WWDD--What Would Darcy Do? More High Flying Fun

Last week my first WWDD was about Mr. Darcy on a plane. You can read that post here. I had so much fun that I decided to continue that scene.

The plane was just about to pull back from the gate. Mr. Darcy glanced around and noticed the two seats behind him and his new friend, Chuck, were empty. If no one showed up, perhaps he'd be able to move and have those two seats to himself. He was ill qualified to recommend himself to strangers and thus preferred to travel without the necessity of social chit chat. 

Just as he was about to release his seat belt and make his move, a clatter arose at the entrance to the plane and two women, presumably mother and daughter, clamored onto the plane, their hands overflowing with shopping bags. 

"Oh my dear Lydia," the elder woman said. "We made it. Right on time. I always knew we would." 

The commotion created by the two newest passengers brought Liz out of the gallery. Mr. Darcy noticed that the look in her eyes went from vibrant to horrified to calm in an instant. She assisted the two women to get their bags stowed so that the plane could take off on time. 

"Lord, I'm so hungry," the younger woman said. 

"Look at us, flying first class. I always knew we were meant for such luxury. How fortunate that the odious Mr. Collins died before you father so that we were able to keep all of his frequent flyer miles." 

"I never thought I'd have so many miles on me," Lydia said. 

Oh...I have to stop. I think this is taking a bad turn. What do you think?

WWDD---What Would Darcy Do?

Is it a sign that I have spent too much time in Jane Austen Land (is that possible?) when I am standing at the airport gate looking at the mass of humanity and thinking "I wonder what Mr. Darcy would think of all this?" And Viola! A new feature for my blog was born.

Okay...it's a new blog so pretty much everything is a new feature, but humor me here.

Today's inaugural installment of WWDD---What Would Darcy Do on an airplane?

Of course, he'd fly first class. And he most certainly would not be one of those people who cram all their belongings into a carry on bag and jam it into the overhead compartment. So unseemly.

He would not partake of the free alcohol in first class and he most certainly would not flirt with the flight attendants.

In all likelihood, he would be the man who closes his eyes and pretends he's asleep in order to avoid any conversation.

The more I thought about this scenario, the more the other characters from Pride and Prejudice appeared in the scene which now looks something like this:

"I dearly love to fly, is it not the most invigorating experience?" The eager faced man took his seat next to Mr. Darcy who did his best to be polite without encouraging further discourse. Undaunted, the other man put out his hand in a manner which required a response from Darcy. "I'm Chuck, Chuck Bingley. Just love flying. On my way to a sales conference. My father died and left me the business and now I'm learning the ropes." 

"I am sorry to hear about your father," Mr. Darcy said and turned to look out the window. 

"Pops was quite a guy. I just hope I can do as good a job with the business as he did." 

"So, you're in trade?" Darcy turned back from the window and examined his seatmate. 

"Trade, buy, sell. We do it all." 

"Fresh from the oven cookies, gentlemen?" A flight attendant with vibrant eyes and a name tag that said "Liz" presented a tray of gooey confections in front of Mr. Darcy and his new, unwanted, friend. 

"They appear tolerable, but not enough to tempt me," Mr. Darcy said. 

"Upon my word, man, I would not be as fastidious as you for a kingdom. I've never seen such temptations." Chuck Bingley said reaching for a chocolate chip and a Snickerdoodle which he gobbled with delight and washed down with an enthusiastic gulp of milk. 

Liz, the flight attendant observed all of this without speaking further, then turned away, though Darcy could swear he heard her giggle once she returned to the galley. 


Oh...I must stop. This is too much fun!

What do you think? Who else is on the plane? Imagine Mrs. Bennet in the seat behind them. Or Lydia and Wickham trying to join the Mile High Club?