From Longbourn to Pemberley - Autumn 1810 Page 10

  I close this letter in the hopes that I have distracted you somewhat and that you will soon regain your serenity.

  My regards to your family.

  Your friend,

  Elizabeth Bennet

  Barely two days had passed since her letter had left for Somerset and Elizabeth had an irresistible desire to write another. The news about discrete Charlotte had arrived and had caused quite a stir. Mrs. Bennet’s nerves had brought her back to a state of agony because, after all, it was a question of Longbourn! This young Lucas woman could, at the slightest sign of frailty in Mr. Bennet’s health, prevail herself of her rights as the future mistress of the estate. It was clear that even Lady Lucas, who had doubtless never felt any interest in the matter, must have started to calculate the number of years still to be enjoyed by her neighbour without making her dear daughter wait too long.

  ‘Charlotte accepted Mr. Collins’ marriage proposal, is that not amusing?’ exclaimed the youngest of the family. ‘How can she imagine spending her life at the side of someone such as he?’

  ‘Please use a bit of constraint!’ Elizabeth interrupted, who, deep inside, was thinking the exact same.

  She could not help but burst out laughing when imagining her cousin spouting off the same discourse to her neighbour that he had served her so recently.

  ‘Do not be so quick to judge thy neighbour, Lydia,’ Mary reprimanded. ‘Mr. Collins has shown himself to be very gracious and attentive towards our family. It is unfortunate that he was unable to find that which he was in search of here… Perhaps he finally understood that resignation is never so perfect as when the blessing denied begins to lose somewhat of its value.’

  This time, Mary stared at Elizabeth, who suddenly stopped laughing and buried her nose in her book. This last sentence had been uttered in a tone tinged with bitterness, which did not escape the notice of the two eldest. Thus, Mary had truly appreciated having certain pages of Reverend Fordyce’s Sermons explained to her… Imagine that Lydia had ridiculed the pages by wishing to use them to curl her hair, just like the play by Sheridan!

  ‘Mother might exhibit considerably good instinct when it comes to marriage, but in this case, she very much failed,’ Elizabeth whispered to Jane.

  ‘It would be best to not say a word of it to her, Lizzy, unless we wish to prepare ourselves to relive this morning’s scene.’

  ‘Father has still not shown himself, he has locked himself into his library. If there were to be another maternal crisis, I fear we would not see him for an entire week… Let us therefore avoid the situation, you are right.’

  ‘With this wedding on the horizon and the consequences it might have, I believe that it will be difficult for Mother to pardon you, Lizzy,’ stated Kitty, lifting her gaze from a hat that she was adorning with a green ribbon.

  ‘She’s right, you know, Lizzy,’ added Lydia. ‘And the colour of that ribbon doesn’t really suit you, Kitty. Why don’t we go to Meryton? We can find you some red ribbon and at the same time, we can escape our mother’s sombre mood. What do you think? And you, will you join us?’

  ‘That is out of the question, I am not in search of a frivolous activity such as this. Besides, I have to work on this sonata by Sterkel,’ Mary said, brandishing the sheet music that she had been holding since the start of this conversation.

  In the end, Jane decided to stay in the drawing room, quietly finishing her embroidery. She also knew that in a few moments, Mrs. Bennet would request her tea, and the best strategy, in times of crisis, would still be to bring her tea and attempt, with great kindness, to console her in the face of the great misery she was confronting. Who better than kind Jane for an intervention as delicate as this? Knowing her mother to be in good hands, Elizabeth told herself that some fresh air would suit her perfectly. In any case, she was the last person her mother wished to see at that moment; she therefore decided to accompany her younger sisters.

  The carriage turned onto the main road and barely slowed down when it met the three young women, who had just reached the village. Nevertheless, the young man at the reins took pains to lift his hand to his hat and enchant them with a brilliant smile.

  ‘Did you recognise him, Lydia?’

  ‘Of course, Kitty. Who could help but recognise charming Mr. Willoughby, who was at the Netherfield ball? For almost the entire evening he had eyes for none other than this Miss Crawford. Don’t you remember?’

  ‘Yes, and Miss Bingley did not appear to be particularly happy with this unexpected zeal.’

  ‘Oh really?’ Elizabeth interrupted the conversation between her two younger sisters. ‘Why would that have been bothersome to Caroline Bingley?’

  ‘Come, Lizzy, so much happened while you were dancing with the sombre and cold Mr. Darcy!’ exclaimed Lydia, laughing. ‘But there you have it. You were too absorbed, whereas we were able to observe the little details, which were the source of much amusement.’

  ‘What details?’ asked the older sister, who was finding it difficult to hide her curiosity.

  ‘She wishes to say that Miss Bingley appeared to be furious to see some of her male guests hastening to the side of certain young ladies.’

  ‘Oh, so Caroline Bingley did not particularly appreciate Mary Crawford, that’s what this is about,’ added Elizabeth, finding this notion rather entertaining.

  ‘And you, too, Lizzy, were the subject of some indignant looks!’

  ‘What do you wish to say, Lydia?’ asked the young woman, surprised at these revelations regarding her person.

  ‘You will know that Susan Long and Margaret White drew my attention to Mrs. Hurst, who pointed out the two of you, you and Mr. Darcy, to her sister.’

  ‘But I only danced once with Mr. Darcy… That was not, incidentally, the best moment of the evening.’

  ‘Of this, Miss Bingley is not aware. On the contrary, she knows that Mr. Darcy, who does not like to dance, asked you to do so, and he did so in full sight and knowledge of everyone present. If you had only seen her, her eyes shot daggers at you.’

  ‘However,’ interjected Kitty, ‘what this account does not disclose is whether these daggers were intended for you or the rich owner of Pemberley!’

  And the two youngest sisters burst into laughter in response to their sister’s somewhat bewildered look.

  ‘Confess,’ Lydia said, teasingly, ‘that you did not expect revelations such as this, Lizzy!’

  ‘I also have something to divulge,’ interrupted Kitty. ‘I was dancing with Chamberlayne and I overheard some snippets of conversation between Mr. Darcy and you, with respect to George Wickham. It seems that he is not held in great esteem by Mr. Darcy, is he?’

  ‘You really are both very audacious! When will you learn discretion and restraint?’ Elizabeth retorted, somewhat discouraged by the behaviour of her two sisters.

  She got no response, because three young men appeared on the street corner, causing an eruption of joy from Lydia and Kitty, who were still enchanted by the sight of military uniforms. Elizabeth sighed in response to their lack of reserve. However, she had to admit that the sight of one of them was not the least bit unpleasant. And so she walked towards them, a smile on her lips.

  Of course, Denny was very entertaining, Carter most charming, and as for Wickham, he was all of the above and a little more, otherwise, he would not have been Wickham and several young women, it seems, would have been deeply disenchanted with him. Except that his smiles and kind eyes were clearly directed at Elizabeth. And so, it was learned that the upcoming marriage of Miss Lucas was no longer a secret to anyone. It was even known that the initial request had not been met with the desired result, so a different course simply had to be taken… to finally gather the promise of a happy union. And Elizabethsmiled at these words, which endeavoured to be candid in tone but which were no less opportunistic in their intent. But she could not have suspected this, particularly because it was a beautiful autumn afternoon, particularly as she enjoyed walking… and the company could not be more p
leasant.

  End of the first season

  Sequel

  Winter 1810-1811

  Volume 2