Read Darcy and Elizabeth What If? Collection 1 Online
Authors: Jennifer Lang
Darcy and Elizabeth What If? Collection 1 (10 page)
He looked so uncertain that her heart went out to him and she said softly, ‘Yes, I will.’
A look of relief crossed his face and she smiled.
He looked at her enquiringly. ‘Why are you smiling?’ he asked.
‘Because you are usually so arrogant and sure of yourself, but in this you were uncertain,’ she said.
‘Yes, I was. I have spent a great deal of my life being surrounded by people who thought I could do no wrong, but you put me in my place and showed me that I was puffed up with pride. I knew that my world had changed, I just did not know how much, at that time. Or how much it would continue to change as I came to know you and love you.’
They had now walked round the garden three times and found themselves back at the door. Jane and Bingley were there, too.
Elizabeth gave them the news.
Jane hugged her and Mr Bingley shook Mr Darcy’s hand.
‘We guessed as much,’ said Jane. ‘Charles and I were thinking that we could delay our wedding until you are ready, then we can have a double ceremony.’
‘Oh, yes!’ said Elizabeth, with quick enthusiasm.
‘If you would not mind?’ Jane said to Mr Darcy.
‘Whatever gives Elizabeth pleasure is welcome to me,’ said Mr Darcy. ‘But I will have to ask Mr Bennet’s permission before we can make any arrangements.’
‘I am sure he will give it,’ said Elizabeth.
‘Then I think a double wedding is a perfect idea,’ said Mr Darcy.
Jane and Mr Bingley went inside, but as Elizabeth was about to follow, Mr Darcy held her back and took her into his arms.
‘I have waited a long time to do this,’ he said.
He took her in his arms and kissed her. It was everything she had hoped for and dreamed of and more. And she knew she was going to be a very happy woman indeed.
Table of Contents
Elizabeth Bennet was in the garden on a bright sunny morning, cutting roses for the house. It was a gentleman’s residence made of golden stone and the garden was in full bloom, sending sweet perfume into the air. When her basket was full she put her scissors on top of the basket and then, her light muslin gown fluttering around her ankles , she went back inside. She took the flowers into the flower room and arranged them in a porcelain vase, which she set on the table in the hall, and then she noticed that the post had arrived. She looked at the letters as she took them into the drawing-room and handed the most interesting one to her mother.
‘Oh, it is a letter from your aunt Gardiner, I wonder what she has to say?’ said Mrs Bennet.
Jane looked up. She was sitting on one of the elegant sofas, embroidering a handkerchief.
‘How is my aunt?’ asked Elizabeth as her mother unfolded the letter.
‘She is very well,’ said Mrs Bennet. ‘How could she be otherwise? Your aunt does not have my worries. She does not have five daughters all out, and not one of them married. When your father dies, we will all be turned out of the house! Jane, at least, tried to catch a husband the last time she was in London’ – this was a wholly distorted view of the truth, for Jane had never “tried to catch a husband” in her life – ‘but you, Lizzy, seem to make no effort at all. Ah!’ Her face rose and she looked up with a smile. ‘Here is a chance for you! Your aunt and uncle are going to Ramsgate soon as your uncle has not been well recently. His physician says the sea air will do him good, and as Ramsgate is not too far from London, that is the place that has been chosen. Your aunt writes that she will give you both a holiday. She will take you first, Lizzy, for two weeks, and then Jane for the next two.’
‘I wish I was going to Ramsgate!’ said Lydia, coming into the room with a heavy sigh. ‘I never go anywhere. La! Life is so boring.’
‘We will persuade your aunt to take you next time,’ said Mrs Bennet. ‘Now, Lizzy, you must have a new dress and a new bonnet. There will be plenty of eligible gentlemen in Ramsgate and I am sure you will be engaged by the time you come home. And Jane, you must have something new, too. There will be plenty of young men in Ramsgate for both of you.’
‘My aunt should have invited me. I know I would come home with a husband, if I could only go!’ said Lydia, throwing herself down on the sofa.
‘Yes, my love, I am sure you would,’ said her doting mother. ‘You are always very clever where the gentlemen are concerned.’
Elizabeth and Jane exchanged exasperated glances, but they knew it was no use saying anything. Their mother had always been partial to Lydia and encouraged her in her waywardness.
‘I am grateful to my aunt for thinking of me,’ said Lizzy. ‘The summer is very hot and some sea bathing will be wonderful. I only wish we were going together,’ she said, turning to Jane, ‘but I dare say there would not be room for both of us at the same time.’
