Author's Note: Hey! 7th CHapter finally up, sry for the wiat, i read GWTW and then Scarlett, and THEN Jane Eyre, so i've been busy. But here it finally is! Enjoy!


Their trip to Longbourne was pleasant; much more pleasant, in fact, than the often awkward greeting awaiting them.

They stepped out of the carriage, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner first, followed by Elizabeth, Georgiana, and finally the elusive Mr. Darcy himself. Mrs. Bennet hastened to meet them; her stride might be comparable to that of the fastest, most experienced race horse she had ever laid eyes on, (which was more than might be supposed). At her heels were Jane and Kitty; Mary slowly followed them; and Lydia behind her, acting what she perceived to be queenly. They assailed them with a whole sort of salutations and welcomes.

"Elizabeth! my darling! Brother Gardiner! Sister! I'm so happy I could burst! I shall burst! Elizabeth, darling, it is so wonderful to have you at home and well again!- Mr. Darcy! And you have brought your sister! Miss Darcy it is an honor to have you, I am tickled pink. How I blush, I blush like the day I married! Welcome Mr. Darcy, you too, Miss Darcy. It is a real treat to entertain such people as you. Mary, please greet Mr. and Miss Darcy, I have not had the chance to see my brother and sister properly. Oh! Brother and Sister Gardiner, I am so happy to see you. Oh, look, it is Mary, Kitty, and Lydia; I know they would like to see you. Lizzy, darling, give me another hug, it is a miracle to me for us all to be safe and well. O, my nerves! My poor nerves have been tried very hard indeed. Mr. Bennet! Mr. Bennet, Lizzy and your brother and sister Gardiner have arrived; Mr. Darcy and his sister as well!" Mrs. Bennet persisted her spewing of breathless welcomes, how-do-you-dos, and thanks, the thanks being gracefully received by Mr. Darcy and Georgiana.

Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were being greeted enthusiastically by the three younger sisters, and Jane and Elizabeth in earnest conference with each other. Kitty seemed genuinely glad to receive them, she resumed a sort of unbecoming pout whenever Lydia managed to pull their conversation towards her and her marriage. Mary merely bid them a quiet hello and expressed her sincere and genuine pleasure at their arrival. The escalation in excitement in the conversation now only betwixt the indignant sisters was somewhat disdainful. Mary chose a different path; taking a turn around the garden to soothe her mounting headache.

Mr. Bennet appeared in due time; he greeted his brother and sister with sufficient affection. Noticing the apparent rising of embarrassment for Miss Darcy and the inadequate masking of embarrassment in Mr. Darcy's countenance, he contrived to free them of the annoyance that was his wife. Indeed he did, drawing Mrs. Bennet off with the reminder that she presently had other and more significant things to attend to. She then called everyone into the house; only Elizabeth and Jane remained behind. Their conversation, start to finish, went as thus:

"Jane! Oh, Jane, it is so wonderful to be back! Here, quickly, don't draw more attention to us than is due; I wish to refer something to you. I am absolutely sure it will bring you great joy. Oh! Jane, I am so happy! Mr. Darcy and I are betrothed! Shush! Someone will hear you," Elizabeth whispered urgently in an unexpecting Jane's ear.

" Lizzy! Is it true! It couldn't be true, yet I know you are not one to lie to me, tell me it is true!" Jane put her hand to her heart and grasped her sister's shoulder in surprise.

"Truly! Georgiana knows, but no one soul outside of us four. All that is needed is father's permission. I know not when he will ask it, when he deems the moment right, no doubt. Oh, that it would be soon!" Elizabeth nearly keeled over in longing. The two sisters embraced tightly, enveloping each other in an embrace which could not have been broken, even if by force.

Finally, Jane broke away. "Lizzy, I have some news of my own. Mr. Bingley and I, well…we too are engaged. He proposed just the other day, no one knows, not even Mama. And we both know Mama can be…prying. He left for Netherfield just after to attend to some business, he didn't have the chance to pose the idea to Papa. It is such a comfort to me to know we will both soon be married; I feel such bliss as to my impending marriage. No feeling in the world could possibly top this," Jane's eyes began to tear, though they were not tears of sadness. Indeed, she felt such bliss, such inexplicable happiness, that even the numbest of strangers could not perceive them to be anything but thus.

