Intermezzo

Intermezzo, Pride and Prejudice Fanfiction

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Intermezzo
by AbigailR
ing if the changes of the last year showed in her face
as much as she felt them in her heart. Today was a
day full of memories. he last time she had prepared
for a ball at Netherfield, she had taken more than usual care
with her appearance in hopes of winning Wickham’s heart.
Now she was thankful he had never made an appearance,
preventing her from making an even greater fool of herself
than she had managed without his presence.
his ball would be quite different, and her preparations
had not been elaborate. All eyes would be on Jane at the ball,
and Elizabeth had no one to impress with her beauty. here
would be no Mr. Wickham and no Mr. Darcy tonight. How
blind she had been, to believe the one and scorn the other,
and not to recognize the attentions Mr. Darcy had been
paying her for what they were!
A familiar feeling of guilt settled over her at the thought
of Darcy. Her shame over her infamous treatment of him
at Hunsford had only increased during the intervening
months. It began after Mr. Bingley’s sudden reappearance
at Netherfield in May. Anxious over the prospect of en-
countering Mr. Darcy again after their embarrassing parting
in Kent, Elizabeth had asked Bingley on his first visit to
Longbourn whether his friend intended to join them.
he look of concern which had crossed that gentleman’s
face had been unmistakable.
No, unfortunately, he will not,
although I invited him; he is not of a sociable bent these days,
he had said.
He is in a very black humour; no one knows
why, but he has closeted himself away and does not even receive
callers. I have only seen him once myself, when he called on
me to tell me…to give me some intelligence that he thought I
might find useful.
Bingley had glanced at Elizabeth with an
embarrassed smile then, allowing her some hint as to what
that information might have been, and how it might have
related to his abrupt return to Hertfordshire.
I have never
seen him look so ill—I hope his spirits recover soon; he is the best
of men, and I hate to see him in such distress.
She had known that he must have been disappointed by
her refusal, but she had not thought that, given the level of
reservations he had expressed in his proposal, he would find
much difficulty in overcoming his affections. he discovery
that she had the power to cause him such suffering was a so-
bering one, the more so as she spent more time in Bingley’s
company, as Jane’s chaperone, and heard his stories which
often enough included Darcy, always in a most favourable
light. It was clear that he thought Darcy to be the soul of
generosity, thoughtfulness, and cleverness, a view which
quite contradicted that which Elizabeth had held.
When, in due course, Bingley and Jane became engaged,
Bingley made a trip to London to arrange matters with his
attorney and to settle some business. On his return, he was
in as much of a temper as Elizabeth had ever seen him. As
usual, she had been in the background when he talked to
Jane, his voice raised in anger perhaps louder than he real-
ized.
I told him of our engagement, and he congratulated me
and seemed to speak with sincere pleasure at the news; but then
when I asked him to stand up with me at our wedding, he
refused! He said that business would not permit him to leave
London, as if I would believe such an excuse. It is only half a
morning’s travel, and two months away—how could he possibly
be too busy? I was hurt, but I remained civil, and expressed
my hope that he would at least be able to attend our wedding,
and he said that he thought even that unlikely to be possible. I
grew angry, then, and accused him of disapproving of my choice,
which he adamantly denied, saying that once he might have
taken…other considerations in mind, but now he thought dif-
ferently, and was nothing but delighted that I was taking this
step. And when I pressed him again to come, he turned away
and said, ‘Bingley, you do not know what you are asking,’ and
then he went so far as to ask me to leave! I would never have
thought it of him; I have misjudged him badly in thinking him
a good friend.
Jane, with a glance at Elizabeth, had placed her
hand on his arm to stop him at that point, but the damage
had been done.
It had been difficult for her to forgive herself after that,
to know that her cruelty towards him had been such that
he would risk ending a long and valued friendship solely to
avoid having to see her again. She had vowed to herself that
never again would she allow herself to give in to her anger
and to treat anyone so harshly.
Since there was nothing she could do to make amends,
she resolved to try to put it from her mind. Her northern
tour with her aunt and uncle had provided a distraction, at
least until Mrs. Gardiner had taken it into her head to visit
Pemberley. Hearing such a different and complimentary
view of Mr. Darcy from his housekeeper and seeing the care
with which the estate was run could not help but leave her
with a warmer feeling about the man himself, and an odd
feeling of loss that she had never had the occasion to know
that part of him.
She sighed as her mind came back to the present. here
was nothing to be done for it now. he opportunity would
not return again, and she could not undo the past. Resolving,
as she had so many times already, to think no more of it, she
went to Jane’s room to see if she needed any assistance with
her preparations.
