A/N: I am so sorry that this update came so late, but I am really busy with a class I am taking, and I am about to start rush, so another chapter might be a little while in the making, but I promise it will be up as soon as humanly possible!!!! R&R! Thanks, loves!

Chapter 4

The Bradford family walked into the Bennet's sitting room to find the two young daughters of the family waiting to welcome them. Lady Bradford looked over the two girls as though trying to find some fatal flaw to sink her teeth into. Apparently finding none, she merely sniffed and made a stiff curtsy.

Mary and Kitty, having already rose and performed the necessary curtsies, nodded their heads to the Bradford matriarch and guided her to the best seat in the room.

"We are so pleased that you're family was able to join us for dinner, Lady Bradford. We apologize for our parent's absence, but it seems that my father's manager had a fall and so they are just finishing up some business in his place." Mary said with her perfectly memorized society smile plastered on her face.

Lord Bradford nodded to his wife with a smile and the woman turned to the girls and responded, "That's quite all right girls, we are perfectly happy to fill their absence with your delightful company in the meantime." Mary noticed an almost hungry glint in the woman's eyes as if she were looking forward to digging up something on the two ladies sitting in front of her. Kitty flicked her eyes over to Mary nervously, showing that she had felt the same.

Mary smiled, a little nervously now, at the new family. She wasn't yet sure quite what to make of the odd assortment of people. Lord Bradford was a stout, older man with a thick head of grey hair, who still maintained a roguish glint in his eye when apprising a truly special specimen of the female sex. His cheeks seemed to be stained perpetually red and his eyes were constantly shiny which simultaneously lent him an air of cheeriness and lechery at the same time.

Lady Bradford was almost painfully thin, with a pinched look to her face. Her constant scowl reminded Mary of a piano tutor she once had who had always brought a switch with her to smack her student's knuckles when she missed a note. The dress the lady wore was in a dark purple color, which on her slight frame was immensely overpowering, but Mary assumed that the color was worn merely to show her aristocratic standing prominently. The woman's hair was streaked with grey and pulled back into a tight chignon, which made her stern appearance even more frightening. Both Bennet girls felt a chill just from one sweep of those cold, grey eyes over them.

The sons, on the other hand, seemed to be a thoroughly normal lot. Mary smiled to herself as she noticed this. Somehow, the offspring of these two strange people had managed to completely disregard their parent's behaviors and grow up to be gorgeously suitable young men.

The youngest, Emmett, was standing with his hands behind his back and his eyes slightly unfocused, seeming to be somewhere else entirely. Mary smiled as she realized the likely reason for this distraction. The girl cleared her throat gently as she looked at the young man, "How is your fiancée, Mr. Bradford?" The blonde man seemed to jump a little as the question startled him out of his reverie. He smiled, showing one of the kindest faces that Mary could ever admit to having seen. She was not surprised that some lucky girl had snatched this one up quickly. His glinting white teeth, perfectly azure eyes and just a slight spattering of freckles lent a boyish charm to the man's demeanor. "She is lovely, thank you for asking, Ms. Bennet." Mary just smiled and nodded as she moved her attentions over to the next Bradford son.

Addison Bradford seemed also to be in his own world, but his eyes were dark and brooding. His jet-black hair fell into his eyes a little as he stared into the fire with quiet intensity. The stillness of his entire person was unsettling to behold. His hands were clasped tightly behind his back as he stood with his weight on his right leg and his left leg perched out slightly in front of him. Mary would have doubted that life coursed through the body at all if she hadn't been able to see the man's eyes. It was like witnessing a fierce storm erupting behind the glassy surfaces. It was at once the most exciting and the most terrifying thing that she had ever seen. Suddenly, the man's head swiveled around and looked directly into Mary's eyes. She gasped, her hands automatically clutching the fabric of her skirt, as his gaze seemed to drill straight through her and into her soul. Mary managed to wrench her gaze away from the startling man, preferring instead to allow the last person in the room to catch her full attention.

There he was, standing in all his glory in a dark blue waistcoat and light tan breeches. His white silk stockings were perfectly pressed and his black shoes gleamed, even in the firelight. Her gaze made its way back up to the perfectly sculpted face of William Bradford. His amazing jaw line sported just the slightest tease of a shadow and as Mary raked her gaze further up the Adonis-like face, she met with the most heart-wrenchingly beautiful set of hazel eyes she had ever seen. Her breath seemed to catch as the hazel orbs seemed to catch her gaze and hold it prisoner, his perfectly proportioned mouth curling up in a slight smirk at her attention. His shining black hair was neatly combed back away from his face, affording Mary an uninterrupted view of what must surely be God's crowning masterpiece.

Kitty glanced over at her sister, not knowing how to break the long pause that had settled over the group of people. Once she noticed that her sister was otherwise engaged, she frantically tried to think of something to say. She cursed Mary silently. She knew that Kitty was no good in these stiffly formal settings. Just as Kitty was about to open her mouth, hoping that something dreadfully foolish wouldn't come out, her parents walked into the sitting room.

Mr. Bennet dipped into a short bow and said, "Lord and Lady Bradford, please accept our most heartfelt apologies for our lateness, unfortunately we had to take care of some business dealings after our manager was injured."

Kitty exhaled slowly, relief flooding her. Now, she knew, the conversation would rely solely upon the older people in the room, which was just fine with her, "and just fine with Mary, by the looks of it" the girl thought to herself with a grin.