From Peril to Joy: A Darcy and Elizabeth Pride & Prejudice Variation by Sophia Sheppard

Author:Sophia Sheppard [Sheppard, Sophia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-04-16T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

At around the same time as Darcy declared his feelings for her, Elizabeth Bennet was outside engaged in a rather odd game with her eldest niece. The girl was quite unlike other young girls of her age. She had no interest at all in playing hoops or bowls.

No, Emily Bingley was more interested in the ball she had found while rummaging in the attic a couple of weeks before. It soon emerged that she was something of a natural, though she was not afforded the opportunity to play with it for very long. As soon as her aunt Collins saw what she was doing, Emily was dragged inside and forced to sit in a chair to listen to a lengthy reading from Fordyce’s Sermons.

It was only when her favourite aunt Elizabeth arrived from Hertfordshire that Emily felt confident enough to mention the ball again. She had heard her mother and Elizabeth discussing balls on many occasions, so she had been confident that her wish might be fulfilled this time, without the knowledge of her dreadful aunt Collins.

Elizabeth had been only too happy to conspire with her four-year-old niece. The two had waited until the Collinses departed for the chapel before they retrieved the ancient old thing and set about kicking it back and forth on the neatly trimmed lawn in front of the house.

It was immense fun. Niece and aunt both enjoyed the game, though it could be noted that only Emily showed any skill at playing. Her aunt, though stronger, had rather poorer aim. Not ten minutes passed before she had kicked the blasted thing right at one of Jane’s prized rose bushes.

Elizabeth’s first worry was that the thing might snag on a thorn. She raced over, hoping that little Emily’s beloved toy was unscathed.

She bent and set about retrieving the thing. It was not an easy task. It had wedged itself firmly behind the bush, which was thick and old. She did not wish to pull too hard lest she damage the ball or injure herself on the rose’s frightful thorns.

Her hair fell in her face yet she persevered, picturing Emily’s crestfallen little face if she did not. She had just managed to get a firm grip on the thing when she heard a voice waft towards her from the library window directly above.

“I received a letter this morning. From Hardy.”

At that moment, Elizabeth forgot her niece; forgot the ball; forgot everything. She froze and flattened herself against the wall, hand still on the ball so that any observer would think she was still working to free it. She did not know why—after all, she was privy to the discussion and she might have gone and asked them about the letter.

But she needed to know now. Thankfully, little Emily was distracted by a puddle of water. Elizabeth watched her intently as she listened to the faint voice she could just about make out.

“Yes. Well. We knew it was coming.” Even if she hadn’t recognised Darcy’s voice, she felt sure she would have known it was him from his clipped way of speaking.

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