A/N

Thank you for all your engagement with this story, for the comments, follows and the favourites. Loved reading your comments. To reader Lisa E – As another reader mentioned ,'disguised' is what Georgette Heyer used for describing drunk folks… I thought 2 parts disguised sounded more sophisticated than ape drunk : ), You know there is website dedicated to the terminology that were Heyer's very own. If you are interested can share with you.

Posting the second chapter somewhat earlier than promised. Hope you enjoy!

Once More requesting for beta readers if any of you would be so kind, If interested pls PM me.

A Chance Encounter

Copyright ? 2021 by S. Neha

All rights reserved.

Chapter 2

When Elizabeth slowly came to, her first sensation was of acute pain. It felt as if someone had put her head in a vice and was tightening the screws slowly. Her eyelids felt glued to her eyes, and it was with great difficulty that she managed to force them open. She immediately believed herself to have woken up in a nightmare when she gazed straight into Mr Darcy's dark, piercing eyes.

She promptly shut her eyes again and tried to control her rising hysteria, not knowing that her shocked brain had made her utter her first thoughts aloud. Her head was hurting awfully, and she found it difficult to open her eyes again. She gave up the effort after few unsuccessful attempts.

After a while, she tried to make sense of her surroundings. 'Where was she? More importantly, why was Mr Darcy here with her? Had he not caused her enough difficulties that he had to come back like a proverbial bad penny? Firstly, he had dared to propose to her in that insulting manner and had then disappeared from Rosings without intimating his aunt. It was because of his reprehensible conduct and his impossible aunt that she was forced to cut short her visit and flee like a criminal from Charlotte's home.'

Elizabeth swallowed as memories came flooding back and she remembered Lady Catherine's strident tones, "Where is he, Miss Bennet? Where has he gone?"

"I am sorry I do not take your meaning, Lady Catherine. Who it is you are talking about?" Elizabeth had asked in a confused voice.

The very next day after Mr Darcy had made his ill-fated proposal they had all been invited to tea at Rosings. It had felt odd to be invited to tea two days in a row by the toplofty Lady Catherine. Elizabeth had wanted to decline once again as she did not know how she would face Mr Darcy after their acrimonious exchange of the previous evening. However, Mr Collins had been adamant. It seems Lady Catherine had specially mentioned her in the invitation, and he would not hear of her insulting his patroness by her refusal. Not wanting to cause trouble for her hosts, especially Charlotte, she had given in. It was only when she was faced with the inquisition that she understood the reason for the special mention in the invitation.

"Darcy, who else? Where has he gone?" The testy response had brought Elizabeth out of her musings.

"How would I know where Mr Darcy has gone? I do not keep track of his comings and goings." She had protested.

"There is no need to act coy, Miss. Do not think I am not aware of how you have been employing your arts and allurements to snare my nephew."

Elizabeth was horrified to realize that apart from arrogance, the aunt and the nephew seemed to be suffering from same delusions. When she had looked around she was gratified to see that Charlotte and Maria appeared as dumbfounded as her and Miss deBourgh was looking completely mortified at her mother's unseemly conduct.

She might have tried to laugh off the absurd accusations had her buffoonish cousin not jumped into the conversation with an accusation. "I did not realise that I had been housing a viper in our midst, cousin! I always knew that you were an ungrateful hoyden but have understood only now that you are also a scheming, immoral hussy! How could you dare to look so far above your station? How could you betray my noble patroness, who has shown you nothing but kindness?"

The hurtful and unjust words coming on top of Lady Catherine's vile accusations had made her lose control over her tongue a second time in less than four and twenty hours. She had responded with a scathing, "I would not use any arts and allurements on Mr Darcy even if I knew how. I would not marry that cruel and arrogant man if he was the last man left on this earth, and so I informed him last evening when he made me a proposal!" Elizabeth stopped speaking abruptly as she saw the uniformly stupefied expressions of her audience, realising too late that anger had made her say things that were best left unsaid!

A stunned silence had followed her angry proclamations. She had begun to get quite concerned at the awful shade of purple Lady Catherine had turned when the silence was broken by that irate lady's angry diatribe.

"Made a proposal of marriage! To you? Do not make me laugh, you lying trollop! Men of my nephew's ilk do not make proposals to women of your station. At least not of marriage." The old lady had sneered at her. Before Elizabeth's shocked brain could make sense of the demeaning words, the lady had continued. "I now understand what you are trying to do with your lies. You are trying to force Darcy's hand by making these absurd claims. But let me warn you until I am there, I will not let you succeed in your vile machinations!"

