Create Your Own JAFF Adventure – Part 9

Thanks for joining me on our Create Your Own JAFF Adventure! Just starting? You can catch up on previous posts collected here: https://austenvariations.com/category/sarah-courtney/ .

Last week, Elizabeth asked Mr. Darcy more questions about how he was injured and learned that he was attacked on Netherfield grounds. She also witnessed Miss Darcy being taken to task for going out alone from the Gardiners’ house. On her way to bed, she thought she saw Mr. Darcy or Colonel Fitzwilliam going into the library, but she also had the opportunity to take hot chocolate to Miss Darcy and learn more about her. A slight majority of readers chose for her to go speak to Miss Darcy, so that is where we will start this week!

If you’d prefer the third person version, you can read it here. There’s a link at the bottom of the intro part that will jump you to the newest part. Just don’t forget to come back and comment to tell me what Elizabeth should do next!

“I will take that upstairs to Miss Darcy,” you offer, smiling openly at the maid. “I am going that way anyway.”

“Oh, but—”

You gently take the tray before the maid can finish her protest. “Thank you.” You walk toward the stairs and are relieved to hear the maid walking in the direction of the kitchens.

Miss Darcy’s door is ajar, and you tap on it lightly before stepping in. “Your hot chocolate, Miss Darcy.”

Miss Darcy, who is sitting at the toilette table surrounded by papers, looks up in surprise. “Oh! It’s you!” She hastily sweeps her papers into a pile and shoves them into a portable desk, but her speed sends several pages flying. “Oh, no!”

You place the tray on a small side table and bend to retrieve a paper that has landed near your feet.

“I will take that,” Miss Darcy says, snatching the paper from your hand. She drops inelegantly back into her chair and adds it to the stack inside her desk, locking it.

Was that a letter? Young girls will have their secrets, you know, but it does not follow that all youthful secrets are harmless.

On impulse, you say, “Your aunt does not approve of the friend you saw today.”

“She does not even—” Miss Darcy cuts herself short, eyes flashing. “What do you know of it?”

“I know you were very anxious that nobody who would report back to your brother could accompany you on your visit today.”

“My acquaintances from school are of an elevated standing. I could hardly invite the wife of a tradesman and her niece to visit with the daughter of an earl.”

Interesting that she classifies you as the niece of a tradesman instead of the daughter of a gentleman. “That may be, but if that were the case, you would happily admit that you were planning to visit Lady Louisa, the daughter of the Earl of Cumberland, or whoever she was.”

“There is no Earl of Cumberland.” Miss Darcy frowns. “Why should I tell you where I am going?”

“Because you are a guest in my aunt’s house. But more so, because it would be the natural thing to do. When my sister is going to call on her friends, she tells us she is going to call on Maria Lucas or Harriet Goulding. When she is going to walk to the village and spy on the officers, she tells us she is going to ‘call on a friend.’”

Miss Darcy’s expression turns mulish. “I am not your sister.”

“True. I should certainly hope you know better than to be cavorting with officers.”

Something passes over Miss Darcy’s face, and you tense. There is something here.

“I would not be sixteen again for a fortune,” you say softly, and for once, Miss Darcy’s face loses its sneer.

“Why not?”

“At sixteen, you are no longer a child. Your education is nearly complete, you are beginning to enter the adult world. And yet you are not fully an adult with all of the adult privileges, like marriage and children.”

“I could marry at sixteen.” Miss Darcy glances at her desk, and you nod to yourself. So there is a suitor.

“Some girls do, but I cannot envy them. At sixteen, they are on the cusp of coming out in society. To give up years of assemblies and balls, dancing and observing, learning to recognise the difference between a flirt and a rake and a gentleman of honour, to go almost directly from school to the demands of raising children . . .”

“Is that not the ultimate goal?”

“Well, perhaps. But at sixteen, I was only just learning who I was. I shudder to think what kind of man I would have liked to marry then. Likely a handsome man who spoke of music and books and had no money to support us.”

“If you had had a fortune of your own, that would not have mattered,” Miss Darcy says defiantly.

You shrug. “Well, perhaps. But I would have had to ask myself whether the gentleman loved me or my fortune. Would a handsome face with no depth or character be enough to dictate the happiness of the rest of my life? Marriage would give him complete control over me and my fortune, unless of course the marriage articles protected it, so I would have to trust that he would not spend excessively, would not invest unwisely, and would leave enough for myself and any children.”

After a pause, you decide it is best to be frank. “Your brother seems protective of you, and he would likely be sure that your marriage articles would be written to protect you, but my father is less careful. If I married, I would have to rely on my uncle to ascertain that I was protected. If I had a fortune, which I do not.” You give an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose I shall have to marry for love.”

Miss Darcy laughs. “My brother wrote to me about you, you know, when he was at Netherfield Park. He told me about how you walked some five miles across fields and through muck to tend to your sister when she was ill.”

“It was no more than three miles,” you protest. You admit, “But there was muck.”

Miss Darcy traces a finger on the table. “He would never wish me to do the same. He is too protective. But I believe he admired it all the same.”

“It is no more than anybody would do for a beloved sister. You have not met Jane, but she is the sweetest, kindest soul I have ever known. Nobody could do less for her.” Perhaps it is a good time to give Miss Darcy a hint. “And a protective brother is just as good as a sweet sister. Better. It may frustrate you now, but the world is ruled by men. He is in the best position to be certain that the man you marry wants you, not your fortune, and that he will be kind to you. With your beauty and fortune, you can afford to wait, to be sure. If a man wishes to marry you at sixteen, he will still wish to marry you at eighteen. Or if he does not, better to discover that before marriage than after!”

