An Unnatural Inheritance: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Read online

  “Why are you so insistent that the Bennets not know? Not that I truly care, but just for curiosity’s sake. Is this a matter of pride?”

  “My closest friend in the world is marrying into their family. Why would I not help?” Darcy said, ignoring the actual question. “ Now, if you would extend my offer to Mrs. Wickham—”

  “Oh she won’t be going. There’s far too much to be done before we are stationed in France, and the boys down at the War Office are running her ragged, truly. Do you know they have her sending intelligence reports each morning to men on ships on the other side of the sea? She just appears in their mirrors and chatters at them, it’s truly amazing,” Wickham said. “What an excellent position for her; she gets to speak to officers all day, which we know is her greatest passion.”

  Despite himself, Mr. Darcy could not help but partially agree with the man.

  Having made his offer, he excused himself, leaving his regards for Mrs. Wickham, and left the house quickly, breathing deep as he emerged onto the street outside the small rented home.

  He departed for London the next day, restless to be done with the journey, eagerly anticipating and dreading his trip to Hertfordshire in equal measure. How would Elizabeth receive him? Would she be eager for his return, or was she dreading it? Without thought he reached into the inner pocket of his coat and withdrew a creased letter, which had grown soft and wrinkled from repeated reads, and glanced down at it. It seemed foolish to carry it with him, but it contained her words, and as such it was the closest he had to a missive penned by that woman herself.

  “Things were not a happy affair at Longbourn for several weeks — I am sure you have heard by now about Miss Lydia, now the new Mrs. Wickham. I daresay the news has reached even you, sequestered up in Derbyshire. Miss Elizabeth seems to have taken the news especially hard. When she first arrived home and reported that Miss Lydia was in Portsmouth, I recommended we contact you, but she was adamantly against it. She claimed that she had hurt you too much already, though I confess I do not understand. She wishes you to not be involved, as she believes you will take responsibility and act of your own volition to fix the situation. It appears she knows you well.”

  She did knew him well; she had known that he would do exactly that — exert himself to not only find Miss Lydia, but see her well situated. How could he do anything but? But it warmed him to know that she understood him so fully; he had left directly from Pemberley, just after seeing her off to Hertfordshire.

  He smiled slightly and scanned the page again.

  “Her mood has, by some measure, recovered however, and I believe she has even begun practicing again, which my Jane assures me is a very good thing, though once again, I do not understand why. She read my fortune with cards the other night, and I must confess that I dearly hope she is as powerful as her sisters claim, for if she is, I am happy to announce my marriage shall be quite happy.”

  He had not known until that moment how clearly Elizabeth and her magic seemed linked: for how could she be happy when she was not practicing? It pained him to think that he was the cause of it.

  “I must insist you come at once to aid me in my quest of having the happiest marriage. No more of this ‘possibly’ nonsense. You are summoned, Darcy, and I insist you come.”

  ***

  By the time he arrived at Netherfield, Darcy was irritable and restless, viewing his carriage as a prison much the same as a lion would view its cage. He still had not formulated what he would say to Elizabeth, or how he would approach her. Should he renew his addresses? He had initially hoped to give her space and time away from him in order to come to terms with everything she had learned, and he hoped that the time would have made her come to think more fondly of him. But then when she appeared at Pemberley, he could not help himself — he had to see her. How could he not? Fate had clearly brought her to his door.

  She had seemed so warm and receptive, and although he had been resolved to stay away even from the wedding, her presence had given him a hope that he had once barely found possible. If she had not forgiven him for his atrocious words in Kent, surely she would not have been so kind at Pemberley, and would not have had tears in her eyes as she left him. But then, she had been through a trial during the scrying, and had received bad news. He shook his head. The tears could not have been for him.

  “Let me first see how she behaves,” he told himself; “it will then be early enough for expectation.”

  He was met in the front hall of Netherfield by Mr. Bingley, who was walking so fast he almost crashed into Darcy, who was himself breaking into a brisk pace in his effort to get up the stairs.

  “Darcy! My housekeeper didn’t tell me you had arrived, how are you?” Bingley said, his face lighting up in delight at the sight of his friend. “I was just on my way to Longbourn, would you like to accompany?” Bingley charged on, not waiting for an answer. “Or maybe I suppose not, actually, given everything.”

  Mr. Darcy felt his stomach give a nervous flip, and he nodded curtly.

  “I could do with a ride to stretch my legs. Would you allow me a half hour to refresh myself?” he asked, ignoring the clawing anxiety building within him. I knew I was nervous for the eventual reunion, but this seems excessive, he thought as he took a deep, steadying breath. He could not remember feeling so out of sorts — except, of course, for the day he had set off to Ramsgate, this same gnawing sensation eating at him the whole ride. But was it so very different from what he had felt when he rode into Pemberley the morning his father had died?

  At the time he had given no thought to either of these situations, for the disastrous events that followed both had all but chased his initial anxiety from his mind. But as he stood there, his hand almost shaking from the roiling waves of dread inside his stomach, it suddenly seemed all too coincidental.

