The Hunt

By Naomi

Jump to new as of February 4, 2001

Part 1

Posted on Wednesday, 6 September 2000

Elizabeth Bennett gazed dreamily at the smoke wisps trailing from the stick of incense she had just lit. She took a deep breath of its delightful scent before setting it in its stand. She continued to watch the delicate tendrils of smoke rising into the air until her flatmate's voice snapped her out of her meditative thoughts.

"So where is this hunt that you're going to tomorrow?" enquired Charlotte Lucas.

"In Derbyshire, on a big estate called Pemberley," replied Elizabeth. "We're leaving tomorrow, but we won't get there until the day after".

"That's a long way to go just to shoo a few pheasants out of the way of rich men with guns. They'll just fly straight back and get killed anyway."

Elizabeth sighed. "I've tried to explain it to you before, Charlotte, it's a statement. The hunt saboteurs and I are trying to show these people that they are out of touch with 'ordinary' people. You can't just kill innocent animals for fun anymore. They think that just because they are rich they can do whatever they want".

"Well, I still don't understand why you want to annoy handsome young rich men all the time. You will have no hope of snaring one now!"

"I think a rich man would be the last type of man I'd ever want to 'snare', as you put it. They all think they are better than the rest of us just because they happened to inherit Daddy's big house in the country. It's not like they earn their money or anything."

"All right, go and save your birds then, just don't forget to put in a good word for me if you get to talk to one of the shooters!"

In the mini bus on the way to Derbyshire, the leader of the hunt saboteurs briefed Elizabeth and the other participants.

"The estate we are going to is called Pemberley. It's owned by a man called Fitzwilliam Darcy who is a regular bird shooter, both at Pemberley and at his cronies' estates. He's arrogant and rude, and if he catches you, don't expect to get off lightly. As well as being rich and powerful, he is the resentful type, so he is capable of making life difficult for anyone who gets in his way. There will be about ten shooters there tomorrow, we don't know who they will be, but you can bet they are all nasty characters like Darcy."

Elizabeth fumed. "Who do these people think they are? All the politicians are either friends of Mr. Darcy or they are afraid of him, either way they aren't going to stop this massacre, so it's up to ordinary people like me. Just because I live in a flat in Hertfordshire doesn't make my views any less important than theirs. I'll show them tomorrow," she thought to herself.

Part 2

At Pemberley, everyone was preparing for the day's sport. The gamekeeper was making sure everything was ready out of doors and Mr Darcy, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Hurst were cleaning their shotguns and drinking tea. These two guests had arrived the night before and were staying at Pemberley for a few days. The other shooters would arrive later in the morning.

Bingley piped up "Good to see you followed my advice and got one of those Cogswell & Harrison guns, Darcy!"

"Yes, I just got it last week, I haven't tried it yet."

"You will really like it, I have had mine for a year now and got my best results ever this season," enthused Bingley.

"I hear some protesters are planning to try to stop the hunt," announced Mr. Hurst. "I read about it in the local newspaper yesterday."

Mr. Darcy groaned. Didn't these people have anything better to do than stop him and his friends from having a bit of fun? "My gamekeeper has brought a few friends with him today to patrol the estate, they will make sure none of those hippies gets in," he growled.

"Why don't you get the police to come here and keep an eye on things?" enquired Mr. Bingley.

"Because they have more important things to do. I have my own way of dealing with these people," replied Darcy.

"I hope you won't be too hard on them, I'm sure they are nice people - just misguided."

"Misguided nothing. They just have a grudge against anyone with more money and a better education than them, and they want to stop us having any fun," grumbled Mr. Hurst. "I hope your gamekeeper gives them what for, Darcy!"

Elizabeth was, at that moment, crouched beneath a hedge on the edge of the estate. She had been using a small pair of binoculars to spy on the gamekeeper, and noticed that he had some assistants helping him today. She wondered if the shooters had heard about today's protest. Either way, she knew she would have to keep her wits about her to stay one step ahead of the gamekeepers.

Further away, she could see the owner of Pemberley leave the house with his friends, shotguns tucked under their arms. Some servants followed, carrying spare guns and ammunition. The party walked leisurely towards the shrubbery in front of Elizabeth. Once they had assumed their positions and loaded their guns, the shrubbery came to life with people and dogs flushing the game birds towards their doom. Almost immediately the sound of gunshots echoed around the countryside, mingled with the sound of laughter and occasional cries of "Good shot!". Elizabeth felt sick that the hunters were enjoying themselves so much. After only a few minutes, she couldn't contain herself any longer. She launched herself out of the hedge and ran towards the shooters. She hadn't thought about what she would do when she got to them but that didn't matter, she was so angry that she just wanted to confront them. As she got closer to them, one of the shooters saw the movement in the foliage, quickly raised his gun, and fired.

