#And instead using lizzie as dispassionately as he possibly could

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in a cage with lions, i learned to speak lion (part 1) - pettiot - Peaky Blinders (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

STANDS ALONE / Part 1

Post S1-E6 and pre S2-E1. Maybe Tommy comes to apologise after the business in the car about John.

When men came saying they wanted to make sure you were alright, but what they really wanted was forgiveness for what they’d done, always wanting something for themselves.

Well, she wasn’t sweet or good or simple, and he was a cold cruel clever thing, and she wanted something for herself, too.

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Explicit | Tommy Shelby/Lizzie Stark | Alley Sex, Rough Sex, Consent Issues, Power Issues, Unhealthy Relationship, Complicated Relationship, Shame, Longing, Manipulation

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Allow Me to Introduce  ‘A Lady of Independent Means’

Now before we dive into this little Pride and Prejudice variation I’d to take this opportunity to state that although this work (A Lady of Independent Means) is inspired by the timeless Jane Austen classic, the rights to this specific work are reserved to the author, and that any unauthorised reproduction or publishing of any part of content is prohibited.

Chapter 1

Dear Miss Bingley,

 I write to express my deep regrets that myself and my family find ourselves unable to attend the Ball, to which you most graciously extended us an invitation.

Do not be alarmed, my friend. I am well, but sadly the same cannot be said of my Uncle Gardiner.  

 As you may recall my mother has a widowed Brother residing in London, we have received news that his health in is a most precarious state; grave in fact. So instead of spending the day preparing for your ball – which I am sure will be the pinnacle of the Hertfordshire social calendar –I find myself packing to journey to town within the hour.

 Thither shall also go Elizabeth, the both of us escorted by Papa.  Oh my dear friend, although Lizzy declares it foolish of me, I cannot help but entertain the hope that the accounts of my relations danger have been greatly exaggerated, and this trip may yet have a positive outcome.  

 The discouraging news has laid Mama exceedingly low and unfit fit for travel –or to attend amusements.  Moreover we take the family carriage leaving Mary, Kitty and Lydia without transportation or parental escort to this evening’s festivities.

 Enclosed I have included our direction in town, I know not how long we will be gone from the neighbourhood and dearly hope you will write me. Time grows short, with much yet to prepare. I will close by saying: I am exceedingly sorry for any disruption our absence may cause, please convey my sincere regrets to your brother and Mrs. Hurst.  

