The first Christmas after you lose someone is always the hardest.
XOXO Elizabeth Ann West
Chapter 6 - A Winter Wrong, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
“You poor dears!”
Madeline Gardiner rushed out to greet and hug her nieces as soon as they descended from the carriage. Dressed in somber gray, the three girls wore faces of disbelief as the long journey weighed on each of them. With every mile traveled from her home, Elizabeth’s excitement at a new chapter in her life grew more and more into worry about what the future might bring.
“It was worse than we imagined.” Mr. Gardiner greeted his wife with a peck on the check, before ushering all of the ladies out of the cold and into the warm town home.
Once settled into the parlor with refreshments, the older couple looked at one another, and Mr. Gardiner nodded and cleared his throat.
“We wish to make it perfectly clear now that all of you are welcome to live here with us for as long as you may desire. I fear that none of you were given proper time to grieve the passing of your father.” The three girls exchanged looks of guilt, and Mr. Gardiner frowned at the truth of his words. “Well, may the past be in the past. Robert Bennet was a fine man and father. His loss is profoundly felt, indeed.”
The room was quiet besides the ticking clock on the mantle and the sounds of the nanny helping the Gardiner children to bed above them.
“Perhaps Uncle you could explain the letter I read back at Longbourn? I’m sure my sisters are as perplexed as I am about how efficiently all of the decisions were made?” Elizabeth asked.
Her aunt reached over to squeeze her niece’s hand. “I received your missive about your father’s passing, but Mr. Gardiner was in Scarborough working with a new vendor. I sent him an express, but it took some weeks for him to arrive home and then rush to Longbourn. But I knew . . . ” Madeline Gardiner smiled wistfully at Mr. Bennet’s memory. “I knew all about the arrangements your father made for you girls, and I fretted every night for your safety.”
Jane and Elizabeth exchanged looks. The candle making adventures came to mind, and the girls each shared a smirk. “It was dreadful, aunt, but not dangerous. We were unharmed.” Jane explained.
“I’m so happy to hear it! Here, I’ll let your Uncle explain the scheme, and I will just pop upstairs to check on the children.”
Mr. Gardiner rose when his wife did, then settled into his favorite chair by the fire. His three nieces sat in a row on the sofa across from him, and he marveled for a moment at how aged all of their faces looked. He shook his head.
“This story begins fourteen years ago, Lizzie, when you were but six. Robert feared a son would never come and Fanny was already talking about an advantageous marriage for you, Jane. He came to me, and we immediately visited my solicitor, Mr. Cunningham.”
Holding the girls’ rapt attention, Mr. Gardiner continued his story of how if the accounts were placed in the girls’ names, the heir could claim them as assets of the estate and bleed them dry. So, instead, Mr. Bennet legally spent the excess every quarter by handing it over to his brother-in-law for investment.
“And so, you are not paupers. With two hundred pounds’ interest per annum, you could live comfortably almost anywhere you please.”
Surprising everyone, Mary spoke up first. “Uncle, it is truly good of you to keep these funds for us. Although it is not very Christian of me to say so, I do not think Mr. Collins would have sought our best interests.”
Her words hung in the air as no one argued her sentiment, nor felt a need to heap further criticism on the poor man not present to defend himself. Finally, Mrs. Gardiner reappeared to explain the hasty arrangements.
“We are so sorry, but with only two rooms to spare, we thought perhaps Lizzie and Jane you wouldn’t mind sharing again, and Mary, you would have the smaller room adjacent.”
The girls thanked their aunt for such consideration and assured her it was no trouble at all for them to share rooms. Elizabeth was finally chuckling, though she was a faint shadow of her former lively self.
“Besides, aunt, you’ve managed to give us a small taste of home by keeping our sleeping arrangements the same!”
Before retiring, the girls and their aunt and uncle decided it best for them to remain in mourning until Christmas and to consider half-mourning into the New Year so that they may see all that London has to offer as Parliament came into session.
“It won’t be Longbourn, Lizzie. But I dearly hope eventually you will consider our house to be home.” Uncle Gardiner said, addressing his niece with a solemn expression before she took the stairs to retire for the evening.
