Page 6 of Elizabeth’s Choice

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After the initial shock of seeing a lady dressed like a gentleman settled down, Darcy angrily continued, “My apologies for the language but you must understand my bewilderment for us to meet here in Ramsgate and within my own home. Why have you tricked my sister into believing that you are an officer, when I know you are but a daughter of a gentleman? Are you after her money? What do you want from her? Richard, I want you to arrest her for lying about her identity. She is Miss Bennet and is not a captain. I question if she is even a lady with what she is wearing!”

Elizabeth approached Darcy with a scowl and although he was much taller than herself, she poked the gentleman’s chest with her index finger several times as she responded, “How dare you accuse me of lying? You said you were Mr. Bingley so you are a liar and I should demand that you be arrested. I am Miss Bennet as well as a captain and Fairfax is an alias I have been using for the past ten years!”

Colonel Fitzwilliam intervened and separated the two of them, “This is Miss Elizabeth Bennet and my parents have been sponsoring her for ten years, William. My mother’s maiden name is Fairfax, do you recall? This has all been legitimately done. Apologise to her! Apologise now!”

Darcy bellowed, “I certainly will not apologise! This person is not a lady but an impertinent woman in men’s clothing.”

“That is the absolute truth and I am not ashamed of it,” Elizabeth spat. “I told you before that I wear what is comfortable and ride however I want, and you, of all people, have no right to accuse me of falsifying myself.” She turned to Georgiana, “Miss Darcy, I am afraid I ruined your dinner party with my presence and will ask to be excused. I will see myself out. Colonel, I hope you will put some sense into this arrogant hypocrite who cannot see past first impressions and considers himself sinless, when he is clearly the one at fault.”

She turned to depart and opened the door to step out, and Darcy could not comprehend the brazenness of the woman, but heard Georgiana cry and his cousin shoved him aside to chase after her.

He faced his sister and angrily asked, “How dare Richard allow that woman to befriend you? How can you tolerate someone like her?”

Miss Darcy yelled at him, behaving completely the opposite of her usual self, “She is amazing and kind and is my friend, and Richard has been in love with her for two years! How could you be so cruel? I have never seen you be so ungentlemanly, and all because of her choice in clothes? I am ashamed of you, William!” And she left him standing alone to follow the colonel.

Darcy stood in silence for a few moments to gather his thoughts but felt justified in his judgement of her character and went to the decanters to pour himself a drink. As he continued to ponder the mad woman who defied every custom of how a lady should present herself, his cousin returned and quietly closed the door to the room behind him.

Colonel Fitzwilliam stated, “Georgie will take her meal in her rooms tonight and is very angry with you but is at least appeased that Miss Elizabeth agreed to return tomorrow to dine with us. What is wrong with you? I have never seen you be so rude to anyone before. Even with Miss Bingley, even with Aunt Catherine, you always bite your tongue until you nearly bleed.”

“Miss Elizabeth?! How can she be the same woman you have been chasing for two years? You never told me she was Miss Bennet! You only referred to her as Miss Elizabeth - some archery prodigy that your parents have been sponsoring. You mentioned nothing of the impropriety in her mode of dress and her ill-manners! How could you be in love with someone like her?” Darcy shouted in irritation.

Richard calmly poured himself a drink as well and sat down to continue, “She guards her identity for the sake of her family’s reputation and I never use her surname. Yes, I have been in love with her and asked her to marry me twice but she refused me. She does not seek to elevate her station through marriage nor is she mercenary like every woman you meet, but only wants to be independent to be able to make decisions for herself. She does not care about titles or fortune but earned the honorary rank of captain from winning the most elite archery competition in England last week, and she has more than enough from her earnings to never lift a finger for the rest of her life. Who are you to challenge her and to denigrate a lady who is truly accomplished in life, only because of what she wears?”

He then stood and walked to the door to continue, “I want you to apologise to her. If you will be your usual stubborn self that you cannot do it, perhaps it would be better for you to return to town so you can continue to surround yourself with sycophants who do not think for themselves. I will ask Georgie about Wickham and take care of things here. We do not need you here, especially tomorrow evening when Miss Elizabeth returns.” And he left Darcy alone again.

Darcy sat in the room to think about Miss Bennet and could not understand his own reaction to the woman who intrigued him and yet threw his mind into disarray during the both times he had met her. It was true that she was unladylike in what she wore and how she rode on her horse, but her manners were otherwise proper and the way she spoke her mind was rather commendable.

He continued his contemplation as he dined alone and attempted to envision how he would have responded if Miss Bennet had arrived in a carriage wearing a fashionable dress at the Monument to the Great London Fire. He could admit to himself that he still might have looked down on her because of her unknown family name but likely would have remained proper as was expected of him and not have been so discourteous. He had been critical and uncivil due to her unkempt appearance but also knew that she had been intriguing and he had immediately wanted to speak with her and learn more about her.

