Prevailed Upon to Marry Read online

  Prevailed upon to Marry

  Isabelle Mayfair

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  1

  There is nothing like the pleasure of thinking over a ball the day after it occurred. The dance at Netherfield Park given by our new neighbour, Mr Bingley, had been much anticipated in our house, especially as we hoped it might lead to Mr Bingley making an offer for Jane's hand. My mother, in particular, was in a flurry.

  "If at least one of you does not make a fine match, I do not know what will become of us all when your father dies," was the constant refrain we'd heard since Jane, my oldest sister, turned fifteen.

  Happily, not even my mother could have complained about the evening. Mr Bingley could not have made his interest in Jane plainer. He did not leave her side all night, and asked her to dance every dance. His attentions surprised and pleased Jane but not me. Why should he not single her out when it was clear to anyone with eyes in their head that Jane was at least five times as pretty as any other girl in Hertfordshire? If he did not perceive it, I should have thought him a simpleton, and I did not care to have a simpleton for my brother.

  Several things — or rather, people —marred my own enjoyment of Jane's triumph; Mr Collins, my clumsy, unattractive cousin claiming me for the first two dances, knowing he had fixed on me to be the future mistress of Hunsford Lodge; George Wickham, the charming new officer declining to attend because of the arrogant Mr Darcy; and that same gentleman asking me to dance and catching me so much by surprise that I could not refuse. I do not know what Mr Darcy was about in asking me, but I suspected it could be for no good reason. He refused to dance with me the first time we met, declaring I was not handsome enough to tempt him so I was convinced he asked me to dance so he might find more reason to find fault with me when he laughed about me with Mr Bingley's superior sisters. I might have borne his company in better spirits if his presence had not cost me the company of the man I wished to see. It was not enough that he ruined Wickham's life, but now he must also chase him away from decent society. I so disliked the man that if a dreadful fate befell me and I found myself having to choose between Mr Darcy or Mr Collins as a husband, I honestly believed my oafish, ridiculous cousin might have good fortune in his suit.

  I was sorry for my irreverent attitude later that morning when I found myself in the unhappy position of having to reject my corpulent cousin when he cornered me in the breakfast room. Mama stood by his side beaming with a pride that alarmed me, and when he requested a private audience with me, I did all I could to discourage him from uttering those words. I begged Mama and Kitty not to leave me alone with him and insisted Mr Collins could have nothing to say to me that others might not hear.

  Another man might have taken this as discouragement but not Mr Collins. My reluctance only spurred him on. I refused him again and again, but he would not listen to me. He saw it as encouragement and proof of my love for him. I was at a loss for how to frame my refusal in such terms as to convince him of its being one and he was still unconvinced even when I left the room.

  Mama knew me better. When Mr Collins told her he was not discouraged by my refusal and took it as my wanting to increase his love by suspense, she could not see it in such a positive light. She went at once to my father and demanded he force me to marry Mr Collins. Fortunately, dear Father took my part as always. When he first summoned me, I was in a very real fear that he might insist on the marriage. If he did, I did not know what I should have done.

  I should have had more faith in his love and regard for me. He declared that while Mama would never see me again if I would not marry Mr Collins, he would never see me again if I did. I could not resist running to embrace him when he said those words, even as Mama cried out and insisted that I would be the ruin of the family. Mr Collins declared he would leave Longbourn and he might have done already if the Lucases had not invited him to dine with them. I hoped he would not be there when I returned home.

  I walked down to the river, eager to escape the oppressive atmosphere of the house. Mama was in an uproar. If I had agreed to marry my cousin, it would have solved one of the most pressing problems in our family; what would become of us when Father died. Longbourn was entailed on Mr Collins as Father's closest male relative. If I had agreed to become his wife, it would have solved all our problems. Longbourn would have remained in our family, and I would have taken care of my mother and sisters on the dreadful day we lost my father.

  I wrapped my arms around my knees and gazed into the water as I considered what I had done. The perfect answer to my family's prayers had been handed to me on a silver platter, and I had thrown it away. Was I wrong to do so? I was sure if Mr Collins's fancy had lain with Jane, she would never have dreamed of turning away an offer that would have saved us all. I had a gnawing fear that I had behaved with great selfishness and yet what else could I have done? If I had said yes, I am the one who would have to spend my life as Mr Collins's wife. I would have to join him in bed, bear his children, and listen to his improving sermons every night until I was old and grey long before my time. My sisters might have found happy marriages with desirable men who loved them while I remained at home, caught between a husband I could not endure and a mother who would plague me as her least favourite child until she too passed away, leaving me alone with my spouse. No, I would not be this family's sacrificial lamb. It was not my fault we had no brothers to break the entail. That was my parents' duty, not mine. I would not allow Mama to burden me with it.

