826Disclaimer: Any recognizable characters are not mine. This is a work of fiction based on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I do not own those characters or other aspects of that world. I try to write as in character as possible but to some they might be out of character. This story is written for entertainment and is not canon.
Trigger Warning: This story discusses violence and injuries from an assault.
Mr. Darcy sat in the study of his London home. This is where he had spent much of his time since his return a week prior from his annual visit to his aunt's home in Kent. His thoughts would often drift to his time at his aunt's estate. He thought of one person particularly. The woman who had bewitched him, heart, mind, and soul. She who was all that he wanted in a wife. Instead of accepting him, as he expected her to, she had refused him. She cast before him all his faults and condemned him to his present misery. He had written her to defend himself, to show her that she was wrong. Now, sitting alone, he wondered if she regretted her words, her refusal.
"What do I care if she does or does not." he said refocusing on the papers on his desk.
A knock at the door sounded. Before he could answer the door swung open and closed. His cousin was now standing in the room looking displeased. Mr. Darcy merely glanced at the man before returning is eyes to the pages before him.
"Come in, Fitzwilliam." he said stoically.
"Why thank you, Darcy." his cousin replied. "Here I thought you were in a foul mood again."
His only reply was a glare.
"Come to the club with me. We will have some drinks, tell some tales, and have a good time."
"I am busy."
"Then come to my parents with me. We will drink tea and listen to my mother complain how much my brother's wife irritates her."
"No thank you."
"To the fencing academy then."
"No."
"A game of billiards?"
"No."
"Come now, Darcy, you must get out of this room." his cousin said dropping into the chair across from him. "Georgiana said you have barely left this room since we returned."
"You are having my sister spy on me."
"She is concerned as am I. I have never seen you so withdrawn."
"I am not withdrawn. I am busy. I have a great deal to do." Mr. Darcy replied. "A man in my position has a great deal to do. I thank you for your concern but I do not need you to play nurse maid."
"You have everything you could want..."
"Not everything."
"This is about Miss Bennet, is it not?"
"You know nothing about it, Fitzwilliam."
"Are you daft?" Colonel Fitzwilliam asked. "Perhaps your lack is your own fault. Have you considered that?"
"So I have been told."
His cousin ignored his comment.
"You worry what my parents will say or Aunt Catherine, or those simpering ladies of the Ton – who I remind you, you cannot stand – rather than considering your own happiness."
"Cease your prattle and go. I am in no mood for company."
"Why do you insist on being miserable?" his cousin asked. "If you love her, propose. Tell any who are displeased by your choice to go to hell."
"I did propose, she refused." Mr. Darcy said angrily. "I told her of my struggles, of my love. She cared not."
His cousin was shocked. It took nearly a full minute before he could reply.
"You proposed?"
"I did. The evening before we left Kent. I called at the parsonage when she did not come to tea. You mentioned she was ill earlier in the day and I was concerned."
"She refused you?"
"She did."
"Did she tell you why?"
"Indeed. I have a great many faults in her eyes."
"Perhaps she can be made to change her mind."
"She said I was the last man in the world she would ever prevail upon to marry."
The two were quiet for a few moments.
"I had always thought her an intelligent woman." Colonel Fitzwilliam remarked. "I guess I was wrong."
"What do you mean? She is highly intelligent or I would not have proposed." Mr. Darcy replied.
"I just mean, given her situation, it would have been wise to accept you."
"She is not mercenary. She would not marry for fortune alone."
"That may be so but according to Mrs. Collins her mother is not very pleased with her. If she finds out Miss Elizabeth refused another proposal, and from man of your wealth, life at home may not be very pleasant for her."
"Refused another proposal?"
"Indeed."
"Did Mrs. Collins say who else proposed to her?"
"No, she merely said that Mrs. Bennet was displeased Elizabeth turned down a proposal last fall. She also said it was for the best as the gentleman would not have suited Miss Elizabeth at all."
Mr. Darcy nodded with a frown. He was thinking over all he had met wondering if he had encountered Elizabeth's failed suitor.
"Anne agreed."
