Chapter 7:
Clary POV
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Two weeks had passed since Mr Malcolm's sudden arrival and much appreciated departure and today was the day that our party of three told Mr and Mrs Darcy of our confrontation. Mama and Papa were arriving from London tonight and I had made the decision to speak to them of everything, well I would tell papa and mama of Mr Malcolm but I will speak to Mama of a certain topic.
Breakfast was a quiet affair and Bennett was still demanding me to keep my ordeal a secret and I for the umpteenth time replied with.
"Bennett, I will tell our parents of what happened! I will not hide something from them when they expect an official engagement to be made."
"Bennett, leave you sister alone. Her reasons are far more sensible than yours are." I grinned triumphantly at Bennett.
"Oh so much for best friends Daniel, I am sure there is a law against a best friend standing up for the other best friend's sister."
"Well in that case I shall just be an acquaintance of no importance." The word play between the two was very amusing but when Bennett was about to respond Mrs Reynolds came into the dining room.
"Excuse the intrusion but the Darcy carriage is pulling in the lane way." Bennet almost choked on his juice.
"Weren't they meant to arrive after supper?" He said his voice strained from all the coughing.
"Is it a Darcy trait to misjudge the distance from London to Pemberley? Or is it just to depart earlier than necessary?" I giggled at Mr Ashby's words. Bennett was starting to run about the room frantically, worrying that Pemberley was in shambles and that father would strangle him.
"Bennett you are running around like Grandma Bennett. Come we need to meet mama and papa at the entrance. Mr Ashby, would you be so kind?" I held my hand out and he bowed slightly and took my hand in his looping it through his arm.
After supper I knocked on my fathers study door, I stood outside waiting for a reply when I heard the gruff reply granting my access I swiftly stepped into the threshold as my father looked in my direction.
"Oh Clary, What can I do for you?" his frown turned into a smile and stepped out from behind his desk to sit me on the settee.
"I must tell you of something that occurred in your absence." I cleared my throat to start speaking and took a slow deep breath in. "Mr Malcolm arrived at Pemberley, not even three minutes after you and mama departed." My father tensed, sensing that something was wrong; I always wondered how he did that? I took another breath, willing myself not to be cry about the man.
"He is married, to a Miss Harriet Henshaw obviously now Mrs Malcolm. She has a larger dowry according to Mr Malcolm and he loves her very much. There now I have told you and I shall not speak another word of the man." However my father sensed that there was more to my story and I told him, although the conversation between Mr Ashby and I was kept secret. My father told me that he would speak of this to Bennett and Mr Ashby and that either he or I could tell my mother, I chose to tell her myself as there was more I needed to speak of with her. "Father?"
"Yes Clary?"
"How did you know you loved mama?" He looked reflective, his eyes shining with different feelings; there was amusement, sombreness, joy.
"At first it was an infatuation with her eyes, then as I learned more of her character I understood that she was the woman whom I wanted as a wife. It may have also had something to do with her talking back to Lady Catherine." He smiled with a look of knowing in her eyes, dear old Aunt Catherine had died five years ago when her daughter Anne died from pneumonia, some say it was a broken heart but I think she was just riddled with so much guilt from keeping her daughter locked up in Rosings for so long. I said good bye to father and let him return to his work. I set of to find mama, at this time of night she was most likely in the library.
I was correct. The moment I walked into the large room I saw my mother curled up near the fireplace with a book in her hands.
"Mama?" She jumped and looked over to me with alarm in her eyes.
"Clarissa, when did you get here?"
"Only a moment ago, I am sorry for startling you I thought you have heard the door." She shook her head and set her book down of the table, turning back to me I saw her demeanour change her eyes held a form of understanding in them.
"What did you want to talk to me of?" How on earth did my parents do this? I looked into my mothers warm brown eyes and told her everything that had transpired between Malcolm and Mr Ashby.
"Mama, I am at a loss of what to do. Mr Ashby is wonderful but he is Bennett's best friend; I fear Ben would hate me." Mama pulled me into a comforting hug and I could not help but embrace it.
"Darling, Bennett could never hate you. If anything he would feel a lot more comfortable with the idea because Mr Ashby is no stranger to Ben, his little sister being courted by his best friend." The idea of being courted by Mr Ashby made me smile.
"It will never happen mama, Mr Ashby does not have feelings for me other than a sisterly love I am sure."
"Yes and dear I am sure that you should not trust your head but your heart, trust me if I had seen past the lies of Wickham and your fathers tough exterior, I would have been a lot happier much quicker."
"Mama you cannot lie to me, if papa had never written that letter you would probably still think ill of him." She rolled her eyes at me then looked at me with seriousness in her eyes.
"Talk to him, you have Bennet and Darcy blood both of which are laced with stubbornness, be confident and tell him the truth because if you don't and he leaves you will be worse off than when you are now." She was right, I could not hide in my shell.
"Thank you mama. I love you."
"I love you too my darling." I walked out of the library with a renewed vigour and a mission to complete.
