The Houseguest A Pride and Prejudice Vagary (3 page)

Everywhere he went, his reputation preceded him. He felt as if he were being
compared against an elaborate checklist; like a horse at the races, he had been
reduced to a list of stats. The eldest son and heir, Master of Pemberley, in
full possession of his fortune and free will; 10,000 a year, nephew to the Earl
of Matlock; tall, good looking, excellent stock for the next generation. It
made him ill. 
It wasn’t long before he started to weigh the ladies on the same scale. Young,
pretty, passable, plain; she plays, draws, sings, and can embroider his
initials into any number of personal items; dowry of 20,000 pounds, 30,000
pounds, 50,000 pounds; daughter of an Earl, niece of a Duke; a pleasing dancer
and charming hostess; healthy and likely to produce an heir; if you ever need
an Italian translator, she may assist you. 
Just thinking about it made him dizzy. 
That was when he had decided to give up the search. He had the excuse of
running the estate, and in the beginning, people mostly left him alone,
thinking he was still grieving over his father and would come around in time.
Many a young lady put off other eligible suitors waiting for young Mr. Darcy to
come back to town. Each was sure she was the one he would want; and each one
was disappointed as the seasons came and went and Mr. Darcy hadn’t
returned. 
Finally, two years after his sudden departure, he had re-emerged into society,
only to find the same vultures circling the fields. The smart ones got out of
the race sooner, choosing to marry less complicated and fastidious men. The not
so smart stuck around longer, every season thinking 
this
would be the time he noticed 
her
, until they began to be fearful of
never marrying, and would accept the first available gentleman who was remotely
qualified. The unlucky, or perhaps the dim, were still lingering about, not
considering that if Mr. Darcy hadn’t noticed or preferred her yet, he wasn’t
likely to. 
And so it went every year, with the new round of debutantes being introduced to
the legend that was Mr. Darcy of Pemberley, master of his fate, the perfect
catch who refused to be caught. 
And so he thought he would remain. When he was younger and unfamiliar with the
ways of the world, he had desired love. His father had loved his mother
completely, and she had returned his affection in full. He had asked his father
about it as he sat by his bedside, toward the end, trying to think of something
to say, and at the same time wanting to know everything his father could ever
possibly tell him. 
George Darcy had revealed that he and Lady Anne had been childhood playmates.
He would pull her hair and steal her toys, and she would tease him and make him
give her pony rides. He had been five years her senior, so at first, a romantic
thought had never crossed his mind. Mrs. Darcy and Lady Matlock were very great
friends and would often spend days at a time at each other’s houses. Lady
Matlock would bring Anne with her, presumably to play with George’s sister
Clara, and the three would go gallivanting off in the woods together. 
Then one year George went off to school and when he came back for the summer,
Anne was with her parents on a tour of the continent. They kept missing each
other, one in town while the other was in the country, and five years passed
before they were face to face again. George was twenty-one, recently graduated
from university, and she had just turned sixteen. Her older sister Catherine
had become engaged and they were holding a ball to celebrate. Though not yet
out, Anne had been allowed to attend and dance with the family.
George Darcy had described seeing Anne for the first time with moist eyes. He
had remembered it like it was yesterday, even though it was more than
twenty-five years ago. He had described to his son how she looked like an
angel; golden hair framing her cherubic face, blue eyes so wide and deep you
could drown in them. He didn’t care that she played the pianoforte and the
harp, and spoke German, and knew every dance, and came with a dowry of 25,000
pounds. She was lovely, and in that moment, he loved her completely. 
He had talked her father into letting him dance with her, since he was as close
as family, and the next year when she came out, George Darcy was at the door
the day after her ball, officially asking her father for a courtship.
Watching their relationship had shown Darcy what it meant to be mutually
respected and cared for, and he would settle for nothing less. If he didn’t
find it, which was certainly the way it was looking, he would remain a
bachelor. When he was much older, he would take a wife and produce an heir, but
he wouldn’t marry soon if he could help it. And certainly not to just any
woman; even one with perfect Italian and 50,000 pounds.
If only Elizabeth came from a good family! But would she have been the same? He
would never know, nor would he ever know the comfort of her arms and the
sweetness of her voice speaking tenderly to him, lulling him to peace and sweet
rest. Never before had he been captivated by a woman’s smile. Never before had
he awoken from dreams so vivid he thought they were real, only to crash into
despair when he realized they were not.