Overcome with emotion, Elizabeth caught her Uncle unawares with a fierce hug. “My father was correct to trust you.” She did not add that Mr. Gardiner could have easily kept the money as there was no lawful claim for her sisters to make. “We are all grateful, and I’m sure in time we shall become as close as any family could be, complete with bickering and teasing!”
Uncle Gardiner laughed as the girls retired upstairs and he kissed his wife’s hand as she stood next to him.
“There is much melancholy, but we will soon fix that, Mr. Gardiner.”
“I have no doubts that we will, my dear.”
* * *
Chapter 6 (cont'd) - A Winter Wrong, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
As the Christmas season approached, the Bennet sisters spent most of their days subdued. Mary found solace in her Bible. Jane sat mostly by the window, any window, staring out at the world around them. And Elizabeth began reading one of the books she had saved from Mr. Collin’s book sale, Hamlet.
Reliving afternoons spent with her father acting out passages of the play, her father allowing her to read for Hamlet while he played the ghost, she found herself giggling at the cries for revenge. She had felt as powerless as Hamlet to fight Mr. Collins’ changes, and her own mother had indeed conspired with the new dastardly king of the castle. Suddenly a wave of sadness washed over her as she missed her father’s voice to her very core. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what he would say right now and surprised herself that she could!
How could you assign the part of King Claudius to Collins, Lizzie? The man’s ridiculousness clearly makes him more suited for Rosencrantz or Guildenstern.
Laughing out loud, Elizabeth startled Jane.
“Lizzie?”
“I’m sorry, Jane. I was just thinking what Papa would say if he could hear my opinion on Hamlet.” Elizabeth closed her book and rose from her place on the sofa to join Jane at the window.
“Have you still not heard from Mr. Bingley?”
Jane shook her head. “Not since the note that business would take him north for the week before Christmas.”
Elizabeth patted Jane’s shoulder and looked over to Mary. Suddenly, an idea came upon her. “Why don’t we shop this afternoon for little gifts to give our cousins? I’m sure Peter would never refuse a new toy and Amelia would love a real lady’s fan.” The two youngest Gardiner children were still in small clothes and would need little more than a blanket or rattle.
Mary looked up from her Bible and closed her eyes. Then she opened them and nodded. “Generosity is the least we can show this season of our Savior’s birth. For like Him, we have been taken in by strangers.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. She was happy that Mary was coming along but still found her sister’s piety to be a tad over the top. “They’re not strangers, Mary, but family. If it means you shall come, then I won’t brook disagreement. I’ll speak with Aunt Madeline and see that a footman comes with us.”
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 Winter Wrong, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
As the ladies found a charming little toy shop in Mayfair, they were not the only ones partaking in some last minute shopping. A tall young woman with blonde hair was also shopping, and the Bennet sisters would not have paid her any attention until a familiar voice called out from the back of the shop.
“Really Miss Darcy, you are so kind to select toys personally for children you’ve never met! I would be so uncomfortable! I would much rather send my housekeeper for this chore than try to puzzle it out myself.” Caroline Bingley didn’t add that she also thought she wouldn’t select toys for children she had met, but knew her personal dislike of children would offend her younger friend.
Georgiana Darcy looked at the older woman and opened her mouth and closed it. Timidly, she looked down at the floor until she was saved by a stranger.
“Miss Bingley, how well met to see you!” Elizabeth stepped forward to curtsy and reach her hands out to clasp Caroline’s as if the two women were the best of friends. The unique action of Elizabeth shocked Miss Bingley as her eyes flitted beyond Georgiana to see Jane and Mary Bennet standing nearby.
“Miss Eliza, Miss Jane, and Miss Mary, I had no idea you were in town!” Caroline effused, purposely making sure she did not utter the name Bennet or Elizabeth.
“Didn’t you though? I had thought all of Meryton was abuzz with the news of our flight from Longbourn,” Elizabeth challenged Miss Bingley to answer for her slight.
Caroline shook her head and tried as she might to avoid an introduction. Unfortunately, her next sentence failed that possibility completely. “The day after my brother and Mr. Darcy dined at your home, Mr. Darcy took a fancy to leave for London early, and we happily accepted his invitation.”
