AN: This is now only a preview. The rest has been removed for publication. This remainder is being left as a "proof of copyright" should anyone try stealing it. It was written here first. For those of you upset this is a preview only and seems like an ad, it was available for free for over a year before removing for publication. I followed all of ffn's rules. All is well.
Prologue – Ch 32 of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
ELIZABETH WAS SITTING by herself the next morning, and writing to Jane while Mrs. Collins and Maria were gone on business into the village, when she was startled by a ring at the door, the certain signal of a visitor. As she had heard no carriage, she thought it not unlikely to be Lady Catherine, and under that apprehension was putting away her half-finished letter that she might escape all impertinent questions, when the door opened, and, to her very great surprise, Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Darcy only, entered the room.
He seemed astonished too on finding her alone, and apologised for his intrusion by letting her know that he had understood all the ladies were to be within.
They then sat down, and when her inquiries after Rosings were made, seemed in danger of sinking into total silence. It was absolutely necessary, therefore, to think of something, and in this emergency recollecting when she had seen him last in Hertfordshire, and feeling curious to know what he would say on the subject of their hasty departure, she observed:
"How very suddenly you all quitted Netherfield last November, Mr. Darcy! It must have been a most agreeable surprise to Mr. Bingley to see you all after him so soon; for, if I recollect right, he went but the day before. He and his sisters were well, I hope, when you left London?"
"Perfectly so, I thank you."
She found that she was to receive no other answer, and, after a short pause added:
"I think I have understood that Mr. Bingley has not much idea of ever returning to Netherfield again?"
"I have never heard him say so; but it is probable that he may spend very little of his time there in the future. He has many friends, and he is at a time of life when friends and engagements are continually increasing."
"If he means to be but little at Netherfield, it would be better for the neighbourhood that he should give up the place entirely, for then we might possibly get a settled family there. But, perhaps, Mr. Bingley did not take the house so much for the convenience of the neighbourhood as for his own, and we must expect him to keep or quit it on the same principle."
"I should not be surprised," said Darcy, "if he were to give it up as soon as any eligible purchase offers."
Elizabeth made no answer. She was afraid of talking longer of his friend; and, having nothing else to say, was now determined to leave the trouble of finding a subject to him.
He took the hint, and soon began with, "This seems a very comfortable house. Lady Catherine, I believe, did a great deal to it when Mr. Collins first came to Hunsford."
"I believe she did—and I am sure she could not have bestowed her kindness on a more grateful object."
"Mr. Collins appears to be very fortunate in his choice of a wife."
"Yes, indeed, his friends may well rejoice in his having met with one of the very few sensible women who would have accepted him, or have made him happy if they had. My friend has an excellent understanding—though I am not certain that I consider her marrying Mr. Collins as the wisest thing she ever did. She seems perfectly happy, however, and in a prudential light it is certainly a very good match for her."
"It must be very agreeable for her to be settled within so easy a distance of her own family and friends."
"An easy distance, do you call it? It is nearly fifty miles."
"And what is fifty miles of good road? Little more than half a day's journey. Yes, I call it a very easy distance."
"I should never have considered the distance as one of the advantages of the match," cried Elizabeth. "I should never have said Mrs. Collins was settled near her family."
"It is a proof of your own attachment to Hertfordshire. Anything beyond the very neighbourhood of Longbourn, I suppose, would appear far."
As he spoke there was a sort of smile which Elizabeth fancied she understood; he must be supposing her to be thinking of Jane and Netherfield, and she blushed as she answered:
"I do not mean to say that a woman may not be settled too near her family. The far and the near must be relative, and depend on many varying circumstances. Where there is fortune to make the expence of travelling unimportant, distance becomes no evil. But that is not the case here. Mr. and Mrs. Collins have a comfortable income, but not such a one as will allow of frequent journeys—and I am persuaded my friend would not call herself near her family under less than half the present distance."
Mr. Darcy drew his chair a little towards her, and said, "You cannot have a right to such very strong local attachment. You cannot have been always at Longbourn."
Elizabeth looked surprised. The gentleman experienced some change of feeling; he drew back his chair, took a newspaper from the table, and glancing over it, said, in a colder voice:
"Are you pleased with Kent?"
A short dialogue on the subject of the country ensued, on either side calm and concise—and soon put an end to by the entrance of Charlotte and her sister, just returned from her walk. The tête-à-tête surprised them. Mr. Darcy related the mistake which had occasioned his intruding on Miss Bennet, and after sitting a few minutes longer without saying much to anybody, went away.
"What can be the meaning of this?" said Charlotte, as soon as he was gone. "My dear, Eliza, he must be in love with you, or he would never have called us in this familiar way."
