Hello, this is a story I thought of after reading Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth time. I hope you like it. Oh, and please tell me what you think.
Chapter 1
The Bennet family had little to worry about, since two of the daughters had married so well. Jane and Elizabeth Bennet had wed gentlemen of great fortune and they were both residing in Derbyshire.
The entire village considered this spell of good luck a very rare instance, for it was enough for one daughter to marry well. Yet, they forgave the Bennet family's audacity on account of one very ill marriage; that of Lydia Bennet, the youngest, to Mr. Wickham, a foot soldier with little to recommend him but his deceiving character. The scandal their marriage had produced was thought to end the prospects of any other Bennet girl, but in this fortunate case, the respective husbands did not mind the frivolous affair and the unions had taken place without any impediment.
With three of his daughters married, Mr. Bennet considered that Kitty and Mary, his two other daughters would have a secure future as well. Surely, they would be welcome at Pemberley or at the Bingley household any time.
Mrs. Bennet, however, thought otherwise. Having succeeded so well with her two eldest daughters and having attributed this success only to her skills and encouragement, she concluded that in order to be fully satisfied she had to pursue this calling and find proper husbands for her other two deserving daughters.
She had never thought much of Mary or Kitty. She had never bestowed a specific adjective to their character, nor had she considered liking them more than the others. A mother's affection was limited when she had five girls.
More than ever, however, the house was left bereft from the three daughters' departure and so Mrs. Bennet doted most on the two left, who were in no particular mood to be thus paid attention to.
Kitty was engaging her time deciding on which acquaintance to form better in Meryton and was eagerly awaiting the return of the officers and Mary was once again reading judiciously from Homer, but understanding little.
Neither could afford to indulge their mother's little attentions that more often than not inconvenienced them in their chosen tasks.
Mary took great walks about the country side with her book and sat down by a tree in the hope that the understanding would fall down like an apple in her lap. She often left her book in the grass and closed her eyes as she slumbered in the sun light. When she woke up, she would read the same pages she had read so many times. The only difference was that each time, she thought something different about the contents of those pages. One could say that her mind progressed this way, but it was more her fancy that threatened to take over her than her intelligence and her will outgrew her intellect.
Kitty had been introduced to a Mrs. Smithson from town thanks to Maria Lucas who was a good friend of the lady's seamstress. Mrs. Smithson was the wife of a shoe maker who was often called into different towns with business. The lady was left alone a great deal of time and she took pleasure in visits from acquaintances because she had nothing else to fill her time with. Miss Lucas thought that meeting a young, pretty, garrulous girl like Kitty Bennet would surely ease her solitude. Miss Lucas couldn't entertain the lady herself, for she had to raise her brothers and sisters. Her mother was far too tired from visiting other mothers in the neighbourhood to take care of them.
Mrs. Smithson had heard of the Bennets and she knew they were a good sort of family. She had also heard of the advantageous marriages that had raised their position in society. Therefore, she was more than pleased to receive Kitty Bennet in her home. Though Kitty was a simple, unaffected girl that was prone to say four stupid things out of five, her family and connections raised her above other females that visited Mrs. Smithson's house. That is why the lady took an instant liking to her.
Every Thursday afternoon, Miss Bennet was invited to tea with Mrs. Smithson and if at the beginning Mrs. Bennet ignored this casualty and considered it mere charity on Kitty's part, at length she became interested in the affair because Kitty always talked about the fine lace and satin of the lady's dresses. She condescended to walk with Kitty to Meryton and meet Mrs. Smithson herself.
After discovering her husband earned 2000 pounds a year, she observed how refined the lady's manners were and how her house was so well-kept and charming, compared to other houses in town which had lost most of their beauty because of the smoke and dust.
She regretted not having been better acquainted before and inquired why the lady had not attended any of the balls.
'Oh, Mrs. Bennet, I am out of our society. I am no longer a young woman and I do not enjoy these trivial gatherings where people talk of nothing and dance. And since my husband is always away I cannot go either. When he is home, we do attend other little parties. He is an honourable guest at many such balls you know.'
'I do agree with you! Were it not for my daughters I would not be seen in a ball room myself. There is not much to do for us. So you say your husband is a guest at many balls?'
'Why, every spring we go to the Hertford dances. We always have a table there,' the lady said waving her fan lazily. Mrs. Bennet had indeed heard of these dances and like any respectable mother in the countryside wished nothing more but to manage to have her daughters attend the event.
She decided she should invite Mrs. Smithson to dinner without delay. The lady promised to join them as soon as her husband returned which luckily, would be in no time at all.
'You should feel very proud of this acquaintance, Kitty. I am sure Mrs. Smithson will be gentle enough to recommend us where it is necessary and I am hoping, my dear, that we will have the occasion to buy a new dress very soon!' her mother spoke excited as they walked through town.
'What can you mean, mama?' Kitty asked daftly, for allusions passed her mind easily without impression.
'Why, the Hertford dances of course! She might be kind enough to take you and Mary with her in spring. We will all go. I might even persuade your father with some exertion. He will argue with me as he always does, but you know in the end he will acquiesce,' she said pleased.
'But why can't we just go by ourselves, mama?'
'Oh, Kitty, you only talk nonsense! It would show very bad breeding indeed if we attended uninvited and without the proper connection to introduce us. This fine lady might do just the thing! Oh, only to think, my dear!'
Mrs. Bennet was in raptures at the possibility of gaining a friend with benefits, for, most of her intimate friends only served as idle gossipers, as she called them, but Mrs. Smithson's acquaintance would not be a waste of time.
At the same time, Mrs. Smithson herself pondered on the advantage of her new acquaintances. She would be closer to esteemed families like those of Bingley and Darcy. It would not be a waste of time.
