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lothiriel84 · 1 year

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A Pleasant Countenance

In all his three-and-twenty years, Charles Bingley had not once stopped to consider how different he was from his peers.

A Pride and Prejudice ficlet. Sex-positive asexual!Bingley.

It was fair to say that Mrs Bingley’s disposition was hardly ever inclined to discontentment; if anyone were to ask her, she would without a moment’s hesitation express her perfect contentment in her husband’s affections, and it did not occur to her to start questioning the veracity of her own statements until several months into their marriage.

When Charles had mentioned he was planning to invite the Darcys to Netherfield Park for the summer, she had rejoiced at the opportunity to spend some time with her dear sister; straight away, she had devoted herself to the preparations for their arrival, personally inspecting the guest wing until she finally selected a suite of connected chambers she felt sure would do nicely for Lizzy and her husband. She was therefore more than a little befuddled when upon the guests’ arrival, her sister thanked her for all her troubles, only to playfully remark that they would scarcely require more than one bedchamber between the two of them.

Jane held her peace for a grand total of four days before sequestering her sister to her own dressing rooms, and haltingly enquired as to the couple’s usual sleeping arrangements both at Pemberley and the Darcy town home.

“We always share a bed, unless Fitzwilliam is away on business,” Elizabeth replied simply, a slight frown creasing her brow. “You will pardon me, dearest sister, if I dare to presume what these questions tend to?”

“Oh, you will think me the worst kind of shameless busybody, Lizzy,” Jane exclaimed, twisting her hands. “It’s only – oh, I know it is hardly proper of me to even broach such an indelicate subject, but I hardly know who else I could turn to at this juncture.”

Lizzy was immediately on her feet, gathering her sister’s hands in her own. “You know you can always speak to me, my dear Jane. I shall spare you the indignity of needing to ask, and tell you that more often than not, my loving husband is wont to solicit my favours several times a week, and that they are most willingly bestowed on my part – heartily encouraged, even.”

Mrs Bingley’s head was spinning, and she felt more than a little faint as a result. “Several times a week,” she breathed, disbelief apparent in her voice, wondering for the briefest of moments whether her sister was teasing her for some strange reason. Her long familiarity with Lizzy excluded such a possibility, and she reluctantly had to acknowledge that her sister was in earnest – which begged a series of questions regarding the state of her own marriage she was scarcely ready to contemplate.

“Jane, are you – that is to say, does Mr Bingley,” Elizabeth bit her lip, clearly considering how better to address the issue. “Are you not satisfied with your marriage bed, then?”

Jane buried her face in her hands, her cheeks burning with shame. “Oh, Lizzy, I am the worst creature in the world.”

“Nonsense. I hate to be the one to tell you, dear sister, but if you are not happy with your husband’s attentions, your best course of action is to openly discuss it with him – you will do no favours to your marriage by keeping your feelings a secret to him.”

“How could I ever do such a thing? He would think me a wanton and the most ungrateful of wives, for he is very deeply in love with me, and the most considerate of husbands besides. And if he truly does not desire to share my bed, I can only conclude it is my own fault – that I have disappointed him, or that he finds my lack of experience in such matters off-putting in some way.”

“Jane!” Elizabeth exclaimed, obviously scandalised that she could even express such a thought.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I – I know I have no right in presuming anything about Charles’ past, but you must not think me so naive as to believe that he never – but that is irrelevant to our current situation, in any case. Perhaps he merely finds me not pleasing enough to tempt him, after all.”

“Promise me you will talk to him, Jane,” her sister pleaded with her in a most urgent tone. “If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for him. He would hate to find out you’re hiding such a thing from him, believe me.”

She swallowed, looked around the room as if hoping that the solution to her problems might suddenly materialise out of thin air, but in the end, she could not find it in herself to deny her sister. Elizabeth hugged her tightly, and promised everything would be all right; all she had to do was keep her faith in the strength of her and Charles’ love.

In all his three-and-twenty years, Charles Bingley had not once stopped to consider how different he was from his peers. Even before inheriting his father’s fortune, his good looks and pleasant disposition had garnered him the attentions of many a pretty lady; and while he had always been partial to a good flirt – and even the occasional stolen kiss – he had scarcely given any thought to the many possibilities afforded to a young man when presented with a female of inferior birth eager to share her favours. At university, his friends used to jest that young ladies might consider themselves quite safe in his company, which he actually took as a compliment to the propriety of his conduct; it was on one such occasion that he had made the acquaintance of his good friend Darcy, as the gentleman was similarly being teased for being ‘too uptight to know his way around a woman’s petticoats’.