2
THE DRAWING-ROOM AT NETHERFIELD was crowded with
people, all older and more assured than she, it seemed; or-
dinarily it was a scene that would have raised a great deal of
anxiety in Georgiana, but she had come to Hertfordshire
1
Part 1
E
lizabeth gazed at her reflection in the mirror, wonder-
with a goal in mind, and this ball offered her best opportu-
nity to achieve it. She had needed to beg for permission to
attend, which was granted only on the condition that she
would dance with no one except Mr. Bingley and any men
whom he specifically introduced to her with that intent, a
compromise that Bingley hoped would be satisfactory to
Darcy. Dancing was not on her mind, however. She was en-
gaged in a dually unpleasant task: meeting as many people
as possible in as short a time as possible, a job highly un-
suited to one as shy as she, and employing the person best
able to help her in that effort, no matter how distasteful her
company might be. Miss Bingley knew more of the com-
pany than anyone else present, and was willing to devote her
time to pleasing Miss Darcy.
he one person Georgiana had been happy to meet so
far was Mr. Bingley’s betrothed. Miss Bennet was everything
that was lovely and gentle, and could not have looked hap-
pier. Unfortunately, Georgiana had so far had a notable lack
of success in reaching her true goal. She was determined to
discover the woman her brother was breaking his heart over,
to find her and to acquaint herself with her, and then to use
her knowledge to help her brother move past his infatua-
tion. She had very little information to help her in identify-
ing the mysterious woman—from her brother’s reaction to
the idea of attending this wedding, Georgiana was certain it
was someone who would be in attendance at the ceremony,
and likely at the ball as well. She would naturally have to
be young and attractive, and presumably married, for why
else would Fitzwilliam not simply ask her to marry him? No
woman in her right mind would refuse him. She had a sus-
picion as to her first name, from overhearing her brother say
despairingly, “Elizabeth” when he had thought he was alone
and had touched the brandy decanter a little too heavily.
She was beginning to feel as if far too many people lived
in Hertfordshire, but determinedly continued to ask Miss
Bingley to introduce her to as many as possible.
some months. She was sorry to relinquish his company, but
had also been asked to dance by several gentlemen of her
acquaintance. Although she found this a pleasurable pas-
time, by the end of the third set she was ready to seek some
refreshment. She was feeling more than a little lonely; she
was accustomed to spending time at such occasions talking
to Jane, or formerly to Charlotte, but tonight her sister was
the center of attention and Charlotte was long gone.
Deciding that she might as well pay her respects to the
official hostess of the occasion, she approached Miss Bingley
with a compliment on the entertainment. “Miss Bingley, it
is a pleasure to see you once more,” she said politely.
“It is a very happy occasion,” Miss Bingley replied
smoothly. “Miss Bennet, may I introduce you to Miss
Darcy? Miss Darcy, this is Miss Elizabeth Bennet; it is her
sister who is marrying my brother.”
Elizabeth was quite taken by surprise to discover Miss
Darcy’s presence; and with a moment of panic, thinking the
sister unlikely to travel without her brother, she scanned the
room for a tall, dark figure. Realizing that Miss Darcy was
looking at her with a penetrating gaze, she drew her atten-
tion back and expressed her pleasure in making the acquain-
tance. She could not help but feel flustered, and was certain
that her cheeks were betraying her embarrassment on the
occasion, although she knew that neither of the others were
likely to be acquainted with the details of her history with
Mr. Darcy. “I have heard a great deal about you from Miss
Bingley, as well as from your brother, Miss Darcy,” she said.
“I understand that you are a fine musician.”
“hey have no doubt been far too kind to me,” said
Georgiana gravely, wondering if this young woman could
possibly be the one she was seeking. he name was cor-
rect, and she was apparently acquainted with him, but she
was unmarried, which made it seem unlikely. Still, it was
worth pursuing; if nothing else, Miss Bennet might pro-
vide leads as to who else her brother was acquainted with in
Hertfordshire. “You are acquainted with my brother, then?”
“Yes, I met him when he visited Netherfield last autumn,”
said Elizabeth. “Is he here this evening?” She could not help
but ask the question directly.
“No, unfortunately, business requires him to remain in
London,” said Georgiana.
Miss Bingley, feeling that this was quite enough of an
acquaintance for her taste between Miss Darcy and Eliza
Bennet of the fine eyes, said, “here was a slight acquain-
tance, it is true, from when you visited here when your sister
was ill.”
Elizabeth, feeling the implication, could not resist mak-
ing a response. “Yes, it was but slight, though I had the
pleasure of meeting him again some months later when I
visited Kent. I was frequently in company there with him
and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, while they were visiting
Lady Catherine de Bourgh. So you see, I have quite a list
of people who have told me of your prowess at the piano-
2
ELIZABETH WAS NOT FORMED for ill-humour, and it did not
take her long to recover her spirits once she arrived at the
ball and was no longer subject to Lydia’s complaints of how
many more balls she would have been able to attend if only
she had been allowed to go to Brighton. here were a num-
ber of people present who were strangers to her, friends and
family of Mr. Bingley who had come to attend the wed-
ding. Bingley introduced her to Mr. Ansfield, who would
be groomsman at the wedding, and the gentleman asked the
honour of her hand for the next two dances. He proved to
be a very entertaining partner who regaled her with outra-
geous and amusing ideas of how he might disgrace himself
during the wedding service, to which problems he had given
serious consideration since he was to be married himself in
2
forte, Miss Darcy; it was a common topic of conversation
at Rosings.”
his intelligence of Miss Bennet’s apparent intimacy
with Mr. Darcy’s family clearly came as an unpleasant sur-
prise to Miss Bingley, who chose to insert herself at that
moment with a paean of praise for Miss Darcy’s abilities.
