The Resolute Suitor: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Read online

  The Resolute Suitor

  A Pride and Prejudice Variation

  By Don H. Miller

  The Resolute Lover

  Copyright 2014 by Don H. Miller

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any format whatsoever.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious and are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Acknowledgements

  The picture on the book cover is “On the Threshold” by Edmund Blair Leighton.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Hunsford Cottage

  Chapter 2: Col. Fitzwilliam Explains

  Chapter 3: Revelations

  Chapter 4: Georgiana Meets Elizabeth

  Chapter 5: Discussing Elizabeth

  Chapter 6: Visiting Georgiana

  Chapter 7: A Family Meeting at Matlock House

  Chapter 8: Monday at Matlock House

  Chapter 9: Before Tea at Dumont House

  Chapter 10: Tea at Dumont House

  Chapter 11: To Debut or Not

  Chapter 12: Darcy Returns

  Chapter 13: The Ball at Denby House

  Chapter 14: Lady Matlock Listens and Advises

  Chapter 15: A Letter from Longbourn

  Chapter 16: At the Bookstore

  Chapter 17: Tea at the Gardiner’s

  Chapter 18: Another Ball

  Chapter 19: Hertfordshire

  Chapter 20: Lady Catherine Objects

  Chapter 21: Pemberley

  Chapter 22: Tragedy at Longbourn

  Chapter 23: Mr. Bennet’s Will

  Chapter 24: Was it Arson

  Chapter 25: Lydia’s Story

  Chapter 26: Lydia and Mary

  Chapter 27: Dinner at Matlock House

  Chapter 28: Lunch at the Gardiners

  Chapter 29: Four Days Before The Wedding

  Chapter 30: The Wedding

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Chapter 1: Hunsford Cottage

  Elizabeth, who had declined the invitation to go to dinner at Rosings Park because of a headache, was alone, sitting at the table in the Collins’ sitting room, reading over the last letter she received from Jane, when she heard a knock at the front door. Not long after, Heidi, the Collins’ maid, opened the door to the sitting room and, much to her surprise, Darcy entered.

  She stood and curtsied. “Good evening, Mr. Darcy. I did not expect visitors. I hope nothing is wrong at Rosings Park.”

  “No, Miss Elizabeth. When Mr. Collins reported you had declined the invitation to dinner because you were not feeling well, I resolved that after supper I would come over and see if you were feeling better and if there was anything I might do for you.”

  “It is but a headache, Mr. Darcy. However, it was of sufficient pain I decided I would find it difficult to be good company tonight.”

  “I am sorry to hear it. You are sure there is nothing I can do for you.”

  “No, Mr. Darcy, the quiet I have enjoyed since the Collinses left has caused the headache to subside so that it is almost gone. I would offer you a cup of tea, but I fear our being alone together would not be considered appropriate.”

  “I am glad you are better, and I suppose you are right. I should not be here alone with you, but would you be willing to put up with me for just a short time. I have something I wish to say.”

  Elizabeth looked at him, puzzled as to what he needed to say to her. “Very well, as long as your stay is not long. I would hate to do something to offend Lady Catherine or Mr. Collins. Would you be seated?”

  “Thank you, no.” He then went over to the fireplace and looked into the fire for a considerable time, as if composing what he wanted to say, while Elizabeth, who had seated herself on the couch, continued to look at him in puzzlement, saying nothing.

  Finally he turned and looked intently at her. “Miss Elizabeth, surely it has been obvious to you at Netherfield and as we interacted here that my feelings for you are very strong. I hope you will allow me to tell you how much I have come to love and respect you. I have struggled in vain to deny my feelings for you, but have determined there is no other woman in England quite like you and despite the possible disapproval from within my family, I would like you to be my wife. Would you do me the honor of accepting my hand in marriage?”

  Elizabeth’s face expressed her shock. Of all the things that Darcy could have said to her, what he had just uttered was far outside the realm of possibilities she could have imagined. Her mind went blank and she did not know how to respond to him. He had struggled in vain? Did this mean he had loved her most of the time when she thought he had disapproved of her? If so, how could she have so misread his feelings? What had there been about his demeanor when he was looking at her so intently that caused her to think he was looking for fault when, in fact, he may have been trying to convey interest in her? It seemed impossible she could so misinterpret him. Had her reaction to his statements at the assembly she had overhead which had related to her so upset her, she had allowed her emotions to override her reason and ability to assess his character?

  She did not answer for so long, Darcy became concerned and finally said, “Have you no answer for me? Have I completely misjudged our relationship? I thought you would welcome, perhaps even expect my proposal, but from the look of consternation face, it seems that my proposal was quite unexpected.”

  She put her hands on the sides of her face and slowly shook her head. “Mr. Darcy, I scarcely know how to respond. ‘Unexpected’ is hardly the word for it. I would not have been more shocked had you told me the French had landed in Kent and were approaching Rosings Park. All these months I have thought you thoroughly disapproved of me. You early indicated your lack of interest in me at the assembly when you said I was tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt you and that you did not like to give consequence to young women slighted by other men. As a result, I have never purposely sought your attentions and certainly did not imagine you were developing affection for me.”