Upon his coming of age, his father had of course summoned him to his study and provided him with a series of entirely mortifying instructions as to how to conduct himself with females of good breeding, and what was expected of him when he entered the married state. What his father had failed to inform him of was how often a husband would be expected to share his wife’s bed, and after spending the past few years overhearing his eldest sister’s complaints concerning the frequency of Mr Hurst’s visits, and the many excuses she employed to discourage him in such endeavours, Charles had come to the natural conclusion that he ought to impose as little as possible on his adoring wife, regardless of his own inclinations on the subject.

If someone had ever chanced to draw his attention to this particular matter, he would have been forced to conclude that he had no strong inclination either way. The actual reality of conjugal relations had come as an utterly pleasant surprise for him, and he enjoyed every moment spent in such startling new intimacy with his blushing bride; however, more often than not he would straight up forget that such activities were now open to him, let alone expected of him.

As it was, he had been sparing no thought whatsoever to the whole state of affairs, and was therefore entirely shocked when his beloved Jane haltingly brought up the subject one evening, soon after the Darcys had departed for a short stay in town where his friend had been unexpectedly called on business.

“I – I would understand if you didn’t desire me anymore, all I ask is that you’re completely honest with me, Charles,” she concluded, very nearly in tears, and it was all he could do to take her in his arms and hold her quite possibly too tightly for her own comfort. He was about to vehemently deny such an outrageous suggestion, when he was suddenly reminded of the few – and entirely too reticent – confidences he had managed to extract from Darcy with regards to his marriage, and he stopped in his tracks as if struck by some kind of revelation.

Had he ever desired a woman, in the way most gentlemen of his acquaintance intended when discussing such matters? He knew he loved Jane in a way that surpassed any of his previous infatuations; he was most pleased to share her attentions when attending to their marital duties, though he realised now he had perhaps misjudged how affected she was in turn by such intimacies. But did he desire her? He – wasn’t entirely sure, but he was inclined to think that the nature of his love for her would make for a strong argument to disregard such a trivial distinction.

“Does it matter, when I love you more than life itself?” he pleaded by her, and was rewarded with a heartfelt sob she endeavoured to stifle into the lapel of his dinner jacket. “Jane, I am utterly pleased with everything that has transpired in our marriage bed, and if you wish for me to visit you more often, I shall be delighted to do so.”

“Oh, you must think me such a selfish, wanton creature,” she demurred, but he would have none of it.

“Nonsense. I am beyond grateful that you should value my attentions so highly,” he promptly assured her, pressing a tender kiss on her golden curls. “And I would suggest we retire to our chambers this instant, so that I might start making amends to my long-suffering wife.”

“Charles!” Her cheeks had blushed a dark shade of pink by now, which only made her more becoming to his eyes. “What will the servants think if we were to retire this early in the evening?”

“I have to say, my dear, I do not care a jot what the servants might thing,” he smiled at her, and offered his arm with all pretence of formality so that he might escort her upstairs.

#Pride and Prejudice #Jane Bennet #Elizabeth Bennet #Charles Bingley #Jane/Bingley #asexual character #sex-positive asexual character #I wrote a thing

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whetstonefires · 1 year

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You know what I realize that people underestimate with Pride & Prejudice is the strategic importance of Jane.

Because like, I recently saw Charlotte and Elizabeth contrasted as the former being pragmatic and the latter holding out for a love match, because she's younger and prettier and thinks she can afford it, and that is very much not what's happening.

The Charlotte take is correct, but the Elizabeth is all wrong. Lizzie doesn't insist on a love match. That's serendipitous and rather unexpected. She wants, exactly as Mr. Bennet says, someone she can respect. Contempt won't do. Mr. Bennet puts it in weirdly sexist terms like he's trying to avoid acknowledging what he did to himself by marrying a self-absorbed idiot, but it's still true. That's what Elizabeth is shooting for: a marriage that won't make her unhappy.

