A Courtship in Kent: A Pride and Prejudice Variation, page 1
A Courtship
in Kent
a Pride and Prejudice variation
LETITIA MAYFAIR
©2024 Letitia Mayfair.
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover art by Hailey Jones
E Book design by Hailey Jones
A COURTSHIP IN KENT
Chapter 1
As unscrupulous as it was to knowingly listen in upon another's private conversation, Elizabeth Bennet found herself victim of being made to eavesdrop upon certain persons whilst having no true desire to do so, and it was in this fact which she absolved herself of any guilt. She was attending the Hunsford village assembly, and curiously, not too unlike her unfortunate experience at the Meryton assembly, Elizabeth came to find herself once more within hearing distance of Mr. Darcy, though this time he did not see her standing nearby and was thus rendered very unaware of her ability to hear every word he would soon say about her.
Mr. Darcy was standing with a man who looked to Elizabeth to be a colonel (indeed, it was his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam), and as they began to converse and she had no choice but to listen, mortification overcame Elizabeth as she considered how perilous her situation might become: if she moved from her spot, the men would be alerted to her presence, which was the very last action she wished to take, as she and Mr. Darcy so very much despised one another (or so Elizabeth most assuredly thought). Thus, she had little choice but to stand silently and remain still, with the faint hope that the two young men might depart before long and allow her an end to the torment of being made to unwillingly eavesdrop.
“Fitzwilliam, we will likely be extending our stay at Rosings this spring,” Mr. Darcy said.
“Extending our stay?” Colonel Fitzwilliam asked with no little sarcasm, “And pray, cousin, why are we to have the pleasure of an extended stay with Lady Catherine?”
“It simply must be so, Fitzwilliam,” Mr. Darcy replied in audible irritation. This terse assertion of Mr. Darcy's incited in Elizabeth a strong desire to release a frustrated sigh in response, for truly Mr. Darcy was a disagreeable man, one of those gentleman who always dictated his will upon others. Indeed, his haughty manner and his prideful arrogance revealed how disdainful he was of the feelings of others, and in this case, he even disregarded the wants of his own cousin.
“Try as you may, Darcy, you are well aware that you cannot dissemble with me,” the colonel said, “Now, then, out with it; I watched the expression upon your countenance when Lady Catherine mentioned the name of that lady who is currently residing at the parsonage, and I must ask you, is it she?”
Elizabeth felt a confusion whirl inside of her at hearing this, for she was puzzled as to whom the colonel was referring. Surely, she surmised, they were most certainly not discussing her, were they?
“I do not know what you mean,” Mr. Darcy said with a disdainful sniff. His cousin merely chuckled and shook his head, expressing an amiability which contrasted heavily with Mr. Darcy's unfriendly demeanor.
“Yes, you do,” Colonel Fitzwilliam asserted, “You know quite well to whom I refer, as I am discussing the lady, the one who is staying at the parsonage at the behest of the parson's wife, the cousin to the parson, if I recall out aunt's words correctly. Pray, what was her name again? Benson, or was it Bennet?”
The whirlwind of confusion heightened inside of Elizabeth at hearing this.
'Goodness,' she said inwardly, 'it is me they are speaking of! What could be the meaning of it?'
She pondered this to her utter mortification and dreaded she might be witness yet again to Mr. Darcy's unfavorable criticism of her, and at another public assembly, at that. How ill her luck to be caught once more in an embarrassing situation such as this, to be eavesdropping on a proud gentleman who absolutely despised her person. She felt her face become heated with a deep blush—oh, how she wished she might escape this humiliation! Yet she listened with reluctance and anxious anticipation as Mr. Darcy sighed with what appeared to be loud exasperation with his cousin.
“As it is clear you will not relent upon this subject, Fitzwilliam, then I will submit to your schemes and indulge you,” he muttered in an agitated tone, “Her name is Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet,” Colonel Fitzwilliam repeated, “I am to understand then, that this lady, this Miss Bennet, is the reason we are to have an extended stay?”
Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat, and she wondered at what the colonel could possibly mean by such a question, and it was with tremendous difficulty that Elizabeth followed their discussion of her residence with the Collinses for these past many weeks, as she simply could not decipher the significance of such a topic.
Mr. Darcy, voicing Elizabeth's own confusion regarding the matter, stated simply, “I do not know why you would infer that.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam laughed at this, a jolly and vibrant baritone chuckle, while Elizabeth furrowed her brow, still in bewilderment. If Elizabeth were to make vague predictions about Mr. Darcy's behavior in regards to her, why, she would have guessed the proud gentleman to shorten his stay in Hunsford as a result of her unexpected presence, not lengthen it. She was exceedingly puzzled by the colonel's line of suggestion, and though she was still quite anxious that she may overhear another disagreeable slight against her as she did at the Meryton assembly, Elizabeth listened to the remainder of their conversation in order to make sense of what was quite a perplexing matter, indeed.
“Your laughter is quite singular,” Mr. Darcy said to his cousin with his usual haughty expression.
“Darcy, you are indomitable,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said with a grin, “I know Miss Bennet is the very reason you agreed to make an appearance here, at this assembly of all places; you know as well as I that you despise public assemblies, especially country ones, at that. The company here is quite below you, as you continually make apparent to all who view that disagreeable look on your face.”
To this, Mr. Darcy made no reply, and the colonel maintained his joviality, while Elizabeth was still very much perplexed at the colonel's suggestion that Mr. Darcy was condescending to attend a public assembly simply to see her. It made little sense, as she knew the man truly despised her and looked upon her with derision and disdain.
“Tell me now,” the colonel pressed, “Who is Miss Bennet, and why are you so affected by her? Is she a great beauty? I daresay, I do not spy any ladies here who capture my attention as being exceptionally pretty.”
Mr. Darcy scoffed at that remark while shaking his head, and Elizabeth might daresay she observed even a rude, disagreeable rolling of his eyes as he did so.
'What an abominable man, and with such horrid manners,' she said inwardly, 'I am truly sorry to have ever made this gentleman's acquaintance, indeed.'
“I do not believe she has arrived yet,” the disagreeable man said, “and I am not affected by her, as you say.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam merely chuckled again.
“Darcy, you are a terrible liar.”
“Blast it, Fitzwilliam,” Mr. Darcy spat out, startling Elizabeth and nearly causing her to reveal her presence while the man continued angrily, “Since you cannot leave it alone, I will tell all, but if Lady Catherine hears of what I have to say, she will likely demand the parson and his wife throw the lady out, so keep my confidence, will you?”
Elizabeth felt an irrational worry cloud her mind at his words, and she wondered what ever could be so disgraceful that Lady Catherine would demand her cousin to send her away? Indignation grew inside her at the mere idea that she was anything but proper, as any gentleman's daughter ought to be.
“I am all ears, cousin,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said eagerly, leaning in. “Who is this mysterious woman who has caught your fancy?”
Caught his fancy? Colonel Fitzwilliam and his confusing assertions only added to Elizabeth's ire and trepidation.
“Fitzwilliam,” Mr. Darcy said with no little emotion, “I ardently admire and love her.”
Elizabeth's astonishment was beyond expression. She stared, colored, doubted, and was silent. His unimaginable response vexed and distressed her indeed, and she viewed his countenance in a vain search for a hint of some kind of amusement, because certainly a perverse joke of some sort this must be; yet, she could see nothing to indicate it as such at all.
'What is the meaning of this?' she wondered inwardly, 'for what could Mr. Darcy mean by such an outrageous declaration?'
“Love?” Colonel Fitzwilliam bristled, “And pray, what do you even know about matters of the heart, Darcy? You have resisted marriage all these many years, and indeed, I had begun to believe you had a heart as hard as stone. I am curious, how did you come to fall in love? What about her set you off?”