 Yours Sincerely,

J. Bennet

 ~~~~%~~^0^~~%~~~~

 “The rudeness! To drop an engagement on the very same day they were to be expected.  Country manners for you,” decried Miss Bingley, seconded by a nod and murmur from Mrs Hurst.

 For once Fitzwilliam Darcy could not tune out Miss Bingley’s sycophantic babble. Her harsh words lanced his very heart, filling him with an acute sense of loss and regret.

 Very deliberately and slowly he placed his half empty coffee cup onto the crisp linen tablecloth, keeping his face diverted from his company until he could be certain of its expression.

 So this is how their story would end? He owned dejectedly that it could never have been the epic romance his heart had craved. No, his head was attached to firmly to his head to allow such a passionate fancy to determine his future life and family legacy.  As hard as his heart had tugged, it could not lead him to make a woman, so far beneath him - no matter how delightful – a permanent fixture to in his life.  

 If he could not spend the sum of his days waking up curled around the beautiful Elizabeth Darcy he had at least hoped to share a dance with the unspoiled Elizabeth Bennet. Hold her dainty little hand in his, or perhaps even for a span of moments, feel her delightful form rest on his arm, if he were able to secure a set featuring such a movement.  But it seemed he was to be cruelly denied this infinitesimal consolation along with the chance to say goodbye.

 He would return to his life in London, again mingle only within his own confining set of privileged acquaintance, probably take some insipid society miss to wife in a year or so, and one day forget the little wood nymph that had made his soul sing.  

 A glance to the far end of the dining table showed Bingley to be similarly effected by the news, but less able to conceal his disappointment.  He’d pushed his plate, laden with greasy delicacies away to stare out the window. The twitching of his lips showed him to be deep in thought, but gave few clues to the finer nuances of the musings.  Gazing down at his own plate, barely touched, Darcy was struck with the thought that things had progressed to a very dangerous point, perhaps more than he had reckoned…  

 Was he so love sick that he could not stomach a few mouthfuls breakfast? He forced a forkful of eggs past his lips, but the food, savoury and pleasant just minutes ago, now tasted like ashes and disappointment.  

 Laying down his fork with the same care with which he had deposited the coffee mug, Darcy raised his eyes only to encounter Miss Bingely’s smirking countenance across the table. Likely she was the only one in her discernment privy to his shameful and overwhelming pain, but it was still one witness too many and a witness entirely too gleeful.

 Miss Bingley looked directly into his eyes, her own green orbs bright with enjoyment. Her fish like lips were parted in a disgusting parody of arousal, but it was not desire that fuelled her expression. Rather vindictive enjoyment of his pain and her own elation at having a rival so neatly struck from the field of battle.

 In that moment he hated her, perhaps he even reviled her more than that blackguard Wickham. They were like two faces of the same coin Caroline Bingley and George Wickham; both selfish to the very core, their only concept of morals being a dispassionate assessment of how much they could get away with before inciting censure, rather than any true affinity with right and wrong.  

 Fortunately in Miss Bingley’s circumstances, she was locked in the mischief she could cause. Under the charge of Charles Bingley, she was forced to exercise maidenly restraint in pursuing her aims. Her Brother, while malleable up to a point, could be as stubborn as a badger if he felt the principles of fairness or justice to be in peril.

 It was not just the power he held over her finances, Charles’s naturally gregarious personality had opened doors rarely accessible to an entire family whose fortune was still polluted by the miasma of trade, Darcy’s society included.    

 “I am sure they would have delayed if they could, perhaps we should call upon them in London. See if there is any assistance in our power to offer or merely let them know we harbour no hard feelings.  You did mention an enclosed direction did you not…. Caroline?” Bingley called his sisters name loudly at the last, clearly impatient to hear her response.

 Darcy watched Miss Bingley’s eyes widen in panic, she sharply took in a horrified breath. The only thing worse than Mr Bingley dangling after Miss Jane Bennet in Hertfordshire would be for her brother to be seen publicly dangling after the girl in the view of their London acquaintance.  

 Darcy could readily determine the direction of Caroline’s thoughts, because in route they mirrored his own although their concerns regarding the match proceeded from different quarters:  Darcy wanted to see if his friend well established in society for Bingley’s personal happiness, while Caroline saw her brothers marriage and societal aspirations only in terms of how they helped—or hindered—her own ambitions.

 Bingley’s attentions to Miss Bennet thus, had been so pointed that if he continued in this vein a proposal must be forthcoming or censure and derision would be cast upon him for his inconsistency and the blameless girl for disappointed hopes.  The Bingley family’s position in society remained tenuous and was based almost entirely on Bingley’s gentlemanly deportment; should he be seen to act the cad, even only to a country squires daughter, the family would find it nigh in impossible to secure the type of match with the potential to elevate his standing, despite Bingley’s stable wealth.  

 The other possibility, that Bingley could succeed in wooing Miss Bennet, did not bear thinking of, yet demanded to be examined.  Jane Bennet - while undeniable beautiful - could bring nothing of value to such a match.  

 Through pointed questioning around the neighbourhood Caroline Bingley had determined that the Bennet girls had portions were so tiny as to be non-existent:  A mere £50 per year during their father’s life and an equal share of £5000 upon their mother’s demise (if the vulgar woman had not the opportunity to squander it before).  

 Pointed questioning of the girl herself had uncovered her limited and unsavoury connections.  

 “An Uncle, actively engaged in trade!” Caroline had cried in relish, at this very same table, the morning after Miss Bennet had taken ill.  Bingley distressingly loyal to the woman he had known for such a brief span, had leapt to her defence, saying she would not value her a jot less if she had a battalion complete of Uncles in trade.  Miss Bingley had produced an unmistakably snide smile before attempting to coax her brother over to her way of thinking.  “Yes I suppose a tradesman, quite well to grass, within the family would not be such a great shame, but Jane told me he keeps a house in Cheapside! Cheapside! If one must be in trade, one ought to be good at it, rather than drag the rest of the family down with ineffectual business pursuits. But I suppose we can expect little more of a blood relation of women of Mrs Bennet’s and Mrs Phillip’s ilk.”

 Though reluctant to support any notion originating from Miss Bingley, Darcy could not help but agree that Jane Bennet was an unsuitable marriage prospect for his good friend, and had said as much.   Darcy had pointed out the evils of attaching oneself to a family who had shown so little comportment to date, arguing this to be a far greater concern than the social standing and wealth the Bennet family lacked.

Before they had been able to importune the beleaguered lover any further Miss Elizabeth Bennet had been announced.  The dark eyed beauty had driven every thought of Bingley’s romantic woes clean out of Darcy’s head.  Her hair was blowsy, her skirt muddy, her complexion very flushed and yet her person was the most breathtakingly beautiful thing Darcy had ever beheld.

 She had surveyed the room boldly, daring anyone to comment on her appearance before asking after her sister.  Darcy had quickly dredged up every objection against girl, real or imagined, to prevent him from following her up the stairs.  

 That she had barely spared him a glance did nothing to cool his ardour, neither those weeks ago nor now.  If he didn’t remain strong Elizabeth would make him her slave.  Could his resolve continue to hold in the face of the many intimate meetings that must follow a closer connection between Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley?  And if he did manage to avoid the allure of his friends new sister, there could not help but be a greater price of misery to be payable.  

So? What do you think?

More of ‘A Lady of Independent Means’ will be posted on my Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/FeliceBell

But to answer what you really want to know. Yes, a new chapter of Reluctantly Mrs Darcy is nearly ready to go! Nearly!

Thanks for reading,

F