Mary Simonsen - Mr. Darcy’s Bite

“As a boy, I read Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, and I wanted to think that if I was ever stranded on an island or found myself lost in the wilderness that I would survive. When you look at it like that, then everything becomes food—field mice, voles, woodland birds. They are all meat. But you have to know their habits and where they nest and how to flush them out or you will starve. Of course, if you run with a pack, you can go after the bigger game, such as the red deer who graze in such numbers on the estate. But your timing has to be perfect, and then you are only likely to bring down a fawn or possibly a doe.”

“But the only animals that hunt in packs are wolves, and there haven’t been wolves in England for at least a century. They may exist on the islands off of Scotland or in Ireland, but they no longer roam the English countryside.”

“As I said, it was a boy who found interest in such things, but there is something about a wolf that inspires awe. They are powerful and resourceful animals, work well in a hierarchy, and mate for life. There is much to admire there.”

“Wolves mate for life? I did not know that.” Lizzy inched closer to Mr. Darcy, but she could not explain why she had done so.

*   *   *

The following day was most agreeably spent. After breakfast, Anne, Georgiana, and Lizzy went through a maze that was the focal point of the lower gardens. It had been reconfigured the previous season, and even Georgiana found herself getting lost. The fact that they were giggling all the time did not help their efforts to find the exit.

After lawn bowls and a light repast, Mr. Darcy drove the ladies into the nearby Peak District, a favorite of Anne’s. The rugged landscape was so different from anything she could see at Rosings, and Mr. Darcy would stop frequently so that Anne and Elizabeth might get out and view the great open expanses that went on for miles before disappearing into the horizon. He commented on how easy it would be for hunting dogs to trap any animal caught out in the open in such terrain. “They wouldn’t stand a chance,” and he smiled as if he had accomplished such a feat himself.

Georgiana and Elizabeth provided the evening’s entertainment. While Miss Darcy played the pianoforte, Lizzy sang some of her favorite ballads, and at one point, Mr. Darcy asked his cousin to dance. Because she had such weak lungs, this was something Anne rarely did, but with no one other than her loved ones about to make comment, she stepped lively—or as lively as one as frail as Anne could.

The day had been perfect, except for one thing. Whatever Mr. Darcy had wanted to share with her remained a secret, and Lizzy hoped that this would not prove to be the Pemberley equivalent of one of the gentleman’s parlor visits to Longbourn.

When Lizzy went down for breakfast, the relaxed atmosphere of the previous evening was gone. Mr. Darcy fairly sprang out of his chair to greet her, and there was a nervous intensity in his manner that reminded her of Magic, the family terrier, who jumped up and down in front of the door whenever she wanted to go outside. On the other hand, Georgiana and Anne looked anxious. What was the reason for such a change?

After pleasantries were exchanged and the previous night’s entertainments commented upon, both ladies excused themselves, stating that they “hoped” to see Lizzy later in the day.

“What a curious thing to say. Why would I not see them?” Lizzy asked Mr. Darcy. “Surely, they will be here when we return. After all, we are only going for a walk in the gardens.”

“I think they meant to say that they hope you will want to see them after our walk. So shall we go?”

Lizzy found that statement to be even odder. What could possibly happen during a stroll in the park that would make Lizzy not want to be in Georgiana and Anne’s company, and she felt a queasiness growing in her stomach.

The pair did not walk alone. David and Goliath, Mr. Darcy’s whippets, were at their master’s heels. They were as lively a pair as Lizzy had ever seen, and they loved to run just for the pure joy of the exercise. It was truly a sight to behold when they went all out.

“You like dogs, don’t you, Elizabeth?” Darcy asked, following her gaze.

“I am very fond of dogs. At one time, we had as many as five of them in the house, but after each one died, Papa asked that they not be replaced. Since he now requires the use of his spectacles, he found that he was always tripping over them. The only one remaining is Magic, our little Scottie.”

“Do you know that dogs are descendants of wolves?”

“Yes, I did know that, but it is hard to imagine Magic running with a pack.”

“Yes, that would be hard to imagine because pack animals are not selfish. But it is true that dogs are domesticated wolves.”

Lizzy decided to let the comment about Magic pass. It would be difficult to defend the Scottie’s behavior considering that she basically ran the household and listened to no one, except Mr. Darcy, even though he spent so little time with her.

“You seem to have a real interest in wolves, sir. Is this another scenario you imagined as a boy—running with a pack of wolves?”

“Not a large pack—more on the order of one or two other wolves—or werewolves.”

“Werewolves!” Lizzy started to laugh. “Surely, you do not believe in such legends. Vampires and werewolves. They are stories made up to scare children into behaving themselves.”

“I agree with you that stories about vampires are utter nonsense and are believed only by the simpleminded, but a lot of legends have their roots in fact.”

“That is true of some things, but not werewolves.”

Darcy stopped and turned to Lizzy, and she looked into his eyes. They were a beautiful gray-green and one of the first things she had admired about him. But he had never looked at her with such intensity, and a sense of foreboding came over her.

“I love you, Elizabeth Bennet. Whenever I see you, I am filled with joy.” After stepping away from her, he continued. “I actually never thought I would fall in love for reasons I shall shortly explain. However, I am in love—deeply and profoundly in love—and if after I share my secret you have not run back to Pemberley, I shall have a question to ask you.”

