A Father's Sins: A Pride and Prejudice Variation (26 page)

“No,
no, Darcy.” Elizabeth’s uncle was quick to reassure his new nephew. “For five
years, my wife and I have remained silent with regards to Bennet casting off
our Lizzy. We maintained that silence because we did not want Lizzy harmed
further, in any way. Now, it is my opportunity to have my say. As instructed by
Mr. Haggerston, I will wait until there is no question that the marriage cannot
be annulled, and until the funds have been delivered to the Hills and they can
leave Longbourn. After that, I am certain that there will be a breach between
the families that will, likely, never mend. It is justice, Darcy. Sparks will
be flying on Gracechurch Street on the morrow.”

By
his comments, Elizabeth learned that Darcy had followed through with her requests.
“I suppose that by the morrow sparks of delight will explode in the Matlock
household when they realize that their son will
not
be traveling with
his troops to France. Their joy at having their son at home will be complete.”

“Yes,
dear, you are undoubtedly correct.” Then he added. “When the announcement of
our wedding appears in tomorrow’s newspapers, I do imagine that sparks will fly
at Rosings Park as well. My Aunt Catherine will be furious, both for hearing
the news of our marriage, and for having not been invited.”

“I
believe that you are correct, husband.” Elizabeth chuckled quietly. “It is a
devious part of my mind that has conjured up the thought that sparks will fly
as well in the Bingley household when Miss Caroline Bingley reads that you, her
greatest desire, are no longer able to make her Mistress of Pemberley.” The
four agreed.

It
was later that evening, after the Darcys retired to their private rooms, that
sparks flew at Darcy House as well.

Gardiner House, Gracechurch Street, London

“A
moment of your time, please, Bennet.” Mr. Edward Gardiner had waited until the
evening meal had concluded and the ladies had withdrawn to the music room to
speak with his brothers-in-law. Mr. Harrison, the butler, had seen to the
pouring of the port wine after dinner, withdrew, and closed the door behind
him, leaving the gentlemen in privacy.

Thomas
Bennet and Albert Philips both waited for Mr. Gardiner to speak. Before a word
was uttered, Mr. Gardiner took a well-read letter out of his pocket and moved
it across the table in front of Mr. Philips. At the expression of curiosity,
Mr. Gardiner asked him to read the letter, silently. Mr. Philips read the
letter, refolded it, dropped his eyes to the table with his head shaking back and
forth, and slid it over to his other brother-in-law, Bennet. Still, not a word
was spoken.

Thomas
Bennet had been disappointed with his afternoon travels across London. Mr.
Haggerston had been missing from his office. He had waited more than an hour, but
the attorney did not return. He was anxious to get matters settled with the
shares from the Honorable East India Company, and longed to return home to
Hertfordshire. London, with its many businesses and entertainments had never
appealed to him. Thomas Bennet preferred the life of a country gentleman. His
displeasure now extended to his brother, Gardiner.

“What
is the meaning of this?” Mr. Bennet demanded.

“If
you would, please, read the letter, Bennet?” Mr. Gardiner asked with a kindly
voice. He suspected that the actual contents had been a shock to Philips.
Gardiner had no idea how Bennet would respond, but he had hopes that the
information that it contained would pull his brother-in-law back to reality.

Thomas
Bennet immediately recognized his own handwriting. The contents were brief and
to the point. Each word tore into his heart. His mind refused to accept that he
had done something so terrible. Rarely was he inclined to look at the man he
truly was, what others saw when they contemplated the character that was Thomas
Bennet. This short note, however, was like looking in a large mirror in full
light. It was painful to see his flaws. Like his brother-in-law, Philips,
before him, he folded the letter and put it back on the table, sliding it to Mr.
Gardiner.

“Bennet,”
Mr. Gardiner was unsurprised that the man refused to make eye contact. “I have
just one question for you, and I do expect an answer.” He waited until he saw
Bennet nod his head, still with his head bowed. “Where were you and what were
you doing when you were the age of five and ten years?”

It
was not the question that he had been expecting. “I was at Eton, studying.”
Bennet wondered where Gardiner was headed with this question.

“Had
your father and older brother died at that time, how qualified would you have
been to run Longbourn? How capable would you have been to make life or death
decisions for your loved ones?”

“At
fifteen years I was ill qualified for anything other than what I was doing at
that time, Gardiner.” He still didn’t raise his eyes from the table.

Mr.
Gardiner continued. “Then, for the love of all that is holy, why did you expect
your own precious child, our Lizzy, to be responsible for the lives of Mary,
Kitty, Lydia, and young Thomas? Why did you expect her to act in a manner that
you were unwilling to do?” His voice became firm. Knowing that the banks and
law offices were closed for the day, he stated clearly, “Lizzy married Mr.
Darcy this morning and all assets were transferred to him this afternoon.
Unless you adjust your thinking, that sweet girl will be lost to you forever.
Mr. Darcy is not the type of man to allow anyone, and I do mean
anyone
to interfere with her happiness.” He paused, sliding the letter back in front
of his brother-in-law. “The next move is yours, Bennet. Think it through
clearly before you decide. If you chose to continue in the course you have
followed the past five years and Jane marries, you will be alone with my
sister. You will never hold Lizzy’s children on your lap or teach them from
your favorite books. You will never know the joy that family ties can bring.
Think hard on this.”

The
reading of his letter disowning his daughter, in his own handwriting, with his
own pen, and the poignancy of these questions, finally broke the man. Putting
his hands to each side of his face, he wept. Thomas Bennet, feeling the pain of
his actions for the first time in years, was unaware that Gardiner and Philips
had left the dining room. He sat alone at the table, with the letter in front
of him, until Jane came searching for him an hour later.

