength and duration of Madeline Gardiner’s hugs made Elizabeth and Kitty Bennet blush. Her home bereft of the cheer the young women brought to its walls had been of too long an endurance, and the girls’ aunt held no qualms about showing how much she desired their company.
“How was the journey? I’m certain you are positively worn out, even if Mr. Darcy’s carriage is well-sprung.”
Elizabeth and Kitty shared a look. The frazzled fussing made both girls raise an eyebrow and giggle. Their aunt convincingly mimicked their mother only during a certain condition.
“We are well. Mr. Darcy made sure we stopped at many inns along the way to stretch and rest. I think the trip was longer by two hours on account of his particular care!” Elizabeth related to her aunt.
“All the same, there is water on boil so you each may take a bath. Dinner will be served in just a few hours if you wish to go upstairs and rest. Kitty will stay in the smaller room, and Mary will move over to room with you, Elizabeth. We expect her any moment now from Matlock House.”
As Elizabeth began to take the stairs, she paused and looked back down at her aunt. “Mary wasn’t visiting at Darcy House with Miss Darcy?”
Aunt Gardiner shook her head. “Both girls were collected by Lady Matlock and have been enjoying the last few weeks with her.” Placing her hands together, Madeline Gardiner made her way back towards the kitchen, mumbling giddily to herself that tonight her girls would all be together again.
Kitty and Elizabeth both paused on the landing before separating to their individual rooms. Elizabeth noticed Kitty’s hesitation and gave her younger sister a warm smile.
“It shall always be this way for me, won’t it? Shuffled back and forth to relatives until I marry.” Kitty said.
“I know it’s difficult. But only the first time,” Elizabeth replied.
Kitty took a deep breath and opened the door to her room. Charming green curtains hung on the small window of the far wall. A single bed and bureau furnished the room. “Back in Meryton, I could pretend this was all just temporary.”
“He would be very proud of you, Kitty. You’ve matured and grown. I’m sorry he was not—not so considerate of you and Lydia when he was here,” Elizabeth said softly, wincing as she admitted her late father’s faults. She turned quickly into the room she would now share with Mary, leaving Kitty to settle in on her own. Elizabeth curled up on the familiar bed she had slept in for every visit to London since she was fourteen. The fatigue from her stress and travels weighed heavily on her body. After a few salty tears slid down her cheeks, Elizabeth closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Her slumber didn’t last long, for less than an hour later, Mary Bennet opened the door to their shared bedroom, and Elizabeth popped up from the bed with the fatigue of her recent tears making her eyes sting. She rubbed them and yawned.
“Forgive me; I wasn’t made aware you were sleeping,” Mary offered. Elizabeth immediately noticed something different in the way her sister carried herself. There wasn’t Mary the Mouse in front of her looking down at her feet as she apologized, but a confident young woman with a sincere look of concern on her face.
Elizabeth rose from the bed and greeted Mary with a warm hug.
“Was it so very awful?” the younger Bennet sister asked.
Elizabeth walked over to the looking glass and used the cool water in the basin to refresh her face. She shivered at the temperature and dried her cheeks with the towel. “You cannot possibly fathom! From disastrous dinners to Mama trying to make William spend more money at every turn, I was constantly appalled at our family’s behavior! Were we so awful before?”
Mary gave Elizabeth a twisted smile. “So it’s William, now?”
Both sisters enjoyed a giggle. “Yes, when we are in private, we call each other by our Christian names. I admit that for some time, that’s what I’ve called him in my thoughts.”
The door opened to their room, and a more familiar version of the lively Kitty appeared. “There’s an officer downstairs! A large, tall man with the most handsome brown eyes! He’s to dine with us!” She left the door, then reappeared briefly. “And Mr. Darcy is here!”
Elizabeth furrowed her brow, then smiled. “It must be Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mr. Darcy’s cousin.” Elizabeth walked past Mary to follow Kitty out of the room but didn’t miss the flushed color spreading from her younger sister’s cheeks and down her neck. Elizabeth made a mental note to acquaint Mary with her and Jane’s midnight chats tonight to get to the bottom of what all her visit at Matlock House entailed.
Chapter 6 (cont'd) - A Spring Sentiment, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
Dinner in the Gardiner home was far more pleasant than any Darcy and Elizabeth had enjoyed in Hertfordshire. Darcy didn’t just bring his cousin, but also his younger sister, Georgiana, and she and Kitty were getting on famously down at the end of the table closest to Mrs. Gardiner. Elizabeth felt hopeful to see the two young women converse with such high spirits. Across from her, she kept a watchful eye on Mary, sitting next to the colonel, and couldn’t help sharing a slightly amused look with her uncle as she noticed Mary blush again. With a small smile, Elizabeth turned her attention back to her plate and took another bite of candied carrots.
