Remember, you wanted this: or 'Be careful what you ask for'. A Collection of P&P Variations by Sydney Salier

Author:Sydney Salier
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Anthology, Angst, Alternate Universe, bad Jane Bennet, Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Short Stories
Published: 2020-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

Since the dinner had been in celebration of the couple, the families forewent the separation of the sexes. Everyone settled in the drawing-room for tea or coffee. Although, the gentlemen were offered port or brandy to accompany or substitute the other beverages.

When Elizabeth had been served her tea, she took it to a chair amongst a small grouping to the side of the room where she and Mr Darcy might speak privately.

He joined her shortly, carrying a cup of coffee and a large brandy. When he sat down and placed his drinks on a table, he said, ‘I may need fortification,’ indicating the brandy.

‘You must think yourself to be in grievous straits if you expect to need that much fortification, Mr Darcy.’

‘Your reaction during dinner led me to believe that my reserved demeanour and my treatment of Mr Wickham are not the only charges you wish to lay at my feet.’

‘Reserved demeanour, Mr Darcy? Since you arrived at Meryton you have acted as if everyone is beneath your notice. I do not believe I have ever seen such contempt directed at my neighbours. They may not be part of the fashionable crowd in London, but they are decent people and deserve to be treated with courtesy and respect.’

‘I am sorry, Miss Elizabeth, but as it happens my demeanour here has been exactly the same as it is in London. The fashionable crowd, as you call them, are the reason I behave as I do. They are the ones I hold in contempt. Unfortunately, I had not realised that my mask had become such an ingrained habit, that I was still sporting it when I arrived here.’

‘I am not certain that your apology is handsome enough to tempt me to accept it…’

‘Oh no, you heard that? No wonder you think my manners atrocious. Miss Elizabeth, please believe me, if I had actually looked at you properly, I could not have said that, since it is untrue. I was simply saying the first thing that came to my mind, to stop Bingley from pestering me to dance. I was in no mood to socialise, which is something I struggle with at the best of times.’

‘Then why did you attend the assembly? Would it not have been better to stay away?’

‘Perhaps. But my choices were to attend the ball or remain at Netherfield, where Miss Bingley would have been determined to entertain me.’

‘So, you decided that there was safety in numbers?’

‘Cowardly of me, I know. But there it is.’ He gave her a deprecating little smile.

Since Elizabeth knew the mercenary nature of Miss Bingley, she felt a small stab of sympathy. ‘Very well, I can accept that. But since you mentioned the gentleman’s name, will you tell me your side of what happened with Mr Wickham?’

Darcy reluctantly explained his background with Wickham, and the living for which he had paid him three thousand pounds.

‘You really paid him that large a sum of money?’

‘I have a signed contract to prove it. But by the

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