Part 3

Posted on Thursday, 16 November 2000, at 2 : 59 a.m.

The force of the spray of gunshot hitting her shoulder made Elizabeth stagger backwards and fall to the ground.

The gentlemen stood and gaped open-mouthed with shock when they realised what had happened. Mr Hurst's shot had been intended to bag a pheasant, however he had fired instinctively without looking properly at his target. He dropped his shotgun to the ground. Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley ran towards Elizabeth and crouched down beside her still body.

Darcy gently examined the wound. "It seems that a few pellets have lodged in her shoulder, but it doesn't look too bad. But she seems to have hit her head on that log when she fell," he declared as he pointed to the piece of wood that Elizabeth's head was resting on.

Mr Bingley wasn't convinced. "Shouldn't we call an ambulance? What is she dies? What if she is already dead?!"

"Calm down Bingley! We must get her into the house. I will call my physician."

"But - ,"

"No ambulance! No one must hear about this. If we send her to the hospital it will be all around Derbyshire in five minutes. I will call my doctor, he will come here and we can be assured of his confidentiality."

The two men carried Elizabeth into the great house, followed by the other guests.

Elizabeth awoke as she was being laid on the bed in one of Pemberley's guest rooms. Her head was sore and a little fuzzy. The pain in her shoulder quickly made her more alert, but she still didn't really know what was happening. She tried to ask, but was shushed by Mr Bingley.

"It's OK, you have had a bit of an accident, but the doctor is on his way to look at you," he reassured her. Everything had happened so quickly that Elizabeth couldn't remember what had happened.

"Oh," she replied.

"Is there anyone you want us to call?" asked Bingley. Darcy sighed. The last thing he wanted was for all of this girl's relatives to turn up and find out what had happened.

"Can you get my sister Jane?"

Mr Bingley got Jane's phone number from Elizabeth and called her. He didn't tell her exactly what had happened, but Jane knew why Elizabeth had gone to Pemberley so she feared the worst. She promised she would be there is a couple of hours' time.

The doctor arrived, and confirmed Mr Darcy's diagnosis. Elizabeth was concussed and would have to stay at Pemberley for a few days at least. He sedated her and carefully removed the pieces of shot from her wound. Darcy and Bingley went to Darcy's study to discuss their situation.

Darcy groaned. "This is all I need. What is going to happen when she wakes up? She will probably call the police and have us all arrested. Or she'll sue us as soon as she gets home. I should be the one suing her for trespassing on my property in the first place!"

"Calm down Darcy, she should realise that it was just an accident."

The guests were sworn to secrecy and sent home. The two men remained in the study, wondering what to do with their patient.

After a while there was a knock on the door. A servant announced a Miss Jane Bennet, come to see her sister.

"You go and deal with her, Bingley," grumbled Mr Darcy.

Mr Bingley rose and left the room. The woman standing outside the door took his breath away.

"I am come to see Elizabeth. Where is she?" asked Jane, trying to stay calm. Bingley could see she was almost frantic about her sister.

When he recovered himself, he stammered "I am Mr Bingley. The doctor has seen Elizabeth and she is not badly hurt,"

"What happened? I told her it was too dangerous to do this sort of thing. Has she been... shot?" Jane could barely bring herself to ask.

"Yes," confirmed Bingley, "But she is alright. She fell, hit her head and is concussed. She will have to stay with us for a few days."

"Oh. I would like to stay here with her, then."

Bingley had to keep reminding himself that this was a serious situation. He couldn't stop staring at Jane.

"You are most welcome to stay as long as you like. Follow me, I will take you to your sister."

Part 4

Posted on Wednesday, 22 November 2000, at 11 : 38 p.m.

Bingley led Jane up the stairs to the guest room which accommodated her sister.

Before entering the room, she turned and said "Thankyou, Mr .... ?"

"Bingley. Charles Bingley. I am a friend of Mr Darcy, the owner of this house and grounds," replied her guide.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr Bingley. Thankyou for the care you have taken of my sister Elizabeth. I hope she hasn't given you too much trouble, she gets a little carried away sometimes with this animal rights thing."

