The journey home had been much more taxing than Elizabeth had expected.
First little Laurie had not wanted to let her go in London, his tearful goodbye causing both his mother and his aunt to become quite teary themselves. Not even before leaving the city the carriage had lost two pieces of luggage p and right before Meryton they had driven into a herd of sheep.
Thus, Elizabeth had arrived home almost two hours later than expected. Now, finally sitting in the yellow parlor among her family, Elizabeth at last came to rest - even though her ears did not.
Kitty and Mary were practicing a duet on the piano, her mother was explaining loudly what Lady Lucas had ordered at the dressmaker and her father was loudly crumpling the newspaper, almost as if to mourn that none of the ladies had been interested in hearing him read the latest news.
In all this trouble Elizabeth had not noticed her youngest sister's absence at first but when she did ask after her afterall, the innocent question brought up a shocked cry from their mother.
„Oh, where can that girl be already? I told her so many times that she should make haste today. I could not bear it when she is away when Mister Bingley comes for dinner!"
„Mister Bingley comes for dinner again? Why did you not tell me, Mama?", Kitty had abruptly stopped playing.
„Why, of course I told you, Catherine! I invited both him and a few others to come as he was just so eager to taste some of the pumpkins, when they are ready. I think his cook is just terrible, considering their pumpkins are still not ready now. One would think that his sister would be able to manage a household properly, but I think that Mister Bingley has lost at least five pounds since coming to Netherfield. The poor boy!"
„Do not worry, my dear wife. If you continue to invite him over to dinner I am sure he will gain them back in no time.", Mister Bennet laughed, smoothing his paper and standing up: „Now that the topic has leaped even further from the continental war, you will have to excuse me to the library."
„Mama, who else did you invite to dinner? I hope you did not invite Maria Lucas, she always makes such silly eyes at Mister Bingley, it is quite embarrassing to witness."
„Says the girl who talked to the nasty Mister Darcy about the benefit of crop rotation. You do not even know how to differentiate between rye and barley and kept on as if you had been out on the farms for ages. That was embarrassing!"
„I was just being polite. Just because he was rude to you does not mean I have to be rude to him too! And I do know more of crop rotation than you think, Mary!"
„I have never been rude to him! But not being rude does not equal almost swooning at everything he says.", Mary countered.
„You know that Kitty was doing nothing of that sort, Mary. Your sister was just keeping the gentleman from you and I do not think you should thank her for it like this. Kitty would never fancy someone that has been so terribly rude to you, Mary. She loves you way too much to be so disloyal.", Mrs. Bennet interrupted her daughters quarrel: „Now can one of you please tell me where Lydia went?"
„I think she wanted to check on and little Tammy. I am surprised she did not return home by now.", Mary answered, not looking at anyone.
„Maybe she has run into someone on her way back and has lost track off time.", Kitty offered, looking at Mary from the corner of her eyes.
„Oh god, my poor girl! I am sure she has run into Mister Brown again! The poor fellow does not seem to catch a hint. It is quite vexing indeed, as he would have made such a fine husband if she just had not been too pretty to settle on such an odious man.", sighed. „Now Kitty, will you please go up to the Lester's cottage and get your sister?"
Elizabeth was surprised to find both of her sisters wincing quiet noticeably at their mother's words.
„I will accompany Kitty, Mama. We can take the basket and can get some flowers for the dining table while out.", she offered and before their mother could decide if she wanted to protest that idea, both girls had gone upstairs to catch their bonnets.
—
„Thank God Mama sent us off to get Lydia!. I could not stand to be in the same room as Mary right now.", Kitty breathed an audible sigh of relief when they had brought some distance between them and the house.
„Why? Do not tell me Mary is right and you really fancy Mister Darcy, Kitty!"
„Why does everyone ask me that? I do not fancy Mister Darcy at all! Mister Bingley is much more charming, even though he has not even half of Mister Darcy's fortune.", Kitty giggled. „No. It is because of that parson. He has been quite persistent in his pursuit of Lydia. And of course she does not even take him seriously enough to consider him as anything more than the annoying man coming between her and what she thinks is best for the school."
„And what does Mary have to do with it? She seemed quite upset when Mama mentioned his name. More upset than one would be for a sister's unwanted suitor.", Elizabeth remarked, hoping that Kitty would not answer what she was expecting all along.
„Well yes of course. She is violently in love with the odious man. Even though I do not see what she likes about him. Sure he is nice enough and likes to talk about quite a lot but he is so bossy and the only topic he knows is the next sermon he is going to give. And he never admits when he is in the wrong. But poor Mary adores him. And he does not seem to notice her at all, so mesmerized is he by Lydia. Even though Lydia disagrees with him quite a lot."
Elizabeth did not have time to turn this new information over in her head or to respond to her sister, as they had arrived at the cottage, where a very tired looking Lydia came out of the door, on her hips a crying child under its weight she seemed to be almost falling over.
Behind her followed first the very resigned looking doctor, than Mister Brown, almost shouting.
„Miss Lydia! Even though I admire your christian charity, you should really let me take the child to her aunt. She will take care of her and you will not have to burden yourself with taking care of yet another poor soul."
„I will surly not let poor Tammy go to that terrible woman. She would not treat her any better than a servant. I will gladly take Tammy with me to Longbourn.", sighting her sisters, Lydia's eyes brightened up: „Now as you can see, my sisters have arrived and we will proceed to go home together from here on."
„In my position of leading this parish, you should really let me decide what is best for the child and for you, my dear Miss Lydia. Her aunt will want to have her at home, the child can help her with the new twins."
„The child has a name, Mister Brown! Tammy will surely not go to her aunt and play nursemaid. As you so eloquently put it, she is a child and as such should not be put to work."