She's grown up watching how miserable her parents make one another; she's not willing to sign up for a lifetime of being bitter and lonely in her own home.

I think she is very aware, in refusing Mr. Collins, that it's reasonably unlikely that anyone she actually respects is going to want her, with her few accomplishments and her lack of property. That she is turning down security and the chance keep the house she grew up in, and all she gets in return may be spinsterhood.

But, crucially, she has absolute faith in Jane.

The bit about teaching Jane's daughters to embroider badly? That's a joke, but it's also a serious potential life plan. Jane is the best creature in the world, and a beauty; there's no chance at all she won't get married to someone worthwhile.

(Bingley mucks this up by breaking Jane's heart, but her prospects remain reasonable if their mother would lay off!)

And if Elizabeth can't replicate that feat, then there's also no doubt in her mind that Jane will let her live in her house as a dependent as long as she likes, and never let it be made shameful or awful to be that impoverished spinster aunt. It will be okay never to be married at all, because she has her sister, whom she trusts absolutely to succeed and to protect her.

And if something eventually happens to Jane's family and they can't keep her anymore, she can throw herself upon the mercy of the Gardeners, who have money and like her very much, and are likewise good people. She has a support network--not a perfect or impregnable one, but it exists. It gives her realistic options.

Spinsterhood was a very dangerous choice; there are reasons you would go to considerable lengths not to risk it.

But Elizabeth has Jane, and her pride, and an understanding of what marrying someone who will make you miserable costs.

That's part of the thesis of the book, I would say! Recurring Austen thought. How important it is not to marry someone who will make you, specifically, unhappy.

She would rather be a dependent of people she likes and trusts than of someone she doesn't, even if the latter is formally considered more secure; she would rather live in a happy, reasonable household as an extra than be the mistress of her own home, but that home is full of Mr. Collins and her mother.

This is a calculation she's making consciously! She's not counting on a better marriage coming along. She just feels the most likely bad outcome from refusing Mr. Collins is still much better than the certain outcome of accepting him. Which is being stuck with Mr. Collins forever.

Elizabeth is also being pragmatic. Austen also endorses her choice, for the person she is and the concerns she has. She's just picking different trade-offs than Charlotte.

Elizabeth's flaw is not in her own priorities; she doesn't make a reckless choice and get lucky. But in being unable to accept that Charlotte's are different, and it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with Charlotte.

Because realistically, when your marriage is your whole family and career forever, and you only get to pick the ones that offer themselves to you, when you are legally bound to the status of dependent, you're always going to be making some trade-offs.

😂 Even the unrealistically ideal dream scenario of wealthy handsome clever ethical Mr. Darcy still asks you to undergo personal growth, accommodate someone else's communication style, and eat a little crow.

#hoc est meum #pride and prejudice #elizabeth bennet #charlotte lucas #meta #charlotte is a much less sociable person than lizzie #so avoiding her husband most of the time and not seeking out his company is more viable for her!#she also has more patience for people being wrong #partly i think because she kinds checks out and lets them get on with it which lizzie isn't too great at even with her mother #people have different needs like that's a thing okay #marriage #spinsterhood #pragmatism #like if elizabeth had to listen to collins talk for a few months straight she would be nearly insane with rage #he's not just a low-quality man he's a man designed to be the worst for her specifically #also note that because jane's marriage is elizabeth's fallback plan #darcy screwed her over personally by interfering between her and bingley #she ofc does not bring this up how could she #but it's intensifying the anger during the hunsford rejection i think

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checkoutmybookshelf · 9 months

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This was too good not to share, and I am now putting out into the world the desire for an animated, animal friends version of Pride and Prejudice that does EXACTLY THIS. It would be AMAZING.

For anyone interested in the original: https://www.tumblr.com/pagerunner/191002786668/pride-prejudice-2005-dir-joe-wright

I found the screengrab on pinterest originally, so give the OG poster a like too!

#classic literature memes #literature memes #pride and prejudice #mr. bingley #mr. darcy #elizabeth bennet #regency novel #regency romance #jane austen

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firawren · 7 months

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Pride and Prejudice 1995 text posts, part 1 of ?

