Consequences (43 page)

“Of course,” Darcy said with a smile. “We even discussed that since you were so surprised by my proposal.”

“But I did so despite my hateful feelings towards you because of how you separated Bingley and Jane,” she continued. “You should despise me for that.”

“But you were justified,” Darcy said reasonably. “I did separate them, and it was arrogant of me to do so.”

“But I knew if we married, then Bingley and Jane would undoubtedly be thrown into company together, while if I rejected you, they would never see each other again.”

“True, true,” Darcy said. “I did not consider that at the time, though I soon realized they would be in company. But I cannot complain at that being one of your reasons, considering what I had done. At least we will not have to conceal such things in the future.”

Elizabeth blushed scarlet and tried to duck her head. “It was Charlotte who had the thought, really. I was not thinking too clearly at the time.”

Darcy chuckled in amusement. “Then we owe your friend another debt of gratitude, Elizabeth. Perhaps we should name our first daughter after her.”

A thrill went down Elizabeth’s spine at Darcy’s casual acceptance of future children. She knew he wanted to take her to his bed, as most young husbands did, and she was well aware of how children were the natural result of such intimacies. And she was finding the feeling of being desired by her future husband . . . pleasant. Attractive, even, and exciting. Quite exciting!

Elizabeth felt a slow smile come over her face as she continued, “And we have already discussed what an imbecile I was to listen to Mr. Wickham when he was certainly acting with considerable impropriety when he told me of your many sins against him.”

Darcy made a tossing motion with his hand, indicating this minor concern had already been dismissed. His motion was quick, since his arm went back around her slender form, and she made no attempt to pull away from him.

“Of course, it was my vanity that was my failing since I believed myself such an insightful judge of character,” Elizabeth continued. “It was also my vanity which made me so willing to believe Wickham’s canards.”

Both of them cocked their ears at the sound of raised voices in the hall, followed by the sound of a door opening and being forcefully slammed shut. They smiled at each other at the thought of Lieutenant George Wickham being propelled through the Longbourn door by her father’s sizable foot.

Elizabeth looked up at Darcy slyly, and he suddenly remembered her playful nature. He had always found it quite engaging since she had accepted him, but he also knew the quickness of her wits, so he regarded her somewhat warily.

“As I was saying,” Elizabeth said with a gleam in her eye, as she proved his caution was warranted, “it was my vanity that made me fall prey to Wickham’s tales, since that same vanity was wounded at learning that I was only ‘tolerable’ . . . but not enough to be tempting.”

“Ugh!” winced Darcy in sudden horror.
She did hear me! Blazes, will I EVER learn to control my tongue?

Darcy was pulled from his self-flagellation by the feel of Elizabeth’s palm on his cheek. As he looked at her in surprise, she made a quick tossing motion, the same as his own, and he felt the coldness leave his body. She was telling him she was settling accounts between them, revealing and then dismissing the misunderstandings that plagued their early acquaintanceship.

Elizabeth put her hand back on Darcy’s cheek; then slid it around to the back of his neck. “Mr. Darcy,” she said softly, her eyes on his, “I know my crying has reddened my eyes, and I really have no previous experience to guide me, but I would very much like you to kiss me.”

“I would like nothing better,” Darcy replied. “Nothing at all, dearest, loveliest, Elizabeth.”

The sudden sound of feminine wails was heard from the hall, indicating that Mr. Bennet was informing his youngest and most imprudent daughter of the sudden change in her plans. They shared a little laugh before Darcy’s lips met hers, and their tentative kiss deepened as Darcy pulled her closer to him while her hand pulled his head more ardently into hers. When they at last separated, Elizabeth nestled herself against him in contentment. As they softly talked of what each was feeling for the other, neither of them heard the door to the library open silently. Mr. Bennet stared into the room, and, while he felt a pang that Darcy was comforting his daughter instead of himself, it was not a pang that caused pain—at least, not too much. Life was change, after all.

And he smiled as he considered how soon after the wedding he might invite himself to Pemberley to sample the famous Darcy library. Obviously, not all change was bad.

Epilogue

“In nature there are neither rewards nor
punishments; there are consequences.”

—Robert G. Ingersoll,
American political leader and orator

November 30, 1812

From the very beginning—from the first moment, I may almost say—of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others . . .”

Elizabeth tried to stop the spiteful, hateful words falling so implacably from her lips, but it seemed she was trapped inside her body. As she watched Darcy flinch in pain from the venom in her voice, she cried out against the hurt he was suffering and screamed helplessly, trying in vain to stop herself.

“. . . were such as to form that groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immoveable a dislike . . .”

“No!” she screamed inside her shell, but the word rebounded again and again from the invisible walls holding her captive, and she knew none of her screams could be heard outside those walls.

“. . . and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry!”

She felt her small fists pound vainly against the unyielding trap caging her, and her heart almost broke as she saw Darcy reel away in despair.

“No!” she repeated, and then she felt her world shake as a thunderous voice shook her to her knees.

The commanding tones reached all the way down to her bones, and she felt strong hands grip her shoulders, lifting her up and out of the massive walls trapping her.

“Elizabeth, wake up, wake up! You are dreaming!”

Her eyes flew open in delirious and unbelieving astonishment as she recognized the voice. The room was half-lit in the early morning sun just peeking over the horizon, and she stared in disbelief at Darcy’s face mere inches from her own.

