Author’s Note: ICK! ICK! ICK! Mr. Wickham…. blech.
– Elizabeth Ann West
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Chapter 4 - For the Love of a Bennet a Pride and Prejudice Variation
Below the stairs, Longbourn proved quite busy as not only had the Forsters and Philips arrived but so had a few officers from the regiment. To Elizabeth’s dismay as she and Jane reached the last step, they stood before none other than Mr. Wickham, offering them a dazzling smile. Lydia tugged on his arm before a proper greeting could be exchanged, sparing Elizabeth the need to play falsely.
“Come this way,” she pleaded, “we are playing charades until dinner is announced.” She giggled and Mr. Wickham gave Jane and Elizabeth a small bow before disappearing into the din. As Elizabeth took the last step, her sister, Jane, blocked her.
“I am well,” Elizabeth said, as her agitation with the man had mostly passed. Any agitations of partiality had long left her sensibilities after she had returned from Kent and could view Mr. Wickham’s behavior in a new light. Now, she only struggled to keep her agitation of knowing Mr. Wickham was a complete cad under good regulation.
“Is this why you insisted on going with Lydia?” a voice behind them asked and the two girls turned around to see their Papa. They both expected him to comment on Lydia’s behavior, but instead, the man of two score and five, thought he had seen something else. “I didn’t take you to chase a red coat, Lizzy,” he commented, as he glided past them to make his presence known to their guests.
Elizabeth grew angry and Jane placed a reassuring hand on her forearm.
“You know how Papa loves to tease us for our beaus,” she warned.
“He is not my beau,” Elizabeth said, under her breath, as the laughter and shouts from the drawing-room drifted into the foyer. If Elizabeth knew her mother, she had likely told the kitchens to delay supper. And this gave her an idea. “You go on without me, I will be right there.”
“Lizzy,” Jane warned, thinking her sister’s absence would prove to their father he was correct in his estimation that he had somehow unsettled his favorite daughter.
But Elizabeth dashed off, through the back hall, past the dining room, and into the kitchens. Cook was yelling commands at a poor kitchen maid cutting pastry for one of the later courses and spied Lizzy near the door. She winked at the Bennet daughter that often stole out the back through her kitchens for a daily ramble, snagging any baked goods conveniently left out for her perusal.
“Miss Lizzy,” the Cook addressed the young miss of the household.
“The plans to delay dinner have changed, my mother sent me,” Elizabeth started, and to her satisfaction, she had predicted the evening correctly.
“Changed? I do not know why I tolerate such treatment! You there, boy, move that roast back onto the fire! Hurry girl, stop your tears, the pies won’t cut themselves,” the Cook began yelling at the lowest servants in the household out of frustration. Elizabeth offered the young kitchen maid a look of sympathy when the tear-streaked face met hers as she backed away to the door.
“So how long until the announcement?” Elizabeth asked, gingerly, not wishing to bring the Cook’s ire down upon herself.
“Tell the Missus I shall have the table set before the quarter-hour,” Cook bellowed, as she began tasting things and giving more orders to her staff.
Elizabeth winced as she left the kitchen, feeling slightly guilty that her mother might become very cross when she later learned that Elizabeth had interfered with her carefully planned dinner. But if such a feat spared even twenty minutes in the drawing-room and hastened the end of the evening that much sooner, Elizabeth could spare the consequences. After all, by the time her mother could find time to scold her, Elizabeth would be gone on her way to the Forsters!
When Elizabeth rejoined the drawing-room, she nodded at Jane, who gasped in shock. She had not believed Elizabeth when she had first warned of their mother’s antics to prolong their time with their odious cousin Mr. Collins, specifically Elizabeth’s time with Mr. Collins. But Jane always did see the best in people, and even though she would now believe her sister, she would still not see anything but the best, and not mercenary intentions, in their mother. Sometimes, Elizabeth wished she could be more like Jane and see such positivity in others as she sighed and leaned against the doorway.
Lieutenant Denny noticed Elizabeth standing and gallantly stood up to offer his seat on the sofa, next to Colonel Forster. On the other side of Colonel Forster, Lydia sat cheering Mr. Wickham for his performance of a particular charade that alternated between an enormous beast of unknown origin and a tiny squeaking annoyance. Utterly bored with Mr. Wickham’s presence in the house, Elizabeth guessed it right away.
“Aesop’sThe Lion and the Mouse.”
All activity stopped as Elizabeth had guessed correctly. Awkwardly, Mr. Wickham complimented Elizabeth on her cleverness.
