Unfounded: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Jessie Lewis

Author:Jessie Lewis [Lewis, Jessie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Quills & Quartos Publishing
Published: 2023-04-02T23:00:00+00:00

Mrs Reynolds had known the truth before she received Eleanor’s answer. Reading it had still been devastating. It was a blow from which she did not think she would recover—not if she had all the time in the world, and certainly not in the time she had.

Admitting her mistake to the master was the most difficult, distressing thing she had ever done. His anger had been terrible to behold but not what upset her most, for at no point had she been frightened of him. It was the hurt in his expression that had chilled her to the core. The guilt of having betrayed him weighed like irons around her heart. Her failure to explain herself was equally painful, but what use were good intentions when the result was still ruination?

Mr Darcy was gone to London now. Her one consolation was knowing that he had taken command of the situation. More than anyone she knew, he possessed the wherewithal, influence, intelligence, and moreover the resolve to do what must be done—if not to salvage his hopes of happiness, then at least to assist the Bennets. That she was the cause of Dot’s misery was almost as unbearable as being the cause of Mr Darcy’s.

She stood for a moment and looked at the room before her: the mistress’s chamber—perfectly proportioned and exquisitely decorated. The room that, against every probability but in answer to a good number of heartfelt wishes, could have been Dot’s. The room that was once Lady Anne’s.

It was in here that Mrs Reynolds had sat with her late mistress, making excited preparations for the birth of her ladyship’s long-awaited second child. It had been at this bedside that she held vigil during Lady Anne’s last hours. Her ladyship had begged her to help keep her young son and infant daughter safe and well after she was gone. Mrs Reynolds had given her word that she would do whatever was in her power to protect them. She supposed it was a good thing Lady Anne had not known, at the time, that her word was worthless. She touched the mattress with her fingertips, said a quick goodnight, and left, closing the door silently behind her.

In the hall, she paused to reminisce about opening the servants’ ball in 1791 with the late Mr Darcy. She had only recently been promoted to housekeeper from head housemaid, and it was the first time she had ever been called upon to dance with one of her employers. She remembered being thankful for her gloves, for her palms were clammy with fear, but she need not have concerned herself. He was so very genteel—and heavens, could he dance! With a sad smile, she twirled once, slowly, on the spot, recalling the dazzling light of all those candles, then walked on, the huge space falling back into darkness behind her.

She did not hesitate to slip quietly into the library. If it should fall down around her ears now, it would only hasten the inevitable and save her an arduous journey.

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