A/N: Last chapter before switching focus. Hope to have another chapter up later this weekend. Wade

"Mama, look! There is a very elegant coach in the driveway."

Kitty was sitting in a window seat trying to think of something diverting to do. The militia was to depart for Brighton in less than a month, and Colonel Forster had the officers seemingly busy from dawn 'til dusk. She had tried all the usual remedies and had almost gotten desperate enough to read a book or talk to Mary; but nothing worked until she saw the equipage.

Mary, for once tired of reading the same old book of sermons and making abstracts, quickly looked out the window with her sister and they perceived a chaise and four driving up the lawn. It was too late in the day for visitors, and besides, the equipage did not answer to that of any of their neighbours. The horses were post; and neither the carriage, nor the livery of the servant who preceded it, were familiar to them.

"Ooohhhh! It must be Mr. Bingley. We are saved!"

Mrs. Bennet was in fine form, thinking that it must be the wayward suitor, back from his mysterious 'business' in town, since Jane could not possibly be so beautiful for nothing.

The mistress smiled for just a moment, but then looked cross and said, "Oh, But Jane is not here. Oh, what will he think? Oh, why did I send her to town - wretched-wretched mistake."

Mary calmly replied, "If it were Mr. Bingley Mama, he would think what any sensible man would think… that Jane was either here or somewhere else, and if he wanted to talk to her he could just go to that other place. Of course, that presupposes him to be a sensible man, when all evidence is to the contrary."

"Oh, none of your prattling, Mary. You sound worse than Lizzy."

"It is simple logic, Mama. Oh, and I shall take the comparison to Lizzy as a compliment, so thank you."

"Hush, You!"

Mary would have felt bad about being shushed like a child, but after a dozen years of the same treatment, she never even noticed. She turned her head back to look at the coach and offered her observations.

"That is not Mr. Bingley's coach, Mama. I saw it one day in Meryton, and it looks very different."

"Perhaps, he got a new coach."

"No, Mama. The driver and footman are liveried, and it does not match Mr. Bingley. No, I am certain - this is not Mr. Bingley."

By the time the speculation of the ownership of the coach was played out, the whole issue resolved itself when the footman jumped down from the back to open the door, and out stepped a tall gentleman.

"There is a gentleman stepping down now, Mamma," said Kitty; "who can it be?"

"Some acquaintance of your father or other, my dear, I suppose; I am sure I do not know."

"La!" replied Kitty, "it looks just like that man that used to be with Mr. Bingley before. Mr. what's-his-name. That tall, proud man. The one Lizzy was always arguing with - even when they were dancing."

"Good gracious! Mr. Darcy! – and so it does, I vow. Well, any friend of Mr. Bingley's will always be welcome here, to be sure; but else I must say that I hate the very sight of him."

Mary, feeling brave once again replied, "Mama, it has been four months. Mr. Bingley seems unlikely to return, so perhaps you might want to consider being nice to Mr. Darcy. Lizzy is not here to drive him off… who knows, he might like someone else. Bird in the hand, Mama!"

The very idea of converting Mr. Darcy from a hateful man to a potential suitor should have taken but an instant, but it took some several seconds. By the time the idea worked its way to the level of inevitability, Mrs. Bennet looked out the window and saw Mr. Darcy hand down a very elegant lady, dressed in the finest day dress of the best materials.

Sighing in regret, she said, "Well, that must be Mr. Darcy's betrothed… although why he is bringing her to Longbourn I cannot comprehend."

A moment later, Mr. Darcy reached into the coach again, and handed down what looked like a maid, who was wearing an enormous greatcoat. Everyone knew he would need a maid along to maintain propriety, but the gentleman was acting very peculiar, even aside from the fact that his maid appeared to be wearing his coat. He smiled at the maid, and even said a few words to her, whilst holding her upper arm as if she might be unsteady on her feet. They had never observed the like before.

All the ladies gasped when the maid gave the gentleman a huge smile, and even laughed at something he said and patted him on the arm. The world was upside‑down and everyone in it had gone completely mad.

They watched in breathless anticipation as the gentleman reached into the carriage one more time, and handed down…

"JAAANE!"

Mrs. Bennet's ear‑splitting scream was only slightly less decorous than her three daughters, and it was probably loud enough to be heard by the people exiting the coach, since Jane's head snapped around to see them at the window. However, Jane was not perturbed by the ruckus as it was a perfectly normal greeting at Longbourn, and she just smiled and waved.

All four ladies scrambled to straighten their skirts and clean up the clutter as the visitors were seen in and divested of their outerwear. Mr. Bennet even deigned to join them to see what all the fuss was about.

Less than a minute after all were settled very demurely (for Bennets), the door opened and Mr. Hill, the long‑time butler ushered them in.

He was prepared to announce them, but Jane said, "Thank you, Mr. Hill. Let us not stand on ceremony. I will introduce my friends."

