A/N: Thank you, Olde Reader, for pointing out a grammatical ambiguity. Keep them coming! Thanks for reading!

Chapter 13: Mr. Darcy thought about his future

Mr. Darcy continued to visit Longbourn every few days, sometimes twice in one day –in the morning by himself and in the afternoon with the Bingleys. When he came alone, he was shown directly into Mr. Bennet's study, and many times he stayed for tea and saw the family. In the Longbourn library Mr. Bennet showed him the copy of Beowulf which he transcribed from the ancient manuscript in his last years at Oxford. To say that Mr. Darcy was impressed was an understatement. Mr. Bennet also showed Mr. Darcy some of the Vermeer paintings, a couple of Rembrandts, and some other Flemish painters. Miss Catherine and Miss Lydia were copying a Vermeer's painting when he visited and thus was introduced to the remaining Bennet ladies. He was quite impressed by Vermeer, and not much less by Miss Catherine's talent as a painter given how young she was. Miss Lydia was less focused and it showed in her work. It seemed that the youngest Bennet was of high spirits and did not do well with activities that required sitting still.

He came away marveling at the hidden gems that were in the Bennet family: all five girls were handsome, two exceptionally so, and quite accomplished. The patriarch was a bit eccentric, but he would be hard pressed to find another who was more erudite outside, and for that matter, inside the universities. Even Mrs. Bennet, whom he had not had many opportunities to know more, stood out in the culinary art, and according to Mr. Bennet, was the reason he decided to go into dairy, not so much for the farming portion, but for offering gourmet cheeses that were created by his wife.

There was one among them who was simply incomparable in his mind. He had never met another like her: so original, so beautiful, so intelligent and so dear. At that point, Mr. Darcy paused, shook his head and began to think, "Could I offer for her? She is one in a thousand…likely the only one in all England. However, she has no connections of which I am aware, and her dowry may not be that substantial considering that she is one of five daughters. The rare books and art are quite a treasure, but who will inherit them?" He started at such a thought. "When did I become so mercenary? I do not need more wealth. On the other hand, Uncle Fitzwilliam has made a list as I lie in bed of all the eligible ladies who have potential to be the mistress of Pemberley. I could not just go ahead and ignore all the hard work and care that my uncle has already put into my marital pursuit." He decided that it was too early to think such thoughts as he had not known her for much more than a month. He found it easier to talk to her than to just about any other ladies of such a short acquaintance. Did it signify? He would just enjoy the friendship with Mr. Bennet, and admire Miss Elizabeth from a distance until after the house party at Wentworth-Woodhouse in December where all the ladies on the list and their families had accepted the invitation to attend.

With the militia having moved to the area, the gentlemen of Netherfield were getting more and more engaged with the officers thus leaving the ladies behind having nothing to do. One day out of boredom Miss Bingley conferred with her sister and decided to invite Miss Bennet to come to dinner while the gentlemen were out of the house. Miss Bennet, being the beautiful daughter of one of their closest neighbours, seemed quite sweet and harmless enough that having her attend them might break the monotony of their day. A note was dispatched to Longbourn for this purpose.

Miss Bennet, having received the note, showed it to her mother and asked for permission to go.

"Would you like to go, dear? It seems abominably rude that they do not invite Lizzy as well. Their manners are not equal to their amiable brother's. I overheard Miss Bingley disparaging some lady and her mother in French at Lucas Lodge as if no one but she knew French, speaking so loudly and disrespectfully. She had better not mean one of you and me. Insolent fille désagréable (disagreeable girl)!" said Mrs. Bennet.

"I would be pleased to go," said Jane, though a little hesitantly after her mother's expressing disapproval of Miss Bingley. She soldiered on, "Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst seem friendly enough to me and are definitely very fashionable. Since we will be in town for the season, it may be good for me to be among ladies of fashion who also know more about what to expect in town."

"Mamma, I am quite of your opinion. I do not care much for the Bingley ladies. Even if they had invited me, it would be torture for me to oblige," said Lizzy from the other side of the room where she was reading the second volume of 'Don Quixote' in Spanish, now no longer needing the English translation.

Mrs. Bennet turned her head and looked up out of the window. Dark clouds were gathering and even though there was still sunshine, it could change anytime.

"I do, for your sake, hope that they improve upon acquaintance, and mind their decorum when in your company. If you must go, go soon. It seems likely to rain, and your father has taken the carriage to see the officers. You will have to drive the rig."

"Let me drive you, Jane. I have been waiting for rain for a whole week to check out the rubber cloth cover on the rig, and it certainly appears that my wait may be finally over! I would not miss it for anything. We may also wear the rubber cloth rain shrouds and they should keep us both snug and dry even if it does pour," interjected Lizzy with unsuppressed excitement.

