The Fortune He Ought to Have by Victoria Cl (PG-13-ish)
Fandom: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Pairing: Elizabeth Bennet/George Wickham ????
Length: 84,000 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Roads Not Taken
Why this must be read:
Do not let the pairing deceive you! All is not as it appears! Let me explain: Within the Austen fandom, there is a sub-genre of kidnapping or switched at birth stories. Usually, Elizabeth and possibly Jane are discovered to be daughters of Lady Catherine or some other wealthy relative of Darcy's. By some nefarious plot, they are kidnapped from their true family and raised by the Bennets. There is usually a fifty-fifty chance that the Bennets themselves are complicit in the plot. I am not recommending one of those stories this time around, although they can be quite well done.
It is much rarer to find a story in which Mr. Darcy is switched! And yet that is the case with this story. Do not worry, I am not really spoiling anything. It is very apparent who is whom within a few paragraphs of reading the prologue.
Young George Wickham, supported by his wealthy godfather, old Mr. Darcy of Pemberley, makes his way in the world. He is appointed to be the curate of the Meryton parish and so comes to the village a few years before Mr. Bingley takes possession of Netherfield. Already humble because of his lowly upbringing, he and Elizabeth soon form a fast friendship that eventually turns into more. But that is only the beginning of the tale, and all contained within the prologue. What happens when Mr. Bingley comes? And Mr. Collins? And when the supposed Mr. Darcy finally makes his appearance?
This is a delightful story, full of twists and turns. The story is not about how the two main characters fall in love, though it does have that, but about how they endure together through all that life may throw at them, both good and bad. Highly recommended.
* * *
Not long after Mr Wickham’s installation at the Meryton parsonage, Mr Bennet invited the new curate to a family dinner at Longbourn. Mrs Bennet's customary annoyance at the invitations her husband issued without consulting her was tempered somewhat in the awareness that the young man, although only a mere curate, was both unmarried and rumoured to be very handsome, so she gave her assent with reasonable grace.
Yes, unmarried and handsome, Mr Bennet thought somewhat uneasily, and a young man about whom we know almost nothing - the Gardiners' recommendations notwithstanding. Mr Wickham would be considered by some - the ladies, most especially - as far too handsome to be a clergyman, but at least he did not seem to be a peacock about it. Mr Bennet could detect the slight air of gravity in the young man's demeanour, but he could not fault his behaviour, his manners and opinions, during those early meetings. He just felt that he ought to know the newcomer better. With five daughters approaching marriageable age, but a disinclination to exert himself too much in worrying about every tiny detail about his family, he wanted just enough reassurance to put those concerns to rest so he could resume his tranquil life. He would make what he could of this dinner to observe the curate closely as to his behaviour among the girls, and the girls, in turn, as to their responses to him.
The day of the dinner came around, and the introductions were made. Mr Wickham made some polite compliments about the garden, the charms of the daughters and the furnishings of the house to Mrs Bennet, which quickly won her over. The youngest girls were not yet old enough to be much concerned with visiting young men, however appealing; and Jane was merely serene, giving none of her feelings away and probably not feeling anything remarkable in any event. But Elizabeth, sixteen only a few months earlier, while not yet even remotely considering something like matrimony, did not escape noticing Mr Wickham's face and figure. She saw a great deal to pique her interest in this newcomer: he was about twenty-two or three, tall and well-proportioned with dark curling hair, and when he smiled, his features were most attractive indeed.
Mr Wickham's conversation over dinner was no less pleasing than his appearance, particularly to his host and to Elizabeth, who was seated near them. Those three soon formed an intimate little debating club, largely to the exclusion of the others, who, bored by the intellectual nature of what they could overhear, were fortunately not too put out. Mr Bennet did notice his favourite daughter's interest and resolved to investigate the newcomer a little more thoroughly before countenancing this development any further. If he could see it, perhaps so could the curate. He resolved to ask Evans, his long-time and completely trustworthy manservant, who had the ear of many other domestics in the town, to discover what he could of Wickham's behaviour in the next few months, particularly when he felt himself unobserved. What the less respectable and less elegant young ladies around Meryton might make of such a handsome devil, Mr Bennet could only conjecture. To be sure, Mr Wickham was a clergyman and that ought to guarantee a certain amount of decorum and respectability, but Mr Bennet had encountered enough exceptions in his lifetime to not put too much reliance in the fact.