  Darcy was both embarrassed and astonished by her disclosure. “I have wondered if you heard my thoughtless remarks at the assembly. I do apologize for them. You may find it hard to believe, but they actually had nothing to do with you. I had not even truly looked at you. I had been dealing with a highly distressing family situation just before I came to Netherfield and I was in no mood to be at the assembly at all. I only said what I said to stop Bingley’s exhortations that I dance. Over the weeks following the assembly, I decided you must not have heard them, because we had what I considered some of the most pleasant interactions I have ever had with a young woman. I thought during those interactions you enjoyed our often vigorous conversations and were at times flirting with me. That you were not seeking my attentions and thought I disapproved of you surprises me. Surely you must have noticed I could hardly keep my eyes off of you.”

  “Mr. Darcy, I love verbal combat and you were a worthy adversary, so I did enjoy our conversations. But almost all of our encounters were by chance; I rarely sought them out. Furthermore, I often got the impression you did not approve of my forthright manner and tendency to argue. As for you looking at me often, I did notice it, but, based on your comments at the assembly, which colored much of my opinion of you, I chose to interpret those looks as looks of disfavor rather than looks of appreciation.”

  “Clearly I have greatly misjudged events and I apologize my offer so distressed you it is classified as being as distasteful as a French invasion. I will take my leave.”
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br />   “Mr. Darcy, that is not what I said. I said it shocked me as much. I know you thought you were honoring me with your proposal, particularly given my station in life compared to yours, and I must concede it is an honor. But I still cannot understand why you made it. You do not know me well and we have hardly had any sort of courtship. Why would you propose marriage with no courtship—particularly knowing, as you say, making me your wife would probably meet with disapproval from your family? Indeed, I would think it would be looked on with disapproval by all your friends in the social circles in which you move in London.”

  Darcy, seeing that she had effectively stopped him from leaving, when she responded as she did to his farewell statement, decided not to leave and took a seat at the table across from her. “Miss Elizabeth, I have been very distracted by the memory of you all the months since I left Netherfield. You are a young woman such as I have never known before and I was at first fascinated by you and then gradually I realized I was developing feelings for you I had never had for a woman before. This concerned me, because with what I had been brought up to believe, you were wholly unsuitable to be my wife—you are not wealthy; you have no high social standing to enhance the Darcy name, you do not come from impressive lineage, and I hate to say it, but I fear your family would be unacceptable to members of the ton. Therefore I decided I had to leave and never see you again. The first weeks after I left Netherfield were difficult for me. I often found myself thinking of you and the times I had with you. You had a hold on me I have never experienced, but over time I thought I was finally ridding myself of your hold on me. And then Providence dictated you should be here the same time I was here and I discovered my attempt at forgetting you had been to no avail. As soon as I saw you, I realized you were the woman I wanted to be my wife, no matter what the obstacles. I did not come here tonight to propose. I intended to just ascertain exactly what your feelings for me were and if you would consider a courtship and eventual marriage. But I did something very unlike me. I let my emotions control my behavior, and as soon as I walked in the door, I determined to ask you to marry me. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Clearly I was wrong.”

  Elizabeth was silent for a long while, again making Darcy uncomfortable. “You said you thought I might welcome, indeed expect your offer. What indication did I ever give you that I favored you—that I might have affection for you?”

  “In some of the conversations we had, I know you sometimes supported opinions you did not hold, just to argue the point and make our conversations more stimulating. I took that as a sign you liked having verbal combat with me and it was your way of flirting with me. I often noted a sparkle in your eyes when we were having our discussions and I thought that was because you greatly enjoyed being with me.”

  “Mr. Darcy, I did enjoy our verbal combat. But if there was a sparkle in my eyes, it only reflected my pleasure with the discussion, not romantic interest in you. I am sorry my pleasure with the conversation could be interpreted as more than it was.”

  “Therefore, may I conclude that you had no interest in me as a potential suitor at all?

  “I did not. You must realize, based on what you said at the assembly and what I generally knew about the requirements men of your class have for their partners in life, I did not believe there was even a remote possibility you would consider me that way. Such a belief is a powerful deterrent to developing affection for a man of your class. But while you are here, I must tell you that just before you walked in that door, I was rereading a letter from my sister Jane, in which, once again I was told of how disappointed, indeed heartbroken, she was when Mr. Bingley left without so much as a goodbye. She was truly in love with Mr. Bingley and when I learned not long ago you had a hand in convincing him to leave, you became a villain in my eyes. I love my sister very much and when you walked in the door, I believed you were probably the last man in the world I would ever marry. Your proposal was not given at a time when I would have even considered accepting you. May I ask you why you separated them? Was it because of the unacceptability of our family?”

  Darcy was surprised. He had not even considered his advice to Bingley about Jane Bennet would be an obstacle. He was sure Jane had not truly had any affection for Bingley—that she was allowing his courtship only to please her mother, who was somewhat typical of the mercenary mothers to whom he had been subjected over the years. He wondered how she had discovered his part in the effort to separate them.