‘I would like some sea bathing, too,’ said Lydia. ‘I would like to trundle into the waves in a bathing machine. La! What fun! I would bathe in my petticoat and I am sure I would look very fetching in the water.’
‘Yes, Lydia, I am sure you would,’ agreed her mother.
‘When am I to go?’ asked Elizabeth.
Her mother continued reading the letter, then said, ‘You are to go next week. You will stay with your aunt and uncle in Gracechurch Street for a night before you travel on to Ramsgate with them. You must make yourself useful, for I am sure your aunt will need help with the children, but do not neglect your appearance. If you are not married by the end of the summer I will despair of you altogether. And Jane, I am sure you will do your best, too. You cannot be so beautiful for nothing. But a woman’s bloom soon fades, you know, and you are two-and-twenty already, so you must make the most of every opportunity that comes your way.’
‘I am sure I will be married long before I am two-and-twenty,’ said Lydia. ‘Why, Jane is practically an old maid.’
Elizabeth suppressed a smile, for anyone less like an old maid than Jane would be hard to imagine. Jane combined a serene temperament with a beautiful face, and Lizzy felt that any man would be very lucky to win her affections.
‘I had better go into Meryton and tell your aunt Philips the news,’ said Mrs Bennet.
‘I will come with you,’ said Lydia, jumping up. ‘I want to see if there are any new bonnets in the milliner’s.’
‘Of course, my dear Lydia, I am always glad of your company. Your aunt is always pleased to see you, too.’
Mrs Bennet and Lydia went to get ready, while Elizabeth and Jane went back into the garden to finish cutting the roses.
‘Mama did not express herself very well, but it is true that we will have a chance to make some new acquaintances in Ramsgate,’ said Jane. ‘The only pity is that we will not be there together. But I dare say that would make it too much of a crush.’
‘Yes, there will be a full house with my aunt, uncle and the children, as well as the servants. But in a way it will be better like this, because we will be able to write to each other and share all the news,’ said Lizzy.
‘Oh, yes! You must write to me every day and tell me what you are doing.’
‘I will,’ Elizabeth promised her. ‘And you must write to me and tell me all the news from home.’
The following week, Elizabeth set out. Her sisters accompanied her to the local coaching inn, where she boarded the stagecoach for London. One of the Longbourn maids went with her, to protect her reputation and add to her consequence.
Elizabeth had a happy temperament and she enjoyed the journey. The scenery was varied. The coach rolled through pretty country lanes and quaint market towns, and it ran alongside streams and over rivers. The sun shone down on green fields and stone cottages, with venerable old trees casting dappled shade over the landscape.
At last the coach neared London. There was much more bustle and noise than there had been in the country. As they went into the capital, the carriages became more numerous and the jingling of harness mingled with the clopping of horses’ hooves. There were shouts from the pie men who walked along with trays of pies carried on their heads, and people selling fruit shouted out, ‘Come and try!’ There were nursemaids with children, and all manner of other people going about their business.
The coach turned into the yard of the coaching inn and the carriage drew to a halt. As Elizabeth climbed out of the coach, she saw that her uncle’s carriage was waiting for her. She climbed into its comfortable interior and before long she had been transported to her aunt and uncle’s house in Gracechurch Street.
There was a warm welcome waiting for her. Mrs Gardiner was a sensible woman and Elizabeth loved her very much. Mr Gardiner, too, was a sensible man and Elizabeth was sorry to see him looking pale. But she knew that some sea air would put colour in his cheeks.
The children ran to greet Elizabeth and she gave them the presents she had brought from Longbourn. It was a happy, lively meeting.
Elizabeth went upstairs, to the room she always had when staying with her aunt. She washed and made herself tidy and then went downstairs for dinner.
There was plenty of news to catch up with and the evening passed quickly. But, despite her busy day, Elizabeth found it hard to sleep. She was excited about going to Ramsgate, for she did not often have a chance to go to the seaside. Her father was not fond of travelling and so her summers were usually spent at Longbourn.
But morning came at last. They made a good breakfast – all except her uncle, who had little appetite – and then everything was put into the carriage. Most of the servants had already gone down to Ramsgate, but the few who remained made sure everything was packed properly and then they were off – all except a footman and a maid, who were left behind to look after the house.
The journey was much more lively than Elizabeth’s journey of the day before. The children were excited and, although well behaved, they chattered and fidgeted, so that the adults were glad when at last they arrived.
