{"id":2382,"date":"2018-03-29T18:27:54","date_gmt":"2018-03-29T22:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elizabethannwest.com\/author\/?p=2382"},"modified":"2021-12-17T13:09:34","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T18:09:34","slug":"chapter-20-22-if-mr-darcy-dared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elizabethannwest.com\/author\/wip\/chapter-20-22-if-mr-darcy-dared\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 20-22 If Mr. Darcy Dared"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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I have so much nervous energy for this book, I am CLEANING MY OFFICE! Send good vibes. Send them all \ud83d\ude42\u00a0
<\/span>XOXOX Elizabeth Ann West<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Chapter 20- If Mr. Darcy Dared<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Upon entering her father\u2019s study, Elizabeth wasted no time in taking Fitzwilliam’s hands as a sign of her support. Mr. Bennet turned away as the young couple searched each other’s eyes, tension filling the room. Giving himself employment adjusting papers on his desk, Mr. Bennet also removed books to return them to his bookshelf. Silence reigned until finally, Mr. Darcy spoke.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“I must leave tomorrow,” he began, a lump forming in his throat.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

Elizabeth’s eyes glistened with tears. She had resolved herself to a more extended engagement than her elder sister, but she had never considered the possibility of being separated from Mr. Darcy for any length of time. “I understand. If the gossip has reached here, it’s sure to continue to spread. You must go to your sister. “<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“I wish it were not so. I hate, HATE\u2026 that man!” Fitzwilliam’s hands shook as rage began to overtake his body and Elizabeth clasped his hands even tighter. At this Mr. Bennet cleared his throat, and attracted their focuses to remind them they were not entirely alone.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“Why don’t you sit down and tell us more about the whole story. Perhaps if we understand the truth, we might take stronger steps in preventing the lies.” Mr. Bennet offered Mr. Darcy a drink, and after his acceptance poured just a fraction into another glass for Elizabeth.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

Finally, he settled down at his desk and waited for Mr. Darcy to speak. Instead, Fitzwilliam gulped down the offered beverage in one swallow. He turned away from Elizabeth and her father to look at the fireplace. The coals had dwindled down as the fire had not been stoked in some time. Picking up the poker, he helped himself to the exercise as he finally began his side of the story.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

\u201cMy mother died while I was in school, not long after the birth of Georgiana. And so my sister grew up with a doting father who as fate would have it, also left her all too soon. From the time she was seven-years-old, I’ve been her appointed guardian, along with my cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. Where the two of us might have indulged her more so than other parents, we have supplied her with the best tutors and education available to a young woman that we could find,” Mr. Darcy explained. Then he paused to replace the poker with the other tools for the fireplace, satisfied that he had agitated the fire enough for one night. Suddenly, Mr. Darcy turned around spying expressions of sympathy on Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth’s faces. Swallowing, he closed his eyes and continued.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“This summer, Georgiana expressed a desire to visit Ramsgate. We hired a companion, a woman who came with the most excellent references, and for a time, Richard was with them until his duties called him away. I was to join her at the end of the summer once my work at Pemberley finished. There was only a brief period of perhaps three weeks where Georgiana enjoyed the seaside with her companion, Mrs. Younge. But she had somehow worked with George Wickham, and through her companion\u2019s encouragement and Wickham’s charms, Georgiana became infatuated. Armed with the idea of marrying a favorite of her father’s in the romantic notion of elevating a pauper son to a higher status . . . they nearly eloped.” Mr. Darcy\u2019s voice cracked as he said the final words.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

Elizabeth gasped in shock as Mr. Darcy continued to relate how they were but days from running away to Gretna Green when he happened to arrive early. Overcome with guilt, Georgiana had confessed all to him. Wickham ran away, Mrs. Younge was sacked, and Georgiana was placed in London with a Mrs. Annesley, the eldest daughter of a longtime tenant at Pemberley who had been widowed and childless.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“As much as it pains me to leave Georgiana in London, I had to for her own good. And I may have used the skills of an informant so that when Wickham resurfaced and joined the militia, and Mr. Bingley needed an estate to lease to learn about management, this area solved both of my aims. I suggested he look here once I knew the movements of the same regiment that Mr. Wickham joined as an officer. How he paid for the commission, I do not know.” Mr. Darcy accepted another pour from Mr. Bennet, drinking it the same as before. <\/span><\/span><\/p>

\u201cBut if Wickham spoke against my sister or continued his charlatan ways, I wished to be there to see that justice found him,\u201d Fitzwilliam said, with a tone of finality, gazing beyond Elizabeth at some point in the dark window pane.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