Elizabeth waited with bated breath to hear the gentleman's response to such an inquiry, wondering if it was true, did Mr. Darcy truly admire her? Surely, it could not be, yet, in spite of her deeply-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man's affection...
“Fitzwilliam,” Mr. Darcy began with an ardor that surprised Elizabeth deeply, “I cannot fix the hour, or the spot, or the lo
Elizabeth found herself blushing abundantly from hearing this, as it created a strange and unfamiliar sensation inside of Elizabeth, a burgeoning one of pleasure that was mixed with embarrassment and even shame at herself for having harbored such ill feelings for a man who expressed such a heightened admiration for her. What could Elizabeth make of it? And how could she reconcile this immense compliment to her vanity with the despicable reality that this man denied the goodly Mr. Wickham his living?
She shook her head slightly, as if to rid her mind of the incredible compliment to her person that his admiration was and remind herself of Mr. Darcy's despicable nature.
“Tell me more about this woman,” the colonel said with earnest.
“Miss Bennet has very fine eyes, and she is a great walker with a compassionate, nurturing spirit. I shall tell you, she came to Netherfield one morning after walking three miles in the mud, dirty petticoats and all, simply to nurse her dearest sister, who had fallen ill. Imagine you Bingley's ungenerous sisters making such a trek? Why, to me it revealed in her a sisterly affection which is pleasing, very pleasing, indeed.”
The colonel laughed and said, “She sounds delightfully impertinent.”
“I would not call it impertinence but instead a liveliness of mind, and it is rather delightful, I shall admit,” Mr. Darcy said with what appeared to be a growing smile upon his face, one that Elizabeth could not help but admire seeing how handsome he might truly be when he sported a happy expression rather than one of dissatisfaction, “Upon our first acquaintance, I was greatly inclined to wholly disapprove of what I considered to be her improper manners, but I soon recognized in her lied a very spirited personality, which I had never encountered in a lady before. We must have an extended stay, Fitzwilliam, because it is my aim to court her and then make her my betrothed while we are here.”
Elizabeth couldn't believe her ears at his declared intentions. Elizabeth's face burned at the thought, but she quickly decided she must confront the man this very moment, much to their mutual embarrassment. She could no longer linger listening and then proceed as if she was ignorant of such a man's intentions. How could she dissemble and pretend not to know of his love for her?
Another concern overwhelmed her: it very much appeared that Elizabeth might be required to reevaluate her low opinion this man's character, as she reconciled to herself the following question that if Mr. Darcy had loved her all this time while she believed he despised her, what else might Elizabeth have gotten wrong? Was her judgment truly so erroneous? And what might her erroneous judgment say about her acceptance of Mr. Wickham's sordid tale of woe; was Mr. Darcy in reality the villain that Mr. Wickham claimed he was?
“Mr. Darcy,” she said, only a little distressed as she stepped forward out of the shadows, but determined to persevere, “I am afraid I have no choice but to exhibit my impertinence (or what you call my 'liveliness of mind') at this very moment and admit to having heard everything you have just said.”
She watched as the two men startled and turned around to face her, mortification overcoming her at the uncomfortable position in which she now found herself. She saw Colonel Fitzwilliam looked on with shock, but then after a passing moment his look changed to one of genuine amusement, as he had glanced at his cousin Mr. Darcy, whose face was overwhelmed by a deep crimson blush. Colonel Fitzwilliam began to guffaw loudly, and he finally clapped Mr. Darcy on the back in enthusiasm.
“This is she, then?” the laughing man said to Mr. Darcy while casting a smile toward Elizabeth, who reflexively and unconsciously smiled back, as his manner was extremely amiable, relaxing and all but entirely removing any tension which might have arisen from their strange circumstance.
“Darcy, go on,” the man said with joviality and enthusiasm, “Do the introduction, I beg you!”
Elizabeth cast her eyes toward Mr. Darcy, and she blushed as he stared at her in disbelief for another moment before he stammered momentarily and made an introduction between them.