But when Elizabeth told of his silence; it did not seem very likely, even to Charlotte's wishes, to be the case; and after various conjectures, they could at last only suppose his visit to proceed from the difficulty of finding anything to do, which was the more probable from the time of year. All field sports were over. Within doors there was Lady Catherine, books, and a billiard-table, but gentlemen cannot always be within doors; and in the nearness of the Parsonage, or the pleasantness of the walk to it, or of the people who lived in it, the two cousins found a temptation from this period of walking thither almost every day. They called at various times of the morning, sometimes separately, sometimes together, and now and then accompanied by their aunt. It was plain to them all that Colonel Fitzwilliam came because he had pleasure in their society, a persuasion which of course recommended him still more; and Elizabeth was reminded by her own satisfaction in being with him, as well as by his evident admiration of her, of her former favourite George Wickham; and though, in comparing them, she saw there was less captivating softness in Colonel Fitzwilliam's manners, she believed he might have the best informed mind.
But why Mr. Darcy came so often to the Parsonage, it was more difficult to understand. It could not be for society, as he frequently sat there ten minutes together without opening his lips; and when he did speak, it seemed the effect of necessity rather than of choice—a sacrifice to propriety, not a pleasure to himself. He seldom appeared really animated. Mrs. Collins knew not what to make of him. Colonel Fitzwilliam's occasionally laughing at his stupidity, proved that he was generally different, which her own knowledge of him could not have told her; and as she would have liked to believe this change the effect of love, and the object of that love her friend Eliza, she set herself seriously to work to find it out. She watched him whenever they were at Rosings, and whenever he came to Hunsford; but without much success. He certainly looked at her friend a great deal, but the expression of that look was disputable. It was an earnest, steadfast gaze, but she often doubted whether there were much admiration in it, and sometimes it seemed nothing but absence of mind.
She had once or twice suggested to Elizabeth the possibility of his being partial to her, but Elizabeth always laughed at the idea; and Mrs. Collins did not think it right to press the subject, from the danger of raising expectations which might only end in disappointment; for in her opinion it admitted not of a doubt, that all her friend's dislike would vanish, if she could suppose him to be in her power.
In her kind schemes for Elizabeth, she sometimes planned her marrying Colonel Fitzwilliam. He was beyond comparison the most pleasant man; he certainly admired her, and his situation in life was most eligible; but, to counterbalance these advantages, Mr. Darcy had considerable patronage in the church, and his cousin could have none at all.
Austen, Jane; Top Five Books. Pride and Prejudice (Illustrated) (Top Five Classics Book 10) . Top Five Books. Kindle Edition.
Chapter 1
Mr. Darcy attempted to read through the steward's reports, but Mr. Collins seemed unlikely to ever stop speaking to his aunt. If this were his study, he would have insisted on privacy, but he could not do so at Rosings. Lady Catherine had every right to be in her own study and hear the decisions being made. She also had the right to invite whom she liked to entertain her. He had suggested they would be more comfortable in the drawing room to no effect. Lady Catherine's resulting diatribe that she would not become a complacent mistress made him regret the offer.
"My garden is such a delight. The irises you recommended have leafed out quite nicely. I wish they would bloom this year, but as you said, they must be planted for a few years before they bloom. Of course, my garden is nothing to the gardens at Rosings Park. Your gardens are the most magnificent in England, I am sure, Lady Catherine. I am so blessed that in your condescension you gifted me and my humble abode a portion of your beautiful irises. I would sooner have guessed that…"
Mr. Collins was interrupted by the entrance of the butler. Eager for the distraction, Mr. Darcy rose and strode over to the butler, ready to leave at any invitation. The butler turned to Mr. Collins, cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Collins, I regret to inform you that a fire has erupted in your home. People are assembling to help put it out. you ought to return home. There will be much damage."
"Oh no!" Mr. Collins, in his worry, could not utter another word as he ran from the room and out the door.
Mr. Darcy could only worry for Elizabeth's safety and hurried from the room almost as quickly as Mr. Collins. Since he had a horse ready in the stable, Mr. Darcy arrived first to the scene to see hundreds of townsfolk and servants forming a line to bring buckets to the blazing house. The house must have been empty for a fire to have gotten out of control so fast. Nearly every window had smoke billowing out. He looked around, certain Elizabeth could not have been inside. Perhaps she went for another walk. He hoped she would be around helping somewhere so he could be sure.
Shouting from the other side of the house brought his attention to the flames once again. Following the shouts, he rode to the back of the house, which did not appear to have as much damage. Moving towards a group of people, he found Elizabeth, sprawled on the ground under a tree. Leaping from his horse, he was instantly by her side. "Elizabeth!"
