This story will be members only after this Chapter because it is a straight sequel and mature. If you did not care for “If Mr. Darcy Dared,” you will not care for this story.
XOXOXO Elizabeth Ann West
Chapter 1 - Mr. Darcy's Twelfth Night, a Pride and Prejudice Sequel Romance Novella
The happiest moment in Mrs. Bennet’s life saw her eldest two daughters married by special license in the parlor of Netherfield Park. The second happiest moment might have been the morning three days after Christmas when Mr. and Mrs. Darcy became fixed on quitting the county. Holding the distinction of three daughters married, all within one year, placed an indisputable feather in Mrs. Bennet’s cap. She boasted of the achievement throughout the holiday visits and feasts shared in the small hamlet surrounding Meryton.
Small amounts of gossip swirled around the first daughter’s nuptials, both for being the youngest of Mrs. Bennet’s daughters and the circumstances of the union lacking much detail. The Longs, Lucases, and other prominent families of the area held vague memories of Lydia’s husband, Lieutenant Wickham. But few knew of debts he ran up before the regiment left the area. Rumor that there had been an engagement prior to Lydia leaving in the care of Colonel Forster’s wife combatted discourse about an unsanctioned elopement. In fact, most discussions of Lydia’s nuptials were halted in the households of Meryton and the surrounding countryside. Few mothers knew the details, and absolutely no fathers could pinpoint a direct consequence to use Lydia Bennet as a cautionary tale.
To further assist stymying any threat to the reputation of the Bennet name, nearly all in Meryton acted fascinated by the wealth and grandeur of the two grooms for the oldest daughters, Jane and Elizabeth. The only problem for Mrs. Bennet derived from her wish to bestow the greatest glory upon her eldest and favorite child, Jane, who married Mr. Bingley. Since Mr. Darcy, who married her least favorite daughter, Elizabeth, earned more than double the yearly income of his friend, Mr. Bingley, the neighborhood likewise favored the richer man.
For the two sisters, Jane and Elizabeth, parting so soon after their double wedding hurt in a bittersweet manner. Over three weeks they enjoyed a near-daily companionship, under the one roof of Netherfield Park, when they were not otherwise occupied with their new husbands. The two couples that might have taken a wedding trip together fashioned a wedding-visit, where night after night they fostered calm dinners, played relaxing card games, or danced. Their only disruption was the endless barrage of social invitations and local dinners, orchestrated by Mrs. Bennet, that a daily call from the brides’ mother occurred most mornings before eleven.
The affable Mr. Bingley accepted his new neighbors and their foibles in stride. His friend, Mr. Darcy, found personal questions about his family’s home and holdings not only intrusive, but unsettling. And since their marriage, Mr. Darcy had come to enjoy his wife’s blushes only when he was the cause of such a display, not a bombastically rude squire too deep into his cups.
NEW RELEASE
For the Love of a Bennet
What if Elizabeth Bennet traveled with Lydia to Brighton?
A reimagining of Jane Austen’s most beloved tale, Pride & Prejudice, join author Elizabeth Ann West as she writes the romantic adventure story she always wanted! When Lizzy and Lydia arrive in Brighton, it’s very clear that the younger Bennet sister came with very serious plans towards Mr. Wickham. Thankfully, an old ally is also in town, with problems of his own to solve. After Mr. Darcy, himself, is summoned to Brighton to hopefully solve two dilemmas with one wealthy member of the gentry, the whole militia is thrown into an uproar by Wickham’s most dastardly deed, yet. Together, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy have to save Lydia from her own undoing, or it will mean more than just mere reputations are ruined.
For the Love of a Bennet is a novel length story, currently being posted chapter by chapter on Elizabeth’s author site. This story was originally conceptualized in 2019 as a part of the All Go to Brighton challenge.
Chapter 1 - Mr. Darcy's Twelfth Night, a Pride and Prejudice Sequel Romance Novella
His wife’s blushes since their wedding night were precisely on Mr. Darcy’s mind one morning as he gently brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.
“Mrs. Darcy . . . Mrs. Darcy,” the mellow tones of her husband’s voice taunted Elizabeth’s ear. With a quick flash of his teeth, Mr. Darcy nipped her ear lobe playfully just as she let out a moan. “It is time to rise and see to our travels.”
Elizabeth groaned.
“No,” she protested, not opening her eyes. She reached up to lift the pillow that had found its way against the headboard sometime in the night. Unceremoniously, she flipped the billowy bed linen squarely across her face. “Not yet, it’s too early.”
Mr. Darcy laughed. “Where is my wife who told me so many times she was an early riser to walk and greet the sun?”
Elizabeth lifted the corner of the pillow slightly so she could speak. “She did not have such a tiresome bedfellow interrupting her sleep.”
“Oh ho, I am tiresome, am I?” he asked as he nudged his form against his wife’s side, demonstrating his ardor for her did not merely exist in the nocturnal hours.
“Delightfully tiresome,” she expressed, reaching down to caress an area that brought him much joy, jerking her hand away as she felt cloth. “You have played unfairly, sir, you’re already dressed! But you could easily become undressed?” Mrs. Darcy proposed, lifting the pillow fully and offering him a flirtatious wink. She batted her eyes to adjust to the light as her husband chuckled.
