Charlotte and Elizabeth caught up on the current events before and after dinner, parting at Longbourn with sincere promises to meet up the day after.
"We have neighbors to visit, Lizzy, and Mama is insistent upon speaking to everyone in our acquaintance." Charlotte huddled under a cover, the cold attacking exposed skin mercilessly.
"Miss King, as I have learned, is soon to travel." Elizabeth informed her. "But I do not know it all, so you must speak with her. I have not been informed of gossip the last two weeks." Shifting her feet, she promised herself to sit in front of the fireplace to warm up before bed.
They held hands a moment longer. Waving after her friend, she then entered the house to discover Lydia and Kitty sniping at each other with extra vindictiveness. Mary observed it all quietly and motioned Elizabeth to join her at the pianoforte to keep a distance from the destructive pair.
A letter hung between them and Elizabeth grabbed it from Mary's pinched fingers. Unfolding it slowly, she waited for Lydia to lunge at Kitty and try to pull hair.
"What started this fight?" Elizabeth asked.
"Lydia took an interest in a gentleman that Kitty met in Meryton. A gentleman from the south."
"Oh."
"Mr. Brook said he is a tradesman of rising rank. Lydia is jealous that he complimented Kitty on her dress." Mary crossed her arms, eyes never leaving the troublesome Lydia now gloating about some inconsequential encounter that Kitty needlessly valued. Lydia's friends and acquaintances were of little use to Kitty, especially since Lydia manipulated each of them into believing Kitty hated Lydia through and through.
"When did Kitty go to Meryton?" Elizabeth asked, confused.
"After you left for Lucas Lodge." Mary answered. "Read the letter please. I dare not believe my eyes."
Curiosity attacked and she finally laid eyes on the words scrawled in neat lines touching the edges of the page front and back.
"Miss Mary Bennet, it is my pleasure to inform you that I have spoken with my family upon the tender subject of our courtship. My mother is pleased to learn I have earned an income to support a wife, and she will be visiting me within the week to make your acquaintance. I have forewarned her that your mother is a lady of strong emotions and that talk of marriage will cause a disturbance in your home. I wished to warn you beforehand." Elizabeth stopped reading and faced Mary. "Mary?"
She blushed. "Keep reading."
"I admire your strength and pray that it will hold up under the scrutiny of our collective mothers. If you seek shelter from their attentions, I have also invited my dear cousins Henry and Harriet, twins. They understand that a lady's privacy is of utmost importance and will protect it to the best of their ability. They will arrive shortly before my mother and stay at the parsonage with me should you wish to make their acquaintance and form a friendship." A goofy smile spread across Elizabeth's face and she squished Mary in a hug. "Awe! My little sister is growing up!"
Lydia and Kitty quit arguing, studying the pair as if they were foreign to the family. "What are you going on about?" Lydia demanded.
Mary's face screwed up and she hung her head in resignation.
"Mr. Brook's family is visiting him with the intention of meeting Mary." Elizabeth answered proudly. "Mary will become a Mrs. Brook soon, I hope."
"God willing." Mary whispered.
Elizabeth squealed and squashed Mary once more. Rolling her eyes, Lydia propped her feet on the settee and tossed a pillow at Kitty. Batting it away, Kitty bowed her head to read again. In a flash, Mary darted toward the fireplace and kicked the singed pillow away from the flame.
"I do not know why you're acting like a child, but it will end now, Lydia." Mary towered over the youngest Bennet. "I will marry Mr. Brook and Jane will marry Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth will find someone to suit her as will Kitty and you will remain unmarried because you act like a child. Because, despite your physical form, you are a child. We are not Mama. We will not tolerate your idiocy. It ends today." Mary leaned over so that she looked Lydia in the eye. "If you damage my courtship and future with Mr. Brook, I will ensure Papa sends you to live with the Collins."
"He would never."
"Are you so certain? He does not care about our daily activities if we do not spend needlessly like Mama. The expense of supporting you would gladly be transferred. Your behavior of late has disappointed the lowest of opinions in the Meryton. I daresay even Aunt Gardiner has heard of it in London." Mary's voice dropped. "This is my future you threaten. Do not test me, Lydia. God is on my side."
Kitty's jaw dropped. "Mary!"
"And you – stop being sensitive." Mary snapped. "Lizzy, how am I to receive Mrs. Brook? I know not how to handle a mother other than our own."
Contented to be a helping hand to an inexperience soul, Elizabeth motioned for Mary to rejoin her. "Do not test me, Lydia. God is on my side." Elizabeth teased.
"I'm serious. How?"
"Play your music while I ponder your new situation." She instructed Mary.
Hiding the pillow's blackened corner, Lydia curled up into a ball and listened to the whimsical soft music drifting from the pianoforte. Kitty sketched a flower petal and shaded it in intense concentration. Elizabeth dwelled on the problem presented by a desperate Mary, thinking more on it over the next several days. Mr. Hawthorne and the gentleman that complimented Kitty's dress called on them the day after they learned of Mr. Brook's mother's intentions. Excluding herself from the interactions, Elizabeth considered the man that doted on Kitty and ignored Lydia entirely.
Mrs. Bennet attempted to include Lydia in their admirations and attentions, except Mr. Hawthorne proposed that they walk the property to better enjoy the weather.
"We will have a merry walk, won't we?" Lydia hugged to Kitty's arm.
"No. You will stay and keep Mama company."
"Lizzy can- "
Kitty pursed her lips and pried Lydia's hand off her forearm. "I prefer Lizzy's company."
"Mama!" Their mother face palmed.
"We will visit your aunt."
"But I am bored there! I want to walk with Kitty and the others." Lydia whined loud enough for the gentlemen to turn toward them curiously.