“Are you very fond of carrots?” Mr. Darcy interrupted her thoughts with his direct question.
Elizabeth compared her plate where her carrots were nearly gone and Mr. Darcy’s plate that held no trace of carrots ever being there. “They are a particular favorite of mine. But you appear not to enjoy them, sir?”
“Indeed, I find myself much more pleased to leave the orange roots for those they are intended for.” He paused for a moment and then shared the answer with her as if he were releasing state secrets. “Rabbits.”
Elizabeth couldn’t resist a good tease and turned her face to her fiancé. She scrunched her nose up and down in a most impressive imitation of a bunny. “We heartily thank you, sir.”
Darcy laughed, and the novelty of the sound made the colonel and Mary stop their conversation to look at the couple across from them.
“I say, Darce, heaven shines on a man whose wife can make him laugh.”
“Hear, hear!” Mr. Gardiner answered and raised his glass in a toast.
Darcy wiped his mouth with his napkin to try to hide his continued jubilation. He reflected that in the future, he should be very mindful not to take a drink or mouthful of food when he was baiting the future Mrs. Darcy.
“Thank you, Colonel. But I assure you, it wasn’t my intention to only make Mr. Darcy laugh, but also not take offense at his calling me a rabbit.”
“Darcy! Surely not! From what I hear, Miss Elizabeth is a most ferocious knight, able to slay dragons!”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but it was her sister Kitty who jumped in to take the colonel’s bait. “What dragon? Lizzie doesn’t slay dragons. That’s absurd!”
“Au contraire, Miss Kitty, I heard a report that she bested my Aunt Catherine, and if ever there were a dragon, it is she.” The whole table erupted in laughter as all present had been privy to some version of the truth that caused Darcy and Elizabeth to quit Hertfordshire finally. “I believe my mother plans to erect a statue to you in her garden: Elizabeth the Brave with a foot on Catherine the Coward.”
“Richard, that’s taking it a bit too far,” Darcy responded.
“I apologize, Colonel, but I fear that I side with Mr. Darcy. I am not proud of my actions towards your aunt, and I would hate to be the cause of a rift in the family.” Elizabeth found her hunger had simply slipped away as she felt reminded of the potential consequences of her actions.
The colonel waved his hand. “If I have offended, then I apologize, but I think you will find that more people in London are apt to shake your hand, Miss Elizabeth than chastise you over standing up to Lady Catherine for the second time. Remind me to never get on your bad side, eh?”
“Being on my good side or bad side is entirely up to you, sir.” Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and flicked her eyes to her sister Mary and back again.
“Ho, ho! I concede, Elizabeth the Brave; this soldier will be on his best behavior.”
Darcy frowned, not enjoying the familiarity of conversation passing between his cousin and Elizabeth. He cleared his throat and addressed Mr. Gardiner. “I brought a box of cigars from my private collection if you would like to partake?”
Mrs. Gardiner acknowledged that dinner was over and began to rise from the table, causing the three men to also rise. “Ladies, shall we retire to the drawing room? I think we have certain plans to discuss,” she said as she made sure to lightly brush her husband’s hand as she walked by Mr. Gardiner standing proudly at the head of the table. The Bennet sisters and Georgiana stood and followed the older woman’s lead, with Georgiana making sure to smile and nod to her brother as a sign that she was quite comfortable.
WHAT A DEAL!
A kiss at the Netherfield Ball . . .
Three Dates with Mr. Darcy is a bundle of: An exclusive story, Much to Conceal, a novella that imagines what if Elizabeth confessed to Jane in London that Mr. Darcy proposed in Kent?
A Winter Wrong, the first novella in the Seasons of Serendipity series that imagines what if Mr. Bennet died at the very beginning of Pride and Prejudice?
By Consequence of Marriage, the first novel in the Moralities of Marriage series that wonders what if Mr. Darcy never saved his sister Georgiana from Wickham’s clutches?
Elizabeth Ann West’s Pride and Prejudice variations have enthralled more than 100,000 readers in over 90 countries! A proud member of the Jane Austen Fan Fiction community since the mid-2000s, she hopes you will join her in being happily Darcy addicted!
Chapter 6(cont'd) - A Spring Sentiment, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
“Alright, gentlemen, since you are providing the smoke, I shall provide the cognac.”
Mr. Gardiner pulled down his waistcoat that continually bothered him when he sat or stood and escorted the two young men to his study. Darcy paused for a moment upon entering the room, his eyes settled on the window seat where he had finally managed to win Elizabeth’s heart with a game of chess.
“Don’t look now, but we’ve lost the love-sick Darcy again, I’m afraid.” The colonel continued to hold out the glass to his cousin as he had done so for a few moments. Darcy shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, taking the proffered glass and finding a seat closest to the door.
“Ah, leave be, Colonel. It is said those who tease loudest are likely to suffer a similar affliction all too soon themselves.”