  And yet the guilt did not subside. If Mr Collins had been a more attractive man, a man of sense and understanding with a playful sense of humour, I might have agreed to marry him to save my family and allow love to develop over time as Charlotte Lucas always said should happen. I feared I had done a very selfish thing.

  But I was not formed for ill-humour. Father was not so old. For all Mama predicted his death as likely to occur any day now, he was only five years her senior, and she had no trouble imagining her own life span to expand beyond decades. It was likely to be many years before Mr Collins took up residency as master of Longbourn. Besides, if Mr Bingley proposed to Jane as I knew he would before the week was out, there would have been no need for me to throw myself away. True, we would still lose Longbourn, but Mr Bingley would ensure our family's security for as long as we remained unmarried.

  The sun was sinking behind a cloud. I shivered. I left the house in such a hurry I had taken nothing but a wool shawl which did little
to ward off the effects of a dying November. Without foliage to hinder them, a biting wind cut through the trees and the sky turned a heavy pewter. I rubbed my arms to warm them and rose to turn back to Longbourn, hoping fervently that Mama's hysterics had subsided. Perhaps by now, she would have taken to her bed, and I would not encounter her. Mr Collins would leave tomorrow to dine with the Lucases and perhaps stay there all day, so I was assured of relief from that quarter at least.

  The air was biting as I treaded through the fields towards home. It had rained in recent days and combined with the bitter chill, the ground was slimy with mud, and I had to watch my step. There would be no running over the track today.

  The sound of hoofbeats filled the air. I turned to see who approached me, wondering who was foolish enough to risk a gallop over the treacherous ground. I was astonished to see Mr Darcy on horseback, charging over the fields toward Meryton. I glanced around for a place I might use to avoid being seen, but of course, there was nothing. I sighed and turned in resignation to face him, wishing he would not feel obliged to stop and converse with me although he seemed so hellbent on his destination that it was unlikely.

  He saw me and reigned in his horse, causing the animal to wheel about in surprise. He hesitated for a moment and glanced behind him while I wondered in amusement if starving hounds pursued him. To my astonishment, he dismounted and led his horse towards me.

  "Miss Bennet," he said, and for the first time, I noticed his face was white and his eyes anxious. He spoke quickly. "I must ask you to return home at once. Go be with your family, and I will follow shortly."

  I stared at him in surprise and laughed. "I beg your pardon, sir. Why must I return home at once? I am sure my family can manage without me for another five minutes."

  "Miss Bennet, please —"

  I frowned. "Are you well, sir?"

  "I am well, yes. But I have some news — please, Miss Bennet. I am asking you to trust me. Return home at once and be with your mother and sisters."

  At the urgency of his words, my smile faded, and something cold twisted in my stomach.

  "What is the matter, sir? I beg you to tell me. Is someone injured? Has an accident befallen Mr Bingley?"

  "What? No. Mr Bingley is very well. He is on his way to London, and — but that does not matter."

  He turned back to his horse and swung himself into the saddle.

  "It would be better if you came with me. I am going towards Longbourn." He stretched out his hand to me, but I stared at it without moving.

  "Not until you tell me what is happening. Come, sir, you are frightening me."

  He sighed. "Please come with me. I have a matter to attend to, but once I am done, I will tell you at once. I promise." He moved his hand again, urging me to take it. I relented, and within seconds, he pulled me up on the saddle behind him and we galloped over the fields towards Longbourn.

  If anyone should see us together like this, what a spectacle it will cause, I thought to distract myself from the dread that gnawed at me on the leaden November evening. And why had Mr Bingley gone to London? Surely he would want to be with Jane to propose? Unless he had other matters he wished to settle before asking her to marry him. Yes, that must be it.

  I did all I could to keep my mind for dwelling on the dreadful possibilities written in Mr Darcy's countenance.

  2

  The courtyard of Longbourn appeared in view. Lamps were already lit in almost every room except the library. I was relieved to see no sign of my family. If my mother and sisters saw me with Mr Darcy, they would shriek and make fools of themselves while my father would never relent in teasing me.

  Mr Darcy helped me down from the saddle, and with a murmured request that I wait there, he rushed around to the stables. I watched in complete bewilderment as the head groom, and two of his boys came dashing out a minute later, with a cart they had lashed up to two horses.

  “Mr Darcy,” I said as soon as he returned, his face whiter and more anxious than ever. “I must insist you tell me what is happening. I imagine all sorts of dreadful things. It is cruel of you to keep me in such suspense. Tell me at once what is the meaning of all this?”

  Darcy sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked miserably over the bare fields as if they could help him. He reluctantly raised his eyes to meet mine.

  “It should not be me who tells you this. And you of all the Bennet ladies I suspect will need the most comfort…”

  “Mr Darcy, please!”

