Page 26 of The Duke of Derby (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

Felix Appleby, heir to the Duke of Sansbury, walked down a pleasant street in Mayfair. The street was lined with large homes, of the kind one only found in the most expensive part of the district. In fact, his own home was merely one block away.

But he was not walking down this street because he lived on it. Rather, he was walking toward Derby House. As he approached, he wondered if today would be the day he would finally ring the bell and ask to see Lady Mary.

He had walked past this house every day since the ball that introduced Duke Derby’s daughters to society, seven days in total.

The reason for that was not, as it might appear, obsession, affection, or attraction, at least not in the typical meaning of those words.

The best word to describe how he felt about Lady Mary was curiosity.

She was fundamentally uninteresting, at least that was his opinion after his dance with her.

He had tried to speak of topics nearly anyone would have some knowledge of, but still she said very little.

It was only later, when he noticed she was not feeling well, that he began to think about her with any degree of interest.

As he tried to help her, she repeatedly attempted to push him away. It was a novel experience for Felix. His status and wealth ensured that nearly any lady in London would be overjoyed to be the object of his attention, even if it was simply that he picked up something that they dropped.

Lady Mary, however, was not one of them, and the novelty of the situation made him reluctant to leave her side.

It was only after she explained that she had been forgotten by Mr. Hounsworth, that he began to realize that she was not pushing him away because she disliked him or because he made her uncomfortable. Rather, she was expecting him to leave, and she was providing him the opportunity to do so.

Pity for the young lady who was always left out or passed over welled up within him, and he resolved, just for one evening, to give her the attention that she certainly deserved, not because she was a Lady but because she was a person.

As they began to speak more openly, however, he learned that there was much more to this lady than was easily discernable.

Her ideas on morality were unique, and her knowledge of literature in general and philosophy specifically was unusually vast for a lady.

Thoughts he had only ever heard expressed by his tutor came out of this Lady’s mouth as if they were common knowledge.

And they were not all nice, happy thoughts like one would expect from a wealthy, sheltered young lady. She was, in fact, quite cynical at times and almost always objective, as if she were looking at society from an outside perspective rather than being a part of it.

Altogether, it made for the most cerebral discussion he had ever had at a ball.

He longed to have such a discussion again. His friends here in London were all good company, but he had only ever had one friend that he could speak to like that, and that friend lived in the country. Since Felix lived in the city almost year-round, he hadn’t seen that friend in a couple of years.

Which was all to explain why he had traversed this particular street every day since the ball.

It would be so easy to simply call on the young lady, but she was certain to be surrounded by her sisters and her mother.

From what he had gathered, she was extremely unlikely to speak of anything but the most mundane things in her family’s presence. It was certain to be a disappointment.

As Felix approached the door to Derby House, he felt tension rising within him. Would today be the day he finally took the risk? Apparently not, was the answer as he simply passed the door.

Suddenly, he stopped. This was ridiculous behavior, he berated himself. He either needed to ring the bell or stop walking past her house.

He turned and headed up the steps. He rang the bell. He waited for the door to open. He announced himself. Then, he was led into the parlor. It had all been easy enough, perfectly normal, in fact.

The parlor contained all four of the sisters and their mother, and all of them were staring at him.

Felix suddenly wondered if he had made a mistake.

Since the butler had announced that he was calling specifically on Lady Mary, he bowed a greeting to the group then turned toward the young lady he had hoped to see.

With confusion in her eyes, she curtseyed a greeting. Hesitantly, she asked, “Would you like some refreshment? Some tea, perhaps?”

“No, thank you,” he replied. “I only wished to speak with you for a few minutes.”

“Very well,” she said, though it was clear his answer did not resolve any of her confusion. She sat in the chair she had been sitting in earlier and gestured for him to take a seat next to her.

Her seat was a little removed from the rest of her family, which made Felix unaccountably sad. Even in her own home, Lady Mary kept herself slightly apart from everyone.

“Was there something specific you wished to discuss?” she asked.

“Not really,” he said. “I have been thinking of our discussion at your ball over the last week, and I simply wished to continue it.”

“I see,” she said, though her expression indicated that she did not.

“When last we spoke, you mentioned you had not had much opportunity to read lately. I was thinking that life might have slowed down this week, since your family is better established. Have you read anything interesting?”

“In fact, I have,” she said. “At least, I thought it interesting. You might find it to be. Papa took me to a bookstore a few days ago, and I came across a treatise concerning all the different ways cows can get sick and how to treat them.”

Felix was suddenly glad he had not accepted her offer of refreshments, because if he had been drinking tea at that moment, he would have spat it out in surprise. “You don’t say,” was the only way he could think to respond.

“Oh yes,” she said. “It was fascinating. I never knew there were so many diseases unique to cows. I always assumed that anything that could hurt a cow could also hurt a sheep or even a human, but I have learned the error of my way of thinking on that subject. It even included sketches so that the reader could identify illnesses or injuries should he or she come across them.”

“Sketches? Of injuries?” he asked. The thought made him slightly queasy.

“Oh, yes,” she replied in all seriousness. “There were also sketches of different types of sores and growths as well.”

Felix stared at Lady Mary. This was a side of her he had not expected, but he supposed that if one was fond of reading simply for the sake of learning, a book on cow diseases could be just as interesting as a history book.

As he watched her face, he realized that there was a slight twinkle of humor in her eyes. He realized that she knew that what she was saying was outrageous, and she wished to see how he would respond.

“I am afraid you have the advantage over me on that subject,” he replied. “I admit, I have never thought to read such a thing. Though that does bring something to mind. Perhaps you can tell me what it means when a cow’s fur is patchy, and her voice has changed pitch.”

A smile played at her lips, and Felix was entranced at the sight.

He half expected her to call him out on such a ridiculous pair of symptoms, but instead she played along.

“I recall quite a long list of things that can cause patchy fur, though I don’t remember anything about a change in the cow’s voice.

Perhaps, I should go fetch the book and we can look at the pictures together.

That may help you narrow it down a bit.”

Her eyes were fully sparkling with mischief, and her mouth had stretched into an almost complete smile. He gave up and said, “I beg you not to. I am afraid seeing such things might completely turn my stomach.”

“I thought as much,” said Lady Mary. “I appreciate your honesty. Of course, we can change the subject if you wish. Have you read anything particularly interesting? Or perhaps you have done something unusual this week.”

“I am afraid I have not read anything new this week, though I did re-read the Iliad in my spare time. The most interesting thing that happened was that I won a boxing match.”

“You say that as if it is unusual,” she said. “I assumed that, since you practice so often, you must be fairly good at it.”

He shook his head. “Not in the least. Even though I have been training for three years, I can count the number of times I’ve won on a single hand. The only reason I won a match this week was because I was pitted against a beginner who was even skinnier than I am.”

“That makes it difficult to know whether to congratulate you or not,” she said. “While I am happy you won a match, it feels wrong somehow to congratulate someone for beating a weakling.”

“You may congratulate me with no blow to your conscience,” said Felix. “The young man thanked me for the match, claiming that he had learned much. I fully expect he will be able to beat me in a matter of months.”

“Then I congratulate you on your win,” said Lady Mary, “and I am glad you were able to help someone else improve their skills.”

They continued to chat easily and fluidly. Neither of them noticed the occasional odd look they received from each of the other inhabitants of the room.

When he left, Felix resolved to return again soon.