“Bravo, Miss Elizabeth. What a marvelously swift guess. I should expect nothing less from such an intelligent lady as yourself,” he said, bowing.
Lydia stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, blocking her sister from Mr. Wickham’s view.
“You ruined all the fun!” she scolded, then turned around to address the actor himself. “Mr. Wickham, I think you were infinitely more agreeable as a mighty lion,” she said, batting her eyelashes as she sought his attention. Unfortunately, Mr. Wickham was taller and looking beyond her, to read Miss Elizabeth’s face for her reaction to his compliment.
Saving Elizabeth from having to respond, Hill entered the drawing-room to signal to Mrs. Bennet that dinner was ready.
“Are you certain? My, that is so well of Cook,” Mrs. Bennet recovered quickly, fanning herself. She addressed the Forsters. “It must be so difficult to travel as much as you do, living house to house. You never can rely on good help, but we are blessed with a very punctual Cook. I had told her I wanted dinner served not a minute past six, and there, you see the bells are yet to chime,” Mrs. Bennet boasted.
“We’d do quite well to have her proficiency in the Army!” Colonel Forster said, just as the clock began to strike the hour.
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 4 - For the Love of a Bennet, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
The assembled party began to partner off with Mr. Bennet escorting Mrs. Bennet, followed by the Colonel and his wife, the Philipses, and in the absence of Captain Carter, Lieutenant Denny held the prestige of escorting Miss Bennet.
“I believe I am to be your escort,” Lieutenant Wickham gallantly offered his arm to Elizabeth as she rolled her eyes. Mr. Chamberlayne and Mr. Pratt escorted Mary and Kitty, respectively, and Lydia, without an escort, cheekily took Mr. Wickham’s other arm.
“Since we’re both going to Brighton, you shall have to just sit between us Mr. Wickham,” Lydia pronounced as her delaying their entry into the dining room caused those exact seats to be all that were left. Thankfully, Elizabeth would sit next to her father at the head of the table with Mr. Wickham next to her, and her Uncle Philips across from her next to Jane and Lieutenant Denny.
For social evenings, the great hall at Longbourn was refashioned as an elegant dining room, capable of seating twenty comfortably, four and twenty if pressed. The walls were hung with portraits of long-dead Bennets, and the room was lit by two modest chandeliers that more fashionable homes would have updated away from their rustic style. Mrs. Bennet prided herself on a local reputation of putting on a good spread for her guests, and the farewell dinner for two of her daughters and the militia was no exception. The table was set with the family’s finest china and four candelabras separated the long table proportionately so that the room felt well-lit. A roasted duck, stuffed with apples and onions, was the centerpiece of the table, surrounded by platters of fricassee vegetables and game meat.
Elizabeth managed to get through the first course without saying a word to Mr. Wickham. During the second course, highlighting a variety of mince pies and mottled veal in burnt cream, her father brought up how sad he was to lose Elizabeth so soon after her return.
“All of this travel back and forth disturbs my humble living. I think I should never stand it. Lizzy, you have only just unpacked your things that you are filling your trunks once more! Such a nuisance!” Mr. Bennet complained.
“But I understood Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth were late to London, not too far a distance, I don’t think,” Mr. Wickham commented.
“My Jane remained in London, but Lizzy traveled further on, spending three weeks with her cousin in Kent. An estate called Rosings, I believe.” Mr. Bennet watched with greater intrigue as Mr. Wickham choked on his mince pie and Lydia fussed over his person. Once he recovered, Mr. Wickham was not clever enough to realize Mr. Bennet set up conversations only for his own amusement.
“And how did you pass your time at Rosings? Very pleasantly, I hope?” Mr. Wickham asked, despite Lydia’s attempts to speak to him about the gowns she had packed for Brighton.
“Very well, as I was pleased Mr. Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, were in residence visiting their aunt. We dined at Rosings a number of times and I found the company as well as the countryside in Kent well to my liking,” Elizabeth said, to both nettle her father and Mr. Wickham. She had all but lost her appetite but conditioned herself to breathe and remember to be more like Jane.
Her plan worked as Mr. Wickham engaged Lydia for the next topic of conversation, this time about card games they could all play in Brighton that were much the same they had been playing in Aunt Philips’ parlor. Defiantly, Elizabeth served herself a slice of French Pie, flavored with some of the last of the elderberry wine until the new year’s crop was processed, an extravagance put on by her mother. Loading her fork with the sweetly-filled pie brought a sour feeling to her stomach. Her family was not poor so much as mismanaged; Mr. Darcy had been completely correct that her father was complicit in her lower station.