  I stared at him, longing for him to turn back to the cold, reserved man I took such delight in detesting. Anything was better than this worried, troubled man before me.

  Darcy gave me a long look and nodded.

  “Come, let us sit on this bench, Miss Bennet. Are you warm enough?”

  “I am perfectly warm.”

  In truth, I had never felt so cold in all my life, but it was not a cold that would be cured by coats or blankets or roaring fires. The chill was inside me, gnawing at me and filling my head with the most dreadful images. I allowed Mr Darcy to lead me to a bench. To my surprise, he sat beside me instead of pacing at a distance as I might have expected.

  “I suppose it must be you or your older sister who hears the news, though I would not like to burden either of you with it. Yet I cannot think of anyone else who might bear it.”

  He raised his eyes to meet mine, and there was a kindness and a gentleness in them that unnerved me more than any of his former reserve might have done. Suspicion had been growing in me ever since we rode into the courtyard. Despite my attempts at remaining calm, a small sob escaped me as I waited for him to speak.

  “I am so sorry, Miss Bennet,” he said in a voice devoid of his usual formality. “I am afraid it is your father…”

  I cannot recall much of what happened next. His voice murmured in my ear as I doubled over and buried my face in my hands. I was dimly aware of his hand rubbing my back and of running feet while Jane and my mother called my name. I raised my face to meet theirs, seeing the same terror in them that must have been in my own. I saw Mr Darcy rise to his feet and approach them, his hat in his hands. I saw my mother collapse into wailing screams as Jane struggled to hold her, her pretty face crumpled in utter despair. Mr Darcy glanced back at me, his former arrogance gone as he looked at me at a loss for what to do.

  He led us into the house where everyone else was acquainted with the news. Sobbing servants brought us brandy. I stared into the fire as the initial shock passed, leaving me numb and dazed.

  “What happened, sir?” I asked Mr Darcy, who had taken the chair beside me. “How is it that you are the one bringing us this news?”

  “I was with your father when it happened,” he confessed. He stared at the ground in front of him. “I came upon him walking. Mr Bennet made some remark on the ball, and I felt obliged to dismount and walk with him part of the way. He —“ Here, Darcy hesitated. “He collapsed without my noticing. I was occupied with my horse who had a burr in his mane, and I did not see at first. He fell without making a sound. I turned to address him again, and he was on the ground.”

  My eyes filled with tears. “Was he already gone?” I asked, my voice ragged.

  Darcy shook his head. “Not at that moment. I ran to him and tried to help him up, but he was clutching his chest. I told him I would carry him on my horse to a physician, but he grasped my hand instead. And then he — then he was gone.” Mr Darcy paused. I handed him my brandy tumbler, and after a moment’s hesitation, he took it.

  “I cannot believe it,” I said. I gazed across the fire at my father’s chair. “I cannot believe it. How can he be gone? He should be sitting there reading a book, not lying all alone in the mud…”

  “He is not, Miss Bennet,” said Darcy. “Your grooms will have him by now, and I sent another into Meryton. Your father will be attended to.”

  I shook my head. “I want this to be some dreadful dream. I want to wake up and feel that rush of relief to know it never happened. This cannot be — my
father cannot be gone. It is too strange. I cannot understand it.” My grief had subsided to be replaced with a dazed quality, as if I were not in the room at all, as if I were somewhere far away where none of this was happening.

  Upstairs, my mother’s shrieks and howls continued between frequent gasps of “What is to become of us all now? We are ruined.”

  At the window came the sound of carts and horses hoofs. I steeled myself to turn and walk to the window. Darcy rose at once to join me. The grooms jumped down from their horses, and I saw a blanket wrapped figure in the back of the cart. My hands shook, and I felt Mr Darcy’s hand on my arm.

  “I am afraid I am intruding on your grief,” he said quietly. “If you allow me, I shall oversee Mr Bennet’s arrival into the house and make my explanations to the physician. Then I will leave you and your family to comfort one another as best you can.”

  I nodded, still frozen by the alien image before me. My father was under that blanket. My father…

  3

  The next few days passed in a blur. We held the funeral, and within two days, my father lay beneath the cold ground in Longbourn’s churchyard. I saw little of Mr Darcy during that time although he attended the funeral and Hill, our housekeeper, mentioned he frequently called to ask after the family and see if he could offer his services. But he declined to meet with any of us. I felt relief at this. I could not endure acquaintances although intimate friends were hardly more comforting. Aunt Phillips came to the house, and her sighs and laments over our futures caused my mother to wail even louder than she already did. My younger sisters were sullen and angry, their usual high spirits evolving into tantrums and door slamming in their grief. Only Jane was a comfort, but I did not like to lean too heavily on her. She had her own pain to carry. I wondered if Mr Bingley had returned to Netherfield. It seemed strange that he did not reach out to the family when he heard the news.