"Well, I understand that not everyone likes pheasant shooting. In fact I was thinking of giving up the sport. It was unfortunate that your sister came running into the area where we were shooting, maybe she didn't realise how dangerous it was."

"Perhaps. I will see how she is anyway, and hopefully we won't have to trespass on your hospitality for long."

"Don't worry yourself. It really is no trouble having you both here. The doctor will be back to check on Elizabeth in the morning. I will arrange for a guest room to be set up for you for as long as you need to stay here.'

"Thankyou, you are very kind."

Jane smiled at Mr Bingley as she turned and opened the door. She entered the elegant room and went to Lizzy's bed. She was awake.

"Oh, Jane! You are here!"

"Of course. I came straight up here after Mr Bingley rang me."

"Mr Bingley?"

"Mr Darcy's friend.'

"Mr Darcy?" she replied inquisitively. "Where do I know that name from?" she thought. Suddenly she remembered the words of her friend on the way to the shoot:

"The estate we are going to is called Pemberley. It's owned by a man called Fitzwilliam Darcy who is a regular bird shooter, both at Pemberley and at his cronies' estates. He's arrogant and rude, and if he catches you, don't expect to get off lightly. As well as being rich and powerful, he is the resentful type, so he is capable of making life difficult for anyone who gets in his way....."

"One of those pheasant shooters accidentally shot you. You fell and hit your head. Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley brought you into Mr Darcy's house and got a doctor here to look after you. They have been very kind," Jane explained.

A wave of shock and humiliation swept over Elizabeth. She was in Mr Darcy's house?

"Jane, you have to get me out of here!" she cried.

"No Lizzy, don't be silly. You have concussion, I can't take you anywhere until you are better."

"But I feel fine," lied Elizabeth.

"No, you are unwell," insisted Jane, in a rare display of pushiness. "You must stay here for a few days."

"But I don't want to be here, and I am sure Mr Darcy and his friend can't wait for me to go!"

"That's not true. Mr Bingley was very concerned, he insisted that we are both to stay here as long as we need to. They both seem to have gone out of their way to assist you."

Elizabeth was surprised. "What about Mr Darcy? He is arrogant and rude, he was probably the one who shot me!"

"You're being silly, Lizzy. It was an honest mistake, they didn't know you were there. Besides, Mr Bingley is so friendly and kind, I can't imagine that he would be friends with someone who is much different. You must have been misinformed about Mr Darcy."

"Have you met Mr Darcy?" challenged Elizabeth.

"No, but - "

There was a knock on the door, and Jane went to see who it was. A moment later, she showed Mr Bingley and another man into the room.

"Miss Bennet, allow me to introduce my friend, Mr Darcy," said Mr Bingley.

"Pleased to meet you," said Jane to Mr Darcy. She was answered with a slight 'hmm' and nod of the head, before Mr Darcy stalked over to the window, and stood looking out of it. Elizabeth studied both men for a moment; both were tall and handsome, and Mr Bingley did look friendly.

Bingley went over to Elizabeth's bed. "I hope you are feeling better," he asked.

"Thankyou, I have a bit of a headache, and my shoulder is sore, but I hope I will be well enough to get out of your hair very soon," replied Elizabeth, glancing at Mr Darcy. He showed no reaction.

After a few minutes of polite chatter between Bingley, Elizabeth and Jane, Mr Darcy turned from the window and stood at the foot of Elizabeth's bed.

"May I ask why you were trespassing on my property?" he asked abruptly.

Elizabeth was slightly taken aback, but not completely surprised at Mr Darcy's rudeness. After a short pause, she sat up on the bed and answered, "I came here to try to show you that those massacres you insist on holding here are not acceptable."

Darcy, who had been containing his ill humour admirably, was expecting a groveling apology from this girl he had shown such kindness. Elizabeth's forwardness, however, provoked him into replying angrily. "Massacre? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. What right has a young city girl like you to tell me what I can and can't do! The annual Pemberley pheasant shoot is a tradition that has been going for many generations. It is part of my family's history."

"That may be true, but this is the year 2000, and it is time to put an end to these barbaric traditions. Your family needs to move with the times!"

If there was one thing that Darcy defended vigorously, it was his family. "The Darcy family can do as we like. We have many proud traditions which will not end with me. You protestors are all the same - you are jealous that other people have more than you. But we have worked hard for our position, you probably don't even have a job!"

