AN: Hi~! Sorry this took so long, I'm technically on vacation, and I had expected to be able to post while I was gone, but I've been doing a ton of babysitting, etc, so I'm going to post a few chapters tonight. Thanks for being patient everyone!

Chapter Four

Six weeks later…

Light filtered through the white and pink embroidered curtains that adorned Elizabeth and Jane's shared bed; a gift from their Aunt Gardner from a few years past. Even as little as two months ago, Elizabeth would have welcomed such a sight-the sun's rays striking down upon her, beckoning her from her bed, to go for an early morning walk. In times past, only herself and Papa had been up, both eager to face the day on their own terms.

Now, Elizabeth wished to bury herself under the coverlet and never come out. Papa was not dead, but he may as well be-a coma, the apothecary explained. A sleep from which the apothecary had no idea when he would awake from. He explained that it could be at any time-now, six weeks from now, six years from now, or, alternatively never.

Elizabeth burrowed deeper into the covers, concealing herself from what lay beyond her bed. Aunt and Uncle Gardner had arrived only three weeks before, when it was obvious that Papa was not going to wake up any time soon, and so Elizabeth had taken it upon herself to write to her aunt and explain what had happened, especially since Mama had not progressed passed needing her smelling salts on her person, in order to function throughout the day.

Normally, Elizabeth of course would have been excited to see her favorite aunt and uncle, as well as her young cousins, but now none of it mattered. As Mama constantly shrieked and moaned, their futures were all but ruined, being that the estate was entailed. Together, Elizabeth and her sisters would have only have two hundred pounds to live on, and no hope for anything more than what her beloved Aunt and Uncle Gardner would give. Although she had always known that this would most likely be her fate, being that she had vowed to herself to only marry to marry for the deepest love, she mourned for her dear sister Jane.

For what she could have done, who she could have met, who she could have married. For the tiniest instant, Elizabeth had fervently wished that Jane had married the young man who had courted her ardently. Because now, there was nothing left for her. And for that, Elizabeth mourned.

A slight rustle of the coverlet beside her, pulled Elizabeth from her private thoughts. She turned to her sister,

"Jane, are you ready to get out of bed?" she asked carefully, her tone friendly and untroubled.

Jane, sweet and pleasant as ever nodded graciously at her sister, and with some slight difficulty, pulled herself up into a seated position, pushing the coverlet to her waist. Elizabeth quickly moved from the bed, feeling a pang of guilt that she quickly pushed aside to face her sister, and offered Jane her arm.

With some difficulty, as she was still terribly bruised, Jane swung her legs to the end of the bed, gripped Elizabeth's arm, and carefully stood up, taking care to keep her weight off of her right leg. Elizabeth carefully helped her sister to their small armoire and chair, which Jane sank gratefully upon, her face heavily taut with pain.

She turned to her sister with a tight smile,

"I do hope that my ankle will eventually hurt less, in the future. It is quite painful to walk upon it, even with my cane." she said, nodding towards the black and gold cane that their uncle had procured for her.

Elizabeth gave her sister a matching smile, and then quickly turned so that her sister could not see the tears forming within her eyes.

"What shall it be today, Jane? The grey or lavender?"

Being that Mr. Bennet had not passed on, Elizabeth and Jane had made the decision for they and their sisters to wear lighter mourning colours, in terms of grey, purple, lilac, and white. Elizabeth remembered ruefully that that it was the only thing that stopped Lydia and Kitty in their complaining…..

3 weeks earlier….

Elizabeth made her way downstairs for their morning meal, her normal, everyday walks being forgoed in order to be with Jane when she woke up every morning, and to see her Papa before Mr. Hill came to wash and dress him for the day. Her Aunt and Uncle Gardner had arrived the previous day, and she supposed that she should be glad for it. Aunt Gardner especially was a buffer between herself and Mama, who had not yet gotten out of bed, yet insisted on calling all of her daughters to come attend on her.

A crash came from the next room, a wry smile made its way to Elizabeth's lips, despite her mood. Her younger cousins never ceased to behave as the children they were. Making her way into the breakfast room, Elizabeth watched as her Uncle Gardner drew one of her cousins, the eldest child, James into a different room for a private conversation regarding his behavior. Elizabeth smiled, and almost went after her uncle to plead with him to be a little more lenient.

