The Trouble With Horses: A Pride & Prejudice Novella Variation (5 page)

The Bennet sisters were a few yards down the road when a most shrill whistle rent the air and Lydia and Kitty turned around and waved. Elizabeth dreaded turning around herself, but did so to begin chiding the two younger girls for stopping and turning at such impolite behavior.

"A lady does not respond to a whistle from a man," she hissed.

"Oh shove off, Lizzie, you have your beau and we have ours," Lydia cried triumphantly, as the two officers hastened to catch up to the ladies. Lydia happily took the arm of Mr. Denny, and Kitty expected to take the arm of Mr. Wickham and was severely put out when she was ignored by the taller man and instead noticed he immediately attempted a conversation with Elizabeth.

"I do not believe I've had the honor of an introduction." Mr. Wickham employed a bow with a flourish making Lydia laugh and Kitty pout by crossing her arms in front of her.

Elizabeth eyed the gentleman with a wary eye, and shrugged. She immediately turned away and began to walk, after all she was not introduced to the man and she had endured her limit of strange behavior for the day.

"Lizzie, don't be so
missish . This is Mr. Wickham, an intimate friend of Mr. Denny. Both are officers in the militia." Lydia looked up at Mr. Denny to flash him a most catty smile.

Instead of greeting the man, Elizabeth kept walking and dragged her hand across the browned autumn grass lining the road. Kitty jumped on the opportunity to attract Mr. Wickham's attention back to herself.

"You never told us how you are so well acquainted with Mr. Darcy, Mr. Wickham!" Kitty walked faster to catch up with Mr. Wickham, causing him to look down at the less interesting Bennet sister and practically forcing him to offer her his arm, which he reluctantly did.

"Ah, it's a sad tale, I tell you. Sad only because of the way the story ends." He shook his head with a grim expression, while simultaneously noticing Miss Elizabeth's attention was caught by her sudden rigid stature, though she continued to knock the stalks of grass.

"If you cannot speak of it, we understand," she finally said, firmly, still not looking at the coupled group behind her.

"On the contrary, Miss Elizabeth. My childhood at the Darcy estate, Pemberley, was all that was idyllic. Old Mr. Darcy was like a father to me, and he paid for me to attend Cambridge with Fitzwilliam."

The manor house of Longbourn could be seen in the far distance, and Elizabeth felt torn between hearing more about Mr. Darcy's family life and not hearing anything about the man at all. She heard Kitty ask Mr. Wickham questions but only vaguely marked the answers as she once more dwelled deeper in her own thoughts. It was only when he described Mr. Darcy cheating him out of a living to the collective gasps of her sisters that Elizabeth turned around.

Mr. Wickham was stunned by the fierce scrutiny in Miss Elizabeth's face, but he kept the much practiced doleful look upon his own countenance.

"You are sharing a most personal story for such a lack of intimates in company, Mr. Wickham." Elizabeth raised an artful eyebrow at the sandy-brown haired man and eyed him carefully up and down, noticing deep scars on his knuckles. "I cannot imagine being so free as to air my personal failures and failings so cavalierly."

Wickham glanced skyward in a feigned attempt at showing emotion and silently counted the seconds. He made it to two before his calculated move paid off.

"You are one to talk, lecturing poor Mr. Wickham. The whole neighborhood knows you keep throwing yourself at Mr. Darcy and he never comes to call. Of course Mr. Darcy stole his inheritance. He is not a nice man." Kitty panted after her longest tirade to date against another sister. The winds began to pick up and a chill made Kitty shudder as her older sister remained speechless in front of her.

"May I?" Mr. Wickham attentively offered Kitty his coat and the two couples continued to walk on, practically leaving Elizabeth alone on the side of the road. With no other choice but to follow behind them, even Elizabeth had to admit she too was chilled to the bone by the sudden change in weather. She quickened her pace to surpass the couples and beat them to the edge of her father's property at which point she hastened her step to a near jog.

"Lizzie! You've returned." Her father met his wayward daughter at the door to receive a peck on the cheek. He ignored her as she tarried not in the foyer and dashed up the stairs. With a wary eye, Mr. Bennet stepped out to greet the two gentlemen escorting his youngest daughters with a sardonic grin and his hands clasped behind his back. He was never one to forgo a little sport at the expense of a new acquaintance, and his daughters' beaus were his favorite prime prey.