Georgiana, who as a rule disliked the attention such compli-
ments brought, for once was grateful, as it gave her the op-
portunity to collect her thoughts. She realized with excite-
ment that she had indeed found her quarry—it was directly
after his visit to Rosings that her brother had sunk into his
gloom, not to mention that as sister of the bride, she would
be quite unavoidable at Mr. Bingley’s wedding. his
must
be her; why, then, was there a difficulty? Perhaps she was
promised to someone else?
Miss Darcy somehow forced herself to continue an
active conversation to maintain Miss Bennet’s interest.
Fitzwilliam would be proud of me if he were to see how outgo-
ing I am being!
she thought with a touch of irony, since it
was only for his sake she was overcoming her native shyness.
Luck seemed to favor her tonight, and a gentleman came
to claim Miss Bingley’s hand for the next dance, leaving her
alone with Elizabeth.
“It is a shame my brother could not be here tonight; I am
sure that he would enjoy renewing his acquaintance with ev-
eryone he met here,” Georgiana offered tentatively, looking
for a way to raise the question.
Elizabeth was discovering that she was both longing to
ask about Mr. Darcy and afraid of what she might hear. “Yes,
Mr. Bingley was very disappointed that he could not be in
attendance,” she said by way of compromise.
“Mr. Bingley has been a very dear friend of his for some
years, and I know my brother is sorry to miss his wedding,
but the truth is that he has been very little in company of
late,” Georgiana said, watching Elizabeth closely.
She felt a slight stab of pain at her words. “He must be
quite busy, then,” she attempted.
“Not so busy, no,” said Georgiana slowly. “But he has
not been himself for some months.”
Elizabeth found it suddenly hard to breathe. Surely he
could not still be in such pain as that! “He has not been ill,
I hope?”
“No, his health has been excellent as always—I believe
it is more an unhappiness which afflicts him, but he is not
one to confide in a much younger sister.” Georgiana could
hardly credit what she was saying, speaking of such personal
matters to a complete stranger, yet she knew as if by instinct
that Elizabeth was somehow intimately involved in this.
For her part, Elizabeth was uncertain if she could bear
to hear any more of this. She did not wish him to suffer; she
knew that he did not deserve such suffering; and although
she was the cause, she had no way of offering him relief. “I
am sorry to hear that,” she said uncomfortably. “Please give
him my best regards, when next you see him.”
“I will be happy to do so,” Georgiana replied.
You have
no idea of how careful I will be to do exactly that!
she thought.
“Your sister is very lovely; I have always wished to have a
sister,” she added.
“And I have four!” exclaimed Elizabeth with a laugh, glad
for the change of subject.
“Four? And are they all married?” Georgiana asked, in-
tending to gather as much information as possible.
“No, none, Jane is the eldest, and first of us to reach the
altar. All the rest of us are at home, and likely to remain
that way for some time,” said Elizabeth. She pointed out
her younger sisters to Miss Darcy, who seemed quite inor-
dinately curious about them. No doubt it was interesting to
her to glimpse a family so different from her own. Elizabeth
found her a subject almost as interesting; she had heard at
Lambton that Miss Darcy was exceedingly proud, consistent
with Wickham’s description of her; yet her manners were
unassuming and gentle, and if she still possessed some of
the awkwardness of her age, it seemed bridged by amiability.
She was grateful to discover Miss Darcy did not seem to be
the acute and unembarrassed observer her brother was.
Georgiana managed to attach herself quite firmly to
Elizabeth, much to the displeasure of Miss Bingley, who had
never heard her utter so many words in their entire acquain-
tance. Elizabeth was amused by Miss Bingley’s discomfiture,
but had some reservations about encouraging the friendship
of Miss Darcy; she did not think Mr. Darcy likely to be
pleased were his sister to return to London with news of her
particular acquaintance.
She had not reckoned with Miss Darcy’s determination;
she somehow convinced Mr. Bingley to allow her to accom-
pany him on his visit to Longbourn the next day. hough
Elizabeth tried to encourage her to talk to Mary or Kitty as
being closer to her own age and also not as likely to incur the
discomfort of her brother should their names ever be men-
tioned, Miss Darcy seemed to lapse into being tongue-tied
and shy whenever she was not speaking directly to Elizabeth.
After Mr. Bingley made a reference to her habitual timidity,
Elizabeth began to wonder with some amusement what odd
fate had given her this strange ability to attract members
of the Darcy family. Although she found Georgiana’s com-
pany to be pleasant, she was not sad that their acquaintance
would have to terminate immediately upon Jane’s marriage,
given the pain which would inevitably follow any closer as-
sociation between them.
2
THE DAY OF THE wedding came quickly. he wedding cer-
emony was both solemn and joyful; Jane was as beautiful
as a bride could be, and Bingley could not stop smiling.
Elizabeth, standing at the front of the church, felt all hap-
piness on her sister’s behalf, and reflected that here was one
3
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]