Hertfordshire - Late February 1812
The 25th of February was a very cold, very sad day, it was the first anniversary of Jane's death. Lizzy had begun her journey to London in a stagecoach; she would stay with her uncle's family for a few days and then she would continue her trip to Kent. She was in a somber mood as she contemplated the last year of her life, and the last three months, in particular.
At the end of November, the Netherfield party returned to London. Her mother was displeased when Mr. Bingley with his five thousand a year sent Mr. Bennet a farewell note. Nobody in the neighborhood knew if he would return. Lizzy didn't care about Mr. Bingley's departure; he was a good man but they didn't have anything in common. She reflected it was ironic that, after her first bad impression of Mr. Darcy, it was his company that she missed. Undoubtedly, Mr. Darcy was the most handsome and interesting man she had ever met, but their paths would probably never cross again.
As every year, Elizabeth's favorite uncle, Uncle Gardiner, and his family came to Longbourn for Christmas. It was a bittersweet time, especially for her.
Mr. Bennet surprised everyone at Christmas dinner by announcing he had an additional 1000 pounds to add to his daughters' dowries. With the help of Mr. Gardiner, he was able to sell his most expensive books to a gentleman from the North. Some were first editions of Shakespeare's tragedies, others were extremely rare medieval codices. He knew he hadn't been a good father; he should have made more efforts to save money for his family's future, but he was trying to make amends.
Mr. Collins arrived in the new year, and the wedding was the second week of January at Longbourn chapel. All the neighbors were invited to a lavish wedding breakfast in Longbourn, and some of them said that, although Mary looked lovely and happy, Mrs. Bennet looked even happier than the bride.
Before departing for Kent, Mary invited a surprised Lizzy to visit her at Easter. During the last few months, they had strengthened their relationship, sharing their fears and dreams. Lizzy was ashamed to realize, that she hadn't known her sister's feelings and thoughts. She had paid little attention to Mary while Jane was alive and hadn't been the best of sisters. She promised herself to make an effort in the future to be gentler and more considerate of the feelings of others. She wanted to be more like Jane.
Kitty and John Lucas had been working very hard; John learning about estate management and crop rotation, and Kitty about the household accounts. They wanted to marry before the next harvest and rent a small cottage for some time.
Lydia had been jealous and bored during the last few months; she felt her mother and Kitty didn't care for her anymore. Her mother was always talking about Mary and Kitty's engagements and her future sons-in-law, and so she didn't buy beautiful things for Lydia as often as before. She tried to spend time with Kitty, but her sister was only interested in learning dull things and spending a lot of time with John Lucas. She was happy when Mary left for Kent, and was hoping to be again her mother's favorite daughter.