By this time everyone else had preceded to retreat inside, leaving Jane and Elizabeth by themselves. They looked around them and hastily composed themselves before following the party in doors.

"-well, who can blame him? My Lydia has always been charming. Married before her older sisters even! I always imagined my Jane to be the one married first, oh here she comes now! –you know of course, Jane has always been reputed as a great beauty…Huh! It is a great pity she has not been married before now. Did I ever tell you, Mr. Darcy, of the time when she was sixteen? One man was so in love with her, I thought-"

"Mama, that will be quite unnecessary, Mr. Darcy has heard the story before, do you not remember? It was at the ball, when we first met him." Jane imposed upon Mrs. Bennet's soliloquy unassumingly, as was her style.

"Oh course I remember! How could I forget! What a lovely ball too; one does not always have the opportunity to meet new people when they are situated as we are. We are a quiet lot, quite out of the way of many visitors; unless they are visiting a certain family in particular…I hazard to say we get few traffickers through the area," Mrs. Bennet continued on in a manner that practically insisted upon its listeners that there would be no more interruptions. She conversed about old visitors, friends of their neighbors, and distant relatives. Gossip mingled with anecdotes; Mr. Darcy hazarded a polite word at the fist pause for breath. Elizabeth glanced at Mr. Darcy from her seat across the room; he was watching Mrs. Bennet intently as she rambled on.

"It is common for smaller towns to attract fewer tourists, whereas London, for instance, makes a handsome profit from its inns and hotels. I have often observed the motive for this to be in the fact that more people live in the country than in the town. They seek refuge from their quiet lives and travel to the city as a sort of vacation. It seems to me that most of the people who live in the city had vacationed there for a period, liked it, and resolved to stay. Why they should prefer the noisy, bustling city over our peaceful towns, I have no reasoning for."

Elizabeth would have beamed at this speech, had she been capable. It was an address of the sort said by those people who are familiar and intimate with each other; an address which could be given by those who are relatives, and fear no judgment from the other. However, the anticipation of an embarrassing reply retrained her from showing approbation of any kind. Instead, she cautiously inclined her head towards her mother, waiting for a response.

"Oh, indeed, I have seen this odd sequences of events follow through for myself; my cousin went to the city, to London, in fact. She stayed for a fortnight, left, and returned to it a month later, claiming she would not be parted from it. We have not seen nor heard from her since; though it is rumored she married again. But I am of the opinion that the city is a dreadful place to be, the only time I ever went, I could not wait to leave it. All the dust, noise, and incessant bustling, to and fro, it was all too much for me; my poor nerves could not take all the noise. I daresay I never wish to return to London again."

"Oh, but Mama, it was such great fun! They have the most adorable shops and boutiques, though my darling Wickham and I didn't see much of them. Mostly, we went to saloons, and what fun they were! I had never seen so many people congregated at once in my life! A sight to see; I'll never forget it 'til my dying day," Lydia interjected, her eyes shining. Jane and Elizabeth exchanged a look filled with embarrassment. That their sister had set foot in a saloon! Such an indecent place for single girl of her age to be, surrounded by all that gambling and violence! The fact that she didn't even bat an eyelash at admitting it was far worse, however. She was not shamed at all to have been in such an atmosphere.

Mrs. Bennet looked a little surprised at the fact of it, but engaged as she was, she did not pay heed to it, for the moment. Instead, she sent Lydia to inquire after Mr. Wickham, who had gone to Brighton for the day to tend to some business. What that business was, no one had an inkling of, but neither did they question it. Lydia obediently went to ask Sarah, the maid, if she had heard word of her husband. Their conversation began more gay and light-hearted as a result.

Mr. Bennet soon tired of their trite conversation, and retired to the library. Mr. Darcy followed swiftly after him. Jane, noticing this, inconspicuously nudged Elizabeth, who, upon seeing this, paled considerably. After a term of approximately a quarter of an hour, Mr. Darcy emerged from the library. He nodded to Elizabeth, communicating to her that her father wished to see her. Making a hasty excuse to the party before her, she slipped into the library unnoticed.


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