She saw her aunt occasionally look up at her from the letter she held in her hand, the same one she had used as a prop during Mr. Darcy’s visit, and the sight only fuelled her anger. She knew if she stayed in that room any longer she would not be able to contain it. However, as she was moving towards the parlour door, her aunt chose to speak.

“I wonder if Mr. Darcy was as eager to be pleased yesterday evening as he was the opposite of that this afternoon. One cannot be sure why he even called at all really, since he was so impatient to leave almost from the moment he crossed the threshold. It must be the rain, as he certainly did not find the same kind of entertainment here that he was so fervent to praise from elsewhere.”

Appalled, and unable to stop herself, Lizzy twisted about in mid-step and glared at her aunt. In a biting tone she snapped, “Well, one can be relatively certain that the party in question yesterday evening did not have it in their minds to make finding pleasure so unattainable, would you not agree?”

Arabella looked up at her sharply. “If I were you, my dear, I would tread lightly, for you know not where your steps might lead.”

“Oh, I know precisely where they lead, only it is not to the path you intend for me to walk. You have never found me to be a willing partner in your endeavours to discredit Mr. Darcy, nor will you find an ally in me now!”

Arabella was indignant. “Those are bold words for one who does not know of what she speaks!”

Lizzy unconsciously placed her hands on her hips. “You know I speak the truth! It has always been thus where he is concerned! And why is that exactly? Why is it that you, an intelligent and confident woman, cannot find it within yourself to be as civil to him as you are to his friend? What has he done or said to offend you? Is it that he does not instantly agree with your every opinion or laugh at all of your so very clever remarks? Tell me, is it your vanity perhaps that sways you?”

Arabella clearly held her patience in check, but barely. “You were just leaving, were you not, Lizzy? Perhaps you should stay the course and go to your room or off on some long walk, as is your usual way of dealing with things you do not like, before you say something you and I will both regret.”

“Certainly! It would make it so much easier for you to not have to defend or even to think about your actions or the way you dismiss people as if they do not matter!” She twisted about and headed straight for the door again.

“Insolent girl!” Arabella loudly replied. “It is your actions and their consequences that I dwell on day after day! How dare you make it seem as if I am the one with such poor judgement!”

Lizzy twisted back in a flash of anger. “Me?” She marched to the chair facing her aunt and sat down hard on it. “Me?! Please do enlighten me. I am all a flutter with attention! Do tell me how I have just treated a guest – my guest – so abominably that he left within mere minutes of his arrival.”

Mrs. Tournier kept her voice low in volume, containing her ire, but it was hard and steely. “I suppose, my dear, that we are both guilty then if you saw it that way, for I did not notice you rushing in to make him feel all comfortable and cosy as he so calmly sat and discussed the pleasure he derived from another woman’s company.”

Through gritted teeth Lizzy managed to utter, “This is not about my behaviour. It is your house. You are its hostess, and you cannot deny that you do not perform your task fairly or wisely if the guest in question does not personally please you! It is a wonder anyone comes to call here at all!”

Arabella sighed heavily, “And this is not about what just occurred a few moments ago in this room either, Miss Elizabeth Bennet! It is about your unwillingness to see how unsuitable a man Mr. Darcy is for you, and how very hopeless your unspoken dreams are concerning him. You hold yourself out like some worm on a hook, thinking he will bite down, but it will never work, you know. Oh, do not misunderstand me, for he is a man and he may very well bite down if he has not already done so, but you will never snare him for good, and the danger is all yours, not his. It is high time you saw that, young lady! Meanwhile, there is already an eager fish on your line, and you are entirely too preoccupied to notice it wriggling about, trying frantically to get your attention!”

Since her niece’s mouth hung open slightly in surprise at her words, Arabella pushed on in order to take full advantage of the moment.

“I can see by your face that you have learnt something that you did not realise before, and you stop to ponder it just as you very well should, for a man will not wait around forever. Lizzy, do not be foolish! Take what is in the offing. Monsieur Vian will make you a good and kind husband. You will have a fine life, full of adventure. Besides, he loves you, and I would wish you to marry for love just as I did. You will come to know and love him if you would only stop thinking of an unattainable other.”

“And all of this you know with a certainty that is beyond question?” Lizzy asked in a strangled effort to not scream out so many other things that she wanted to say to her aunt.

“Of course! It is something that everyone can see! It is only you, who are so blinded by your own hopes, who does not!”

Lizzy stood then, almost shaking with the effort it took to contain her frustration, yet she made sure it did not show to be confused as a sign of fright or weakness. She cleared her throat so that she might speak as calmly and clearly as possible so there would be no mistaking her message.

