Yes, the party's over and the story moves on - Mr. Darcy is in quest of information. Lizzy is going to plan an outdoor gala. Jane will have a conundrum.

Jenny Chapter 37

Mr. Darcy told me rather apologetically that due to the necessary and sudden change in our plans—the sidetrip to Strydings would have to be deferred to another time. We were to make straight for Pemberley where I would stay for the time-being with the Darcy family.

"You enjoyed your London Season did you not?"

"It was wonderful! London is such an exciting place and I met so many interesting people. I had a marvelous time!"

"Are there any young men, whose appearance at my door with applications for the bestowal of your hand (and Fortune), might be expected in the near Future?"

"Goodness! 'Uncle' Darcy, I can't think of any!"

"You're out there, several have made their petitions recently."

"Truly? Who might they have been?"

"Gentlemen with empty pockets for the most part. Richard and I have denied them all."

"Thank you—I don't think that I would wish to commit myself to any such—I want at the very least to marry someone I can esteem."

"You are a very wise young lady, not to have your head filled with Romantic nonsense. But is there truly no one you think of perhaps—someone who stands out from the rest of the crowd?"

I looked away, I could feel my cheeks growing warm.

"Then there is somebody . . . but who?"

"I can't say just now—I am not certain of his feelings."

"Do you refer to our recent Host? Richard had said something to me—that he seemed to show a preference for your company . . ."

I looked down at my hands, "It is not for me to decide—unless he asks me—I can say nothing. I had wondered a little."

"You would not be adverse to his suit, if he should speak to me or Richard? He is somewhat older than you are."

"Somehow, it is something that I never have considered all the time I have known him. Maybe because I have always thought of him as a sort of friend—and one seldom chooses one's friends by their ages."

"An excellent observation—evidently you look beneath the surface when you choose your friends."

"But of course—shouldn't one?"

"Indeed, so should we all!"

"It occurs to me that Lord Richard and Lady Catherine have very kindly given a great deal of their time and attention to looking after me the last few months. It is a debt that I will have trouble repaying."

"It is part of the responsibility that a Guardian or Chaperone must accept as part of their duty. I can assure you that when the time comes that I must oversee my Daughters through their first Seasons, I shall be a fair bundle of nerves at the mere idea."

We smiled at each other and fell silent while the miles passed.

My 'Aunt' Elizabeth professed herself very happy to see me once more, and congratulated me upon my successful survival of the Season. I was glad to be back at Pemberley with the extended Darcy family. Once more Cara and Eloise Bingley were there with their parents. The girls and I spent many pleasant hours going over the details of my recent adventures. They were thrilled by the tale of "The Big Bad Earl" (my description of Lord Underhill) and Rosamond's subsequent rescue during "Rochester's Raid". Her wedding to Percival Granby was—they said—better than anything they had come across in a novel.

They teased me for details of the recent house party at Thornfield and I was happy to oblige them with descriptions of the guests and their doings. When I told them of the caricatures I had made of certain members of the Company—nothing would do but that I try to reproduce them for their benefit. The one of Poseidon was a particular favorite; and they pressed me to tell them more about the Host of the party—whether he was a humorous person, and if he had seen the drawing—what had he said about it. I told them that he had laughed a great deal and that he had retaliated by serving me a Breakfast chiefly consisting of fish. It was agreed that he had a fine understanding of how to exact a vengeance, and they wished that they might meet him someday.

How did I feel now that I could no longer see Mr. Rochester on a daily basis? I found that he was seldom absent from my thoughts and that I longed for one thing only—to see and speak to him once more.

The Summer days passed in the usual pastimes: rides, walks, picnics and outings. There was talk of preparing for the Pemberley Fete—a sort of pastoral fair that my 'Aunt' Elizabeth had begun some years before. There would be all sorts of entertainments on the Grounds, contests with prizes, feats of strength and skill, music and dancing, and to put the top on it all—a great feast with fireworks to follow. The Bingley girls and I, along with the Darcy children, were all put to work with the preparations.

You may be wondering also if there had been any word from Rosings on the subject of Lord Richard's wife and her illness, I am sorry to report that the prognosis was not a happy one. We were told that she was in a decline that had no Earthly remedy. A matter of months and she would no longer be with us—Lord Richard and Lady Catherine would not be leaving her bedside for any length of time now. I grieved for them—I knew full well what it was to lose a loved family member. It leaves a wound that is slow to heal and is easily, too easily, re-opened.

I was called to the Study one morning, a few days before the Fete—it seems that Mr. Darcy wished to speak to me. When I presented myself—a bit out of breath because I had run all the way from the Kitchens where preparations for the feast were already underway—I found Mr. Darcy standing by the window with a letter in his hand.

"Jane," he said, "It is as I foretold—he has written."

I looked a question at him. "Of whom do you speak, sir?"

"It seems that you have a suitor—two of them—actually."

"Two suitors? I don't understand you."

"In truth, I believe that there might be a third party who also wishes to pay his addresses to you." Here he shuffled through some papers on his desk and extracted two more letters.

I sat down—the day's events had suddenly accelerated from the absurd to the ridiculous, three suitors! It was rather in excess of my needs.

I'm sorry, 'Cliff' has been missing you - so I thought it was time for him to take a bow. Next chapter I promise to reaveal the identities of the petitioners - I'll just bet that you can already guess at one or even two of them!