More: Sense and Sensibility 1995 text posts | Northanger Abbey 2007 text posts | Emma. 2020 text posts

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horriblehistorieschild · 2 years

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#i laughed way too much at this #pride and prejudice #mr bingley #mr darcy #jane austen

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besotted-with-austen · 11 days

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Jane Austen: so, you go to Mr Collins' house and Elizabeth is there alone. She welcomes you politely, but she looks---troubled.

Colonel Fitzwilliam: and of course she does, after everything I said to her-

Fitzwilliam Darcy: do I sense if she is mad at me specifically or it is just her headache?

Jane Austen: roll an Investigation Check.

Fitzwilliam Darcy: *grimacing* it's a three.

Jane Austen: just her headache.

Caroline Bingley: *derisively* she only looks like she wants to stab you, Darcy.

Fitzwilliam Darcy: *shrugs* I guess I am too nervous to really give her a proper look.

Jane Austen: what do you do next?

Fitzwilliam Darcy: well, I-I tell her, "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

Jane Austen: Elizabeth blushes. She is absolutely stunned.

Georgiana Darcy: that is good, right? Right?

Fitzwilliam Darcy: I tell her that even if her family is--not ideal-

Charles Bingley: *making a face*

Caroline Bingley: *playfully disgusted frown* and I made my character romance you?

Fitzwilliam Darcy: -and I might be acting impulsively, I just have to let her know that I love her. That's it.

**Silence**

Jane Austen: *smacks her lips* okay-

Charles Bingley: *histerical laughter* I don't like the way you said it-

Colonel Fitzwilliam: it's an immediate natural one, yes? Please tell me it's immediate.

Georgiana Darcy: shhhh!

Jane Austen: give me a Persuasion Check-let me tell you, you have to roll very high.

Fitzwilliam Darcy: figures-very well-

Fitzwilliam Darcy: *beat*

Fitzwilliam Darcy: *flatly* natural one.

Colonel Fitzwilliam: JUSTICE!

Jane Austen: *claps her hands* you make your grand love confession, but Elizabeth stops you and immediately rejects you.

Fitzwilliam Darcy: ouch.

Jane Austen: she tells you that she could never marry the person that hurt her sister and destroyed Wickham's future-

Fitzwilliam Darcy: *dawning horror* I had forgotten they had talked, fuck-

Jane Austen: and, finally-

Charles Bingley: there is more? He is already dead-

Jane Austen: Elizabeth looks at you dead in the eye and says: "From the very beginning—from the first moment, I may almost say—of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry."

Fitzwilliam Darcy: damn.

Caroline Bingley: *dying of laughter under the table*

Charles Bingley: I do not know if I can resurrect you after that.

Georgiana Darcy: I knew it, I should have given you Bardic Inspiration-

#jane austen #pride and prejudice #fitzwilliam darcy #elizabeth bennet #charles bingley #georgiana darcy #colonel fitzwilliam #caroline bingley #george wickham #crack but also text #this is what happens when you have zero modifiers for charisma #fortunately when they get a level up darcy will correct that

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aftermyownart · 1 month

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Get Wrecked, Caroline!

From that thing I have watched a few too many times. This is definitely how that went

#amoa #art diary #sketchbook #digital drawing #digital art #clip studio paint #CSP #P&P 1995 #pride and prejudice #Elizabeth Bennet #jane austen #Fitzwilliam Darcy #caroline bingley

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buddyhollyscurls · 1 month

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Trying to sleep and was looking at books and that eventually led me to think of Pride and Prejudice and yk what moment we need to appreciate more?

That scene where Caroline is doing her pick me shit and joking with Darcy about Elizabeth's pretty eyes and she's like when you guys get your marriage portrait done do you think any painter could do her eyes justice?

And our boy Fitzy doesn't even HESITATE he's like I think a painter would do a great job at getting her eyelashes and the way they look in the sunlight and it's just like

MY GUY HAD U ALREADY BEEN THINKING ABOUT THAT??? U HAD THE ANSWER LOCKED AND LOADED WERE U ON YE OLDE GOOGLE LOOKING UP WEDDING PORTRAIT ARTISTS NEAR ME??? DID U HAVE A REGENCY ERA PINTERST BOARD OF UR DREAM WEDDING TO LIZZY ALREADY MADE UP????