He tried to think coherently as she remained still. There were no signs of blood, and he searched her body quickly for broken bones, thankful that her body felt whole. Worried beyond measure, he lifted her head and rested it on his thigh. "Elizabeth! Can you hear me?" When she remained lifeless, he looked around at the few people who were still standing around.
Pointing at one of the men, he quickly ordered him to fetch a doctor and send him to Rosings. He then dispatched two others to Rosings to fetch a cart for any items that could be salvaged and sent to Rosings for the comfort of Mr. and Mrs. Collins and their guests. All three left immediately for their tasks. Satisfied that all that could be done for her was being done, he turned his attention back to Elizabeth with the intention of carrying her to Rosings. A young woman was kneeling beside him, muttering under her breath that Elizabeth had been brave to climb out the window.
"What?" He spoke before he had even fully comprehended the woman, frantic at the thought of Elizabeth in danger.
The older woman looked at him kindly as she explained, "Miss Bennet was sleeping in her room. The smoke must have woken her. Look, the window is open." She pointed to the upstairs window that hung open. It would have been a bit of a reach, but Mr. Darcy could easily imagine that Elizabeth had escaped the fire through the window. With all the smoke he had seen on the other side of the house, there was no way she would have made it down the stairs. The window had been her only option.
Picking up her hands, he found that they were quite scratched and covered with small bits of bark and moss. She had done her best to make it out safely. He was not sure he could admire her more than he did as he realized her strength. If only she would wake. How would he survive if she did not?
At that moment, Elizabeth began to shake her head lightly, causing Mr. Darcy to sigh with relief. He would have attempted to speak to her, but she began mumbling something about Charlotte's good sense to buy fluffy pillows despite a lumpy bed. Worried what the people around him would think, he quickly moved her curls out of her face and gently attempted to garner her attention.
After about a minute or two, she roused enough to open her eyes. "Oh, Mr. Darcy! What a strange dream this is. I should not have thought my mind would bring you to me when my head is in such pain, but I suppose that is the way with dreams."
Mr. Darcy smiled lightly, pleased by her levity. "Tis no dream, my dear Miss Bennet. You seem to have hit your head, though the damage does not appear to be too great." He paused to look her over once again, pleased she did not act as though she had broken any bones or other invisible injuries. "How do you feel?"
Elizabeth looked around and realized five others were also standing around her. Blushing from mortification, she replied that she was as well as she could be. "Why am I on the ground outside the parsonage?" she added.
The older woman explained the hurried escape Elizabeth had made. Elizabeth looked up at the window, saw the smoke, and nodded her agreement as she remembered how she had fallen.
"If you are feeling well enough, my horse is ready to take you to Rosings." He helped her lift her head off his lap. He desperately wished to get Elizabeth away from the commotion of the fire, even if it was not so bad on this side of the house. The shouts on the other side told him this was far from over.
Sitting up, Elizabeth looked down at her hands and smoothed them over her skirt. "Oh, I am not dressed for visiting Rosings, and I have no desire to hear Lady Catherine tell me how one should always be prepared for presentation somewhere or other. I am certain Miss de Bourgh would never be without proper dresses." She laughed lightly at her own joke.
"Your options, Miss Bennet, are Rosings or continuing on the ground here. My aunt will understand your trunks cannot travel with you." He did not wish to add that it was unlikely her clothing would survive the flames. She would learn soon enough. Motioning for the others to assist, they got her to standing. She wobbled a little, so he put his arms around her shoulders to offer his support. "I shall take you to Rosings, regardless of your attire."
"I would prefer to return to my room," Elizabeth slurred.
With a small chuckle at her absurd preference, he stated, "Your room is covered in smoke. In a few minutes, it will be engulfed in flames. With your window open, the fire will spread quickly. You will be much better off resting at Rosings. " Taking a few steps, he guided her over to his horse.
Elizabeth stopped short as she noticed Mr. Darcy's horse far closer to her than she would have normally allowed. "Oh, no, I prefer to keep my feet on the ground." Elizabeth watched as the horse pawed at the ground in front of her, as though daring her to ride him.
Mr. Darcy sighed in exasperation. Would he ever get her to Rosings at this rate? "In your state, I doubt your legs would support you for so long a walk. You are exhausted from your ordeal. Allow me to assist you." Without waiting for her approval, he lifted her up on the horse, only releasing her long enough to jump on behind her. In her unease, she leaned against him and muttered how soft his shirt felt. With a smile, he directed his horse back to Rosings while the fire raged behind him, despite the best efforts of the villagers.