She was his perfect complement; she possessed all the
talents he wished he had, and was forever gracious and enchanting. He had never
seen anyone like her.
But he knew his duty. 
And while Fitzwilliam Darcy was not unaware of the irony of the situation, he
knew it could never be. Elizabeth Bennet must remain forever in his dreams, for
he could never have her in reality.

Chapter 2

Elizabeth made her way to the Gardiner’s home in Cheapside in the Darcy
carriage. She was accompanied by a maid, Mr. Darcy insisting that she not
traverse London on her own, even though there was a burly footman and a driver
accompanying the carriage. She had to smile at his solicitude, being more used
to neglect, but couldn't help being slightly irritated that she wasn't
permitted to go anywhere alone.
He'd insisted that while he was responsible for her safety, she should give him
the peace of mind of allowing him to ensure it. She was just a little bit
surprised, because in her mind Darcy was not the sort of man who spent his time
worrying about the safety of young women who weren’t his sister. She was
beginning to wonder if there was more to Mr. Darcy than met the eye, but then
she remembered that Georgiana was not permitted to accompany her and went back
to thinking meanly of him. 
Her visit with Jane and Aunt Gardiner was unexceptional. Jane still had a
sadness about her eyes that Elizabeth did not know how to breach. Jane told her
that she had gone to visit Caroline Bingley and had yet to receive a call in
return. Elizabeth was unconvinced that Miss Bingley had even told her brother
Jane had come to call and did not really believe in his indifference, but
rather thought Miss Bingley was being her pernicious self and causing all kinds
of mischief.
For the first time she thought of her position at Darcy House as advantageous.
When she had first accepted the invitation, believing Mr. Darcy to be absent,
she had thought that seeing Mr. Bingley would be quite unlikely. But now that
he was returned, surely the relationship between Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy
would bring Mr. Bingley over at some point, and she could intercept him and say
hello. If he knew she was in town, she could mention that Jane was also in
town, and by his reaction she would then know whether or not he had prior
knowledge of Jane’s presence and if he wanted to see her again. She could give
him the address and then the choice to call would be his and not his
sister’s. 
She told her aunt all about Georgiana’s family and how she was attached to her
aunt, Lady Matlock.
"To hear Miss Darcy tell it, she is quite kind and rather motherly. I
think she may be the only mother figure she has ever known. As I understand it,
her own mother died when she was but an infant. Miss Darcy wishes me to meet
her."
"Of course she should, dear. If she is her mother figure, isn’t it quite
natural to want to introduce her mother to her friends?"
"Yes, I suppose it is quite natural when you put it that way. I hadn't
thought of it like that."
"Yet you seem as if you don't want this meeting to happen," her aunt
said.
"No, not at all. It's not that I do not wish it, but rather I wonder if
Mr. Darcy will wish it."
"Why on earth would he not wish it? You are, after all, a guest in his
home. Why would he not wish for you to meet his aunt?" Mrs. Gardiner was
aware of the difference in station between the wife of an earl and the daughter
of a country squire, and even more aware of the difference between that same
earl’s wife and a tradesman’s wife. However, she was conscious of the good it
could do for Elizabeth, and wanted to know her true feelings about it.
"Miss Darcy was the one who invited me, not Mr. Darcy. And yes, I am a
guest in his home, but at his sister's request, not his, and he did not wish
for his sister to come with me today to meet my family. I can only imagine he
would not wish for me to meet his."
"Did he actually say he didn't wish his sister to meet your family?"
asked Mrs. Gardiner.
"No, not exactly. He did not say so, but he did seem relieved when Georgiana
told him that I would be spending the afternoon with my family and he said he
would be happy to be spending some time alone with her. He did not allow her
the opportunity to ask to accompany me, nor me to issue the invitation."
"Yes dear, but is it not possible that Mr. Darcy was actually happy to
spend the afternoon with his sister unaccompanied? Did you not say they are
rather close for brother and sister? Is he not almost more a father to her than
a brother? Have you not spent many hours alone with your father, and are you
not happy to have your company uninterrupted?"
"Yes, I suppose that is true. My father does enjoy my sole company, and
Mr. Darcy is very fond of his sister, as she is of him. It was just the way it
was all worked out so conveniently that made me suspicious."