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CHAPTER 4

Drafty pews were always the first sign of winter approaching, and the cold tip of Elizabeth Bennet's nose distracted her as she attempted to sing from her hymnal. Next to her sister Mary, the middle Bennet daughter, she kept a serene face as Mary stood straighter than a pole and sang as loud as she could in her off-key voice. If volume was any indication of salvation, Mary was undoubtedly heaven bound.

Glancing away from her hymnal, Elizabeth caught the eye of Mr. Darcy staring at her from the left side of the church, where most visitors worshiped. She held his gaze and smiled, relishing the pleasant look on his face.

With the Netherfield party being the most prominent visitors to the area they naturally took the front pew, just as the Bennets, as one of the oldest families in Hertfordshire likewise sat every Sunday in the main front pew. Giving him a slight twist to her smile as a farewell sign, she pulled her focus back to the words of Christ descending with clouds and attempted to find meaning in the hymn. She stumbled over the call for the Lord to answer his own bride and found herself veritably choking to continue the verse. Quickly she covered her mouth as she coughed and tried to get back in time with the music, receiving a stern eye from her sister.

Another quick look to Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth caught him smiling at her, making her cheeks burn. He must have seen her cough and Elizabeth wished the church floor would open up and swallow her whole, or perhaps the Lord would have mercy and ascend her to Heaven at that very moment. Taking her seat at the end of the song, she handed the hymnal to Mary and rubbed her hands together before placing them over her mouth and nose. What little relief she felt soon froze back over as she could hear whispers behind her.

"And I heard he bought her an expensive rare edition from Mr. Hopkins shop."

"No!"

"Yes, it's all so secretive and a disgrace. He never comes to call on the family at large."

Elizabeth stared at the worn stone floor as her sister Mary leaned close to her and turned her head so the ladies behind them could also hear.

"But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."

The whispering stopped but the shame of being such a subject of gossip sloshed and spun in Elizabeth's stomach, making her most uncomfortable. She didn't dare look up again during the entire service and could barely comprehend the sermon's message of obedience to God's laws.

At the service's completion, she was further mortified by her mother's protracted departure as she specifically called out to the Netherfield party. Mr. Bingley happily attended to Jane to help her into the carriage while Miss Bingley sniffed as she walked past the Bennet family to await assistance into her own carriage.

Caroline looked back as Mr. Darcy paused beside Miss Elizabeth, her lips pursed with disdain as she accepted her brother-in-law Hurst's assistance.

"Miss Elizabeth," Mr. Darcy started and stopped. The two ladies sitting behind the Bennet family in church approached with barely whispered words of "disgraceful" and "hopeless flirt." He stared at the two women in question with his “Master of Pemberley” expression, causing both to halt in their musings and find a different direction for their steps.

"Miss Elizabeth, I must beg to request--" he began again, clasping his hands behind his back.

Elizabeth tried to look up at him, but she simply could not. Before she could hear what Mr. Darcy was to say, Mr. Bennet rapidly approached and easily escorted her away.

"Come Lizzie, your mother is in near hysterics over Mr. Bingley holding a ball and I fear if we tarry any longer she will help him write the guest list here and now." Mr. Bennet steered his daughter away from the great man and into the nearly full carriage. The gentleman from Derbyshire was left frowning.

Bingley joined his friend momentarily before both men mounted their horses as the Netherfield party was long gone and did not wait for the two of them to escort the carriage home.

"I say, Darcy, Hertfordshire is the best county in the kingdom. Yes, surely one of the finest."

Fitzwilliam Darcy stood watching the Bennet carriage roll away with a wistful feeling. He couldn't explain his desire to talk to Miss Elizabeth when he knew so little about her and nothing of her station leant meaningful consequence. His duty to his family never wavered on the expectation that he would marry a great heiress. But in his years of circling the ton, he had never found a woman with the spark of Miss Elizabeth. Thoughts of his young sister coming out and an unequal marriage making the Season difficult for her cemented his decision.

With a heavy sigh, Darcy mounted his own horse and steadied his hat.

"You find happiness in every situation, Charles. Yaw!" Darcy shouted his command and his favorite mount spurred into action, flinging clods of dirt behind him as his hooves galloped towards Netherfield.

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Dressed in layers upon layers, Elizabeth and Jane walked carefully through Winslow's Woods searching for greenery to decorate the house. Boughs of holly and branches of evergreen were sparser in their corner of England, but it never stopped the Bennets from properly observing the coming birth of the Savior.