Looking completely stoic and professional, he said, "Of course, Miss Bennet," and would have gotten away with it just like a proper butler if he had not winked at her and grinned at the last minute when nobody was looking.

Jane winked back, then walked into the room, drew a deep breath, and began the battle.

"Papa, Mama, Mary, Kitty, Lydia… I hope you will excuse me if I ignore precedence in favor of being less confusing. First off, I would like you to meet my very particular friend, Miss Anne de Bourgh. She is Lady Catherine's daughter, and the heir to Rosings. We have become quite close over the last little bit. Annie, my father, Mr. Bennet, my mother, Mrs. Bennet, and my sisters, Mary, Catherine and Lydia, although Catherine generally goes by 'Kitty'."

Kitty and Lydia managed to refrain from giggling, just barely, and executed almost proper curtsies.

Anne said, "Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Miss Mary, Miss Catherine, Miss Lydia… it is so good to finally meet you. Jane has told me so much about you, I feel as if I know you already."

At the end of that, all three were hanging with their mouths open. There had not been a single mention of Jane acquiring a new friend, let alone such a rich and important heiress.

≈ Claiming some familiarity with people beyond what you already know is a good way to fit in but do it carefully. It is easy to get caught out on the fib, but if you can pull it off, people will want to believe you and will make it easier for you to be accepted. It is all in your attitude, and how respectful you are to the new acquaintances. ≈

Anne was quite happy to see one more vision of Lady Anne Darcy and smiled at Darcy with a nod that told him his mother was alive and well… er, actually dead and well, but why quibble.

Once everyone had curtsied, Jane continued, "Mama, I hope you do not mind, but I have invited Anne to stay with us for a short while. I thought she might occupy Lizzy's place."

Mrs. Bennet turned red, and said, "WHAT! It is not to be thought of. In case you have forgotten, Lizzy sleeps with you. No, she must have the guest room!"

Anne was staring at Jane in wonder, while Jane was having the time of her life. She simply replied in as unperturbed a manner as possible, "No, Mama. That room must be reserved for Mr. Darcy. You do remember him from last Autumn, I would hope. He is Anne's cousin and he was volunteered to chaperone Anne for her visit. Do not worry. He is quiet as a mouse and does not eat much."

Everyone in the room stood stock still, unable to move or think, while Jane just stood there smiling. All gave her a good and complete stare just to be certain she was in fact Jane, and not Lizzy, since that sounded exactly like what her sister would say.

Mr. Bennet finally broke the impasse by laughing quite loudly, and proclaiming, "I stand corrected. I used to think you were the beautiful but agreeable daughter, Jane. Now I see you are the clever one… and Mr. Darcy… why, I believe he will be an even better visitor than the most recent occupant."

He watched Mr. Darcy carefully and was quite surprised to see the gentleman break into a grin, and then laugh a bit. This naturally set Anne, Jane and Mary all to laughing, while the rest of the Bennet family just watched in confusion.

While the laughter was dying down, Darcy replied, "I shall do my level best to improve on Mr. Collins, Mr. Bennet. He sends his regards, by the way."

Mr. Bennet laughed, and said, "Now, Jane… a point of clarification. You said, 'was volunteered' instead of 'has volunteered'. Did you misspeak?"

Jane smiled, and said, "My apologies for not speaking clearly, Papa. I perhaps should have used the longer form, 'was ordered to volunteer.' Is that better?"

Mr. Bennet laughed along with Darcy, and said, "Welcome to the world of female relations, Mr. Darcy."

Darcy joined in and said, "My thanks, Sir. I understand you to be a world-renowned expert."

After a moment, the laughter died entirely out, and Mary Bennet asked, "We all know Mr. Darcy, but who is this with you?"

The presence of a maid traveling with a lady was nothing too surprising. What was astounding was that this appeared to be an ordinary maid of all work, not a lady's maid. Even more astonishing, she had come to the drawing room with the gentry instead of going straight off to the kitchen to talk to the housekeeper.

Anne took Mary's arm, and said, "This is my good friend, Mary Taylor. She is my lady's maid, but is new to the profession, so I am wondering if any of you might be able to help her with hairstyles and gowns and the like? I have not even had time to refresh her wardrobe yet, so perhaps you could assist with that as well? I presume you are on good terms with the local dressmakers."

Mary Taylor looked at her and started to speak, but Anne winked at her, and she desisted.

Mary Bennet said, "Well, I welcome another Mary into the house, but should we call you Miss Taylor to avoid confusion?"

Mary surprised everyone by saying, "Yes, that will be fine. Mr. Darcy calls me that anyway."

Lydia, never one to let an opportunity for foolishness pass, said, "La, Mr. Darcy talks to you. I can imagine that is very dreary."

The whole room became instantly silent, and Lydia stared around saying, "What did I say?"