#its even funnier bc this is the stage where hes like i don't LOVE Elizabeth Bennet i just think she's attractive #meanwhile he has wedding planner and caterer contacts scribbled and kept on a piece of paper in his pocket #he also writes mr. Elizabeth Bennet in his journal a thousand times before bed #pride and prejudice #caroline bingley #fitzwilliam darcy #elizabeth bennet #jane austen

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efarttt · 1 year

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has this been done before?? probably yes but im too scared to check since i already drew this out

so anyway here's finally some non-phantom art

#pride and prejudice #pride and prejudice 2005 #jane austen #mr bingley #mr darcy #fitzwilliam darcy #charles bingley #austen adaptations #barbie movie #barbie mugshot meme #barbie meme

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nymphpens · 1 year

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At a social gathering:

#nymphpens #dark academia #poets on tumblr #dead poets society #relatable #tumblr text post #classic literature #pride and prejudice #barbie 2023 #barbie x classic literature #barbie memes #classic literature memes #jane Austen #mr bingley #mr darcy

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greengableslover · 1 year

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For a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. Yes, he must indeed! And who better than one of our five girls?

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1995) dir. Simon Langton | Episode 1

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lothiriel84 · 1 year

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The Serenity of Her Countenance

Mr and Mrs Bingley visit Pemberley. The Darcys do their utmost to restore the happiness of a most beloved sister.

A Pride and Prejudice ficlet. Aroace spectrum!Darcy, alloromantic asexual!Jane.

Jane knew well enough they couldn’t defer their visit without causing her sister to worry; still, she held very little hope of said sister failing to notice the unprecedented awkwardness between husband and wife, regardless of their combined efforts to act as if nothing of importance had happened.

Therefore, she was not at all surprised when Elizabeth promptly stole her away with the excuse of showing her the newly refurbished nursery, and all but demanded to be told the exact nature of their disagreement.

“Oh, Lizzy,” she cried out, her hands instinctively cradling her belly full of child. “I have been such a fool, and I don’t have the slightest idea how to go about fixing my mistake.”

“Whatever it is, I am sure it cannot be all that bad,” her sister gently encouraged her, guiding her to sit on the nearest chair. “And I can scarcely credit you, of all people, for sharing all the blame in this matter.”

“You don’t know what I did!” she shook her head vehemently, feeling her agitation increasing by the moment. “Charles has been nothing but the kindest, most devoted of husbands, and it was unpardonable of me to give him reason to regret his choice of bride.”

Her sister frowned a little, searching her gaze for a long moment. “Jane, last time we visited you, even Fitzwilliam could not help but remark upon how much in love with one another you both looked. What could possibly have happened to change that in such a short period of time?”

Jane hid her face in her hands, and it took her a considerable effort to continue speaking. “I never meant to hurt Charles’ feelings, I swear it. Only, I didn’t consider how my words would affect him, and now he thinks me indifferent, when there is no one in this world I love more than him.”

She only realised she had started crying when she felt her sister’s arms around her, and she went willingly, burying her face into her shoulder. “Oh, Lizzy, if only I could make him understand!”

“Jane, dearest, I feel sure it is all a misunderstanding,” Elizabeth attempted to console her, her hand patting ineffectually at her back. “Though I wish you would tell me exactly what happened to cause such misery to you and your husband alike.”

Accepting her sister’s handkerchief, she went about drying her cheeks, and did her utmost to compose herself. “I’m sorry, I ought to have started from the beginning. You see, Charles was away on business for a fortnight last month, and upon his return – well, you know how it is – and I don’t know what possessed him to ask, afterwards, but I didn’t think too much of it, and I told him the truth – that is, I wouldn’t mind being prevented from sharing a bed with him, so long as I still had his company and his love, and – oh, Lizzy, I had never seen him so devastated in all the months of our acquaintance! He could scarcely bring himself to do so much as touch my hand after that, and there seems to be nothing I can say or do to put his mind to rest. You have no idea how much I wish those words unsaid, and I have been regretting my thoughtlessness ever since.”

Her sister pressed her hands to hers, and appeared to be struggling with her thoughts for a considerable amount of time. “Jane, is he – that is to say, did Charles ever – do something to you that you weren’t comfortable with?”

“No! How could you even entertain such a thought, Lizzie? He’s the gentlest of men, and always so considerate to my every wish.”