Elizabeth, Jane and Bingley watched open-mouthed as Darcy stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Elizabeth swooned slightly as her head throbbed.

"Elizabeth! Are you all right?" cried Jane. "You must not get upset, you are supposed to be resting!"

Elizabeth lay back down onto the pillows. "How dare he insult me like that?"

Mr Bingley apologised profusely for his friend's behaviour, and left the room to speak to Mr Darcy.

Part 5

Posted on Sunday, 17 December 2000, at 9 : 35 p.m.

The next morning, Elizabeth was lying in bed still fuming at Darcy's outburst. How dare he assume I don't have a job, just because I care about animals? she thought. If only he knew.

Jane brought some breakfast and coffee up to Elizabeth's room.

"How are you feeling today?" she enquired as she set the tray on her sister's lap.

"Offended and upset," replied Elizabeth grumpily.

"I meant physically. I did notice that you and Mr Darcy didn't hit it off too well, of course you're upset."

The two women munched on their toast in silence for a while. Eventually, Elizabeth made a decision.

"Jane, could you please see if you can find some paper and a pen? I want to write a letter," she asked innocently.

"Of course, I will go and ask Charles,"

"Charles?"

"Mr Bingley."

"You two seem to be getting on rather well," accused Elizabeth.

Jane blushed. "He is very nice," she replied shyly.

"And rich and handsome."

"Lizzy! It's not like that!"

Elizabeth laughed at her sister's embarrassment. "It's OK, Jane, I did notice that he is quite different to his friend. I don't mind if you fall in love with him," replied Elizabeth, in a tone that revealed her light spirits were returning.

Jane laughed and blushed again. "Alright, I will find you some paper if you promise to stop teasing me!" She left the room, still giggling.

A couple of hours later, Pemberley's housekeeper Mrs Reynolds knocked on the door of Mr Darcy's study.

"Come in," he called.

"Excuse me, Mr Darcy, but that young lady who had the accident asked me to give you this," she stated, handing Mr Darcy some folded sheets of paper.

Mrs Reynolds left the room. Darcy glared at the letter. He was starting to feel a twinge of regret at being rude to Elizabeth, but he still felt that his claims were justified. He spent a minute or so staring at the still-folded papers, wondering what on earth she had written on them. His curiosity got the better of him and he unfolded them and started to read.

Dear Mr Darcy,

I believe we have not had a chance to properly introduce ourselves.

My name is Elizabeth Bennet and I had the misfortune of being shot by either you or one of your friends yesterday.

Do not be alarmed at receiving this letter. I am willing to believe that this unfortunate incident was an innocent mistake, and I am not writing to you to accuse anyone of willful malice. But I feel I must defend myself against the accusations you made to me.

The first accusation was that I am merely a city girl and I cannot possibly know what life is like in the country. This is incorrect. My father owns and manages a reasonable-sized estate in Hertfordshire. Longbourn is not as large as Pemberley, it is true; but it is certainly large enough for me to know about country life. I grew up at Longbourn, and only moved to the city a year ago. My father and his friends used to shoot birds and rabbits on their lands but some years ago my father had a change of heart and stopped this cruel practice. He now contents himself with shooting clay targets. Contrary to our neighbours' expectations, Longbourn is not now overrun by small furry or feathered creatures. Mr Bennet has learned to live with his land and the creatures on it, and not fight against them. He derives far greater pleasure from watching and listening to the wildlife on his property than he used to get from shooting them. I advise you to try it too, you may be surprised.

The second charge was that I am an unemployed bum. No doubt you think I am a student or on the dole. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a solicitor, working for one of the biggest law firms in England. I work many long days, often 12 hours plus, and I specialise in trusts, thereby helping people like yourself stay rich by avoiding tax. I am sorry to disappoint you, but so it is. I will however satisfy your prejudices by admitting that I would prefer to work in human rights law; but it is difficult to make a living in that field, so I will probably stay where I am.

My sister does not know that I have written this letter to you, but she can confirm the truth of its contents should you require evidence. I will only add my thanks for your hospitality towards myself and my sister, and a wish that you will not have to tolerate my presence for much longer.

Yours sincerely,

Elizabeth Bennet.

Mr Darcy was astonished, to say the least, at reading this letter. His first reaction was to think that Elizabeth must have made it all up. But after re-reading it, he decided that it must be true. Surely she would know that with his contacts, he could soon confirm whether or not her father owned an estate, and especially whether or not Elizabeth was really a lawyer.