Suddenly she had addressed a shaking Mr Collins, "I do not want to see any of your faces one minute longer, and Mr Collins if you know what is good for you, this lying hussy would not be part of your household by tomorrow morning. You all may leave now."

She had then turned back to Elizabeth and hissed, "I do hope you are not foolish enough to repeat your lies outside of these walls. Do not forget that I can ruin you and your family with a flick of my fingers."

Elizabeth had been in too much of a shock at her vitriol to remember much about their walk back to the parsonage. However, she had been cognizant of the continuous argument occurring between Charlotte and Mr Collins although she had not really paid any attention to its content. She had also been vaguely aware of Maria's hand gently resting under her arm and had felt grateful for the show of support.

It was only when they had reached the parsonage and Charlotte had offered her some tea that she had become conscious of her surroundings and realised that Mr Collins was quite keen to turn her out of his house that very evening! Charlotte was angrily arguing against that. It was maybe for the first time that Elizabeth had seen her friend speak so heatedly.

"Mr Collins, Eliza is your cousin, and she is under your protection at present. How can you even contemplate turning her out from our home? Where would she go at this time of the day?"

"I do not care where she goes. She should have thought about that before she tried her hand…" His vulgar rant had been interrupted by a knock at the door and soon the maid had announced the arrival of Miss deBourgh and her companion Mrs Jenkins to the surprised occupants of the parlour in the parsonage.

"Miss deBourgh, I welcome you to my humble abode. You really did not need to put yourself out in this manner, ma'am. I was just going to send my cousin away as directed by your revered mother."

"You would do nothing of the kind."

Elizabeth had been surprised to hear such imperious tones from a woman she had considered timid and colourless all this while.

"But…" Mr Collins had begun to protest but was unceremoniously interrupted. "Mr Collins, you do know that I am the heir to Rosings, don't you?"

As Mr Collins had gulped and nodded, Miss Anne deBourgh had smiled at him beatifically, then turned to Elizabeth. Surprising her still further, Miss deBourgh had handsomely apologised for her mother's unacceptable conduct. Although Elizabeth could do nought else but accept the apology she had been quite bewildered by the other woman's gracious behaviour. Did it not matter to Miss deBourgh that her betrothed had only yesterday proposed to another woman, she mused in some confusion. At least she did not appear to hold Elizabeth responsible for Mr Darcy's conduct. Or maybe the cousins were not really betrothed? Even Mr Darcy could not be reprehensible enough to propose marriage to another while residing under the roof of the one he had already agreed to marry. She pondered doubtfully.

Miss deBourgh had then addressed Charlotte. "I am truly sorry Mrs Collins that Miss Bennet would have to cut short her stay with you, but I think you would also understand that she needs to go away from here as soon as possible, for her own comfort and safety?"

When Charlotte had nodded unhappily, Miss deBourgh had once again taken control of the situation. "While I cannot put any of the carriages from Rosings at your disposal, for obvious reasons, I am very willing to provide whatever help I can for Miss Bennet's safe journey. You just have to tell me."

For a few moments there was an uneasy silence then Charlotte had cleared her throat, "Only if Eliza could stay here for two more days, both her problems of conveyance and a chaperone for her journey would be resolved."

When Miss deBourgh raised her brow inquiringly Charlotte had continued, "Our cook Mrs Broad's brother is a coachman, and he is coming to meet her tomorrow. Since he would be travelling back to London the day after, Mrs Broad had written to him and requested him to take Mrs Dawson and her granddaughter along with him. I think Eliza can comfortably travel with them only if she could stay with us for two more days."

"Impossible! Lady Catherine will be very displeased if she finds that cousin Elizabeth is still…"

"Yes… yes, we all are aware of that Mr Collins." Anne deBourgh had impatiently cut into Mr Collins lamentations.

"I am afraid your husband is quite correct, Mrs Collins. If Miss Bennet stays with you beyond tomorrow morning, my mother will become aware of the fact soon enough. The situation then will not be comfortable for any of you." When Charlotte's expression fell at her response, she added with a smile, "Although once she comes to know that Miss Bennet has left your home, my mother would not really have any further interest in ascertaining where Miss Bennet has gone - to London or… say… to Mrs Dawson's house."

"Oh." Charlotte had smiled once she understood what Miss deBourgh was trying to say. "I am sure Mrs Dawson would be happy to help us. Also, cook and Sarah would be quite willing to keep our secret but…" Charlotte had stopped mid-sentence as she glanced uneasily at her husband.

"As long as Miss Bennet is not under your roof come tomorrow morning, I do not think Mr Collins would have any reason to ply my mother with irrelevant details like Miss Bennet's destination. Is that not so, sir?" Miss deBourgh had given him an imperious stare.