Even this evening, he had been unfathomably rude at first sight due to his prejudice against her, only due to her mode of dress without knowing much else about her. The suit she wore was obviously of very fine quality and there had been nothing immodest about it at all, as she was covered from neck to feet, with her hair in a neat bun. He had seen more obscene styles from the echelon of society, with ladies wearing sheer dresses at balls with their bosoms nearly falling out and he had not thought twice about them but somehow found it offensive that this woman would actually wear trousers to flaunt that she had two legs with which to walk.

He could not understand his reaction to Miss Bennet but sighed, knowing now that he was in the wrong and that he must make amends. As he headed towards his rooms to rest, his sister’s door opened and their eyes met.

Georgiana nervously began, “I wanted to apologise for raising my voice at you, William. I know you must be disappointed in me but I have to tell you that I am disappointed in you as well. Captain Fairfax has been a true friend to me and although I have known her for only a week, she is so brave and witty and wise. I talked to her about Mr. Wickham yesterday and she was the one who recommended that I guard my heart and to speak with Richard about it tonight at dinner so I am not fooled by someone who might have ill-intent. She is the one who also advised me to seek my own counsel about Mrs. Younge’s motive for pressing Mr. Wickham to me. She thought it strange that my companion would not attend me during my archery lessons and that she would have so much business other than being my companion. I hope you understand why I was so upset and will forgive me for my outburst.”

Darcy embraced her and kissed the top of her head, “Nothing to forgive, Georgie. I should be apologising to you and I am sorry. I know not what came over me and will beg for her forgiveness tomorrow. I think Richard might challenge me to a duel so I am also in fear for my life!” he smiled as he released her. “I will make it right. I made a mistake and I will fix it.”

“Thank you, William,” she replied in relief. “I was hoping to invite her to Pemberley this summer and if she forgives you, she might accept and Richard will have a chance to finally win her hand when he comes to Derbyshire. How wonderful would it be if she becomes a part of our family.”

Darcy rubbed his chest where Miss Elizabeth had poked it repeatedly with her finger but shook his head in disbelief for feeling a spike of jealousy that she might marry the colonel. “We will let Richard handle that later but I am in full agreement with inviting her to Pemberley. It seems the list of my debt to the captain is growing and I will grovel for her forgiveness tomorrow.”

Georgiana finally smiled and bid her brother a good night. Darcy took a deep breath and knocked on Richard’s door to apologise to him as well for his horrid behaviour to Miss Bennet and to devise a plan to find out about Wickham and Mrs. Younge.

Chapter 5

Darcy watched the woman in the gentleman’s suit of clothes instructing the group of students in the large field and was in awe of her skills, as she was easily bantering with the learners and helping them adjust their stances and demonstrating how to aim and shoot their arrows. She had placed large heads of cabbages at different distances and he could have sworn she accurately struck the farthest one without actually looking at the target. He knew Richard was an avid archer and received many commendations but had placed second or third during the past year, and Darcy finally understood why his cousin so admired this woman who was unlike anyone else he had met. Miss Bennet was friendly and intelligent and her figure was light and pleasing, but her eyes shone brightly when she was laughing and he could not cease staring at her during the second full hour of the lesson. Knowing that Richard was in love with her, he thought better than to take interest, but his heart jumped every time she looked near his direction and he knew he had to receive her forgiveness, not only for his sister’s and cousin’s sake but also for his own peace of mind.

Elizabeth smirked between speaking with her students as she glanced at Mr. Darcy’s direction and could see him shuffling his feet anxiously for the class to end. She had purposely kept busy between classes and had the gentleman waiting for nearly two hours but he had persistently remained in place. He had deceived her by presenting himself as Mr. Bingley and she was curious as to why he had done so, but Mr. Darcy had also annoyed her with his belittling of her appearances and she wanted revenge for shaking her confidence for the first time in ages. He was very handsome with a tall stature but it was obvious that he was stern and arrogant and she found satisfaction in giving the man some grief.

She finally approached him after the second class ended and asked, “Have you been waiting long, Mr. Bingley… I mean, Mr. Darcy?”

Darcy stoically replied, “You saw me standing here for the past two hours, madam. Can I still address you as ‘madam’ or should I say ‘sir’?”

Elizabeth lifted one eyebrow in challenge and commented, “I am just as female as you are male, sir, and what I wear on the outside does not change who I am on the inside. If I am wearing sheep’s skin, does that make me a sheep? If I wear a crown, does that make me a queen? I thought you were here to apologise. I suppose you cannot change your ways and the colonel was wrong.” She curtsied, “Good day.”

“Wait! Please,” Darcy pleaded as he rushed to step in front of her to prevent her from leaving. “I am afraid… I… I am not good with words and it did not come out as I intended. I am confounded on how I should behave around you and you confuse me greatly but I owe you an apology.” He stood upright as he took a deep breath and said, “In fact, I beg for your forgiveness. I made a terrible error and behaved most ungentlemanly last night, both times we met, actually, since I was unkind last week also. My sister and cousin were furious with me and I know not how to make amends. I hope you will forgive me, Miss Benn…, I mean, Captain Fairfax. I will be sure to address you by your hard-earned title. I will do whatever you want to make peace. Please tell me what to do.”