Mr. Bennet leaned back in his chair. He stared up at the coffered ceiling, deep in thought.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“I cannot imagine how distressed your sister must have felt after such an ordeal.\u201d Elizabeth walked towards her Mr. Darcy to offer him comfort. \u201cI understand now why you would not have brought her with you to Netherfield Park, especially if you expected to see Mr. Wickham here. She is fortunate to have you as a brother.” When she finished, he shrugged off the compliment paid.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“I was the fool that allowed her to be alone with a companion at too young an age. I should have recognized the danger she would be in, a young heiress enjoying the seaside. But I won’t make the same mistake again.” Mr. Darcy said, his tone harsh. Other than Richard, he had not had to confess this particular shortcoming to anyone else of his acquaintance.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“You must go to London; that much is clear. We will do our part here to keep an eye on Mr. Wickham and see what intelligence can be had,” Mr. Bennet said, shaking his head as he could find no other solution.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“Papa, I wish to go to London with Mr. Darcy\u2014” Elizabeth began, but her father interrupted her.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“Out of the question.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“But Papa!” Elizabeth tried once more, but Mr. Bennet held up his hand.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“Though I can appreciate how you feel an obligation to help Mr. Darcy and his sister, do not forget about your own sister. I cannot allow you to miss Jane’s wedding and you forget that your reputation hangs by the slimmest threads of decency,” Mr. Bennet said as Elizabeth hung her head.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

She could not have known the conversation the men held in the dining room, but Denny\u2019s loud mouth had provided plenty of reminder for the senior Bennet man. <\/span><\/span><\/p>

“If, however, Mr. Darcy’s business keeps him in London beyond your sister\u2019s wedding, I will not force you to remain at Longbourn for the Christmas holidays, Elizabeth if you can achieve such transportation with your Aunt and Uncle Gardiner.” Mr. Bennet finished as he rose from his desk. Elizabeth looked up as she allowed her tears to fall freely. She hastily wiped them away as her father left them alone in his study with a wink.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

From the moment the door closed, Elizabeth wasted no time to wrap her arms around Mr. Darcy’s torso while the man embraced her in equal measure. She tilted her chin up, and they shared a kiss, one that was forever their only means of comfort with such a short period of time and a severe lack of privacy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“My darling, I am so sorry to have to leave you,” Mr. Darcy confessed, receiving another passionate kiss from his Lizzy in response.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

When she broke away, she reached up with her bare hand to trace the lines of worry on his face. <\/span><\/span><\/p>

“We shall have a lifetime together, Fitzwilliam. A lifetime. I do not know your sister, but I can only imagine she is young and very reliant on her brother for security. She should hear the news of the gossip from you and not read about it in a morning paper,” Elizabeth finished, bringing a new concern to Mr. Darcy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“Surely, not this far out from London, the Times would not\u2026” He trailed off as Elizabeth shook her head.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“You don’t read the society column do you?” she asked.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“Not if I am not required. The editors only use initials anyway so it’s unlikely that any would know such gossip from here,” Mr. Darcy said, and Elizabeth twisted her lips in annoyance. Why men assumed information did not travel like wildfire through a network of women, she would never know.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“\u2019A country ball in Hertfordshire where an FD most passionately compromised an EB in front of a gaggle of witnesses. No word had been mentioned as to a formal engagement between the two, but most readers will recognize FD as a bachelor from Derbyshire, known for turning down more invitations than he keeps. Perhaps now we know the reason as he keeps his mistress somewhere near the village of Meryton,\u2019” Elizabeth recited from memory the scrap of newspaper from yesterday morning that she kept hidden in her trunk.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

Darcy reached out for Elizabeth to hold her even closer, “Why did you not tell me? Has your father read it?” he asked, and Elizabeth shook her head.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

“My father doesn’t read that page either, but I am certain that my Aunt Phillips and others in town have done so. I fear the worst for your sister, and so you must go to London. I shall join you as soon as I can,” Elizabeth said, though it broke her heart to send him away.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

Fitzwilliam leaned down to kiss Elizabeth’s lips once more as she pressed her body against his and snaked her arms up around his neck to touch the small curls that brushed his collar. As someone made a great show of turning the door handle and speaking in the hall, they quickly broke apart as Mr. Bennet entered the study.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

Mr. Darcy pressed a kiss against Elizabeth\u2019s knuckle, looking intently into her eyes without faltering. “I do not deserve you, madam. I promise that once we are married, I shall work every day to earn your esteem.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>

Elizabeth blushed and looked down as her father spoke.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

\u201cYes, yes, the eternal pain of two lovers apart. But rest easy Lizzy; it\u2019s not like Mr. Darcy is going off to war.\u201d Mr. Bennet chuckled at his jest as Mr. Darcy offered Elizabeth his arm.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

\u201c<\/p>

No, Papa, by your own admission, he\u2019s leaving to face something much worse: the parlors and tearooms of London\u2019s finest,\u201d she said over her shoulder as they joined the depressed party in the entryway where final farewells for the evening could be made.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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