Elizabeth tore her eyes from the mortified Mr. Darcy and looked back at the grinning colonel, who bowed quite gallantly. Elizabeth returned the gesture with a proper curtsy, and she cast her eyes back downward in modest embarrassment.
Looking downward still, she heard the laughing man say, “Indeed, Miss Bennet, I have to agree with my cousin, you do have fine eyes and a spirited personality” —an uttering which caused no little blush to spread upon Elizabeth's countenance—“and you found yourself eavesdropping on us? What say you, Darcy? Does this behavior surprise you or delight you?”
Elizabeth glanced up in time to see that the colonel had evoked a slight smile from his cousin, and she decided she liked the colonel almost instantly, gratified to have such an amiable person present to ease the mutual discomfort of hers and Mr. Darcy's. She then dared to look at Mr. Darcy and found that she was intrigued by his discomfort, as he shifted on his feet and repeatedly clasped and released his hands. Finding his behavior oddly endearing, she decided to rescue the nervous gentleman from having to speak just yet.
“Colonel, Mr. Darcy has deeply misrepresented me, for to be sure, he knows of no actual good in me,” she said as she cast a sly smile at Mr. Darcy, who blushed even more so, before returning her gaze to the colonel and continuing, “I must also admit that this situation in which we now find ourselves is not the first for me, for I have heard Mr. Darcy speak of my person once before at a public assembly.”
Mr. Darcy looked surprised at this utterance, and the colonel eager to hear of it.
“Have you?” the colonel asked, casting a bemused glance at his cousin, whose brow was furrowed in some confusion. “Do tell this tale, Miss Bennet, as I would sorely like to hear it.”
“You shall hear of it, then, but prepare yourself for something very dreadful,” she said with a raised eyebrow at the colonel, “Gentlemen were scarce, and more than one young lady was sitting down in want of a partner, as I do recall, and indeed, I myself was sitting down for lack of a partner with whom to dance. When Mr. Bingley suggested Mr. Darcy partner with me, he looked over at me and deemed me tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt him!”
The Colonel guffawed quite indecorously at this anecdote, and he whirled on the mortified and shame-faced Mr. Darcy with a mocking grin.
“Darcy, you fool!” the man said playfully, “How could you ever deign to speak aloud such an untruth, and within the good lady's hearing?”
Mr. Darcy did not return the laughter; instead, he ignored his cousin and implored Elizabeth with his piercing gaze, which caused an unfamiliar feeling to grow inside of her. She pulled her eyes away from his and looked down, suddenly feeling admonished for causing the man any further humiliation.
The music began to play, and Elizabeth saw a set line forming for the very first dance, and Mr. Darcy reached out his hand toward her and with grave propriety requested to be allowed the honor of her hand, causing her to gaze up at him in wonder. In her surprise, Elizabeth simply nodded her head and uttered a soft affirmative, and very soon after, they made their way to join the set.
Chapter 2
Any true gentleman does everything possible to avoid any sort of public humiliation; indeed, keeping one's emotions under good regulation is one of the foundational expectations of any good gentleman, and for Mr. Darcy to have been overheard revealing his admiration of Elizabeth, the gentleman felt quite foolish and ungentlemanly, indeed. While escorting Miss Bennet to the set, Mr. Darcy's trepidation grew as he contemplated the never-ending blush which seemed to overcome his countenance; his face had felt a burning heat ever since the lady appeared from behind him and his cousin, and he was humiliated that she had overheard every single mortifying word he spoke.
When he came to Hunsford, Mr. Darcy had greatly desired to court Elizabeth properly while he was residing at Rosings: he planned to take walks with her, he intended to call on her properly at the parsonage, and then, finally, he would propose, and it would be during this planned proposal that he might let his true feeling be known. Indeed, he even intended to reveal to her with what great difficulty he had struggled to overcome the degradation of such a reprehensible match, considering her family's ill connections, lack of fortune, and display of impropriety. It was during this carefully, meticulously planned moment of revelation, his marriage proposal, that he would make his love and admiration known to her, as ardent and unrelenting as it was.
