Page 24 of Darcy in Distress (Pride and Prejudice Variation #17)

Drawing Room

Netherfield

“Oh, Elizabeth, I am so happy!” Georgiana exclaimed, though she kept her voice low.

There was no certainty that the servants were in league with either Lady Catherine or the Earl of Matlock, but it seemed wise to keep the upcoming nuptials as secret as possible.

No one wanted Mr. Collins descending on Netherfield in a storm of outraged recriminations, after all.

“We will need to purchase a common license so Miss Elizabeth and Darcy can be wed immediately,” Wickham said briskly.

“We will not,” Richard answered just as briskly. “I have a special license in my pocket.”

His audience turned to him with gratified astonishment, and the colonel continued gleefully, “I received it from my father, who gave it to me in the hopes that I would marry Georgiana immediately. There seems no reason to let my father’s kindness go to waste, so you can use it, Darcy! ”

Darcy’s eyes lit up at these words, and Elizabeth, who was already reeling at the realization that she was engaged and soon to be married to the Master of Pemberley, caught her breath.

Her fiancé was always remarkably handsome, but she had rarely seen him happy.

He was, at this moment, quite the most striking man she had ever seen!

“Miss Elizabeth,” Wickham said, turning to her. “May I inquire as to your age?”

“I will be one and twenty next summer,” she answered.

This caused the gentlemen to look at one another in concern and Darcy said, “We will need your father’s blessing then, Elizabeth, and I would not be surprised if he refuses to permit you to marry in such haste, especially into our family.”

“You are quite wrong,” Elizabeth answered fondly, reaching out to take Darcy’s hand in her own. “Only this morning, my father declared that he thought you the perfect husband for me and said that he hoped we would make a match of it.”

Darcy looked awestruck at these words, and Richard laughed and said, “It seems that the Lord has already paved the way for you, Cousin.”

“Indeed He has,” Darcy agreed, a lump in his throat. “Nonetheless, I must visit Mr. Bennet and formally ask his permission. It will be night soon, so I had best ride over to Longbourn now. Fortunately the moon is nearly full, so I can ride back safely after sunset.”

“Perhaps I ought to go as well,” Bingley said in a studiously calm way. “I can assist in distracting Mr. Collins if needed.”

“And I,” Wickham said, “probably ought to speak to the local parson, Mr. Allen. I presume he should be willing to come here tomorrow morning to perform the ceremony, Miss Elizabeth?”

Elizabeth, whose head was awhirl with all these competent plans, nodded and said, “Yes, so long as my father gives his blessing, which I know he will.”

“As for you, Richard,” Darcy declared, suddenly turning on his heel to stare into his cousin’s face, “I hope you are ready to defend the ladies if there should be another raid. We have the manservants at all the entrances, but if there is a problem, you have both the right and the ability to kill anyone who would attempt to harm the womenfolk.”

“I doubt that will be a concern,” Richard answered, his eyes shifting to Georgiana, who now looked nervous.

“Matlock is overly confident of his ability to force his will on us and will wait for me to return, either with hat in hand or with Georgiana on my arm. Nonetheless, I will be armed and ready while you are gone. ”

“My footmen, John and Jacob, will stay here to assist you in guarding the ladies,” Darcy promised. “Bingley, shall we go?”

/

Library

Longbourn

Mr. Bennet stared down onto the piece of foolscap paper, his lips pursed in deep thought.

It would be far easier to rescue the younger sister, Princess Zestra, if her castle was in the middle of a maze of tall, thick hedges as opposed to being on top of a tall mountain.

Perhaps a servant could be suborned so that the shepherd Samuel could creep in and rescue the princess.

Should he kill the twin princesses’ parents? No, this was not meant to be a tragedy…

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and he peered at the clock, then at the door with disapproval. The servants knew, as did his wife and daughters, that he was not to be disturbed in the library after dinner. It was probably Mr. Collins, which was an unhappy thought .

He stuffed his papers into the appropriate drawer on his desk, turned the key, and called, “Come in!”

The door opened and to his considerable surprise, his butler entered with two familiar gentlemen in his wake.

“Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley,” Hill announced, and then withdrew out of the room.

Bennet sighed inwardly but forced himself to rise and greet his evening visitors with courtesy, if not with warmth.

Hill was an intelligent man; if he thought the two gentlemen from Netherfield needed to see Bennet tonight, then he had good reason.

“Please, do sit down,” Bennet said after the appropriate greetings. “Would you care for some brandy or port wine?”

“Brandy for me, please,” Bingley said. Darcy, who was too nervous to drink anything, merely shook his head and took a seat across from his fiancée’s father.

The master of Longbourn carefully poured two glasses of brandy for himself and Bingley, even as he cast sidelong glances at Darcy.

The man had a great deal on his mind, of course, given the abduction of Lady Anne and his battle with Lord Matlock, but the young man looked genuinely frightened.

Had some other calamity befallen the Darcys in the last few hours?

“Mr. Darcy,” he said, sitting down and turning his attention on the taller of his guests. “Has something happened since I saw you this morning? ”

Darcy nodded and said, “Yes, that is, well, Mr. Bennet, I have a request, but before I begin, I think I ought to explain that my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, spoke to his father, the earl, my uncle…”

“Darcy, you should just spit out your request,” Bingley suggested.