"Oh Lizzy, your inventions and gadgets," remarked Mrs. Bennet a little exasperatedly.

"Mamma, you invent dishes and I invent gadgets. It is a trait I have inherited from you," said Lizzy good humouredly. She could placate her mother quite readily now, but it was a skill she decided to learn only after it had dawned on her about five years before that her mother's seemingly constant scolding of her for the many torn dresses, scraped elbows and last but not least, shooting a pistol for sport was not necessarily without cause.

"I reckon you take after your uncle more than even your parents," said Mrs. Bennet after a moment of thinking.

"I think I take after all three of you for your sense of adventure, and Jane takes after you for your beauty and amiability," said Lizzy sweetly. This definitely made her mother rather pleased.

"Well, if you are to drive Jane, do go now to ready that contraption on the rig. I surely hope it will work and you would not get your sister drenched. She is not as stout in constitution as you, you understand."

"Yes, Mamma! Before you know it, I would have you riding only in the rig because it is so stylish and dry even when you go visiting in a deluge." Her mother just shook her head, even though she was smiling.

The two sisters set off in the rig with a cover made of this magical new material called rubber cloth. Mr. Bennet was looking for some fabric that could keep out the dampness for storing his old books. His brother Gardiner directed him to a Mr. Hancock who was working on perfecting a cloth-like material made from the secretion of a rubber tree from the East. Mr. Hancock was developing the material primarily for use in covering luggage in a carriage because it was lighter and more water-proof than oil cloth. He had some pieces that were made too thin and Mr. Bennet asked for them so that Lizzy could make book covers for him. Lizzy, in addition to the book covers, also made rain shrouds with the remaining material. Mr. Bennet liked the idea of this new material and along with Mr. Gardiner made an investment in the business. Lizzy insisted on investing some of her pin money into the venture as well. She also volunteered to test the cloth for its various applications.

The two sisters left for Netherfield Park in good spirits. Lizzy explained to Jane why the new material was so much better than oil cloth. A little drizzle started when they were about half-way to Netherfield but as Lizzy promised, they were snug and warm. Lizzy delivered Jane safely to the door of Netherfield, and after wishing Jane an enjoyable stay with the ladies of the manor, turned the rig back toward Longbourn when the wind suddenly picked up tremendously. She looked over to the western horizon and saw the sky there very much darkened to look almost like night and the darkness was moving fast toward her.

She hastened to the bridge still on Netherfield's grounds while ferocious winds and rain were pelting at the rig, and the little peaceful stream not an hour ago became roiling torrents. The mare, Nelly, was reluctant to cross the bridge, so scared was she. Lizzy jumped off the rig and tried to tie her shawl over Nelly's eyes and lead her across the bridge herself. At that moment, a carriage gingerly crossed the bridge and stopped next to her. Emerging from the carriage were Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley.

"Miss. Bennet, you should not be out here in this weather. Would you come into the carriage and let us know how we could be of assistance?" Mr. Darcy asked.

Lizzy looked at Nelly and hesitated. Mr. Darcy said with some urgency, "We are both getting drenched. You horse will be well for a little while." He turned to talk to one of the footmen, "Baker, please take care of Miss Bennet's horse while she talks to us inside the carriage."

Once they were inside relatively safe and dry, Mr. Darcy continued, "The bridge is getting unsafe. We were fortunate to have crossed it without incident. Did you just come from Netherfield? It would be wise to go back to the house to wait for the storm to pass."

"Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, good day to you. This storm seems to have come from nowhere. You really think my little rig would not be able to make it over?"

"Even if you could cross the bridge, you would still have two more miles to go and there have been quite a lot of downed trees. We were both drenched when we stood outside for just a few minutes to talk. Would you come back to Netherfield in the carriage? I shall guide your rig back to the stable yard. "

"My parents will worry."

Mr. Darcy went out to the rig and asked Baker to go over to Longbourn to let Mr. Bennet know that Miss Elizabeth was well even though she was caught in the storm. The Netherfield party would see to her comfort and safety in returning home once the storm had passed. He and Mr. Bingley then left the carriage to drive the rig while Miss Elizabeth was transported to the manor in the carriage.

Chapter notes:

1. There was a reason why Lizzy thought she was her mother's least favorite daughter. She was a handful.

2. Mr. Thomas Hancock developed methods for making rubber cloth and its applications in the early part of the 19th century. He built his rubber processing factory in 1820. At the time of this story, he might just have been tinkering.

3. Could this storm have been a small tornado? England does and did have them. There were two recorded south of London in 1810. I experienced a storm like the one in the chapter: in five minutes it went from sunshine to blinding snow, and it was back to sunshine in less than twenty minutes.