“Father,
are you well?” she whispered. Jane had never seen her father like this. He was
a broken man.

Looking
up at his eldest daughter, the last five years of bitterness finally left him. Bennet
took the letter and slid it into his coat pocket. His voice, cracking from
emotion, his cheeks wet with tears, he directed, “Please see to the packing for
the three of us. We are leaving for Longbourn at daylight. Jane, we are going
home.”

November 11, 1812, Pemberley, Derbyshire

All
of the expectations that Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy had of their marriage
came true. It was not a perfect marriage, but it was perfect for them. Like all
couples, they had their share of disagreements and disappointments. However,
they had many joys as well. For their wedding trip, they traveled to the east
coast of America, visiting such cities as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.
It was the first of many journeys that they took over their life together.
Darcy delighted to show her parts of England, such as the Peak District and the
Lakes. Just one year after their meeting in Hertfordshire at Netherfield Park,
their first child arrived, a son. He was a handsome boy with his father’s dark
eyes, dark curly hair, and quiet disposition. They named him John Richard
Charles Darcy. He was born on the 11
^th
of November in the year 1812.

Georgiana,
aunt to this young boy, was delighted to play with and sing to him. Her court
presentation and first season would not be until the following year. Observing
the felicitous union of her brother and sister-in-law, she determined in her
heart to be patient, waiting for the perfect match. Still inclined to timidity,
under the influence of Elizabeth, she was far more apt to express her strongly
held opinions than hold them close to her as before.

Mr.
Charles Bingley eventually purchased an estate not ten miles from Pemberley. It
was a large property that would have pleased his unmarried sister, Caroline.
After the rooms and grounds were updated, he held a ball as a housewarming,
attended by friends and neighbors. Miss Caroline Bingley was not in attendance,
but her absence was not commented on. Just after she found out about Darcy’s
marriage, she learned of the windfall that Colonel Fitzwilliam received and
zeroed in on him as the next husband apparent. What followed involved a scandal
that still is being spoken of among the ton. Miss Bingley quietly was banished
by her brother and brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst, to an obscure family holding
somewhere in the highlands of Scotland, where she lived, unwed on the interest
from her sizeable dowry. She would not be welcomed into English society again.

Jane
Bennet, too, had not married. In the year following the Darcy wedding, she had
several opportunities from gentlemen who heard of her gentle beauty and arrived
in Hertfordshire to court her, yet, she never felt comfortable with the thought
of leaving her parents alone. What she did with her gift from her sister was
uncertain. It was commented on by Lady Lucas, Longbourn’s closest neighbor, to
her daughter, Charlotte Collins, Elizabeth’s longtime friend, that repairs and
improvements had been made to the estate.

By
then, Charlotte Collins, who had indeed married Mr. Bennet’s cousin, the vicar,
William Collins, had a daughter, which would do nothing to satisfy the entail
once Longbourn passed to them. She was contented with her lot in life and doted
on her child. Lady Catherine de Bourgh regularly condescended to offer
parenting advice along with advice on every aspect of a woman’s life to
Charlotte, which was accepted with a patient tolerance and then ignored.

Neither
of Lord and Lady Matlock’s sons had yet married, which was a source of great
frustration to their parents. Henry, their eldest, was taking more and more
interest in his father’s position in the House of Lords, and Richard had
purchased an estate located between  the Matlock country estate and Pemberley
and was consumed with running it properly and productively. Being a property
owner was much different than a Colonel in the military, so he required much
help from Darcy. Both brothers spent as much time with the Darcys as possible,
with their increased responsibilities. They both longed to have a wife with as
much intelligence, wit, joy, and beauty as Mrs. Darcy, but had yet to find her.
Richard especially looked forward to spoiling Darcy’s son, bringing him a pony
before he had passed his first week.

The
Gardiners were regular visitors to Derbyshire, spending as much of the summer there
as possible. Madeline Gardiner was there for Lizzy’s confinement. It was with
pleasure that she wrote to her husband the details of the Darcy heir. Mr.
Gardiner was pleased that Lizzy was so happily settled with such a good man.

Darcy’s
son had not been named for either George Darcy or Thomas Bennet. The oversight
was intentional. The sins of the fathers had affected Darcy and Elizabeth, but
would not touch the generations that came after them. Months after the
marriage, Thomas Bennet had written to his daughter with an apology. It was cautiously
accepted and forgiveness was extended. Mrs. Bennet, at the news of Elizabeth’s
wedding Darcy and the number of those with titles who had been in attendance,
immediately declared Elizabeth as her favorite daughter, repeating imagined
details to all her neighbors in Meryton and proclaiming how she always knew
that Lizzy would marry before Jane.

Fitzwilliam
and Elizabeth Darcy adored their son to distraction. He would grow knowing that
he was wanted, loved, and cherished; which is as it should be, is it not?

The End

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

First
time author Joy Dawn King fell in love with Jane Austen's writings two years
ago and discovered the world of fan fiction shortly after. Intrigued with the
many possibilities, she began developing her own story for Fitzwilliam Darcy
and Elizabeth Bennet.

Living
high in the Andes Mountains of South America, Joy loves to take an occasional
break from the Latin culture and bury herself in reading English literature
about her favorite English characters.

Joy,
and her husband of 34 years, live next door to their only child, Jennifer, her
husband, and twin grandchildren and is a native Oregonian.

The
author is currently writing about Mr. Bingley's and Jane Bennet's struggles
with happily ever after and will follow with the tale of what happens when
Colonel Fitzwilliam immediately falls in love with Constance Wickham, who hates
him bitterly.