AN: While lots and lots of overtime may be good for the paycheck, it isn't very good for the outside writing habit. In addition to taking away from the available time, it drains the energy and the mind. (Big project ending in another week, less need for OT after that, which is good.) When I have been able to gather myself to write, the story itself has not been very cooperative. My working title for this chapter as it stands was actually SR25 – take 3. I wrote a chapter for you all last week, but realized before I posted that it was not the correct chapter – it would have totally changed the course of the story sending it far away from the outline I have and was not actually where I wanted to go. So I started again, but half-way in I realized I had left too big a gap in time and missed some important development. That chapter may show up later. Hence, take 3. I hope we are in the right place with the right characters this time. I really want this story to carry you all along to the fun parts planned for later…
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In deference to the cold December weather, the new arrivals to Longbourn received their greetings inside the house instead of at the doorstep. The entry filled with the cheerful noise of returned loved ones being enthusiastically welcomed home at the same time as Gerald and Honoria Damask were introduced to the Bennet family members they had not yet met.
Mrs. Bennet, of course, was loudest of them all. She barely welcomed the Damasks before rushing to embrace her eldest daughter, exclaiming, "Oh, my dear, sweet Jane! I knew you could not be so beautiful for nothing! Lady Linton! How well that sounds!"
"Mama!" Jane protested, "Sir Barnaby has only just asked for a courtship. It is not yet a proposal of marriage."
"But there is no doubt he will ask to marry you!," Mrs. Bennet insisted. "How could he not? Oh, my lovely girl! I knew you could do better than any of the other girls in Meryton if you only had the chance. Lady Linton! Oh, my! If Lizzy could only do half as well. She simply must try harder when you go to London next month."
"Yes, Mama," Lizzy said tolerantly, sharing an amused glance with Mary and Madeline. They were all used to her mother's pronouncements and moods. Mrs. Bennet would be crowing over Jane's new courtship while complaining about Lizzy and Mary's failures to make matches, for weeks, all the while acting as if the wedding was a certain event or as if it had already taken place. There was no stopping Francine Bennet in her speculations, and all the family knew it was best to let her have her say.
"Do come into the sitting room," Bennet suggested from his place at the edge of the group. "There is more room there and it is a bit warmer."
Still talking and laughing, they followed his lead, spreading out into the room and forming small conversational groups. Gerald and Edward joined Bennet in his favorite corner and began a quiet conversation under the sound of Mrs. Bennet's continued exclamations over Jane. Honoria and Madeline took the opportunity to catch up in another corner of the room while Lizzy, Mary, Kitty and Lydia had their own discussion.
"Your letters made your visit to Derbyshire sound like so much fun!" Lydia exclaimed. "I wish Kitty and I were old enough to have joined you."
"You will have your chance in a few years," Lizzy reminded her. "There will still be dinner parties, dances and afternoon tea when you are finally able to come out in society."
"Oh, I know," Lydia admitted reluctantly, "I just want it to be now! As the youngest, I am always last at everything."
"It is just a shame Lizzy and Mary have not found anyone yet!" Mrs. Bennet exclaimed loudly just then.
The four young women looked at each other and laughed softly. "Perhaps by the time you are out, Mama will want to keep you at home instead of complaining that you have not found a match," Lizzy suggested.
"Oh, I shall find someone in my first season," Lydia declared airily, with a wave of her hand to emphasize the point.
Lizzy shook her head, although she still smiled. "There is no need to be in a hurry, little sister. Remember, your life will likely last long beyond the day you take your wedding vows. You need to be certain the man you marry is one with whom you will wish to spend the rest of your life. Papa has set aside enough for each of us that we do not need to be as hasty as Mama would wish in securing our futures. We will not end up in the hedgerows no matter what she says. Matters are settled so we can take the time to choose wisely."
"Do you think Jane has chosen wisely?" Kitty asked quietly.
"I think she might have," Lizzy replied. "I believe Sir Barnaby is good man who values Jane for who she is, although as Mama suggests, Jane's beauty also has a great deal to do with his admiration for her," they all giggled softly as Lizzy continued. "He would not have been a good match for me because he does not want a wife who is too well educated. Jane is smart, make no mistake, but not in a way that challenges him as I would. I think she will be happy as his wife, and he will make us a very fine brother. Now, what about you, Mary? Did you meet anyone you found attractive as a potential husband?"
"Oh, but Lizzy, you must tell us more about the dreadful Mr. Darcy!" Lydia said before Mary could answer.
"I would rather find out about Mary's experiences in London," Lizzy replied quickly.
"I am as curious as Lydia," Mary said. "Did you see him again after the assembly in Lambton?"
"Fortunately, he was not at any of the same events we attended after that."
"Is Mr. Darcy handsome?" Lydia asked. "Jane wrote that she did not see him to recognize him, but she said Lucy Cathcart saw him when he was talking with Sir Barnaby and she told Jane he looked like one of those statues of a god you might see in a fancy garden."
Lizzy looked aside uncomfortably, trying not to meet any of their gazes. "Well, yes," she admitted reluctantly, after a slight pause, "he is a very good-looking man. He is also intelligent, well-read and even a little witty when he loses himself in a conversation. But that does not weigh up against his ignorant choice to insult all our family or his decision to pass on those insults to Mr. Tavistock and Sir Barnaby. Do you have any idea how much damage he could have done to all our reputations? That was not the act of a truly handsome man!" Her irritation was clear as she said the last.
"But, Lizzy," Mary objected, "you know those insults came from Lady Catherine and you wrote that he thought he was being of service to a friend."