“You will stop any further attempt to push Monsieur Vian and myself together. Regardless of your wishes, or his own, I would never consent to marry him. Ever. And there is nothing you can say, feel, think, or plan that will change that most fundamental fact. I could never grow to love him. In fact the very idea of it only brings me great discomfort!”

Her aunt opened her mouth to speak, and Lizzy held her hand out to stop her.

“I have not finished! You will also be civil and kind to Mr. Darcy whenever he steps foot in this house for the sake of all that is proper and polite, and you will not speak of him at all in my presence if you cannot say something complimentary. I do not require you to like him, for that is beyond my control, but you will show respect for my feelings as your niece.”

Arabella stared up at her, her surprise at her niece’s audacity made her let out a small, derisive laugh. “And what, young lady, makes you think I will do any of those things simply because you command it?”

“Oh, I have no expectations that I could ever make you do anything, Aunt Tournier, but I am certain that I have quite run out of patience regarding these issues, and I will not speak with you about them again, nor shall I be able to maintain any air of politeness towards you should you disregard my ultimatums, for we both know that is what they are. I only know that if you do not abide by them, you risk losing me, because if I am forced to choose between you and Mr. Darcy, there will be no contest.”

With those words, Lizzy calmly walked out of the parlour. She silently cursed the rain as she climbed the stairs to the room she could not call her own. It was some hours before she came back down again.

Brougham was just engaging his town self into his conversation with Miss Tournier while trying to explain that all of his philosophical books should be in an easily approachable place, when he heard the main door slam and seconds later the one to the library being swung wide open. Darcy seemed as large as the opening. Brougham could tell he was furious, because somehow, when angry, Darcy always seemed taller, but this time it looked as if he would have to bend in order to avoid hitting his forehead on the door’s frame.

When Darcy saw Miss Tournier, the words he was just about to spit out froze on his lips. “Good afternoon,” he offered coldly. “Brougham, we need to talk.”

“Very well. Perhaps you would like to catch your breath in the billiards room before I join you there.”

“Now!” Darcy hissed.

Brougham briefly glanced at the lady, who was staring open mouthed at his friend. “I was just explaining something to Miss Tournier. I will join you soon after.”

“Trust me, you do not want to try my patience today.”

Darcy turned abruptly on his heels in the doorway and went directly to the billiards room. Brougham, heeding Darcy’s mood and sensing that a delay just might actually be the most prudent action at the moment, nonetheless followed almost immediately, now feeling rather put out by his friend’s manner, especially under the current circumstances.

“Darcy,” he said while closing the door, “I do understand that something is wrong. Indeed, it must be very wrong, but it does not explain your behaviour in my home, and in the presence of my hired help.”

“We are here to discuss your behaviour, not mine.”

Brougham, clearly confused, crossed the room to where his friend stood. “I am afraid I do not follow your meaning.”

“Worry not, there will be no riddles today. What did you tell Miss Bennet?”

“What?”

“Is my voice too low?”

“No, I have heard your words, yet they lack the information needed to provide an understanding of their meaning.”

“I am in no humour to be trifled with! You were talking to Miss Bennet yesterday, what did you say to her?”

Brougham stiffened and folded his arms in front of his chest. “Nothing special. She offered an invitation to tea and I declined because of our prior engagement.”

Darcy began to pace the room, barely containing his anger. “I am not asking what you two were talking about. I want to know, word for word, the entire conversation. Every nuance of it.”

“Darcy, are you mad? You cannot expect me to remember every word I say, nor would you want to censure my speech!”

“Indeed, it is always better to tell the truth than to memorise all the lies one tells.”

“I beg your pardon!” he huffed, his arms now emphasising the sentiment by moving to his hips. “Whatever I said, I did not lie!”

“Really? Then why is Miss Bennet under the impression that I was eagerly seeking the company of another?”

“I cannot be held responsible for her impressions, and it certainly does not hurt if someone reminds her of her place!”

Darcy stopped his chaotic stalking about the room and glared at Brougham. “Mind your words!”

“Do you not think you are being oversensitive to her whims?”

As soon as the words left Brougham’s mouth, he found himself pinned to the table, Darcy’s fists gripping his lapels tightly, his breath rough and shallow.

“One more word in this vein, Brougham, and I will forget my manners.”

Brougham observed Darcy's narrowed eyes, clenched fists and tightly set lips, and for the first time in his life felt fearful of his friend. He held Darcy’s gaze, waiting for what was to come while Darcy strove to calm his breathing.

“There is perhaps one thing you do not understand, Brougham. Regardless of what has ever been between the two of us, no matter how well our friendship has weathered other storms in the past, I warn you now that whenever Miss Bennet is concerned you will always lose out.

“This is no place for games and mockery. You have managed to hurt the woman I love. What has happened to you? What has she done to deserve this?”

“Was she hurt?” Brougham was incredulous.