Richard shifted his weight uncomfortably from foot to foot and moved to inspect a great naval battle depicted on the far wall of the Gardiner study. “Were you a Navy man, Mr. Gardiner?” Richard asked, noting the amazing detail of the two warships firing upon one another.
“Sadly, no. But I always wished to be! Unfortunately, I’m horrifically land-legged. Couldn’t even stomach a proper boat rowing with Madeline back when we were courting.”
“Does Miss Elizabeth enjoy the water?” Darcy asked.
“I think that might best be a question for you to ask of her, a nice neutral subject for a sitting room under observation of others.” Mr. Gardiner touched his nose with his forefinger.
“Yeah, Darce, what the devil made you come back to London so early? A good country ramble with your intended seems far too great an inducement to rush back to the prying harpies of society. It couldn’t have been that bad, could it?”
“Ugh, the vulgarities of Mrs. Bennet are beyond what you can imagine, Cousin. Forgive me, Mr. Gardiner; she is your sister.”
“No, no, Son, you’re perfectly free to share your burdens here. I’m much acquainted with both of my sisters and hold no delusions where their manners are concerned.”
Darcy nodded and continued his tales of absurdity and outright fleecing between the behavior of Caroline Bingley and Mrs. Bennet. It wasn’t long before all three men in the study were howling with laughter.
In the drawing room, the ladies were of a decidedly different bent. As Kitty was asked to pour the tea in her first official practice of London living, Mrs. Gardiner started the conversation about the upcoming plans to visit her home county of Derbyshire.
“It is such a lovely place, with rolling hills and stunning pastures. There is a particular shade of green that I confess I miss with all my heart.” Mrs. Gardiner reminisced and carefully stirred her tea. She tried to keep her emotions under good regulation, but a wave of homesickness flooded her heightened senses, and her eyes began to mist over. Not wishing to make the girls uncomfortable, she looked up at the ceiling for a moment and then back down with a warm smile back in place.
“I am so happy to hear we share a home county! Our home is my favorite place in all of England. Just wait until we can walk the gardens, Elizabeth, and I can’t wait to see you plan your roses,” Georgiana exclaimed.
Elizabeth coughed on her tea but steadied herself. “Pardon me, but my roses?”
Georgiana nodded most enthusiastically. “Yes, all of the Mistresses of Pemberley plan their rose gardens. I spend more time in my mother’s, but I do also like Great-Grandmother Darcy’s circular path of increasingly deeper shades of pink.”
“There is more than one rose garden at your home?” Kitty asked.
Georgiana looked at the three Bennet sisters and realized she had committed a faux pas. She hadn’t meant to emphasize the difference in their stations, and her brother had warned her of just that very thing.
Mrs. Gardiner patted Elizabeth’s hand and offered her a warm smile. “How foolish of us to make all of these plans for your Easter trip! Dash over to your uncle’s study, and see if the gentlemen are finished with their smoke, would you, dear?”
Elizabeth agreed silently and placed her teacup and saucer on the table to her left.
She calmly exited the room, but her mind was racing. Was she expected to plan a garden? A garden that would stand as a testament to her abilities for generations to come? Just how much responsibility had she taken on without proper consideration? The expanse of Pemberley grew by epic proportions in her mind as she considered just how large an estate must be to have multiple rose gardens. As she neared the door, she took a few moments to gather her wits when she could hear Mr. Darcy’s voice loudly from inside.
“And she wanted a second silver serving set just to be prepared should the Earl and Countess come to call, and the first one is tarnished! I tell you, if we hadn’t escaped, I might have just told the woman she could live at Pemberley to stop all of the shopping excursions!”
Elizabeth’s cheeks burned as she could hear her uncle and Richard laugh along with her fiancé at the silliness of her mother. Incensed, her loyalty immediately flew to her family. Elizabeth felt very indignant that Mr. Darcy had no right, no right whatsoever, to make fun of her mother. Didn’t he realize that as a daughter of a solicitor, a visit from his aunt and uncle would very likely be the highlight of her life as a widow? How could he be so cruel?
Biting her lip, Elizabeth set her features to channel the serenity of her older sister, Jane, as she knocked on the door. With no response, she knocked once more, more purposely, and her small knuckles finally made a pert, hollow sound the men inside could hear. The laughter immediately stopped, and the door swung open to show her uncle’s perspiring and ruddy face.
“Aunt wished for me to see if you gentlemen would care to join us as we are discussing the upcoming trip to Matlock.” Elizabeth curtsied and turned on her heel without waiting for a response.
“Oh, dear.” Mr. Gardiner said, and he quickly turned around to look at the man he largely considered to be his future son-in-law, if not in name, then at least in spirit. “I do believe we are about to enter the lion’s den, my lads.”
“I’d say we should all guard our loins, but I think only Darcy here needs to take that advice.”