Even though Lydia's eyes shot fire and her voice was louder than ever, Elizabeth immediately recognized how tired her little sister was and how close to collapsing on the dirty ground, with or without the little girl that still clung to her.
„Good evening, Doctor, Mister Brown. We have come to fetch Lydia. Now, if you would be so nice to hand the bundle of clothe to my sister Catherine, Mister Brown? I believe little Tammy will need them. Lydia, come and let me hold her, you look exhausted.", taking over the situation was easier than Elizabeth had imagined. As all fighting parties where too tired to really go against her words, the girls were on their way back home soon enough and the parson's words became fainter with every step they took.
—
„Girls! Girls! Come down, the gentleman will be here any minute!", Mrs. Bennet shouted from downstairs. The sisters looked at each other. It was a blessing little Tammy was sleeping so soundly at last, otherwise she would have surely be woken up by their mother's loud voice.
They had set the little girl up in the nursery Jane's children used to vacate when they visited Hertfordshire. At first Mrs. Bennet had been against the idea, proposing to set Tammy up with the maids instead. But as Lydia had insisted, Mrs. Bennet had complied, as she could have never truly gone against the wishes of her youngest daughter.
Now Tammy was dressed in one of Lydia's old nightgowns and laying between clean linens Kitty had organized from . She had cried some more, but her exhaustion took over the grief she could not fully comprehend yet but still felt and she was sleeping deeply not half an hour after settling down.
—
Mary, who had been making herself rare as her sisters fussed about the little girl, was now sitting in the parlor in one of her prettiest dresses. She did not condone vanity and was rather upset at herself for having spent more than an hour looking at her image in the dimly lit mirror in the safety of her own room. But she could not have helped herself. Ever since her Mama had mentioned Mister Brown, he had taken over her thoughts.
It was true that he cared more for his sermons than for dancing. And that he was a terrible card player. He was not a good dinner guest, but he was all Mary admired in a man. He was pious and devoted, confident in his ability to lead his parishioners through the year with christian spirit and humility. He was not a dandy but still looked handsome in his black cloak.
But as a cruel as fate was, he was in love - not with Mary, but with her sister Lydia. Mary did not really know, what Mister Brown saw in Lydia. Yes, she was hard-working in the building of her school and Papa always said that Lydia looked most like Mama, who had been a great beauty in her youth. But still, Lydia was not the kind of woman Mary envisioned for a man like Mister Brown. She was way too headstrong and opinionated to be a preacher's wife, always wanting to shock society, to do what the opposite of what was expected of her and to be loud about it, to scream it out and let everyone know.
And worst of all, she did not care an ounce for Mister Brown. Mary was not even sure if Lydia at least respected the man, as she always went on complaining about his interference help with the school.
And now, she was also complaining about Mister Brown's very prudent idea to let little Tammy stay with her aunt. Mary wanted to make sure to tell him that she - even though she was alone with that opinion in her family - very much saw the sensibility in his plan and would try to help in whatever way she could. Maybe than he would finally see her.
Really her and not only Lydia's older boring sister, the only ugly duckling between the beautiful Bennet Sisters, as even strange Mister Darcy had pointed her out to be on their first meeting.
—
After all the tumult of the day, Lizzy found herself rather tired when the dinner guests finally arrived.
Smiling absently she greeted her neighbors, the family Lucas. Sir William had come with his wife and oldest daughter Charlotte, one of Elizabeth's oldest friends. Mister Brown had come with smug talks of what a help he had been to Lydia, Aunt and Uncle Phillips had come with warm hugs for their oldest niece remaining at home.
But it was the Netherfield party that yanked Elizabeth out of her tiredness, as Mister Bingley had not only brought his dreaded sister but also a familiar gentleman.
Mister Darcy did not look as unfriendly as he had looked back when she met him in London, but he also did not raise his lips enough to fully qualify for a smile and that alone was enough to make her remember the ugly frown he had worn when he run into poor little Laurie.
Such, she only greeted him with a small curtsy and was surprised, when he addressed her especially: „I did not know you were staying in Hertfordshire, Miss Bennet."
"I returned home just today, Mister Darcy.", she answered shortly. "How is the colonel? Did he reach his brother safely?", she bit her lip the moment she had voiced the question. Oh, why did she always have to say what was one her mind?
"Yes, he has. His brother was glad to have him home at last. Even though I understand that he plans to travel to Hertfordshire in just a few days already."
„Who is traveling to Hertfordshire?", had something like a sixth sense whenever it came to young gentleman visiting her home county and came over from the other end of the salon.
„My cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam.", Mister Darcy answered with a scowl and Elizabeth silently wondered if he had anything against his cousin's visit.
„Oh! Why did you not tell us, Lizzy? We have to invite him over as soon as he gets here! Oh, Mister Darcy, if I had just known you to be the cousin of the dear Colonel! You know he is such a dear friend of my sweet oldest daughter's husband, General Harrington. And he is also quite the admirer of dear Lizzy here! Oh, such a charming man!", Mrs. Bennet fluttered.
„Mrs. Bennet, I believe the maids are getting impatient to serve dinner. Will you allow me to escort you to the dining table?"
Elizabeth had never been so thankful for her father's sudden appearance and followed her parents to the dining room quickly, not looking back to Mister Darcy but feeling his eyes almost burning into her back.
—
When I started this story I would have never dreamed for it to get over a 100 reviews! A big thank you to all of you guys for continuing to stick with my lazy updating and motivating me again and again to continue writing! Classes have started again so I am quite busy most of the times but I wanted to make sure to upload this chapter before a short (and much needed!) holiday in the city! :D Hope you liked it :)