You will be very angry with Mr. Darcy. Just keep reading on and keep in mind he is going back and forth between two worlds and not very well…. hopefully he redeems himself by the end.
XOXOXO Elizabeth Ann West
Chapter 10 - A Spring Sentiment, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
Smug satisfaction dissolved to tediousness as George Wickham shuffled up the worn steps to Sally Younge’s boarding house in the wee hours of the morning. Finished with his duties for the day, he was dog tired, wanting nothing more than a hot meal and his bed. Unfortunately, there was Mrs. Younge, tapping her foot, waiting for him in the foyer.
“You’ve lied to me.” Her eyes slanted, she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Those Bennet girls have been back in town for over a week! Where’s the one you fancied? Nab her and be done with it, so Mr. Darcy hastens to pay you off.”
Wickham yawned. “She did not leave her mother. Only the older four are in town.” He smiled slightly as he thought to himself that if he were Lydia, he would have avoided the work as well. The older Bennet girls all left at sunup to hurry to their Uncle’s warehouse and rarely returned until near sunset. He couldn’t see Lydia Bennet being much help in such circumstances unless they desired an orchestra of complaints each day.
“You said this would work. You said if the uncle were injured they would all rush to London.”
Wickham shrugged and tried to walk past her, but Sally Younge slammed her hand to the wood door frame and blocked his way. “These dalliances of yours, they’re pennies compared to the payoff we both deserve. Find a way to fix this, or find another place to stay.” She glared at him menacingly, and the tall, dumb footman she kept near her side seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
With a flash of charm, George smiled and ducked under her arm. “Careful now, there will be none of that. Threats aside, you need me, Sally girl, or you have nothing on old Darcy.” Whistling a bar tune, Wickham also sleazed by the footman back towards the kitchens. He knew it wouldn’t be much longer that he could keep her happy, but as long as she needed him, he would be safe. Once she was tired of this scheme, he had better be long on his way. Sally Younge did not keep many witnesses to her dealings, and he knew too much with too little of her heart attached to him.
* * *
Chapter 10 (cont'd) - A Spring Sentiment, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
The bell above the door rang in the large warehouse on Cordwainer Street. Elizabeth Bennet wiped her sweaty brow, inadvertently swiping a black line of dust across her forehead. With another heave, she moved the crate in front of her to a stack next to her and used a crowbar to pry the lip of the top lid. The tall visitor made his way to her and in the dust-fairy filled grayish sunlight she knew right away that profile was none other than her intended.
“William!” she shouted and grinned as she sashayed around the maze of crates, but stopped just before him as she self-consciously realized she was quite filthy.
“This is where I find you? Aunt Maggie has been beside herself that she has had to make regrets for you at numerous teas and parties you promised to attend.”
Elizabeth lifted the corner of her apron to wipe her hands. “I’ve sent notes to Lady Matlock to send my regrets in advance! I couldn’t possibly sit in a parlor, sipping tea, while my Uncle recovers and there is so much work to be done.”
“Work! You are a gentlewoman! Does not your Uncle hire enough staff to manage his affairs?” Darcy scoffed at the room around him as he finally looked at the tasks where her other sisters were employed. Mrs. Gardiner, very round in her midsection, walked with a board and made notations over each crate the ladies opened, various shop boys ran around opening crates for the ladies and moved them. Only his fiancé was taking it upon herself to work alone. He shook his head. “Forgive me, madam, for taking up so much of your time. My presence here is unwanted and unnecessary.” He bowed and began to walk away.
“William!” Elizabeth cried out, feeling very frustrated that she had protected her family and, in the process, offended her fiancé. She started to walk after him, but his longer gait was too long when he wished it so. By the time she caught up, he was already out the door and stepping back into his carriage. She watched the equipage roll away, slowly feeling her embarrassment turn to anger. If he couldn’t see the good in what she was doing, then perhaps it was best he leave and play the dandy. She had no time for such frivolous men in her life.
The Darcy carriage rolled to a halt in Mayfair and no sooner had Fitzwilliam entered his domicile than the tinkling piano music stopped and his younger sister Georgiana rushed to the foyer. “William, you are back so soon! Could you not find Elizabeth?”
