For All the Wrong Reasons: A Pride and Prejudice Re-Imagining by Mary Lydon Simonsen

Author:Mary Lydon Simonsen [Simonsen, Mary Lydon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Austenesque
ISBN: 9781461010128
Google: 1r72uAAACAAJ
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2011-03-31T01:21:38+00:00

Chapter 11

With her concerns about Georgiana put to rest and her worries about managing such a large estate largely settled because of Pemberley’s capable staff, Lizzy was leaning in favor of accepting the gentleman’s proposal. But before writing to Mr. Darcy to inform him of her decision, she had one more person she wished to consult.

For twenty-five years, the Reverend Paul Kenner had been the vicar of St. Michael’s, Lambton, having received the living from Mr. Darcy’s father. Lizzy had been hesitant about asking for a meeting in which it would be necessary to reveal such private matters to someone outside the family, but with Jane in Hertfordshire, there was no one else with whom she could discuss her concerns. When she arrived at the parsonage, she was greeted by Mrs. Kenner, the mother of the parson, his wife having died many years earlier, and she was shown to the clergyman’s study.

Dr. Kenner’s deep blue eyes peeked out at her from under bushy eyebrows that mingled with his wild mane of white hair. When he took Lizzy’s hand to welcome her, she realized he was only an inch or two taller than she was, and his appearance and disposition lent an almost elf-like quality to him. With a face lined with laugh lines, Lizzy immediately liked him.

After listening to the details of Mr. Darcy’s proposal and her feelings on the matter, Mr. Kenner expressed his opinion that she had already decided in favor of accepting Mr. Darcy’s offer. She was merely looking for someone to tell her that she was not making a mistake.

“I have known the Darcy family for more than three decades. Before being made the vicar, I was a curate here at St. Michael’s. I was in attendance when Lady Anne Fitzwilliam married David Darcy. I baptized their infants, Fitzwilliam and Georgiana. I buried their mother and consoled their father, and I watched as Fitzwilliam assumed the duties of master of Pemberley long before he should have borne that weight. But his father was so consumed by grief over the loss of his dear wife that it quite incapacitated him.

“Allow me to give you an example. William was at Cambridge when a terrible flood caused a loss of life and extensive damage to property in Lambton and on the surrounding farms. Upon learning of the disaster, Fitzwilliam left his studies to come home so that he might help the villagers and farmers. Because Fitzwilliam proved so competent, the elder Mr. Darcy delegated much responsibility to Fitzwilliam, and as such, he grew up very quickly.

“The worry that comes with so much responsibility, especially those matters that concern his sister, has greatly affected him. He can be overly serious, dour, and distant, which will cause some people to see him as cold and unfeeling. Nothing can be further from the truth.”

“Mrs. Reynolds would be in complete agreement with that statement,” Lizzy said. “She tells me that his servants are devoted to him and there is not a tenant who will say a bad word against him.

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