“Mr. Darcy, you are making me nervous. What secret could you possibly have that would cause me to run away from you?”

“That is a good question, and my answer begins with an event that happened fourteen years ago when my father and I were traveling in the Black Forest in Germany. Our carriage became mired in mud, and while the men tried to dig it out, I went into the woods. Not very deep, but Nature called. This next bit is rather embarrassing, but it is necessary for you to understand what happened. Nature required that I have my pants down, and just at that moment, a wolf walked by. She had not seen me, and because I had startled her, she scratched me with her fang. I know that it was an accident because she began to cower and whimper.”

“Mr. Darcy,” Lizzy said, interrupting, “are you saying that you were bitten by a wolf in the forest and that this wild animal was trying to apologize for biting you?”

“That is close to what I am saying, but I need to add one other detail. It was not a wolf who bit me, but a werewolf.”

Lizzy now burst out laughing. “Shame on you, Mr. Darcy, for going on in such a way. Is this what I have to look forward to? Scary stories on the night of a full moon?”

Lizzy waited for Mr. Darcy to break out into his wonderful smile—to let her know that he had been teasing her—but he did not.

“Mr. Darcy, please tell me you are in jest.”

“I wish I could, but that would be a lie, and I promise that I shall never lie to you,” he said, and Lizzy could hear the tension in his voice. “Elizabeth, as a result of that bite, I became a werewolf.”

Darcy recounted for an ashen-faced Elizabeth the sequence of events that followed his being bitten in the Black Forest.

“As soon as I got back to the carriage, I told my father what had happened and showed him the bite mark. When he saw it, he was greatly relieved. ‘A mere scratch,’ he kept saying over and over as if to convince himself that it was impossible for his son to have ever been in danger of being harmed by a wild animal. But Herr Beck, our translator, was alarmed by the she wolf’s actions, insisting, quite correctly, that no true wolf would have acted in such a manner and informed my father that it was known that there were werewolves in the Black Forest. ‘Werewolves? Those are stories invented for the amusement of the uneducated,’ Papa insisted. Everything Herr Beck said was met with the same dismissive attitude by my father.

“When we arrived in Baden, Papa told me that nothing should be said to my mother. The reason we were in Baden was so that Mama might take the waters. Two years earlier, she suffered a miscarriage and had been in poor health since that time. We were traveling around Europe looking for a cure for her malaise and had been told that the waters at Baden were very beneficial for women who had weakened constitutions, and she did improve. Unfortunately, she died three years later after giving birth to a stillborn child.

“My father was deeply unsettled by what happened in the forest, and even though Herr Beck advised against it, Papa immediately began to make arrangements for our return to England. Although he had been hired for the purpose of serving as a guide and interpreter and not as a guardian of my person, my father accused Herr Beck of neglect, and he was dismissed. Despite being discharged, he continued to press my father about the bite. He provided him with the name of a doctor in Baden who was known to have treated wolf bites. It was only at my request that Papa finally agreed to visit with Dr. Philipp because the wound was not healing.

“As soon as the doctor heard my story, he told my father that there was no doubt that I had been bitten by a werewolf, and he knew exactly what would happen to me in the coming months. During the full moon of the first month, I would run a high fever, and my dreams would be overtaken by visions of running through forests and hunting game. At the time of the second full moon, some of the physical characteristics of the wolf would emerge, and a full transformation would take place with the arrival of the third full moon.

“After returning to England, everything happened exactly as Dr. Philipp said it would, and so before the third month, Papa and I went to a hunting lodge in the north of England, and that is where my first full transformation took place. I was not yet fourteen years old.”

Lizzy looked around for some place to sit down, but there was none, and she was afraid that if she moved, her knees would buckle underneath her. This was insane. There were no such things as werewolves. Had she fallen in love with a man who was given to flights of fantasy?

“Elizabeth, it is not as bad as you think. It wasn’t so much a bite as a scratch, and that does make a difference. You see, I only transform into a werewolf for two days, and then I am back to being Mr. Darcy.”

“You keep using that word, ‘transform.’ What does it mean?”

“It means I become a wolf. A big, black, wolf. Somewhat above average in size for a werewolf and with a very nice coat. You might prefer to think of me as a large dog rather than a werewolf,” he said, smiling weakly.

Lizzy was horrified by his story and started to walk backwards away from Mr. Darcy, moving in the direction of Pemberley, but Mr. Darcy reached out to stop her.

“That is the reason I had to leave Hertfordshire so often, the reason I must leave you now. This is where I need to be during my transformation, and tonight is a full moon. At dusk, the change will begin. I am sure, at this moment, you are thinking about how quickly you can leave Pemberley, but I would ask that you stay. While I am gone, Georgie and Anne will be with you to explain everything. We have arranged a signal. If you want to see me as a werewolf, they will light the candle in the window in a front bedroom, and I will come and introduce myself.

“If, however, there is no candle, I will remain in the woods, and I promise I will never see you again. You can go on with your life acting as if none of this happened. Whether or not we are together is now in your hands.” Mr. Darcy looked up into the sky. “Tonight is the eve of All Saints’ Day. At this time of year, the days are very short, and the sun will soon sink behind the hills. I must go.”