“Oh, I found her! First, I attended the tea Aunt advised me was set for today in her letter. I sat for twenty minutes listening to those old harpies ruminate about the size of my purse and person and then toss slyly derogatory remarks about Elizabeth’s absence. I hastened to the Gardiner home, but she was not there, either. Finally, a stable hand, of all people, tipped me off that all of the Miss Bennets were working in the warehouse from dawn to dusk!” Darcy walked past his sister to his study to pour himself a drink. She followed him.
“But, I don’t understand. You are here. And she is there?”
Darcy knocked back the brandy and wiped his mouth, then straightened his cravat. “Oh, I expressed my displeasure. I am assured she will think twice before resuming these tradesmen duties.” Georgiana slanted her eyes at her brother and huffed out.
“Marlborough!” she shouted, “tell them to bring the carriage back around!”
“Georgiana!” Darcy exclaimed, in shock that his sister would dare to raise her voice in the household. “Where on earth are you off to?” He walked out of the study to see her donning her bonnet and sliding on her gloves.
“Where you ought to be, Brother.”
“But . . . I said . . . you couldn’t possibly be thinking . . .” Darcy squeezed his eyes shut and pinched them with his right fingers. How? How was he cursed with two headstrong women in his life? He felt Georgiana approaching him and opened his eyes.
With her beautiful brown eyes, she pouted with the practice of a young girl accustomed to manipulating the men around her. Her voice, however, dripped with venom. “She needed you. You abandoned her.” She shook her head and walked out the door that the butler now held open.
Exasperated, Darcy picked up his cane and hat from the front table and followed his sister. The entire carriage ride, she refused to speak to him, and Darcy’s mind began to reel at the set down he was about to experience. The more and more he played the facts of the situation in his mind, the more his behavior abhorred him. He had indeed allowed the matrons of society to cloud his judgment so poorly that, in the process, he had hurt the one person he cared for the most.
As the Darcy carriage returned to Cordwainer Street, Georgiana made sure to be handed out of the carriage first, nearly knocking her brother back into his seat. He groaned at the physical message she was sending to him and prepared himself for the worst.
Once inside, the Bennet girls hastened to welcome Georgiana, and as she explained why she had come, Mary wasted no time in finding her closest friend an apron to protect her gown. Darcy stood and watched the miraculous efficiency of the women — the hustle and bustle of the warehouse did not cease for one instant, and any kind command they gave, the shop boys expeditiously carried out. It truly was a marvel, but his more balanced observations were interrupted.
“Lizzie is in the office. I believe you two could use some privacy,” Mrs. Gardiner said, then scurried right past him to help Georgiana with what looked like a crate of cosmetics. He snatched his hat off of his head to hold it in front of him and hesitantly took a few steps towards the office. Inside, Elizabeth was furiously writing. Papers of sums and figures laid scattered on the desk.
“Elizabeth?” She ignored him, so he tried again, approaching the desk this time. “My darling, please forgive me.” She continued to scratch her thoughts, then threw the pen down. Leaning back in the chair, much reminiscent of her uncle, the fierce look on her face took him aback.
“What can I help you with, Mr. Darcy? As you can see, we are quite busy this afternoon.”
At a loss for more to say, he took the seat in front of the desk. “I . . .” He inhaled a deep breath. “I was wrong to chastise you. You, who are so kind and sweet, of course. There was no choice but for you to help the family that took you in, your poor relations in trade.”
She arched her eyebrow. “My poor relations in—”
“What I mean is your relations in trade. They certainly are not poor, but they are not as high in society, of course, but then again . . . .” he stammered and struggled to clarify his thoughts.
“Mr. Darcy, I am confused. Yes, you were wrong, but if you still look down on my Aunt and Uncle Gardiner, then, sir, I am at a loss for what our future could possibly be? These people you so naturally dismiss are paragons of virtue. Good day, sir.” She resumed her scribbling, leaving Mr. Darcy dumbstruck in his seat.
For a few moments, neither said anything until Darcy shook his head. How had the world become so topsy-turvy to him? This was unacceptable. And he would not be the one dismissed! He was a gentleman. As he now saw it, there were gentlewomen who needed his help. He stood and noticed Elizabeth flicked her eyes up for the briefest moment, then resumed her purposeful disregard of his person. He removed his coat, tugged off his cravat and placed them on his chair. Again he noticed she glanced his way while trying to hide her interest. No matter, he thought, and actually began to smile as he rolled up his shirtsleeves.