“I have just seen tears and anger in her eyes. You cannot even imagine how that feels to me.” Darcy's voice dropped almost to whisper, and Brougham looked at him again, more carefully. Darcy seemed still ready to fight, but behind this furious façade Brougham saw a mixture of anxiety and despair. Even if saving Darcy from her might help his friend in the long run, evidently hurting her was only making things worse. And why was she hurt for God's sake?! Was she not just playing his friend and Vian against one another?

“Darcy, perhaps… It is of course possible that I was wrong about her, but she really does not seem to care for you. I do not see why she would be hurt then, unless her vanity demands your exclusive attention together with that of Monsieur Vian.”

The mention of the Frenchman only proved to discompose his friend further, but eventually Darcy, recognising his priorities, let loose his friend and retreated to the window, reining in his emotions.

“Sit down, Brougham,” his voice was grave but calm. “Whether you like it or not you must recognise that you are wrong. Miss Bennet has feelings for me. Feelings you have gravely harmed, causing her to question my character and feel insecure about my intentions.”

Brougham looked at Darcy's back, which caused shadows to encompass the entire room, appropriately setting the stage for the mood that prevailed there. Rather than sit he chose to remain on his feet for the present and put the billiard table between himself and his angry friend. “I have never meant any harm. All I wanted to do was to help you.”

“I never asked for your help. I never confided my plans to you. And I never entitled you to undertake any actions towards her on my behalf. The only thing I ever asked of you was to tell her that I would return for the fair when I had to leave for Pemberley,” Darcy turned from the window and looked his friend directly in the eye, “and that you failed at miserably. No doubt on purpose.”

Brougham cringed under the scrutiny. “After her behaviour towards Vian you would still have wanted me to tell her?”

“And how would you have her behave? You told her that I never wanted to see her again.”

Brougham opened his mouth to talk, but then closed it again. It was not exactly what he had said back then, but it was what he had implied of course. Finally, he resolved to defend his position.

“Even if that were so, it was not a reason for her to turn to Mr. Vian, and so quickly at that.”

“I am not going to defend her to you, Brougham. She did nothing to deserve your attack, but I will not tell you things I am not authorised to disclose just for your satisfaction so you might come to the conclusion through the understanding of your own brilliant mind! You will have to trust mine. I know not what made you distrust my understanding in the first place, but I want you to believe that you are wrong. You have made quite a mess, and I will be the one to clean up after you. Tell me, do you have anything else against her, aside from your misconception about her attitude towards me and the other man?”

Brougham pondered his friend’s words silently. The haughtiness was offensive, but indeed, it did not seem the time to point that out, or to take umbrage with it, unless he wanted a black eye.

“No, that is if it is indeed a misconception.”

“It is.”

“Nothing else then. If I were convinced she was sincere and cared about you I would be most supportive of her, I assure you.”

“I am convinced of her feelings for me. Is that enough for you?”

“It is, although if this is the case I do not see why you do not propose.”

“There is nothing for you to see. You just need to accept the fact that there are things between her and me that you know nothing about. The only thing you and I need to discuss are the exact words that you exchanged with her yesterday. And of course I will thank you for not intervening in our affairs in the future.”

“Would you make up your mind on so little information, Darcy?”

“No, that is why I need to know all of the details. If you fail to see the difference then let me remind you that it is her and myself you stepped between, and quite unasked for at that.”

“I see.”

Brougham took a deep breath, sank into the nearest chair and then repeated his conversation with the Rosefarm party, word for word, to the best of his ability. Darcy listened in silence, but was obviously not untouched by the revelation. When his friend finished, he moved around the room, clearly agitated.

“You told her I wanted to pursue another! You told her the other one is better than her in every aspect! You informed Miss Bennet that I admired the other and that she could not stand up to a comparison! Who tells a woman things like that?! Did she really need to be informed about our plans for the evening?!”

Brougham looked abashed.

Darcy calmed his voice and added, “And yet you claim you did not lie. You would not call your purposeful manipulation of the facts a lie? No, transforming my words into what they were not supposed to be is truth according to you. How very much our truths differ.” Darcy sighed. “As sad as the whole affair is, I will deal with it. I must. However, I must say that I am shocked and puzzled by your behaviour. I do understand that you wanted what was best for me. I have endured your well wishing advice and your efforts to introduce me to another. But I fail to see how my friend, the man I have known as the best soul in the world, could willingly hurt a woman. Not only the woman I love, but a woman who is so good and kind at heart. Whatever made you behave that way?”

Brougham’s shame was evident when he could finally bring himself to answer. “I did not think about it or see it like that at the time. When you say it now it seems so cheap and deplorable and not something I would ever willingly do. You must believe that I did not mean any harm, Darcy. I do… I did not believe that she had feelings for you.”