Miss Darcy feigns a yawn. “I suppose. Pardon me, Miss Bennet, but I am very tired.”

“Of course.” You stand. “I shall leave you to your chocolate.” Which is no doubt cool by now. “Good night, Miss Darcy.”

“Good night.”

As you make your way downstairs, you consider what you have learned. If you understand young ladies at all, Miss Darcy has a young man she is interested in. Whether it is affection at a distance or whether there is some entanglement, you cannot say. It seems unlikely that Miss Darcy would have the opportunity for a secret relationship, but you will not underestimate the potential ingenuity of a sheltered miss.

If only you had got a proper glimpse at that paper! Is it a mere journal entry, a private paper upon which the young woman pours out her hopes and dreams and is embarrassed enough to keep private? Or is it a letter? If a letter, from whom?

You stop short. If Miss Darcy is in the throes of a youthful affection, is it possible it is for Mr. Bingley? He is handsome, not so much older than her, charming, and her brother’s good friend. They must have spent time together in company, from some of the things Miss Bingley has said. She might have developed an infatuation with him.

Everyone is gone to bed now, but tomorrow, you will have to speak with Aunt Gardiner, who will know what was best to be done about Miss Darcy. Should you speak to Mr. Darcy himself?

After a restless night contemplating just what you ought to do, you finally sleep deeply enough to rise late, just in time for breakfast.

An odd pang strikes you to realise Mr. Darcy is not at breakfast. He is no particular friend of yours, so you cannot say why you are disappointed. It is not as if you can talk to him about Miss Darcy directly in front of the girl! For Miss Darcy is at breakfast, along with the Gardiners, but Mr. Darcy has sent word that his head pains him and he will not be down, and the colonel went to report for duty.

Well, you can speak to Aunt Gardiner, at least. You are still torn about whether you should speak to Mr. Darcy. He is a protective brother, and if he overreacts to Miss Darcy’s secrets, the girl might clam up entirely and refuse to confide in you at all—not that she has truly confided anything, but she has at least been willing to talk and revealed a few things unintentionally.

After the meal, Mr. Gardiner goes to his warehouse, and Miss Darcy excuses herself and goes upstairs. It would be the perfect time for you to speak to your aunt, except that Aunt Gardiner is busy with her housekeeper.

“BAM!”

You jerk at the sound. What—

“You are dead, Lizzy! You are supposed to fall down.”

You grin at the sight of Andrew peering around the corner into the room. “I am dead, am I? Am I a water buffalo again?”

He rolls his eyes. “Of course not. You are a soldier! In Nalopean’s Grand Army.”

“Oh, I see.” You hide your amusement at his butchering of the name.

Andrew turns to look behind him. “Michael! Come on, Michael. We cannot have a proper formation if you are hiding.”

“I’m spying,” Michael’s voice comes from the passage.

“A spy!” You wonder if Aunt Gardiner would be amused or horrified if you teach them how to use lemon juice to send secret messages. “That sounds dangerous. Have you found some French soldiers to spy on?”

“Just one.” Michael appears in the doorway. “She left, though.”

“She?” You stand up suddenly. “She left? Wait, do you mean Miss Darcy?”

Michael nods vigorously. “The soldier left to warn the others about the ambush!”

“Michael, you must leave off your game this instant. This is important. Are you telling me that Miss Darcy left the house?”

Andrew joins you in the doorway. “I just saw her, too,” he says, full of importance. “She went out with one of the maids.”

You hurry to the front door and step outside just in time to see a maid climbing into the carriage behind Miss Darcy. “Wait!” you call, but Miss Darcy pulls the carriage door shut herself without looking back. Did they not hear you? Before you can do anything else, the coachman gives the signal to his team and sets the horses into motion.

Miss Darcy is leaving on her own again, despite her brother’s command. And Mr. Darcy is upstairs with a headache and will not know in time.

“What is wrong, Lizzy?” Andrew asks, moving to stand beside you and peering out.

Heart racing, you look up and down the street. There is a hackney approaching. If you send Andrew to quickly find a maid to come with you and hail the hackney, you could follow Miss Darcy. But if you do not hurry, Miss Darcy’s carriage will be too distant to follow. There is no time to rouse Mr. Darcy if you want to follow his sister.

Is following her, alone with a maid, a foolish idea? Miss Darcy returned to the Gardiners’ safely yesterday, and Mr. Darcy seemed satisfied with her explanation of visiting friends, although he did forbid her from going out alone again. His injuries must have kept him from taking the effort to tell his coachman—or he put too much trust in his sister to obey his orders.

Would it be better to send a servant to wake Mr. Darcy and see what he wishes to do? He might know where Miss Darcy would go and could send people after her. If you find Miss Darcy, you will have no authority to order the girl back to the Gardiners’ home.

Should you:

risk taking a hackney to follow Miss Darcy and see where she goes

or

have Mr. Darcy roused and tell him that Miss Darcy has gone out alone?

This was a fun adventure in that neither my beta reader nor I expected you all to choose her to speak with Miss Darcy! It’s been fun seeing which choices I can predict and which ones your vote goes differently than I expect.

If you haven’t been in the majority in the voting, don’t worry! I do eventually intend to write *all* the choices and write this in a form where you can read and try all the different options to see what happens.