As though he could read her mind that she was thinking about Mr. Darcy, Mr. Wickham brought up the man, again.
“How long did you say that Mr. Darcy was at Rosings?”
Elizabeth gulped. “Nearly three weeks.” She picked up her glass of wine and immediately regretted washing down the sweetness with more sweetness.
“And you saw him frequently?”
Her hand shook, nearly spilling her wine upon the table cloth. “Yes, almost every day.”
At this admission, her father ceased cutting his meat, and looked pointedly at his daughter, but said nothing.
Mr. Wickham, upon spying Mr. Bennet’s behavior, tried to move the conversation away from such an intrusive slant. But he could only come up with a lame observation of the two men not present for the dinner, and one the acquaintance of only himself and Miss Elizabeth. “Mr. Darcy’s manners are very different from his cousin’s.”
Waiting for her father to start a conversation with her Uncle Philips to his left, Elizabeth finally answered low enough that only Mr. Wickham comprehended all of her words.
“Yes, very different. But I think Mr. Darcy improves on acquaintance.”
The entire table turned their attention to her mother and Aunt Philips cackling at the other end of the table with Lieutenant Denny and Colonel Forster. The colonel was closer in age to those two women than his poor, young wife Harriet, who struggled to command the same respect of a married woman being so junior in the position. Colonel Forster lowered his voice and continued to relate more of his story that featured Lieutenant Denny prominently, guessing by the man’s gestures and poor Denny’s blush, but Elizabeth could not quite make out the details.
When at last the servants cleared the dishes of the second course, the dining room became a cacophony of chaos. Desserts, brandy, and tea would be served in the drawing-room after a brief separation of the sexes.
Mr. Wickham patiently waited for Lydia to be engaged in teasing poor Chamberlayne before he tried to ply Lizzy with an earful of poison against Mr. Darcy. Unfortunately, his words came out in a jumbled mess of nonsense, that even if Elizabeth had not recently read Mr. Darcy’s letter itemizing Mr. Wickham’s defects of character, she would not have been persuaded.
“You, who so well know my feelings towards Mr. Darcy, will readily understand how sincerely I must rejoice that he is wise enough to assume even the appearance of what is right. His pride, in that direction, may be of service, if not to himself, to many others, for it must deter him from such foul misconduct as I have suffered by. . .”
Elizabeth ceased paying attention to the man’s pointless jabber about Mr. Darcy, feeling no incentive to pay him even the respect of a guest in her home. She stared directly ahead until Mr. Wickham mentioned Mr. Darcy’s aunt and the match to Miss De Bourgh. The stab of jealousy that panged her heart finally made her look away from Mr. Wickham’s ramblings, directly into the bemused face of her father.
She quickly remembered that Mr. Darcy had proposed to her. If such a match existed she could scarcely believe that Mr. Darcy’s pride and character could ever allow him to jilt such a young innocent as Miss De Bourgh. At this, Elizabeth changed her wince of emotional pain into a minxish smile, a transformation she had not meant for her father to witness.
“Peace, Mr. Wickham, you have monopolized my Lizzy long enough. You shall see her at your leisure, I’m sure, in Brighton, but for now, I must insist upon her company,” Mr. Bennet said, separating the two he had earlier in the evening believed to be a couple crossed in love.
When Mr. Wickham obliged, Elizabeth allowed her father to escort her out of the room and despite her anger with him over the last week since Lydia’s invitation, thanked him for the rescue.
“Oh, do not thank me, Child. I fear that you may know more about the man than I,” he ventured and recognized Elizabeth’s stony expression as one of great discretion, so he changed his tack. “Go, your mother and other sisters I am sure have much caterwauling and farewells to grace you and Lydia with, and I suspect the Colonel will not wish to tarry long.”
Elizabeth nodded and left the men in the dining room as she joined the ladies in the drawing-room. Her mother sat in high dudgeon upon the sofa, already allowing tears of motherly desertion to flow freely down her cheeks. She was consoled by Aunt Philips as Lydia and Mrs. Forster spoke animatedly by the fireplace.
But from Mary, Kitty, and especially Jane, Elizabeth was embraced, wished well, and the sisters exchanged expressions of how much they would miss each other. Both Lydia and Elizabeth promised to write, but even Jane knew only one of her sisters was likely to be a reliable correspondent. The other would be far too busy retrimming her bonnets and recounting her brushes with officers to put pen to parchment.
You’ve been reading For the Love of a Bennet.
Now available everywhere ebooks are sold!
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.
+ 23 additional Pride & Prejudice variations are available at these fine retailers . . .
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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.