"Y…yes, of course Miss deBourgh." Mr Collins had stuttered.

"Right then, now that everything is settled I will take your leave." When Miss deBourgh and Mrs Jenkins had got up to leave, Elizabeth, Charlotte and Maria had accompanied them outside.

For a few moments Elizabeth had felt quite discontented at the manner everything had been 'settled' without even an attempt to seek her consent but had immediately felt ashamed for her ingratitude. Both Charlotte and Miss deBourgh had dared to defy Mr Collins and Lady Catherine respectively for her comfort and while she could lay the claims of childhood friendship in Charlotte, she had none over Miss deBourgh. The reason why that lady had gone out of her way to help a woman wholly unconnected to her continued to puzzle Elizabeth, but good manners required that she convey her gratitude for the kindness.

"Miss deBourgh?"

"Yes, Miss Bennet?"

"Thank you so much for coming to my rescue just now, although I really cannot understand why you chose to defy your mother for a virtual stranger like me?"

"Can you not, Miss Bennet? Well, I tried to do whatever I could because it was the right thing to do and…" Miss deBourgh paused to give her an enigmatic smile and added, "… Darcy would have wanted me to help you. Also, you do not have to thank me. If sometimes in future you are able to realise that appearances can often be deceptive that would be thanks enough for me." With those cryptic words, she had climbed into her carriage and had soon departed . While Elizabeth had already realised that appearances were in fact quite deceptive in Miss deBourgh's own case, she felt sure that Mr Darcy's baffling cousin had not been talking about herself!

The things had proceeded exactly how Charlotte and Miss deBourgh had contemplated. Mrs Dawson had warmly welcomed Elizabeth in her home. Her kindness had taken away some of the sting of having to leave Charlotte's home so unceremoniously two days ago. Mr Smith, the coachman, had come calling in his carriage very early this morning, and soon after, she, Mrs Dawson and Millie had started their journey towards the metropolis.

Mrs Dawson had nodded off not too long after their journey had commenced. Elizabeth had occupied herself in telling stories to the adorable Millie. The little girl's curious questions had kept her well entertained, but halfway through the journey, even Millie had succumbed to tiredness and fell asleep. Elizabeth had just begun to feel a little drowsy herself when all of a sudden the carriage had started to skid. Soon after she heard Mr Smith shouting something urgently. Before she could make sense of what he was trying to convey, there was an almighty jerk, and amidst a cacophony of screams of horses, man, and splintering wood, the carriage had tilted alarmingly to the left, and its door was thrown open. To her horror, Elizabeth saw a still sleeping Mrs Dawson being flung out of that open door. Almost on a reflex, she had jumped forward to catch hold of the old lady. Unfortunately, the carriage had continued to tilt forward, and she had lost her footing in the process. Her last recollection was that of herself falling out of the swinging door of the carriage.

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'So, our carriage suffered an accident! I hope Mrs Dawson is well and…'

"Miss Bennet… Elizabeth?" Elizabeth's ponderings were interrupted by an insistent voice in her ears and a gentle hand on her cheek. The urgency in the voice made her try and open her eyes once again. She looked up at the concerned face bending over her and whispered. "Mrs Dawson? How is she?"

Elizabeth was disconcerted to see an expression of regret cross Mr Darcy's face before he asked gently, "The old lady you were travelling with ?"

Elizabeth tried to nod, but the pain in her head made her change her mind, and she replied with a grimace, "Yes, I hope she is well?" Her eyes widened in distress when Mr Darcy slowly shook his head.

"I am really sorry, Miss Bennet, but Mrs Dawson could not survive the accident." He replied sombrely.

"Oh no… and… and Millie?" She asked fearfully.

"Millie?" Darcy asked in confusion.

"Yes, Millie. Mrs Dawson's three year old granddaughter."

Almost involuntarily, Darcy looked around them and then said, "I am afraid I did not…" He broke off as they both heard a small childish whimper. Darcy quickly turned his head towards the open door of the carriage and murmured. "I think the child is still inside the carriage, Miss Bennet."

He then shifted his position and started removing his greatcoat. The action suddenly made Elizabeth realize that all this while her head had been resting comfortably on Mr Darcy's lap - it still was! Before she could even begin to blush, Mr Darcy had folded his coat and put it on the ground. He then gently placed her head on the makeshift pillow and asked, "Are you comfortable, Miss Bennet?" When she replied in the affirmative, he nodded and stood up, "I will go and check on the little moppet." He was already at the door of the carriage by the time he finished speaking.

