Page 2 of I am Jael (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

Elizabeth Bennet lifted her eyes from her book to gaze outside the window.

It had been a tedious two days with wind and rain pummeling her family home of Longbourn.

She loved to walk outside, to enjoy fresh air and wind and trees and falling leaves, and being trapped at home was difficult under the best of circumstances.

The combination of a satirical and lazy father, an anxious and vulgar mother, and five daughters with a wide range of personalities meant that there was often conflict and strife and noise.

This week was not the best of circumstances, either.

Her father’s cousin and heir to Longbourn, Mr. Collins, had descended on the Bennets like a leech, only five days previously.

He was a servile, irritating man, whose primary focus was his ‘esteemed’ patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Elizabeth forced herself to concede that Collins had every reason to be courteous towards the lady, since the man was a clergyman whose living had been bestowed by Lady Catherine herself.

But Mr. Collins was not merely courteous, he was slavishly devoted to Lady Catherine. Elizabeth and the rest of the family had been forced to listen to hours upon hours of pedantic mutterings about Lady Catherine’s wise sayings. It was infuriating.

Worse than that, Mr. Collins had been ordered by Lady Catherine to propose marriage to one of the Bennet girls, in order to make up for the loss of their home when Mr. Bennet died and Mr. Collins inherited the estate.

Collins had taken a long look at Jane, the eldest Bennet sister, but Mrs. Bennet had put him off by claiming that Mr. Bingley was on the verge of proposing to the lovely Jane.Whether this was true or not was unclear, but her mother’s words had put Elizabeth firmly in Mr. Collins’s sights.

Elizabeth would not marry the man. He was foolish, clumsy, and stupid. She could not, would not, marry a man whom she could not respect. She was not yet of age but her father, who loved her, would not force her to marry her cousin. But her mother ...

Elizabeth shuddered. She loved her mother, but Fanny Bennet was focused on the marriage of her daughters to the exclusion of any concern for compatibility or happiness.

If Mr. Collins did propose, and Elizabeth refused his offer, Mrs. Bennet would succumb to the greatest attack of nerves the household had ever seen.

This was why Elizabeth Bennet was feigning a headache and hiding in her room with her father’s copy of Hamlet.

Her family’s situation had its challenges but, she thought with a chuckle, at least her uncle had not murdered her father and married her mother.

There were more challenging clans, in literature at least.

A soft scratching at the door pulled her attention from her book, and Elizabeth looked up with a sigh of regret.

Mr. Collins would not, of course, accost her in her room, but it was all too likely that her mother was summoning her downstairs to the parlor.

On the other hand, it was still but nine and a half hours into the morning, and neither her mother nor Mr. Collins was an early riser.

“Come in,” she called softly, and was relieved when her sister Mary stepped quietly into the room.

“Mary,” she said with a welcoming smile.

“Elizabeth,” the girl replied nervously.

“What is it?”

“Elizabeth, would you be willing to walk with me to Meryton?” Mary asked tentatively.

Elizabeth looked out of the window in surprise. It was not raining at the moment, but the sky was dark and the winds turbulent.

“The weather is rather uncertain, Mary,” she pointed out, rising to her feet.

“Joseph was in town earlier this morning, obtaining some necessary items for Cook. Mr. Smayle informed him that my latest purchase has arrived at the bookstore, Fordyce’s The Character and Conduct of the Female Sex. I would very much like to obtain it as quickly as possible, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth smiled again, this time a little sadly.

She knew that Mary often felt overlooked in the Bennet household.

She was the one Bennet girl who had not inherited their mother’s great beauty, and thus constantly struggled for attention through other means.

Her devotion to Fordyce’s sermons was quite tedious, in Elizabeth’s opinion, but she sympathized with her sister and her situation.

The ironic reality was that of all the Bennet daughters, Mary was the most likely to accept Mr. Collins offer and, indeed, prove a good wife to him.

But sadly, Mr. Collins was fixated on Elizabeth, at least for now.

Like many a man, Mr. Collins looked at the outward appearance instead of the inner soul.

A sensible man would have realized quickly that Elizabeth would be an exceedingly regrettable choice for a wife, but Mr. Collins was not sensible.

Elizabeth looked outside again, considering. She was an avid walker and the distance to Meryton was not great. She and Mary could be there and back quickly. So long as the rains held off, they would be well.

“We will need to dress warmly and move quickly,” she cautioned.

“Thank you, Elizabeth,” her sister said with gratitude, turning on her heel and stepping quickly out of the room.

Elizabeth gathered up her reticule and followed rapidly. She might get cold and indeed wet, but she would avoid some time in contact with Mr. Collins.