  “Actually, I am eager to be off. Let us leave directly,” Darcy said, clenching and unclenching his fist by his side. He did not know what might await him, but he was suddenly very sure that he was needed at Longbourn immediately.

  XXXIV

  “You have a very small park here,” Lady Catherine sniffed, her eyes boring through Elizabeth.

  “Indeed, I must own it cannot compare to the park at Rosings, your Ladyship,” Elizabeth responded, still standing upright, her back ramrod straight. She had invited the elder woman to sit, but she had declined, and as such Elizabeth and her family still stood.

  “Miss Bennet, I wish to speak with you in a matter of privacy. There seemed to be a prettyish kind of a little wilderness on one side of your lawn. I should be glad to take a turn in it, if you will favor me with your company.''

  “Did you leave Mr. and Mrs. Collins in good health?” Elizabeth asked, fear tingling at her chest for the first time. Lady Catherine nodded curtly.

  “Indeed, they are well. I wish to speak of a more delicate matter, and as I have come all this way, I would rather dispense with pleasantries and not waste any more time.”

  Elizabeth felt the room grow uncomfortably warm and glanced over at Kitty, whose hands were clenched, an angry expression playing across her face. Mary looked over as well, and, realizing that Kitty’s anger was getting away from her, tapped her sister gently. Kitty started, and the heat began to slowly recede.

  “Lady Catherine, you can have nothing to say to me that my family cannot hear. We keep no secrets. Please, speak candidly; I have nothing to hide from them,” Elizabeth said, glancing back at Mary who nodded imperceptibly, clearly agreeing with Elizabeth’s belief of strength in numbers.

  Lady Catherine sniffed again, then straightened her back, as if preparing for a fight.

  “Miss Bennet, you cannot be mistook as to my arrival. Your own heart, your own conscience, must tell you why I come.”

  “You are mistaken, Lady Catherine,” Elizabeth responded curtly.

  “A report of a most alarming nature has reached me. As a Christian woman, I dared not to pay it credit, but as it impacts those in my employ and those whom I have
an acute interest in, it could not be ignored. Tell me, are you engaged to my nephew?”

  Elizabeth felt the heat flare into her cheeks in alarm, but she was silent for a moment.

  “Lady Catherine. I believe you are mistaken — it is my younger sister who has married a military officer. Though Colonel Fitzwilliam is a most engaging man, he and I have no understanding. Has he said something to you of his wishes?”

  Elizabeth caught a small smile at the corner of Jane’s mouth, but Lady Catherine looked murderous.

  “You impertinent girl! You know the nephew of which I speak. Are you involved with Mr. Darcy?”

  “I am not,” Elizabeth replied truthfully.

  “Did you or did you not employ black magic in an attempt to ensnare him into an engagement?”

  Behind her, all of the Bennet sisters gasped, and Mrs. Bennet’s mouth flapped open.

  “Your Ladyship, I must say, this is truly—” Mrs. Bennet began, but Lady Catherine cut her off.

  “Do not think me naive, girl! I know of your family and the rumors that follow you. Your eldest sister is shortly to be married to a man far above her station, who she could only have attracted using feminine allures and magical charms. And your youngest sister is a woman of the lowest sort, weaving magic for the Navy, all her repute gone despite the attempts at a hastily arranged marriage and commission, at the great expense of my nephews, no less!”

  “I beg your pardon madame,” Mrs. Bennet gasped, “but you are sorely mistaken! My youngest daughter is married to a naval captain who purchased his own commission in Portsmouth recently. I do not know why you believe your nephews would be involved, for surely I know nothing of these gentleman nor such claims!”

  “I do not take kindly to being interrupted, madame!” Lady Catherine barked, shocking Mrs. Bennet into silence. “I have proof; incontrovertible evidence, collaborated by my own curate, your next of kin. You cannot imagine the horror I felt when I discovered the effort my nephew undertook to keep your secret and aid this family — even going so far as to demean himself by asking an acquaintance in the Midnight Parliament to intervene on your behalf to grant permission to unbind your land! Now tell me, Miss Bennet, why my nephew would take such lengths if he was not engaged to you?”

  Elizabeth stood, nearly open mouthed, as she stared at the woman before her. It could not possibly be true. Surely Mr. Darcy was not to thank for the London attorneys coming to unbind the land? And what was this about Lydia and Wickham? She ached to give this woman a set down, to unleash her anger, but she stayed resolute and calm.

  “Lady Catherine, I must confess that I have no knowledge of these particulars, and cannot begin to understand your meaning. I know nothing of any effort Mr. Darcy has undertaken for our family, nor the particulars which you mention — especially not those regarding my younger sister,” Elizabeth responded calmly. “I believe you must be mistaken, for my new brother is a Captain in the Navy, and was awarded a purse recently for special services. You must know that he is no friend to Mr. Darcy — there is no earthly reason I can imagine why or how he could be involved.”