Their family and household had gone through a tumultuous time, a time that would not end until Mr. Bennet was dead and buried, and they were left having to decide what their options were, yet James had behaved remarkably well. For in previous visits, including their home and his, Elizabeth and Jane had often gone to bed to discover a frog or lizard stuck under the coverlet. One memorable time had included several spiders. That had not occurred during this visit, leading Elizabeth to believe that he did indeed understand the serious nature of what had happened to her father.

Moving over to the table, Elizabeth busied herself by fixing a tray of Jane's favorite foods to bring to her. By the way that it seemed her cousins had the room to themselves, Elizabeth knew that her Aunt Gardner was already up in her Mama's room with a tray. Hopefully she could persuade her to get out of bed, and face what was happening with a calm and steady head. Piling some fresh, hot rolls onto a place, along with some plum cake and preserves, and made her way back to their room, casually ruffling her cousin Phillip's hair while he concentrated, most seriously, on smothering his bread in as much butter as he could before his father returned to the room.

Elizabeth sat with Jane, taking small bites of the cake that Jane insisted she eat, when a small knock on their door was heard.

"May I come in, dears?" It was their Aunt Gardner.

"Of course, aunt,"Elizabeth said as she got up from the chair that she had put beside the bed. She opened the door and allowed her aunt in, gesturing that she should sit in her own chair. Mrs. Gardner waved her concerns away.

"No Lizzie, I am quite fine. I shall only be a moment. I was just thinking that Jane should get out of bed, and come downstairs. Mr. Gardner himself shall carry her downstairs, and I think it would be good for her to not be so contained from everyone. I know that her cousins wish to see her, especially Eliza Jane. And we must all speak of how you girls shall move forward, in terms of mourning. It is an unusual situation, but I feel, and I am sure you do as well, Lizzie dear, that you all must show some degree of mourning."

Unable to do anything else, Elizabeth and Jane simply nodded their assent. Mrs. Gardner simply smiled sadly and said,

"Well, I shall leave you to your breakfast, and for you, Jane to get dressed for the day. I shall come back in half an hour with Mr. Gardner, if that is all right?"

Again, they nodded, and Mrs. Gardner left, shutting the door gently behind her.

Half an hour later, Jane was dressed in a white gown with small, dainty pink flowers embroidered upon it (the most somber that Elizabeth could find, under the circumstances), and seated at the same table that had most recently held three rambunctious children with their morning meal.

Elizabeth watched as her Aunt Gardner shooed a stubborn Eliza Jane from the proceedings, or, more accurately, her Cousin Jane.

"You will see your cousin Jane in a bit, Eliza Jane. Your father and I have to speak with her and your other cousins, about something to do with Uncle Thomas. We will be done quite soon. Go out into the garden and play with your brothers."

With a small pout, the little girl left the room. Mrs. Gardner made her way to the table, settling herself between a squabbling Lydia and Kitty-who did not stop their dispute, despite the fact that their aunt had physically separated them. No, they simply began to dispute in a greater volume, over who owned said bonnet-

"No, Lyddie, it is mine! I bought it at the milliner's in Meryton, a fortnight ago! You said it was ugly, and would not ever wear it!"

Lydia countered with,

"Yes, I shall have it! For I ripped off the hideous ribbon and re-trimmed it with a prettier ribbon that I bought with my own money!"

Kitty interrupted, her face going a blotchy pink-red color-

"I did not ask you to rip my bonnet to shreds! Tell her, Aunt Gardner-"

Mrs. Gardner did not have a chance to respond, as Mr. Gardner arrived in the room, and interrupted them with a,

"Lydia, Kitty, enough about such frivolous things. Lydia, go and sit next to your sister Elizabeth, Kitty you stay right where you are. There are more important matters at hand, than whose bonnet belongs to whom, and we must discuss them."

Kitty burst into tears, her face going redder still.

"No one ever takes my side, not even Papa! Why should I allow her to have what is mine!" she wailed, uncaring of her uncle's stern glare. Lydia flounced to Elizabeth's side, making a face at her sister as she did so. Kitty let out a fresh batch of tears, and Mrs. Gardner offered her a handkerchief.