“Yes, please do,” Bennet invited, taking a sip of brandy.

Darcy swallowed, took a deep breath, and said, “Mr. Bennet, I have asked your daughter, Miss Elizabeth, to marry me, and she has accepted. I request your blessing on our engagement and marriage.”

Bennet straightened in amazement and set his glass down on his desk with a thump. “Mr. Darcy, this is a surprise, though a delightful one! I was speaking only to Elizabeth this morning about your suitability as partners in life. You have my blessing, of course!”

Darcy relaxed and heaved an obvious sigh of relief, which provoked a smile from the older gentleman.

“I suppose it is the habit of many a father to harass the man who wishes to marry his daughter,” Bennet said, his eyes twinkling with amusement, “but I choose not to make the effort this time. Indeed, Mr. Darcy, while I will miss my Lizzy very much, I believe you are her perfect match. ”

“I agree,” Darcy said solemnly, “my only concern is my family situation, which is, as you know, tainted by scandal and turmoil.”

Bennet waved an airy hand. “I care not for such things, not in the least. You are a good man with, regrettably, foolish and immoral relations. I am confident that you will do your best to keep my daughter safe, comfortable and happy.”

“I will,” Darcy agreed in a fervent tone. “I give you my word.”

“Excellent. Now, I presume that you wish to wait until Lady Anne is recovered before you marry Elizabeth?”

Darcy bit his lip and exchanged quick glances with Bingley before saying, “No, sir. Indeed, we have a special license and plan to marry tomorrow morning at Netherfield.”

Bennet, who had just taken another sip of brandy, choked and coughed several times before gasping, “Tomorrow morning? Are you in earnest?”

“I am, sir,” Darcy answered, and proceeded to explain about Lord Matlock’s ultimatum, and Lady Catherine’s demands, and his desire to cut off a tug of war over his own person. By the time he was done, Bennet was nodding along, though his forehead was creased with thought .

“I understand completely,” Bennet said, “and if Elizabeth is agreeable to a rapid wedding, I am as well. Jane will want to attend her sister’s wedding – she and Elizabeth have always been very close – and of course I will be there to give her away.

Perhaps we can journey to Netherfield early tomorrow morning to avoid Mr. Collins?

I assume you would prefer that he not be there? ”

Both of the gentlemen from Netherfield shuddered noticeably and Darcy said, “We very much do not want Mr. Collins to be present. He is of the view that Lady Catherine has the power and right to control my life, and would doubtless do his poor best to disrupt the wedding. But may I inquire whether Mrs. Bennet might be able to attend? I presume that Elizabeth would like her mother there.”

Bennet frowned, tapped his fingers on his lips, then stared first at Darcy, then at Bingley. “Sirs, I have something I wish to tell you, but I must be assured of your secrecy.”

“Of course,” Darcy answered. “I give you my word.”

“And mine too, of course,” Bingley added.

“Very good. The truth is that Mrs. Bennet is with child and is feeling very ill. While she would be delighted to attend the wedding, she is, at the moment, quite unable to do so. ”

Darcy and Bingley exchanged amazed looks and Bingley said, “While I am grieved that your wife is so unwell, may I say, congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Bennet returned, and sighed.

“It is a blessing, of course, but I am fearful about her health and a safe delivery given her age. Nonetheless, well, at any rate, we are doing all we can for her. In the meantime, I do not wish Collins to know that there is a possibility that he could be displaced as heir by my son. It would add confusion to an already difficult situation here at Longbourn.”

“I understand completely,” Darcy said fervently. “Very well, then, if that is all...”

Bennet frowned again and said, “There is one more thing you should know, Mr. Darcy, but again, I must require your promise that you will not speak of this to anyone.”

“You have my word, of course,” Darcy said. “My life is to be joined with your daughter tomorrow, and your secrets are mine to keep.”

“As for me,” Bingley added, “I can leave the room if you require private time with Darcy, though I ... well, I have every intention of offering for Miss Bennet, and if she does me the honor of accepting me...”

“You can stay, Bingley,” Bennet said. “I trust you both as honorable gentlemen, and I am confident both of Jane’s acceptance, and your suitability as a husband to my eldest daughter. One moment, please.”

The master of Longbourn rose to his feet, stepped briskly over to a nearby bookshelf, selected three books, and returned to his desk. He put the three books down, side by side, and said, “Gentlemen, have you seen these books before?”

Darcy looked down in confusion at Fireflies at Twilight, These Green Mountains , and The Call of the Owl , all by Olivia Bluebell.

“I have not read them, Mr. Bennet,” he said, “though I have, of course, heard of Olivia Bluebell. I believe she is one of Miss Darcy’s favorite authors.”

“I have read them,” Bingley said, though he looked slightly embarrassed at the confession. “I daresay they are not great literature, but they are most amusing. My sisters both enjoyed her books very much.”

“I am glad to hear that,” Bennet answered, his eyes now dancing with merriment, “because I am the author known as Olivia Bluebell!”