Darcy looked inside in the carriage with trepidation but was immediately reassured to find a beautiful and thankfully unhurt little girl. Very scared - but unhurt. For a moment, he stood shaking his head at the strange workings of the Almighty. In an accident in which an old lady had sadly perished, and the coachman and Miss Bennet had sustained grievous injuries, the child appeared to have escaped completely unhurt. Another pitiful whimper from the child, however, made him come out of his musings and focus on the little one. She was sitting on the floor of the carriage with contents of a food basket and a flask of water scattered around her. Although she was no longer crying, her striking violet eyes were still wet with tears. For a fleeting moment, Darcy felt a jolt of recognition, but it soon faded away.

"Millie?" He said softly and extended his arm towards the child but dropped it immediately when she cowered back.

"It is all right, sweetheart; I will not hurt you. Come, I will take you to Miss Elizabeth." Darcy extended his hand again as he smiled and tried to coax the frightened child.

Elizabeth, who had been observing the interaction somewhat anxiously, took a sharp breath at the sudden change that smile brought out in Mr Darcy's habitually stern countenance. She had known him for so many months, but it was the first time she was observing such a broad and open smile on his face. A smile that suddenly rendered him not only impossibly attractive but also much more… approachable? Millie also must have thought so because only a short while later, Elizabeth noticed a small hand reach out from the carriage and catch hold of the one Mr Darcy was holding out. If at all possible, the smile broadened some more as Mr Darcy bent forward to pick up the little girl. He picked up something else from the floor of the carriage and quickly made his way back towards Elizabeth. As soon as Millie's eyes fell on Elizabeth, she lunged forward with a soft cry of, "Beth!"

Darcy lowered the child to the ground next to Elizabeth while she attempted to sit up.

"Please wait, Miss Bennet. Let me assist you." Darcy hurriedly put down the flask of water he had picked from the carriage and came forward to help her sit up. For a few moments after she sat upright, Elizabeth felt dizzy and leaned her head back on the arm holding her up. After a few deep breaths, she began to feel more the thing and sat a little straighter.

"Miss Bennet?" She looked up at Mr Darcy and was disconcerted to find his face so near to her own. Feeling embarrassed, she quickly looked away.

"Yes?" She asked the ground.

"Would you be all right on your own for a little while? I would prefer to put back the coachman's shoulder before he regains complete consciousness. As it is, the experience would be quite painful for the poor chap."

Elizabeth felt ashamed that she had not given a single thought to Mr Smith since she had regained her senses. Stifling her discomfort she asked, "Has Mr Smith dislocated his shoulder? Poor man! Millie and I will be quite all right here, Mr Darcy. Please do not worry about us and attend to Mr Smith." She risked a glance at him again as he removed the supporting arm from around her and stood up.

Darcy smiled and nodded towards the flask he had set next to her, "You and Millie both should have a drink of water. You will feel better."

Millie, who had scooted near to Elizabeth as soon as she had sat up, caught hold of her hand to grab her attention and asked, "Gran-ma?"

Elizabeth and Darcy exchanged a stricken glance. For some time, there was complete silence as both of them felt at a loss at how to respond to the innocent query. Then Elizabeth swallowed hard, caught the girl to herself and replied, "Grand Ma was feeling tired sweetheart, and she is sleeping at the moment. We will let her take rest for a while, hmm?"

When Millie nodded, Elizabeth offered her a drink from the flask and motioned for Darcy to go to Mr Smith. He immediately did so after throwing her a grateful glance. Once she had a sip of water herself, Elizabeth felt strong enough to go and sit under a nearby tree. She took care to ensure that Millie did not get a glimpse of poor Mrs Dawson. For the next half an hour or so while she tried to keep Millie engaged, she got a glimpse of Mr Darcy, the efficient master of Pemberley in action. First, he set the coachman's shoulder and fashioned a sling for it using the man's cravat. He even offered the afflicted man the contents of his hipflask, presumably to dull the pain of his ministrations. Then he went to check on the scared horses, one of whom appeared to be suffering from a strained tendon. After cutting them loose from the dangling remnants of the carriage, he tied them to the nearest tree. He then went back to the coachman and the men engaged in a long conversation.

Despite herself Elizabeth found herself admiring Mr Darcy's industry and competence. Her second-hand knowledge of the nobility had built an image of a class of men who rarely lifted a hand to do even their own ablutions! But here was an esteemed member of the very same nobility so calmly assisting strangers - and one foe (surely he must hate her now after the vicious manner in which she had thrown his proposal back at his face!), in such difficult circumstances. Not at all worried about getting his hands dirty, quite literally! He had also been so gentle with Millie. All of a sudden she remembered his angry face when he had so cruelly enumerated the reasons he had been reluctant to offer marriage to her and shuddered involuntarily. She found it difficult to believe that man and the one in front of her now were one and the same. 'What an utterly confusing and annoying man,' she huffed to herself, then looked at Millie. The tired child had fallen asleep, her head resting gently on Elizabeth's lap.