“Indeed, Mrs. Darcy, I could, but then the water for your bath shall turn cold.”
Elizabeth accepted her husband’s assistance to sit up in the bed that had been their home since their marriage. A temporary home, as they trespassed upon the kindness and hospitality of the Bingelys since their double wedding. Apart from her new status as the happiest wife in the kingdom, a title she could fairly share with her sister Jane, being a perpetual houseguest wore on her nerves as well as her husband’s. Jane, now Mrs. Bingley, ruled her domicile. For Elizabeth, the longer they waited to go to London, and then on to Pemberley, the greater such a task grew in her mind, increasing her fears of inadequacy.
“I suppose we could wait until we arrive at your townhome in London,” she compromised, a slight pout to her lower lip.
“Our townhome,” he corrected. Mr. Darcy cleared his throat and adjusted his own position in the bed before rising entirely. He nodded to his wife, but then placed both of his hands on either side of her, trapping her beneath him. He bent down to give her a kiss upon the cheek. Then he took the opportunity to whisper in her ear.
“Don’t forget, Madam, we are riding in the carriage alone for the first time as well.”
Almost as though it were clockwork, Elizabeth’s new maid, Gale, knocked to enter the room. Mr. Darcy bade her to enter as he took leave of his wife. Elizabeth smiled as she watched her husband’s backside from her vantage point on the bed. Then she allowed her maid to assist with her toilette.
Although she felt torn between two hearts, one dedicated to Jane and her Bennet family, and the other devoted to her husband, the stronger emotions she felt for her Fitzwilliam were slowly taking the lead. Elizabeth sunk into the warm tub and closed her eyes as pitcher after pitcher of water cascaded down her hair. She thought of her favorite sister and their talk the night before.
For years, the two had shared a bed, and Elizabeth joined Jane in her suite as was her due before their husbands came to them from the study. In practically a whispered vow, as solemn as the ones they gave in church, they promised to travel faithfully for visits to one another. As neither would lack the ability or funds to do so, such a promise hinged on each of them keeping the other close in their thoughts.
Mr. Bingley had renewed the lease on Netherfield Park for another nine months to the next Michaelmas. But both Elizabeth and her husband strongly predicted that by summer, the Bingleys would likely trespass on their generosity at Pemberley in hopes of finding their own estate to own outright. At least, that was Elizabeth’s greatest and selfish hope.
“Look up please, ma’am,” Gale asked, as the maid’s hands worked a rich lather through Elizabeth’s locks and Mrs. Darcy inhaled the sweet scent of lavender. As her maid finished washing her hair and rinsing out the soap, Elizabeth tucked her knees up to her chest.
The worst part of bathing was that it washed her husband’s scent clean away. His musk of sandalwood and lemongrass had become her favorite smell in the world. And though he promised marital bliss in the half day’s carriage ride to London, her logic could reason that the practicalities of such relations would not satisfy her desire to feel marked by their union.
Elizabeth’s preoccupation with her new marital status forced her maid, Gale, to repeat her requests of her new lady a few times before Elizabeth Darcy was properly attired. Adorned in a deep plum velvet traveling gown with a silver trimmed Turkish wrap lined in mink’s fur, Elizabeth spun in front of the mirror for the full effect. The gown had been part of a shipment that came from London when her measurements were sent for her trousseau.
One difficulty of the double wedding had been her mother’s insistence on Jane’s precedence. Jane not only needed a new gown for the ceremony, but also a full wedding trousseau. Elizabeth had not minded marrying in the only new gown available to be made in addition to Jane’s trousseau. Mrs. Bennet demanded a great deal from the lone mantua maker in Meryton, even using the occasion for a new gown for herself.
Perhaps if Jane or Elizabeth had been capable of feeling jealousy for one another, one or the other might have fallen out with the family. As it were, only Mrs. Bennet felt the sting of her precious Jane being usurped after all when Mr. Darcy arranged an entire wardrobe being sent from London for his new wife. The man held great experience where it came to ladies clothes, being the primary custodian of his 15-year-old sister, Georgiana. A few of the new gowns were slightly off in the hem length, but Gale had made quick work of any necessary adjustments.
To Elizabeth, the new wardrobe represented the first tangible change, as she received it prior to her wedding, which registered how radical her transformation would be in becoming Fitzwilliam’s wife.
“I believe I’m ready,” Elizabeth said, pausing one last time to gaze at herself in the mirror. Three weeks passed and she was a Bennet no more. If she had only known the joys of being Mr. Darcy’s wife, she might have accepted him last April despite her objections for her sister and Mr. Wickham!
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Mr. Darcy’s Twelfth Night
a Pride and Prejudice Sequel Romance Novella
Release Date: early May 2020
stand alone, mature novella
December 1812
After their double wedding with the Bingleys, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are on their way to London for the festive season. A social debut with the help of the Matlocks is the last desire of Mr. Darcy’s heart; he just wants time alone with his wife! As Elizabeth Darcy’s insecurities threaten her future happiness, she takes the advice of her aunt. The Darcys attend a Twelfth Night Ball neither of them will ever forget!
This is a mature glimpse into the married lives of our favorite dear couple. If you liked “If Mr. Darcy Dared,” this book is for you. If you prefer Elizabeth Ann West’s sweet and wholesome variations, skip this one.
+ 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.