Without Vanity or Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Duology

Chapter 2

Elizabeth thought that she and Jane must surely be a burden to bear for their dear aunt. Although Mrs Gardiner showed no sign of wearying of them, between Jane’s dispirited languor and her own peevish doldrums, they were not fit to be in company. Elizabeth tried to be a better houseguest, but she continued to find herself sinking into self-recrimination for how she had behaved.

I meant to be uncommonly clever in taking so decided a dislike to him without any reason. It is such a spur to one’s genius, such an opening for wit, to have a dislike of that kind. One may be continually abusive without saying anything just, but one cannot be always laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty.

Fortunately, Mrs Gardiner was a determined hostess and refused to allow her nieces to persist in their melancholy, even if in Elizabeth’s case, she did not understand the reasons for it. Likely, she thinks it mere sisterly affection, Elizabeth surmised. She had considered taking her sister and aunt into her confidence but could not do it. She had made herself ridiculous with her prejudice against Mr Darcy, driven by vanity to be pleased by a villain, and to scorn the truly decent gentleman. She knew it and disliked her conduct well enough; she could not bear the weight of Jane’s or her aunt Gardiner’s censure on top of it.

After a long morning of sighs and snappish witticisms, Mrs Gardiner asked, “What say you to a trip to Hyde Park?”

Their young cousins, Elspeth and Millie, were immediately delighted by the scheme and ran off to retrieve their little bonnets and wraps. The plans were settled before either Jane or Elizabeth had uttered yea or nay, but it was of no consequence. The fresh air will do us good, Elizabeth decided.

The task of getting six ladies—Jane, Elizabeth, Mrs Gardiner, the two Miss Gardiners and their governess, Miss Franklin—the short distance to the park was not an inconsiderable one. But the sights and sounds that greeted them were worth it all. They alit from the carriage into what seemed to be all of London before them. The members of the beau monde were out and about in all their finery, strolling, riding, or driving a curricle down the paths. Within minutes Elizabeth saw a man riding a dandy horse, a lady slapping a gentleman’s cheek, and what she thought might have been a prostitute. For the study of the characters about her alone, the day would have been well worth the effort of leaving Gracechurch Street. Against all inclination, Elizabeth found her spirits beginning to rise.

As much as Elizabeth did enjoy herself, she wondered what perverseness within her mind caused her to be always on alert to see him. Surely she despised the very notion of laying eyes on him again? Did she not? Yet, over and over, she read his letter. Over and over she heard his words: “You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

As they finished an examination of a little shrub by the path, one which Mrs Gardiner thought had very unusual foliage, Elizabeth fancied she could hear his voice, even imagined she could hear him speak her name. She longed to look over her shoulder but did not, telling herself that once she began to heed the directives of voices in her head, then surely she was in real trouble.

“Millie! Millie, not so close to the edge!” Mrs Gardiner sighed. “If she is not just like you, Lizzy, I do not know who is.”

Elizabeth chuckled. “We should do best to stand by then, for if she is like me, it will take more than Miss Franklin to keep her from falling in.”

The two little Gardiner ladies were excited to near raptures by the park. Some young boys their age were sailing boats, and a gentleman was walking about with a poodle on a leash, and they found both crafts and canine enchanting. Mrs Gardiner wore her maternal satisfaction like a mantle, looking down on the sweet picture of her daughters’ happiness.

Into this scene, a handsome blond gentleman of unmistakably noble bearing intruded. “I happen to know that dog personally,” he informed Elspeth and Millie. “It is perhaps the stupidest creature ever to draw breath. If you would like to meet a dog of true worth, I shall retrieve my Florizel from Mayfair to introduce you.”

So astonished were the ladies by hearing such an address, and from such an obviously elevated personage, that they stood rooted in silence for a time. It was Jane who first noticed the gentleman who came up behind him.

“Mr Darcy! How do you do, sir?”

Elizabeth barely repressed a gasp as she turned to see him, looking handsomely uncomfortable and staring directly at her. He did not answer Jane. In fact no-one said anything for what seemed an interminable length of time. She would have wagered anything that Mr Darcy would have assiduously avoided her and her sharp tongue. Yet, there he was. Would that she could still be angry at him! But her fury had long since passed, subsumed into the justice of much of his censure and overridden by his declarations of love.

A love which she would have imagined he had put aside as quickly as he could, save for the fact that he stood before her.

The blond man at last sighed and gave a quick glance heavenward . “Well then, Darcy? You were in such a fever to observe the proprieties, and now you only stand there! Introduce me, man!”

Elizabeth observed in astonishment as Mr Darcy’s countenance flushed deep scarlet. He stammered through an awkward presentation of the man whom they soon learnt was his cousin, Viscount Saye, the elder brother of Colonel Fitzwilliam.

“And owner,” he informed the two young Miss Gardiners, “of Florizel, a vastly superior beast in both appearance and cleverness to that poodle you so admire.” The little ladies giggled.

The viscount was a charming man, as easy and friendly as his brother, and began at once to entertain them all. He proved to be the sort who could make a subject of anything, and soon, they were laughing and talking as if he had known them all since their infancy.

Once he had performed the introductions, Mr Darcy went silent. He stood with his legs unnaturally stiff, one hand gripping his walking stick as his eyes stared blankly at his own feet. After a time, Elizabeth also lapsed into silence, gazing absently over the river and wondering why Mr. Darcy had approached them if, as it seemed, he had no intention of speaking.

It would be his cousin who at last provoked him into conversation. The viscount was intent on taking them into the rose gardens and would not permit any manner of persuasion against it.

“It is what must be done,” announced Lord Saye. “Excessively fashionable. I am sure Mrs Gardiner here would not settle for less. Come, madam, let us take the children. I do not mean to boast but I am something of an expert.”

This assertion caused Mr Darcy to scoff, albeit quietly, and give a small shake of his head.

With that, Lord Saye took Mrs. Gardiner on his arm, offering his other to Jane. With an unmistakable look of triumph towards his cousin, he set off, motioning Miss Franklin to bring the young Miss Gardiners and come along.

Elizabeth was left alone, standing by the Serpentine with Mr Darcy. She looked at the gentleman whose countenance bore a look of outright humiliation.

He saw her look and lowered his face. “You must forgive my cousin. He has an exuberant character.”

“I do not dislike him,” Elizabeth replied. Then, in a fit of boldness, she said, “I fear this scheme of his must be more distressing to you than it is to me.”

“I am not distressed by it,” he said immediately.

“Perhaps, then, we ought to follow them.”

To this Mr Darcy offered a small nod and then, hesitantly, extended his arm. She took it, and they began to move, the top of Lord Saye’s hat their guide.