"Oh, I know," Lizzy said with equal parts annoyance and resignation. "And Viscount Rand, the Damasks and Lord and Lady Sheldon have all reminded me of the fact time and again. I also know I probably should have corrected him about his information and my identity, but I was so angry I knew that once I started speaking, I would not be able to remain even faintly civil. I was enjoying his company. Every positive thing I had heard about him from his cousin was true, but so was the report of Mr. Darcy's unreasonable trust in Lady Catherine."
"To be fair, she is his aunt," Kitty reminded her sister.
"She is Colonel Fitzwilliam's aunt as well, but he knows better than to believe her without proof. But, really, his belief is not the point. The problem is that he chose to pass that information on despite it being unsubstantiated gossip, even if he meant to be helpful. That is what I am having trouble forgiving."
"Viscount Rand said he did apologize, both verbally and by writing to set the record straight. Would you be as upset if he had not been insulting our family?" Mary asked.
Again, Lizzy looked away uncomfortably. She sighed. "If I knew that he was spreading information that was inaccurate, I would hope so." She huffed out a breath of air as she clenched and unclenched her hands. "It is just that Jane has been trying so hard to find someone appropriate, not for his money or his position, but someone right for her. And now it seemed she had. And there was Mr. Darcy, who knows nothing about any of us, really, talking about warning Sir Barnaby away from her. Yes, I know he was not acting out of malice. Yes, he apologized. Yes, he wrote to Sir Barnaby and Mr. Tavistock admitting he was in the wrong. But that does not wipe away his original insult to Jane and to me."
"But he did not know he was insulting you," Lydia said. "He thought you were Elizabeth Rose."
"True, but he was so intent on his thoughts of passing on Lady Catherine's lies that he did not escort me off the dance floor or even notice as I simply walked away from him."
"Oh, Lizzy. You are too hard on him, I think," Mary said.
Speaking at the same time as Mary, Lydia told her sisters, "Papa has sent a letter to break ties with Lady Catherine!"
Lizzy quickly responded to Lydia, although she saw the look Mary gave her and knew they would be discussing the subject of Mr. Darcy later, perhaps when it was just the two of them. "He did? When?"
"Early last week," Lydia replied. "After Viscount Rand visited Mary in London, he came here for a short time and I know he and Papa discussed the rumors Mr. Darcy had spread. With Miss Stanton gone, and no other spies for Lady Catherine currently in the house, that we know of, Papa decided it was time. He warned Mama, Kitty and me that he was writing to Lady Catherine and that she might send Mama a nasty letter in response. I am certain he will tell you more but when I asked if he had warned you, he thought you would be home before any response from Lady Catherine could reach you, Jane or Mary."
"That is what he told me when we arrived yesterday," Mary added. "Of course, Viscount Rand had also discussed the possibility that Papa would write to her with Uncle Edward, Aunt Madeline and me, so I was not completely surprised by the news."
"Lady Catherine did write to Mama – an absolutely scathing letter," Kitty said. "I hate to think how she would have responded if Papa had not warned her."
"It also helped that the letter arrived just after Sir Barnaby came to ask Papa for permission to enter a courtship with Jane," Lydia explained. "Mama was too happy about that development to be as flustered over Lady Catherine's letter as she normally would have been."
Lizzy looked across the room at her mother, who was still loudly exclaiming over Jane's good luck. Honoria and Madeline saw happened to be looking Lizzy's way, and when they caught her gaze, Honoria rolled her eyes. As she turned back to her sisters, Lizzy had to stifle a laugh.
"The news does seem to have her distracted," Lizzy said.
Lydia and Kitty burst into giggles. "She was so pleased she could hardly eat her dinner that evening," Lydia said when she caught her breath. "She kept fanning herself and making comments about 'her dear, sweet Jane' and complimenting Sir Barnaby on every little thing he did or said. I think Papa must have warned him that Jane only takes after Mama in looks. I saw him look Papa's way very nervously every time Mama became too loud."
Lizzy replied, "I think Jane warned him as well. And you know there is no real harm in Mama, she is just...exuberant."
"Like me," Lydia admitted cheerfully.
"Yes, just like you," Lizzy teased. "You are certainly full of news and talk today. Well, I thank you for the warning. I will discuss the situation regarding Lady Catherine with Papa later. Now, I truly am interested in your experiences, Mary. Did you enjoy visit in London and are you looking forward to going back with us after Christmas?"
"As I told you in my letters, it was less frightening than I thought it might be. Aunt Madeline made attending the various events easy and comfortable, just as you said she would. Her friends were very kind and understanding, so they helped me be less nervous. And, of course, all the dancing practice we have done left me well prepared for the small private balls we attended."
"Oh, how I would love to attend a ball and dance all night!" Lydia exclaimed. Her sisters laughed.
"When your time comes, I am sure you will dance all night and wear out all your partners," Lizzy said.
"I do not ever want to sit out a dance," Lydia insisted.
"I cannot promise you that, since it is up to the men to do the asking, but I am certain you will not often lack a partner," replied Lizzy.
"I am not sure I could manage to dance all night long," Kitty said. "But knowing Mary was able to be comfortable at the dances and parties makes me feel better about coming out next year."
"You will be fine, Kitty," Lizzy assured her, accompanied by nods from Mary and Lydia. "We will all look out for you." Anything else she might have said on the subject was interrupted by the arrival of Mrs. Hill with tea and cakes. She breathed a sigh of anticipation. "Ah, I have been looking forward to a cup of hot tea almost since we left the last inn where we changed the horses. Now I can warm up from within as well."
The sisters moved to join the rest of the group as the tea was poured and the cakes distributed. There would be time for more talk on all matters after a bit of refreshment.