“The cavalry man being cavalier, how novel,” Darcy spouted, dryly. In actuality, his heart thumped wildly against his chest, and his stomach felt unsettled. How much of his unburdening had Elizabeth heard? His palms slick with cold sweat, he downed the last of his drink and exited the room as a man ready to face the music.
Instinct told him to take a detour to the sitting room by way of the dining room. Handsomely rewarded, Elizabeth stood on the opposite side of the room with her back to him. He cleared his throat but she didn’t turn.
“I believe I owe you an apology. What you heard—”
“Was not your honest opinion? Was not true? Pray tell me, which is it?” She stood as a statue for a moment awaiting his response. Behind her, Mr. Darcy simply opened and closed his mouth a few times, confounded with finding the right words to say.
She turned around with angry tears poised to fall. Darcy felt stricken, and as she looked at his face, pale with concern, she blinked her eyes a few times and the deluge released. Within moments of closing her eyes to try to stem the flow of tears, she felt once again the comfort of being in his arms.
“Elizabeth, sweet Elizabeth,” he whispered. Registering his voice, she shoved him away.
“No, sir! You are not permitted to embrace me and make me forget my feelings.”
“I make you forget your anger when I hold you?” he asked, trying to diminish her distress with distraction.
“That is not the salient point, sir. What I meant is you may not come walking into this room—”
“This room in particular? I had no idea I was banned from the dining room.” Darcy sniffed as he looked around, pretending to be offended.
“Again, you are twisting my words!”
“I’ve learned from the best, my little rabbit.” And in a rare show of flirtation, Fitzwilliam Reginald George Darcy wrinkled his nose up and down, and his Elizabeth laughed. After a few moments of listening to her tinkling laughter and resisting the temptation to whisk her off her adorable feet, Darcy remained patient. “I am most truly and humbly sorry.”
Elizabeth sighed and wrapped her arms around her intended to embrace him for once. Her hands could barely meet around the back of his coat, and taking a deep breath, she slightly squeezed. The feeling was still a shock to Darcy. He froze, unsure of what advances she would welcome from him. Eventually, he relaxed and embraced her back with gentle pressure. All too soon, she pulled away.
“Just because you have not heard the worst of my words about your aunt, does not mean I did not utter them. We both have relations that . . .”
“That we would wish to banish to the Colonies?”
Elizabeth shook her head.
“Not invite to dinner?”
Biting her lip, Elizabeth nodded. Catching Mr. Darcy’s eyes, she released her grim expression and couldn’t help but smile at the dashing man before her.
Lifting her hand and pressing his lips against the back of it, he gave her a smile that showed off his dimples. “Madam, if we can endeavor to resolve our differences in such a manner once we are married, then I prognosticate a truly happy union, indeed.”
Elizabeth’s heart fluttered at his mention of their future married state as she allowed him to escort her back to the sitting room for further discussion of their trip.
A small voice continued to complain in the back of her mind with certainty that she could never live up to the expectations of being Mrs. Darcy of Pemberley. These whispers nagged her from the dark corners of her insecurity. But for a night, she made an effort to banish those thoughts for another time and resolved to end at least one dinner party with Mr. Darcy on a happy note.
You’ve been reading A Spring Sentiment
A Spring Sentiment, Book 2 of the Seasons of Serendipity
a Pride and Prejudice novella variation series
Release Date: September 24, 2014
33,000 words, ~162 pages in print.
After losing her father in autumn and falling in love with Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet quickly feels the frustrations of settling her newly widowed mother and making her debut in London society. Tackling adventures in three counties, the Bennet sisters find new paths opening up before them. A mistake by one sister places the whole family at risk and it takes the full Bennet family strength and friends they can rely on to help Darcy and Elizabeth march down that wedding aisle!
A Spring Sentiment is the second book in a series planned to chronicle 4 years of the Darcy-Bennet-Fitzwilliam families. Death, marriage, changing fortunes, and politics test Jane Austen’s wonderful characters in an alternate universe where the girls have not the protection of their father.
“Elizabeth Ann West keeps writing winners. She has a gift, She can transport you to another time” – Debbie Oelke, Amazon.com 5-star review on A Spring Sentiment
+ 23 additional Pride & Prejudice variations are available at these fine retailers . . .
A Jane-of-all-trades, mistress to none! Elizabeth Ann West is the author of 8 novels and 11 novellas, 18 of which are story variations of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.
So nice to see Richard and Mary are developing a relationship and that Darcy and Elizabeth can tease and makeup after the ridiculing of Mrs. Bennett . It’s so true that you may critisise your family but it hurts when outsiders do. Love the banter between them. Would love to see your stories on a big screen. ..
Luv this family adjustment between Elizabeth and Darcy.
I’m happy they are back in London. It’s a good thing they both have embarrassing relatives to make fun of or to avoid.