The Fortune He Ought to Have
Pairing: Elizabeth Bennet/George Wickham ????
Length: 84,000 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Roads Not Taken
Why this must be read:
Do not let the pairing deceive you! All is not as it appears! Let me explain: Within the Austen fandom, there is a sub-genre of kidnapping or switched at birth stories. Usually, Elizabeth and possibly Jane are discovered to be daughters of Lady Catherine or some other wealthy relative of Darcy's. By some nefarious plot, they are kidnapped from their true family and raised by the Bennets. There is usually a fifty-fifty chance that the Bennets themselves are complicit in the plot. I am not recommending one of those stories this time around, although they can be quite well done.
It is much rarer to find a story in which Mr. Darcy is switched! And yet that is the case with this story. Do not worry, I am not really spoiling anything. It is very apparent who is whom within a few paragraphs of reading the prologue.
Young George Wickham, supported by his wealthy godfather, old Mr. Darcy of Pemberley, makes his way in the world. He is appointed to be the curate of the Meryton parish and so comes to the village a few years before Mr. Bingley takes possession of Netherfield. Already humble because of his lowly upbringing, he and Elizabeth soon form a fast friendship that eventually turns into more. But that is only the beginning of the tale, and all contained within the prologue. What happens when Mr. Bingley comes? And Mr. Collins? And when the supposed Mr. Darcy finally makes his appearance?
This is a delightful story, full of twists and turns. The story is not about how the two main characters fall in love, though it does have that, but about how they endure together through all that life may throw at them, both good and bad. Highly recommended.
* * *
Not long after Mr Wickham’s installation at the Meryton parsonage, Mr Bennet invited the new curate to a family dinner at Longbourn. Mrs Bennet's customary annoyance at the invitations her husband issued without consulting her was tempered somewhat in the awareness that the young man, although only a mere curate, was both unmarried and rumoured to be very handsome, so she gave her assent with reasonable grace.
Yes, unmarried and handsome, Mr Bennet thought somewhat uneasily, and a young man about whom we know almost nothing - the Gardiners' recommendations notwithstanding. Mr Wickham would be considered by some - the ladies, most especially - as far too handsome to be a clergyman, but at least he did not seem to be a peacock about it. Mr Bennet could detect the slight air of gravity in the young man's demeanour, but he could not fault his behaviour, his manners and opinions, during those early meetings. He just felt that he ought to know the newcomer better. With five daughters approaching marriageable age, but a disinclination to exert himself too much in worrying about every tiny detail about his family, he wanted just enough reassurance to put those concerns to rest so he could resume his tranquil life. He would make what he could of this dinner to observe the curate closely as to his behaviour among the girls, and the girls, in turn, as to their responses to him.
The day of the dinner came around, and the introductions were made. Mr Wickham made some polite compliments about the garden, the charms of the daughters and the furnishings of the house to Mrs Bennet, which quickly won her over. The youngest girls were not yet old enough to be much concerned with visiting young men, however appealing; and Jane was merely serene, giving none of her feelings away and probably not feeling anything remarkable in any event. But Elizabeth, sixteen only a few months earlier, while not yet even remotely considering something like matrimony, did not escape noticing Mr Wickham's face and figure. She saw a great deal to pique her interest in this newcomer: he was about twenty-two or three, tall and well-proportioned with dark curling hair, and when he smiled, his features were most attractive indeed.
Mr Wickham's conversation over dinner was no less pleasing than his appearance, particularly to his host and to Elizabeth, who was seated near them. Those three soon formed an intimate little debating club, largely to the exclusion of the others, who, bored by the intellectual nature of what they could overhear, were fortunately not too put out. Mr Bennet did notice his favourite daughter's interest and resolved to investigate the newcomer a little more thoroughly before countenancing this development any further. If he could see it, perhaps so could the curate. He resolved to ask Evans, his long-time and completely trustworthy manservant, who had the ear of many other domestics in the town, to discover what he could of Wickham's behaviour in the next few months, particularly when he felt himself unobserved. What the less respectable and less elegant young ladies around Meryton might make of such a handsome devil, Mr Bennet could only conjecture. To be sure, Mr Wickham was a clergyman and that ought to guarantee a certain amount of decorum and respectability, but Mr Bennet had encountered enough exceptions in his lifetime to not put too much reliance in the fact.
The Fortune He Ought to Have