Nails digging into Lydia's arm, Kitty walked Lydia back to their mother's side and let go abruptly. Elizabeth soon joined the merry party of Kitty, Mr. Hawthorne, and Mr. Barnett on the road that circumvented the tenant farms.
They walked through the cold weather, determined to distance themselves from Lydia.
"It is a cutting day, Miss Bennet." Mr. Hawthorne said cheerfully.
She wondered at how the coldness failed to affect her, although today she regret they were not living at Netherfield Park so that they could walk the long hallways and avoid the wind altogether. "Yes, indeed. Thank you for riding with me to Lucas Lodge. I know that you have a schedule to uphold and it shifted your priorities. I did not intend it."
He matched her steps and Kitty drifted back to shyly walk side by side with Mr. Barnett.
"I have questions, if you will answer them for me." Elizabeth said, her voice firm. She feared for her reputation, but she only thought of Mr. Darcy. "What offense has the Archwood Coven committed?"
He squirmed under her gaze.
"Sir, my sister is to become immortal. I do not need the delicate protections many believe is necessary for all ladies." She pressed.
He said nothing for minutes on end and stole a glance around at the trees and fences and fields for want of a topic suitable. "You do not fully understand my role. I am paid to investigate claims that arise."
"And?"
"A claim was made against a member of the Archwood Coven."
Elizabeth clutched her gloved hands at her waist, forging forward as bravely foolish as Lydia in her finest moments. "Sir, my sister is marrying into the coven. What is the claim?"
He sighed. "I cannot sully your reverent opinion of the coven, Miss Bennet."
She pouted and reconfigured her face into a blank expression best fitting the friendly walk. "Well, we shall not linger long on that subject if it displeases you, Mr. Hawthorne. I hear rumor you are courting a lady. Is it true? A gentleman such as yourself surely is beloved by a betrothed." She forced laughter, the dead words hitting the wind as lifelessly as the spark in her soul.
"A lady, yes, but I am saving to purchase a home before I offer."
"A proper romantic. I approve." She nodded enthusiastically. "Does she approve of your chosen field of employment?"
He cleared his throat and turned away from the wind. "I suggest we return toward the house. It is exceptionally uncomfortable today."
"I am in agreement." Mr. Barnett volunteered, slyly glancing over Kitty's red cheeks, nose, and chin. "The ladies must be numb."
Elizabeth noted the short distance they covered and mentally lamented they were unable to travel further. She yearned to step upon uncommon roads and refused to listen to Lydia be a childish lady. "My feet are regretting this choice of activity." She admitted. "Mr. Hawthorne, I hear you have companions staying in Meryton. Are they of the same profession?"
"Yes, Miss Bennet, and they are capable investigators."
She worried for the Archwood Coven and almost giggled at the image of Mrs. Ariti verbally undressing them. The most lethal person in the coven, in her humble opinion, was the matriarch. She suspected Mrs. Ariti once held power and never relinquished it despite the world and its hostility toward powerful women.
"Miss Lancolm is to marry one of them within the month. It will be a celebrated event in our circles."
"Will it? I thought you were investigating a claim. Is the investigation that unimportant?" She queried.
A long pause and he asked after Jane. They spoke of Jane's attachment to Mr. Bingley and the surprising character that Mrs. Ariti appeared to be. Two jabs against the masculine need for control the matriarch wielded, and they returned to the warmth of Longbourn and the thick of planning that hinted at a private party to celebrate Jane's union before Jane departed for Scotland. Lydia suggested foods they were unable to afford on the monthly budget while Mrs. Bennet demanded to update the dining room and drawing room wallpaper "For we will be thought of as poor otherwise." Mrs. Bennet stated matter-of-factly.
Elizabeth snorted.
"Ah, the return of my daughters!" She rose majestically from the armchair and advanced toward them. "I have tea readied." She gestured to the steam pot of water on a tray at the card table.
They gladly gathered around the table and Kitty prepared everyone's preferred herbal strengths.
"We have decided, while you walked, that we will celebrate Jane's success by sending her off with the adoration of neighbors, acquaintances, and of course, your many cousins." Mrs. Bennet informed them gleefully. "I will write your uncle and aunt today and urge them to visit as soon as possible. Two more weeks – less than two!"
Kitty and Elizabeth traded dark glances over the rim of their teacups.
"To think, two daughters. Mr. Brook is a handsome fellow and to have my child near is heartwarming solace. Jane should visit – I will demand it." She thrilled and startled Mr. Barnett. Mr. Hawthorne allowed her the rambling train of thoughts, indulging her by mentioning that Mr. Bingley posed no threat to the ladies and was overly amiable to everyone. "We are the luckiest family in Hertfordshire. If only my Elizabeth were able to stumble upon her own accidental half."
The music abruptly stopped, and Mary bent over to pick up sheets.
Tingling subsiding, Elizabeth ignored her mother and pretended she didn't hear a word.
No. She was not going to stumble upon her own accidental half. She already met him. His name was Fitzwilliam Darcy, and he entered her dreams as a dashing handsome Prince ready to sweep her off her feet and save her from the horrible villain.
"Are you paying attention, Lizzy?" Her mother teased.
She blinked rapidly and feigned ignorance. "My apologies, Mama. What did I miss?"
Suffering her mother's repetitive wishing and impossible dreams, she pitied the gentlemen and they pitied the sisters. By the time they departed, Mrs. Bennet exposed each of their silliest and most embarrassing youthful moments with zero understanding how it harmed her children. Wishing she were an inanimate object, Elizabeth once more turned her thoughts to Jane and Mary. If she were not able to be happy in love, they certainly deserved it.