Mr. Darcy stepped into the breach, and said, "Yes, Miss Lydia… I do talk to my friend Miss Taylor, and I would appreciate if you might assist her in her new responsibilities. I must however agree with you on one point. Talking to me is often quite dreary, so I shall depend on you to cheer her up after she finishes with the disagreeable chore."

Lydia, completely surprised that the man could make a joke, or that he would ask her for anything at all, did the only proper thing. She started giggling, which prompted Kitty to join her.

After a moment, both sisters said, "We will all be quite happy to help her, Mr. Darcy."

Then she turned to Mary and said, "How long have you been a lady's maid, Miss Taylor."

Mary grinned and replied, "You tell me. You saw the promotion! I was a maid of all work when we entered the room."

Lydia jumped up and down a few times, and said, "La, we will have so much fun. Come along."

Then she grabbed Mary by the arm and started to pull her.

Mary winced loud enough for even Lydia to notice, and she turned back and looked at her wrist. Seeing the bandage soaked in blood but apparently not likely to be fatal, she gasped, and said, "How did you get Jane's embroidery on your wrist. It is the best thing any of us have made in our lives."

Mary Taylor looked at Jane and whispered, 'Hideous?'

Jane just laughed, and said, "Lydia, we suffered a bit of a mishap on the way here. I shall tell you all about it at dinner, but I would appreciate it if you cleaned that wound up with gin and salve… all the gin on the wound if you please… and a new bandage. Just pretend she's Lizzy who just fell out of a tree, or a barn, or a woodpile, or…"

Lydia laughed and said, "Of course. We are not nickninnies. Come along MT."

With that, the two youngest Bennet girls flounced from the room with Mary Taylor in tow, and the level of noise reduced considerably.

Darcy turned back to the others and said, "Mrs. Bennet, I believe your daughter surprised you with my presence. I would be happy to stay at the inn if it is inconvenient."

Mrs. Bennet looked like she was going to have an apoplexy, and said, "THE INN! THE INN! NOT ON YOUR LIFE! It is inconceivable! It is no trouble at all, Mr. Darcy, although there is no way we shall have fresh fowl or fish for dinner."

Darcy quite surprised her by chuckling, and said, "Anything will do, Mrs. Bennet. I always heard you set a fine table at Longbourn and enjoyed it on the two occasions I dined here previously. Whatever you have will be fine, and on the morrow, perhaps Mr. Bennet and I could go hunt at Netherfield. I have permission to do so."

Anne joined in, and said, "I have never shared a bed before, Janie. Do you snore?"

Everyone burst into laughter, and Darcy smiled from ear to ear seeing this side of his cousin coming out. He had known perfectly well that it was there all along but had wondered for years whether anyone other than his cousin Richard and he would see it. Privately, he gave it a month before Lady Catherine would be afraid of her daughter, rather than the reverse which had been the pattern of their lives.

Jane and Anne moved closer to each other and to Mrs. and Mary Bennet, to start a conference about ladies' topics. Darcy stood back watching the conference with amazement. He was quite enjoying the sensation, when he heard an unexpectedly quiet voice right next to him.

"Quite an amazing sensation to be completely insignificant, eh, Mr. Darcy?"

Darcy looked at the man and thought he detected a bit of the wit that must have instructed his Elizabeth's character, and thought he just might like the man on his own merits.

"Yes, Mr. Bennet. I must confess that I have never been so thoroughly cast out, rebuffed and ignored in my life. I believe I am less significant than that cat over there. I find I quite enjoy it."

Bennet chuckled, and said, "The hunting horns will blow soon enough, but you are safe for the moment. What say you to some sherry and a game of chess or backgammon, Sir?"

"It would be my honor and pleasure, Sir."

Bennet just laughed, and said, "Go easy on the courtesy, Mr. Darcy. It is best to build yourself up slowly in such exertions."

Darcy looked chagrined, and said, "I assume you are aware I have a debt of civility to this neighborhood to make up, Sir."

Bennet stopped, looked carefully at the man, and said, "So… My Lizzy took you to task, did she?"

Darcy looked carefully, trying to work out what the man knew or suspected, and finally said, "In a manner of speaking, yes… although you may be overlooking another daughter who is not as averse to instruction as you might suppose."

Mr. Bennet looked startled, and said, "My Jane?"

Darcy smiled, and said, "Yes, Sir. I do not recommend her bad side… nor Anne's, for that matter."

Bennet chuckled, and said, "So, are there any women of your acquaintance who have not taken you to task recently?"

Darcy stared at the gentleman for a moment, raised his finger in the air, put it back, raised it again, dropped it again, and finally said, "No, now that you mention it, I am afraid not."

Bennet chuckled, and said, "Let us repair to the study, Mr. Darcy. I am curious, Sir. Do you have any idea where my Lizzy seems to have scurried off to?"