“If you did not believe that, then what sense did it make to tell her that at all?”

“I thought she would leave you alone if she knew your interest lay elsewhere.”

“That could hardly change my feelings.”

Indeed, Darcy was right, and now Brougham too wanted to know the answer. Each gentleman mused on the entire affair silently, both soon coming to the same conclusion.

“You… your attitude was not helpful,” Brougham finally said.

“Do you have to see a game everywhere?”

“No, but you are always a difficult challenge. I could tell you played along but were not influenced by anything I said.”

“I never meant to be influenced. Why would I let you change my mind?”

“Because I was right!” Brougham replied emphatically.

“You were not!”

“No,” he said more quietly, “but I did not see it that way at the time.”

“Approaching Miss Bennet was hardly fair no matter the game.”

“It was done in despair. Nothing else had worked thus far!”

“You succeeded only in throwing both her and me into despair. Brougham, it was simply mean.”

“I know, and now I am in despair myself. If she really cares…”

“She does.” Darcy looked into Brougham's eyes firmly, and his friend found the confidence in his gaze unquestionable.

“I am sorry. You must be extremely upset with me.”

“I am.”

“If it can serve as any consolation to you, know that I admit I failed miserably.”

“I can hardly console myself when I know she is hurt. I do not care whether I win or lose, Brougham, when the stakes are so high.”

Brougham shuffled his feet back and forth, staring at his toes, feeling helpless at the moment. “Can I do something? Anything? Perhaps I could talk to her?”

“Oh no! I would not trust you with anything other than a discussion of the weather with her! I will talk to her myself. The only problem is,” Darcy's voice became softer, “that I cannot. At least I did not succeed today. And till I do, I know she will suffer.”

“I am a fool.” Brougham concluded in a low voice.

“I am no less. I knew what you played at. I should not… I did not foresee you would go so far, I would… I should have stopped you earlier.”

“You should not blame yourself, Darcy. The guilt is mine.”

Darcy wandered to the door, but turned to his friend before opening it.

“On the contrary. Even if I did not fail to discourage you, I still should be held responsible. I promised her I would protect her from any harm. I have just proven how little able I am to keep my word.”

Once Darcy left, Brougham sank deeply into his chair. The last words uttered by his friend were more telling about the entire affair than anything else said today. If he had only known! But there was no sense in blaming the circumstances. Whatever the case, Darcy was right, he should never have done the deed. How easily he had forgotten that his object was to help Darcy and had turned things into a challenge instead – a game of two adversaries? The fact that Darcy seemed so calm only made everything worse. His friend would never curb his rage so easily if he were not so worried about Miss Bennet in the entire affair. No, his friend's coolness was not an effect of his generous nature towards himself, but rather his protectiveness towards her. Darcy knew his priorities, and he would not let his rage obscure things in his mind when he knew she was in pain. In a way Brougham had lost Darcy to her already. He could not claim his friend's attention even when he had earned his wrath. But Darcy did not forget easily, Brougham knew that as well, and if he ever wanted to regain Darcy's good opinion he would first need to win hers.

Vian thought back on the passing day and sighed inwardly. He could not call it futile, but it had not necessarily been fruitful either. All in all, it was a good day, perhaps, but nothing had been accomplished and even more loose bones had been dug out of the ground.

Downshire was all an old friend should be – too chatty, overly sentimental, and all attentive, but as sympathetic to Vian's troubles and feeling for his family's misfortunes he was, he could do nothing about Tidwell unless solid proof against the man was presented. He admitted that even he would be gladly rid of him as well, as he did not like having the rake under his charge, but there was a too wide back that covered him and had put him in the position in the first place.

Vian sighed and looked outside of the window of his carriage. Dusk was falling slowly. He would be back at Rosefarm soon, and he had asked himself numerous times if he really wanted to find himself there yet again. He felt strangely immobile. There was no move he could make except to wait, and patience was not his forte. And there was still the growing fear that there would be nothing at the end of it.

He knew that she had liked him. Before. They might even have become friends. Good friends. He knew how to relax her and how to make her laugh. She could listen with great interest and talk with genuine excitement. Everything she did had stimulated him, but once he had done something he had scared her away. Would he be equally unsuccessful with her without Darcy around? He chose not to believe that could be true, but he needed to know for certain. On one hand, the woman was a promise of a life long adventure. He could never tire of her mind and body. On the other, she was so prone to trust Darcy, so attentive to his opinions and actions, it sometimes seemed an impossible thing to hope she could ever forget the man and look around her. Yet, if Darcy left, and one day he must, she would have to change her mind and heart sooner or later. But when? And would his aunt’s attempts to bring them together only scare her away completely by that time?

This story is written by Laura and Sylwia, and they own full © copyrights to it.

We do appreciate your feedback. Comment on this story here!

Background by