"Agreed about what?" Mr. Darcy asked pushing aside his thoughts.
"That they would not suit."
"Does she know the gentleman?"
"Indeed." Colonel Fitzwilliam remarked. "I mentioned that Miss Elizabeth had once received a proposal and Anne told me it was Mr. Collins who proposed."
"Collins, that fool." his cousin said angrily. "He could not have made Elizabeth happy."
"Miss Elizabeth apparently told him as much. His wording, from what Anne overheard from his conversation with Aunt Catherine, was terrible. He told her he wanted to marry because Aunt Catherine told him to. She refused him and he said she must accept since her situation would likely keep any other gentleman from asking for her."
"I never thought I would have anything in common with Collins." He stood to pace. "I cannot bear that she will think of him and I alike."
"You are not alike in any way but that you were refused by the same woman."
"I was rude to her, insulted her, disparaged her family and her situation. I am worse than Collins."
He dropped back in his chair.
"I never heard you say a negative word against her."
"You did not see me at the beginning of our acquaintance. The first night we met I called her tolerable and said she was slighted by other men." Mr. Darcy replied. "I told her I loved her against my will and that my family would look down on her. My proposal was terrible."
"I admit it does sound...ill worded."
"If only I could have seen her again after she read my letter."
"Your letter?" Mr. Darcy suddenly realized he had spoken aloud. "Pray explain, cousin."
"There were a few matters that we argued on the night I proposed. I wished to clear my name so I wrote her a letter. I found her in the gardens before we left and gave it to her. She had not returned by the time I called at the parsonage to take my leave."
"So there may be a chance she has forgiven you all your wrongs and misunderstandings."
"I must admit it was not the kindest letter I have ever written."
"So you insulted her again?" the colonel asked surprised.
"You are forgetting, Fitzwilliam, that I was the one who was wounded. It was my heart that was trampled upon. What I said, what I wrote, might not have been the kindest words but they were honest."
"I never doubted your honesty, Darcy."
"Now you think I am a fool."
"All men in love are fools."
"I wish I could banish her from my mind, from my heart. The very thought of doing such a thing makes it ache worse."
"Perhaps there is a way for you to see her again."
"What good would it do?"
"Perhaps she has read your letter and forgiven your offenses. After some time has passed to allow you to settle your feelings about that night, you might meet again and have a conversation. Perhaps you could work to gain her good opinion and let her see the side that you hide from the world."
Mr. Darcy looked unsure at the idea. Before he could formulate an answer a knock came at the door.
"Come in."
His butler, Mr. Davis, stepped in the door.
"A trunk has arrived for you, sir."
"A trunk?"
"Yes sir."
"Bring it in. Let us see what it is."
Two footman carried the large trunk into the study. Sitting it down they departed. Mr. Darcy and his cousin rose to examine the room's new addition. It seemed liked most other trunks they had seen in their lifetimes. A paper had been secured to the top with the address of the townhouse. In the bottom corner on the paper, looking like a smudge to those who did not know better, the letters AdB were written. The cousins exchanged a look. Colonel Fitzwilliam removed the paper.
"What is that on the back?" Mr. Darcy asked.
The colonel turned the paper over. Another address had been written on the other side of the paper.
"I recognize this street. I have located several deserters along it. It is full of gaming dens and brothels."
"Why would anything coming from Rosings be going to such an area?"
"I do not know but from the look of it Anne has diverted it to you."
"But why?"
"Let's open it and find out."
Mr. Darcy nodded. The two men unhooked the latch and opened the lid.
"It's cloth." Colonel Fitzwilliam said. He picked up the material laying on top. "No, it's a dress. Why would Anne send you a dress?"
"Dear God in heaven." Mr. Darcy said moving toward the trunk.
He knelt beside it. Colonel Fitzwilliam looked down and the dress fell from his hands. In the trunk lay the beaten and bruised body of Elizabeth Bennet.
Author Note: I'm still in the middle of writing this (about halfway I think) so I'm not sure how often or how fast updates will be. Please read and review. Feel free to message me as well.