Sweet and Not So Sweet: Variations on Pride and Prejudice by Katherine Elise Morgan

Author:Katherine Elise Morgan [Morgan, Katherine Elise]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WECo
Published: 2017-06-14T22:00:00+00:00

Days 33 -- 4,467

The following "months" and "years" took on a familiar pattern, a day here and there in London, a day each "week" just reading, days at Longbourn where he refined his patter, and days spent learning new skills.

Initially, he had been opposed to the idea, but boredom won out in the end, so he found a widow who agreed to provide piano lessons for an hour each day. The lady was somewhat timid, afraid to anger the great Fitzwilliam Darcy, but he was eventually able to convince her to treat him as she did her younger students, and then his skills improved more rapidly. Still, it was tedious, his aptitude and attention were not in good form, and his hands were not as flexible as those of her younger students.

One morning on his ride into Meryton, he stopped to watch a cooper at work, and on a whim he asked if he could help, which the man agreed to somewhat reluctantly. Darcy was convinced that he did more harm than good the first few days, but the man was very patient with him, and after a couple of months, Darcy became quite accomplished at making the ribs, though assembling them into a watertight barrel was beyond his abilities. His always leaked.

He tried his hand a blacksmithing, but the heat was overpowering, and required far more strength that he had at the time. He became reacquainted with a shovel and pick, as his father thought digging ditches and post holes built character, but still found little to like about the job. Woodworking had always fascinated him so he gave it a try, but his skill level relegated him to cutting logs into rough timber and then into properly sized boards. Fine work was beyond his abilities. By this time, he was spending at least three days each "week" working outside, so his hands became callused and hard, which pleased him greatly. No one could call him a soft sort of gentleman farmer now.

However, the thing that gave him the greatest pleasure was talking with Elizabeth Bennet. She often surprised him with her insights and broad knowledge of the world, and he very much looked forward to the two days each "week" he spent in her company, either alone or at Longbourn. At times he noticed the shimmer, but could not explain what type of weather condition caused it. He thought it was strange that it only occurred when Elizabeth was around, but his blindness was to affect him for many, many years.

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