Thank you, everyone. I'm not going to answer all comments, though I read and appreciate all of them. Here are a few, though:
From Sabine:
Quote
One bit of 'curiosity'/'unadressed somethings' has been dealt with - and Darcy managed to do it as right as can be, this time.
Now it could end here, were it not for that new curiosity that has been put into play. I doubt' whether Elizabeth can keep her resolution of not losing too much thought over the relationship Darcy/Wickham.
It could end here, yes, but happily for all of us, it won't. Darcy did do the only thing he could, didn't he?
From Tessa:
Quote
Darcy had said his piece and taken full responsibility for Elizabeth's fall. Wickham lived to tell his tale. Would a curious Elizabeth uncover the truth for herself? How would wariness turn to friendship to love? I doubt that you would follow the obvious and trite plot device of a Lydia rescue to turn Elizabeth around.
There will be a rescue of Lydia... sort of.
Elizabeth does not prove all that good at uncovering the truth of things for herself in this story, I'm afraid.
From LizzyS:
Quote
Kitty seemed unusually astute, but then again it was very strange. I wonder if your Kitty occasionally reads the ever popular gothic novels.
I would not be at all surprised! Kitty was rather insightful, wasn't she?
From Shannon K:
Quote
It’s interesting to see this story so tightly from Elizabeth’s perspective. In ch. 3, she thought Darcy looked “chastened;” here we see that “I have not been able to think of myself with anything but disgust ever since.” During the ceremony, she registered only his physical presence, but surely he was a mess of pain and yearning—standing opposite Elizabeth at a wedding, seeing her eyes reflect her heart full of happiness, believing his own actions have prevented any possible future with her. And when during his apology he drops the big hint that he still loves her—not likely to set her at ease, but I guess he just couldn’t help himself—she afterward thinks in terms of “if” he still has any feelings for her. It will be fun to see her begin to read him better.
It is tragic, but all too in character, that Mr. Bennet’s solution is to “drop a word” to Wickham—he could have said “speak to Wickham about this,” but even the phrase he chose reflects his indolence—and, if necessary, Colonel Forster. Not a single word to Lydia.
What a great comment! I'm finding it more and more interesting to write stories with a limited third-person POV, because then there is so much room for intriguing speculation about the thoughts and feelings of other people involved. I do think that Darcy's thoughts and feelings throughout this one will be fairly transparent to the reader, with this being a good example. Your description of him is undoubtedly very accurate. And Elizabeth, as you say, is very aware of him, and even has some surface curiosity about him, but she doesn't look any further at this point, and she certainly doesn't appreciate him in the fullness of the thinking, feeling, complicated man that he is. I almost named this story "To Understand Him Better," which is from a line that is spoken to her later on. For Elizabeth, most of this story is a journey to understand Darcy better.
You are also right about Mr. Bennet.
From Sarah C:
Quote
Oh this is an interesting variation! But first things first, I'm glad that Darcy apologized so fully. Hopefully it does clear up the tension between him and Elizabeth for when they meet again. Elizabeth's feelings towards Darcy are very understandable but I really wonder how they're ever going to move forward from this because I can't imagine Darcy ever feeling comfortable enough to approach Elizabeth again with any lover-like intent.
It is interesting to see how different things are when Elizabeth isn't subjected from the first to Wickham's charm and then seeing him flirting so inappropriately with Lydia gets her back up so she's not inclined to trust him. Also the second-hand telling of the encounter with Darcy was really intriguing. I can't wait to see where things go from here. I imagine Wickham will continue to try to importune Lydia (such an easy target) but I wonder if he'll venture to try to charm Elizabeth more directly too or if he realizes that being caught with Lydia the way he was, charming Elizabeth isn't a smart move.
Bolded part -- This is definitely an issue in the story, and one that's going to drive Darcy more than a little nuts.
I think Wickham realizes that Lizzy isn't going to forget what she saw. And really, Darcy is gone again, and he doesn't know of any particular association he has with Lizzy, so why should he make her his particular target?
Kathy:
Quote
And I do like Mr. Darcy's approach -- he seems to have learned his lesson well. I assume this is a D/E story in the end? (As I cannot flip to the last page and check, I will simply have to trust in your goodness, I suppose.)
Darcy has learned his lesson, although I must say that the characteristic of persistence remains with him. It just doesn't seem in his character to give up easily. And of course this is a D/E story! I won't say that I would never write anything else, but if I did, I would be cautious about posting it unless I warned everyone.