/

Georgiana Darcy looked out the carriage window with anticipation. The journey from London to Hertfordshire was, she supposed, generally a pleasant one. Today the journey had been unpleasantly bumpy because of muddy roads.

She looked with concern at her companion, Mrs. Annesley.

The older woman had a tight expression on her face which bespoke internal distress, and Georgiana felt a stab of sympathy and guilt.

She knew that her paid companion suffered when the carriage swayed and jolted excessively, and she was responsible for this sudden trip to Netherfield.

“Are you well, Mrs. Annesley?” she asked softly.

“I am, Miss Darcy,” the other woman assured her, though her pallor remained.

There was a distinct alteration in the sound of the wheels against the road and Georgiana glanced outside to observe the coach had entered a town. Impulsively, she tapped on the ceiling of the coach. A moment later, a small window opened and Coachman Jack glanced down at her curiously.

“Yes, Miss Darcy?”

“Please stop the carriage, Jack,” she instructed. “Mrs. Annesley is unwell.”

“I am quite all right, Miss Darcy,” the other woman replied uncomfortably.

“Nonsense,” Georgiana stated firmly. “I could use a moment to stretch my legs, and I realize that I forgot to pack my pencils. Perhaps we can find a store here and wander about for a few minutes to settle ourselves.”

“I am concerned that the Colonel will worry about us, Miss Darcy.”

Georgie shook her head, “Richard rode on well ahead of us to inform Mr. Bingley of our coming arrival. He will not worry if we do not stay long. Please, Mrs. Annesley, let us take a few moments to recover from a rather challenging journey before traveling the rest of the way to Netherfield Hall.”

“Very well, Miss Darcy.”

Georgiana turned as the door opened and a moment later Jacob (or possibly John) reached out a gloved hand to help her alight from the carriage.

The identical twins were tall, blue eyed, dark haired, strong, and devoted to the Darcy family.

With the twins accompanying them, Georgiana knew she was well protected.

Colonel Fitzwilliam would not worry even if they were a few minutes later than expected.

“I believe that shop will do nicely,” the girl said with a nod toward a nearby store. It appeared to be a more general store than was typical in London; there were various wares in the front windows, including small household items and colored papers.

Mrs. Annesley glanced at John (or Jacob), “Would one of you be willing to walk with us to the store, and the other to stay with the coach?”

“John will go with you, Madam,” Jacob said courteously.

Georgiana sighed in relief. At least she knew which twin was which now. With Mrs. Annesley at her side, she walked carefully toward the store, keeping her skirts lifted well above the muddy street.

The shop was surprisingly full of people.

Georgiana smiled shyly at those who looked at her, but mostly kept her attention on the various wares.

There were indeed pencils and pens. She carefully perused the available items before choosing a set.

She was no great artist, but she enjoyed sketching flowers and trees, and Hertfordshire was a lovely place.

“Are you ready, Miss Darcy?”

“Yes, Mrs. Annesley.”

“I am afraid we will have to wait a few minutes. There are quite a few people waiting to purchase their items.”

“’Tis the rain, Madam,” said an older woman dressed in the garb of a well-to-do farmer’s wife. “The rains have kept us indoors the last few days and now we need to purchase necessities.”

“I understand,” Mrs. Annesley stated with her gentle smile. “We meant no disrespect. We will gladly wait our turn.”

Georgiana nodded at her words, but did not speak.

Indeed, she did not mind waiting here for a few minutes.

The shop, while simple compared to London establishments, was warm and cozy, and the proprietor seemed a cheerful man.

She glanced around again, her eyes falling on the front window.

Her vision sharpened and she suppressed a gasp of shock.

George Wickham, tall and proud, dressed in militia red, was in the street.

Georgie watched incredulously as he swaggered into a shop across the way.

A book store.

Georgiana Darcy, daughter of George and Anne Darcy, sister of Fitzwilliam Darcy, breathed a silent prayer. This was her chance.

“Mrs. Annesley?”

“Yes, Miss Darcy?”

“Would you be so kind as to purchase my pencils while I peruse the bookstore across the way? I would like to purchase a small present for my brother, and he enjoys books most of all. I will take John with me.”

Mrs. Annesley frowned slightly, her brown eyes thoughtful, then nodded decisively, “Very well, Miss Darcy. Do keep John with you at all times.”

“I will stay with Miss Darcy,” the man assured them both.

John, for all his size, had a nearly miraculous ability to stay out of the way when needed, but Georgiana knew that he would be a bulwark at her back if necessary.

She would never confront Wickham alone but with John along, she would be completely safe.

With a determined lift of her chin, Georgiana Darcy walked out of the shop, across the road, and into the store to confront the man who had nearly ruined her life.