As Elizabeth stepped out of the coach, her senses revelled in the newness of it all: the tang of salt on her lips, the cry of the gulls overhead, the expanse of blue ocean stretching out in front of her – so different to the green fields at home – and the smell of the fresh sea air. She breathed in deeply and felt fortunate to be there.
Her young cousins climbed out of the coach. They had been cramped for hours and they ran across the pavement and skipped up the steps to the town house, using up some of their energy.
‘Oh, what a relief,’ said Mrs Gardiner, as she looked up at the house.
Elizabeth understood her at once. The Gardiners had not been to Ramsgate before and so they had taken the house on a recommendation from a friend. Mrs Gardiner had been anxious, not knowing what to expect, but fortunately the house was attractive and well kept. It was in a row of similar houses and it was painted pink. Well-polished windows with small panes were set in white frames. The windows were open and the curtains were blowing gently in the breeze. The houses further along the row were painted in a variety of different colours, adding to the novelty and cheerfulness of the scene.
They went up a short flight of stone steps to the front door, which was painted white to match the windows, and was set with a brass knocker.
The door opened as if by magic and Mrs Gardiner’s housekeeper welcomed them.
The children ran through the spacious hall and up the stairs. Mrs Gardiner was attending to her husband and so Elizabeth guided the children to the top floor, where their rooms were to be found. She left them with their nurse and then followed the housekeeper to the floor below.
‘Your room is here, miss,’ said the housekeeper.
It was a large apartment with a tall window overlooking the sea. The sky was a bright blue and the sun was shining. The weather had encouraged people to walk along the seafront, and Elizabeth amused herself by studying them, for she was a student of human nature.
There were several families with young children, accompanied by nurses. Some of the nurses were pushing perambulators. Others were holding young children by the hand, or keeping an eye on older, more adventurous children.
There were a number of couples. The ladies had colourful parasols and their muslin skirts fluttered in the breeze. The gentlemen wore blue coats and cream pantaloons, and they doffed their hats as they greeted acquaintances.
And there, at the end of the promenade, was a young lady with a companion. The young lady was hardly more than a girl, perhaps about fifteen years of age. She was very well dressed and she had an air of consequence about her. Behind her walked a footman.
Elizabeth wondered who she was. But she did not have time to wonder for long. The gong sounded and she hurriedly tidied herself and then went downstairs.
Her aunt and uncle were already seated in the drawing-room and her aunt was presiding over the teapot.
Her uncle looked even paler than he had done the previous day and Elizabeth was glad he had decided to take some time away from his business so he could recover his health. His physician could find nothing actually wrong with him and said that he had simply been overworking.
‘I think we will be very happy here,’ said Aunt Gardiner.
Elizabeth agreed.
After tea, she said, ‘I would like to walk along the promenade. After spending all day in the coach I would appreciate some exercise.’
‘You will excuse me, I am sure,’ said Mrs Gardiner. ‘I want to see that everything is unpacked. Your uncle, too, I fear is tired.’
‘Yes, I am,’ he admitted.
Elizabeth knew her duty, and besides, it would be a pleasure to help her aunt, so she said, ‘Then I will stay and help you.’
‘There is no need for that. I know how much you love to walk, Lizzy. Tomorrow I will come with you, but for today, make sure you take the maid. It will not do to walk about Ramsgate on your own. We are not in the country now.’
Elizabeth agreed. At home, she did not need to take a chaperone every time she ventured out of the house, but the rules of behaviour were stricter in public places.
‘There are one or two commissions you can do for me while you are out,’ said her aunt. ‘I have forgotten to bring any white thread and I am sure to need it. And I have forgotten my fine needles.’
Elizabeth put on her shawl and her bonnet, and then set out with the maid. She almost skipped down the front steps, so glad was she to be out of doors, and she made her way down to the sea. The tide was coming in and the waves were fringed with white as they broke with a swooshing sound against the sandy beach.
She breathed in deeply as she walked along the promenade and into the town. Coming towards her was the young lady she had seen from her window. The young lady was very finely dressed indeed, but it was her sweet expression which drew Elizabeth’s interest. The young lady seemed to be alone, apart from her servants, and Elizabeth wondered if the young lady’s family were not in town.
A sudden gust of wind caught Elizabeth’s bonnet and she put her hand on her head to hold it in place.
The young lady did likewise, but she was not so fortunate. The ribbon tying her bonnet beneath her chin came loose, and the wind tore the bonnet from her head, sending it tumbling and dancing towards Elizabeth.