“Words are rarely the best act of contrition. Direct me, madam, and I shall not fail you a second time.”
Amused, Elizabeth pursed her lips to hide her smile. She tilted her head and motioned towards the door. “Go earn your forgiveness, sir, and you shall have it.”
As her fiancé bowed, Elizabeth held her breath and prayed that the true man she was marrying was the one marching out to assist and not the one who blasted her family with the prejudices of society. Resuming her attention to her sums, she also hoped her aunt would assign him to the spice crates. A little dose of pepper oils would be a suitable punishment. Imaging his nose red and eyes watering, she laughed and returned to adding up the receivables against the master manifest. Her neck ached and her fingers burned, but she was determined that soon they would finish this nasty business of inventory.
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 10(cont'd) - A Spring Sentiment, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
For three days, Georgiana and Darcy assisted in the warehouse, and Darcy had even gone so far as to review the financial documentation with Mr. Gardiner’s head clerk and visit with the sick man himself. Mr. Bingley had called at the Gardiner home, but as he was told the ladies were not available for callers, he had simply shuffled away. It was on the second evening after the inventory was complete that he finally ran into Darcy at their mutual club, though Darcy looked worse for the wear.
“Aye, Darcy, I say, has Harding bested you in fencing again?” Bingley pounced on the open armchair next to his friend.
Darcy shook his head and sipped his drink. With a low voice, he explained why he was so sore and tired from the warehouse work. The look of shock mixed with terror on Bingley’s face froze the conversation for a spell. After a loud crack from the fireplace, Darcy politely asked why Bingley never showed up to help.
“Ah,” Bingley rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, “I called a number of times, but each visit the butler told me the ladies were unavailable for callers. I assumed Mr. Gardiner’s injuries were still of a serious nature.”
Darcy looked flabbergasted at his friend. “Charles, unavailable means the servant is telling you there is something wrong. If he had said they were not accepting calls, that would mean you’ve personally been barred access.”
“Oh.” Bingley looked around the room in an attempt to lessen his embarrassment. “How in blazes was I supposed to know?” Looking into his glass, Bingley shook off his faux pas and chuckled. “At least it saved me from the stink of trade again, eh?”
Darcy shrugged. He would never admit his first error, and Darcy felt surprised at how repulsed he became from Bingley’s careless prejudices though his fortune actually came from trade. Mr. Bingley the elder had been in the wool trade, so it was more than just prejudice, but actual hypocrisy. “Tomorrow I am to escort Miss Elizabeth to Hyde Park on a picnic. Perhaps you’d care to join me to call on Miss Bennet?”
Again Bingley’s face turned a deep shade of red. “Tomorrow? No, I don’t believe, that is . . . Caroline has arranged a luncheon that I really mustn’t miss.”
“She didn’t perchance invite some ladies to this luncheon, did she? Perhaps Miss Graham and Lady Towsend?”
“How did you…? I’ll be dashed you don’t have a secret network of spies.”
“Stand down, Bingley, I have no such thing. Did it not occur to you that your sister would also invite me? I asked Elizabeth if she and Jane were invited, and finding they were not, I properly filed the invitation in my fireplace.”
“Now, Darcy, my sister means well . . .”
“Don’t be deuced, Charles.” Darcy stood and stretched his aching muscles, then motioned to the footman in the room for his personal effects. “You need to stop being such a whelp and make a decision in regards to Miss Bennet. As my future sister-in-law, I take any man who would dally with her affections very seriously. In two weeks there is to be a ball on the eve of my nuptials to Miss Elizabeth. It is the last invitation I will force my aunt to make to both Bingleys, if you catch my drift unless there is a connection that cannot be ignored.”
Darcy bowed and took his leave when his effects arrived and hoped that Elizabeth would be happy with his interference. She was right that this courtship of theirs had tarried on far too long, and it needed to be broken or cemented to help prevent talk of Lydia.
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
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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.
Mr. Bingley is looking to be less and less open minded.