  “No earthly reason — no earthly reason? I daresay I cannot find one either! Why else would Darcy buy that wretched man’s commission and help them engage a house near port? Why else would my nephew Fitzwilliam call upon his connections? He has either made you an offer of marriage, or is fulfilling the terms of an arrangement you have agreed upon!” Lady Catherine was nearly shouting. “Now tell me at once, are you engaged? I shall have you know it is quite impossible, as my nephew is engaged to my daughter, and would never dare to ruin the family legacy by marrying a woman with such an unnatural inheritance. Are you engaged?”

  “Your ladyship has claimed it to be impossible, and I have already told you,” Elizabeth responded, her heart racing, her mind full of too much information and revelations to fully process at that moment.

  “Tell me at once!”

  Kitty squeaked, an indelicate noise that seemed to be pulled out of her by fear at the older woman’s tone, and Jane looked equally discomfited. Mary was giving Elizabeth a hard look that made it quite clear that the conversation should be ended immediately, and Mrs. Bennet looked as though she was on the verge of swooning.

  “I am not engaged to Mr. Darcy, no.”

  “And has he ever made you an offer?”

  “Your ladyship has claimed this to be impossible,” she repeated, eyeing her mother with reticence. She could never admit to such an event in front of her.

  “Why has my nephew taken such an interest in your family, you impertinent chit? I have never been treated thus in all my life, and I cannot believe I have stooped to try to rationalize with a practitioner of dark magic like yourself. Have you woven magic on him, using your allurements? Have you bewitched his mind? Men are weak, I know it is easily done! I demand an answer!”

  “I owe the Miss Bennets a debt that can never be properly repaid, Aunt Catherine. There is very little I would not do for them in order to show my gratitude,” came a low voice from the doorway. All six women turned at once to see Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley standing at the door, Mrs. Hill standing slightly behind them, her hands wringing with anxiety. Though he addressed his aunt, his eyes were only on Elizabeth.

  The color which had been driven from Elizabeth’s face by the argument returned for half a minute with an additional glow, and a smile of delight broke across her face as she thought for that space of time that his affection and wishes must still be unshaken. But she would not be secure.

  “Darcy! What on earth are you doing here?” his aunt bellowed.

  “I have come to watch Miss Jane Bennet’s wedding, a day I have been eagerly anticipating,” he said, pausing to bow at Jane. “My deepest congratulations, Miss Bennet.” He turned back to his aunt. “I may, however, ask you the same question.”

  Lady Catherine went ramrod straight, her nose elevated in the air.

  “I have had a most disturbing letter from my sister, your aunt, detailing your actions these past months, specifically your intervention with the Midnight Parliament and your support of that man, Wickham. I have come to hear the truth of it.”

  Mr. Darcy cocked his head to the side, a puzzled expression on his face.

  “Aunt Catherine, I do not understand what you mean. What have I done for Mr. Wickham? The last Bingley told me, he had bought a commission in the Navy and was preparing to serve them abroad. And I haven’t a clue what this business with the Midnight Parliament is. Are you well? You should sit, aunt. Mrs. Bennet, would it be too much to trouble you for some refreshment? My aunt seems depleted after her long journey.”

  Elizabeth bit the inside of her lip to keep back a laugh as she watched Mr. Darcy go to Lady Catherine’s side and take her arm to guide her to a chair as one would an elderly relation or an invalid.

  “I am quite well, Darcy, I am only greatly perturbed by this! What is this debt you owe? You could not possibly be beholden to people like this, they are the worst sort. They still practice, Darcy!”

  “Aunt, I have only known the Bennets to practice hospitality and civility, something which you are severely lacking right now,” he said quietly.

  Mrs. Bennet snapped for Hill to make haste with refreshments, and gingerly offered up another chair to Lady Catherine.

  “You may cease these efforts, I shall not be here long. But I will not go until I hear the truth of this from you, Darcy. Come, come back with me to London. I have arranged for Anne to be there, and we will publish your engagement in this week’s paper,” Lady Catherine said in a tone that she must have thought sounded placating. “I care not if you keep this girl, it is nothing to me; but these kind of arrangements are meant to be discrete, boy, and such open endeavors reflect badly on Anne. You must understand, I cannot allow this.”

  In the grate across from Lady Catherine, a fire sprung to life, emerging from the logs with a crack and a hiss so loud that everyone save Mr. Darcy jumped at the sound, and Elizabeth was too late to stifle her g
asp when she saw that every candle in the room had followed suit. She stared down at her hands, sure that she had not caused it, then looked to Mary and Kitty, who were each staring with wide eyes and flushed cheeks at Mr. Darcy.

  The air was crackling around the man, pulsating in waves near him, static coming off of him with a dim hum, and Elizabeth was sure that if one were to even lightly touch him they would come away scorched. Elizabeth stepped forward, her hand reaching out before she had time to correct herself, but she was saved from embarrassment when Mr. Bingley let out a loud shout.

  “Good God, Darcy, is that you?”

  Mr. Darcy tensed and the fire around the room went out with a single hiss as the color drained from his face. Lady Catherine looked on in horror, her face contorted into a mask of disgust.

  “I would never! I knew that man was filth! To think my sister married — that this family has been thus polluted! Is this what you are teaching Georgiana? I won’t have it, I won’t—”