Classy

Chapter Four

In the original P&P, Mr Darcy does not actually have living parents anymore - his mother is rarely mentioned and his father died a few years ago. However, Mr Darcy describes his father as an excellent man, and even Wickham describes him as one of the best.

I decided to have Madeline still have a father, as this book explores the Darcy perspective a bit more and it's nice for her to have people to chat to who keep her accountable!

Love, Cam

♡

Madeline Darcy

In which I slightly regret my first impression

My dad, having visited purely for the housewarming party, decided he wanted to take me out for dinner and a couple of drinks before he left town to go back to Japan. We ended up eating at Netherfield, though, just opting to go out for the drinks. We had a pleasant meal, and then left my dad shaking his head fondly at the size of Gates' new house as we got into his car.

"I don't know why you're finding it so funny," I told him, laughing. "Pemberly is three times the size of this place."

"Yes, and it's also far too big," he snorted, setting off from the house. "It may be beautiful, but I still don't like staying there. Your mother loved it, but it's not for me."

Mum had loved that house. It was hard not to love, really, with those beautiful grounds and all that history. She was a descendant of a noble English family, and she had absolutely shocked them all when she'd opted to marry a Japanese businessman that she'd met on holiday. Needless to say, my father's ridiculous amount of money had smoothed over any of the initial racism they had towards him. She may have been from a noble family, but they hadn't exactly been flush with cash. They'd kept her surname, though; she hadn't had any brothers, and they didn't want the Darcy name to die out.

"Have you heard from Gigi?" he asked.

"Yes, she emailed - did she not email you?" I asked, frowning as the car sped along towards the restaurant.

"She did, but..." he sighed, suddenly looking much older. "She's embarrassed, when talking to me. She talks much more openly to you, darling."

I felt bad for him. It wasn't that Gigi didn't trust our father, it was that she was sick of being what she perceived as a disappointment to him. She wasn't; there wasn't a single thing she could have done to make him disappointed in her, but she had her own insecurities and demons to face.

"She's okay," I reassured him. "She's just doing a couple more months there, and she'll be transitioning out of it gradually. I have faith in her."

"So do I," he agreed, reaching over to take my hand and squeeze it. "I look forward to her getting out of there, though."

I smiled, but I privately disagreed. I was nervous about Gigi leaving rehab. When she had entered it... I struggled to think about it, really, picturing her pale and skeletally thin, with trembling hands and sunken eyes. It had been a very difficult period of our lives, handling her constant relapses into addiction, and I didn't want to see it happen again. I was painfully aware that relapses were still common after treatment, and the thought of seeing her descend into the depths once more was terrifying.

But she was a grown woman. I had to trust her to make good choices. She had chosen to go into rehab by herself, and I trusted her to keep herself going.

"Gates seemed a bit off with you," he commented, and I cringed. He wasn't a fool; he picked up on it immediately. "Are you in a fight?"

"No, I just..." I winced, thinking of the highly uncomfortable moment I had shared with Francesca Bennet. "At the housewarming, I, uh, had a bit of a social faux-pas."