“But you do not enjoy his bed?”

Jane opened her mouth to reply, considered, then shook her head somewhat helplessly. “I do not not enjoy it, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It is not, as I feel sure you know well enough.”

A rather uncomfortable thought started dawning on her, and while under any other circumstance she would have considered it the height of impropriety to even dare to think about asking, she could not see how to go about mending the rift between herself and her dearest husband without seeking some clarity on the entire issue in the first place. “Lizzy, I know it is not at all seemly, but – oh, I hardly know how to put it – I was led to believe that it was only natural for a lady to be reluctant when it came to fulfilling her marital duties, and that it was the husband’s lot to derive all the pleasure there was to be found in the marriage bed.”

“Oh, my dear Jane, let me assure you, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I don’t wish to be indelicate, but – well, Charles might be inexperienced in such matters, but with the proper encouragement, I’m sure he will be more than willing to learn how best to please you.”

Jane felt herself blushing quite spectacularly, and the heat in the room felt almost intolerable all of a sudden. “I didn’t mean to say – oh, believe me, Lizzy, I do not wish for that at all. I am perfectly happy for him to seek my bed as often as he pleases, but if he were to stop altogether, I cannot see myself regretting his decision. I had no idea that other ladies could be – eager, I suppose, for their husband’s attentions; otherwise, I would have been more mindful of Charles’ expectations on the matter. My – indifference in regard to our marital duties has nothing to do with the love I feel for him, and I wish I knew how to let him see as much.”

Wrung out from the necessity to lay out her innermost feelings in such a way, she welcomed the comfort of her beloved sister’s embrace, and let herself be reassured that all manner of things would be well, eventually. Charles did love her, after all.

Fitzwilliam Darcy paused just outside the door to the library, and took a fortifying breath to steady his nerves. If he found himself unable to deny his wife anything as a rule, that was doubly true now that she was with child; still, he could not help but wish that his services weren’t needed on such a delicate matter, and one regarding both his closest friend and his wife’s most beloved sister on top of that.

Still, he was scarcely a man to put off an unpleasant duty, and he consciously straightened his posture as he stepped in and closed the door behind him.

“Mrs Bingley,” he acknowledged his sister-in-law with a slight bow, and moved to take the seat opposite hers. If anything, she looked even more acutely uncomfortable than he felt, which prompted him to overcome the worst of his embarrassment at broaching such a private topic with her. “I assure you I have no intention of further meddling with your – and my friend’s – happiness, but as Elizabeth appears to think I could be of some assistance in your current plight, I could hardly deny her the attempt.”

“Mr Darcy, I am so sorry that you felt compelled to – I told Lizzy this was anything but appropriate, but she simply wouldn’t listen. And I daresay Charles would be mortified if ever he were to learn of us discussing – oh, it doesn’t even bear thinking.”

“As a matter of fact, Mrs Bingley, he was the one who sought my confidence as soon as you and Elizabeth left the room the other day,” he gently interrupted her, his hand rising in a placating gesture. “And for all that I would never break his confidence, my wife seems to believe me the most qualified to offer you some – advice, on the matter.”

From what he could tell, his sister-in-law was all but praying the floor would open up and swallow her whole. He couldn’t say his own feelings at the moment were all that dissimilar from hers, either.

“Please, call me Jane,” she stated at length, her voice barely above a whisper. “We are brother and sister, after all. And I can assure I am not so much in want of advice as I am in need of a friend who might reassure Charles as to the depth of my love and devotion for him.”

“I will address you by your Christian name on the condition that you do the same for me. As for reassuring my friend of your continued devotion, I already attempted as much, but I’m inclined to agree with Elizabeth – he might better be persuaded if we were to clear up the exact nature of your own feelings first.”

He saw her blanch at that, and was powerless to do anything but lend her his arm as she struggled to her feet. “You still believe me indifferent to your friend?”

“Not at all, Mrs Bingley – Jane. I was merely attempting to indicate the way you feel about certain – um, activities – which are par for the course once one enters the married state.”

He felt sure that the high colour of his cheeks matched hers by now, yet did his best not to shrink away from her honest gaze. “Oh, I will never forgive myself for allowing my sister to put you in such an uncomfortable position, Sir. What she believed to achieve, I honestly have no idea.”