  “Only partially. You have to know I have been mentoring Bingley through his introduction into the ton, and one of the most difficult tasks has been to protect him from predatory females. He is a very affable and fun-loving man, as you know, but not very discerning about female motives. I have had to extract him twice from situations in which he was compromised and almost forced to marry someone with whom he would have been miserable. Even he recognized he had been wrong. In each case the young women had been very friendly and pleasant, but it was clear to me they had no real affection for Bingley. They were after his fortune. When I watched your sister with Bingley, I could see she enjoyed his company, but her visage was always very serene and I could not see any expression of real affection. Her demeanor to him the day we met her seemed no different than the day we last saw her. Therefore when he asked me if I thought she would be a good match for him, I told him I could see no more affection for him in her demeanor than I had seen in the young women who almost trapped him. And I must admit, I think your mother’s utterly inappropriate and covetous behavior at the ball and other places colored my opinion. I thought your sister was just trying to satisfy your mother’s desires. I also pointed out to him that marrying someone of such low status would do nothing for his plans to become an accepted member of the ton. Given my opinions and the dislike of his sisters for your family, he decided to quit Netherfield for good.”

  As Darcy was explaining his reasons, Elizabeth was reminded that Charlotte Lucas, now Mrs. Collins, had warned her Jane needed to display her affections more openly if she wished to secure Mr. Bingley. Clearly Bingley was not at all certain of Jane’s feelings and she knew he was not a highly self-confident young man. Jane’s affection for him was obvious to her, but she knew Jane very well. As she pictured Jane and the way her mother had schooled her to not show her feelings, Elizabeth began to understand why Darcy and Bingley were unsure of Jane’s feelings. She hated to admit it, but the loss of Mr. Bingley could not be entirely attributed to Darcy and Bingley’s sisters. She was sure that if Bingley had known Jane’s feelings, he would not have left, despite what his sisters and Darcy said. She could not completely exonerate Darcy, but perhaps she could understand him better.

  “I suppose I will have to concede that if Jane had been more demonstrative of her affection, then Mr. Bingley, despite your recommendation, might not have left. Had he known and stated he intended to marry Jane, would you have opposed him?”

  “Miss Elizabeth, despite what you may think, my main motive in my mentoring of Bingley is to make him happy. I would have reminded him of what I said about your family, but I would have also told him he would have to determine what he wanted most out of life, and if he thought it was a life with your sister, then I would have encouraged him to do what he wanted.”

  “Did you know she went to town in January and visited the Bingley sisters but never saw Mr. Bingley?”

  “I did, but I thought his sisters probably told him and he decided not to seek her out. Now that I know what you have told me, I wish I had told him, because he has not been the same Bingley the last few months and I can now see it may very well be because he was, in fact, in love with your sister. I promise you, when I return to London, if Bingley is back in town, I will tell him she was in town and that I may have been wrong about her. I suspect that will be enough incentive for him to reopen Netherfield Park if he is, in fact, still in love with your sister.”

  She considered what he had said and wondered if he would indeed do what he said. If he would, she was sure Bingley
would return to Netherfield, because she was sure he had loved Jane. She thought she might take it upon herself to find a way to remind him of this promise if he forgot.

  “There is, of course, another action of yours I found reprehensible—your treatment of Mr. Wickham: forcing him into a life he did not want because you denied him the living your father had promised him.”

  Darcy’s face became red with anger, an expression she had only seen once before on his face--when he had seen Wickham on the street in Meryton. He stood up abruptly, put his hands on the table, and leaned toward her. Clearly fighting hard to control his anger, he said, “Miss Elizabeth, how long did you know me before you met Wickham?”

  “Over three weeks.”

  “When did Wickham tell you of his misfortunes at my hand?”

  “Why the first time I met him at…..,” She suddenly realized what she was saying and the point he was going to make. Wickham had divulged all this personal information about himself and Darcy on their first meeting, as soon as she had acquainted him of her dislike of Darcy. Her face flushed as she realized it had been not only inappropriate of Wickham to tell her such details on such short acquaintance, but it had been inappropriate for her to listen or believe what was really a slanderous accusation until she actually knew Wickham better.

  “Therefore, you were willing to believe the slanderous words of a man you had just met about a man you had known for weeks and who was a good friend of a man you apparently respected. During that time we had some interesting conversations and you came to know me to some extent. Did I impress you as a dishonorable man? I assure you, Miss Elizabeth, I know I have my faults, but I believe you can ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you I am almost honorable to a fault—that keeping my word is an obsession with me. Most will also tell you I loved and respected my father and would never have gone against his wishes. You accepted Wickham’s lies all because I injured your vanity at the assembly? Clearly I have been very wrong about you, Miss Elizabeth. I had thought you to be an intelligent and discerning young woman and I find you are just as vain and thoughtless as those young ladies of the ton for whom I have so much disdain.”