"Dear, we shall resolve this later, but now we have more important things to discuss, things that neither you nor Lydia can afford to ignore anymore." she said, referring to the fact that Lydia and Kitty spent the majority of their time in their shared room, never speaking of what happened to their father, nor attending upon their mother, unless forced.

Kitty shrugged her acquiescence, not caring any more. She would get Lyddie back, no matter what.

Mrs. Gardner nodded for her husband to speak.

"I would first like to tell you girls that I have written to the current heir of Longbourn, Mr. James Collins, as well as his son, William Collins. I have explained the situation, your father's condition and…." here he paused delicately, "...his expected outcome, and have invited them to stay at Longbourn."

Mrs. Gardner kept the conversation going, at his inelegant pause,

"Girls, this is a delicate situation, for which the social graces and protocols do not prepare for. However, to be on the safe side of the law, your uncle and I have determined that it would be best for Mr. Collins and his son to stay, so it does not look like your family is trying to hide your father's condition. For now, it is the best decision to make."

Elizabeth glanced around the table to see how her sisters were taking the news. Lydia and Kitty, of course, were generally uninterested. At fourteen and fifteen years old, respectively, they should have realized how significant and desperate their situation was at this time. Not for the first time, Elizabeth cursed their lack of preparation for adulthood and society at large. They would soon learn, and not within the safe confines of their beloved family.

Mary sat back, her face studious, hanging onto every word that came from her Uncle Gardner's lips. Mary knew better than anyone what was happening, and would most likely attempting to lecture Lydia and Kitty on the subject later, as she had done in previous days over their lack of care towards their father and mother. It was Mary that spent the majority of time with Mama, reading to her from her favorite novels. Elizabeth was grateful that Mary seemed to put aside her care for more virtuous reading material, in favor of calming down and entertaining their Mama, although their mama was ungrateful about Mary's sacrifice. She could not do it-not while Papa and Jane were in so much pain.

Elizabeth faced Jane, whose face was carefully blank. She reached for her hand, squeezing it gently at Jane's confused, yet concerned frown. She hoped she would see the real Jane soon, not this careful, easy, affable Jane that she has been showing everyone she came into contact with.

Elizabeth turned to her uncle Gardner,

"Have you informed Mama, of this uncle?"

Mr. Gardner indicated "yes" with a nod of his head.

"Yes, Lizzie. I thought at first that I should not tell her until Mr. Collins wrote back, but upon reflection with your aunt, she suggested that I tell her straight away. We thought that perhaps it may induce her to get out of bed and calm her. I told her this morning, after she had finished breakfast. Mrs. Hill is with her now, getting her ready to come downstairs. She seems to be in somewhat better spirits."

Mrs. Gardner continued on with,

"Now we need to speak to you about your clothing, as hard as it is to speak of such things."

At the word clothing, Lydia perked up visibly, while Kitty gave a loud pout that was instantly quelled by her uncle clearing his throat.

"I believe that under these unusual circumstances, a half mourning would be wise. We shall need to go through all of your clothing and bonnets to see what shall match. We may need to go into town-"

At Lydia and Kitty's both excited gasps, Mrs. Gardner added a-

"Of course, it would be inappropriate for any of you girls to be seen buying fripperies so soon after what has happened to your father, and dear Jane-"

Here, with an almost silent gasp, Jane slipped her hand out of Elizabeth's, and clasped hers together.

"-it would be best if I would do the shopping. If we spend the next few hours doing this, I shall be able to get to the milliner's this afternoon. Then we can begin making up some appropriate gowns for you, once you are fit to receive visitors and friends who wish to express their condolences." Mrs. Gardner ended on a slightly awkward tone of voice.

Elizabeth winced as Lydia and Kitty hurriedly let the room, their voices telling the entire household that they would be the ones to tell their Aunt Gardner first what they wanted for their new gowns.

After Jane had finished dressing, Elizabeth handed her the cane that still lay propped up against the wall. Jane gingerly got up, pain etched on her face as she put her full weight onto her ankle. As she watched her, Elizabeth could not help but feel sorrow. Her beautiful sister would never be able to walk again without such an aid as a cane, and would never be seen as the same again. Their own friends and neighbors, with the exception of dear Charlotte, had already begun to treat her differently, paying more deference to Elizabeth herself.