He pondered these revelations for the rest of the morning. Did educated people really break the law and run the risk of being sued just to save a few birds? Why? Maybe he should try to see Elizabeth's point of view. Maybe she had a point about it being fun to watch live birds too.

Mr Darcy soon convinced himself that Elizabeth didn't know anything, and that even if she did, she had no right to impose it on him. But he couldn't stop thinking about her or the contents of her letter.

Part 6

Posted on Wednesday, 31 January 2001, at 10 : 55 p.m.

After another day's rest, Elizabeth felt well enough and curious enough to take a walk in the grounds of Pemberley. She set out with Jane and Bingley, but they were so occupied with getting to know each other that Elizabeth was feeling like a third wheel and decided to leave them alone. She wandered off towards a small forest.

She didn't know how long she had walked for, because she was lost in her own thoughts. It was a fine day and Elizabeth was enjoying exploring the grounds of the great estate. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the only thing that could have ruined the experience for Elizabeth would have been to wander round a corner and run into the estate's obnoxious owner. And that's exactly what happened.

Mr Darcy seemed surprised to see Elizabeth outdoors.

"Miss Bennet"! he exclaimed.

"Mr Darcy," she replied coolly.

Darcy seemed unsure of what to say.

"How are you feeling today?" he enquired lamely.

"Much better, thank you."

Darcy sank into an awkward silence. They stood, regarding each other suspiciously for what seemed like several minutes. At length, Darcy broke the silence.

"I... um..." He seemed embarrassed.

"Yes?"

"I... er... want to apologise for the way I spoke to you the other day."

"Oh." Elizabeth was surprised to hear this proud man humbling himself.

"Really, I was terribly rude. I had no idea you were a lawyer."

"Well, you shouldn't judge people you don't know."

Darcy was slightly irked by this reprimand, but now that he considered Elizabeth as almost an equal, he was prepared to concede quietly.

"I can offer no excuse. I should know better."

"Oh? How so?"

"My parents used to lecture me about not judging books by their covers, but I guess I've just gotten into the habit."

"Yes, it seems you have."

Another uncomfortable silence followed.

"I hope you are well enough to join myself, Charles and your sister for dinner tonight," enquired Darcy. "You must be sick of eating in the guest room."

He couldn't help noticing the way her eyes sparkled as she laughed.

"Yes, I was getting quite bored being shut up in there. Luckily I managed to escape your housekeeper and come out here for a while."

Darcy laughed in return.

"I trust Mrs Reynolds has been attentive to the patient, then?"

"Oh yes, she has taken her role as nurse very seriously. I can't do anything without her express permission. Jane snuck me up a book yesterday but Mrs Reynolds confiscated it, saying I would strain myself if I tried to read!"

They shared a laugh at this.

"And how is your shoulder?" asked Darcy.

"It's healing very well. Luckily only the edge of the shot pattern hit me, the doctor removed all the pellets and the wound should be all better in a couple of weeks."

"I'm glad to hear it. You'll have to excuse me, but I have some business to attend to in my office. I just stepped outside for a breather, and I had better get back to it now."

"OK, I'll see you at dinner, Mr Darcy."

"Please, call me William. I'll see you then."

Darcy headed back to the house, leaving Elizabeth pondering his apology. She couldn't help thinking that he had missed the point entirely - he only seemed sorry for what he said because she turned out to be a lawyer. What if I really was an unemployed hippie, she thought. It still wouldn't give him the right to be rude to me. But he's obviously only nice to people he thinks are like him.

When Elizabeth went down to the dining room later that night, William greeted her politely and Charles enquired after her health, expressing at length his regret for what had happened.

"Please, don't worry about it. I'm sure it was just an accident, I'll be fine and we will be out of your way in a few more days."

"Not too soon, I hope," he replied with a wink to Jane, who blushed slightly.

Elizabeth and Charles laughed at her embarrassment.

"So where did you two get to today? You were gone for a long time," teased Elizabeth. Jane's blush deepened and even Charles turned a little red. Elizabeth laughed even harder. "OK, I won't ask any more about it!"

Elizabeth joked with Charles and Jane all through dinner, while William sat mostly silent at the head of the table. Whenever Elizabeth glanced his way, he seemed to be watching her, which made her slightly uncomfortable. Afterwards, they all retired to the sitting room for drinks. William continued his silent vigil while the other three talked among themselves. At the end of the night, Elizabeth headed back to her guest room, slightly puzzled over the behaviour of her host that day.

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