"Do you think this one is too large? Imagine, if we put this great tree in the parlor, we might never have another conversation with Momma all season." Elizabeth squinted at a small pine tree that was still two feet over her head.

"Lizzie, don't be ridiculous." Jane laughed, adding more branches to her basket for the mantles.

Quietly, Elizabeth returned) to her thoughts which didn't settle her one bit. All she could think about was Mr. Darcy approaching her after church and what he was trying to say to her. Tensing her shoulders and releasing them, Elizabeth decided to implore her mind to seek a safer subject.

"Mr. Bingley truly asked you to dance the first dance, Jane? That will certainly be a feather in Momma's cap." Elizabeth kicked at some layers of leaves on the forest floor, delighting in the small storm at her feet. Years ago, she'd have run and kicked the leaves up into a flurry all around her, and come home with leaves, twigs, and possibly even an acorn or two tangled in her hair.

"He is such a nice man. We are truly friends."

"Friends! Friends! With as many teas as you take, I should hope you are much further along than just friends."

"Stop it, Lizzie! You know the man must dictate the course of a relationship. Besides, Mr. Bingley isn't always present when I visit."

Elizabeth snorted. "And a woman can certainly help him along."

Jane put down her basket and looked at her younger sister with a scolding look. "Forgive me, but are you suggesting I behave in such a way as to have the entire county talk about me?"

Elizabeth's lip quibbled. She wasn't prone to crying, far from it. But after a morning of gossip at church, and even a scolding by Mary after church, she couldn't endure Jane's rebuke as well. She turned away from Jane and tried to collect herself.

"Oh Lizzie, I'm so sorry. That was cruel of me." Jane tried to comfort her sister, but Elizabeth took another step forward.

"I do not try to act wrongly. I know the rules, and I just thought, well at first I thought that it was important to make sure he was well. And now, now I--"

"Ssssh, it's not your fault."

"No!" Elizabeth turned around. "I hate him. I hate him, Jane. He's mean. And rude, and I am so angry at myself because the more I try to not be attracted to him, the worse my affections for him become!" Elizabeth decided they had collected enough greenery for one afternoon and stomped past Jane to snatch up her basket.

Jane Bennet stood there shocked for a moment that Lizzie, her sister who never liked to talk about marriage or feelings, had just admitted she admired Mr. Darcy! Gathering a few branches they had left on the ground in her arms, Jane hurried after Elizabeth, quiet in thought with prayers that she could somehow bring her sister happiness.

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Dinner at Netherfield was a strained affair. Caroline and Louisa were in deep discussion about which of their gowns was best suited for the ball, and Darcy was deep in contemplation while stirring his soup. His right hand was nearly healed, and the soreness from his fall had abated some days ago. He was finding his thoughts preoccupied when a direct address from his friend's sister interrupted his quiet.

"I'm afraid the company will be onerous at best. Don't you agree, Mr. Darcy?" Caroline raised an eyebrow at him in a conspiratorial manner as he managed to sit across the table from her this evening.

Before he could answer, Bingley, at the front of the table, had a rejoinder.

"Don't be such a snob, Caroline. I find the families in the area perfectly amiable. The ball shall be a great success!"

Ah, they were talking about the ball. He hated to admit that like Caroline, he agreed the attendees would not be his first choice of company for an evening of dancing, but then neither would most of the ton. Suddenly, a vision of a playful set of blue eyes flashed before him and he smiled.

"See, Darcy agrees with me."

Darcy shook his head and finished a spoonful of soup. "Forgive me, Bingley, but you know how much I dislike large events. I purposely avoid these evenings in London and now I must attend."

"Buck up, old man. Life is for living!"

Darcy rolled his eyes and leaned back slightly as the next course was placed before him.

"Surely there are some ladies you will enjoy dancing with." Caroline preened and batted her eyes at him from across the table. Darcy blinked as he considered there truly was no safe place to sit for dinner. Next to Caroline, and she was forever placing her hand on his arm with every statement. Across from her, and he had to look at her. He should have feigned his illness longer and taken trays in his room.

"There is one pair of fine eyes I wouldn't mind accompanying for a half hour." Darcy said. He even smiled as he watched Caroline blush and look down in practiced coquetry as he knew she had no idea as to the true direction in which his interest lay. Yes, the evening may just be pleasant enough if he could dance a set or two with Miss Elizabeth Bennet, though anymore would give rise to expectations he could never fulfill. For Georgiana's sake.

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