“I feel like I do,” he forced himself to reply, and was relieved when she allowed him to help her back to her chair. “You see, Elizabeth thinks you and I might have something in common, and from what little she was willing to share of your confidences, I feel inclined to believe her to be correct, on the whole.”

“Whatever can you mean, Mr Darcy,” she paused, bit her lip, then added, “Fitzwilliam,” almost as an afterthought.

“I haven’t told anyone except Elizabeth – my family probably surmised something close to it, but most of them were wide off the mark – but the truth of the matter is, I had never experienced any desire for closeness or any sort of intimacy with a woman before meeting your sister. Nor have I experienced it ever since outside our marriage bed – if you pardon my indelicacy – and while I wish to flatter myself of it being a reflection of the rectitude of my character, I am given to believe that is not at all common among the gentlemen of my acquaintance.”

Jane was looking intently at him now, and seemed to be considering his words to the best of her understanding. “Do you mean to say you were never in love, or that you merely did not – oh, how is one to put it without offending – wish for their, well, favours, if I may?”

“Both. I had never once fancied myself in love before meeting your sister, and I found it most surprising when I first realised that not only I loved her, but I also – let me be frank for a moment here – desired her, as a man desires a woman.”

His sister-in-law sighed, and shook her head somewhat ruefully. “I am very grateful for your confidences, Mr – Fitzwilliam, I mean to say – but it pains me to admit that while I had in fact fancied myself in love once, long before meeting Charles, I never did experience the sort of – feelings that my sister assures me a wife is wont to feel in regard to her husband. And while I merely put it down to the difference of sensibilities between the sexes, I am now led to believe it to be a deficiency of my own character.”

“Mrs – Jane. Would you agree with my cousins’ belief that I was somewhat deficient for finding the mere thought of lying with a woman a most uncomfortable prospect?”

“Not at all, Sir!” she exclaimed. “I think it does you credit that you only wish to lie with your own wife, and I would still say that regardless of whether or not said wife was my own sister.”

“As I said, it is hardly to my own credit when I have never felt any desire to do otherwise. I would say there is much more honour for a man to resist any untoward desire he might feel for other women, out of love and respect for his own bride.”

Jane appeared lost in thought for a moment, her right hand resting protectively on her rounded stomach. “And where is the honour in a wife being remiss in the desire she ought to feel for her husband?”

“I wouldn’t say that has anything to do with honour. So long as both parties agree on,” he faltered momentarily, had to all but force himself to press on, “the degree of intimacy they are both comfortable with, and they are perhaps willing to meet each other halfway, I cannot see any reasonable obstacle to them having a long and happy marriage.”

“Oh, if only Charles could bring himself to see it this way!” she couldn’t seem to stop herself from crying out.

“Should you give me your permission, Madam, I shall endeavour to explain all of this to my friend presently,” he offered, prompted by a genuine desire to be of service to her – not only in deference to his wife’s affections for a most beloved sister, but as he was starting to see her as the closest thing to a kindred spirit he had ever had the good fortune of encountering.

His sister-in-law hesitated, her gaze suddenly drawn to a spot of the floor close to her feet. “I could never ask that of you, Sir.”

“You need not to. I am offering of my own free will. After all, I am still to pay my penance for the unpardonable way I separated you from my friend at the beginning of your acquaintance. This might go a small way towards atoning for my past sins.”

“Do not say so, Fitzwilliam! Didn’t Charles and I repeatedly tell you you’re forgiven, and you need not dwell upon it anymore?”

He smiled, and shook his head. “Nevertheless. Do I have your permission, Jane?”

“Only if you think you could bear it – I wouldn’t wish you to feel compelled to disclose your private feelings all over again, and before your friend of all people, just for my sake.”

“It is no trouble at all, Madam,” he promptly assured her, and stood to help her from her chair. His sister-in-law turned her once-more-serene gaze on him, and let him escort her back to the music room where both his and her sister were eagerly waiting for the benefit of her company.

#Pride and Prejudice #Jane Bennet #Elizabeth Bennet #Mr Darcy #Elizabeth/Darcy #Jane/Bingley #aromantic spectrum #asexual spectrum #aroace spectrum headcanon #asexual character #I wrote a thing #Pride and Aroace-spec (collection)

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