"Perhaps it would be best to give him the benefit of the doubt. I know you
don't think well of him from what you've told me already and, of course, from
what we've heard from poor Mr. Wickham. It does not look good.” She looked at
Elizabeth with eyebrows up and chin tilted down. “However, he is hosting you
most generously, and sent you here in his carriage, and is allowing his sister
to become your close friend, which is very kind and not exactly in line with
what Mr. Wickham told us of him. I wonder if maybe there was some sort of
misunderstanding between Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy. Perhaps there is more to
the story than meets the eye, and after all, you have only got one side of it -
you've only heard Mr. Wickham's end of the tale. Mr. Darcy might have something
altogether different to say."
"Yes, again I must bow to your wisdom, for as usual you are quite correct.
I have only heard Mr. Wickham's part of the story, but I must admit I have not
been interested to hear Mr. Darcy's side as my own experience with him, as well
as Mr. Wickham's account, cannot put him in a favorable light. I will grant you
that he is very kind to Miss Darcy, and she is a very sweet girl and such
sweetness might be difficult to attain with such a horrid brother, but I still
cannot get past what he did to poor Wickham! If such a man can be so
overwrought with jealousy as to destroy another man's hopes, I fear that is not
a man I wish to know better." Elizabeth was speaking quickly and motioning
with her hands, clearly exasperated with the situation.
"Yes my dear, just make sure you keep your eyes open and your wits about
you. It is never wise to go into these things with your mind already made up.
You must remember that you hardly know Mr. Darcy, and only saw him on a few
occasions when you were in Hertfordshire and the few precious days you spent at
Netherfield."
"Yes, but I do believe that my time with Mr. Darcy was telling. He showed
his true colors when he was in company he believed to be beneath him,
surrounded by people he thought he would never have occasion to see again. Is
that not the true test of a person's character? How they behave when they
believe there will be no consequences to their actions?"
"Yes, while that may be true dear, you must take into consideration other
things. You do not know his nature as yet. Is it possible that Mr. Darcy was
behaving unnaturally for some reason? Perhaps he had some pressing business
matters or family concerns weighing on his mind to cause him to be so short in
company. You know how your uncle is whenever things are not going well in his
business; he can become quite short tempered at times, while he is otherwise a
very genial man." She sighed at Elizabeth’s disbelieving expression.
"I am simply saying, my dear, that perhaps you should give Mr. Darcy the
benefit of the doubt."
"Yes Aunt, I shall take your advice under consideration, and believe me
when I say I will be the picture of cordiality while I am staying in Mr.
Darcy's home. I am a guest and I will mind my manners. Besides, as you said, he
has many business interests and family matters, which I am sure will keep him
away from home the majority of the time. Georgiana and I have many plans, so I
shan't be in his company very often and when I am, I will be the picture of
politeness." Elizabeth smiled at her aunt.
Mrs. Gardiner smiled at her niece’s humor and nodded her head. "I am sure
you will, my dear. I never doubted your manners for a moment."
As Elizabeth rode back to Mayfair in the plush Darcy carriage, she smiled to
herself. She never would have believed a few months ago in Hertfordshire, when
she was verbally sparring with Mr. Darcy, that in just two short months’ time
she would become close friends with his sister, and be a guest in his home,
riding across town in a carriage bearing the Darcy crest. 
She smiled wickedly at the thought that they might pass Caroline Bingley, who
would see her through the window. Oh, what she wouldn't give to see the look on
her face then! Just thinking about Miss Bingley put Elizabeth in a rather
teasing mood. How she would turn green with envy if she knew that her 
dearest
 friend Georgiana had invited
Miss Elizabeth Bennet to stay with her for three weeks while her brother was
out of town. And then to find out that that brother arrived only a day after
herself to spend the entire three weeks in town, closeted away in their home
with only Georgiana, her companion, and Miss Elizabeth.
Elizabeth had noticed that the knocker was not yet put back on the door, which
meant Mr. Darcy was not receiving guests, so the chances were that Miss Bingley
did not even know he was in residence. It really was too ridiculous not to be
laughed at.
At the thought of Miss Bingley and how ill she thought of her, Elizabeth
thought of what her aunt had said about Mr. Darcy. Perhaps it was true that he
wasn't so very horrible since he also did not seem to like Miss Bingley. For
wasn't it true that most horrible people tended to like one another? And, after
all, he was a very good friend of Mr. Bingley, who was, as everyone knew, quite
amiable and agreeable, and as Jane put it, ‘all that a young man ought to be’.
She would give Mr. Darcy the benefit of the doubt, if only to prove to her aunt
that she was in fact quite open-minded, but she was sure what she would find
there; the same arrogant, conceited, and selfish man she had met in
Hertfordshire - only now with a London address.