"Miss Bennet?"

Elizabeth looked up to find the object of her confused musings standing in front of her.

"Yes, Mr Darcy?"

"I had a chat with Smith. It seems the stagecoach has already passed through this place sometime ago." Darcy sighed and gave a rueful shake of his head. "All this while I was hoping that some other traveller would happen upon us and offer assistance, but it is nearly an hour since I came upon you all and we have not seen anyone else! There is nothing for it but for us to travel to Bassingtonstoke. I want an apothecary to have a look at your injury as early as possible."

"Bassingtonstoke?"

"Yes, it is a small village less than three miles to the east from where we stand. We - Millie, you and I will travel thither and seek help. Smith has elected to stay here with Mrs Dawson and to guard his carriage and horses."

When Mr Darcy mentioned Mrs Dawson, Elizabeth's gaze automatically swivelled to where the poor woman lay. She was no longer there! Darcy who had followed her gaze responded before Elizabeth could ask the question. "I … ah… I moved her inside the carriage to protect her from the forces of nature." He looked up at the sky as he spoke. "It looks as if it would not be too long before it starts to rain."

While she had been busy musing about Mr Darcy's confusing conduct the man had been busy acting in a fashion meant to confuse her still further. Just now he had demonstrated a thoughtfulness she could not imagine associating with him before now.

When she kept silent Mr Darcy spoke again. "I think we should also be on our way soon, that is if you are feeling better."

Not a little disconcerted, she cleared her throat. "I am ready to go when you are Mr Darcy. Er… how will we go?" She asked, feeling foolish at her rhetorical question as she glanced nervously at Mr Darcy's huge stallion.

"I am sorry, but I cannot offer you the choice of your favourite mode of transport, Miss Elizabeth. At present, you are hardly in a position to walk three miles." Elizabeth looked at him sharply, but there was no hint of contempt in his expression that she had imagined, just rueful amusement.

"I will go and get Poseidon." He said after a moment's awkward silence. As he went, Mr Smith came to ask after her wellbeing and apologised profusely for the accident. Elizabeth tried her best to offer him some solace. He still appeared quite shocked at the happenings, and she could hardly blame him. Even she was finding it hard to believe that Mrs Dawson was no longer with them. 'What will happen to Millie now?' The thought came unbidden as she glanced down at the sleeping child uneasily. Before she could ponder on it any further, Mr Darcy was back with his horse.

Elizabeth gulped as she looked at the magnificent animal, it really was huge! She requested Mr Smith to pick up the sleeping Millie, then took a deep breath and got up gamely. She decided against revealing her unease with horses. Somehow her pride rebelled at any show of weakness in front of Mr Darcy.

"Come, I will give you a leg up." Darcy offered and then proceeded to suit actions to his words.

Elizabeth mounted the horse awkwardly, and for a moment, felt petrified enough to beg Mr Darcy to help her down immediately. Slowly, however, sanity returned as she tried breathing slowly through her nose. As Mr Darcy had said there was no other option before them. She would just have to overcome her fear.

Darcy, who had thought of accompanying Miss Bennet on the carriage horse that was still fit to be ridden, released an inaudible sigh. Even if he had missed the terrified gleam in her eyes as she mounted Poseidon, the tensed manner in which she held herself made it clear that Miss Bennet was scared of horses. She would not be able to manage Poseidon on her own, especially with that injury to her head. He would have to accompany her on foot and hope they would reach the village before the skies opened up or Miss Bennet showed any further ill effects of her wound.

If he had still harboured any doubts, they were soon laid to rest as the little girl in his arms woke up just then, took one look at Poseidon and immediately hid her face in his neck with a wailed- "NO HOSS!" Darcy's eyebrow reached his hairline. He was to accompany not one but two females who were absolutely terrified of horses, with one of them atop a sixty stone Arabian. Just wonderful! After a moment he gave himself a mental shrug. Fitzwilliam Darcy always met any challenge that life threw at him head-on, and he will do so now as well. Especially when Miss Bennet was being so brave about it all! He threw her a tender look that she missed and then bent to murmur softly in Millie's ears. "All right, sweetheart, No hoss.."

They bid farewell to Smith with a promise to send help at the earliest and were soon off to Bassingtonstoke.

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