When Jane Got Angry by Victoria Kincaid

Author:Victoria Kincaid
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: regency romance, jane austen, pride and prejudice, mr darcy, jane austen fan fiction, jaff, pride and prejudice variation, jane austen variation, jane bennet, mr bingley
Publisher: Victoria Kincaid

Chapter Seven

My Dearest Jane,

Rosings Park is indeed livelier now that Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam are in residence. Miss de Bourgh says little and her companion nothing at all. Lady Catherine speaks with great authority about any subject, no matter her degree of knowledge—or ignorance—of it. But at least I now have the solace of conversation with the two gentlemen. The colonel is all amiability, with pleasing manners and easy conversation. Mr. Darcy remains much the same, saying little and glaring at me from across the room. He is as proud and difficult as ever, and I am forever reminded of how he has caused Mr. Wickham’s suffering.

But when he bestirs himself to join the conversation, I often find it worth the listening. Imagine my surprise in discovering we have similar tastes in poetry and novels. He frequently exhorts me to play on the pianoforte. Surely he is only being polite—or perhaps alleviating his own ennui—but he does an admirable imitation of genuine interest. Were it not for Mr. Wickham’s sake, I might think Mr. Darcy tolerable company. But I can barely stand to occupy the same room or share my conversation with the man. Everything about him disgusts me…

Jane laid the letter in her lap, staring at the weeping willow bending over the corner of her aunt and uncle’s small garden. A cool breeze blew strands of hair into her face, and she pushed them away impatiently. Lizzy’s letter demonstrated a profound ambivalence about Mr. Darcy, probably more than the writer herself recognized.

If only Lizzy would be more amenable to Mr. Darcy’s friendship! He was Mr. Bingley’s closest friend. Were Jane fortunate enough to marry Mr. Bingley, it would be awkward if her sister remained at odds with the man.

Jane did not know the truth of Mr. Wickham’s tale but suspected that Lizzy’s judgment of the master of Pemberley was unduly harsh. Lizzy’s letter lent support to something Jane had long suspected: Mr. Darcy did not dislike Lizzy at all; in fact, he sought and rather enjoyed her company. But Lizzy could be stubborn, and Jane could think of no gentle way to persuade her sister of her mistaken impression.

Well, it hardly mattered. Lizzy would treat Mr. Darcy as she saw fit, and soon they would part ways. If Jane were favored with Mr. Bingley’s hand, she might hope to bring about a more amicable relationship. Jane folded the letter once more; she had read it three times already, and it no longer provided much of a distraction.

The past fortnight had been dull, passing with the speed of a heavily laden barge. After the wonderful visit to St. Paul’s, Jane had been full of hope that Mr. Bingley might soon make her an offer. However, the following day—when she had eagerly anticipated his arrival—a letter had arrived for her uncle explaining that Mr. Bingley had been called away to the north of the country to attend an ailing aunt.

The missive had expressed the expectation that Mr. Bingley would be from town no more than a week, but it had already been two.

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