Georgiana brightened and looked up at the overwhelming trio of three women she didn’t know, calmer now that she knew her brother had dined with them. From her brother’s letter, these ladies had to be members of the Bennet family he had written of so often.
Georgiana immediately curtsied and took a small bow before giving a shy smile. “Miss Georgiana Darcy if you please, Miss Bennet,” Georgiana offered a haphazard introduction since Miss Bingley had failed to provide one.
Elizabeth was surprised this young woman guessed their last name, but the Bennet sisters responded in kind.
“We are here to select toys for our cherished little cousins. Are you choosing gifts for your cousins as well, Miss Darcy?” Elizabeth tended to Georgiana as Miss Bingley was caught in conversation with Jane. Mary listened carefully to both sets of ladies while looking at all of the dolls available on the shelf.
“Oh, no, I am the youngest of my family’s generation. But Fitzwilliam and I sponsor St. Anne’s Home for Children every year, and I wanted to pick out a few toys to take over to the orphanage this afternoon. I invited Miss Bingley along when she came to call on me this morning.” Georgiana delicately touched a wooden cart in front of her and allowed the vehicle to roll back and forth.
“That’s wonderful! My sisters and I would also make or pick out small gifts for the children of our tenants back home,” Elizabeth said, offering what solidarity she could despite their different upbringings.
Georgiana stammered a moment, then calmed her breath. “You did?” The young girl seemed instantly pleased to receive Elizabeth’s approval.
“Not everyone has held the responsibility of others counting on them for a livelihood.” Elizabeth looked pointedly at Miss Bingley and smiled with faux sympathy. “Now let’s see what we can find for the children, shall we?” she asked Miss Darcy, who happily agreed to browse together.
In the end, over three dozen toys were selected for the children’s home while the Bennet sisters found themselves each buying Christmas gifts for their younger cousins. As the party was due to split, Georgiana looked to Miss Elizabeth and placed a determined look on her face, much like her brother’s expression.
“Miss Elizabeth, would you, Miss Bennet and Miss Mary join me for tea next week after the holiday? I can’t send a card,” Miss Darcy realized as she was not formally out, she lacked a vital tool of the social world, “But I should be happy to write a note and would very much like to start the New Year off with new friends.” Miss Darcy gasped as she realized how very forward she had just been, and cringed when she thought of what her aunt would say of her manners.
Before Elizabeth could respond, she looked to her sisters, giving an extra moment for Miss Bingley to interject.
“How lovely of an idea, Miss Darcy, I would be happy to also attend and help forge your new alliances!”
Jane nodded to Elizabeth and Mary shrugged. Elizabeth turned back to Georgiana and graciously accepted the direction to the Darcy town house. As each woman wished the other a Happy Christmas, Elizabeth felt eager to finally place her feet on the warming bricks in the carriage. The young Miss Darcy was a kind soul she decided, and just because she didn’t particularly care for the brother, didn’t mean she couldn’t give her the benefit of the doubt.
You’ve been reading A Winter Wrong
A Winter Wrong, Book 1 of the Seasons of Serendipity
a Pride and Prejudice novella variation series
Release Date: July 17, 2014
33,000 words, ~177 pages in print.
When Jane Bennet’s illness at Netherfield ends up not being just a trifling cold, but an epidemic that sweeps through Hertfordshire, the lives at Longbourn are turned upside down. Elizabeth Bennet finds herself lost without a cherished loved one and the interferences of one Fitzwilliam Darcy most aggravating. Combating the bombastic behavior of Mr. Collins, Elizabeth runs to London for the protection of her aunt and uncle. But acquaintances and introductions bring Mr. Darcy back into her life and Elizabeth discovers he might just mend her broken heart.
A sweetheart romantic novella, A Winter Wrong is the first in a series of seasonal episodes following the Bennet family after the loss of their patriarch. Winter explores the feelings of grief and loss we all have experienced, while still retaining a silver lining for that dark cloud.
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Hmmm…perhaps the Darcys aren’t all THAT bad. 🙂
XOXO Elizabeth Ann West
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.
A great read
Well you really know how to flatter a girl!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful story here! I am enjoying it immensely!
Woohoo I will always take the cheers of a happy customer! 🙂