Walking beside Jane, they began their slow descent downstairs to the dining room, where they would eat their morning meal with their family. Mama had finally gotten out of bed the day that they had decided to go into half mourning, and had enthusiastically began helping with the sewing of their clothing, gossipping and giggling with Lydia and Kitty. Elizabeth would have been furious if she had not known that Mama had also taken to badgering Mrs. Hill over the contents of Papa's food, and whether or not it was good for him, would help him wake up again.

Elizabeth helped Jane settle into her chair next to Mama, who insisted on having Jane next to her as much as was humanly possibly. Elizabeth sat next to Jane, and filled her own plate, Mama having taken over in that duty as well. Nibbling on a piece of bread with butter, Elizabeth watched as Mr. Hill brought the mail in to her Uncle Gardner (who sat at the head of table, a fact that never stopped causing her pain whenever she saw it), who went through it disinterestedly, until he came across one such letter that made his face widen in surprise.

"It is a letter from Mr. Collins, I shall read it aloud to you all." he announced.

At this news, Mama made a disgusted face, and began to tell everyone at the table exactly what she thought of such a letter-

"Well!" she said, flourishing her statement with an abrupt clatter of her cutlery onto her plate.

"I do not wish to hear anything that man says. My dear Mr. Bennet has rarely spoken of such a man, but from what he told me, I should not be sorry to never seen him in my life! Never has a more miserly, miserable, heartless man ever lived! You know he flatly refused to stand up for Mr. Bennet at our wedding! You remember, don't you Edward, my dear brother?!"

Mr. Gardner nodded uneasily,

"Yes, Fanny dear, I remember-."

Mrs. Bennet cut him off.

"To think that he was so angry that Mr. Bennet was marrying me, and had an opportunity for his own heirs to supplant his own. I should be entirely disgraced to be angry that my own dear cousin was marrying, and might have a son or two to inherit his own estate! A disgraceful man! If I had my own way, he would not step a foot in my house! For all we know, dear Edward, that man is going to throw us all out of Longbourn to starve in the hedgerows!"

Her voice took on a shrill, desperate edge, as she allowed herself to imagine what would happen to them.

"My dear Jane, my poor Lydia! What shall become of myself and my girls?! I shall not be able to rely on yourself indefinitely, as well you know, Edward!" she reminded him primly.

Mr. Gardner held up a hand to calm his youngest sister down.

"Allow me to read the letter first, Fanny. Perhaps it is not as bad as you think."

Mrs. Bennet humphed, but allowed him to read at his leisure.

Mr. Gardner began reading the letter aloud, noticing that it was very short and abrupt.

Mr. Gardner,

My condolences to the Bennet family. I shall be traveling with my son and heir, William Thomas Collins, to arrive at Longbourn within the fortnight. I expect our arrival to be prepared for.

Signed,

James Thomas Collins, Heir of Longbourn

Mrs. Bennet let out an undignified shriek, and left the room. No one stopped her. Mr. Gardner frowned, noting,

"This letter is not dated. The letter I sent informing him of the situation was sent only three weeks ago."

Before he could turn to his wife, she stated,

"Well, I shall put Mrs. Hill on notice that the two Mr. Collins shall be arriving here sometime in the next fortnight, and have her and Maria clean the spare bedrooms."

Mr. Gardner nodded, and she left the room, to perform her errands as she said.

To Elizabeth's surprise, it was Mary who spoke next.

"What will happen next, Uncle Gardner?"

Mr. Gardner nodded brusquely, worried about the contents of the letter.

"I am not quite sure Mary, although I will not lie to any of you. What your mother said was true-your father and Mr. Collins were estranged for many years because of the fact that your father was the heir of Longbourn. Mr. Collins is only the heir now, because your father never produced any sons with your mother. He has made various threats over the years, especially in the early years of your parents marriage, and has only backed off recently because his own son is eligible as the Heir of Longbourn. I find his letter troubling, the animosity he felt from many years ago is just as present as it were twenty years ago."

Looking at their worried and concerned faces, he made quick efforts to reassure them.

"Now girls, do not worry. If the worst comes, know that you are always welcome at our home at Gracechurch Street, no matter our circumstances. We will never abandon family, you all know that."

Elizabeth, in her heart knew that it was true, yet worried that it would come to that. She prayed fervently that it would not, for while her uncle made quite a good income, she knew he was not equipped to handle six females who came with only two hundred pounds a year between them.