Blossoming Love: The Recovery of Fitzwilliam Darcy bonus scene

Hi everyone,

When I was editing The Recovery of Fitzwilliam Darcy, I wrote several scenes to show more of Elizabeth and Darcy (‘William Lucas’) when they were younger. This one did not make it into the book, and when the monthly theme of ‘blossoming love’ was chosen, I immediately thought about it. It takes place before Chapter 1 at a time when Elizabeth and Darcy are teenagers—fourteen and eighteen years old. Enjoy!

Elizabeth and William sat on a wooden bench under the old oak tree in the Bennets’ garden. It was spring, and the tree was just starting to grow new leaves. The day was grey, and the air was heavy with moisture, the scent of baking from Longbourn’s kitchen, and burning wood. It was cold enough that Elizabeth wore her winter coat, which was blue with silver buttons. She loved it, but she had grown so much over the last few months, and at fourteen was taking on more and more of a woman’s shape, that it no longer fit properly and would become Mary’s to wear in the autumn. She peeked at William.

I am becoming a woman, and he is becoming a man.

Sometimes, she was surprised that he was still her best friend. Perhaps I ought to wonder how we became best friends at all! I am sure I was very impertinent when we first met—ten years ago now!—and I demanded my father give me lessons. Well, it has worked out.

 Elizabeth could not imagine her life without William in it—not only in it, but an important part of it. We should get married and always be together. We will. There cannot be a better man for me, and I know we would be very happy. He needs me to make sure he remembers to laugh. The thought made her chuckle. She knew other girls her age dreamt of their future spouses. When she, Jane, and Charlotte had been talking one morning in January, Jane and Charlotte went on and on about the sorts of gentlemen they hoped to marry, what flowers they would have in their bouquets, and what they would call their children. Elizabeth had teased them about being silly, but in her private thoughts, she said, I shall marry William, of course. It seemed so natural, so right that she could not imagine anyone ever expecting either of them to marry someone else.

“What are you thinking?” Elizabeth bumped his arm with hers.

He turned his head to look at her. A small smile told her he was relaxed and happy and made his handsome face even more attractive. “Nothing in particular. I am glad the worst of the winter seems to be behind us. I hope it warms up soon. This time of year always makes me want to be more active.”

She nodded. “After the long winter when we are forced to spend so much time inside, it is refreshing to think of being outside and exploring the world again. Our little corner of it, that is!”

William’s eyes swept the vista, but there was not much to see except vegetation slowly starting to grow. It was quiet, too, without even a hint of birdsong or the scurrying noises of small creatures. “If you could go anywhere, where would it be?”

Elizabeth grinned and laced her fingers together to stop herself from wrapping her arm around William’s. It felt like too intimate a gesture when they were sitting on the bench. If they were walking, she would. She wondered what it would be like to hold his hand instead of her own and felt her cheeks heat. When she glanced at him, she was relieved to see that he was still examining their surroundings. They had been friends for almost as long as she could remember, but for at least the last year, she recognised that her feelings for him were not like those she had for the other boys she considered friends, such as the Goulding brothers.

His question was a game they had often played over the years. The topic might be about travel, but they also dreamt about what career they would adopt, or who they would most like to meet, dead or alive.

She said, “I would like to see Upper and Lower Canada. The descriptions we read make it sound fascinating. Oh, to see the different trees and the wildlife!”

“You would make it into a scientific comparison between here and there.”

She laughed. “I would! I would like to see the cities, too. I know none of them would compare to London, but they are so much newer, which would make it interesting. Then there are the people!”

William chuckled. “Yes, let us not forget the people.”

Elizabeth poked his upper arm. He pretended it hurt, although with his layers of clothing and given how little strength she put into it, he likely had hardly felt it.

She said, “You know as well as I do that you can learn a great deal by speaking to people. If I were there, I would seek out the explorers and the Indians and learn from them.”

William rolled his eyes, but Elizabeth saw the glint of teasing in his eyes.

“You do not like the idea, because you do not like to talk to people,” she accused, adopting a serious tone. “If I did not know you so well, I would call you a misanthrope.”

He huffed. “I am not!” His cheeks flushed.

Elizabeth had tried not to laugh, but she could not restrain herself. It was true that William was not as talkative or comfortable with new people as she was, but he certainly did not hate his fellow man.

“You are odious sometimes, Lizzy.”

This only made her laugh more. “As though you did not know I was teasing you!”

He sniffed. “You might have injured my feelings, you know.”

As she patted his cheek, she said, “Poor William, having to tolerate me. I know it is extremely challenging.” She jumped up. “Let us take a turn around the gardens. I am getting cold sitting still. It is your turn to answer the question. If you could go anywhere…?”

Once he was standing, Elizabeth wrapped her hands around his arm and directed their steps towards the grove. They talked about visiting sites of ancient civilizations and emerging ones for half an hour before going inside for something warm to drink. As they sat with her mother and sisters, Elizabeth imagined the years ahead when she and William would spend countless hours together and with their families, drinking tea and nibbling biscuits and cake. They might be at Longbourn, as they were now, or Lucas Lodge; it mattered not. As long as William was with her, there would be smiles and laughter and good conversation and a sense of belonging.

One day, people will call me Mrs Lucas not Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and I will be the happiest creature on Earth.

That’s it! I hope you have a wonderful day.

Lucy

(c)Lucy Marin