She suddenly realized she was in her husband’s bedroom, and Elizabeth Darcy threw her arms about him with all the desperation of a drowning woman. Darcy was knocked on his back by the unexpected impact, and he had no time to recover as his slender wife weighed down on top of him, planting kisses all over his face. Her fervent embrace and kisses had the usual effect, and more than a half-hour later, they lay back, breathing deeply and holding each other tightly in pleasant exhaustion.

Even then, Elizabeth could not seem to believe where she was, and she continued to run her hands over Darcy’s face, looking at him intently but with a most bewitching smile on her face.

“Not that I am complaining, dearest,” Darcy said finally, raising on one elbow and smiling down at his wife, “but I do believe I have just been ravished.”

Elizabeth only giggled in amusement, tucking her head under his chin.

“Seriously, Elizabeth, you were having a bad dream.”

“The worst,” she agreed. “A nightmare—a true nightmare.”

She leaned back and looked up at him. “It was the same nightmare I had the night before you proposed marriage, but I had forgotten the details until now. Strange how I would have dreamed such a thing then.” She shuddered in memory and pulled him close in desperate need.

“There is nothing to fear, Elizabeth,” Darcy said, stroking her back in the way he learned made her almost purr like a kitten. “Nothing can cause you harm. I will not allow it.”

“You could not have saved me from this fate, William,” she said in muffled tones, her head against his chest. “I was making this trap myself. I was venting all my juvenile anger at you in the Parsonage, telling you of all your many faults, both real and imagined, making sure you would avoid my presence forever.”

“Well, you did have valid reasons to be angry with me,” Darcy said mildly.

“But not to treat you in the despicable fashion of my dream.” She trembled again in memory. “I was screaming ‘No!’ as loud as I could, but you could not hear me, and I could not stop myself.”

“But you did not do so, and you never could,” said Darcy reasonably. “You are the finest, most kind-hearted woman I have ever known. I think you just had a reaction to that new, spicy dish from India that Mrs. Wilson prepared tonight. I shall have to tell her to avoid it in the future.”

Elizabeth looked at him with mischief in her eyes. “Perhaps we should not be too hasty, William. After all, now we know what happens after I am awakened from a nightmare!”

“There is that,” Darcy said with a growing smile as he reached for her. “But I hardly require encouragement!”

“Lecher!” Elizabeth exclaimed delightedly, trying and failing to avoid his grasp. At the last moment, before he pulled her down to him, she stopped and looked at him seriously. “I do love you, Fitzwilliam Darcy. I love you so very much!”

“And I love you, Elizabeth Darcy,” he replied, his lips only an inch from hers. “But I have been accused of lechery this morning, and I must prove myself worthy of the charge.”

“Then all I can say, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth replied solemnly, her eyes shining as she looked deeply into her husband’s eyes, “is do your worst, sir. Do your worst!”

FINIS

Author’s Q&A

Q
What was the main rationale that inspired the writing of Consequences?

A
I have always been a fan of alternative history novels, such as “What would happen if the South won the Civil War?” or “What if the British got smart in 1774 and gave the American Colonies representation in the British Parliament?” So, when I read my late wife’s copies of Jane Austen’s books, especially Pride and Prejudice, I couldn’t help noticing a number of coincidences that were critical to the storyline and would, if altered, have led to quite different outcomes. One that especially popped out was the coincidence of Darcy meeting Elizabeth at Pemberley. That was really improbable and convenient. What if Darcy had come along ten minutes later when Elizabeth and her party had already started their tour of the Pemberley grounds? He would have entered the house and been in consultation with his steward when the Gardiners and their niece emerged from the grounds, boarded their carriage, and departed. And if he had been ten minutes earlier, he might well have entered the house before they saw him. And even if Elizabeth had seen him at a distance and recognized him while he didn’t see her, would she have run after him and spoken to him? Highly doubtful, I would think. More likely, she would have counted herself lucky to avoid the mortification of meeting him, and everything I wrote in “Book 1” might well have ensued.

As for “Book 2,” the idea that started the ball rolling was my growing realization of just how shocking Elizabeth’s refusal of Darcy was, given the time in which she lived. I first had to consider just what might have turned out differently if she had chosen the socially approved course and accepted his offer of marriage, even though she felt both contempt and anger for him. I think the instant conclusion of most modern readers is that Elizabeth would have sentenced herself to a lifetime of misery had she done so, but I came to a different conclusion. The key item leading to my conclusion was the thought that Darcy had already decided to deny the expectations of his family, friends, and culture. Having done so and won the hand of the woman he loved, would it have made sense for him to treat her with disdain, contempt, and indifference? Again, doubtful. Certainly, if Elizabeth had treated
him
in that manner, his affections might have withered away, but, considering she had accepted his proposal out of prudence, it would have been the height of imprudence to have reacted to him in that manner. So I came to the conclusion that their marriage would have had as much chance of felicity as would be expected.

Q
Was Elizabeth Bennet’s rejection of Darcy’s first proposal at Hunsford justified in the context of her times?

A
I believe most readers today find Elizabeth’s refusal of Darcy’s inept proposal to be laudatory and consistent with her character, believing her acceptance would have been a compromise of her ideals and standards due to Darcy’s pride, arrogance, and his separation of Jane and Bingley. I believe admiration of Elizabeth’s character is one of the reasons for the enduring popularity of Pride and Prejudice, and I share it. However, at the same time, we must be aware we are reading OUR twenty-first century worldview into much different Regency England standards. Austen was certainly aware of what her society expected a gently born young lady to look for in a marriage: financial security for herself and her children. Her awareness of that fact is the basis for Elizabeth’s statement to Jane when she tells her of Darcy’s proposal. Elizabeth says, “You do not blame me for rejecting him?”